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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KOH SAMUI, THAILAND - Final Day

By Pat Patrick • July 14, 2026
I really enjoyed my first trip to Thailand! On our final morning here we went to try breakfast at this spot, down the road, we had been hearing rave reviews on, King Of Bread . The hype was correct, the breakfast was delicious and they had some unique choices. I had eggs benedict on a croissant, in lieu of the standard english muffin and Bosco had it on Milk Bread, which was equally tasty.

KOH SAMUI, THAILAND - Cooking Class

By Pat Patrick • July 14, 2026
We love having authentic experiences with locals to really get a chance to see how they live and thrive in the Ports we visit. So when I found a cooking class, by a local woman offered in her home, we were excited to book. Um ( our teacher) picked us and brought us back to our hotel along with the family of 4 from Sydney, Australia, that had also signed up for this afternoon class. Um's house, which has a lovely open air kitchen, garden and dining area, was about a 30 minute drive and turned out to be on the beach, right next to the Grandparent Rocks.

KOH SAMUI, THAILAND - NIGHTLIFE

By Pat Patrick • July 14, 2026
The nightlife scene doesn't really get going till after 11pm and goes till 5 am in the Chaweng section of Koh Samui . We made our way over to the club district, and one of the hot spots called the ArkBar a little past 10pm to have some dinner, while watching the beach fire shows.