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Showing posts with label belfast. Show all posts
Showing posts with label belfast. Show all posts
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Monday, June 9, 2008
Leaving Belfast
Our week in Belfast was great! Thanks to Paul and his family for their hospitality! Jacob and I were reluctant to leave.
The weather stayed nice pretty much the entire time - Only our last day in the city was rainy. On Tuesday we went to Titanic Quarter of Belfast. Near the ship yards where the Titanic was built, this neighborhood has seen some recent development and will be home to pricey condos and hip restaurants in the near future.
Among the construction sites, however, we were able to find some the original dock where the Titanic was built, pictured below.
In the pumphouse next door, we saw the panel that allowed the builders to control the flow of water into the dock.
I found this old fashioned "post-it" note on one of the panels. I couldn't get the lettering to come out very well but it says "Do not turn off".
And later that afternoon, we all headed to the Queen's University area for lunch. It was such a nice day that we opted for a picnic blanket on the grass.
Afterwards, I sat down with my Kindle and caught up on some reading while Jacob and Paul spent the afternoon working on Paul's car, Jacob's mission before we left Belfast.
On Wednesday, we spent the day packing and hanging out at Paul's place before taking the bus down to Dublin and a flight on Ryanair to Paris Beauvais airport. For some reason, we mixed up the flight times and thought that our plane left at 10 PM. We decided that catching the 5PM bus to Dublin would give us plenty of time to get to the airport, get some food and get settled onto the plane. The bus arrived in Dublin without any problems. We arrived at the airport at 7:15.
Once we got our bags checked and our boarding passes printed, Jacob asked the ticketing agent about the food options available behind security. She said that there were some but that she didn't think we would have time. That's when we looked at boarding passes and realized that we were on the 8 PM flight. We ran to security and made it through in ten minutes, even with all of Jacob's electronics. And then we sprinted for the gate, which seemed to be at the farthest point in the airport away from us.
Luckily, we managed to get to the gate just as they had started boarding and were even able to seats together on the plane. The backs of the seats on Ryanair featured their emergency exit protocol. I particularly like the photo on the right of the woman sliding down with her hands crossed over her knees to keep her skirt from flying up....Since modesty is the most important thing in this circumstance. (Click on the photo for a larger resolution pic.)
The weather stayed nice pretty much the entire time - Only our last day in the city was rainy. On Tuesday we went to Titanic Quarter of Belfast. Near the ship yards where the Titanic was built, this neighborhood has seen some recent development and will be home to pricey condos and hip restaurants in the near future.
Among the construction sites, however, we were able to find some the original dock where the Titanic was built, pictured below.
In the pumphouse next door, we saw the panel that allowed the builders to control the flow of water into the dock.
I found this old fashioned "post-it" note on one of the panels. I couldn't get the lettering to come out very well but it says "Do not turn off".
And later that afternoon, we all headed to the Queen's University area for lunch. It was such a nice day that we opted for a picnic blanket on the grass.
Afterwards, I sat down with my Kindle and caught up on some reading while Jacob and Paul spent the afternoon working on Paul's car, Jacob's mission before we left Belfast.
On Wednesday, we spent the day packing and hanging out at Paul's place before taking the bus down to Dublin and a flight on Ryanair to Paris Beauvais airport. For some reason, we mixed up the flight times and thought that our plane left at 10 PM. We decided that catching the 5PM bus to Dublin would give us plenty of time to get to the airport, get some food and get settled onto the plane. The bus arrived in Dublin without any problems. We arrived at the airport at 7:15.
Once we got our bags checked and our boarding passes printed, Jacob asked the ticketing agent about the food options available behind security. She said that there were some but that she didn't think we would have time. That's when we looked at boarding passes and realized that we were on the 8 PM flight. We ran to security and made it through in ten minutes, even with all of Jacob's electronics. And then we sprinted for the gate, which seemed to be at the farthest point in the airport away from us.
Luckily, we managed to get to the gate just as they had started boarding and were even able to seats together on the plane. The backs of the seats on Ryanair featured their emergency exit protocol. I particularly like the photo on the right of the woman sliding down with her hands crossed over her knees to keep her skirt from flying up....Since modesty is the most important thing in this circumstance. (Click on the photo for a larger resolution pic.)
Friday, June 6, 2008
Belfast
Paul took us out a few times to tour different parts of Belfast. The city has many murals commemorating the conflict between the Nationalists fighting for a united Ireland and the Unionists who favored remaining under British rule.
The picture above shows a mural from the Catholic standpoint. The picture below was taken in one of the predominantly Protestant parts of town.
