Gill, Christi and I are still together, and we decided to take a trip up to Belfast to visit Gill's cousin Nikola. Getting up early was never our favorite activity, but at 9:15 we sleepily boarded the bus and were on our way. The bus dropped us off in the center of the city and right next to a stop for the open-top bus tours so we hopped on that for a bit of sightseeing. Wow, there's a whole lot that happened in Belfast that I was unaware of until the tour. Of course I knew about the Titanic being built there, but I didn't know it was the birthplace of CS Lewis, or that Van Morrison was in a band there. We also got to see a lot of the key places from the whole car bombings and such, including some great politically charged murals. I suppose the bullet holes in a school that could still be seen clearly from the road were the most poignant for me... imagining gun shots ringing out and not feeling safe even in your own school. But Belfast itself seems far past those events now, so we got off the tour and headed to meet up with Nikola and her boyfriend Matt. Once together we went to the cinema to watch a film (they pronounce it "fil-lem", two syllables) and eat popcorn and Malteasers mixed up together, a Belfast delicacy apparently. We watched Austrailia which I thought was quite good considering I was close to tears at least four times. I blame it on the adorable little boy with his big puppy-dog eyes. It actually got me really excited about going to Australia on my way to New Zealand and I'm so glad I added that bit onto my trip. I'd love to learn more about Aboriginals and their customs, they seem fascinating!


Stuffed with popcorn and chocolate, we walked back to Nikola's flat stopping at a Tesco's on the way to buy some cheap wine. Her flatmates were really nice and welcming and all set to make a night out of it. It took us so long to actually leave the flat because we were enjoying just sitting around and drinking so much. I love when good conversation just keeps flowing amongst new acquaintances. There really isn't anything better! We eventually got out to the bar for a few pints and some snooker pool at a place with good atmosphere and good numbers for a Monday night.

The visitors: Gill, Christi and I

Bars close so early though! It wasn't long before we were kicked out and in search of late night snacks. Thankfully fish and chip shops are plentiful at these hours and I got to munch on battered sausages and chips while discussing Doctor Who with Jamie, who in fact has facial expressions that are very similar to David Tennant's, on our walk back to the flat. The night was concluded with a rousing sing-a-long directed by Connor, Matt's roommate, heavy on the Beatles and Incubus and other songs that sound great when you belt them out while drinking--but probably only to you.

I asked Jamie to do his best Doctor Who impression and I think he did a good job
(You can click on the picture to make it bigger)

Today we just woke up and went straight to lunch and vintage 2nd hand store shopping. I didn't buy anything--even though I wanted everything--but I did try on a hilarious dress with poofy sleeves. Once it was on I actually started to like it quite a bit more so I kind of wish I hadn't pulled it off the rack, but at least you can be amused by this silly picture.