I’m in Ireland. I got here Wednesday evening (17th June). Actually I had flight connection troubles so I flew into Ireland and took the train to Belfast instead of flying into Belfast as previously planned. I lost track of time and was surprised when I realized that it was already 10:00 p.m.; the sun was still up.
I spent Thursday exploring Belfast. I took a hop on/hop off bus for the first time. I probably would have seen things more thoroughly if I hadn’t, and then again maybe that’s optimistic since it rained off and on all day long. The highlights of the trip were Stormount Estate, City Hall, St. Anne’s Cathedral, Titanic’s Dock and Pump House, none of which I stopped at. I would have liked to visit Stormount Estate and St. Anne’s Cathedral but it was raining and cold at the time and I couldn’t convince myself to do it. City Hall was closed for renovations. I got off the Bus at Skankill Road and had lunch there before walking over to Falls Road. The murals on the two roads send strong messages about the culture and history of the area. I spent some time talking to an older man in a coffee shop on Skankill. He told me some of the murals that I should see and shared some of the history of Skankill with me. He was a primary school teacher and now is a methodist ??. I didn’t quite catch what he said. I asked him to repeat it but I still didn’t catch it through the accent. Skankill has a more intimate feel than Falls Road in my opinion.
Lunch was fish and chips at Beatties. It’s a plain place with tables and pews that remind me of my school days. The portions of fish and chips are generous and served in about 7 minutes. I learned during the meal that fish and chips is a healthy food. I’m not entirely convinced but there was a large poster proudly stating this. I also ordered a pastie because I wanted to see what it was. It is a fried potato cake of a pinkish/red color. I’m not sure what is done to it to get it that way. I was curious about what a bap is but I had way too much food as it was and left most of it behind.
I saw Queens university and the Botanic Gardens from the bus but didn’t have enough time to visit that day so I went shopping at Clarks for shoes instead. I usually wear a size 8 or 9 in US sizes. I guess sizes are different in Northern Ireland. I had to keep asking for smaller sizes until the 6.5 finally fit.
It was around 6 p.m. when I finished shopping. I decided that that was too early to call it a day so I went to watch at movie before heading back to the guest house.
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