Fat Frogs and Black Rocks

Greetings from Belfast,

I was hoping to have some picturesque photographs to post here but unfortunately, my digital camera has no juice and my two pronged American-plugged charger is no use with these mammouth three pronged Jobbies they have here. They say everything is bigger in America but clearly they are not taking into account the Irish/UK electrical system. The outlets have twice the voltage and the plugs are half the size of my head...

Anyway, took an absolutely gorgeous hike with Tom and Brandy (Tom's family's 84 year old dog...that's 12 in human years.) We walked from Tom's house through a couple of neighborhoods and into a nature preserve area called Cave Hill. We took a three hour hike through very green Lord-of-the-Ring type forests and up onto this rocky mountain which sets just west of Belfast. Near the top, there are no trees, only rocks and shrubs and this grass that looks windblown in every direction. It was a surprisingly warm and sunny day and we climbed all the way to the very top, which is called Napoleon's Nose. From the top, you can see all of Belfast and the surrounding towns as well as the lough (That would be something like a harbor to us Yanks...) We took a very steep path up and then meandered down through pasturelands until we came down just outside of Belfast Castle. There were these very cool looking yellow-flowered shrubs growing everywhere. Very brightly colored flowers offset by huge thorns...I have never seen plants like them before.

After such a healthy jaunt into nature, we met up with Tom's friends at the pub around mid-afternoon and then ended up at an all-night party before arriving home at 5am to the sounds of morning birds chirping like mad. It's been a long time since I've heard the sounds of morning from anywhere besides my bed. People in this town definitely know how to party...I'm just going to put my grandma pants on now and say that I cannot keep up with even the 90 pound girls when it comes to the drink...which brings me to the Fat Frog part of the evening, a drink that people are obessessed with here. I just have to say that it is absolutely awful...no offense to Tom who loves them, but whoever came up with this drink should never, ever, be allowed behind a bar again. It's a drink which is a mixture of, get this, one bottle: Orange Bacardi Breezer, one bottle: Smirnoff Ice, and one bottle: WKD blue. When mixed together, they become a vivid green the color of mouthwash...and the taste is not so different from Scope...if it was a very sweet, cottoncandy flavored scope. Vile. Other differences in recreational substances, since we're on the subject is our mari-joo-uana vs. their hash. People carry around these tiny black balls of hash in the pockets of their jeans or Kylie Minogue purses. They heat them up with a lighter, flake bits off, and roll it with tobacco. Interesting and a very different, less foggy sort of high, although being the grandma that I am, I'm not prone to smoke very much of it.

The younger sister of the person throwing the party last night was obsessed with my accent. It's quite funny to be the one with the accent (probably nice for Tom for the shoe to be on the other foot...) Everytime, I would walk into a room, she would ask me to say different things and think it was completely hilarious. I had to say Wanker about 27 times...and "you loser," was popular too...They love the O.C. over here and were horrified that I've never seen it...I think they thought I sounded like a teenager from an American TV show or something....Er, Ya big Loser... I didn't mind but I did feel a bit like a party trick..."like, Heather, that is soooo very..." Haha. Ah, well, at least I'm exotic...or something. It was better talking to her than the guy, wearing the scarface t-shirt who introduced himself by saying how much he hates Americans...in a very jovial, non-threatening way, mind you, but it does feel like quite the burden to constantly explain that we're not all right-wing, gun-toting, rednecks...

Despite the American Hater who was actually very friendly for someone telling me he hates me and my kind...haha...everyone at the party was very sweet and inclusive which was nice. Met a couple who live down in Dublin so maybe Tom and I will have some occasion to speak to people besides eachother down in the land of the black pool. Could happen.

Well, I've got a couple of giant Easter eggs waiting for me so I'm off. They have Easter eggs here the size of footballs (hollow) which are absolutely tasty. Gotta love my new chocolate, beer and bacon diet...haha. I am the picture of health.