Belfast was, well, different. It was more spread out than Dublin and it had bigger streets. And we all completely forgot that we needed pounds in Belfast, and not euro. While I'm on the subject of the pound, let me just say that it is stupid, yes STUPID. First of all, every bill has the name of the bank you withdrew it from on it. Which is WEIRD. And theres some ugly woman on everything. Well yes, it's the queen. But still, a little vain are we? And lastly, the coins size in relation to their value makes no sense at all. Especially when you've got euro change floating around in your wallet as well. Not to mention that there are no numbers on the coins, you have to actually READ them. Yuck! talk about a headache for a lazy ass like me. I feel bad for anyone who speaks no english trying to use that money! My goodness!! But you do have to give the pound props for being pretty. They are rainbow colored and very ornate, so in that respect I liked them.
Oh and everything is cheaper in Belfast! Well, considering the exchange rate it all evens out. But for example, a movie is 4.50! Amazing, considering movie prices in the USA...needless to say we saw two movies there. Easy A and Wall Street, which are on opposite ends of the movie spectrum but I really enjoyed them both. Also, there are FAR more PSAs and advertisements before movies here. Especially PSAs about using proper firework safety so as to not blow off a hand. Which is kind of an odd worry in such a wet country.
One thing though, you have GOT to give the British props for building beautiful buildings for their people in power! There are some very pretty buildings in Belfast. But overall, my general feeling was that I was still in Ireland, but a weird part of Ireland that thinks its in the UK...From my perspective, it was just a little strange. Oh! And everyone there was really nice to us, in terms of helping us find things and such. And there was good Chinese food...you know, fyi.
Well, enough about that. These pictures are from our power walk tour of Belfast. As you will see in the photo below, I have mapped out our walk. What began as a fleeting urge to find the murals, turned into an epic search for them. Eventually we found them in the Shankill neighborhood. Like the murals in Derry, these are also on the sides of people's homes. These murals are of the Protestant, Unionist perspective. There is also a lot of hostile graffiti in Belfast.
Enjoy the pictures !
 |
| Old Irish ladies are too cute. Sometimes a little scary, but mostly cute. |
 |
| I LOVE these gazebos! There is one in Dun Laoghaire that's green... And I suppose this is it's fraternal twin. |
 |
| Apparently the clock tower is leaning. Can ya see it? |
 |
| This fish was covered in images of Belfasty things. It was pretty cool. |
 |
Smooches!
(I may have copied Frances' pose with the fish, after doing a more inappropriate pose myself) |
 |
The Titanic was kind of a big deal there. I think they built it or something.
But that's not something I would brag about...you know, because it sank and all. |
 |
| Crazy Statue. |
 |
| Even at 11:00 am on the bank holiday there were still street performers. I liked this guy, but there were also some who were far less talented. Who may have just played the pre recorded looped beat on a keyboard while tapping random notes. No no! |
I believe this is St. Anne's Cathedral.
 |
| I wished it was night, so I could explore that place! |
On the way to finding the Murals.
Murals in Shankill
 |
| This is the only one that was kind of ok to take a picture with. Its one that is supportive of building community, and not tearing it apart. |
 |
| This is a home next to the Cromwell mural. All of the houses were shockingly cute considering the images surrounding them. |
 |
| Graffiti on the projects being built in Shankhill. |
 |
| There were yellow ribbons everywhere! |
I really, really love fall.
