A Flying Trip to Belfast

A few short weeks ago, I got on a tiny plane at Southampton airport and flew over to Belfast. It was only really a flying visit but we did have a little wander around the city and visited a few places.

Upon arrival, I was immediately struck with how friendly everyone was. We hopped in a taxi to get us to our hotel and the driver was just so friendly and chatty. We had a bit of a laugh when he asked us what had brought us to Belfast - we were there for the WWE show, we said. He paused for a second before saying, "You know that's all fake don't you?" before breaking out into a massive grin. Nor can we fault our hotel - the staff were just so lovely.

On our first day we went into the city and had a walk around Belfast Cathedral. I have to admit that I thought we would be stepping into an ancient Cathedral along the lines of Winchester or Ely so I was surprised when we stepped foot inside and saw how modern it is. It turns out that Belfast Cathedral opened in 1904 and was built on the old Parish Church of St. Anne's. Initially only the nave of this new Cathedral was built. In 1924 it was decided that the Western Front would be built to honour the Ulstermen and women who served and died in the Great War. It was finished by 1927. I was struck immediately by how peaceful this building was - it's something I pick up on in nearly every Church or Cathedral that we visit and, although I'm not religious by any stretch of the imagination, these are places where I can come and just be. Unlike most Cathedral's, Belfast only has one tomb within its walls. This is the tomb of Edward, Lord Carson, who was laid to rest in 1935. Carson had been the Unionist leader during the time of home rule and is seen by many as the 'father of Northern Ireland'

After a quick walk through town and popping into some cool little shops - shoutout to the young lady who stopped me to talk about the Civil Regime coat I was wearing and immediately noticed it was Rhea Ripley's signature version - we found ourselves in a cute little pub where we had a pint of real Guinness. Now it may just me being silly but I swear it tasted so much better than the stuff you get in the UK.

Now then. The real reason we were in Belfast for our long weekend was because we had tickets to WWE Raw at the SSE arena. Many of you will know that I've been a wrestling fan since I was little - and for me personally, there's no better experience than being part of a wrestling crowd. The energy was just absolutely electric.

We had floor seats, 8 rows behind the commentators. Unfortunately there was a really tall bloke in front of me so being able to see was difficult because I'm not exactly the tallest person in the world. Thankfully I was sat on the end though so during entrances I could step out into the walkway to get a slightly better look. Sat down though, the view was ok and there were screens around the place too. I think next time we'll either try and get ringside (and pay a small fortune) or get seats slightly higher up.

The Belfast crowd was absolutely insane, though. There were times when the noise of the crowd literally hurt my ears, especially during the main event. They were so behind Finn Balor, a wrestler from Ireland, that even he said he couldn't hear his entrance music. It was honestly incredible. And don't even get me started on the loud chants about being banned from Japan towards a certain Paul brother.

I think one of the best parts of the weekend was being able to meet members of the WWE crew and talent. We were lucky enough to be staying in the same hotel as them. Our first morning there, we bumped into referee Jessika Carr in the lift. We then bumped into General Manager Adam Pearce and wrestler Gunther that afternoon. And after the show we went into the hotel bar and saw Adam Pearce again as well as commentator Corey Graves. We said a quick hello to them all and didn't bother them for photographs or autographs - I'm of the opinion that when they are in the hotel before or after work, it's their time and it's unfair to hang around to beg for photographs. They must get so fed up with it. It was intense enough for us after we got back to the hotel after the show to find loads of fans outside and security wanting to check our room number before they let us in. And let's be real, I bet they all appreciate it when they aren't bothered for that stuff when they're outside of work. It's cool enough, at least for me, to say a quick hello and have a quick conversation.

Overall, it was an absolutely wonderful couple of days in Belfast. I fell in love with the place and would definitely go again as we didn't get chance to visit any of the other museums, or get out to Belfast castle. If you've not been, I would highly recommend it.