#TBT: Belfast, Northern Ireland

Welcome to my very first Throwback Thursday! My goal is to share some stories of my past travels and some pictures with you all. So, for my very first #TBT, I’d like to shine the spotlight on Belfast, Northern Ireland.

I went to Belfast in 2012. The Titanic museum had just opened a few months earlier and my sole purpose in making the journey from the Republic (where my school program was based) was to visit the museum. I never expected to fall in love with the city.

First off, we (my friends and I) stayed at the Park Inn by Radisson on Clarence Street, and it was amazing! I would definitely recommend staying there if you go. I split the price of a room with my two friends so it was relatively inexpensive between the three of us. The best part of the hotel stay was the complimentary breakfast we received (see picture below). I've never felt more like royalty in my life!

Breakfast courtesy of the Park Inn

Our first morning in Belfast, we set off for the Titanic Museum in the Titanic Quarter of Belfast. I've been a Titanic buff for years and I've visited the Titanic Museum in Branson, Missouri as well.

The museum itself seemed to rise from the very ground itself, resembling the hull of the ship it honors. It’s an awe inspiring place, with the Harland & Wolff shipyard looming in the distance. For me, being such a fan of the ship and its history, standing in the very place where the ship was born and built, was such an amazing experience.

Looking up at the museum

Inside, the museum is just as spectacular. Filled with artifacts, replicas and interactive displays, the visitor is treated to an in-depth history of not only the ship itself, but the very people that built her. The visitor is put in the shoes of the workers and builders through a short dark ride, where the rider is given a ride through the very bowels of the ship-in-progress. The visitor is given a greater appreciation for those who, at times, risked their lives to build the historic ship.

One of the displays inside the museum

Later that day we rented a cab for the day and were driven up to Giant’s Causeway—that story I think I’ll save for another #TBT. For right now I’ll just say that if you have the opportunity to visit Giant’s Causeway, please do it, you won’t regret it!

On our ride back from Giant’s Causeway, our cabbie (who was just about the nicest person on earth) took us on a tour of both the Catholic and Protestant sides of the city and gave us a mini-history lesson on “The Troubles.” We were able to see the various murals across the city dedicated to those victims who did not survive “The Troubles.”

To me, Belfast was a beautiful and peaceful city; knowing that this city was a virtual war-zone only twenty years before made me appreciate the city even more. More than giving me appreciation, the city gave me hope. Hope that no matter what a city (or a person) goes through, no matter how much pain one goes through, there is still a chance that something beautiful can come through. I think a visit to the city can give hope to us all.

While walking through the city, I happened upon a saying painted on the top floors of a building. It read: A nation that Keeps one eye on the past is wise. A nation that keeps two eyes on the past is blind.

That saying is true, Belfast can never escape its past, but one visit to this beautiful place will convince you that the city is not dwelling on its past. And that is what I fell in love with, the hope and the promise.

Standing in the courtyard of Belfast’s City Hall listening to the children playing, feeling the sunshine on my face, I was filled with the same hope. Belfast isn't broken, it’s merely just beginning. 

Belfast City Hall

Thanks for reading!!! Cheers!

Up Next: #TBT : Destination TBA!

ETA: Thursday!

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Book #7 "The Lost Girls" by Jennifer Baggett, Holly C. Corbett and Amanda Pressner

"[Holly] explained that during the years between twenty-eight and thirty, the planet Saturn completes its cycle through your birth chart, which marks the end of youth and the start of adulthood. And it brings with it monumental endings and new beginnings." -pg. 16

The first thing that impressed me about this book initially was its sheer size. Topping out at over 500 pages, it was definitely far larger than the other travel memoirs I'd been reading. What drew me to the book was its essential plot: three friends (all poised to turn 28 in the coming year) living in NYC decide to drop it all--jobs, boyfriends, etc.--and embark on a year-long around the world (or RTW) adventure.

