a short flight and we're in Glasgow

Good morning from Belfast!

It's our last day here -- or rather our last half day. Still, the weather is holding. Not to be squandered for sure!

But first -- breakfast. Earlier today. No dawdling allowed. Because it is a traveling day, there is a schedule to keep.

I come downstairs for my eggs and smoked salmon and the young family quickly joins me. Hi happy kids!





How good it is to see you so full of cheer!





We strategize: Sparrow needs a morning nap to get him through the rest of the day. His mom will pack up, dad will help. I have a few hours of adventuring with Snowdrop.

Where to? Well, it's Saturday. Should we do the market?

I ask her to list the differences between this famous Belfast market and ours in Madison. We come up with five important distinctions.  First, the Belfast one is covered!





Not sure which markets were under consideration, but St. George's seems to have picked up some fans in the judging department!

Next difference -- this market has lots and lots of fresh fish!





I think Snowdrop is somewhat taken aback by the odors around these stalls. Our fish come from the grocery store: you would never know that they carry with them a distinct smell of seafood.

Then there are the toys. Great place to bring an indulgent grandma... Yes, you may have the Irish ragdoll.






There are bathrooms here too! Very important! No picture needed. Oh, and clothing! Of a certain kind.






The strawberries belong to our markets as well, of course. But theirs are ripe already. I ask the vendor if they just started. Nope! Jealous.






Alright, market explored. Now I get really really ambitious. The girl would love a park. With a playground. I know she enjoyed one across the river yesterday and so I aim in that direction.






It seems like a long walk. It is a long walk. I ask locals about playgrounds that are perhaps less than a 45 minute hike. Families with children: they know their spots. I'm told the nearest one is if I follow that road to the bottom, then turn right, then left, and it will be.

Okay...

I'm in the grittier side of town. Not uninteresting, but surely tougher. There's traffic, there are row houses, there are signs and placards. Still, there is art. In tiles, in posters. Art. Of the region.

(puffins)





(the the Titanic, because, of course, it was manufactured by a Belfast company)






Statement art, too, even if I don't always click onto its meaning...






We find the playground. I imagine kids playing here after school, or on a weekend, like today...






I'm not sure Snowdrop thinks it to be grand, but she is always willing to seek out new possibilities...






And after a handful of minutes, we head home. A long walk, on one side of the river, then the next...






... where we rejoin the stream of pedestrians poking into shops and cafes...






... until we're back in the hotel, just in time to rejoin the others and head out for lunch. At a "Taste of Belfast."


 


It's where Snowdrop discovers that fried shrimp taste the same around the world, and where Sparrow discovers he really likes mashed peas.












And now it's time to head for the airport.

(Waiting for a cab...)






The flight is late, but not so late as to make you nervous about getting to your destination in a timely fashion. Glasgow, our next stop, is just across the sea and the ride is all of thirty minutes. The little prop jet reminds me of ones I took to Islay and indeed, the whole trip to Scotland brings back so many memories, of hikes here, of island days, of highland rambles...





It all begins to feel rather nostalgic. But not for long. We are now making new memories. These will join all the others that I've stored away, of places that I love, and especially when shared with the next generations of traveling companions.



We take a cab to our AirBnb apartment in the West End. The driver is supremely friendly and his sense of humor is so fitting that the ride is like a comedy caper, past known and tried out routines... I do miss being among Scottish people!

Our apartment is huge. You couldn't really tell that from the ad, but it is indeed very very spacious. It's not in any way fancy or pristine, but it's so homey that both kids fall in love with it instantly!






Dinnertime. This one was my choice and it's just around the corner from us.





I ate at the Finnieston exactly on this day four years ago. I loved it then and now here I am, with an ever expanded family in tow. It's not all smooth: as we settle in, Sparrow slips and slides in his high chair. It's hard to make him comfortable. But these are such trivial details. The restaurant is lively and the food is just terrific. If I worried about the choices for Snowdrop, I needn't have: in hearing the selections, she quickly opts for scallops and sun dried tomatoes, then settles back into her drawing. And Sparrow? After his packs of mush, he gets to try slivers of halibut and grouper. Loves it! Absolutely loves it!










But perhaps the finest moment comes around when Snowdrop pulls me out into the little back garden, where people nursed drinks while waiting for a table. She makes friends with a Paisley couple who are obviously missing their own similarly aged children, because they cannot get enough of her and her American stories of travels and life back home. It is a memorable set of minutes!

