Blogs from Belfast, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom, Europe - page 26

Just a quick entry as you know Travel Blog collapsed hopefully it wasn't the Belfast Bloggers corrupting the system. The kids have been and gone. We had a great time showing them the sights, touring Alan's childhood neighbourhood and meeting rellies again. Kristelle and Ryan will be back in Australia tomorrow. They've had a great holiday but are looking forward to home. Michelle and Iz are in Amsterdam tonight and will continue around Europe for a bit before China then home. Michelle has managed to rescue her blogs and she should start blogging again soon for those who have been following her travels. I have just posted a few photos this time. Michelle has taken heaps of the family and she's a better photographer then me so once she gets going again you'll be able to ... read more

It is never easy saying goodbye, but as dad says, at least, sometimes, you have the chance. So with a heavy heart, we did the final rounds. Our first stop today was to visit dad’s old stomping ground - the Cregagh Estate. Dad was born at home in The Straight, in a small townhouse-style building. These flats comprise of a small lounge room, kitchen and dining room downstairs, and three bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs. They also have a little corridor on the bottom level that the coal man used to frequent to top up their supplies. Grandma and Grandad stayed at number 53 for more than 30 years, well after dad had flown the nest to Australia at age 17. He shared a room upstairs with his brother David, until he was at least 15. ... read more

After several jam-packed days, it was decided that Thursday would be ‘lazy day’. We all felt like doing different things, so after a sleep in, and no rushing about to get ready, mum and I headed off for a spot of shopping at Bloomfield’s. Dad and Izzy went for a bike ride around the Bangor coastline and Kb and Ryan hit the shops in Bangor. It was great to have a day of doing whatever we liked. That evening, Margaret and Dave came around for some home-cooked spag bol, and a few drinks. It was a really interesting evening, as I had a lot of questions from the day before, about Ireland’s history. The oldies were great at filling in all the blanks, from King Billy to the current day situation. Ireland has a very torrid ... read more

Despite the overcast skies, the 6 of us still decided to stick with our plans and head out into the wilderness for a day of sightseeing. WE crammed into our car like a bunch of sardines (the boys in the very back playing Yahtzee and Connect Four) and made our way towards the Mountains of Mourne. You can see the mountains from quite a ways away, and we decided to stop and have a quick snack in Newcastle, and then headed into Silent Valley - which houses a reservoir that feeds the city of Belfast. It is as big as our own Snowy Mountain Hydro System. Mum says it’s called Silent Valley because once you’re in the valley, you can’t hear a thing - not a bird, or a car - nothing. It was lovely driving ... read more

Finally, Iz and I have managed to find some time on this crazy tour to get our blog site back up and running. We have actually been writing blogs every day since the site crashed, but haven't had a chance to post them...thank goodness mum was able to recover all our old blogs...but thanks to everyone else for helping out too!! We REALLY appreciate it. This site has become our journal, as well as yours, for all our travels, and I'm so glad we still have everything we wrote over the past month and a half. Sorry for the influx about to hit your inboxes....we hope you enjoy reading about our time with family in Ireland (Bangor Blog was our last blog before the crash, which is why I had to date this one the 31st ... read more