Day 2: Belfast, kinda.
Well, I could look at today as a day of more mishaps but I’m choosing to say today was more adventurous than I planned. Woke up a little later than I hoped… somehow the snooze button on the alarm morphed into the off button. However, there was a true Irish breakfast (my first) waiting for me in the Hotel Lounge which I thoroughly enjoyed. Except for the black pudding (blood sausage) which I didn’t touch. Instead I feasted on eggs, thick bacon, plump regular sausages, baked beans, tomatoes, mushrooms, fruit, croissant, oj, and a cappuccino. I skipped the waffles. I could have that back home. But then I noticed all the Deli meats and cheeses and thought how considerate they were to let me plan ahead for lunch by making a sandwich to eat later! Technically that was part of the breakfast spread as well but who said I had to play by all the rules? I wrapped that sucker up and ate it on the train to Belfast. Not the train I was supposed to be on that left on time at 9:30am. I missed that by 10 minutes so I caught the next one at 11:20am. No problem, I thought… the Titantic Museum doesn’t close til 6pm and it’s only a 2 hour trip to Belfast. Plenty of time! Wrong! Somewhere around 1pm, we stopped at a station after crossing into Northern Ireland and never got going again. There was a train accident up ahead and we couldn’t proceed. Was that the earlier train I was supposed to be on? I will never know. I don’t know any other details either, but I’m choosing to believe that maybe fate does play a role in our lives sometimes.
Anyway, they got us all off and we had to wait for busses to arrive to take us into Belfast. Very packed and hot with everyone and their luggage. Once at Lanyon Station in Belfast, I had to catch another train to Great Victoria Street Station (not Queen Victoria, mind you. GREAT Victoria. Some Belfastians had a little laugh at my expense for that one. Excuse me! Jaysus Chraist!) At the station I got caught in a swarm of preteen and teenage boys from a nearby Catholic school all dressed up in jackets and ties, acting like your average preteen and teenage boys just out of school for the day, except with loud Irish accents. It was the movies come to life. Actually, this trip has felt like the movies coming to life for me.
Then I needed to take another bus to Belfast International Airport to pick up my rental car. The airport is actually 45 min away from Belfast out in the countryside. Lovely ride, but by the time I got there, there was no way to make it back to the Titantic Museum in time. It also turns out that all the economy, small, cheap rental cars in Ireland are manual transmissions. If you want an automatic, you gotta upgrade, and it’s a pretty penny. With added car insurance (AAA doesn’t cover me internationally), the total turned out to be even more than the campervan would have been! Dayum!
ANYWAY, my B&B for the night was about 45 minutes from the airport. I’m not gonna lie, my first driving experience on the opposite side of the road was a little hairy…SO many roundabouts! But I only got honked at a few times. I was on the verge of tears almost the entire drive but honestly I don’t know if it was the nerves or the fact that everything is just so damn beautiful here. It was kinda hard to keep my eyes on the road. But I made it and found a pub called The Parson's Nose (LOVE the way they name pubs in the U.K.) near my B&B in Royal Hillsborough. It was delightful with a roaring fire in a giant hearth (smelled for real like camping) and 4 older Irish gentleman who asked a lot of questions about this American lass. I returned the favor and got a rundown of the whole Republic of Ireland vs. Northern Ireland debacle. I also enjoyed an amazing red ale called Maggie's Leap and the most delicious brandy cream pepper sauce to accompany my steak.
Not many pics today but I will take a lot tomorrow when I try to squeeze in Titantic Museum, Carrickfergus Castle, Carrick-A-Rede Rope Bridge, The Dark Hedges from Game of Thrones, and Giants Causeway.
Pray/Send good thoughts for me while I’m on road. I need them!
Off to bed…Cheers!
