Yesterday was our day trip to Belfast. We hopped aboard the train and arrived in rainy, cool Belfast City. Belfast means "mouth of the sandbars" and is the capital of and the largest city in Northern Ireland; a constituent country of the United Kingdom.
We signed up for a hop-on/hop-off tour which was a 90 minute tour. The weather was not conducive for any hopping on or off so we remained on board for the entire tour. Our tour guide reminded me of an Irish Steve Buscemi.
Our tour guide:
Actor Steve Buscemi:
Was it just me or does anyone else see the resemblance? The tour took us through 20+ stops and included the Titanic Quarter; the birthplace of Titanic, the Parliament Buildings at Stormont, then back into the city to Shankill Road and Falls Road where we saw the Political murals and peace lines then over through the Queens University area. Just as we thought the fighting and bloodshed in this highly volatile area of Northern Ireland had subsided; a 40 year old man was shot and and killed today.
Perhaps it was a combination of the weather but it saddened me deeply to be in Belfast. While the fighting and bombings and conflicts between the Roman Catholics and Protestants (also known as the Nationalists vs Unionists) have apparently subsided, there still is the underlying tone of conflict. Our tour guide on the bus did an exceptional job of painting the city in a positive, favorable light but not one passenger left the bus in any of the designated areas until the tour was complete.
The prettiest site I saw in Belfast. Unfortunately the city is very crowded and pretty dirty.
Unfortunately we were only in the city for the day so we didn't have the opportunity to explore any of the other northern cities. If given the opportunity; we'd return and check them out as well to give that area a fair shake.
There is; however, some incredible art work throughout the city. Of course photos are taken out of the window during a rainy day but here it goes.
The Statue of Harmony by Scottish artist Andy Scott:
The Big Fish aka The Salmon of Knowledge. (Photo courtesy of inyourpocket.com
We had lunch at a pub called The Advocate. I had a great yakisoba dish with chicken and prawns. They were THE most teeniest-tiniest shrimp I've ever seen in my life. They were delicious though.
We got back to Dublin later that evening and asked our local cab driver his opinion on golf courses outside of Dublin. May suggestions were given and we went back to our room and confirmed tee times on line for Friday.
Today was our golf day to Deer Park in Howth. Howth is the coastal area which is really just 9 miles from Dublin city centre. In the essence of time we took a cab to the course but on our return back to the hotel we took the Dart train. When we arrived in Howth and on our way to the course; we passed a castle which is home of the Kitchen in the Castle Cookery School.
Here's Dave off the number one tee which faces the castle (cooking school.) Note: practice swing as the ball is still on the tee!
After our round but before returning back to the city; we went into the town of Howth to walk through it and see the Lighthouse and Ireland's Eye.
We left via the Dart train and arrived back in the city this evening. Our last night in Dublin was spent having another pub dinner then back to the hotel to pack.
It's been terrific but we are looking forward to being home and in our own bed.
Til next travels! Pin It Now!
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