Meng's Travels: 3 Hours in Londonderry

I was hoping to get to Londonderry (Derry, to locals) early so that I have as much time as I can seeing the city before catching a 3:30 pm bus to Galway. I have two options: take a bus or train. I was advised to take the bus, which I was told would be faster. But the bus center is almost 15 minutes away. Five minutes from my hostel is a train station that I found I could take a train to Derry. I opted to take the train at 8:14 am, hoping to get to Derry by around 10:30 am. Unfortunately, the ticket agent at the station did not tell me that the 8:14 am train goes only to Port Rush, a few stops before Derry. In the end, I have to wait for the 9:14 am train, which means I got into Derry at about 11:30 am. The train ride itself was great. We traveled along the Antrim coast, on the northernmost part of Northern Island. It has wifi on board so I was on my computer almost the entire trip.
I've debated on whether I should go to Derry because I wasn't sure where I could leave my big backpack while I am walking around the city. My big backpack currently weighs about 12 kg or about 25 pounds. Carrying it while walking around the city would be no fun at all. Luckily, someone at the hostel called around and found that I could leave my belongings at the Tourist Information Center. What a godsend. So, as soon as I got to Derry, I dropped my heavy stuff off at the Tourist Information Center. The staff there is so friendly and willingly oblige. They didn't have lockers but they put my stuff in a room where they store their brochures. They didn't ask me for any identification or name or sign anything! Best of all, it's free. Can you imagine that happening in the US? They will want two picture ids', a release form to sign, deposit, etc. They even told me where to go and what are the best things to see. Not wonder everyone said the Irish are so friendly.
By the time I set out to walk the city, it was noon; which means I have about 3 hours until I catch the bus. I was told that it takes only an hour to walk around the city because it's not big.
Derry is a wall-city, much like Dubrovnik in Croatia. You can read about my Dubrovnik, Croatia blog by going to my September 2011 archive on the right of this page. It is unfortunate that it is better known for the violence between Catholics and Protestants than the beauty of the city itself. It officially became a city in the 1600s' so it has a long history of settlements, churches, wars, etc. This is reflected in many of the buildings and memorials in the city. I walked mostly on top of the wall surrounding the old city. Here you come across and can learn most of the history of the city. It's a fairly small city, population slight less than 100,000. You can learn more of the city by clicking on Derry.