We started this morning with a walking tour of Derry. Here is a shot of the beautiful city hall. I suppose since I am a protestant and of British decent I should call it Londonderry but I am also a champion of the underdog and I’m convinced the Catholics have gotten a pretty raw deal over the years so I’m going to side with them and call it Derry. Our guide told us the town took the name to court recently and the Judge threw up his hands and said “I’m not getting in the middle of this.” So they muddle through with the dual name.
It seems that Derry has two claims to historical fame. One was the siege of Derry back when King William and King James were going at it, I forget who won and am a little perplexed about why something that happened nearly 400 years ago still matters, except, I guess when nearly a quarter of your town’s population dies you probably wo
uld remember for a long time, and apparently those memories and resentments played into the “Troubles” of the 20th century. The other event, Bloody Sunday, I’m a little more sympathetic about, maybe because it happened in my lifetime (1972). Maybe because it was all about 13 civil rights marchers getting caught in the cross fire during the “Troubles.” Maybe because apologies
from the British have only recently been issued.
Derry is also known for being a walled city and for being the UK “City of 
Culture” in 2013. Here is a picture of the peace bridge opened in 2011 and financed by the EU. It has been made very clear to us that Northern Ireland did not vote for Brexit, has benefited greatly economically from being part of the EU and hopes the whole thing will be turned around. 
Derry also has its own set of murals regarding the troubles but my favorite was the dove rising out of the darkness into a brighter future.
After our walk we hopped on the coach and headed to the Inishowen peninsula. We crossed the border into the Republic of Ireland without noticing and added county Donegal to our list of conquests. Our first stop was a ring fort dating to the 5th century. I made the mistake of 
climbing to the top. The views were spectacular but getting down again was a bit tricky for an old fat woman. Notice the heather that was blooming on all the hillsides.
Lunch was at a pub in a small town which served up a delicious fish chowder and open faced crab salad sandwich. We then proceeded to Malin
head which is not only the northernmost point in Ireland but the location of the shooting of the latest star wars movie. We also got our first taste of thatched roof cottages and she
ep. And we learned all about peat bogs, of which there are a lot on the
Inishowen Penninsula.