The day's agenda involved two main things: our journey from Derry to Belfast and the topic of Game of Thrones.
Today started with a great morning shower and breakfast at the hotel. The food included all likes - from continental breakfast to including eggs, ham, sausage, fruit, and Ireland's own "hash browns."
Afterwards, we then made our way out of the hotel and onto the bus where we were met by a guy named John Bradley (yes that is my name and my roommate's name put together...) who was involved with The U2's "Bloody Sunday" idea - he was in Derry during the events of uprising against the British military a few decades ago. John Bradley rode the bus with us around the area and explained certain things that occurred throughout the city. He also added is own input of the uprising including his own personal involvement with the group. He then took us to see the Church of Ireland and then the wall separating "London" from Derry, or in this case, Londonderry.
After we dropped off John Bradley, we then made our way to Giant's Causeway where we were greeted by a guy named Phil McComb. Let's just say I was glad to have met Phil - he is an extra and transporter on the HBO acclaimed show "Game of Thrones." Phil is also a tour guide of Northern Ireland, specifically of Belfast and the causeway. He took us down around the ocean area and explained the different rock formations and the places that were being filmed in the upcoming seasons of Game of Thrones.
We then made our way to a little harbor where Game of Thrones was specifically filmed from previous seasons and then our way onto the Carrick-Da-Rede Rope Bridge. Unfortunately, the weather did not coordinate well with us - the bridge was shut down early so we were not able to go across. However, Phil took us around the area on several walks to get a feel of the land while also sharing some great information about the television show and what he did with the group.
Finally, we made our way to Belfast. Phil explained the different things that occur in the area including the Titanic Museum, the Titanic Studios and where parts of the show are filmed, edited, and made for production.
When we dropped off Phil, we then made our way to the Holiday Inn Hotel where we would stay for the night and also eat dinner. We quickly got showers since we were soaked and I also started streaming the Slippery Rock University football Quarterfinals game against Shepherd. We then made our way down to dinner where we had soup or salad, followed by a little buffet of food including vegetables, potatoes, pork, pasta and chicken. The dessert was great as well - Bailey's Cheesecake!
After dinner was over, I watched the rest of the SRU game (unfortunately they lost 28-16) and then decided it was a good night to stay in. I read another portion of my book while also watching Back to the Future 2 on the television. Overall, it was a great day to see the different scenery involved with Game of Thrones and the time spent learning about the Derry and the struggle between Ireland and Britain.
Tomorrow is a tour of Belfast and the tour of the Titanic Museum while traveling back to Dublin. Hopefully there will be great stuff to see!
