A Big Belfast Weekend

For our final weekend in Belfast we did a lot of things! First up was seeing The Prodigy. I’ll be honest, I’m not usually one for going to shows like this where there’s a lot of standing around, queues for everything and apocalyptic toilet situations. However Luke was keen to go and it was a show that would be over by 11pm – a big draw for most over 40s and particularly for me, who is almost 50.

The forecast was for some rain so we (Luke, Peter, Ciara (Peter’s sister), Ash, Danny and I) took brightly coloured ponchos in little plastic balls but I also decided to take my proper raincoat. It’s such a hard decision, whether to take a coat to an event. If it doesn’t rain I’ll have to hold it all night, but if it rains and I get wet through I’ll be miserable and cold. I did wear it all evening through some light showers so I was glad I’d taken it.

I’ve always liked The Prodigy, even though almost all their music is quite angry, punk-electronic shouty kind of stuff that I wouldn’t normally listen to. Prior to the show I thought I’d only recognise two or three songs. I ended up knowing almost all of them and the ones I didn’t know I really liked. We stood fairly far back from the stage but everyone around us was dancing and having a great time.

Adding to the enjoyment of the evening, Danny had booked taxis to take us there and then pick us up outside, so the whole thing was very seamless and smooth. Normally getting home from big events is stressful with the crowds and transport but it was all so easy.

We ended up staying up until the small hours, talking and cuddling Freddie. A brilliant evening all round!

The next day (Saturday) we did absolutely nothing but sit around watching TV and chatting, as one does after a big night out. On Sunday Danny drove Peter, Luke and I to Mount Stewart, a manor house with extensive gardens.

There was a car show out the front with some very cute and stylish old vehicles. Luke and I paid for entry to the house and the ground floor was open.

After learning so much about Irish history on this trip, it’s hard for me to enjoy places like this in an uncomplicated way. Yes, I love the architecture and find things interesting, but the people who entertained their highbrow friends here so they could ‘get away from it all and relax’ in a 22 bedroom, 24,000 acre estate, were doing it while catholic families only miles away were living in squalor because the government, that these people were part of, treated them like second class citizens. Not all that different from Australian history, I guess – almost all the beautiful old buildings in Melbourne were funded by gold that was gained from the destruction of native lands and removal of indigenous people.

Still, I did like the scope of their lounge room. It managed to be enormous and yet cosy and it was interesting to think about the points made in Watching the English, the book I’ve been reading throughout my trip. The author says that at the very top and bottom of the British class ladder, people will have mismatched and old furniture. The poor aspire to matching lounge suites but the rich inherit antiques and don’t want their furniture to match, for fear of looking like new money or middle class. Very few pieces matched in this room so these people must’ve been very rich!

Luke liked these lettuce-shaped dishes where the handles were formed by the curl of the leaves.

The gardens were slightly derelict but had quite a Secret Garden feel. There was a walled rose garden with some lovely specimens.

Beautiful. Also I’m so glad I got a new phone before I left, how lovely is the soft focus!

We had a shower then sun for five minute intervals and on our 30 minute walk I think I took off my jacket then put it back on at least ten times.

I’ll only show you the sunny photos though, to give the impression we had perfect weather.

Cygnets!

The landscapes park had lots of different types of landscapes and copses of different types of trees.

After a drink at a seaside inn we dropped Freddie off home. We then headed to a venue that was usually quiet on a Sunday afternoon so we could try Belfast’s famous LASA spice bag (famous because Lizzo had recently taken to social media to complain about missing out on trying one as they were closed after her show).

However things were not as we had anticipated – a DJ was playing extremely loud music indoors and LASA, one of the food trucks lining the walls, was giving away free servings of their spice bags. Unfortunately whoever was making them had doused them in chilli flakes so we left it unfinished and moved outside.

I wish I could post a video, it was quite deafening for mid afternoon on a Sunday. There were family groups sitting around looking a bit shell shocked.

Apparently it wasn’t their normal fare – as you can see, pretty plain.

Peter got us all some slices of excellent NY-style pizza, which were much more satisfying.

