Lots to say and very little time (the internet cafe closes in 35 minutes), so let's see how well I can do.

First of all, a quick note to say that I ducked into the V&A just before closing time today, and it's already been added to my list of museums to see again. Unfortunately, a couple of the exhibits I'd really be interested in (costume and jewelry) are currently closed for renovation. At least I can head back and see the Art Nouveau and Arts & Crafts stuff, none of which I got to see today. After the V&A, I headed up the Brompton Road for my first visit to Harrods. Now, I want to make clear that I've never really been afraid of death, but if I ever had been, I wouldn't be after today, because now I know what heaven looks like. Heaven is the Harrods food hall, especially the chocolaterie and patisserie. I wandered in such a daze that I didn't even buy anything, but now you all know where your Christmas presents are coming from, at least.

On to Ireland! I arrived in Dublin around noonish on Friday, checked in at the youth hostel (very nice, by the way, and I highly recommend it if you're looking for cheap accommodations in Dublin), and took the bus to the Guinness brewery. The brewery's old storehouse was recently converted into what I can best describe as a museum of Guinness, as opposed to a tour of the actual brewery workings. You don't see beer actually being made, as you do on other brewery tours (Coors, for example), but there's a lot more history of the brewery and associated industries than you usually get. The tour itself is a little disappointing, since it's a self-guided tour and I found the layout and maps to be confusing, but the exhibit of antique Guinness advertising is excellent, and of course, you get a free pint in the seventh-floor Gravity Bar, with 360-degree views of Dublin. If you've checked out the photo page yet, you can see some of the city views I photographed from the bar, as well as my free pint (which was excellent). The Guinness shop is also second to none, and I came away with a buttload of souvenirs for myself and others. After that, I headed back to the center of town.

I hopped on a tour bus and did the circuit of Dublin, although I didn't take advantage of the hop-on-hop-off part since all the attractions were closed at that point. Still, it was a great introduction to the major sights of the city, and really helped me get my bearings for walking around the city later. I do regret not being able to visit Dublin Castle and other attractions, but still, seeing them was nice. Our driver provided excellent (and humourous) commentary, and even sang us a couple of traditional Dublin songs, including "Molly Malone."

I intended to have dinner at the hostel and head out to visit the pubs of Temple Bar, but a brief flirtation with food poisoning or the like decided me to call it an early night. I woke up on Saturday unsure about whether or not to head to Belfast as I'd planned, but I felt better and took a bus to the train station. I want to interject here that, in my admittedly brief experience, the absolute best way to see a city is to take public transportation. The tourist buses are nice and show you the major sights, but they won't take you through the typical residential areas, and they won't get you directions from a little old Irish lady in a plastic rainbonnet. Armed with said directions, I made it to the train station and left for Belfast.

The train journey was really nice because I got to see the Irish countryside in a way that you really can't from a car... highways are not exactly noted for being scenic, and what I saw from the train was Ireland cliche. Sheep, green fields, ruined towers, drystone walls, and everything, and it was great. I love trains anyway, so getting to Belfast was almost as much fun as actually seeing the city.

I want to note also that Belfast, despite its reputation, is a very nice city that I think all visitors to Ireland should see. It actually reminded me very much of Cleveland, being a former industrial powerhouse harbour that's busy redeveloping itself (and de-polluting its river). Also, the police stations are heavily fortified, but there are fewer of them than you might think, and the entire time I was there I saw one police officer. It is not, contrary to popular belief, a war zone with soldiers on every corner.

Upon leaving the train station, I got a taxi tour from a very nice young man who was born and bred in Belfast, and loves to show off his city to visitors. He took me around all the major sights of the city centre, including the Albert Clock, which is a four-faced clock that leans (it's known as Belfast's Leaning Tower of Pisa). It's fixed now, but all four faces once showed a different time, giving city workers a convenient excuse for lateness. Unfortunately, I didn't manage to get a good shot of it.

After the city centre, John the taxi driver took me out to West Belfast to see the political murals, which you can see on my photo page. Interestingly, I noticed that the murals on the Protestant side tend to be more militant in origin and painted on residential buildings, whereas the murals on the Catholic side are more patriotic (and lots of them support other marginalized populations, notably the Basques and Catalonians), and most of them are on businesses and retaining walls. Really, apart from the giant concrete and corrugated iron wall and gates, you'd never know this district was the site of some violent clashes. I especially appreciated John's determination to show me both sides, which lots of taxi tours don't apparently do.

Once the taxi tour was over, I wandered around the main city shopping area, which was surprisingly posh (I actually missed the first train back to Dublin because I was so mesmerized by the biggest Boots I've ever seen). Lots of fun, and I would absolutely love to go back.

The internet cafe is about to close, so my Dublin Sunday story is going to have to wait until tomorrow...