Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Pining for Belfast

The other night John played some music that made me nostalgic for Belfast.  I get these pangs every so often, especially in the summer (probably because I am dying of heat).  

For those of you that don't know, John is from Belfast.  We were married and lived there for three years before deciding to head back to the States.  Tyler was born there.  Belfast holds a lot of firsts for me!

The music put me in the mood to peruse old photos.  I discovered 1) that a  lot of photos are not in my iphoto (in John's) 2) I still have a LOT of photos to scan 3) why the h*ll did I not take MORE photos?!

This last point actually reminds me of a project I have.  I can't tell you lest someone should fly over to Belfast and steal my idea!

Some great points about Belfast:

Instead of asking How are you?, they say 'bout ye? or Alright?
Best chips (fries) ever, wrapped in paper with malt vinegar 
Best crisp (chips) flavors EVER, where else can you get baked beans flavor??
Sun showers
Green green green
The smell of wet earth
The massive talent pool of musicians
Potato farls and soda bread
An Ulster Fry
The biggest bonfires you could imagine
Living in a place that is "war torn" without actually being in danger (this one might need more explaining later)
Living in and seeing buildings that are actually old (more than 100 years old constitutes old)
The history

I feel like packing up some bags and heading to LAX right now.


The City Hall
Prince Albert's Clock
Samson & Goliath, this is where the Titanic was built
Police vehicle, normally they have paint splattered all over the sides.
St. Anne's Cathedral
The back of Cave Hill
Mount Stewart.  One of the most beautiful places ever... EVER.
North Coast.  Dunluce Castle
Random church on the North Coast
Murals on government housing just down the street
Pre-bonfire bonfire.
Another mural just down the street
Tyler and I overlooking Belfast Lough
Giant's Causeway.  Tyler gives a bit of scale
More of Dunluce
North Coast
Another church just down the way

10 comments:

Unknown said...

wow amazing photos, how envious i am of you being able to experience history like that..Tyler is so little ans sweet...how long ago that was, can you believe our babies are almost 6 years old...the time flies by so quickly...i look forward to seeing more of your time in Belfast...do you have any of your home while you lived there?

candacemorris said...

oh M! I am soo happy to have seen those, I didn't know you lived there!!! That was so easy on my eyes, and I am with you right now...

packing
my
bags.

why ever did you move back?

candacemorris said...

also, tyler~ WHAT A CUTIE.

Melissa said...

Why did we move back? Lots of little reasons I suppose.

A big factor was the cost of living. 17.5% tax on everything... $9.00 a gallon... bleh!

I was young when I moved there as and I don't think I was strong in knowing who I was. I moved to a new country, stopped working, got married at 20 & had Tyler at 21. I just couldn't find my footing.

Nowadays, I believe I could live anywhere (within reason of course!), much more sure of myself.

I'll have to dig up some more photos. We try to go back 2 times a year though, so I have loads of opportunity!

Sean said...

Thaaaat's were all of those crazy dance moves came from....

Sean said...

side note: can you take the "word verification" off the comments section... I always manage to bugger it up, and end up typing my void responses all over again.

The Noisy Plume said...

...sigh...just as I remember it:)
XO

UmberDove said...

Those were amazing, thank you for sharing them.

I was about to ask the same question as the Mme. but after reading your answer I understand. It takes courage to leave, and sometimes even more courage to return.

If I go to visit, will you be my tour guide?

Melissa said...

We love being tour guides! I gave Miss Jillian the grand tour.

The tour before that we ended up being pulled over by the army. It is very intimidating to see army guys hiding behind trees and scaling walls with their guns and then be flagged down by them! Ha! We were followed home and even had a helicopter buzzing above the house. Ahh... the good old days!

Hehe, Belfast tours are so much fun!

jordan said...

my FAVOURITE picture is the last one of the church in the snow...how is ireland in about March, anyway? i've got a european honeymoon to possibly plan, and i'd love to go to the british isles (where all m'ancestors are from...grannie is a Wallace) but don't want to go if the weather will be miserable...anyway. long post, but LOVELY pictures. lovely. i'm nostalgic for it too, eventhough i've never been ;)