On to Belfast

Wednesday, June 26, 2019
Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
A beautiful morning waking up at Banoge House.  John had an Ulster breakfast ready for us when we came downstairs.  Eggs, sausage, bacon, potatoes, mushrooms, fried soda bread & potato bread. No light breakfasts so far!
Belfast bound today.  We arrived early to our hotel, Hampton by Hilton, and were surprised and fortunate to be able to check in right away as our room was ready! Hotel is located right next to the bus & train station with a mall attached.
We headed out on a neighbourhood walk about. Once again lots to see and do within walking distance.
First things first.....lunch and a pint! Around the corner from our hotel is The Crown Bar, one of the most renowned pubs in Belfast.  The interior is stunning with amazing woodwork, beautiful stained glass and intricate tiling.   Rather than an open concept bar, it has 10 booths for privacy.  We are told its a fine example of a Victorian Gin Palace.  (Halibut) Fish 'n' Chips for lunch - deelish!
  

We arrived at Belfast City Hall 10 minutes before 3 pm, the last tour of the day. Perfect & the tours are free, even better!  City Hall is an amazing building and Brian was a fabulous guide, lots of laughs & lots of information. Architecture & decor of City Hall was amazing, not only the stone work, the crown moldings, wool rugs, portraits, fixtures but the amazing stain glass windows throughout.  Most everything was steeped in history.  We toured most of the building including the City Council chambers.  Greg was delighted to be sitting in the Lord Mayor's chair the entire time our guide was speaking in the chambers.  The tour was 40 minutes but we spent another hour or do going through the additional exhibits.
We spent some time downtown checking out many of the shops & malls downtown before heading down to the riverbank, trekking around the Belfast Maritime Trail at Donegal Quay.  We saw the Beacon of Hope sculpture and the "Big Fish" or "Salmon of Knowledge", very cool!
We also saw Albert Clock, Belfasts own leaning tower of Pisa type structure, as it's foundation was made of timber and was undercut by water, so before repairs could be made it had leaned 1.5 meters at the top.
Then, what do we stumble upon?  A Timmies, a touch of Canada.
We headed back for a break back at the hotel before heading out for supper.  Somehow we both fell asleep....this vacationing business can be exhausting sometimes!  
We walked towards Queens University and decided on Lavery Pub and burgers.  The homemade burgers were excellent & huge.  A lovely evening for a walk back after supper & some real rest, for a full day if "touristing" tomorrow.....somehow it was after 10pm already!
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