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Belfast - with Ricky and Ciara

A trip from 11 April 2009 to 18 April 2009, travelling to Belfast
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Belfast - Queens University


The next destination on our travels is Belfast where we meet Ciara and Ricky, two young locals who show us the best places to visit in the city…

We both agree that Ricky’s old University, Queen’s university is definitely a must see attraction when visiting Belfast. I'd say it's a 15-minute walk from the centre of town, you can't miss it, it's a huge red brick building, really striking. You can wander around the grounds where literary great like Seamus Heaney, Ciaran Carson, and Paul Mundoon, once wandered around.Image

The grounds are nice and leafy and the Botanical gardens are just next door. So you should pop across and check out the Palm House, it's a pretty Victorian building, the Tropical Ravine and the Ulster Museum .

At Queen's University you also really should see visit the Naughton Gallery. It's got great collections and exhibitions.

 

There are heaps of Hotels and B&Bs in the area, and its pretty central, so it's a great location to stay in.”

 

St. Georges Market


St George's Market is a good place to start when visiting Belfast On Friday it's the variety market. Here you can find pretty much anything and everything. The other week I found this wind-up gramophone, I really wished I bought it. It's one of those places where you have the opportunity to bargain, I am really bad at it, but you have to bargain hunt. There are real characters there, people who have been setting up stalls for the past 50 years.

Saturday’s market has a culinary theme, there are loads of different types of olives, breads, cheeses, meats, chocolate, really, really brilliant coffee, paella...It's all local businesses and local produce but they are getting more and more diverse stalls; Lebanese, Spanish...a whole load of things.

The Market is open from about 8am until 2pm on both Friday and Saturday; they also have a Christmas market and other events during the year.

Another really great market to visit is the Black Market at the Black Box in town. It's all local artisans really, crafty people. There is a huge variety of stalls selling everything from artist’s creations, antique cameras to homemade lemonade.. The Black Market is really just starting up... the Black Box is a really buzzing place, it has a become a great art and music venue.

 


Bookfinders Café


“ I love this place. It's kind of an informal university bookshop, a quirky little bookshop and café run by this lady called Mary. It's more of a literary bookshop, it's got all the classics, and what it does really well is local authors...Seamus Heaney...Paul Maldoon... but I don't think it's really about the books. It's more about the really great conversation you have and listen into...like really brilliant conversations about taking over the world.Image

Mary's been there forever. She's quite a character, she'll let you know that there's hot coffee in the pot, and to help yourself. She would have definitely heard her fair share of interesting stories, and is definitely the one who knows what's going on. So besides seeing posters up around town, she is the best person to ask about poetry nights or similar events at Bookfinders.  People also post up all sorts of poster and notes, you know selling stuff...I put one up ages ago, I had a look a year later and it was still up there. It's like the wall in there is a gallery of what's been happening in Belfast for the past twenty years.”


Public Art

Belfast is a compact city, so it's easy to walk around and see everything. Walking is a great way to see the public art around the city. The Big Fish is one well-known piece by an artist called John Kindness, if you are up around the water front you'll see it there. It made up of mosaic tiles that look like they have had newspaper printed all over them. Apparently, Bono from U2 is on one of the tiles. So when you visit, try and find him. Another great way to see the Big Fish, and Belfast , is taking a boat tour along the River Lagan, it's a great way to take in the sights and get a different look at the city.ImageImage

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another piece by John Kindness is located at the Ulster Bus Station. It is this giant waterfall that stretches from the roof to the floor. It's also made up of ceramic tiles, but this time they are printed with different sayings and the different local traditions. This is what makes it so unusual, but good to look at.


Live Music – Spring and Airbrake

Spring and Airbrake is a fairly new gig venue, about 4 or so years old. It gets quiet a lot of respectable bands playing there. It's next door to Limelight, another venue, with Katy Daly's in the middle. Katy Daly's and Limelight are like a right of passage, they're where you go to see your first band, loads of big bands have played there throughout the years. On a Tuesday night they open up the doors between the three venues and its one big university night. The best way to find out what is going on is to check the venue's website, or check out the posters around the city.

Other venues, like Black Box , Ulster Hall, The Empire, The Menagerie and Aunty Annies are all great too. The Music scene is really thriving at the moment, a lot of venues closed down a couple of years ago, but they're all opening up again, allowing people to put on their own band nights. Places like Black Box , Ulster Hall, The Empire and The Menagerie. Internationally renowned DJ David Holmes took over The Menagerie and reopened it. It's like a dive bar, with tea lights everywhere, old pictures on the wall...it's the first time we've had a New York feel dive bar in he place. It's the first like that. And David Holmes puts on a lot of good nights, he does a lot for Belfast music, if you go to him with a really good idea he will let you play.



