My Birthday

It was my birthday! woot! First birthday in Ireland, and first birthday with my Irish boy. I must say, I could have asked for the weather to be a tiny bit brighter for my birthday, and perhaps minus a few rain clouds here and there... but all in all, I had a lovely day.

It first started with a wee surprise which came in basket form...

This lovely picnic basket will definitely come in handy in the future... but Ireland, you really need to work on this whole "weather" business. You can't just already rain and blow wind everyday... it gets a tad bit boring Mister! Or misses...

We then headed down to Holywood, Co.Down for a wee bit of a change in scenery. Now, it was Sunday, and it was raining, but that doesn't bring our spirits down! We took the train into town, and stopped at a  cafe called "The Bay Tree Cafe" (recommended to me by a friend).

Read more after the jump!

It was super lovely! I had their "Special Bay Tree Porridge" which came with a shot of whiskey!! I thought it would be just a 'hint' of whiskey, but it was quite a predominant flavour! I loved it!!

Patrick had their 'Breakfast Stack' which included the stable ingredients in any Northern Ireland breakfast - bacon, sausage, egg.. and some mushrooms as well, all piled onto some fresh soda bread. mmm

We also had to try their "must have/famous cinnamon scones". Personally they look like a cross between a cinnamon roll and a scone, but I won't argue. They were melt in your mouth goodnight. Literally disappeared. Lovely and fresh. Everything you'd want in a morning treat.

We enjoyed a pint at a pub as well, and tried to enjoy as much of the seaside as possible... before the wind blew my umbrella and I away...

The rest of the day was spent wandering the Botanic Gardens, and the Ulster Museum. Both perfect places to visit on a rainy and cold day.

In all, my birthday was a success and I couldn't have asked for anything more. I can't believe I'm 26 years old though. I don't feel any different... so that's good. But I can't believe when I think back even 2 years ago, I was spending my birthday in Toronto, making and devouring a tray of rocky roads with my then roommie/best friend, Carina and now I'm in Belfast Ireland. It's crazy. Where the heck am I going to be next year or 5 years from now? If anything, this birthday has taught me that life truly is filled with adventure, and change that needs to be embraced. It's hard sometimes to be positive when you go through big changes in your life, or you take risks that you start to doubt, but life moves on. New things will happen and occur. It's exciting. Exhauting, but exciting.

Anywho. Another year has gone and past...

You know what's really exciting though? I'll have a Canadian visitor this week... can't wait to see Belfast and Ireland through a new pair of eyes!!!

Keep Smilin'

Moni