Europe Survey 2013: London Day 3

Yesterday was quite the adventure! We started out the day going to St. George's Market. We got some breakfast burritos and they were amazing! Then we walked around the city a little. It was interesting because the city centre that was so busy the day before was empty at noon. After a while we figured out that none of the stores open until after 1pm on Sundays.

When it was time to check out of the hotel we decided to head to the airport early and just get some coffee and talk. We noticed that the most expensive bus was the one to the Belfast International Airport. We paid the £15 and took the bus to the airport. After we arrived, though, we couldn't find our flight on the departures board. After checking our Kayak app, we realized that we were at the completely wrong airport. We had to pay the fare and ride the bus back to town. The bus to the correct airport cost about the same as a bottle of pop.

Thankfully we made it to the right airport with plenty of time to relax and talk. We got some coffee and played Scrabble on the iPad until time to check in for our flight. As we approached the check in counter, a wide-eyed look of fear came over Brennan's face. Quietly he said, "I don't have my passport." This spiraled into an hour of phone calls to the hotel, correspondence with British Airways employees, and a taxi from the city centre carrying an American passport. By the grace of God we made it through security and onto our flight with no issues.

Once in London, it took us roughly 2 hours via underground subway and bus to get to our hotel. It was midnight by the time we got here and Brennan and I realized that the last thing we had eaten was the amazing breakfast burrito. We ordered a pizza and settled in for the night. Despite those major set backs I'm so glad we made our flight to London. We're here until Wednesday then we'll be coming home!

Europe Survey 2013: Belfast Day 4

We are feeling much better today. We explored the city and tried to make up for time we lost yesterday. While wandering around town, we noticed a beautiful church building close to the city centre. After a closer look we figured out that it was no longer a church and it had been turned into a shopping mall. 

In this city everyone identifies themselves as either Protestant or Catholic. This isn't necessarily a religious affiliation though. It's more political. Our couchsurfing friend, Ian, said that these groups are segregated completely. They go to separate schools and live in different parts of town. Depending on his or her job, a Protestant may never meet a Catholic. 

As we were walking we also came across this random bar. Ironically it was flying both a Canadian and an American flag. If you see a bar here, you'll see a dozen more, but if they also say kitchen that means they serve meals as well.

This evening, Brennan and I went to a local favorite called the Kitchen Bar. We got some tea and coffee and some dessert and enjoyed listening to some real Irish folk music. This is what the locals do regularly. Most pubs have food and live music. At dinner time they are considered family environments.

Later, we came back to our hotel and went down to the pool, which is also open as a gym to locals. We met several people that live here and enjoyed talking with them about life in Belfast, the history of the city, tourism, travel, etc. It's interesting the people you meet in different places that can teach you about the culture.

Tomorrow we're going to check out St. George's Market before we head to the airport. We'll be in London for a few days then we'll be coming back home.