The Russian Church, The Boys Lost, The Swedes Are Here & Some Weirdness
French Toast... In France
Chef Susie went over the top with breakfast this morning. French Toast in FRANCE! It was awesome!!
Today we decided to hang around the city and take it easy. Plus some of the trains are on strike... again.
Our first stop is the Russian Orthodox Church. Here are a few shots along the way.
After walking for about 15 minutes we arrived and were greeted by this sign as we enter the grounds :-)
Here are a few shots of the outside... very impressive!
Here are some shots from inside. I was told I couldn't take any photos of the inside... after I took about 20 shots. So I guess these are bootleg photos :-) FYI I never saw a sign stating this.
Q. Do you notice anything strange about this above photo? A. There is no place to sit. I checked out some videos & photos and it appears that everyone stands for the service.
A close-up of the main altar:
One thing I noticed that the people leaving the church made the sign of the cross (like Catholics) BUT in reverse order. They went head-chest-Right -Left whereas Catholics go head-chest-Left-Right. NOTE: this observation was based on 3 people and they all did this (so it must be true :-) )
After our visit we headed off to the tourist office at the train station to get info on the bus/train strikes. As few shots along the way...
Northern Ireland flag... the day after their loss to Poland :-(
Here is what a train strike looks like. NOTE: today they are only shutting down a few trains and these people are trying to make accommodations.
It was pretty quiet on the train platform...
After we got our info from the tourist office it was off to old town again.
High security door
Art????
OK... I'm back.
Along the way to old town we stopped at a church and mass was going on. Although it was in French, it was the same service/rituals as back home.
I don't know about you, but they seem to be still having a great time even though they lost the game yesterday.
I talked to many of them and they said it was disappointing that they lost the match, but they weren't sad. They enjoyed watching the game & wanted to have some fun, regardless of the score. There were lots of Poles in the crowd and the Northern Irish were just as friendly to them as they were the day before the game.
I just wonder what it would be like if they had "won" the game :-)
We then headed off to Castle Hill, a massive 300ft high limestone outcropping that overlooks the harbor and city. Here are some shots from the top. NOTE: I had to shoot into the sun (never a good idea) to get the pics of the city & the photo quality suffered... sorry
Here are a couple of shots from the other side where the harbor is located. FYI... one of the locals told us that the house at the top of the hill (left of center) is Sir Elton John's home.
We met a group of Polish fans. They were very funny! When they heard that Sandy worked at a big beer company they insisted on taking her picture. Note... they tan like me :-)
There was a beautiful water fall/fountain at the top:
Susie was not impressed :-)
Yes... I am on this trip & now we have photographic evidence :-)
A parting shot from the top:
We then headed back to the old town area.
Another bachelor party. (I think.... I hope :-) )
I have no idea what the red thingy is for. Maybe if you can't fit through the opening you are too fat for the beach :-)
They are NOT attached to his feet. He just stands on them. Here is video which will give you a better idea. (Susie & Sandy give excellent commentary :-) )
Here is another video and includes a roller blader who is pretty good...
And finally this girl was skateboarding & hopping over these fences.
We finished off the day by having a nice dinner in the old town.
Time for bed...
-jj
Sixth blog in a continuing series of vacation blogs from around the world. Every year Susie (my wife) and I pick a town, rent an apartment for a month (thank-you VRBO.com), no car and live like the natives. We have stayed in Barcelona, Nice, France (twice) and Rome. If you are interested in reading my previous vacation blogs, here are the links:
Today we decided to hang around the city and take it easy. Plus some of the trains are on strike... again.
Our first stop is the Russian Orthodox Church. Here are a few shots along the way.
After walking for about 15 minutes we arrived and were greeted by this sign as we enter the grounds :-)
Here are a few shots of the outside... very impressive!
Here are some shots from inside. I was told I couldn't take any photos of the inside... after I took about 20 shots. So I guess these are bootleg photos :-) FYI I never saw a sign stating this.
Q. Do you notice anything strange about this above photo? A. There is no place to sit. I checked out some videos & photos and it appears that everyone stands for the service.
A close-up of the main altar:
One thing I noticed that the people leaving the church made the sign of the cross (like Catholics) BUT in reverse order. They went head-chest-Right -Left whereas Catholics go head-chest-Left-Right. NOTE: this observation was based on 3 people and they all did this (so it must be true :-) )
After our visit we headed off to the tourist office at the train station to get info on the bus/train strikes. As few shots along the way...
Northern Ireland flag... the day after their loss to Poland :-(
Here is what a train strike looks like. NOTE: today they are only shutting down a few trains and these people are trying to make accommodations.
It was pretty quiet on the train platform...
After we got our info from the tourist office it was off to old town again.
Some Weirdness Along The Way :-)
Yes... I'll have a sandwich and a small pig to go PLEASE :-)High security door
Art????
OK... I'm back.
Along the way to old town we stopped at a church and mass was going on. Although it was in French, it was the same service/rituals as back home.
The Northern Irish are Soooooooooo Boring..... NOT!!!!
OK... so the team lost to Poland 1-0 yesterday. We were expecting the fans from Northern Ireland to be really, really bummed. Well judge for yourself.I don't know about you, but they seem to be still having a great time even though they lost the game yesterday.
I talked to many of them and they said it was disappointing that they lost the match, but they weren't sad. They enjoyed watching the game & wanted to have some fun, regardless of the score. There were lots of Poles in the crowd and the Northern Irish were just as friendly to them as they were the day before the game.
I just wonder what it would be like if they had "won" the game :-)
Sweden is playing Ireland (NOT Northern Ireland) and a few of their fans joined in on the fun.
A Sad Note:
Last night, a 24 year old fan from Northern Ireland fell off the boardwalk (about 15 ft above the beach) and died. Here is a makeshift memorial at the spot. Note: a lot of the Polish fans left notes at the site.
We then headed off to Castle Hill, a massive 300ft high limestone outcropping that overlooks the harbor and city. Here are some shots from the top. NOTE: I had to shoot into the sun (never a good idea) to get the pics of the city & the photo quality suffered... sorry
Here are a couple of shots from the other side where the harbor is located. FYI... one of the locals told us that the house at the top of the hill (left of center) is Sir Elton John's home.
We met a group of Polish fans. They were very funny! When they heard that Sandy worked at a big beer company they insisted on taking her picture. Note... they tan like me :-)
There was a beautiful water fall/fountain at the top:
Susie was not impressed :-)
Yes... I am on this trip & now we have photographic evidence :-)
A parting shot from the top:
We then headed back to the old town area.
Weirdness Part Deux (see what I did there :-) )
Another bachelor party. (I think.... I hope :-) )
I have no idea what the red thingy is for. Maybe if you can't fit through the opening you are too fat for the beach :-)
Boardwalk Olympics
We then checked out the boardwalk and found a group of people showing off their talents. This guy was great. Checkout the equipment on his feet.They are NOT attached to his feet. He just stands on them. Here is video which will give you a better idea. (Susie & Sandy give excellent commentary :-) )
And finally this girl was skateboarding & hopping over these fences.
We finished off the day by having a nice dinner in the old town.
Time for bed...
-jj
Sixth blog in a continuing series of vacation blogs from around the world. Every year Susie (my wife) and I pick a town, rent an apartment for a month (thank-you VRBO.com), no car and live like the natives. We have stayed in Barcelona, Nice, France (twice) and Rome. If you are interested in reading my previous vacation blogs, here are the links:
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