Travels | Belfast and Northern Ireland

1 week before my recital, I jetted off for a well-needed break to Belfast. I didn't realise I needed a break, but I feel so much happier and calmer than I did a week ago. Anyway, there was a reason, Mother was doing her first public speech on the mistakes on property.

I was meant to be meeting my parents out there, so when my plane landed at 12:30, I grabbed my backpack and hopped on a bus. The first thing I noticed was that the people of Northern Ireland are so friendly! While I was waiting for the bus, a girl around my age just said hello to me, which is something that barely happens in Britain. And then while I was wandering around the centre, someone passed me and said "there's a penny on the floor over there, go pick it up and you'll have a lucky day". How nice is that?! I think more people should go out of their way to make a stranger's day a little bit brighter.

Anyway, I digress. While I waited for my parents, I found this adorable little cupcake shop where I ordered a delicious bowl of chickpea, lentil and bacon soup, a great big hot chocolate and a lemon and white chocolate cupcake for lunch. It was delicious, and a proper locals place. A little out of the proper centre (I would no way have found it if I hadn't of gone right instead of left out of the bus station - away from the centre....), it was so lovely. It was called The Little Cupcake Cafe if anyone is interested. I would highly recommend it. The food and cupcakes were all homemade, and cost me around £5.70!

Anyway, I then wasted about 2 and a half hours wandering around the city, and getting a feel of it (all with my backpack on my back), before eventually my parents' plane had landed and they'd picked up the car. I found my way up to a viewing gallery of the city, and although I'm a little wobbly when it comes to heights, all the steps and the collywobbles were worth the view.

When my parents arrived we didn't have that much time to relax and settle into the hotel, before we had to rush back out to the meeting.

The next day, we got up, had breakfast in another really adorable cafe, and the breakfast was delicious - I had a bacon and mushroom omelette, and it was cooked to perfection! After breakfast we headed out for a roadtrip to the Giant's Causeway. We drove along the coastal road, and the views were spectacular! Some pictures are below.

I then had a plane to catch at 8:30am the next morning, so after we got back, we had a spot of dinner at TGI Friday's (YUM), and hit the sack.

It was a great few days, and it was the first time I'd ever flown by myself. I hoped that it would have calmed my constant wanderlust (at least for a little), but it did the opposite. As soon as I landed back in Manchester, I wanted to jump on another plane and travel somewhere else. Maybe in the next few weeks.....

A Wonder in the Park

I went for a walk today, for a few reasons:

1. To get me out of the house
2. To cheer me up
3. To find inspiration about what to write about.

I've been somewhat lacking in inspiration recently as I've been so busy what with technicals and erasmus applications that I haven't had any time to think. Since Friday night, I've probably slept around 10 hours every night, so I seem to think that my body needed a rest. 

The past month has been so hectic, it was nice to spend some quality Me-Time and have some time alone with my thoughts, with only the birds for company. 

I think that Me-Time is something that more people should take advantage of. Even if it is going for a walk for 20 minutes by yourself, or even just sitting down in your room and just switch off. It can clear out your head, perhaps making some decisions you've been umm-ing and ahh-ing about recently. In this day of age, we're so reliant on technology and our lives are so quick, with our smartphones pinging us every time we have an email, or having the news at our fingertips. Don't get me wrong, I couldn't live without my ipad, but there are days, like today, where I leave all things technological at home and just take some time out. It can make you feel refreshed and ready to take on your next challenge (or in my case, completely worn out cause I walked about 3 miles, and I'm not feeling 100%. Hence why I needed cheering up). 

Anyways, my walk. About a 15 minute walk from my house is Fletcher Moss Botanical Gardens. I hadn't planned on going there today, but as I was having a wonder around the charity shops in the village centre anyway, I figured I should go down and poke my nose in and see what all the fuss was about. It didn't disappoint. The photos above are of the gardens, and the smells coming from the flowers were amazing. There is no way I could go in the summer, as I would be coughing, spluttering and sneezing all over the place due to hay fever. So today was the perfect day to go. After looking around the main part of the gardens, I went to have a wonder around the field behind and found the river Mersey. I strolled my way along that before finding a road and eventually finding my way home. There was a great big cloud behind me the whole time, and I tried my best to be home before it started raining, but around 10 minutes from my front door, the heavens opened. 

You're probably thinking "why are you describing your walk?" Well, I wanted to share this experience. The experience of this walk being my inspiration to write when I've had writers block for the past couple of days. I've tried hard to sit down and write something, anything, that came into my head. I read through them all and deleted them because they were so awful. I've been tired, cyntachu (a welsh word...no idea what the translation is), and demotivated. This walk helped me find the words to write and has given me ideas to think about. 

I hope you can find some time in your busy lives to just sit. Or walk. Or run. Or make candles. Or do whatever you do. Without the tv on or music playing. Just do nothing for a while, and see where your contemplations and reflections take you.