Today is Alive: After the car in flames and injured police!

Belfast is a crazy town. But I loved it and would like to return for a visit. The rest of my time there was really special. Below are some pictures of around the city!

Yeahhhhh!

Making food in the hostel! These places are AMAZING for making your own meals....and cheap! Spam sandwiches with cheese and hard-boiled eggs

Outside of the Belfast hostel

One of the MANY famous murals around the city

A theatrical spoof performed by people with down-syndrome.. would have been interesting to see and great to support!

City Hall

Some of the many street performers

Emeli, a French street violinist (also a student)... She was playing a song from my favorite film, Amelie, and gave me a special performance!

First rainbow in (Northern) Ireland!

One of the pieces at the FREE art museum

Like Ii said, I really enjoyed Belfast. The highlight of the trip there was a show I went to see at a really classy hotel. The traveling show had traditional Irish music and dancers and showcased several of the young local dancers from the city. I randomly sat at a table with a family who had a nine-year-old daughter performing. They were SO proud! Below are some pictures from the show:

Anna, the daughter, is on the far right in the pink

EXCELLENT singers! They sang, "Oh Danny Boy," "Galway Girl," and a personal favorite, "You Raise Me Up." Yes, I was sort of in tears!

Anna and I! She signed my ticket (insisted by her proud mother in case she ever becomes famous...all of her family thought I was from Canada!)

After Belfast, the plan was to hop on a 10:30 ferry straight to Liverpool in the United Kingdom. I originally had some trouble booking my ticket but finally managed to do it several weeks ago. When I arrived at the dock to board at around 10a, I could not board because my ferry was leaving FURTHER down the dock.... the terrible part is the check-in sight to board closes off one hour before boarding so I was already screwed. The ticket operator was extremely helpful and cancelled my ticket and rebooked my journey through Glasgow, Scotland. Here was my new itinerary:

Ferry from Belfast to Cairnryan (2.25 hrs)

Bus NORTH from Cairnryan to Ayr (1-ish hrs)

Train more NORTH from Ayr to Glasgow (1.5 hrs)

Train SOUTH from Glasgow to Preston (3.5 hrs-change trains)

Train from Preston to Liverpool (1 hr)

I was dead tired! HOWEVER, the new route was SO worth the change because of two things: a) the scenery in Scotland is AMAZING and b) I met a new friend!

Pictured above with me is Michelle. Michelle is from Ohio and is another one of those awesome adventures who quit their job and is backpacking around Europe for months. Michelle worked as a nurse and is interested in providing therapy and counseling for child victims of disasters. She is also interested in ER and pediatrics. Her college journey was refreshing to hear! Both she and I had a rough time figuring out what we wanted to be when we grow up. Looks like we both are doing an awesome job at living :)