Belfast, Ireland

Well, I didn't post yesterday because there wasn't anything to post. We had a relaxing day at sea and didn't take pictures nor did we do anything worth commenting on. It was just relaxing and nice not to climb stairs or have to get in and out of vans, etc. It was a good day relaxing.



Today we docked in Belfast, Ireland, and were greeted by a band playing some tunes for us. It was great. We were scheduled to dock at 10:00 but due to harbor traffic we didn't get in until 10:30. Off the boat we went in search of our tour guide. I discovered a tour guide recommended by Rick Steves - Ken Harper Taxi Tours. We met him right away and we started our tour at Belfast Castle. Very beautiful building and grounds.

  
They call the garden a Cat Garden. No live cats there anymore but plenty of statues and such.

  

  

  

  

    

As we drove around we saw many abandoned churches. So sad because they were once beautiful and grand.



We stopped at a swan lake and saw swans and ducks.

  

  

We saw many peace walls. This is just one example of a peace wall, or peace line, that had a mural painted on it.
  

  
The peace walls are a series of border barriers in Northern Ireland that separate Catholic and Protestant neighborhoods. There are gates that are opened and closed at night to keep the sides apart.

We stopped by a church with beautiful stained glass windows and huge pipe organ.
  
You can see the pipes from the organ sticking up in front of the window.

  


  
More peace walls and these are not decorated.


The house atrium is backed right up against the wall.

  
There are memorial plaques on the side of houses marking the place where people died.

  
This memorial garden is right up at one of the peace lines.


With additional message on the side of the house.


A picture of the gates that close each night.  We were traveling from the Protestant side to the Catholic side.

  
More decorations on the peace walls.

  

  

  

For my brother and sister-in-law, Troy and Shannon, a Geocache in Belfast.

  


A small capsule within which you can write something. We just made a mark on it.

 
He encouraged us to write on the wall, which I did.  Love and Peace KJS

  
More Peace lines.


A picture of those in the back seat.

  

 We stopped at WWII Memorial.
  

   

  
A picture of the clock tower during the war and the clock tower today.



  
We went to a little alleyway with wonderful pubs.

  

  



Our wonderful tour guide and driver today. Ken Harper.

  


Our stop at The Duke of York where we had a pint or two.

We asked about the best place to have some good food and the waitress took us outside to show us exactly where to go.


We had a "proper" Sunday lunch of stuffed beef brisket rolls with mashed potatoes and gravy, carrots, parsnips and Yorkshire pudding - a wonderful food and a great pub.

We got a cab ride back to the ship and after watching people for a bit we headed back to our rooms for the night.

Great day!