day #1 in northern ireland
so you guys must be wondering where the heck i've been lately, right? well, the truth is that i've been so busy living life that the blog took a bit of a back burner. that's ok, isn't it? oh sure it is!
tonight, i thought to myself, i haven't written a blog post in a LONG time. so i decided to check it out....and well, i haven't posted one thing for the month of june. so, i decided that now was as good a time as any to tell you about my trip to belfast!
nolan works for liberty mutual....you know the insurance people. they have offices in belfast northern ireland. of course they do! and he does a lot of work with the "belfast guys." one afternoon he tells me that he thinks he's going to have to go to belfast for work soon. well, after hearing that, i headed straight into our bedroom to start packing my bags. belfast, here i come!!!
nolan was in belfast for almost a week before i got there. my parents came over to stay with my girls. a friend came over to pick me up for the airport and after giving my girls a kiss and hug, i was off on my little adventure.
i flew from indy to washington dc and from dc to dublin. i sat next to an elderly couple that didn't talk to me and took up more than their fair share of space. whatever, i was on an adventure. after flying all night and sleeping off an on, i finally raise my window shade and i can see green....lush green land! we've made it! and then as we start our decent i notice little white blobs in the lush green land. SHEEP! what i've been waiting for!!! green land and white sheep!
i get through customs with no issues and grab my luggage. the first part of my adventure is behind me....i've officially traveled internationally alone for the first time! and now i have to find a bus to take me from dublin to belfast. i found someone to help me and was informed that i would have to exchange some dollars because the bus doesn't accept credit cards. whew! thank goodness i brought along a bit of cash.
the bus finally comes long to pick me up and there are just a few seats left. i make my way toward the back of the bus and find a woman to sit with. across the isle is a man. he has a strong odor. so i spend two hours on a hot bus sitting next to a woman i didn't know while the guy across the isle was filling up the bus with his body odor. but, i just focused on the amazing views out my bus window and the fact that i had free wi fi and could chat with nolan about where i was and surf the net a bit.
the stop before belfast the stinky man finally got off the bus, but his smell lingered long after he left! soon enough the bus was pulling into the belfast station and i was getting out of there....ready to have some fun....and ready to shower and get some lunch! after i get off the bus, i realize that while i have the address to the hotel where nolan is staying, i have no idea how to get there. i assume that a map will be close...no such luck. i try connecting to the wifi from a nearby coffee shop and this handsome man starts walking towards me.....it's my hubby! my knight in shining armor is rescuing me from my lack of preparation! man, it was good to see him!
after finding our way back to his hotel, i hit the shower while he went to find me some lunch! i needed both of those things very bad! when i finished we set out to see what we could see around belfast. we walked down to city hall, which is a beautiful building! and we were able to see all of the youngsters in their school uniforms since school just let out for the day. they were so cute....even the way to cool teenagers!
we decided to take a bus tour around the city. it was a hop on hop off bus, but we didn't realize that it was the last bus of the day....so if we got off, there was no getting back on. boo! we took the bus around and decided to get off at the university. there was a coffee shop recommended to us by some friends and we wanted to stop by there and see the area.
after a coffee for the hubs and a chai tea latte for me....oh a a piece of carrot cake to share...we were off again, but this time on foot. we just took in the scenery as we walked back to the hotel to freshen up and decide where we were going to spend our evening!
we finished our drinks and headed out to find a place for dinner. i don't even remember the name of the place where we ate our fish and chips, but it was delicious. i even enjoyed the curried slaw, which nolan did not....that is unusual.
after dinner, i was beyond ready for bed. it was a bit of a hike back to the hotel and the jet lag was really hitting me hard at this point! so my first day in belfast was complete.
stay tuned for more adventures in day #2
tonight, i thought to myself, i haven't written a blog post in a LONG time. so i decided to check it out....and well, i haven't posted one thing for the month of june. so, i decided that now was as good a time as any to tell you about my trip to belfast!
nolan works for liberty mutual....you know the insurance people. they have offices in belfast northern ireland. of course they do! and he does a lot of work with the "belfast guys." one afternoon he tells me that he thinks he's going to have to go to belfast for work soon. well, after hearing that, i headed straight into our bedroom to start packing my bags. belfast, here i come!!!
nolan was in belfast for almost a week before i got there. my parents came over to stay with my girls. a friend came over to pick me up for the airport and after giving my girls a kiss and hug, i was off on my little adventure.
i flew from indy to washington dc and from dc to dublin. i sat next to an elderly couple that didn't talk to me and took up more than their fair share of space. whatever, i was on an adventure. after flying all night and sleeping off an on, i finally raise my window shade and i can see green....lush green land! we've made it! and then as we start our decent i notice little white blobs in the lush green land. SHEEP! what i've been waiting for!!! green land and white sheep!
i get through customs with no issues and grab my luggage. the first part of my adventure is behind me....i've officially traveled internationally alone for the first time! and now i have to find a bus to take me from dublin to belfast. i found someone to help me and was informed that i would have to exchange some dollars because the bus doesn't accept credit cards. whew! thank goodness i brought along a bit of cash.
the bus finally comes long to pick me up and there are just a few seats left. i make my way toward the back of the bus and find a woman to sit with. across the isle is a man. he has a strong odor. so i spend two hours on a hot bus sitting next to a woman i didn't know while the guy across the isle was filling up the bus with his body odor. but, i just focused on the amazing views out my bus window and the fact that i had free wi fi and could chat with nolan about where i was and surf the net a bit.
the stop before belfast the stinky man finally got off the bus, but his smell lingered long after he left! soon enough the bus was pulling into the belfast station and i was getting out of there....ready to have some fun....and ready to shower and get some lunch! after i get off the bus, i realize that while i have the address to the hotel where nolan is staying, i have no idea how to get there. i assume that a map will be close...no such luck. i try connecting to the wifi from a nearby coffee shop and this handsome man starts walking towards me.....it's my hubby! my knight in shining armor is rescuing me from my lack of preparation! man, it was good to see him!
after finding our way back to his hotel, i hit the shower while he went to find me some lunch! i needed both of those things very bad! when i finished we set out to see what we could see around belfast. we walked down to city hall, which is a beautiful building! and we were able to see all of the youngsters in their school uniforms since school just let out for the day. they were so cute....even the way to cool teenagers!
we decided to take a bus tour around the city. it was a hop on hop off bus, but we didn't realize that it was the last bus of the day....so if we got off, there was no getting back on. boo! we took the bus around and decided to get off at the university. there was a coffee shop recommended to us by some friends and we wanted to stop by there and see the area.
after a coffee for the hubs and a chai tea latte for me....oh a a piece of carrot cake to share...we were off again, but this time on foot. we just took in the scenery as we walked back to the hotel to freshen up and decide where we were going to spend our evening!
on the bus tour, a pub called the john hewitt. it was recommended by the tour guide and also our college friends. so, that was where we were headed for dinner. well, they don't serve dinner on friday nights. bummer. but we were able to find a seat and get a beverage and chat with the locals sitting next to us.
we finished our drinks and headed out to find a place for dinner. i don't even remember the name of the place where we ate our fish and chips, but it was delicious. i even enjoyed the curried slaw, which nolan did not....that is unusual.
after dinner, i was beyond ready for bed. it was a bit of a hike back to the hotel and the jet lag was really hitting me hard at this point! so my first day in belfast was complete.
stay tuned for more adventures in day #2
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