Ma-Ma-Ma-Belfast: Trip To Northern Ireland
Jun 20, 2016 16:04:52 GMT
Horacewimp, queenofthehours, and 4 more like this
Post by vlogdance on Jun 20, 2016 16:04:52 GMT
I've just come back from spending a few days in Belfast (inspired by our own Helmut83 , who rated the city as one of the best he'd seen on his visit to the UK this year). Here are a few highlights of the visit:
Dining out on the first night. I consulted the Horace Wimp Guide To Eating Out While On Holiday, and made straight for the curry. Nice, too.
Jeff has his own mural in Belfast, even if the painter didn't get his look quite right.
Not Very Big Wheels. And I thought I was bad at parking!
This is just off the Falls Road (Catholic Republican area). Here you see carefree children playing in the streets, and just behind them, 20-foot high peace walls built to stop exchanges of bullets, missiles and petrol bombs between the Republicans who live there and their Protestant neighbours on the other side of the wall.
The Peace Walls, seen from the Shankill Road side. Not sure how Mike Edwards managed to get on there, just to the left of Nelson Mandela.
So many murals, so much fascinating history.
Not all the murals were political, though. Green violin? No, it'll never catch on.
Stunning scenery, you can see why they film Game of Thrones here.
I didn't take this pic - it's from a tourist site. But I did cross the rope bridge, over and back.
And yes, it was a case of Hold On Tight.
Rock area!
On the Giant's Causeway.
So spectacular, I took loads of photos here.
Luckily, I'd studied Horace's and BSJ's work, so I was able to take a selfie with my mobile.
In true ELO forum tradition:
"I turn to stones, then gurn to phone, I turn to stones..."
Nearest I could get to The Whale. Its proper name is The Big Fish, the sculptor has the wonderful name of John Kindness.
At the Titanic museum, you find out all sorts of Fascinating Facts. I hadn't known Belfast was at one point famous for textile production.
All together now: "It's a linen thing..."
(Well, that joke was a hit last time, I thought it deserved a re-release.)
That's it for the highlights. The most memorable part of the visit was walking down the Falls Road (Catholic area) and then going through the big steel gates in the Peace Wall to the Shankill Road (Protestant area). And finding out how warm and friendly everyone was, on both sides. And learning that the gates are locked at night, to stop them attacking each other.
Dining out on the first night. I consulted the Horace Wimp Guide To Eating Out While On Holiday, and made straight for the curry. Nice, too.
Jeff has his own mural in Belfast, even if the painter didn't get his look quite right.
Not Very Big Wheels. And I thought I was bad at parking!
This is just off the Falls Road (Catholic Republican area). Here you see carefree children playing in the streets, and just behind them, 20-foot high peace walls built to stop exchanges of bullets, missiles and petrol bombs between the Republicans who live there and their Protestant neighbours on the other side of the wall.
The Peace Walls, seen from the Shankill Road side. Not sure how Mike Edwards managed to get on there, just to the left of Nelson Mandela.
So many murals, so much fascinating history.
Not all the murals were political, though. Green violin? No, it'll never catch on.
Stunning scenery, you can see why they film Game of Thrones here.
I didn't take this pic - it's from a tourist site. But I did cross the rope bridge, over and back.
And yes, it was a case of Hold On Tight.
Rock area!
On the Giant's Causeway.
So spectacular, I took loads of photos here.
Luckily, I'd studied Horace's and BSJ's work, so I was able to take a selfie with my mobile.
In true ELO forum tradition:
"I turn to stones, then gurn to phone, I turn to stones..."
Nearest I could get to The Whale. Its proper name is The Big Fish, the sculptor has the wonderful name of John Kindness.
At the Titanic museum, you find out all sorts of Fascinating Facts. I hadn't known Belfast was at one point famous for textile production.
All together now: "It's a linen thing..."
(Well, that joke was a hit last time, I thought it deserved a re-release.)
That's it for the highlights. The most memorable part of the visit was walking down the Falls Road (Catholic area) and then going through the big steel gates in the Peace Wall to the Shankill Road (Protestant area). And finding out how warm and friendly everyone was, on both sides. And learning that the gates are locked at night, to stop them attacking each other.