Last week was a bit non-stop. It's nice to be able to take a breather for a bit, before I'm off again in a few weeks.
Monday was my birthday, which was rather nice. Nicole and I stayed in a watched a film with a take out (a curry for me, and chinese for Nicole). We ended up watching S.W.A.T., which although a bit predictable, was a good enough film for a Monday night's entertainment. Plus I think Samuel L Jackson is a pretty good actor.
Tuesday had me packing first thing in the morning and getting to JJ's for 10am. Taxi to the airport and check-in, followed by a text message from Brian to say he was now taking the same flight as us. We had a while to wait, so our first pint of the day and a hearty breakfast prepared us for the flight ahead. The plane left roughly on time, and landed a few minutes late in Belfast. Flying into Belfast was quite impressive and I got to see Samson and Goliath for the first time.
Checked into the hotel and straight out again to the meet up at the designated pub, The Crown. Unfortunately as we arrive so early all the snugs have RESERVED signs on them. As it turned out later a couple of Perl Mongers were already there, but we didn't recogonise them. JJ and Jon were staying at The Europa across the road, so we elected to get our first pint in Northern Ireland there. After a while we decided to check whether any others had turned up across the road. They had. And all the RESERVED signs had disappear too. As so began a long night. After about 6 hours of drinking, London.pm turned up. I think they were disappointed we got a head start, but they did make a gallant effort to catch up :)
I managed to catch up with friends I hadn't seen in a long while, and was introduced to many more I hadn't met before. I was also able to put faces to names I've know for so long online. I don't think anyone was too surprised about me ;) I didn't recognise Casey, but we did recall our last meeting in Munich with fond memories. Or rather he remember how he must NEVER listen to Stowe when it comes to drinking.
At various points people disappeared off to eat, a few of us headed upstairs to enjoy the delights of the The Crown Dining Rooms. Back to the bar for a few more hours worth of beer, before heading back to the hotel for more drinks in the bar. Unfortunately the hotel bar closed at 12.30am, but most were weary from the flight and drink anyway, so an early night was called.
to be continued....