Belfast has become more peaceful in the last few years but you can still see signs of its troubled history in the razor wire that encircled many buildings and the fortifications that enclosed most of the police stations.
The above picture shows a wall of murals painted to show solidarity with other areas in conflict. This one criticizes the U.S.'s role in Iraq. The one below speaks to the Palestinian/Israeli conflict.
Paul also took us to listen to some traditional Irish music at his local bars. The older musicians performed songs commemorating Nationalist heroes who had died. Jacob recorded a few of their songs and will put them up once he gets them into a format that can be posted on the Internet.
The picture above shows a mural from the Catholic standpoint. The picture below was taken in one of the predominantly Protestant parts of town.
Belfast has become more peaceful in the last few years but you can still see signs of its troubled history in the razor wire that encircled many buildings and the fortifications that enclosed most of the police stations.
The above picture shows a wall of murals painted to show solidarity with other areas in conflict. This one criticizes the U.S.'s role in Iraq. The one below speaks to the Palestinian/Israeli conflict.
Paul also took us to listen to some traditional Irish music at his local bars. The older musicians performed songs commemorating Nationalist heroes who had died. Jacob recorded a few of their songs and will put them up once he gets them into a format that can be posted on the Internet.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Food that I've never taken the time to write down
I first started cooking food with my mom when I was twelve. She wanted me to help out around the house more since she was about to give birth to my sister. From that time, I have a collection of Vietnamese recipes that I learned to make by taste and feel rather than by recipes written down in a book. When I make these recipes, the ingredients and proportions change depending on my mood and on what's available.
Driving around Belfast today, we encountered a couple of Asian markets and our friend Paul asked me to make him some Vietnamese food. I made Hot and Sour Chicken Soup and Lemon Grass Grilled Pork. We got to talking about recipes and he asked me to send him these and a couple of others. Since I took the time to put them down, I figured I would go ahead and put them on the blog for others to use (Brady, I'm thinking about you in Charlottesville). Alas, no pictures.
Here are the recipes:
Hot and Sour Chicken Soup (though you can use fish or shrimp)
3 cloves garlic, sliced
2 stalks lemon grass, cut into 1-inch pieces and smashed with a knife
1/2 onion, cut into 1/2-inch wedges
1 small tomato, cut into quarters
.6 kilo okra, cut into 1-inch pieces and boiled for a few minutes
2 stalks celery (sliced thinly) or taro root
1 red pepper, sliced 1/4-inch pieces
6 cups water
3 chicken bouillon cubes
1 lb chicken, cut up into pieces
1 can pineapple chunks, drained of liquid
fish sauce
salt
tamarind paste
chili garlic sauce
brown sugar
2 tbs chopped cilantro
Saute garlic, lemon grass and onions in vegetable oil until fragrant. Add chili garlic sauce (2 tbs). Add chicken and saute for 1 minute. Then add celery and pepper, saute for 1 minute. Add water, bouillon cubes, tamarind paste. Bring the water to a boil. Add the pineapple chunks, 3 tbs fish sauce, 1 1/2 tbs brown sugar, 1 tbs salt. Simmer for 10 minutes, check for flavor and add more fish sauce, salt, tamarind past, chili sauce or sugar as needed. Stir in cilantro just before serving.
Grilled Lemon Grass Pork
500 grams pork tenderloin, sliced thinly
2 stalks lemon grass, sliced thinly
3 tbs fish sauce
1.5 tbs brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
Mix together all ingredients. Marinate for at least 20 minutes, longer is better. Put the pork on skewers. Grill until done.
Vietnamese dipping sauce (My mom's down and dirty dipping sauce; no frills, no fuss)
Equal portions of (use the same container to measure out each):
fish sauce
sugar
vinegar
water
Mix ingredients together well, make sure that sugar is completely dissolved. For additional kick/flavor, you can add thinly sliced garlic or chopped thai chilis or chili garlic paste.
Chicken and rice soup
1/2 chicken
1/2 cup rice
6 cups water
5 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 tbs vegetable oil
5 tbs ginger, chopped
fish sauce
salt
black pepper
cilantro
1 green onion, sliced thin
Bring to boil chicken and water with a pinch of salt. Once starts to boil, turn heat down to simmer for 30 minutes. Saute garlic until golden brown and then add the rice until it's opaque white. Add the rice mixture to the water. Cook chicken and rice together for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, take the chicken out and let cool. Cook rice for an additional 45 minutes. Pull the chicken off the bone and throw the bones back into the rice mixture. Shred the chicken into thin pieces. After the 45 minutes, add shredded chicken, ginger and fish sauce to taste. Serve with lots of black pepper, a sprinkling of cilantro and green onion.
