More Norn Iron (as opposed to "Any Old Iron)

After arriving pretty late, we didn't do too much the following day. It was Linda's first ever trip to Ireland but she refused to kiss the ground when she walked up from the pontoons to the land. No idea why, the concrete looked so appealing in the rain.

What did we get up to we hear you cry in breathless anticipation. Well, firstly, we had a visit from David and Caroline who you should know from earlier starring roles in here. Caroline is an all round top person. David is her lucky husband. We say no more.... David helped Linda set some quiz questions for an upcoming Nimbus owners' club meeting (please don't ask why Nordhavn 43 owners are running such an event - it is too hard to explain and the answer would probably not interest you anyway). Do you know what an anphidromic point is without resorting to Google? Well, if you are attending the next Nimbus meeting, read up on it now....

Andrew and Linda got introduced to Norn Iron life a little when they had the pleasure of dinner at the Royal Ulster Yacht club. Quite a place - we have reported on this before. They were so lucky to get a guided tour of the gorgeous building from the club's expert historian too:

The picture gives you an idea of the stunning interior furnishings and woodwork - have a look at RUYC website for more information. Of course, they are expected to become members now.

A day in Belfast seeing the sights is de-rigueur of course. We went on the guided tour of the Belfast city hall - wow. Quite a place that was built using profits from the local gas utility company. Not sure if British Gas (BG) have erected anything as grand with the billions they have made. The interior is opulent in the extreme. Here is the main dome and chandelier, modelled on St Paul's cathedral in London complete with a whispering gallery up top too:

Lunch was in the Cafe Vaudeville. The kind of place where if you fell asleep and the woke up again you would think you were in a Hollywood movie meets shabby chic meets art deco in a wonderfully anarchic way sort of place:

Fortunately, the soup was good enough for us to stay awake and focused on our food.

They had to be introduced to another Belfast institution - the pub. Not any old pub but of course the Crown:

Honestly, we didn't touch a drop. There was more of the city to see rather than stagger around.