Derry, or is it Londonderry?

Sunday 14 December 2008 Derry - Belfast, Ireland
When going to Derry you cannot help but notice a huge wall surrounding the city centre. This 9 foot deep wall has been guarding the town for hundreds of years, and because of this Derry is sometimes known as the Virgin City (because its walls have never been breached - charming). So looking at this enormous wall, you cannot leave Derry without walking the wall. The wall is so wide there is a path atop it which would be wide enough for a car to drive around. There has also apparently been a fight for years about the town being called Derry or Londonderry. It was called Derry, then when the English came over 'London' was added. So there are some that insist it is called Derry, some that say Londonderry. There is a radio station called 'Stroke' because in the newspapers it must be referred to as Derry/Londonderry. And the BBC when reporting on the town say Londonderry in the first reference, then Derry every reference after. My goodness. We then travelled north to Bushmills to stop for a whisky tasting, and then onto Belfast for the night. We checked into this little backpackers above a internet cafe and headed straight down to the centre of town where they have a big Ferris Wheel. The square was filled with stalls serving food, beer and crafts. It seemed that most people were having lots of fun and happy to be having a good time. On our way home we, got a bit lost, explored some other streets, and realized that there are some interesting characters on the streets of Belfast. We saw one guy just walk across the street and start accusing another of looking at him a funny way ... time to walk faster. We ended up at a bar around the corner from our hostel and we ran into an Aussie boy we had met earlier in our dorm when we checked in. After having a few pints we found out that the entertainment wouldn't get started for another 3 hours, so we headed back with some 'travellers' to have in the TV room.