Wow wee, Belfast was ace. That would be the tag line to this really. I had never really wanted to go to Belfast, or Northern Ireland in general, and I apologise. This was mainly to do with the history, and the Troubles, and what I considered a negative vibe, but I was completely wrong about it now, and would love to go back.
Rain
We arrived, and it was raining and miserable, and it was perfect. It added to the what I imagined Belfast to be like. It was like Wales, but greyer. This was just in the airport mind.
Quarter
We got a bus from there into city centre to get to the hotel. This was a Premier Inn in the Cathedral Quarter. Cheap enough, not an AirBnB! Not sure how many quarters there are in Belfast. 3 maybe? I know there is a Titanic Quarter, and a Linen Quarter. Oh wow, just Googled it – there’s 7 quarters! Not gonna name them, some sound well boring. Sorry Gaeltacht Quarter.
City Hall
Had a walk. Went past City Hall, which is a lovely building. Built in 1906. Not sure who that helps at this point. Maybe if there’s a pub quiz about buildings and that? You’re welcome future quiz winner. One of my favourite quiz names is Quiztina Aguliera. Or Quiz Akabusi. Clever.
We then had a traditional dinner, in a place called TGI Fridays in a shopping centre.
Massive Fish
After that, we found a massive fish. Apparently, it’s a salmon, not that I would have known. Got pics of history and that on it. Another quiz answer for you coming up. The fish is right next to the river that goes through Belfast. It’s almost at the sea, or the mouth, but it’s the River Lagan. I would not have got that in a quiz, so 10 points to you if you knew it.
Over the bridge we went for a little walk. Then went back. Ok, full disclosure – we thought we’d booked the hotel over by the Titanic Museum, but didn’t. We then went back to the actual hotel and sat down. Next, we went to prison.
Crumlin Road Gaol is brilliant. Booked a tour and went around with a chap called Roy. Stan was obsessed with Roy for some reason. Had a wander round, learnt about criminals and that. Went underground, on the way to the court house over the road. Really cool place.
Titanic
Next day, we went to the Titanic Museum. Luckily, we knew the way!! Weather was still miserable. The Titanic place was really cool, but not really enjoyable with 2 young kids as not able to look and read everything or appreciate it all. Saw some cool things though and would defo go back. Kids had an activity sheet thing to do on the way round. Shop was cool, but pricey obvs.
Over the road, there’s the Titanic tender ship. This was the smaller ship that ferried passengers and mail to and from the Titanic. Most of it is original stuff, so the passengers on the Titanic walked along the same boards we walked on. It’s the ugly sister of the two to be fair. Ugly, much smaller sister. Nice inside though. Had a wander round for an hour, dressed up for fun. Nice.
The Dock
One of my favourite things in Belfast happened after the sister ship. Oh, that was called SS Nomadic by the way. So, the cool thing was a community café thing called The Dock Café. It’s a really nice place where you can have tea and soup and a cake and pay whatever you want. It’s a space for everyone and anyone. Volunteers run it, homeless, vicars, florists, whoever. There were businessmen in there next to tables of backpackers. I felt so happy in there, and the kids ate a load of soup! Plus, it was free, as I wasn’t gonna give any money to them! Ha lols just kidding., probs gave twice as much as it should have cost. On to ta winner that place! Highly recommend going there though.
W5
Next door is the SSE Arena place, ice hockey, gigs and that, and in the same place is a kid’s science and technology fun place. Spent a couple of hours in here, till it closed. Love these places. Kids had fun. I had fun. It was called W5. Not sure why. Walked back over the bridge, said hello to the fish, then went for a Yo Sushi, another traditional Northern Irish dish.
Another cool thing about Belfast is the street art. Loads of graffiti and that around. One thing we didn’t do was see all the ‘troubles’ places. There is a taxi tour company that does it but didn’t think it would have been good for the kids.
All in all, really enjoyed Belfast. More so than Dublin. Will defo go back some time. Cheap to get to, loads to do, and a nice place!