Did you miss me?

I'm back. I swear, Amy, I wanted to blog whilst away, but my internet time was severely limited to 1 13 minute session, where I dumped a bunch of stuff out of my inbox so it could fill up all over again, and another 2 minute session where I checked my bank balance to make sure I had enough dough in checking to continue living the bon vivant lifestyle. (or, um, to eat dinner, I suppose, whichever...)

Anyway. I had a great trip! Mandy and I arrived in Dublin at some super early hour like 6 am or something, and then proceeded to take a 2 hour bus ride to Belfast. Which was good for me -- I slept more on that bus than I did on the flight over. We met Robin at our hotel in Belfast, showered, and then started our touring day. We toured the Belfast City Hall, which was really cool, walked around a lot, saw a Cathedral, and then went back to the hotel to nap. Well, Mandy and I napped. Robin took a book somewhere and came back drunk. Ate dinner, then went to the famous Crown Liquor Saloon.

The Crown Liquor Saloon is across the street from the Europa Hotel, which is apparently the most bombed out building in Belfast. The press stayed there during the Troubles, and so the IRA brought the Troubles to them. (convenient, no?) It's been rebuilt and is quite lovely.

The Crown, though, is super cool. It's got a lovely marble bar, tiled floors, gas light fixtures that still work, and snugs. Snugs are like these little secret rooms where you can sit to drink. You get a table with bench seating on three sides, and then a door on the fourth side. The walls don't go up to the ceiling, but if you're sitting, no one can see you without peering over the wall. We claimed a snug and had a drink. While in there, this strange man asked if he could sit down for a second. We said sure, but a second turned in to a minute, which turned into 10 minutes. He was creepy. I thought he was going to throw up at any second. He didn't say a word to any of us, just sat there staring. We left, and some other people moved in on the snug. We heard them asking the strange man if it was OK if they sat there, but they obviously looked concerned, too.

Tomorrow: Belfast con't.