Belfast Weekend

Adventures in Belfast, Ireland.

Thursday Night
As I said, we decided to take the train into Birmingham tonight so that we could stay at the airport hotel. Our flight leaves tomorrow at 7am so it is very convenient. Finding the hotel, however, was not convenient. We took the train to the airport – which the hotel is attached to – so we figured it would be pretty easy to find. Wrong.

When we got off the train there were signs for “hotel” – pointing in two different directions. Great. We chose one direction. It led us into an abandoned area – which we followed to the outside, per the signs – into an empty parking lot. I swear, it was just like the empty airport on the movie Langoliers. Creepy.

We eventually found the hotel – had to take another tram in the opposite direction that we went the first time – and had some delicious beer. I love Becks since being in the UK. I only like beer that I can see through. Not cheap beer, but I must be able to see through it. Becks fulfills those requirements.

Then we went to sleep. Oh, first I must describe the bathroom in our room. It was a rounded thing that you had to step up into. It was like the bathroom was a little space capsule in the room. It was quite neat. ☺

Friday. Belfast!
I just need to take a moment to discuss the difference between airports in the US and airports overseas. Well, at least the ones in Europe and Northen Ireland. There didn’t seem to be as tight of security in the airports we’ve encountered. We leave our shoes on. I walked through the metal detectors with my sunglasses on my head (not on purpose, just forgot). No one even looked at our IDs until we were at our gate and boarding the plane. Yes, we still had our little liquids in plastic bags – but it was just so different.

And. Talk about a weird waiting area. Everyone – no matter what flight you’re on – sits in the same big open waiting area. It was shaped like a circle, with tons of little shops and places to eat, and you just wait there. The monitors don’t post the gate you will be leaving from until 30 mins before you take off. At that point you go to your gate and get on the plane. Interesting.

We were flying with bmibaby – a cheap airline over here. I have to admit that when I saw the airplane I was slightly worried. It was painted powder blue and literally had a doodle of a baby’s face on the tail. Here goes nothing! ☺

The flight was short and sweet. Made it to Belfast early Friday morning and took the bus from the airport to the center of the city. Guess what the first thing we saw was? Starbucks. You bet your ass we went in and got a nonfat iced caramel macchiato.

Did you know that the Titanic was built and launched in Belfast? I did. And I was excited. Little known fact about me – I love reading about the Titanic. I love the history. The story. Yes, and the movie. ☺ Well, they have a whole section of the city that’s on the water devoted to it. It’s called the Titanic quarter and you can go see the actual dock where the ship was launched. You can see the pump house. You can see the last place it sat on land when it was finished being built. We walked forever to get to it. As it turns out we came to Belfast 2 years too soon. They are planning a huge memorial with tons of amazing Titanic stuff for the 100th anniversary. April of 2012. I’m going back. ☺

After we walked for miles (literally) to and from the Titanic Quarter we drank a beer. What? It was noon. Welcome to Ireland! Next up – typical tourist sightseeing bus tour. It was a lot of fun. We were able to see tons of amazing stuff for really cheap. It was definitely amazing and worth the money. Except for the part where it was much longer than the brochure said and Leo and I had drank a beer… See where this is going? By the end of the tour we were barely paying attention as we were more worried about having an “accident” on the bus. Too much information? Oh, the things we share because we think it’s amusing and then decide later that maybe we shouldn’t have said anything. And in reality I could delete that whole story before I post this… But I’m not going to. It was an adventure!

During the bus tour we learned about Northern Ireland’s violent – and relatively recent – history. There was major fighting between the Protestants and the Catholics in Belfast. It had gotten so bad that there was a large peace wall constructed in the hopes that it would keep the fighting to a minimum. The tour guide said it worked – people couldn’t get over the wall to kill each other. Many people have visited this wall. It was very sad to see the destruction that is still obvious in this part of Belfast – and strange to drive just 15 minutes away and be back in the hustle and bustle of the city.

