Self loves that she can join Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge (CFFC) this week. She has got a gallery of rides!
Self visited Northern Ireland for the first time in April. She spent a month in an artists retreat called River Mill. The other residents were teachers, writers, photographers, film-makers. A few were from Belfast, others from England, and yet others from Dublin. What joy to be with fellow artists after three years of pandemic lockdown. We all promised to keep in touch.
In the evenings, we had dinner together, then gathered in the living room to watch Derry Girls.
Posting for Travel with Intent’s Six-Word Saturday.
Again, much thanks to Life of B for this month’s Squares Challenge: Walking Squares! So much fun to create a gallery of memorable walks!
In April, self finally crossed Belfast off her bucket list. She’d been wanting to go ever since she got into Game of Thrones, the HBO series. She was a huge Gendrya fan, and every time Joe Dempsie showed up in Belfast she would cheer!
She stayed at the Europa Hotel, which was fantastic, and each day she explored a different area of Belfast. One day, she went to Queen’s University and explored the botanic garden, right alongside:
Titanic Museum, Belfast
Posting for Travel with Intent’s One Word Sunday challenge
The Titanic Museum in Belfast is a must-see. It was built to the exact height of the ship itself. Self visited in April.
The Weekend Roundup Challenge is hosted by Tom, The Backroads Traveler.
There are three parts to this challenge:
Without further ado:
Tom’s Choice: Berry
Stay tuned, dear blog readers. Stay tuned.
Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge this week:
Belfast Marathon, 1 May 2022
Redwood City Annual Fourth of July Parade, 2022
Thank you to Cee Neuner and Marsha Ingrao, co-hosts of the PPAC Challenge!
I had a little free time today, so I went browsing through her archives for more public squares.
Here’s Arthur Square in Belfast, which I visited for the first time in April. Thank you to Marsha Ingrao, whose comment led me to do some googling. I found the name of the artist: Dan George. The piece is called “Spirit of Belfast” and was installed in 2009.
I went exploring down a side street (look at those curving, banner-like things, so futuristic) and found myself in the most fabulous indoor shopping center I had ever seen: very modern, gleaming with high-end shops, and not at all crowded! The curving structures are actually an art installation called “The Masts.” They are on Donegall Place. There is a better picture of them here. They were installed in 2011.
From the Wikipedia page List of Public Art in Belfast:
Self has the perfect picture for today’s Ragtag Daily Prompt — LILAC — evening sky over Belfast, late April.
Self was on her first-ever visit to Belfast. She’d originally planned to go in 2017, but ended up going to the Philippines instead. Then, the pandemic intervened. So it wasn’t until April 2022 that she finally boarded a flight from San Francisco to this (to her) almost-mythic city (She was a big, big Game of Thrones fan!)
A friend advised her to stay at the Europa. She took this picture from her hotel room. It was about 9 p.m.
For this challenge, self selected a picture she took last week: the formal dining room of the Titanic Hotel (which is right next to the Titanic Museum) in Belfast. Out of curiosity, she googled the prices. Wowee! She didn’t expect the prices to be so reasonable. No wonder this hotel is so popular for wedding parties.
— Cee Neuner
YAY, another Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge!
For this challenge, self decided to focus on paths.
Two of these pictures were taken at River Mill, County Down, Northern Ireland.
The last picture was taken at Belfast’s Botanic Garden.
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