The whole time we were outside there was a man with a dog and the dog was standing either on the table or trying to get to our table to get our food. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a public eating place that allows dogs on tables.

A bright rainbow came out over the rooftops.

We spent the rest of the evening at different bars. Being a Sunday, it wasn’t too busy.

This pub had live music and way too many things that required dusting.

So many flowers decorating the pubs and bars.

‘Baby Guinness’ – Tia Maria with Baileys

But all good things must come to an end, and on Monday morning Danny drove Luke and I to the airport.

Goodbye Belfast!

If one picture encapsulates our meteorological experience it’s this one.

Danny and I made vague plans to do another walking trip, possibly around The Ulster Way, which is in Northern Ireland. That might be something we do next time, who knows?

26Jun2023

Belfast: Day 4: Game of Thrones Studio Tour

by Miss Penny Black

One of the few things we booked before arriving in Belfast was the GoT studio tour.

We caught PT into the city for breakfast first, then jumped onboard the shuttle bus with one other couple… which seemed weird. Was the place going to be almost empty?

The bus ride was about half an hour.

The weather started out fine. Things took a turn for the worse while we were inside.

At the entry there was no sign of life until we spotted a tiny group of people at the door.

We were inside very quickly and it was set up a lot like the Harry Potter studio tour. If you haven’t done it then that description won’t help you!

Basically the entry was a cafe and the gift shop. You go into an antechamber in groups for a quick talk and some footage from the show before going into the displays. It was quite good to be reminded of the main characters and scenes.

The costumes were displayed within the sets. You could get quite close and see the incredible detail.

These are wildling costumes, the people who live in the snow beyond the wall. They have real shells sewn into their clothes.

The costumes were my main area of interest and I think they were probably the best and biggest part of the tour.

The tour also includes a variety of models of sets.

I’d say the place was less than a quarter full which was great for us, we could look at everything immediately. The signs were quite small and the spotlights meant you had to stand right in front of them to read them. Possibly an incentive to pay for the audio guides?

The cafe serves themed cocktails. Red Wedding? I don’t want to remember it, let alone drink it.

They had pictures of the scenes in which the costumes featured next to each piece, which was great, but as Luke observed, they just aren’t as special when they aren’t part of the whole thing. That being said, having done some costume making, I could appreciate the detail and wished I’d been able to see the under layers and fastenings.

These moths are hand made, I remember noticing them on the show as costume decoration.

The scale of some of the props was massive!

I liked the detail in the armoury and the plaques had the story of each significant weapon within the story.

There were several interactive exhibits, including ones where they take your photo and put you in front of a background from the show then try to sell you a print of it. No thanks!

Of course the final room is the eponymous throne, made of a thousand actual swords that were created then moulded into the seat.

Exit through the gift shop! I bought a tea towel, of course.

We waited inside for the bus and it started absolutely bucketing down. We got quite damp just going the few metres to the bus.

We were going to see the GoT tapestry (done in the style of the bayeux tapestry) but the museum was shut, so we caught the glider back to Ballyhackamore at school rush time. We listened to a small boy mock his friends for vaping and telling them how they would get addicted and they denied it. Obviously they hadn’t looked around them, almost all of Belfast vapes constantly.

Luke falls asleep despite the witty banter.

Off the bus we decided to go to a local Thai restaurant and try an Irish delicacy – the spice bag. Not a very glamorous name for a not very glamorous dish.

We ate in so it wasn’t served in a bag or pizza box, but it’s basically a salad of deep fried food. In this case potato, chicken, capsicum, onion and spring onion all coated in a salt, pepper and chilli spice mix and with a massaman dipping sauce.

Apparently this was invented by Irish Chinese restaurants as a snack food. You can get Indian, Thai… I imagine the concept could be applied to any cuisine.

The food was delicious but incredibly salty.

To the pub!

Danny and Peter joined us and so did their friend, Julie-Anne and her one month old baby, who was super cute.

26Jun2023

Salzburg to Belfast

by Miss Penny Black

I honestly think Belfast is one of Europe’s most underrated cities. I know I wouldn’t ever have come here without the lure of a friend, but every time I come there’s new things to do, amazing places to eat, new art to see and more.

