Belfast, Where the Titanic was Built

Belfast City Hall is Belfast City Council's civic building. It is located in Donegall Square, in the heart of Belfast city center. it faces north and effectively divides the commercial and business areas of the city center. It first opened its doors on August 1, 1906. The interior is gorgeous and includes a rather grand central staircase as well as a lot of public art, including a major number of stain glass windows. One pictured below is captioned “Not as Catholics or Protestants, not as Nationalists or Unionists but as Belfast workers standing together.”

The Titanic Museum in Belfast is a monument to Belfast's maritime heritage. The museum is built on the site of the former Harland & Wolff shipyard in the city's Titanic Quarter where the RMS Titanic was built. Shaped like the hull of a ship, this is a very contemporary museum. We  walked through both the history and story of the Titanic. It was sad but impressive.

King of the Castle

After a round of golf, climb we did  to the top of this castle. The views of Dundrum Bay were spectacular and I could only imagine what life was like in the thirteenth century when this castle
was built.

Dundrum Castle is situated above the town of Dumdrum (imagine that) in County Down, Northern Ireland. Built by John de Courdy following his invasion of Ulster, it sits high on a hill in order to control access to the Lecale region. Today it is a State Care Historic Monument.

Ardglass

I felt like a postal worker...Through rain or sleet or windy day... the golf game goes on. That pretty much describes the first golf outing. It's saving grace... the most spectacular views ever.

The Slieve Donard and the Royal County Down

In Northern Ireland, on the eastern coast, our lodging was this magnificent hotel called the Slieve Donard. It is adjacent to the Royal County downs golf course, which hosted the 2015 Irish Open. We were not able to play here because the Open was the following week and they were grooming it. We walked a bit of it just to see what it was like. Difficult is my description.

Knowth in Boyne county

We visited this place near New Grange in Boyne County, Ireland called Knowth. It is an ancient burial grounds dating back to 2500-2000 BC. We walked the space and climbed to the top. The views were amazing as was the spirituality of the place. We felt at home because it rained and then was sunny and then it poured. Check out my Portland friends huddled beneath the overhang of the mound seeking shelter from the rain. WHIMPS!

Steller, the storytelling app

Steller is a new and delightful storytelling app available for Ipad and Iphone. Did I tell you it's free. It is mostly used for tiny tales. Check out mine and then the site: https://steller.co/

A variety of templates are available. Select the photos that tell your story, write the text and publish it. Easy-peasy!

Dublin: Day 2

After eating a most amazing crepe breakfast, we headed to Trinity College for the grand tour of both the college and the Book of Kells, which is a document illustrating the four gospels of the new testament. It is located at Trinity College and is believed to have been scripted in 800 AD. After touring the college, including the Long Room, which is one of the oldest libraries, we got in the long line to see the Book of Kells. The exhibit was good, the manuscript very deteriorated. See me staring at George Salmon who was the provost of the college when women were admitted. He was not too happy about and actually died before the first woman showed up. I'm giving him the stink eye.

Next, we grabbed a hop on-off bus for a city tour. We stopped at St Patrick's Cathedral, which is not a bishops seat and isn't even Catholic anymore. Seems at some historical time, the Church of England claimed all the churches for themselves and they have never been returned to their rightful denominations. The Vatican has refused to appoint a church in Ireland as the bishop's seat, believing it should be this.

Last we hopped off at the Guinness Storehouse, the No. 1 Tourist site in all of Ireland. Go figure!
Touring the Guinness Storehouse proved to be a very fun afternoon.  Self guided for the most part, we learned about the importance of their source of water and other goodies that go into the making of a Guinness. We worked our way through the tour space, which is a vertical stack in the shape of a pint of Guinness, to the bar at top. A pint was served. This circular bar is the top of the pint, the place where beer is not poured. Views of the city were all around. Very crowded it was.