taking it easy on tuesday

First sighting of snow in Belfast. I wonder how much longer before it reaches us.

Taking a walk in the park.

Roasted tomatoes and mushrooms with linguine for lunch.

Picked up some Abernethy Butter from the Arcadia Delicatessen.

BBQ chicken sandwich with coleslaw, onion rings and wedges for dinner.

lagan valley regional park

It's Sunday and a little drizzly today, but we decided to take a walk to Barnett Demesne Park again. This time we opted for a different route and entered the park via Clement Wilson Park.

Halfway on our way there I actually wanted to turn back and go home because it was a cloudy day and drizzling. But I'm glad we went anyway. Clement Wilson Park is a great walk with beautiful views.

Instead of carrying on towards Barnett Demesne Park, we followed the river Lagan and walked towards Lagan Valley Regional Park.

We met a lovely gentleman who was walking his Greyhound named Archie. Archie is such a sweetheart and was happy to let us pat him. Plenty of people were up and about in Lagan Valley; walking, cycling, canoeing and feeding ducks.

This detour ended up being a three and half hour walk but the views were amazing!

rainbows in autumn

There is beauty, even on the greyest of days.

I think I'm beginning to enjoy Autumn. Even though sometimes the cold can be unbearable, but the colours of falling leaves more than makes up for it. I see Robert Frost's poetry everywhere.

cave hill

It's Saturday and we took advantage of the Love Metro Saturdays promotion, which allowed us to buy an adult day ticket for £2. We took Bus No.1 from the City Centre to the bottom of Cave Hill Country Park and trekked up.

The weather was lovely, although the winds were a bit chilly. I think it took us about 40 minutes to trek up halfway and already the views were amazing. I would like to have gone higher but I'm not an experienced trekker and was daunted by the crumbly trails. Cave Hill, I will conquer you next time!

barnett demesne park

I went over to Malone House last Sunday to check out Frock Around The Clock, which is a lovely vintage fair organised throughout the year. Unfortunately I didn't bring enough cash with me, so I did not buy anything. There was a stall selling jewellery which had a sign that said, "Going to Japan Sale". I desperately wanted to support her, because I love Japan so much. I hope she got to go.

It was quite crowded at the fair and I don't like shopping in the colder months because I feel clumsy in winter jackets, and it's very cumbersome to look at clothes and wonder if they'll fit beneath all my layers of clothes.

Even though I didn't end up shopping much or buying anything, I fell in love with the place. Malone House, where the fair took place, is situated in Barnett Demesne Park, which is seriously one of the most beautiful places in Belfast. The views of the park from the second level of Malone House are breath-taking.

I didn't do much research before going over so I didn't know there was a trail surround the park of about 2.4km. I cannot wait to go back and explore the park again.

new autumn routine and current obsession

Since the clocks were turned back by one hour last Sunday, I've got a new evening routine. The sun sets at about 4ish, 5, these days and when it gets starts to get dark, I start preparing dinner and I'm usually done with it before 6. By then it is almost pitch dark and I think it's time to have a warm bath and go to bed, only to realise that it's only 5 past 6. Yikes.

So, I've started reading Haruki Murakami's The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and I am totally hooked. The story starts with the protagonist, Toru Okada, whose cat has gone missing. And in his search for his cat, he goes through a kind of "Kafkaesque" quest that is told in flashbacks and old memories.

Another reason why I love this book is its references to prominent places in Tokyo. It's been almost a year since my Tokyo trip and it's nice to have a frame of reference when Murakami mentions these places.

Settling down with a good book and my new Diptyque candle.

I went to Lisburn Road today and visited Drumglass Park.  It's a very small park and because it was drizzling, the park was empty. Nonetheless it's still a pretty place for short walks.
 

Lovely park despite the rain.

And now, back to Murakami.