But something must have stuck, because the city and its struggles have always intrigued me. That’s why I couldn’t miss the opportunity to travel to Belfast as a day trip from Dublin when we visited the Irish capital.

In our travels, my lovely wife and I have been in a location or two where we felt uncomfortable and maybe even a bit unsafe, and that’s exactly what I expected from Belfast. While my rational mind told me this was not the Belfast of the 1980s, my irrational mind did its part to create concern.

We were most interested in exploring the city’s famous murals which are painted to express both political and religious views. The murals are spread out, so we decided to hire a cabby to show us the city. We hired our driver through Belfast Attractions. A 1.5-hour tour guide cost about $45, a decent travel deal. He picked us up at the train station and our Belfast travel trip began there.

Our tour included the murals on Falls Road and Shankill Road as well as Milltown Cemetery. We also visited a few gardens of remembrance which were built to honor the lives lost during “The Troubles.”

I was captivated by what our driver called the Peace Wall. Built to divide the Falls Road and Shankill Road neighborhoods, our driver told us the wall’s gates are still locked at 6 p.m. to prevent cars from passing between neighborhoods at night. He also showed us that the homes which are built close to the wall have defensive fences to protect the windows from objects hurled over from the other side. Our driver was Catholic so we only spent a little time in the Protestant areas, especially Shankill, because he said he was “not comfortable” there.

The Peace Wall

Defensive fencing on homes near the Peace Wall

In spite of what my irrational mind was trying to tell me, I never felt unsafe in Belfast. While many of the murals espoused violence and revenge, the people with whom we dealt were friendly and nobody really gave us a second look.

After our tour we walked to Sandy Row which greets visitors with a chilling reminder that the violence may have subsided, but the scars of the city’s sectarian divide are far from faded.

We set out not to conquer the world, but to explore it. All of it. The whole entire world.

Our honeymoon was our first trip to Europe. After more than a decade of travel together, we look back on that journey, shake our heads and laugh. What were we thinking? The stunts we pulled would make Clark W. Griswold look like Rick Steves.

London was the first stop on our first journey. It was cold and rainy (not that unusual for London, you know) and I was freezing because I was wearing shorts. Probably the only guy in the whole entire United Kingdom wearing shorts that day. I’m sure most people were asking themselves, “What the bloody hell is that twit thinking?”

We managed to get from the airport to Victoria Station without any trouble, but couldn’t figure out how to get to our hotel from the busy train station.

After standing around in the rain we decided to hail a cab, nervous that we didn’t have enough cash on us to get where we needed to go.

How did we solve that problem? We just hopped in the black cab and asked the cabby, “We only have 40 pounds, is that enough?” Luckily, he just grinned, drove us to our hotel and didn’t take us for every pence.

Thus began a great 11 years of life, love and adventure.

I’ve seen countless wonders in 38 countries on four continents over those 11 years, and I did it all with the most wonderful gal in the whole entire world.

London day trips is the topic for this installment of Don’t Miss and Dismiss. There are numerous sites huddled around the British capital and below is simply a sampling of a few I’ve visited.

Don’t Miss: Hampton Court Palace

So close to central London it’s a bit of a stretch to call it a day trip, but you could easily spend an entire day at King Henry VIII’s enormous palace. Right on the Thames, the palace is one of my favorites. I especially like the Tudor kitchens and Henry’s apartments.

Dismiss: Leeds Castle

About one hour southeast of London, Leeds Castle has an incredibly beautiful exterior and mostly disappointing interior. Built on two islands in the Len River, the castle’s setting makes for great photos, but the renovated interior is dull and uninspiring. Leeds is 11^th century on the outside, 1930’s on the inside.

Don’t Miss: Warwick Castle

If you travel to only one medieval castle outside London, make it Warwick. It’s a little hokey, with Madame Tussauds figures manning the dungeon, but the ancient fortifications and elaborate halls and staterooms help fight off the commercialism. About 2.5 hours from London, day tripping to Warwick makes for a long day, but it’s worth every minute.

Dismiss: Stonehenge

It’s hard for me to call it a dismiss, because I always wanted to see Stonehenge, but it’s really just a grouping of big rocks in the middle of a field. An England icon, I was relieved to see the stones had been restored upright after Clark W. Griswald knocked them over during his family’s European vacation. As I look at my photos, I might have to rethink this dismiss.

Don’t Miss: Blenheim Palace

Just north of the university town of Oxford, a worthy travel trip in its own right, Blenheim Palace is the home of the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough and on UNESCO’s World Heritage list. Built between 1705 and 1722, the stunning palace is the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill.

I stumbled across this story about how Moira Cameron, the first female Yeoman Warder, has been harassed by her colleagues.  Evidently, some of the boys don’t appreciate Ms. Cameron joining the club.

My take on the situation: you go girl, and God save the Queen.