And now it's way too late to continue. Ice cream cones, open windows, Scottish folk music on the radio. I have missed Scotland!

Good night from Glasgow!

Friday in Belfast

When I used to travel with my own young family, I'd plan each day in advance. There would be flexibility, but there were anchor points that formed a structure. We'd see the great sights, we'd ramble along ancient walls, up tall towers, inside expansive art galleries. Later, with Ed, I abandoned that. He was flexible (or you could say indifferent) as to what we'd see and if we didn't get to major sights, that was alright with him as well. I knew to skip crowded places (Ed does not like the chaos and noise of crowds) and I understood that a trip to a museum would take a very long time as he tends to read every posted notice or commentary. Eventually we would avoid big cities altogether and I more or less stayed with that model after he stopped being my occasional traveling companion. Apart from Paris, I rarely explored unfamiliar to me cities. I'd get to the countryside as quickly as a train would carry me there.

Now, in Belfast, I'm following a different model: I let the parents set the day's agenda. (It's not as if they make choices that would differ much from my own.) I sit back and let them lead the way.

The day starts early for me in that I wake up and say a silent thank you for the beautiful weather on this longest day of the year. (The room view again, in the very wee hours of the morning...)






And I pass on silent anniversary wishes to my daughter and her husband back home. Five years! So much happiness and love! May the sun shine ever so brightly on them always!

And now it's time to focus on the day ahead. Of course, we all start with breakfast. I come down first, for a pre-breakfast snack...






... soon to be joined by the happy, well rested and playful family.






It's a bit late in coming (they basically forgot about our food), but it's good (all that Irish smoked salmon!) and honestly, we all enjoy taking things slowly for a change.






Our first real sightseeing begins immediately after: we walk over to the Botanic Gardens.






You could say that this is special for everyone: the quiet simplicity of a park for the kids, the calm promenade for the grownups. But I would wager that I was the one with the greatest benefit -- I spend a wonderful handful of minutes in the most beautiful rose garden I'd ever seen...





















... and romp with Snowdrop between herbaceous borders.






I've said this before -- these flowering borders are at their finest in the UK and especially in the early days of summer. It's not that you wouldn't find these very flowers elsewhere, even in my farmette flower fields...






But viewing a professionally sculpted border is always simply sublime! Yes, welcome to summer my friends and beloveds! Welcome to this season of flowering landscapes!







From here, it's one step to the Ulster Museum. (I find it interesting that the name belongs to the province of Ulster which, perhaps you know, was split in two in 1922, with nine of its districts forming Northern Ireland and three remaining in the Republic of Ireland.)





This is a place of history and ethnography, of technology, of art, of children's exploration.

One children's section is closed due to a school group, but there is another room devoted to art for kids. And it is quietly empty.

True, it is rather basic in scope, but Snowdrop and Sparrow love it.


 


You could say that Sparrow really relaxes, for the first time, here, laughing and scooting as is his fashion back home.






And Snowdrop? Well now, there's paper, there are crayons. She sets to work. First, drawing together with her dad...






... then continuing on her own.






We do go back together to the paintings I had looked at (and adored) earlier. Again, it's an empty space, perfect for coming in with an enthusiastic little one ...






... I challenge her to find her own favorites. She loves this assignment and soon picks out a collection that is uniquely Snowdropian!






(We encounter the school group in the gift shop. Snowdrop tells us that she is very glad her school does not require uniforms.)






Lunch is at a place called the Barking Dog. And this has to be truly shocking: it's just perfect weather for eating outside at a picnic table.






Sparrow continues to giggle his way through the afternoon...


 


... and Snowdrop -- well, she just keeps falling in love with her surroundings. She tells us that she will go to college then continue to live in Belfast! She loves it so much! (The college of her choice? Queens. This one: )






We don't know what grabs her about Belfast and we don't probe. She is enchanted. That's all that counts.






Three of us return to the hotel to rest (I'm among those choosing to break for a little bit), two make it over to a playground. And then we join forces once more.

We walk over to a place called Home for dinner. Again, it's casual and very fresh and honest.






I'll end the post with a huge grin at the kids:











Both were spectacular travelers and their excitement was our excitement!

Last walk, back to our hotel...






It's late, but of course, the sun is still out. Still, time to draw the curtains on this beautifully long day.


 


Tomorrow, we leave for Scotland.