I ♥ Belfast

After the political tour on my third day in Belfast, Lindsey and I decided to get rush tickets to The Sound of Music, which was at the Royal Opera House. We were able to get tickets, and oh, how I love a good musical.

The woman who played Maria had a fantastic voice. All of the children were great, as well. The actor who played Friedrich von Trapp was sick, and the company didn't have time to get an understudy. So the manager told us before it started that the children had rehearsed for a couple of hours, and there was going to be just six children instead of seven. In Tim Gunn's vernacular, It was a Make It Work moment. And they did make it work even though some of the choreography was a little off. Anyway, one of the first lines Captain von Trapp has is something like, "I have seven children who need a nanny." And right after he said that, he paused, looked at the audience, and without breaking character, he said, "No, I don't. I have six children." It was quite funny, and the epitome of the show must go on even after someone says something ridiculous. He made up for that mistake when he sang 'Edelweiss.' Oh my god, his voice was amazing.

Anyway, The Sound of Music was lovely. But a girl sitting behind me apparently thought she was part of the musical. She literally sang along with every song. Honestly, I paid money to hear the paid actors to sing. A couple sitting next to me kept letting out frustrated sighs every time she started.

After The Sound of Music, I had the greatest food Ireland has to offer. Champ. We had baked potatoes and split Champ. I'm glad I didn't discover Champ until my last night; otherwise, I would have eaten it for every meal. Champ is a variation of mashed potatoes mixed with scallions and cheese and other wonderful things.

We went to Fibber Magees again that night. Lindsey and I both got Guinness, which is the only beer I've ever tasted and actually liked - it tastes a lot like coffee, surprisingly. And other than a hammered old man relentlessly hitting on Lindsey until we could move away from the bar, it was fun. A more contemporary band played that night. They played an Irish rock song that sounded really familiar, but I couldn't quite place it. And  of course, they played U2's 'One.'

I can't wait to  go back to Ireland in June and read some James Joyce, eat some Champ, and drink some Guinness. Nothing but fond memories and awesome photos from Belfast. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any post cards because it really isn't a tourist attraction, which was a little sad, but I loved the fact that I got to go there before it becomes a commercial and tourist enterprise. Now I'm looking for another excuse to go back to Belfast in the future and to stay in the same hostel.