Driving around Belfast today, we encountered a couple of Asian markets and our friend Paul asked me to make him some Vietnamese food. I made Hot and Sour Chicken Soup and Lemon Grass Grilled Pork. We got to talking about recipes and he asked me to send him these and a couple of others. Since I took the time to put them down, I figured I would go ahead and put them on the blog for others to use (Brady, I'm thinking about you in Charlottesville). Alas, no pictures.
Here are the recipes:
Hot and Sour Chicken Soup (though you can use fish or shrimp)
3 cloves garlic, sliced
2 stalks lemon grass, cut into 1-inch pieces and smashed with a knife
1/2 onion, cut into 1/2-inch wedges
1 small tomato, cut into quarters
.6 kilo okra, cut into 1-inch pieces and boiled for a few minutes
2 stalks celery (sliced thinly) or taro root
1 red pepper, sliced 1/4-inch pieces
6 cups water
3 chicken bouillon cubes
1 lb chicken, cut up into pieces
1 can pineapple chunks, drained of liquid
fish sauce
salt
tamarind paste
chili garlic sauce
brown sugar
2 tbs chopped cilantro
Saute garlic, lemon grass and onions in vegetable oil until fragrant. Add chili garlic sauce (2 tbs). Add chicken and saute for 1 minute. Then add celery and pepper, saute for 1 minute. Add water, bouillon cubes, tamarind paste. Bring the water to a boil. Add the pineapple chunks, 3 tbs fish sauce, 1 1/2 tbs brown sugar, 1 tbs salt. Simmer for 10 minutes, check for flavor and add more fish sauce, salt, tamarind past, chili sauce or sugar as needed. Stir in cilantro just before serving.
Grilled Lemon Grass Pork
500 grams pork tenderloin, sliced thinly
2 stalks lemon grass, sliced thinly
3 tbs fish sauce
1.5 tbs brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
Mix together all ingredients. Marinate for at least 20 minutes, longer is better. Put the pork on skewers. Grill until done.
Vietnamese dipping sauce (My mom's down and dirty dipping sauce; no frills, no fuss)
Equal portions of (use the same container to measure out each):
fish sauce
sugar
vinegar
water
Mix ingredients together well, make sure that sugar is completely dissolved. For additional kick/flavor, you can add thinly sliced garlic or chopped thai chilis or chili garlic paste.
Chicken and rice soup
1/2 chicken
1/2 cup rice
6 cups water
5 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 tbs vegetable oil
5 tbs ginger, chopped
fish sauce
salt
black pepper
cilantro
1 green onion, sliced thin
Bring to boil chicken and water with a pinch of salt. Once starts to boil, turn heat down to simmer for 30 minutes. Saute garlic until golden brown and then add the rice until it's opaque white. Add the rice mixture to the water. Cook chicken and rice together for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, take the chicken out and let cool. Cook rice for an additional 45 minutes. Pull the chicken off the bone and throw the bones back into the rice mixture. Shred the chicken into thin pieces. After the 45 minutes, add shredded chicken, ginger and fish sauce to taste. Serve with lots of black pepper, a sprinkling of cilantro and green onion.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Taking a small break
The first picture perfectly captures our first day in Belfast - sitting at a Gaelic football field sipping on a Guinness. Jacob and I decided to take a small break, "mini-retirement" as he likes to call it, and travel around the world. It was kind of a reward for the last two years of hard work with my masters program.
It was a hectic couple of weeks wrapping things in DC, cleaning, packing and getting things ready to sublet our room. The last few days were a little crazy. But I think that we got things in order pretty well, and hopefully our new sublet is enjoying the room as much as we did.
After some flight delays out of Washington, we arrived in Dublin and made our way by bus to Belfast. Our friend, Paul, met us and has been hosting us at his house. The weather's been beautiful ever since we got here. It's almost not like Ireland. Jacob and I last visited in 2002 and toured Southern Ireland where it rained off and on every day of our trip.
Yesterday we were able to take a drive down the coast of Northern Ireland to the Giant's Causeway. It was beautiful. Jacob claimed an island that he found that wasn't on any of our maps. He named it after himself.
You can see the island over Jacob's shoulder in this picture.
The Giants Causeway was awesome! It was perfect weather to walk around. The rock formations were really interesting. They really look manmade rather than natural.
We have a few more days in Belfast. It's a really interesting city and Paul's been telling us a lot of the history. I'll post of the murals that the city is known for next time.
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