There's Jennifer, who's relationship with her long-time boyfriend is going nowhere slowly. There's Amanda, who finds out one day that she finds jury duty more enjoyable than her current job. And there's Holly, who's job isn't quite what she wanted, along with feeling the crowd of NYC and longing for some space.

And so it begins. The girls give up leases, give their two-weeks notice and put all of their worldly possessions in storage. They trade in their NYC apartments for suitcases and backpacks, and they're off!!!

Throughout their journey through four different continents and an army of cockroaches, each of them have to face why exactly they came on this journey, as well as what terrifies them. Along the way, they also gain a new perspective on the world around them.

My absolute favorite part of the book is the portion at the girls' school in Kenya. Signing up via Village Volunteers, the three girls end up at a girls' school. learning what life is like for girls and women on the other side of the globe (and they decide to do something about it!) By each using their own special talents, each of these three amazing women teach the girls about self-confidence and self-empowerment, as well as learning a few things about themselves.

Don't think this book is all about fun and games, though! There are plenty of journeys gone awry, lost baggage, persnickety customs officials, creepy cab drivers, and a few semi-stalkerish dudes that can't take a hint. There's also a few friendly disagreements. However, I admire these girls so much for how they handle these disagreements with maturity and grace. Traveling with others is not always easy (as I've learned myself!), but these three do it, respecting each other's differences and doing it all with humor, respect, and togetherness.

By the end of this book, I not only admired Jennifer, Amanda, and Holly, I wanted to be them! I realized you don't have to have your life figured out in your twenties--that is the time to explore and find that kick-ass woman deep inside you. Plus, I got some really great ideas for some upcoming travels (I really fell in love with Kenya because of this book, as well as Australia).

 I truly felt like I had lost three best friends when I finished the book. Getting to know Jennifer, Amanda, and Holly was truly an honor and I hope they, The Lost Girls, know how much they've touched my life, I hope they do the same for you!

Thanks for reading! I hope you've enjoyed my book reviews! I will definitely add to the list when I finish more!

Up Next: It's my first Throwback Thursday!!! Featuring: Belfast, Northern Ireland

ETA: Thursday (of course!!!)

Book #6 “Adventures in Belfast” by Caroline Oceana Ryan

“You’ll know you’ve fully visited this amazing culture the moment you realize your life has changed in some remarkable way.” –Introduction

First of all, I should mention that I’m in love with Belfast, and I literally jumped for joy when this e-book popped up on my Amazon.com recommended list. For me, Belfast is not just a city, but a home. There are few places where I’ve ever really felt at home in the world, and although I was only there briefly, I felt at home in Belfast. The moment I stepped on the train to leave the city I swore to myself and to it that I'd be back.

That being said, I knew about “The Troubles” as they were called, the clashes between the Republican factions and the Unionist factions in the latter half of the 20^th century that turned Belfast into a warzone, but not as in-depth as I would have liked. I took a class on ethnic conflict in my undergrad studies and we covered “The Troubles” briefly. But I did not know about them as thoroughly as I would have liked, and after going to Belfast and seeing this beautiful city and the murals commemorating the causes of both sides, I wanted a better picture of what had happened so relatively recently in that city.

That is where this book comes in. Caroline does an excellent job of shedding an unbiased light on both sides of the story, giving each side their chance to speak. There’s an amazing glossary of characters and organizations in the beginning of the book as well, to help the reader sort out the alphabet soup of splinter organizations that have broken off from the IRA and the UVF, as well as their political branches.

But more than that, what Caroline does is give us the reader a glimpse into what life in Northern Ireland is really like. We get to know the everyday people on the streets and those that work the farms outside of Belfast. We get to settle into an easy routine with Caroline, walking past City Hall and St. George’s Market. Through reading this book you’ll get a look at the scars left behind by “The Troubles” and get to know the people affected and the people who were in charge. This book contains many interviews with those involved on both sides, giving the reader a glimpse into the conflict we would not have had otherwise. Also, because this book takes place over several years, you get to see those scars heal and change. You get to revisit old friends and learn the craic, as well as seeing those friends grow and change, and most importantly, heal.

