Derry, and...

We spent a night, and a morning, in Derry.  You might have heard of Derry, thanks to these girls.

But there's far more to the city.  It has  a walled section, dating from the 17th century.  Built to protect the property of merchants, the walls have been attacked, but never breached.

St Columba, Irish missionary to Scotland, is the patron saint of Derry.  We stopped into St Columb's church.

If you grew up in the 60s and 70s, you heard about Derry and the Troubles.  It was long, terrible time, that the city is working very hard to remember and forget...all at once. 

Catholic Bogside.

Protestant Derry.  It takes time.  Even still, the name "Londonderry" is an issue.  You will see places where the word "London" is painted over on road signs, and other places where its painted back on.

We stopped into a really fun place, where the chef and staff love their picture taken.  (We were taking a picture of the dinosaur, below, and the hosted misunderstood.  She made them pose.  It was awkward.)

When we left Derry, we headed to the Grianan of Ailech, a hillfort northwest of Derry.  Dating from early Christian Ireland, (4-500AD) the current form is a reconstruction from the 19th century, based on excavations done then.

The views from the hill were amazing, even though it was raining cats and dogs.

Then we headed to Donegal, where we spent the last part of our trip.  Along the way, we saw two iconic Irish views.  One was a peat field; peat had been cut, stacked to dry, and then gathered.

And...sheep.  Always the sheep