Getting up at half past four in the morning certainly wasn't the highlight of my day, although at that time of the morning everything is so peaceful and the sense of anticipation of the thought that in a few hours I'll be some place I've never been before.
What I most enjoy when going away is the flight itself and weirdly enough, the times I have been on an aircraft I've always been in a seat next to the wing- if anything its more enjoyable as you can see if we're turning and keep an eye that it doesn't suddenly descend below haha. I'm not a nervous flyer but my Mum definitely is, a window seat is her worst nightmare. What's beautiful about flying for me is when you're above the clouds and its like a whole new world (no Disney pun intended) up there and its just stunning!
We left London Gatwick at around ten past nine and getting in to Belfast International at around an hour later, so a lovely short flight. Ironically you spend most of your time in the airport than on the actual flight.
Here we have the Travelodge I was staying in which was central to the city, we stepped out the door and City Hall was across the street- the perfect location. Although Travelodge are seen as a budget hotel, they're decent. They have everything you need; a bed, en suite bathroom, a TV, and even a kettle to make yourself a cup of tea or coffee- in my opinion this is all you need. I don't understand those who spend the majority of their time away in the hotel- bizarre!
I knew it would be even colder in Northern Ireland but I didn't quite realise how cold, to put it in perspective- it started to snow. In the distance we could see the hills covered in white, rather beautiful but me and my Mum realised our fate as we begun walking towards Titanic Belfast!
Battling through the cold towards this fantastic building we reached the doors and huddled in to the warmth of its inside and grabbed ourselves a cup of tea and a scone with jam- perfection! Typical English folk, can't go anywhere without getting a cup of tea but who could blame us in that weather! Excuse my mum for looking away from the camera, I tried to tell her where to look but it didn't sink in- bless her!
I'm not going to spoil the Titanic Belfast for you, its simply a brilliant museum where I learnt so much more about the famous somewhat 'unsinkable ship'. Not only this but it provided you with the history behind Belfast being the shipbuilding capital of the world, it really opened up my eyes as to why it really is such a wonderful city.
'The Beacon of Hope' is of a lady holding the "ring of thanksgiving". The globe she's standing on indicates the universal philosophy of peace, harmony and thanksgiving. Its also marked with the cities where the people and industries of Belfast migrated and exported to.
Well this was day one of Belfast, see you tomorrow for day two!
