From our first venture out walking along the river Lagan -- an inocuous enough neighborhood, though around the corner was our first encounter with what is inexorably woven into the fabric of the city of Belfast -- a building sized mural in support of the Loyalist paramilitaries, complete with weapons and men in black hoods (balaclavas).

Also from that first walk -- a couple of interesting tree views from the Ormeau Park, adjacent to the river Lagan, on the so-called Protestant side. There was a bicycle race going on the afternoon we were there, parents cheering on their children cycling through the mud amidst the benign sauntering walkers.

Interior (vaulted ceiling) of St. Malachy's church, Belfast -- a seemingly vibrant Catholic community near what is referred to as the city centre.

Plaque locating An Droichead (The Bridge), an Irish-language community notably situated in the 'general population' area of Belfast. An Droichead offers, among other things, residences for those desiring to live in a developing (though obviously still 'marginalized') Gaeltacht, Irish language-based schooling for children, arts and language classes for adults, and an extraordinary venue for traditional Irish music which (as we found out to our disappointment) generally sells out well before scheduled performances.

http://www.androichead.com/

From the Towpath along the River Lagan -- now a pedestrian walkway and bike path, it used to function as the venue for horse-drawn barges to haul goods to Belfast city from the port opening further down the river.  As you can see, this is not typical Irish weather -- we were extremely fortunate to be there amidst three weeks of near-continuous sunshine (a few exceptions will be evident in what follows).

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Below is another interesting tree view, this one from along the Towpath. It was March so most everything was still quite bare.

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From the Famine commemorative window in Belfast City Hall.

Next to the City Hall (the buliding lit up to the right) is something called the Belfast Wheel -- an enormous ferris wheel-like structure, probably modelled on the London Eye, installed in 2007 to presumably aid in restoring a public-friendly feel to the city centre. It was originally intended to be in place for only six months but became popular enough to continue. Sunday April 11 (coincidentally the day I write this) will be its last day of operation. 

 http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/Final-spin-for-Big-Wheel.6216561.jp

Below is a sense of the view from the inside.