Day 8 Belfast, Northern Ireland September 6

Ahhh ... the luxury of getting up without having to re-pack! Two nights in Belfast and we didn't have to be on the bus until 9:00 a.m.!

First stop: Titanic Museum. I read on a review of a CIE tour that the Titanic Museum was not the best stop in the tour and could be cut shorter. My feeling, and that of many of the others on our tour, was that it was much too short! Had we prepared for this visit ahead of time we would have moved a little faster through the historical exhibits to spend time reading the personal stories and to have time in the interactive exhibits, particularly Visit and Explore the Wreck, but, we had to rush through. The whole experience might have been a bit more somber had we not had the time restraint. It was an amazing exhibit and I would love to spend more time there again. Maybe, someday!

The tip of the building represents the height of the bow of the Titanic.

Picture taken from inside building at what would be the top of the bow.
See the little tiny people?
"I'm flying, Jack!"

Next stop was a walking tour of Belfast. Admittedly, I knew little about Belfast prior to our trip, except I had images of a war-torn city. It has been built back amazingly well, though there are memorials and  evidence of the war around the city. We toured on a Sunday and our guide kept mentioning how busy the city would be on a Saturday night. Two things stood out to me that seemed unique, or, at least different from anything I've seen elsewhere.

Of course I remember nothing the tour guide said about this street, but I thought it was lovely!
I do think it's one of the "hopping" venues on Saturday evenings.

First, the murals. According to Wikipedia,  Belfast and Derry "contain arguably the most famous political murals in Europe." Our guide led us past several murals, explained the significance, and, this is one place I totally regret not taking notes. I remember so little. Suffice it to say, murals are big, both literally and figuratively, beautifully done and prominent throughout Belfast (and Derry).

Second, I couldn't help but notice the existence of razor wire and the metal coverings over the closed pubs and shop windows and entries. For me, these were reminders that we were in a city that had once been through the ravages of war and that things may not be as safe and peaceful here as it seemed on a sunny Sunday morning. 

Ulster Folk Center. Our lunch, included that day as part of our tour price, seemed to take forever. Bob and I like to grab meals on the go and these sit-down meals just seemed to take up time we could be doing something else. Yes, it was fun to chat with travel companions, and, the more experienced travelers gave us lots of hints for this, and future, trips. In this case, the long lunch made us late for our next tour of the Ulster Folk Center. Some of the people on the tour chose to stay downtown and explore the shops. Had we known we were going to be so rushed, and, had we realized that the exhibits there were basically from our grandparents' time period, we might have chosen to skip this tour. But, the grounds were beautiful, it was a nice day and we got outdoor time without being in a city, even if we didn't have time to visit the outer farm houses, animals and the country areas that I would have liked to have seen.

Thatched roof - from the outside and on the inside. There are still several
thatched roof houses around Ireland,but there are very
 few skilled builders and it is very expensive to have one put on one's house.

Back to our hotel, the rest of the day was on our own. After a quick dinner of brown bread and salad (a bit weird in that the "house salad," was mostly some grain and very few greens), we headed to the Crown Bar for a Guinness. To make a long story short, a couple we ran into from NNY invited us to join their group in a "snug," (something like a booth, but with walls and a door), where we had our drinks and talked about our travels and our connections to NNY (a relative was the Catholic priest in my home town). We were a bit jealous of their tour, a small group, led by a woman from their local area with some very personalized visits to areas like the place where Game of Thrones is filmed which was never even mentioned on our tour.

Having a Guinness in a "snug."

We left the Crown Bar and went across the street to a bar called Brennan's. Bob and his family were childhood friends with a family named Brennan, so we toasted the three Brennan brothers who have passed away. It was a very different atmosphere from the Crown Pub, obviously less for tourists and more for locals. We finished our second Guinness of the evening and headed back to our hotel.

Europa Hotel, downtown Belfast

Surprises/cool stuff, and more pictures

• We were surprised that there was a Disney-type ride in the Titanic Museum explaining the history behind and building of the Titanic. Fun!
• Inside the ladies room at the Crown Bar, a machine dispensing "Finger Teeth Wipes."
  
• Say what you like about President Clinton, but, in Northern Ireland, and, the Republic of Ireland as well, it seems he was highly respected and credited with helping to resolve the conflicts in Northern Ireland.

Displayed on the wall by the spiral staircase at our hotel.

• It was becoming evident that both Scottish and Irish people display wonderful flower arrangements. Almost everywhere you look, flowers and gardens are well-maintained.

Our day time living quarters, parked outside our hotel.

• Desserts were good, but many were not as sweet as ours are in the states. Probably a good thing.

Yummy caramel creme brulee for dessert at lunch.

• There were a bunch of weird, centered, door knobs, like the one pictured below, in the buildings at the Ulster Folk Center. Like our Shelburne Museum, many of the buildings were reconstructed on the grounds, though some were originally built there.

• Still loving Guinness, but hearing that we'll never get it in the U.S. with as good a taste!