This is Luke’s first visit and I’m keen to show him why I like it so much.

Belfast is a much smaller city than Melbourne but has an amazing art and music scene that, in some areas, makes it feel a lot like home.

We’re here for a week and a half and plan to visit Derry, go to the Game of Thrones studio tour and eat a lot of good local food. So goodbye Salzburg, maybe one day we’ll come back when it’s cooler and see more of the city.

We had to catch two flights to get from Salzburg to Belfast and flew with Lufthansa. The first flight was delayed but we had a big gap between the two. We had our break at Frankfurt airport, which is huge. So big the staff ride around on bicycles, which I’ve never seen at an airport before.

Fortunately we went to look for our gate with plenty of time to spare as we had to get between terminals and it was nearly a kilometre of moving walkways through a tunnel.

But it wasn’t long before we got to Belfast.

Danny picked us up, he lives less than 10 minutes from the city airport and we were very pleased the weather was cooler.

After going back to the house to pick up Ash and dropping off our bags it was out for dinner at a local place called Duad that had about five tables and a dj playing – so very Belfast.

Then Danny took us on a short walking tour of the local area. Here’s the local library masquerading as a storage facility.

Danny took us to to C.S. Lewis Square, which had this statue below and others of creatures from his books.

I kind of imagined Aslan a bit more imposing than this.

We finished off the night with visits to a couple of bars.

I stopped taking photos and have no idea what time we got home or went to sleep, but it wasn’t too late. We did watch the clip to Kylie Minogue’s new song, ‘Padam Padam’, as Peter is a huge fan and I’d seen people talking about it on TikTok.

Somehow the woman does seem to have aged since 1990!

3Jun2018

Belfast Bits and Pieces

by Miss Penny Black

Belfast is certainly a different city to the place I visited in 2003. Admittedly the amazing weather and longer time I’ve had to see it have played apart, but it can’t be denied that there is a much more cosmopolitan vibe to the place now.

On our last day of driving around we kept things low key and stuck to Belfast, seeing Danny’s new house and a few tourist attractions, starting with a ‘Melbourne breakfast’. Obviously it was avocado with fancy bits on sourdough but also a smidge of vegemite too. Very nice!

Ulster Museum was on my to-do list after I’d seen it online and it was a great place to get a feel for Northern Ireland’s history, from prehistoric times to the current day.

They used to have dragons!

On the very top floor of the museum is a display dedicated to Ireland’s current #1 tourism drawcard – you guessed it – Game of Thrones.

An enormous tapestry (currently 84 metres and growing) tells the story in the style of the Bayeux Tapestry. Having seen all but the most recent season, it was interesting walking along and picking out the plot points.

The signs warning people not to touch the cloth were also in keeping with the theme.

The Museum also has a partially-unwrapped mummy. Danny said it gave him nightmares as a child. I can’t think why.

The Belfast Botanical Gardens are worth a visit if you like that sort of thing, and if you’re there on a cold day I’d definitely recommend a stroll through the heated Ravine building, which contained tropical plants from around the world.

There’s also a Victorian glasshouse with some very interesting specimens.

We took a stroll around the gardens of the big building (um… parliament? Danny, help!) in the very first photo and also drove up to Belfast Castle. It was built in the Scottish Baronial Style in 1862 by the Marquis of Donegal.

A little bit Hogwarts?

It is always nice to see historical buildings being in regular use and this castle is now a function hall and restaurant. The gardens contain sculptures, topiaries and mosaics of cats. We walked around and found a few after having a drink and a sit in the sun.

A post about the sights of Belfast would be incomplete without some photos of the murals that can still be found in various places around the city. Since my knowledge of NI history is far from complete I won’t comment on the political situation except to say that many of the more violent murals we saw years ago have been replaced but there are still a few giant paintings of men in balaclavas with machine guns in hand.

In the city centre there is plenty of (what I think of as) Melbourne-style street art. Beautiful and quirky images that go well with the new bars and restaurants.

The last bar we had a drink in was The Sunflower. Years ago people had been shot in this bar, hence the gate at the door. Now it’s a gay friendly meeting place with ukulele jam nights.