titanic museum

we'd one free afternoon in belfast and much as i wanted to enjoy the hotel spa, the mister insisted we immerse ourselves in culture instead of the hot tub. hrmph. i'm usually too unrefined for museums and it took much persuasion to get me into this one. after all, we live in london. museums are free. i don't believe in having to pay to educate myself. however, i'm so glad the mister prevailed because this was one of the best museums i've ever been to and thoroughly enjoyed myself. in fact, the mister is now paying the price for his insistence when i bandy random irrelevant and irreverent titanic facts at dinner, leading to proportionate social awkwardness. like, 'did you know typhoid mary was originally from belfast?' it's a truly interactive museum. i used to hate that word because it reminded me of lame science centre activities but now i'm seeing it in a different light. the layout is thought-provoking and engaging, there's short, witty copy (see below!) and even a ride that takes the visitors through the titanic construction yard. if you've been to disneyland, it's sort of like the peter pan / snow white / pinocchio rides.

and here's a mock up of a first class cabin on the titanic, with otherworldly projections of well-heeled passengers and their servants.

 

worth every penny! and despite my multiple protestations, the mister ended up tearing me away from the exhibits (i was engrossed by the stories and lost track of time!) and rushing us to the airport. not bad for a chilly afternoon :)

dark hedges

was already north after visiting the giant's causeway and moseyed by dark hedges as you do. it's one of the most photographed spots in the north and hmm all i can say is there's some pretty clever photography there! probably not skilled nor artistic enough to truly appreciate the stretch for all its beauty but again found it underwhelming. i mean, it's the most popular place for wedding photographs. uh, really?! took some heavy duty squinting to convince ourselves that it was indeed picturesque. if not for the other tourists / professional photographers with their fancy kit, we weren't sure if we were even at the correct stretch because the postal code on the website directed us to someone's driveway.

berts

one of the perks of staying at the merchant hotel was that we didn't have to brave the elements for dinner on saturday. the mister was toying with the idea of booking us a restaurant downtown, but figured it'd be silly going out when we'd a highly-rated restaurant on our doorstep. and after a day's travel (we'd a relatively early start to get to the causeway and took a slow drive back through dark hedges) he was right that the last thing i wanted to do was put on my coat. it helped that we'd a late dinner, and time in the evening to enjoy the hotel spa. nothing like soaking in a tub overlooking the city as it rains in your champers. just saying. 

berts is a french bistro with live jazz band at night. the waiter (manager?) was incredibly intuitive and had the amazing ability to pre-empt our every request. how crazy is that? well impressed! good music and better food. we started with the baked camembert (pictured) before slowly splitting a chateaubriand. a huge chunk of rare beefy goodness, accompanied by extra sides (salad, mashed potato, 2 x fries) compliments of the manager. being the carbohydrate queen i am, it was such a treat :)

giant's causeway

one of the big draws to belfast, apart from G, was the giant's causeway. it's a UNESCO heritage site but as i've come to realise, there's a large discrepancy between the different sites. the weather wasn't cooperating but i felt it was quite underwhelming on the whole, almost going so far as to wanting a refund for the entrance fee. but it did come with hot chocolate, that i'd drunk, and the mister told me off for being a brat. the jury's still out whether he was justified in doing so ;) in fact we sent this photo (OF THE ACTUAL CAUSEWAY) to some friends and one of them asked if it was not just a pitstop en route to the real thing. if only!

but what i thoroughly enjoyed was the coastal drive from belfast to the giant's causeway. almost three hours along the water, winding in and out of the quaintest towns, and of course with a stop at the curfew tower in cushendall to meet G and her eldest daughter. we passed through garron point with some great views, and stopped every so often at a supermarket for coffee and chocolate, before finally reaching the causeway.

after spending a little more than necessary there (had to get our time's worth after the long drive!) we adjourned to bushmill's inn for another amazing meal on G's recommendation. she was a quantity surveyor in her past life and used to eat there when out on jobs. glad to report the standard hasn't changed and we were pleasantly surprised by what a find it was out in the country. freshest seafood platters, surf&turf and a yummy pork belly roll. had such a leisurely lunch that we missed the last tour of the nearby bushmill's distillery (boo!) but want to check out the bushmill's 21 that the hotel bartender raved about the night before. most places don't stock it (the oldest we saw at bert's was bushmill's 16) so it would've been at treasure trove had we been organised / indulgent enough to buy check-in allowance. oh well, next time!

belfast

one of my dearest graduate medic friends is from northern ireland. every friday, she flies home to her five young children. i think she's superwoman, balancing the demands of motherhood and medical school, sailing through with merits no less. she's a constant encouragement and inspiration. and when i think about how she's so much on her plate (compared to mine with just the mister, a fully functioning adult!) yet she manages to get good work done, she blows all my sorry excuses and attempts at procrastination out of the water. her story's always intrigued me, and she's often invited us to visit over the weekend. much as i'd love to stay with her and her brood, i appreciate how precious time with them is and chose not to impose. however, the mister and i did hop over one weekend last month and were excited to see the rugged north in all its splendor. the mister chose the merchant hotel in belfast and we weren't disappointed. nifty tip: if you're going over the weekend, don't bother paying for valet parking despite the hotel's warning that it's hard to find (free) roadside parking. it wasn't and i'm glad the mister steered clear of that trap. also, we had a lovely spacious room in the art deco wing that was much better value than the junior suite in the older wing that we also saw. was happy enough with the hotel. apparently high tea at the merchant's a big thing in belfast, sort of like high tea at any peninsular (guess which one i prefer haha) and breakfast was adequate. it's got a great french restaurant (more about that later) and cosy bar that we probably spent too much time at. decent spa with outdoor jacuzzi overlooking the belfast skyline, and the option to have plastic bottles of champagne while soaking away the day's cares. the photo above is the view from our room! and the photos below from our walk around the city.

jumping forward, G had some ace recommendations. the crown salon was beautifully done (as you can see below) and served a delicious lunch, although we did opt for a curry :/ can't get enough of the gorgeous wood panels, comfortable booths and mosaic floor. the natural light gently filtering in also added to the charm.