Helen’s Bay


What’s great about Helen's Bay is that it's just outside Belfast . It's almost a suburb of Belfast . One minute you're in the city, the next in the suburbs, then you're surrounded by nature. You walk through the sand dunes and then you're in this big open beach at the foot of the Mourne Mountains .  It’s great for walks, it's really beautiful, my dad goes every Sunday to clear the cobwebs. Its great after a big night out or a busy week, you go there, there are heaps of rocks to sit on and relax, or you can walk a really long way along the coast with these great big stately homes behind you. There are all these little beaches with forest in between, and then you'll reach large stretches of beach again. You can take a really lovely coastal walk to Bangor ; it's a quiet, small, little coastal town. In Bangor you can find lots of lovely old pubs, fish and chip shops, cafes and ice cream parlours. There are plenty of B&B’s too, so you can hang out there few days.

To see more of Ireland , Ricky & Ciara and other locals click here  and view stunning footage of their journeys.


What's on in Belfast


Some of the many events in Belfast over the coming months are listed below but for more information and more exciting opportunities visit http://www.discoverireland.com 

Tall Ships Atlantic Challenge – Belfast

13 August 2009 - 16 August 2009

See the mighty Tall Ships sail into Belfast for the Atlantic Challenge Grand Finale.  If you fancy witnessing the spectacular dizzy heights and intricate detail of these magnificent vessels, then a trip to Belfast for the Grand Finale is an absolute must-do. Taking place over four days, around 20 ships will make their way into port, having crossed the mighty Atlantic Ocean from Halifax in Canada and concluding a journey that has seen them travel over 7,000 nautical miles. But the Grand Finale is not all about the ships, there will be plenty of activities quayside, including music, street theatre and fun and games for all the family. For details visit http://www.tallshipsraces.com/atlanticchallenge/ or http://www.belfastcity.gov.uk/tallships/index.asp?menuitem=intro

Festival of Fools

30 April 2009 - 04 May 2009

Artists from Ireland , UK , US, Europe, Australia and Africa bring street theatre to Belfast .  Click here to find out more.

Torvill and Dean's Dancing On Ice - The Tour

01 May 2009 - 30 May 2009

Torvill and Dean's Dancing On Ice - The Tour at the Odyssey Arena.

For tickets and more information visit www.theodyssey.co.uk

Belfast City Marathon

04 May 2009

Annual race through the streets of Belfast , take part or support the Marathon , Walk, Team Relay or Fun Run. All events will start at Belfast City Hall and finish in Ormeau Park .  Find out more at www.belfastcitymarathon.com

Balmoral Show, Kings Hall

13 May 2009 - 15 May 2009

Ireland’s largest and premier agricultural event run by the Royal Ulster Agricultural Society and hosted by the King's Hall Complex is now in its 142nd year. The event continues to boast a huge range of activities and entertainment for all the family. Over 70,000 visitors attended over the three day event in 2008.Visit  www.balmoralshow.co.uk for more information

Belfast City Carnival

27 June 2009

A colourful carnival through the city centre celebrating the end of the Lord Mayor’s term in office. Click here for more details.

OrangeFest, Belfast

13 July 2009

As part of the 12th July celebrations, OrangeFest is a family friendly pageant open to all cultures.  Find out more at www.belfastorange.com.

 

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Talk about this trip (10)
iv been to a lot of northern and southern my favourites belfast i love it next trips donegal and giants causeway im always at the beach here ayr troon i adore the water,i love the belfast shops as their cheaper than glasgow 19 year until i retire and i hope i can move to ireland then as i love it.hiya to my favourite folks the irish.susie.x
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it's a wonderful place to visit,I liked the climate and their way of living
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Never thought about Belfast. Maybe it's time to glide over there and see whats up. All of you make it sound very interesting
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charming and romantic, representing both the history and magic of Ireland.
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A Yahoo! User
I live in Belfast it isn't that awesome only nice places in it is castle zoo and mountains nothing special!
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A Yahoo! User
I used to live there but it has changed soooo much and for the better too! You could get into queen's university as long as you had the required exam results and i know plenty of people, both catholic, protestant and others from different faiths around the world who have done so. Yes even forty years ago. Things were bad but someone always likes to make it out worse. What were the civil rights marchers, if not mostly students, many from queens? Every time you visit there is something new to see and the atmosphere is just WONDERFUL as are the PEOPLE. It does not matter what part of Northern Ireland you visit, the people are just lovely! There are good people and not so good everywhere in the world.
Go look for yourselves and tell me you did not enjoy yourselves!
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I visit ireland every year to see my family. Its such a wonderfull place and everyone is so friendly. the pubs are fantastic.

We stay a hotel called the mill in Ballydungery (i thinks how you spell it) its near Downpatrick. It is a great and friendly hotel.
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i need to go back i love ireland i wanna live their i prefer northern to southern i luv the accent and they like mine wish i could get some irish buddies to phone and visit any council need a daycaredriver i`d swap jobs hi to the irish folks.xx
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40 years ago the only way a Catholic could get into Queen University, Belfast was as a cadaver for medical research purposes! Ponder on that. Love your photos.
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belfast is great very trendy,
see the big fish and a big sugar cube floating on the lagan promoting sugar walk an iconic apartment block in belfasts much loved cathedral quarter.

see you all soon
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