Belfast weekend (3)

Sunday was the day of the Graham Parker concert - the reason we had come to Belfast in the first place - but, first of all, we decided to do something a little healthier today - and also get away from walking on concrete, which causes pain in my knees.

So, Belfast Castle and Cave Hill Country Park it was then. We caught a bus along the Antrim Road and walked up from there to the castle. Here's Jo on the steps at the back of the castle:

Nice gardens too:

Above the castle sits the impressive rock of Cave Hill - reminded me a bit of Arthur's Seat. We had to climb up there - and, despite repeated objections from Jo, and my dodgy limbs - and heart - we made it to the top without too much difficulty.

Nice views on the way up - we could see Scotland and we watched the ferry arriving:

It's not called Cave Hill for nothing:

We could clearly see the animals in Belfast Zoo below us, but the summit was getting nearer and we ploughed on to take the obligatory photos at the top:

It was a good healthy walk on a very nice day. Now we were ready for the main event. First of all, however, dinner. Where to eat? Jo suggested:

 - and what a good idea this was - we both had local sausages - very nice. It was just a short walk round to the Limelight and we strolled round after dinner to pick up our tickets, only to find the doors closed. Others were starting to gather so we stayed in the queue trying to make sure that we would be amongst the first to get in and grab a couple of the very few available seats - and we got them, thank goodness. I don't think either of us could have stood all night after our walk earlier on.

The concert was excellent - more details of this on my music blog at http://banchoryheadbangers.blogspot.co.uk/. There's also more details of our hill walk at http://bvhill-walkers.blogspot.co.uk/ and some beery stuff at http://iansaleadventures.blogspot.co.uk/

Belfast weekend (2)

We initially had lots of plans of things to do and places to see - Crumlin Gaol, Stormont etc - but soon realised that logistics were against us, but we were determined not to miss out on the new Titanic exhibition, so we walked down to the river on Saturday morning and across to the iconic building that houses the (permanent) exhibition:

We did, however, make a quick pit stop on the way, and popped in to St. George's Market, a vibrant place that used to house the Belfast Fish Market, but now has a huge variety of stalls, with food and entertainment too:

The sound of Belfast is still one of Police and Ambulance sirens, with the fairly frequent whirring of helicopters overhead. There are visual signs too, with many of the premises heavily barbed wired. On our way to the Titanic exhibition, the most obviously heavily guarded was this one:

These are the Royal Courts of Justice.

Some other sights on the way to the Titanic Quarter:

Not quite sure why Chaplin features here?

The Nomadic was a tender boat for the Titanic, but it's a separate exhibition and it seems everyone bypasses it now, although it's the last surviving vessel of the ill-fated White Star Line.

After a quick cup of coffee, we bought our tickets for the Titanic exhibition and were told it would take approximately one and a half hours to go round it. Secretly we both thought no way - we'll be out of here well before that. Blow me, over three hours later we emerged - it was engrossing. One of the final parts was a film of the wreckage (which was finally discovered in 1985). The clarity of the film, right down at the bottom of the ocean, was stunning - and moving. Personal items, like shoes, were clearly visible.

Back at the hotel, we had tea and scones in the lovely lounge on the first floor, sitting at the window overlooking Great Victoria St.:

We had a couple of beers and a wander in the evening before we could get a table at the very busy Deane's Deli Bistro (http://www.michaeldeane.co.uk/deanes-deli-bistro/) where we had a couple of lovely steaks. Would definitely go back if ever we were in town again.

Saturday done. Sunday to follow.

Belfast weekend

Before telling you about our weekend away, I'll start where I finished my last blog posting. Jo's tests at the hospital at Stonehaven on Thursday went very well - and she "passed" with flying colours. They now reckon there's nothing wrong with her heart and she can even come off some of the medication she has been taking since they diagnosed angina a couple of years ago. Result.

So what has been causing the chest pains then? Stress probably - and I think Kelly gets the blame for the most recent episodes!

So it was off to the airport on Friday morning for our short flight across the Irish Sea. We landed at George Best Belfast City Airport which is only a short distance from the city centre. Here's the general layout of the area:

The Lough, of course, goes out to the Irish Sea. The City Centre itself looks like this:

Our hotel was the Europa Hotel, right next to the Bus Centre and the train station (on the left above). It has the reputation of being the most bombed hotel in Europe/the world, having suffered 28 bomb attacks during "The Troubles". Despite this, it has hosted Presidents, Prime Ministers and celebrities by the score - most notably Bill Clinton who gave a stirring speech in support of the peace process at nearby City Hall in 1995. There's even a plaque in the hotel commemorating his visit:

Everywhere was just a short walk away for us - right across the street is the famous Crown Bar, which is a Grade A listed building, restored to its original Victorian splendour - at great cost - by the National Trust. Our room at the Europa wasn't ready yet, so we thought we would have a swift pint in the Crown. The place was mobbed - as it was on every other occasion we tried in vain to get in to one of the dinky cubicles (complete with doors) in the bar.

Our next stop was for a bite of lunch at the cafe in the grand City Hall, after which we wandered on and stumbled across a free Taste of N. Ireland exhibition:

Lots of goodies on offer here - what an unexpected treat. We headed down towards the river - it was getting pretty warm by now. This was what we found:

Back to our hotel - time to check in. We didn't spend long there as we had found out it was the once a year Culture Night that evening, when over 250 acts would be playing for free in the streets and pubs round the Cathedral area - music, dance, poetry, marching, even BMX style biking.

On the way there, we stopped outside the City Hall for a photo opportunity:

The Spirit of Belfast next:

We also looked in to the strangely shaped Bittles Bar:

There were a lot of what initially looked like quite scary sectarian posters and paintings on the walls inside, but on closer examination, it was all quite neutral - Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness together in harmony, for instance. Nonetheless, we moved on, anxious to get to the heart of the cultural action - and it wasn't hard to find. Busy, busy, busy, but a really nice atmosphere. We enjoyed  a group of Belfast hillbillies, who played rock music with folk instruments, wearing Confederate hats.

We actually queued to get in to one of the pubs - The John Hewitt (a Belfast poet, not the Aberdeen footballer), where some of the "customers" would suddenly and apparently spontaneously, burst in to excerpts from your favourite operas. Great fun.

It was getting late and we still hadn't eaten. What to do? The only answer is:

Very good it was too - and table service.

Enough of day one - Saturday and Sunday posts to follow.