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.
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