The (unfortunate) task of planning a cheap trip
Counting both, the number of days in the UK, and how much money I had left, I decided I could only afford one 'big' trip outside of Exeter. I didn't hesitate to choose my destination: Belfast!
More than one reason converged to make a curiosity of the place: I grew up learning about Northern Ireland from the news, and it was hard not to associate the sectarian strife that in there with the civil war in Lebanon. It was also interesting to examine a 'primordial' conflict in Western Europe, the part of the world which credited itself with propagating ‘modernity’ and ‘rationality’.
The preparations for the trip were not particularly difficult : A bus ticket from Exeter to Stansted Airport in London, a cheap flight to Belfast International Airport ( which cost half as much as the bus ticket did !), and a booking for dormitory bed for 6.50 pounds, in a old linen factory turned into a hostel.
However, there was only one problem: I had no camera. It was one of these things which cost I always thought could finance far more useful commodities -- beer is not the least of them. I tried to get a cheap bargain on eBay, but the seller turned out to be a fraud, and I never received the camera. I bought another one online, but they could not deliver it on time for my flight. I had to contend with using the tiny 2.0 megapixel-camera in my phone, for which I still do not have the right software or cable to transfer the photos to my computer.
Chairs are more than pieces of furniture!
Once in the city, I stepped off the airport shuttle some 300 metres away from the City Hall, which rose to block Royal Avenue. The Avenue is the commercial district of the city centre where shopping malls, superstores and American fast food venues make Belfast look no different than Paris, London, Rome or even the posh parts of Beirut.
I strolled down the Avenue and then into the City Hall. I was just in time for a free tour whose audience was mainly a group of Canadian senior citizens. Ireland seems to be favourite destination for North Americans and Australians, many of whom make it their purpose to visit the Public Record Office to retrace their Irish lineage.
The City Hall was a majestic shrine to honour British tradition. The gallery features the charter by Queen Victoria, written in 1888 to elevate the status of Belfast from 'town' to 'city', and hence came the building of the City Hall which was completed in 1906.The chamber where the council convenes has almost the exact same layout as the British House of Commons. Every item was preserved and displayed to commemorate the tradition held at the City Council. The guide was pointing at each piece of furniture to tell us when and where it was built and the names of royalties who sat on it upon visiting Belfast. I left the City Hall feeling even more attached to the royal family (!).
Counting both, the number of days in the UK, and how much money I had left, I decided I could only afford one 'big' trip outside of Exeter. I didn't hesitate to choose my destination: Belfast!
More than one reason converged to make a curiosity of the place: I grew up learning about Northern Ireland from the news, and it was hard not to associate the sectarian strife that in there with the civil war in Lebanon. It was also interesting to examine a 'primordial' conflict in Western Europe, the part of the world which credited itself with propagating ‘modernity’ and ‘rationality’.
The preparations for the trip were not particularly difficult : A bus ticket from Exeter to Stansted Airport in London, a cheap flight to Belfast International Airport ( which cost half as much as the bus ticket did !), and a booking for dormitory bed for 6.50 pounds, in a old linen factory turned into a hostel.
However, there was only one problem: I had no camera. It was one of these things which cost I always thought could finance far more useful commodities -- beer is not the least of them. I tried to get a cheap bargain on eBay, but the seller turned out to be a fraud, and I never received the camera. I bought another one online, but they could not deliver it on time for my flight. I had to contend with using the tiny 2.0 megapixel-camera in my phone, for which I still do not have the right software or cable to transfer the photos to my computer.
Chairs are more than pieces of furniture!
Once in the city, I stepped off the airport shuttle some 300 metres away from the City Hall, which rose to block Royal Avenue. The Avenue is the commercial district of the city centre where shopping malls, superstores and American fast food venues make Belfast look no different than Paris, London, Rome or even the posh parts of Beirut.
I strolled down the Avenue and then into the City Hall. I was just in time for a free tour whose audience was mainly a group of Canadian senior citizens. Ireland seems to be favourite destination for North Americans and Australians, many of whom make it their purpose to visit the Public Record Office to retrace their Irish lineage.
The City Hall was a majestic shrine to honour British tradition. The gallery features the charter by Queen Victoria, written in 1888 to elevate the status of Belfast from 'town' to 'city', and hence came the building of the City Hall which was completed in 1906.The chamber where the council convenes has almost the exact same layout as the British House of Commons. Every item was preserved and displayed to commemorate the tradition held at the City Council. The guide was pointing at each piece of furniture to tell us when and where it was built and the names of royalties who sat on it upon visiting Belfast. I left the City Hall feeling even more attached to the royal family (!).
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