Day 12 — Our Ireland Adventure

We arrived today in Northern Ireland, for the third and shortest portion of our 20-day adventure in Great Britain and Ireland, a trip we’ve always hoped and dreamed we could make one day. We hope you enjoy coming along with us vicariously!

After an early breakfast, we headed south to take the ferry across the Irish Sea to the Emerald Isle.

On the way, we made a “comfort stop” at the world-famous Turnberry golf resort, which is right on the Irish Sea. We added it to our “pilgrimage” to St. Andrew’s only a week ago. Some of you may know it is now called Trump Turnberry after having been purchased by “The Donald.”

We boarded a huge ferry and sailed across the Irish Sea which was, today, as smooth as glass.

We arrived safe and sound in Belfast, one of Europe’s true renaissance cities. The city was terribly bombed during WWII and nearly every building destroyed. It has been almost completely rebuilt. On our tour, we saw beautifully restored historic buildings, European-style cafes, and streets lined with vibrant murals.

Belfast’s location on calm waters has made it ideal for shipbuilding. The most famous vessel christened here was the Titanic.

We had a delightful tour of the Titanic Experience, a fascinating nine gallery museum with multiple dimensional displays, special effects, reconstructions, and interactive features that allowed us to explore the tales about and the history of the ill-fated ship.

Then, a driving tour through a neighborhood in West Belfast where buildings are still scarred from the days of “The Troubles,” which ended with the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. We also toured the university district, the beautiful Botanic Gardens, and the Ulster Museum.

A highlight was to stop at one of the 9 remaining “Peace Walls” (think the “Berlin Wall”) that separated the Catholic sections of the town from the Protestant townships. We were invited to leave a “peace message” which we were delighted to do.