May 30, 2024

Belfast

Wednesday May 29th we explored the City. Above is City Hall where we joined in with a free walking tour of downtown. The rain sprinkled off and on , but does provide dramatic clouds in photos and reasons to stop for a tea break or shop, which we did! Our hotel Ibis Belfast Centre was in a great location for walking all about. 
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We had a yummy dinner at The Latern - Cod baked in fabulous sauce w sweet potatoes for me and Edel had beef roast, so tender! We split a sour apple tart for dessert.

THE CROWN PUB was first pointed out on our walking tour, and it was so interesting we went back for drinks after Dinner.

The owners are a mixed religion couple - the husband is Catholic and wife Protestant, and she adores everything about the royals. They compromised on the name the crown, but in smallest letters in Marquee outside and image of crown has to be walked on upon entry to the pub. The finishes inside and out are very detailed and unique. There are snugs lining the opposite side of the bar from 1880 built by Italian craftsmen working in the shipyards and on churches around Belfast they were designed to allow ladies and high society to have a drink without being overlooked.

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SOMEWHERE IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA .....

By Pat Patrick • June 1, 2026
Somewhere in the South China Sea, i n a galaxy far, far away ... was the Odyssey and a bunch of fun loving travelers....who had an idea for a fun cocktail party!

CORON, PHILIPPINES

By Pat Patrick • May 30, 2026
Yesterday we joined in with many of our fellow residents to take in some of the many water spots around Coron . We signed up through Get Your Guide, others used Trip Advisor and they both contracted with Psalms Travel Services in Coron. As I've explained before, figuring out our excursions in each port, is a big time suck for me. We prefer to find local venders without having to go through the big agencies (because you usually can get better service, pricing and customization) but sometimes it is just easier to stick with the big guys, when the excursion is super popular. Psalms turned out to be an excellent operator and I laughed when I saw they had used the below images on their Facebook page today. Didn't realize my pink dry bag stood out so much!

CORON, PHILIPPINES

By Pat Patrick • May 30, 2026
We are currently docked at the port of CORON , in the Palawan archipelago islands, of the Philippines . While the port itself is nothing special, and the surrounding town is hardly thriving, the people here are amazingly friendly, joyful and so happy to be around! You can see from below, they have a ton of hotels and restaurants but mostly it's their water actives that attract a fair number of tourist. Known for their crystal clear water, dramatic limestone cliffs and powdery white sand beaches. June is the start of the rainy season, but so far the weather has been good.