When I was in Belfast, I snapped a picture of saying written on a wall high above the street, it read: “A city that keeps one eye on the past is wise; a city that keeps two eyes on the past is blind.” That saying holds true, and the people that Caroline meets embody this, knowing they can never forget, but must move on. I think that’s a lesson we can all learn from, as well as taking away a renewed appreciation for the North.

I highly recommend this book, and you can get it for only $2.99 on Amazon Kindle here at http://www.amazon.com/Adventures-Belfast-Northern-Irish-Agreement-ebook/dp/B00I9OL68Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1411764250&sr=8-1&keywords=adventures+in+belfast

So you have no excuse!

Thanks for reading! Until next time!

Up Next: “The Lost Girls” by Jennifer Baggett, Amanda Pressner, and Holly Corbett

ETA: Monday!

Book #5: "Wild" by Cheryl Strayed

"Fear, to a great extent, is born of a story we tell ourselves, and so I chose to tell myself a different story from the one women are told." -pg. 51

"Wild" is one of those books that found me at the exact right time. It was a bit of a divergence from the other books I'd been reading--geographically, anyway. Cheryl is not backpacking through Europe or India, she's backpacking across the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT)--a trail that spans from Mexico through California all the way up to Canad. Oh, and she's doing it alone. 

At the moment Cheryl takes her first step on the PCT, she's broken. Cheryl and her mother were incredibly close, but when her mother passed away several years before, something shatters inside Cheryl. With a few years Cheryl went from an about-to-be-college graduate with a loving husband to being a college dropout who's cheated on her husband, as well as being a heroin user.

Now, divorced and finally alone, Cheryl is all by herself and determined to make it on the PCT. There's bears and rattlesnakes and an army of little black frogs (that one would have broken me!) along the way. And more importantly, there's healing. Among the trees and the snow and the blisters and the falling off toenails, and along that foot and a half wide path, Cheryl begins to heal. She begins to heal from the absence of her abusive father, from the death of her mother, from the death of the life she knew, from the mess she made of her marriage, and from all the little things she did along the way.

There's plenty of dark moments in this book, and there's plenty of challenges. But out of those moments comes inspiration. And hope. Hope that even at your lowest point, even when you've blown your own perfect life to hell, even when you've strayed so far from the person you were meant to be, you can still become that person. And, if you're lucky, maybe you can be an even better and stronger person than you thought possible.

Sometimes the bad things and the tragic things and the mistakes are only your beginning (not your end) and there's so much waiting for you--you only have to start walking.

Thanks for reading! Cheers!

Up Next: "Adventures in Belfast" by Caroline Oceana Ryan

ETA: Friday!

Book #4 "At Least You're in Tuscany" by Jennifer Criswell

"Lots of people dream of Tuscany. Most do the sensible thing: they rent villas with friends and spend their days touring the countryside and hill towns. they sip wine, savor the food, and enjoy the same conversations of their regular lives...only in Tuscany. [...] There are fewer people who actually decide to pull up roots and move to Tuscany." -pg. 3

And that's exactly what Jennifer Criswell does. She takes your run of the mill travel memoir and takes it up a notch. There is no return ticket booked for Jennifer. She is in Italy to stay.

This book appealed to me for several reasons:

     1) It's got freakin' TUSCANY in the title--I could stop here, but in case that's not enough to hook you, I'll keep going. 

     2) She's an ex-lawyer (and me being a recent law school grad a little weary of her chosen career path, to read the same uncertainty was a breath of fresh air).

     3) She mentions my hero-Lucy Ricardo-in the first few pages!

     4) She moves to another country.

Jennifer details not only the perils that all people traveling will understand (like language barriers), but also those things you can only learn from actually living there. Explore the markets of Moltepuciano with Jennifer (oh, and her dog, Cinder!), do laundry and hang out your scandalously red towels out to dry, and have yourself an Italian fling. 

