The Zoo (Condensed)

I’m picking up where I left off with the mortuary. An odd start to the day for most people, but I seem to gravitate towards weird situations. It was a beautiful day, sunny and in the mid-twenties – a stark contrast to the chill of the mortuary. The brief summer we get in this country is always welcome, but when it hits it almost becomes unbearable. Perhaps it is the combination of humidity and moderate heat, and being used to the mild conditions here, who knows, but it can be hard to stick at times. Given the favourable conditions, I thought a trip to the zoo was in order. We had to make it out of the house first, though.  By the time we made it in to the city centre it was well into lunch time, and I was drawn towards Mikey’s Deli, beside the Northern Whig on Bridge Street. I had been there a few times before, and the food has always been great, along with the service. If you don’t know what to get, just ask and the guys there will point you in the right direction. I shared a dog bowl and a Philly cheesesteak with Sarah (shared food is one of the greatest unwritten perks of relationships). The dog bowl is a mix of fries, sliced hot dog, sloppy joe mince, cheese, and whos knows what else, but it is a great combination. Be patient readers, I did make it to the zoo eventually.



And I’ll stress eventually, because it took significantly longer than planned thanks to a slight miscalculation. We got the bus up the Antrim road, heading towards the zoo – an area of Belfast neither of us were particularly familiar with. That bus goes right past the zoo, which is great and all if you get off at the right stop. We thought we had got off just before it, but it was slightly further away. About 30 minutes further away on foot, uphill, on one of the hottest days of the year. It was only made crueller by the hill leading up to the zoo, and that the zoo is on a hillside. We eventually made it in, and to the drinks kiosk for an almost-slushie, because they weren’t ready. It was bliss after all the heat and walking of the afternoon, and it was time for the actual zoo visit, with the animals and what not. Most of them were sleepy in the heat (I guess even the animals from warmer climates get used to the cold here) and the penguins were awesome as usual. The Malayan sun bear was also pretty cool, though he wasn’t keen on going out into the sun. The lemurs were definitely a highlight, particularly the two which came over when I called them. There are quite a few interesting animals in the zoo, and it’s worth a visit if you haven’t been before.

That took way too long to write, but it’s finished. Well, I’m finished for the night at least. Till next time.




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