A bit more Belfast!!

After our big day exploring the Bridge, Causeway and Derry we needed a bit of a rest. We decided to extend our stay at Paddys by an extra night so that we could sleep in :)

We did just that. Had a big sleep in, sorted through our packs and tried to wash a few bits and pieces (as best as you can wash them in a sink), called some of the family and caught up on Skype dates.

During the day, we spoke to our friend Ash from Contiki who said she would be in Belfast the next day. We still hadnt done much sightseeing of Belfast and had no other plans so decided to extend once again!! For a place we werent planning on going at all, I was beginning to really like it!!

Lunch that day does deserve a special mention... We walked around town for a bit absolutely starving!! Then we found a pub with a sign out the front that sounded too good to be true!! 5.10 euros for a meal with a pint!!! It would have been wrong of us not to stop. We ate so much and drank our pints. It was amazing. We had to waddle our way back to the backpackers.

We had a quiet night and got loads more sleep. I think it was the most sleep we had gotten since we first left Australia. It was well overdue.

The next morning after breakfast we walked into town to have a look around. We got lost looking around and somehow found this really cute little shop with tshirts and shoes and all sorts of different stuff. While we were looking around I started talking to the guy who worked there. I told him we were planning on heading out that night and that someone had recommended that we go to Robinsons (Troy, our bus driver from Paddywagon). The guy from this shop said that those places were really touristy and if we wanted to experience real Belfast nightlife we needed to go to a few other places. He gave us a little business card and drew a map on the back of where all the good local spots were.

We went in to get some photos of city hall and the city itself. When we were walking round the city hall building we got swarmed by hop on-hop off bus people!! They were from two different companies and each one was trying to sell us their tour over the others. We were probably stupid for actually showing interest, but we did actually want to do it! However this kinda turned us off, terrified us really. haha. So we ran away into the Welcome centre.

This was probably the first time we really got to experience proper Irish weather. When we left the hostel, it was sunny and warm, and by the time we got to the welcome centre it was pouring rain and cold. We had to run into shops to avoid it!!

After that we went to the oldest pub in Belfast for a beer. It wasnt cheap but it was good. Before they sold us the beer, they gave us testers to make sure we liked it. It was Belfast Ale, it was a lot sweeter than most beers, but I loved it! The pub itself was this really old building with loads of detail in the roof and windows etc. You could just sit in there looking at all the history of it. But eventually we left. Sadly.

After we got back to the hostel we made plans to meet Ash in town that night with her cousins, (Jordan and Christine). We also found a room to stay for Dublin after we left Belfast. We had been doing it pretty easy so far with our private twin share room, so Dublin was going to be a bit tougher. We booked an 8 share mixed dorm!! It was 10 euro per person though so we thought it was an ok option and we would see how we went.

After a bit of a rest we got ready and made our way in to town. Turns out the pub we met Ash at was only 2 blocks from our hostel! Nice and easy. We got to the pub (called Filthy McNastys) and all met up. It was an awesome little pub. Posters for tours and concerts everywhere and quotes written over the walls etc. And come on, with a name like Filthy McNastys, it had to be good!!

There was a guy setting up with his guitar for some live music. It was really great. We stayed there for a little while before moving onto Laverys. We went up to the top floor to the 'beer garden'. It was basically on the roof with fairy lights everywhere and tables. It was so pretty. It felt like you were indoors, but we were outside!!

We eventually got asked to leave as the bar was closing, but me and laura still had full drinks. So Jordan and Christine hid them for us and we left. Therefore me and Laura had a nice walk home with our drinks :) It made it much more enjoyable. We got to bed late and had to get up early to get a bus to Dublin the next morning. It reminded me of contiki party nights, they always seemed to be the night before a travel day!! At least it means we always sleep on the bus!!