My Thirtieth Birthday!!

If the finale to your 30th is a treasure hunt what more could you ask for. The whole weekend was perfect.

It started Friday with a drive into Belfast and checking into the Hilton on the Waterfront (thank you Daddy). The room was on the top floor over looking City Centre. After check-in we took a walk around town and did some window shopping. R and I had forgotten what it was like to have lunch and walk around without a baby. O was at home with the grandparents and I think she thought she was on holiday. We got to enjoy drinks in the lounge and continued on at a friend's house.. Domino's Pizza was involved.

Saturday morning was a lovely breakfast and a lazy day at the hairdressers. I was book at C's cousin D's hair salon to get my hair done as a birthday present from my brother-in-law. D was only the second person to touch my hair in 15 years. (I've had the same hair dresser since I was 14 and I miss her horribly, but couldn't afford to fly her over). D was great and did an amazing job. I spent most of the day there since she was running late. I did get to watch her do 3 people's hair for a wedding and what she can do is amazing! I would love to have my hair done by her all the time. Anyway, after that it was back to the hotel to get ready for the party.

We had dinner at Zen, a Japanese restaurant. It was great to have some sushi since R and I were so used to either getting sushi from Hannaford or heading to one of five sushi places in Portland.  We had 12 friends, it was perfect. I want to thank all of you for coming. The menu was as traditional as we were used to, since I was told many people over here wouldn't be as adventurous. The host was wonderful and made me a lovely sake cocktail. Dinner was good and after everyone had ordered desserts they piped in the birthday song and the whole restaurant sang happy birthday to me. I have to admit it was very embarrassing, but at the same time made me feel very special. The only I would say against the food was it was a little pricey for what you got. I hadn't known the prices until a few days before we went. I will have to find a cheaper place to get good sushi.

After dinner we walked over to Cafe Vaudeville. The place is a gorgeous space. It was originally a bank and then transformed into a restaurant/club. I'd been told it was a great place for dancing and hanging out. It was a good place for hanging out since they had plenty of seats, but they didn't really have a dance floor as big as I thought. We had a few more friends meet us at the club along with my brother-in-law and his friends. Saturday was technically his birthday so we all celebrated. I probably won't go there again since it felt like it was just pretty people standing around drinking, but it was a great time. R and I walked back to the hotel and enjoyed just hanging out the two of us.


In the morning it was another lovely breakfast and then back to Tobermore and the baby. We had our normal Sunday dinner and my father-in-law got me a cake. During our dinner the ice-maker was on the fritz and I was able to fix it. It was nice to do save the fridge from the bin. Sunday was a perfect end to a perfect weekend. Thank you all for the birthday wishes and presents, it means a lot to me, especially in transitional period for our family.

As many of you know from facebook, R gave me a treasure hunt for my birthday. In my next blog I'll tell you all about it and give you some cool facts about ciphers.

oíche mhaith