– English Lyrics

Lyrics & Translation

[English]

Well hello from Northern Ireland. This week we are traveling around Belfast and we only

have three days in the capital so we're going to try and cover as much ground as we possibly

can and show you some of the highlights.

Belfast is the capital city and largest city in Northern Ireland. This destination hasn't

always been popular with visitors due to a conflict known as The Troubles; however, in

recent years Belfast has experienced a resurgence and it's slowly starting to make a name for

itself. We gave ourselves a few days to explore the city, and the result is the following

video showcasing 20 things to do in Belfast:

The RMS Titanic was the largest ship afloat at the time it entered service, and it was

built by the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast. The Titanic Belfast exhibition, tells

the stories of the Titanic's ill-fated maiden voyage in 1912 and it is one of the top attractions

in the city.

Right now we're on board the SS Nomadic, the little sister of the Titanic, and we're going

to take a full tour of the ship.

The SS Nomadic was a steamship built as a tender to the RMS Titanic. It was her job

to ferry passengers, baggage, and supplies to and from the shore.

So why don't you go place an order over there with your virtual server? Sure, thing.

Two champagnes please.

So you can play dress-up aboard the SS Nomadic and maybe perhaps this is what women would

have worn back in the day. Ooh!

Would you care to join me for a cocktail tonight? Oh my! I'm going to say yes!

You look absolutely ravishing darling. Why thank you! Thank you! Ah!

Next up we are heading inside St George's Market, which we've been told is more than

just a farmer's market. Apparently, aside from buying food there you can catch some

live shows, go shopping for vintage items, jewelry. So we're going to head inside and

see what it is like. And it is only open on the weekends.

Breakfast time in Belfast! So since we've been in Ireland my favorite meal has been

breakfast. And it's been a full Irish breakfast. We're now in Belfast and over here it is called

an Ulster Fry. It's slightly different from an Irish breakfast which we'll explain later.

But it is a very complete breakfast, it has a lot of different things including bacon,

sausage, eggs, potatoes, tomatoes and a whole bunch of other stuff which we'll show you

in a bit.

It is time for a grand tour of the meal. Breakfast has arrived. So we've got soda and potato

bread over here. We've got our fried egg. We've got something that resembles a hash-brown.

We've got our sausage, our bacon and of course our beans. So that is a very complete meal.

Yeah. I hope you're hungry. Yeah, we sure are.

So what I find really unique about the Ulster Fry is that you get potato bread and soda

bread which are breads that I've never really tried before. But they are quite nice and

compact. Very heavy. You know, you're getting your carbs in early in the morning.

It looks quite thin but it is really heavy. Starchy.

And then this is the soda bread. I'm not really sure if you're supposed to put butter and

jam on it since it is more of a savory bread but it is really good on its own.

And I think they call them rashers here. Yeah, they are called rashers. Sam eating rashers.

Mmmm. How are they?

Something that I love about the Ulster Fry and Irish Breakfast is that you can pick it

up almost any time of day. We typically have it for breakfast but if you get a craving

for it at night you can pop into a restaurant that specializes in the dish and you can have

yourself some.

So are you feeling like a student again this morning? Well, I'm glad I'm not a student

anymore but I am enjoying visiting Queen's University here in Belfast. It has a lovely

campus. And what is cool for us is that we have a connection to Queen's because we went

to a University in Canada also called Queen's. But I think there is no affiliation between

the two. Just the same name. Yeah, that's it.

Queen's University Belfast is one of the oldest universities in the United Kingdom. It also

happens to have a really nice campus, so we decided to take a little stroll.

The Botanic Gardens first opened as a private garden in 1828, and for many years the public

only had access on Sundays. Today anyone can visit and it's a beautiful place to walk around,

especially if you luck out with sunshine.

So it is a beautiful afternoon here in Belfast and today we're going to be visiting Belfast

Castle. Now up until today I had never heard of Belfast Castle before but I got chatting

with the taxi driver and he really recommended this place. So here we are and we're going

to go check it out.

I made friends with a forest creature. So cute!

Belfast Castle sits on the slopes of Cave Hill Country Park, and it offers nice panoramic

views of the city. Visiting may or may not make you feel like royalty for the day.

So another cool thing you can do at Belfast Castle is eat a meal here. So that is exactly

what we're doing. We're heading downstairs to the Cellar Restaurant.

I'm hungry!

This is my first meal inside a castle and I'm having a clam chowder. Mmmmm.

So how was your first meal in a castle? Well, it was really good. That's some of the best

risotto I've had in a long time. And I must say that the price was really affordable and

it was just a great meal.

Well, after that glorious feast it is time to burn off some calories. We're going to

go all the way up to Cave Hill and we've got a bit of a hike.

Okay, so we had every intention of reaching the top of Cavehill but honestly the path

isn't clearly marked and we only have about an hour before the sun sets and we've hit

a point where this trail splits into five different little paths. And we don't really

know which way to go so we figure better turn back around now before it gets any darker.

However, if you do start the hike a little earlier in the day, and maybe if you have

a better map than what we have on hand you should try it because we've been told the

views are great once you reach the top. There you go.

Alright, it is hockey night in Northern Ireland. We are here in Belfast to watch the Giants

play. I'm a huge hockey fan, and coming from Canada this is a real treat. This is my first

hockey game in Europe. Let's go check it out.