In addition, you'll learn a lot about Jennifer's quest to get work authorization and Italian citizenship. You'll also get acquainted with the Italian bureaucratic system and the endless red tape on the road to finally becoming a citizen.

Jennifer encounters many woes and her first year in Moltepuciano is filled with pitfalls, but along the way it is also filled with hope, new friends, handsome men, caring strangers, coffee, and creativity. Even when things aren't going her way, Jennifer always reminds herself, "At least you're in Tuscany."

Her will and determination to eek it out, even when things aren't exactly going her way will inspire anyone who's ever dreamed of living abroad. It won't be easy, but it will always be worth it!

Thanks for reading!!!

Up Next: "Wild" by Cheryl Strayed

ETA: Wednesday!

Book #3 “The Good Girl’s Guide to Getting Lost” by Rachel Friedman

“Here are the facts of the present moment. It’s 2002, I’m twenty years old. I've just embarked on four months in a foreign country alone. I’m carrying six hundred dollars in traveler’s checks, money saved up from waitressing last semester. I booked two nights in a Dublin hostel before I left. Other than that, I've got no plan. And this greatly confounds me because I always have a plan. At least I used to be the kind of girl who always has a plan.” -pg. 4

And thus, we meet Rachel, who I readily identified with from the very beginning, being a girl without a plan myself as I was reading this book. We first encounter Rachel hauling her giant red suitcase into a hostel in Dublin, with no plan and looking for work. Pretty soon she’s off to Galway and before long rents a small apartment there with two guys and another girl—named Carly. And so starts the first part of a three-part adventure that will lead Rachel around the world.

Carly is the ultimate cool best friend. Carly has traveled and seen a lot of the world, and is in no mood to stop traveling either. I think it’s Carly that gives Rachel a glimpse of what life can be, and that sometimes, you don’t need a plan.

Before long, Rachel and Carly are on their way to Carly’s home country, Australia, where Rachel meets Carly’s family and finds out there are about 10,000 different ways to die in Australia. It seems everything in Australia is deadly in one way or another, from snakes to vicious birds to spontaneously falling limbs off a tree. However, even with the slightly life threatening circumstances, Rachel describes the continent with such detail and such love it make me really want to visit.

Then, much to her parents’ chagrin, soon after she came back Rachel is off again, this time for a whirlwind trip around South America with Carly. Encountering altitude sickness, pickpockets and visa problems, Rachel and Carly do it all, along with making their friendship stronger by learning each other’s strengths and weaknesses.

I was really happy to see Rachel and Carly work through the difficult patches of their friendship while they were traveling. I have traveled with a “best” friend, and needless to say, we weren't really even friends by the time the trip was over, but that’s another story for another day.

I loved reading about Rachel’s adventures, I want to do a working holiday in Ireland soon and I loved reading about what I might encounter while I’m there. I also love reading about places I have been (Dublin and Galway both) and I get homesick for the places I've traveled to, so this book helped ease some that.

Also, I love reading about places I've never visited, only to walk away with a new found appreciation for that place, as well as a hunger to visit. I had that with the Australia portion of the book. I’d never really wanted to visit the continent known as Oz, but after reading about Rachel’s experiences, I desperately want to feel that warm Australian sunshine on my face.

And, even with the idea of a handsome guy in an Irish bar in South America, I’m still not so sure I want to travel there, but Rachel made it sound appealing so…I’ll go there one day.

Most of all, what I’m learning from all these books is that it’s okay to be a little lost, okay to live without a plan and just live. These women in these books all face the same things that I, and probably a lot of you, are facing right now, and you know what? They come through it as better and more amazing people because of it. All of the struggles and the experiences, good and bad, made them the kick-ass women they are today. And that’s what I hope to be when all is said and done. I hope one day someone writes about me on their burgeoning travel blog and describes me as a “kick-ass woman.”  I’ll be in really good company. :)

Thanks for reading!!! Until next time!

Up Next: “At Least You’re in Tuscany” by Jennifer Criswell

ETA: Monday!