Thursday, December 6, 2007
Bangor
Walt and Reed took themselves out of the house last Friday so I could have most of the day at home with peace and quiet. Utter bliss, I admit. They went to the transport museum again in Cultra, this time to see the boats. When they got home they stayed for just a couple minutes before heading out again to catch the train downtown for a swim at the leisure center. I’ve had plenty of alone time while on my shopping walks, but to be at home alone is a rare pleasure no matter where I am in the world. It definitely helped restore my shaky equilibrium – knocked off balance by too much family togetherness I guess. I know that is not a problem that most families have lately, but on our year away it is indeed a hazard. Fortunately we’re not in The Shining…we’re not trapped in some remote snowbound haunted mansion, slowly losing our grip.
Quite the opposite really: today as I was walking I realized I’ve got a dawning sense of contentment, that until it appeared, I didn’t know was missing. Having realized a long held desire certainly helps – after all, I used to spend an inordinate amount of time in my former life dreaming and scheming how to spend a year in Europe, and voila, here I am. Now my concerns run to the more mundane: will I ever own a Smartcar or Mini Cooper of my very own? Will they continue producing episodes of The Hotel Inspector for t.v.? Do I want a regular chocolate orange or a dark minty chocolate orange in my stocking for Christmas? Things like that. Being here now certainly makes living in Europe again in the future completely possible, and that, believe it or not, is a huge load off my mind.
We spent Saturday in Belfast, catching the train at 10 a.m. and getting to St. George’s market around 10:45, just in time to go around sampling all the delicious things for sale. The most unusual was probably smoked dulse, a type of seaweed, and a cracker spread made from sea lettuce. But they were both delicious. We had a crepe filled with ham and cheese as well as a serving of sausage with a curry sauce for lunch, while listening to a band playing American Dixieland and Big Band type music. Walt thought that was unusual until I pointed out how many times we’ve listened to traditional Irish music at the farmer’s market at home. Afterwards we wandered downtown to the City Hall which was jampacked with people enjoying the Christmas market in Donegall Square. We caught a bus to the Queen’s University area where we walked through the winter-subdued Botanic Gardens. My favorite was the old, unrestored Tropical Ravine building, made of brick, rather dark and completely jungle-like with exotic vines and trees, with a goldfish pond below us at the bottom of it, and gothic style wooden windows rotting away from the constant moisture. We were the only ones inside, taking shelter from the brisk breeze, and I simply must visit again to note more details; it would be the perfect setting for a crime scene in a cozy murder mystery. Afterwards we went into the Student Union at Queen’s to have some hot chocolate at Clement’s cafe and admire the fabulous view of the school directly across the street. I believe it was the same Victorian architect that designed Queen’s that also designed the curvilinear glass and steel palm house at the Botanical Gardens, Sir Charles Lanyon. We caught the train home around 3:30 pm and were happily building a fire in the stove at home by dark.
