Belfast

We stayed in Belfast for a couple of nights before touring around Ireland and then again for one night a week later. Belfast is beautiful, but the tension can be felt especially in the heat of the summer.
Piles of wood ready for burning on the night of July 11 to celebrate the Orangemen marching on July 12. These piles grews to the height of eight men before they were done.

A protestant mural emphasizing that you're not safe from our guns— anywhere. I wonder how growing up in this shadow affects you.

Catholic murals identifying themselves with other struggles around the world. The guy on the left was the first "blanket man". A prisoner who wore a blanket instead of prison uniform in protest of having his political-prisoner status stripped.

Queen's University just down the road from Ben and Caroline Parsons. Nice school.

In Belfast dogs are prohibited from backing into small campfires. This common practice is known as fouling.

A Sandra by any other name will still take beautiful pictures of every rose garden we pass. This was only one rose in a huge garden (thousands of varieties), but my allergies kept me on the sideline with a hanky.