Words From the Wise

Today we ventured out of Belfast and in to Dublin for St. Paddy’s Day! It was a very long day. Our train left Belfast at 6:50 am. Let’s just say I fell asleep as soon as I sat down on the train. So we’ll just move to…the arrival in Dublin’ yay! We seriously had no game plan. And a game plan is crucial with this bunch. After walking around, we decided to get a good “seat” for the parade. So 2 hour before the parade starts, we find our spot and stand. And wait. And get annoyed with people around us. Apparently the European thing to do is show up 30 minutes before the parade and shove your kids to the very front so they can see. Then they say “excuse me, can you move so the children can see?” this did not settle so well with the Americans. We had been standing there for 2 hours so we deserved our spot. And I don’t want kids kicking me, stepping on my feet, and smacking me in the face with their flag. It happened. And then I got the pleasure of having some short woman behind ...

I’m gonna make this post quick. Today was our last full day in Belfast (tomorrow we are heading to Dublin). We decided not to have much planned for the day. I thnk this is where it’s important to add in we started with a rainy day. The Bot We started our morning eating breakfast. Breakfast consisted of soda bread, potato bread, bacon, egg, sausage and baked beans. Yep. That’s a traditional breakfast here! We then head to St. George’s market for one last look and come up short. We venture over to city center to walk around and then head to the BBC building. This was our surprise from Hailey. We got to sit it on the taping of a small show. It was pretty interesting. After the show, we decide it’s time to head back for lunch (and yes it’s still raining). Hailey decided she wanted Chinese but mom and I wanted fish and chips. So we drop Hailey off and head the The Bot for fish and chips. Now first I must say that the name The Bot reminds me of The Dot and therefore Degrass...

Well I guess I knew the day would come when I wouldn’t have much exciting things to say about our day in Belfast. We met up with Jackie and her son Daniel (these are the people I talked about in my other blogs who are from America and live here now). They took us to Hillsborough. I guess this is where anyone of status (like the US President or the Queen) would come to stay if they were visiting N. Ireland. This little town was very quaint, green and quiet. It was cute. We just walked around the town and chatted about things. We stopped in to a cute little store and then in a bakery, where I ordered a shortbread biscuit. I don’t know why, but the shortbread biscuits here are soooooo yummy! Then we venture down the street in to another cute little store. Mom was having me look at some jewelry and I was saying things like “aw, how cute.” and “I love that!” and “how adorable?!” Then the cashier looks and me and says, “I could just sit and listen to your accent all day. I just...

I managed to sleep in this morning, after a night of tossing and turning. You see, it all started when my friend that is staying in my apartment while I'm away sent me a message and said her key wasn't working. Longggg story short, I emailed the complex to let her in my apartment so she could check on things. So I hadn't heard anything when I went to bed that night and all I could think about is why didn't the key work. And then I started worrying about when I got back. I got an email today saying they would let her in. She sent me a message that our friend was telling her the wrong apartment number this entire time...whew. sigh of relief...ok back to my day. So after the stressful night, I slept until 9:30. I took my time getting ready and then mom and I decided to walk around Queens University. We walked around the botanic garden (which was beautiful!!) and then ventured in to the library. You see, there is something very special in this library. One t...

I think I'm starting to adjust to the time a wee bit more. I'm still finding that lunch is the hardest. Dinner, however, is easy! Enough about jet lag and adjusting to time! On to about my day! (which I am sure you equally care about) Morning started out a little rough. Told mom to wake me up at 8:45...she comes in at 9:25. Now usually I wouldn't complain on catching a few more z's, but when you have to catch a bus at 10 and you have to shower and dry your thick, long hair it's nearly impossible to to get ready in that amount of time. So needless to say the hair wasn't as dry as I would have liked. We hopped on the bus and got to our double decker tour bus. We sat outside. Which was freezing. And my hair was wet, making it worse. The bus tour was pretty great though. We learned all about the history in Ireland,mass where the Titanic was built, and learned some interesting facts. Once the tour was over, we had about 2 hours to kill so I FINALLY g...

I am exhausted. Mom and I spent the day on a bus tour. And by spending a day, I mean from 9:30am to 7pm. It was pretty sweet though. The bus arrived at our flat and we hopped on. Right away I notice these 3 obnixious college girls from the States. I was already tired so they fueled the fire to my crankiness. We pick up a a few more groups: an elderly couple from Scotland, a quiet couple from England, a duo from Iowa and a family of 6 from Canada. (this is where I should add that the family of 6 had 4 children all under the age of 5...yeahhhh) Our tour guide /bus driver is a loud middle aged Scotsman. Now I'm gonna jot down some places we went with minor details and while they may not seem exciting on the blog, they were great to see in person! Let's keep in mind that we made a lot of stops...and with the exhaustion, hungry and terrible memory I have I can't remember every one. So we'll just hit the biggest stops Stop 1: Carrickfergus castle. It's a 1...

Well clearly you know I made it to Belfast safely. So we'll fast forward to our arrival! We get through the airport in a breeze, but we have to find the bus to take us to the city center. Sounds easy, right? Ha, you thought I was going to say "well it wasn't easy" but that's where you're wrong. It was easy! Mom and I hop on the bus and between my exhaustion and mad hunger, I manage to open my eyes and look out my window. Ok, ok. I know many people have talked about how green Ireland is...but you don't realize how green it is until you experience for yourself. I mean it's fresh, luscious green. (and for those that are wondering, we did see lots of sheep!)  Fast forward, we arrive at the city center. Next task, call Anne (the lady we're renting the flat from) and let her know we've arrived. Here's where our first adventure comes in: the pay phone. Let's just say after leaving half of a voicemail and finally reach Anne's...