belfast

Belfast was amazing and so, so much fun. I stayed up too late, got up too early and made lots of memories with friends.  I was fortunate enough to spend the time with some close friends whom I had not seen for several years.  I was a little nervous that things might be awkward (we hadn't really kept in touch except for Facebook) but as soon as we saw each other, it was like time hadn't passed.  

My trip from London to Belfast was fairly uneventful, even with an overweight bag I had no problems and they didn't charge me.  My friend, Rachel and her mom picked me up and I got to see their home and have some dinner before rushing off to Institute.  It was my first time and it was pretty good.  Though the teacher had a heavy Northern Irish accent and I could not understand him at first.  It was pretty comical for everyone else to see me struggle with his accent.  We got through it and I met with the other young singles in the area and had a fun night playing games and talking. 

The next day flew by just as quickly.  I walked into the city with Rachel who had to go to placement.  My first stop for the day was the Titanic Museum, a newer building dedicated to the building of the great ship and the impact it had on the community.  I thought I was done with museums after my study abroad (I was rather sick of them by the end) but I ended up spending three hours wandering around.  It was quite an interactive museum and I really enjoyed it! They had a mini-educational amusement ride, a movie theatre showing footage of the Titanic remains in the ocean as well as a small costumes exhibit with the actual clothing that the stars wore in the movie. 

City Hall, Belfast

Queens University

From there I walked into the city centre and checked out City Hall and their historical exhibit before meeting up with Rachel for lunch.  Afterwards we saw the botanic gardens at Queens University which has beautiful buildings.  The gardens were a bit sad looking but I'm sure they're lovely in the spring and summertime.  We went out to dinner and then bowling which was quite fun.  I'm just glad we had the bumpers up! I might not have done so well without them.  I also got to see Belfast Castle which is lovely, small, but beautiful.  The serpentine staircase in the back is amazing.  

Friday I chose to relax, so I slept in a bit before doing some candy and chocolate shopping before meeting my friend for lunch.  She had a hair appointment and so her cousin and aunt picked me up and took me to see Bangor, a seaside town, about twenty minutes from Belfast.  It was a perfect day for sightseeing.  The sunny and clear skies meant we could see the outline of Scotland!  For dinner I got fish and chips; the fish was fantastic though the chips were alright.  That night we went on a "spooky walk" which basically ended up being all of us walking in the forest with everyone trying to scare one another.  It was pretty entertaining to see.  

Friday night I also bought a Giant's Causeway tour ticket for Saturday and so that morning I hopped on a bus in the city centre and our first stop was Carrickfergus Castle which is an old Norman castle close to Belfast.  Dunluce Castle was another short stop, just for pictures and then it was the Giant's Causeway.  I've wanted to see this causeway for a few years now and it was just as amazing as I hoped for.  It is beautiful and really cool if only just the sight of an ancient volcanic eruption.  We also saw the Carrick-a-rede Ropebridge which was also pretty neat though a bit terrifying.  I slept on the way back so when I got home and found out we had plans, I still had enough energy to keep going.  We went mini-golfing which I am not good at, but it was just fun. I had one good shot where I hit another player's ball in and then mine rolled in afterwards.  That was about the highlight of my game.

Carrickfergus Castle

the Giant's Causeway!

Carrick-a-rede Ropebridge

My last full day in Belfast we had church and then during my packing, we took a trip to the Mourne mountains and Newcastle.  We stopped at the Silent Valley which was amazing.  It was very peaceful and serene though once the rain started it made a little less enjoyable.  All in all, my few days in Belfast were so fun and I only wish I had more time to spend there.  I'm already hoping for a return trip to Northern Ireland!

the Silent Valley