Adventures in Belfast: Part 1

January 19, 2019

Landed at George Best Belfast City Airport after taking two flights, Atlanta to London to Belfast, and hailed a taxi from the airport to my hostel. Getting to Belfast from the London/Heathrow airport was a time especially since this is the 1st time I’m flying alone. If you can imagine a chicken running around with its head cut off while simultaneously sweating then you have a perfect image of what I looked like in that airport. I was worried about missing my connecting flight to Belfast since my flight from Atlanta was delayed by 30 minutes and I still had to go through the UK Border and Visa line.

But, I got here in one piece.

Alaina (my roommate from Agnes) and I decided to stay in Belfast for two days since orientation for Ulster didn’t start until the 21st. We stayed at Global Village Belfast which was a new experience–it’s kind of like dorm living. There was no elevator and of course I had the room that was on the top floor–up 4 flights of stairs.

Out of sheer pride and stubbornness, I refused help like an idiot and dragged carried my carry-on, check-in suitcase, and bookbag up the stairs. I settled in and went off in search of a UK sim card.

I walked to the city center, of course getting slightly turned around along the way. It was pretty cool seeing all the shops and hearing the local Belfast dialect. By the time I had walked back to the hostel and set up my phone, Alaina had was there. We honestly had no plan or course of action, and at this point it was like 4pm or 5pm. We just walked around in search of dinner which took longer than what most people take because we both refuse to make a decision.

We ended up going to Maggie May’s which was pretty good. I had traditional fish and chips with a side of mashed peas. From there we just walked around Belfast, getting a sense of the place and the people. Belfast is poppin’ on a Saturday night. Women in heels on cobblestones sidewalks, music bumping from a lounge, and a man walking by with a whole bottle of Smirnoff Vodka already half way finished. People watching is the best.

And that’s all folks.