So today we're up in Belfast and we're trying a traditional Irish and Northern Irish dish.

This is called Boxty. And it is basically made with grated potato that is mixed with

mashed potatoes and fried in a pan. So Sam and I have ordered two different varieties

and we're going to be digging into those because they just arrived and we're so hungry.

So there is a little rhyme that goes along with Boxty and it goes a little something

like this. Boxty on the griddle, boxty on the pan. If you can't make boxty you can't

get a man.

I don't know how to make boxty but I somehow landed Sam. So. I must have low standards

huh? Uh!

So I got boxty with ham, cheese and an egg. A fried egg on top. So let's have a taste

of this. It's still steaming. Mmmm. Oh! Hahaha.

You silly goose.

It tastes like fried mashed potatoes.

Alright, and what do you have over here? So mine is the pulled pork with an apple sauce.

Apple chutney. What do you think? It's so good. I love that. I love any kind of potato

dish that is fried and then you add some pulled pork to that. Yum! Magic!

So if I had to compare this dish to anything from back home in North America I would say

it is kind of similar to a hash brown except it is a lot thicker and potato is a bit softer.

But I mean it is still fried, mashed and grated potatoes. So it's good. Heavy on the carbs,

pretty tasty. I like that is comes with different toppings and I could honestly eat this for

breakfast, lunch or dinner. So it works anytime of day.

While in town we made time to visit the Ulster Museum. They have a really good exhibit focusing

on The Troubles, where you can learn more about Northern Ireland's turmoiled past.

While wandering around the city you'll also notice large murals with strong political

messages. Some of these make reference to the city's turbulent past, while others allude

to a peaceful future. These murals offer a unique window into the city, and you can even

take black taxi tours that cover the history and show you to the peace lines and some of

the troubled spots.

Belfast City Hall is located in Donegall Square, in the heart of the city centre. They offer

free daily tours to the public.

The Octopus's Garden is a fun Vintage Store in Belfast's city centre. They have old tapes

and records, as well as unique pieces for anyone wanting to spice up their wardrobe.

So if you take a look at my pint over here you might be thinking I'm having Guinness.

It does look a lot like Guinness but in fact it is Belfast Black. And I have to say it

tastes just as good if not better.

For 360 degree views of Belfast, we recommend going to Victoria Square Shopping Centre,

and riding the elevator up to the dome. This will give you a nice bird's eye view of Belfast.

St. Anne's Cathedral, also known as Belfast Cathedral, has stood over 100 years. It's

another attraction worth visiting if you're in the area.

For a different dining experience, you can set foot aboard Holohan's at The Barge, which

is moored beside the Waterfront Theatre. It's the top rated restaurant in Belfast, plus

it's pretty cool dining aboard a ship.

Lastly, if you're in the mood to catch a performance while you're in Belfast, you can choose between

Ulster Hall or the Grand Opera House, both of which have pretty active events schedules.

So to wrap things up here in Belfast I'm going to mention three things I really liked about

the city.

First off it is highly affordable. One of the best bargains you can get is a day pass

for the bus. It's really cheap and it allows you to travel anywhere in the city unlimited

usage.

Secondly, this is a very friendly city. Almost anytime we brought out a map we had a local

coming up to offer help. And we just found that whenever we took taxi rides or were in

restaurants locals really went the extra distance to make us feel welcome here.

And lastly this is a very walk-able city. Most of the attractions are clustered in the

downtown area and you can reach most of them by foot.

And that's it for our quick trip to Belfast! As you can probably see, our visit was fairly

short so we didn't get to do it all. If you have any suggestions of other sights and attractions

worth checking out around Belfast, feel free to share those in the comments below.

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
traveling /ˈtræv.əl.ɪŋ/ B1	verb - moving from one place to another
capital /ˈkæp.ɪ.təl/ A2	noun - the most important city or town of a country or region
conflict /ˈkɒn.flɪkt/ B1	noun - a serious disagreement or argument
resurgence /rɪˈsɜː.dʒəns/ C1	noun - a revival of interest in or popularity of something
explore /ɪkˈsplɔːr/ B1	verb - to travel around a new place to learn about it
Titanic /ˈtaɪ.tæ.nɪk/ B2	noun - a large British passenger liner that sank in 1912
exhibition /ˌek.sɪˈbɪ.ʃən/ B1	noun - a public display of works of art or other items
attractions /əˈtræk.ʃənz/ B1	noun - features of a place that make it interesting to visitors
aboard /əˈbɔːrd/ B2	adverb - onto a ship, aircraft, train, or other vehicle
vintage /ˈvɪn.tɪdʒ/ B2	adjective - denoting something from the past of high quality
cocktail /ˈkɒk.teɪl/ A2	noun - a mixed alcoholic drink
ravishing /ˈræv.ɪ.ʃɪŋ/ C1	adjective - extremely attractive
market /ˈmɑː.kɪt/ A2	noun - a place where people buy and sell goods
vintage /ˈvɪn.tɪdʒ/ B2	adjective - relating to the past
breakfast /ˈbrek.fəst/ A1	noun - a meal eaten in the morning
complete /kəmˈpliːt/ B1	adjective - having all the necessary parts
soda /ˈsoʊ.də/ A2	noun - a carbonated soft drink
starchy /ˈstɑːr.tʃi/ B2	adjective - containing a lot of starch
unique /juːˈniːk/ B2	adjective - being the only one of its kind