Fillers - Downtown Belfast and My Room

Thus begins our walk down the river - Sydney, Melissa, and I.




feet/inches clearance and metre clearance signs



map of Belfast something or other



it was a really cute sign, but it's hard to see. I can't figure out how to make my camera work when it starts getting dark...





And here are various downtown Belfast pictures.



Yes, that says Oxford Street. :)



This is hard to see, but it's the entrance to a courtroom.



So, this place looked way cooler from the outside than it was inside.



Apparently the Smithfield Market is raved about in the tourist booklets, but it was actually pretty sketch. They had some nice rugs, tho...



Yessireebob. That right thur is THE Bank of Ireland. hehe (They more than just this one)



This is where Melissa and I ate that first weekend. We took a picture for old times' sake.





It was a sea shell that they used as an ash tray! Perhaps it's a bit unsophisticated, but I thought it was great!






Here begin many views of Belfast from the Belfast Wheel - a huge ferris wheel downtown for tourists like us




Those yellow arms in the distance on the right have been there since the building of the Titanic, on which they helped.





Better view of Titanic history








A sign admonishing us not to jump out of the gondola. Thanks for that. I wasn't sure if we were supposed to or not. Geez








They really don't want you to try and escape.



Belfast Wheel



Melissa in our gondola on the Wheel





I thought it was funny.



The "gondolas" on the Belfast Wheel.



Titanic Memorial engraving




Belfast Wheel



Yes, the Titanic was built in Belfast, for those of you who didn't know. I didn't realize it until I arrived here. I remember learning about the Titanic, but at the time, Belfast meant nothing special to me.



Belfast Wheel. You can see all of the city from it.





I thought my brother would appreciate me taking a picture of the BBC building.







Here's a view of my room from the window.



And here's another. Fascinating, I know, but I'm throwing these up for those of you who may be curious what my room looks like.



Here is the view of my room from my door.


This one is by Ally. She had several of her paintings just sitting against her wall, and I was looking through them when I discovered this one. She was very happy to give it to me. I think a lot of times she just paints because she wants to, rather than out of a desire to have a particular painting in her possession. I was thrilled she gave this to me!



This is a lovely painting of tea by the lovely Sydney, who is obsessed with tea. :)



Here is a random drawing of lemurs that Jen had. I fell so much in love with it, she gave it to me! It's a little hard to see in the photo, but they are very cute!



Melissa painted this one and let me have it because she felt sorry for my dull, color-less room.



My sink. Ta da.



Here are my shelves, complete with all miscellaneous items. On the bottom shelf in the middle there is a hat that I bought here, and on the top shelf are the few photos that I brought with me.



Here's my nightstand/dresser with the oh-so-delicious canister of Nutella on it. There is also my IKEA lamp that I bought here and my huge Jane Austen collection. (I just recently finished Sense and Sensibility and have since moved on to Mansfield Park)



This is Jack Jack the bull dog. He is doing his own "study abroad" this semester by spending it with me. (He actually belongs to Ally, but she's letting him visit me)
Doesn't it look like he's guarding my bed? He's so cute! :)



Here is my bed, all nice and neat for the picture :)