tour diary: fast trip to Belfast

Now a post that is a little more about the photos than it is a travel guide since we were only in Belfast about 24hours. We left Dublin and hopped on a train headed to Northern Ireland - the tour was full of these early morning lobby calls which was neither my, nor "the Brit's" cup of tea but we managed to make all of our trains and planes!

 

After dropping our bags in our very colorful hotel room (we're talking primary colored decor ever-y-where!) we walked over to a place we had passed by earlier which looked promising called Harlem Cafe (34 Bedford St Belfast BT2 7). We ended up absolutely loving it.

 ^outside!

^inside!   vOur table, filled with seashells.

They had amazing veggie-friendly breakfasts (as well as carnivore-friendly ones), good coffee, comfy atmosphere and great music. It's a wonder we were able to peel our still somewhat jet-lagged bums from those chairs when it came time to go.

We explored a bit in the downtown shopping district and walked past City Hall on our way back to the hotel. The city was absolutely bustling with people, though I didn't do the best job of documenting that.

I'm not sure what I expected of Belfast, honestly...but I found the people and the city itself very pleasant and welcoming.  I suppose most of what we Americans know about Northern Ireland involves it's rather turbulent not too distant past but there were no signs of that whole mess to be seen - at least not where we were.

Then it was suddenly already time for sound check...

We played a sorta divey but awesome venue called Spring & Airbrake. So many great bands/artists have played there which made it all the more special!

Backstage Laura & Lydia (the Secret Sisters) had brought us a delicious "welcome to the tour" surprise... mmm

me...being serious

 

^ every backstage area during this tour was freezing - hence everyone keeping their coats on until showtime!

next stop...Manchester!

PS: hope you all had a great weekend!

tour diary: Dublin

As mentioned, I have been on tour in the UK & Ireland performing with my friend Lucette. From the Sundance Festival I hopped from one plane to the next and then on to one more, landing in Dublin in time for our first gig.    I'd been to Dublin once back when I lived in England (embarrassingly enough on Saint Patrick's day weekend :-/ ) but it's been many moons since that trip.  Since my mom's side of the family is of predominately Irish origins I've always felt a bit connected with Irish culture/history.  *Note* I am by no means an expert on Dublin and this trip was very last minute so I did not have much time to research the cities we visited. That said, here are some photos & a mini-travel-guide of places we went to…

 

The night I arrived in Dublin we all went down to the central (slightly touristy) area called Temple Bar just south of the River.  The streets in Temple Bar are all very narrow and cobble-stoned which makes for a cozy atmosphere. We wandered around a little and then ate in a pub called the Old Mill (14 Temple Bar Square). Not the most incredible food I've ever eaten but it wasn't bad either - plus they had cider which made me quite happy.

  

 

 Lucette & a very jet-lagged Moi

The next morning "the Brit" and I set off in search of a proper Irish breakfast (please note that this is the same thing as a traditional English breakfast - but shhh... don't tell anyone ;) Dublin is a great city to walk around in and you are bound to bump into a cool restaurant or pub - so that is what we did.

We ended up at a cool pub/restaurant called the  Dark Horse Inn (1 Georges Quay) which was right across the road from the River Liffey.  It is also opened at night but I assume it is probably a little noisier and more crowded then it was at 10am on a Tuesday! Delicious breakfast though.

Skipping around a little...we were told by a few people to wander over Merrion Square to see Oscar Wilde's former home and the nearby park which has a beautiful statue of the man himself...

It was really gorgeous in person - the photo doesn't do it much justice!

 

We played at a venue called the Sugar Club (8 Lwr. Leeson St. Dublin 2)which looked like a night club from the outside (we were a little scared) but we breathed a sigh of relief when it looked like this on the inside...

 Lucette during sound check...

Before the show we went to a pub directly next door to the venue (unfortunately, I forgot to write the name of it down) where the owner served us homemade veggie soup and cute little bottles of red wine!

Lucette  "the band"

The Secret Sisters on stage...

and the final photo of the Dublin trip, the merch table!

next up! Belfast :)