Who doesn't like a lastminute trip!
Back from Northern Ireland (Belfast/Carrickfergus)! I will try and upload some pictures in the next few days, but I have some TEFL work I need to get cracking on first as that's getting time critical.
The new highway made the trip so easy and fast. It took us about four hours to get from Waterford to Carrickfergus, just the other side of Belfast. (A map.) We checked in to the hotel at about 1.30, and then walked around Carrickfergus for a little while. It's really tiny though, and it felt hollow - there was hardly anyone around and half the buildings we passed were boarded up - so we decided to hop on the train to Belfast and spend the rest of the afternoon/evening there.
Belfast is beautiful. Really gorgeous. It also felt a little echoey though! But it turns out there was a big festival or something going on in Bangor, which could explain some of it. We popped into HMV so mum could buy the two CDs she's been looking for, and then we walked around for a little while and went into a number of clothing shops before they all started closing for the evening. I managed to get two nice cardies in H&M, which is fantastic as the shopping down here is terrible and I'd been looking for some for ages.
Eventually the shops closed, so we wandered around taking photographs until we felt like dinner. The Town Hall in Belfast is wonderful. The gate guard saw us ogling through the bars and let us in to the courtyard for a look around. I got a couple of pictures, but there were security cameras everywhere so I felt a little... scrutinised, and didn't want to get snaphappy. Haha.
The sushi place we wanted to go to for dinner was a bit far for us to walk, so we picked a seafood restaurant instead (Mournes Seafood Bar) and what a find it was! We waltzed in without a reservation at about 6pm, and they let us have a table with the understanding that they needed it back at eight as it was reserved. At first we thought he'd said we'd have to wait until 8 to get a table! So that was no problem. I assured him that we'd be well able to eat and leave in under two hours. :P We had an amazingly delicious dinner! Grilled seabass, with saffron potatoes, and steamed veggies in a light broth. It was a very light, but filling meal. Perfect for summer!
On Sunday we went to the zoo, which is right up on the top of a hill. The place is wonderfully landscaped, and has great views. It drizzled on us a bit, but it never got really cold or wet; mum pulled the hood of her jacket up and I had a mini fold-up umbrella that served well enough. I love animals, so I was pretty damn happy to be there, rain or no rain. The maned wolves, anteater, and tapirs didn't show their faces, but we did get to see a couple of fossas, which was great! And in the walk-in aviary there were lots of gorgeous birds, but also bats! I love bats! I got one or two nice pictures of them. So cute!
There were also two sloths in the aviary. One stayed high up, curled asleep on the beams of the roof, but the other was scuttling around right beside the walkway, close enough to touch! There were signs up saying not to because they bite, so I didn't, but I did see a couple of people sneak in a quick little brush of fingertips to fur. I don't know where people got the idea that sloths were slow... I should have filmed him for a minute or two, but alas, I only have pictures. :( I did take a video of one of the birds calling, but unfortunately the sound was so low it didn't really come through when recorded.
The zoo didn't take as long as we thought it would, so we decided to take a coastal drive and enjoy the scenery. And what scenery! It is so beautiful up there. My mother's grandmother came from this area (County Antrim) of Northern Ireland, and my mum used to holiday here with her family, so it was a bit special for her, even though she didn't recognise much in specific. We drove to Islandmagee where her grandmother was born, but apparently we didn't go far enough to get to the right place. and it was getting late, so we headed back to Carrickfergus.
The trip back was almost a disaster. The GPS turned us down a small road parallel to the coast, which was a tight squeeze because we were in the van, but doable. But then the road narrowed even more and took a sharp left-hand turn. And by "narrowed more" I mean it was barely 2m wide, and by "sharp turn" I mean right angled bend, a.k.a.: not a chance in hell. We had to reverse uphill all the way back out to the main road. Phew!
Yesterday we came back down to Waterford via a shopping complex on the outskirts of Belfast called Abbeycentre. Closest thing to a mall I've seen in years. Mum and I were both looking for day dresses for the summer, and I saw some amazing ones - I could have easily come home with half a dozen! But we decided not to buy anything there because there was an an Outlet an hour away on the way home that had lots of stores selling end of lines, last season's stock, etc, at discounted prices. We should have bought the dresses at Abbeycentre... haha. The Outlet was pretty new, I think, so it was half empty. No dresses at all! We were so disappointed.
So we left after about half an hour and came home. Er, via the T.K. Maxx on the outskirts of Waterford. Where I found two dresses. lol. It was a great weekend anyway, and I got what I wanted, even though it didn't come from WHERE I wanted. ;P
But yeah, pics later! Hope you all had a good weekend.
