What's funny about their menu is they have a key of symbols for things like gluten free, vegetarian, and perfect hangover cure.
Bellies full, we walked across the street to the Ulster Museum, which is fast becoming one of my favorite museums -- right up there with the Met and MOMA in NYC. There is a poignant installation devoted to the Troubles and they've enlarged some photographs so they are life size, which makes them more personal and visceral.
Timeline of the Troubles
Out of the museum, I needed my picture taken in the cool, metal nautilus outside. Of course I did. Just wait...I got my picture taken in lots of cool places throughout the day.
After weeks of forgetting to mail Vivian's package to her friend Ella, I sent it from the post office and had an extra spring in my step having remembered and I saw this sign outside a coffee shop and laughed and laughed and laughed.
Believe it or not, I've heard one of the best tours in Belfast is of City Hall. People rave about it. And you know what? They're right! It was a fantastic tour and I think I'll do it again because I enjoyed it so much.
There were two hours until the next tour, so we went to Crown Liquor Saloon, which is a National Trust property dating to 1826.
 |
| Exterior |
 |
| the bar |
 |
| the snugs |
interior of a snug
I had a fish finger sandwich and chips with coffee...exactly what you'd expect me to get at a famous bar.
Isn't City Hall beautiful? I was going to use the photos I took, but mine are not nearly as crisp and proportioned as the ones I found via The Great Googly.
The Grand Staircase (aptly named)
Foyer
Central Staircase
2nd floor
looking up at the whispering gallery,
where a person whispering on one side can be heard by a person on the other side
Chambers
And sit in the fancy chair!
James agreed to let me take video of him walking down the fancy stairs.
This is Jessica from California who is in Northern Ireland only a couple days, but she is f-u-n, FUN! I had a great time with her on the tour and loved that she was as excited about everything as I was. I mean, come on, we met The Lord Mayor of Belfast! He just happened to be walking by and talked to our tour group the day before a historic election.
As I was chatting with Jessica after the tour, we saw a lovely bride and groom getting their pictures taken on the stairs so I thought you'd like to see a brand new married couple:
Later, I got a newsletter emailed from Viv's school and a picture of her class in gas masks at Castle Ward was included. I figure it's okay to post here since you can't see their faces behind their awesome, homemade gas masks.
At school, Vivian had a great day: she had PE, got to have a blanket for snuggly reading (silent, sustained reading), read another entire book about Horrid Henry, got mail from Grandma and Cousin Susie, got all her homework done at after hours, and I told her the news that Mr. Sebelin, the principal at Mahoning Elementary in Pennsylvania wants to set up a Skype session with the girls in P4 and I talked with Mrs Hrabovsky, Head of Victoria College Preparatory School, and she is eager to collaborate. Vivian, as you can imagine, is thrilled! Granted, her first response was, "so kids in two countries will get out of learning for a little bit!"
And Gareth, my office mate, just told me about the specials RyanAir is having from Belfast International:
Gdansk, Poland£ 9.99One way
Berlin Schönefeld, Germany£ 12.98One way
Barcelona Girona, Spain£ 12.99One way
London Gatwick, United Kingdom£ 12.99One way
Milan Bergamo, Italy£ 12.99One way
Warsaw Modlin, Poland£ 12.99One way
Wroclaw, Poland£ 12.99One way
Krakow, Poland£ 19.99One way
Malaga, Spain£ 19.99One way
Alicante, Spain£ 21.99One way
Lanzarote, Spain£ 24.99One way
Tenerife South, Spain£ 24.99One way
Faro, Portugal£ 32.99One way
As soon as the fluid in Viv's ears dries up, we are heading out for weekend jaunts!
No comments:
Post a Comment