Proper update about Belfast.

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‘Twas brilliant but freezing. One morning it was three degrees!!! On the same day it was 37 at home. Am I totally insane leaving that for this!! But I am loving it still.

Was so good to meet all these cousins that for years I have heard so much about and never met. They were really good to me. It was brilliant being looked after so well for a while after being away from home for a while.

I saw heaps of the sights of Belfast everyone was really generous and gave up heaps of their time to show me around. At first I stayed with my cousin Ruth and her husband Jon, in their beautiful house absolutely loved it. I spent most of the first few days with Ruth and her Mum and Dad and also saw a bit of Ruth’ brothers Ian and David, they weren’t light-years older than me so it was good to be able to talk about similar likes with them and hang out. So funny my cousin Ian who is 25 is so into neighbours had to catch him up with what’s happening at home!

On the first night we went to sixty six, very funny British film at cinemas that are actually just near where my grandparents used to live. Was really tired afterwards so went to sleep in the most gorgeous comfy bed I have slept in it felt like I was in a luxury hotel, especially cos the bed I sleep on in London is quit squeaky so sometimes in the night I wake myself up by rolling over in my sleep!

The next day went to Belfast Town Hall it was one hundred years old, they gave us a tour of the beautiful building made of marble, copper and limestone and took us into the council chambers. I got to sit in the Lord Mayor chair and wear the robes so that was exciting! Afterwards went shopping in the city but not too much ‘cos it was pouring! My jeans were seriously wet up to the knees. Went souvenir shopping too.

The next day went to Ulster Folk Museum it was brilliant they basically took these old houses from like the 1600s and different times and put them in this place and you can go in them and see what conditions were like, they also had things like general stores, churches of course a catholic and protestant one, post office farmhouses and police barracks, it was awful seeing the cell they put prisoners in it had an gap with jus bars and it was freezing then imagine what it would be like in the middle of winter at night. They wouldn’t have had to hold too many trials ‘cos their prisoners would have died of hypothermia before getting to court.

Friday was brilliant drove down the coast rad along the Antrim Coast to see the Giant’s Causeway it was just amazing a really incredible thing to see on the way down to the causeway went on this amazing walk along the top of the cliff. Magnificent, it looked all down on farm land, so green!

Friday went to stay with My Nanna’s cousin Muriel she put on a big family dinner with her kids and grandkids and other relatives, was so good to meet them it’s pretty amazing to have all this family on the other side of the world. Also got a call from home while I was there so that was great.

On the weekend explored more of Northern Ireland, went to Bangor Carrick Fergus and Belfast Castle, I also had lunch in the oldest pub in Ireland, very exciting!

On Sunday went to the Salvation Army corps that My Granda use to go to, some oldies there still remembered him. One old lady told me she used to fancy him!! Very funny.

Next I stayed with the cousins who were visiting Australia this year, Claire and Paul and their three kids, was really good to see them again and good because I already knew them. They took me to Armagh and a nice café in Markethill where I had a chocolate and orange scone, yum!

The second last day of my trip I got up really early and caught the train to Dublin. I’m really glad I did. Here about it in the Dublin update.

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Photos

City Hall
Belfast city Hall turned 100 this year

Comments

[alison]

Saw it. loved it
Missijng you but loving the updates, gotta go, commissioning calls. Be good!