The new highway made the trip so easy and fast. It took us about four hours to get from Waterford to Carrickfergus, just the other side of Belfast. (A map.) We checked in to the hotel at about 1.30, and then walked around Carrickfergus for a little while. It's really tiny though, and it felt hollow - there was hardly anyone around and half the buildings we passed were boarded up - so we decided to hop on the train to Belfast and spend the rest of the afternoon/evening there.
Belfast is beautiful. Really gorgeous. It also felt a little echoey though! But it turns out there was a big festival or something going on in Bangor, which could explain some of it. We popped into HMV so mum could buy the two CDs she's been looking for, and then we walked around for a little while and went into a number of clothing shops before they all started closing for the evening. I managed to get two nice cardies in H&M, which is fantastic as the shopping down here is terrible and I'd been looking for some for ages.
Eventually the shops closed, so we wandered around taking photographs until we felt like dinner. The Town Hall in Belfast is wonderful. The gate guard saw us ogling through the bars and let us in to the courtyard for a look around. I got a couple of pictures, but there were security cameras everywhere so I felt a little... scrutinised, and didn't want to get snaphappy. Haha.
The sushi place we wanted to go to for dinner was a bit far for us to walk, so we picked a seafood restaurant instead (Mournes Seafood Bar) and what a find it was! We waltzed in without a reservation at about 6pm, and they let us have a table with the understanding that they needed it back at eight as it was reserved. At first we thought he'd said we'd have to wait until 8 to get a table! So that was no problem. I assured him that we'd be well able to eat and leave in under two hours. :P We had an amazingly delicious dinner! Grilled seabass, with saffron potatoes, and steamed veggies in a light broth. It was a very light, but filling meal. Perfect for summer!
On Sunday we went to the zoo, which is right up on the top of a hill. The place is wonderfully landscaped, and has great views. It drizzled on us a bit, but it never got really cold or wet; mum pulled the hood of her jacket up and I had a mini fold-up umbrella that served well enough. I love animals, so I was pretty damn happy to be there, rain or no rain. The maned wolves, anteater, and tapirs didn't show their faces, but we did get to see a couple of fossas, which was great! And in the walk-in aviary there were lots of gorgeous birds, but also bats! I love bats! I got one or two nice pictures of them. So cute!
There were also two sloths in the aviary. One stayed high up, curled asleep on the beams of the roof, but the other was scuttling around right beside the walkway, close enough to touch! There were signs up saying not to because they bite, so I didn't, but I did see a couple of people sneak in a quick little brush of fingertips to fur. I don't know where people got the idea that sloths were slow... I should have filmed him for a minute or two, but alas, I only have pictures. :( I did take a video of one of the birds calling, but unfortunately the sound was so low it didn't really come through when recorded.
The zoo didn't take as long as we thought it would, so we decided to take a coastal drive and enjoy the scenery. And what scenery! It is so beautiful up there. My mother's grandmother came from this area (County Antrim) of Northern Ireland, and my mum used to holiday here with her family, so it was a bit special for her, even though she didn't recognise much in specific. We drove to Islandmagee where her grandmother was born, but apparently we didn't go far enough to get to the right place. and it was getting late, so we headed back to Carrickfergus.
The trip back was almost a disaster. The GPS turned us down a small road parallel to the coast, which was a tight squeeze because we were in the van, but doable. But then the road narrowed even more and took a sharp left-hand turn. And by "narrowed more" I mean it was barely 2m wide, and by "sharp turn" I mean right angled bend, a.k.a.: not a chance in hell. We had to reverse uphill all the way back out to the main road. Phew!
Yesterday we came back down to Waterford via a shopping complex on the outskirts of Belfast called Abbeycentre. Closest thing to a mall I've seen in years. Mum and I were both looking for day dresses for the summer, and I saw some amazing ones - I could have easily come home with half a dozen! But we decided not to buy anything there because there was an an Outlet an hour away on the way home that had lots of stores selling end of lines, last season's stock, etc, at discounted prices. We should have bought the dresses at Abbeycentre... haha. The Outlet was pretty new, I think, so it was half empty. No dresses at all! We were so disappointed.
So we left after about half an hour and came home. Er, via the T.K. Maxx on the outskirts of Waterford. Where I found two dresses. lol. It was a great weekend anyway, and I got what I wanted, even though it didn't come from WHERE I wanted. ;P
But yeah, pics later! Hope you all had a good weekend.