Northern Ireland - April 2015

Belfast

This was a trip with a difference.  There was no need to spend days trawling the internet for pubs serving Guinness in this city.  The challenge here would be to find a pub that didn't serve it.  It was nice to be able to combine the weekend with meeting up with old friends.

A collection of photos from this trip can be found here on: Flikr

The Guinness

We had a fair few Guinness over the weekend in a fair number of old Belfast pubs but the one we chose for the main event was The Crown.

Enjoying a Guinness at the Crown Liquor Saloon

Elaine kindly picks out my next destination - Minsk, Belarus

Great to be joined by some old friends on this trip.

As a test of consistency I felt we had to visit some other of Belfast's historic bars just to ensure the Guinness tasted just the same. So there were trips to the Kelly’s Cellars,  Whites Bar, Garrick Bar, Aether & Echo, ...........

The Sights

As one of Europe's smaller capital cities, the sights of Belfast can be seen on foot.  The City Hall, constructed at the start of the last centenary is well worth a visit and the guided tours are free at that. At the other end of the scale is Titanic Belfast, an exhibition not only of the history of this ill fated vessel but also of the history of Belfast itself.  It's impressive but pricey and I found the noise somewhat disorientation, but I am getting on a bit and feeling under the weather. 

Belfast City Hall

Belfast Titanic

The Food

Not only was there plenty to drink this weekend but the food was good too.  We ate twice in Deannes Bistro, one of the new eateries that's spring up across the city.  On our trip out of the city we had a fine meal in Daft Eddy's on the shores of Strangford Lough.

The Big Fish