We ate a fabulous dinner and then went to check out the shops. Leo loves the clothing in the UK. His shopping bags are proof. I love that he loves shopping – it makes it even more fun for me. I have been having a surprisingly difficult time spending my money though. I have talked myself out of almost everything I’ve considered buying. (Except gifts – I have plenty of those for people already!☺) I did find a fabulous bag (I know, I know – do I really need another bag? No. But I decided that if I bought this bag I would donate three of the ones I have at home to Goodwill so that other people can love them as much as I have.) And plus, this bag is from a store that does not exist in America. Bonus! A new bag. The one thing I’ve bought for myself. And I’m totally content with that. Dad, be proud! ☺

Saturday.
Today we planned ahead and bought tickets for an all day Giant’s Causeway coach bus trip. We left Belfast at 9:45 am and it was an all-day excursion. We took the coastal route to get there and it was so beautiful. When we got close to the Giant’s Causeway – a huge rock formation that was the result of volcanic eruptions – we were able to see Scotland. Apparently it is only 25 miles offshore from Northern Ireland. Cool!

We stopped at Carrickfergus Castle on the way to the Causeway. It was cool. I like old castles. Then we continued driving and stopped for what the drive called a “Comfort Stop” aka Potty Break. Leo and I had a great picture of us taken with the coastline in the background – I think we got Scotland in there too.

Finally! We made it to Giant’s Causeway and it was amazing. We were able to climb on the rocks and get down by the Ocean. It was amazing. The view – incredible. Ireland is seriously the most beautiful place I’ve ever been. I’m going to move there. (I think by the end of this trip I will have said, “I’m going to move there” about every place we go.)

After the Causeway we went and stopped at another castle – Dunluce Castle – for a photo op. Natalie Portman just finished filming the movie Your Highness there. Interesting. Expecially since it was basically the ruins of what used to be a castle.

Next stop, Bushmills Distillery. This is the oldest licensed whiskey distillery in the world. The guide explained that they spell Whiskey with an ‘E’ (as opposed to Whisky) because the E stood for excellence. And then he said, “Cheesy, I know.”

So after we did a little whiskey tasting – which was absolutely disgusting, I might add – we went to the rope bridge. The rope bridge was a bridge that the salmon fishermen had built to connect the mainland to a small island not far from the coastline. The reason they needed the bridge was because the salmon wouldn’t come close enough to shore for them to catch – so they went to the salmon. The bridge is about 30 meters from the water and it was amazing to cross! It started pouring as soon as we were hiking to the bridge but it didn’t matter. We were doing it. The view from the tiny island – beautiful! Surprised? Didn’t think so.

We were beat by the time we got back to Belfast at 730. We walked a ton that day but it was totally worth it. So much beauty. We’re so lucky that we’re able to experience all of this.

Sunday.
Not much to share about Sunday. Woke up. Had coffee. Had lunch (the best salad I’ve had since being here!). Went to airport. Here’s where it gets good! We got to the airport at 230 as we were scheduled to board our plane at 520. Flight was delayed by two hours. Okay – we could still make our train from Birmingham to Worcester when we got back to England. Wrong!

Our flight didn’t actually take off until 730. When we landed, Leo and I ran through the airport – I’ve never actually had to do that before – and then we had to wait for the little airport shuttle that would take us to the airport train station. Our running was for nothing. The shuttle was on “super slow so Jess and Leo miss their train mode” and we missed the train we needed to get on. I know this because the clocks count the seconds in the train station.

We had to wait for the next train into Birmingham (we have to take a train from the airport to the center of Birmingham where we can then switch trains and get on one to Worcester) which meant that we were too late for our train to Worcester. The real kicker? We missed it by 1 minute and 30 seconds. I know this because the clocks in the station count the seconds.

Guess what? That was the last train to Worcester for the night. Awesome! A taxi was going to cost us 60 pounds (roughly 90 dollars) if we wanted it to take us to Worcester. Instead, we hopped a train to Redditch, which isn’t too far from Worcester, but still ended up paying a 30 pound cab fare.

All in all, the trip was a definite success! There are a few photos below. Enjoy!

This is me sitting on some of the rocks at the Giant’s Causeway. The rocks are all shaped like polygons, which is why this place is so mysterious.



This is us at the Giant’s Causeway. We were trying to take the photo ourselves when a sweet Irish woman came up and said, “Just ask me to take your photo, darling!” She took this.



Dunluce Castle. You can tour the castle but that wasn't part of our trip.



The rope bridge.



Some of the coast.