Sunday, June 28, 2015

Sunday Recap: June 28




As always I seem to be shocked with how fast time is flying. The work week starts and before I know it, the week is over. The weekend quickly ending as soon as it begins.

I've been taking the train to work this week which means I see Lime St quite a bit. Nothing exciting happening at work recently.

I went and watched Jurassic World on Wednesday. I thought it was very good. Can't go wrong with dinosaurs.

Yesterday I made two different pastas both from the Budget Bytes website. One Pot Roasted Red Pepper Pasta and Three Pepper Pasta with Crispy Pepperoni. They both turned out really well and I look forward to mixing them up through the work week if I work full days. I only know for sure that I am working 9-7 on Monday so will have to wait and see otherwise they will make yummy dinners.

Today I joined Jamie on a little adventure to Cineworld. We had planned on having a bite to eat before going to Minions. We should have got our tickets as soon as we finished eating but we did not get them as we did not think it would be that busy. We were mistaken after returning from checking out her new flat when we had to go to the next showing because there were only single seats left. I thought the movie was very funny.
I love the drawing above by Katie Abey. I follow her on instagram and I love her drawings.  They're cute and have a nice comedic touch to them. 

Thursday, June 25, 2015

Mosteiro dos Jerónimos


While I enjoyed the amazing weather in Belém, I crossed the street from the Monument to the Discoveries and headed to the Jeronimos Monastery. The garden and fountains in front of it are quite lovely and you could even have a nice picnic lunch if you wanted to.




The exterior of the monastery is quite beautiful and I admired it while munching on the pastel de Belém. The crumbling pastry was very delicious and I think you should believe the hype on them and stop in for one. You  can get one to go or maybe a few. The place is also very large and you can sit down and enjoy your pastries with a coffee. I popped inside to use the toilets and the place fits a lot of people.




The Monastery is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and I highly recommend a visit. I used the combo ticket I purchased with the Torre Belém to skip the large queue that had grown outside of it when I arrived. The construction of the monastery and church began in 1501 and was completed a hundred years later in 1601. That means that the building is over 500 years old if you count from when it got papal permission in 1496 to be built.   My visit was very enjoyable and I loved the architecture of the monastery. 






Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Driving in Northern Ireland


Our very first day in Northern Ireland did not go off without a hitch. We landed in Belfast early in the morning and eagerly awaited Carol arriving from New York. After her arrival we headed to pick up the car that we would use to drive us around the Green Isle. I was to be the driver of our adventure and I thought we would have no issues. After all I had one brief lesson on driving on the left hand of the road with my housemate. I was a pro. Joking aside, I have driven manual transmission for a few years now so I feel myself to be pretty good at it. Well something about this car that we were picking up from the airport was hell bent on not letting me drive it.

Our excitement went from a 100 to 0 as I could not make it out of the parking lot. Giving up on the car, I abandoned my mother and sister and headed with Carol back into Belfast International Airport and back into the queue. The car rental guy was sure confused when we showed up again. After the set back of our time, we managed to get onto the road in our newly upgraded automatic Mercedes. Of course as I had been driving a manual in Canada for a million years, this automatic had a small learning curve but we got through it but not before I gave my family a bit of whiplash in the parking lot.

Our destination on our first day was Belfast, the Dark Hedges, Giant's Causeway, Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge and finally to Sligo where we would spend the night. This was a very ambitious plan but it was made even worse by our delay of getting onto the road.

The photos from this post were from when we were stopped or taken by my sister as I was of course driving. 











Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Meeting in Malmö


After my morning walk around Copenhagen I boarded a train bound across the Øresund Bridge that connect Denmark to Sweden. I caught the train at Nørreport Station with no troubles finding which ticket to purchase as this is a very common route for Danes and travellers alike. I was very impressed with how efficient the trains ran at the station. When one passed through the next one quickly came after it and soon enough I was on my way.

Sunday, June 21, 2015

Sunday Recap: June 21


I'm back from Copenhagen. I've made a recent post on my first day strolling in Copenhagen. I spent the June 12-16 in the city before returning to Liverpool. I am a bit all over the place with posts. Wanting to keep my memories up to date from my past trips to Ireland and Lisbon. Might have a few overlapping. 

I had a great time in Copenhagen and enjoyed spending time in Malmö sightseeing and I even got sunburned. Luckily it was not too bad and faded quickly without giving me any pain.

I got up to quite a bit in Copenhagen, enjoying the zoo and cisterns. Several museums and parks. I stayed in Copenhagen Downtown Hostel and found the hostel quite nice and the staff very friendly. They have a free dinner every night if you get there early enough. 

This Saturday I went to TGI Fridays and enjoyed an amazing chicken sandwich and watched Mr. Holmes with Jamie. The movie was very good. I recommend. Tears were shed.

Today I've spent most of the day watching UK Border Force. It's been a marathon. I love these types of shows and am glad they even show the Canada/US Border Security as well. I made a tasty pasta for lunches and meals for the week. Called my dad and wished him a happy father's day. Glad he liked the top that Shawn and I had got him in Dublin and the card I sent him. Looking forward to seeing him in 40 or so days.















Saturday, June 20, 2015

Monument to the Discoveries


One of the sights in Belem is the Monument to the Discoveries. It lies a short walk from the Belem Tower and the Jeronimos Monastery. The moment was built as it name suggest to celebrate the Portuguese Age of Discovery during the 15th and 16th Centuries.

The monument is quite large and you can even pay to go to the very top of it. I skipped this as I am sure it has a similar view to the Belem Tower. You might get a better view of the monastery if you do climb it.