Belfast Hotels
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Sittin in . . .
Entry 4 of 12 | show all | print this entry |
More classes today - first a look at the end of the British Empire, then an introduction to the Troubles. I envy Brian the classes he's taking - from what I've seen, they're all very interesting. I left him on campus to go to his tutorials and wandered down through the City Centre - a much more vibrant and lively place than it was on my last trip. The newfound peace means that there are trash bins on the streets (all removed during my last trip as a security precaution), and storage lockers in the bus and train terminals (also decommissioned during my last trip) and the EU has turned it into a much more cosmopolitan place - particularly in the centre, I hear a lot of eastern European languages. Wound my way down to The Entries, a series of narrow alleys off the old high street, and home to Belfast's oldest pubs. Had a brilliant lunch at the Morningstar - ham and bangers, with a scoop each of side dishes - potatoes, potato salad, potato and cauliflower, potato and carrots - all very tasty, all approximately the same consistency, and all of it piping hot.
Kept on looking until I found White's Tavern, allegedly the oldest pub in Belfast (operating since 1630). The first guy I asked walked me half way there, warned me twice that it was "kind of dodgy" and that I should be sure to be out before dark, and then pointed me the rest of the way with directions that didn't even get me close. Finally found it by crisscrossing the area and getting lucky (it's off High Street, just east of Lombard, in case you're ever looking for it - on a good tourist map, it's marked plain as day). I asked the barman if he knew where in Belfast you might find a Beamish; he had never heard of it. I had it years ago in Kilkenny and Killarney, and have been watching the taps in the pubs I've been in. After my Guinness arrived, the guy next to me says, "You'll not find a Beamish anywhere in Northern Ireland - it's brewed in Cork, and the folks up here wouldn't dream of importing it." He turned out to be a teacher who lives in Dublin and commutes up to Belfast to teach - a very friendly fellow who filled a page with recommendations of things to see and do the next time I'm in the Republic. Met up with Brian for dinner at a fabulous burger joint, then went to the arts cinema and saw a Spanish horror film - the Orphanage - it was pretty good - not as predictable as American horror films, and trading more on suspense than gore.
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