Sep 17

Sep 17 Belfast Craic - I

Anne-Marie Minhall, Markets, Musings, Travel

Craic noun Irish English - Pron: crack

Enjoyable time spent with other people, especially when the conversation is entertaining and funny ..

And there I was in Belfast with oldest friend who has a birthday approaching. It has a zero in it. My present to her is a trip here.

We both have some significant Celtic genes and always feel right at home across the Irish Sea.

More to come on where and what we ate and drank but, first, some definitions.

According to the Irish Central newsletter ..

Good craic: A fairly ok night out, fun but nothing too amazing

Mighty craic: Better than good craic, not quite at the highest level, someone did some crazy stuff maybe

Savage craic: Almost there, great night all together, everyone on top firm, Guinness flowing, great jokes

Deadly craic: A step above savage but not quit the Everest moment - The craic was ninety: The nirvana of craic, everything was amazing, incredible, everyone hooked up, the pints were great

Minus craic: That’s when a night goes wrong and essentially you’d have had more fun in a mausoleum.

Well now ..

For these three days I reckon Bestie and I would be somewhere between Mighty & Savage Craic - bordering on the Deadly.

We ate well - really well - more to come on food choices. In the meantime, one of the highlights for us both was spending a couple of hours in St George's Market. Only open on Friday, Saturday & Sunday, this market site has been a staple of Belfast since 1604. The current market was built between 1890 and 1896, and is, without doubt, one of Belfast's oldest attractions. Folk flock here from far and wide.

Some stalls take Euros .. Just saying.

There's very fine fresh produce here. Fish, shellfish, meat, cheeses, breads, deli delights & there's a lot of cooking going on as well. Treat yourself to a crammed local bacon bap (potato bread) or oysters shucked in front of your eyes. There's beef stew, paella, burgers, breakfast rolls (the biggest queue), homemade cakes and sweet treats. Much more besides - plenty of vegetarian & vegan choices are also to be found.