Pump House and Dry Dock

Well we made it down into the dry dock the stairs weren't anywhere near as bad as expected. Due to there not being too many around we had a personal guided tour, which was quite nice, gave us chance to chat. Turns out our guides stepfather was once Governor of the famous Maze prison!
The dock was huge and really gave you an idea of how huge Titanic really was and how much physical labour was involved in everything to do with the ship. And as we were reminded before we left, when Titanic left Belfast she was fine!
After that we had a bit of a self guided tour of Belfast, taking in the Shankill and Falls road and a quick look at the many murals there and also a few police armoured land rovers.
Now time for a quick bite to eat before heading back to the airport and sadly our plane home.
Thank you Northern Ireland, we will be back!

Last Day!

So to our last day here😞. This morning sees us having breakfast at the Titanic Exhibition and picking up a couple of souvenirs, then on to the pump house and dry dock. After all the overnight rain I don't know if we'll be able to go down into the dock or even if we'll want to when we actually see all the stairs, I'll let you know!

Giant's Causeway part 2

What a fabulous day! Stayed beautifully clear, not a cloud in the sky and Giant's Causeway was awesome! Stunning scenery and an audio guide to point things out and give you a bit of the history. We even took pics to prove we were there!
We then took a drive back down the coast road, which in quite few place was at sea level only separated from the water by a wall! It stayed so clear we could even see Scotland!
On arrival back in Belfast we had a quick cup of tea before heading out to the Christmas market which was a bit of a disappointment, they weren't even playing Christmas music!
Now having a meal before a relaxing bath and bed.
All in all I think Ern's had a good birthday!

Giants Causeway

Well after a leisurely start to the morning, (seeing as it was Erns birthday, I didn't want to wake him too early! ) we set off for the very northern coast of Ireland. We were advised to take the first road up and the coast road back, so we hit the motorway and despite the rest of the uk suffering appalling floods and rain, there isn't a cloud in the sky here so it was a very pleasant journey. After about an hour we reached port Stewart stopped and took some photos and carried on through port rush again stopping to take photos until we reached giants causeway about midday. Having a pleasant sandwich and coffee we are now ready to see the famous steps themselves.

Monopoly Money

The Irish think we're daft, they've given us Monopoly money!!

Titanic Exhibition

So to the main reason for coming - the Titanic exhibition! It really was everything I hoped it would be and even the sun came out! We spent four hours there and even Ern seemed to enjoy it (tho I don't know that I'm bringing him again every time I turned round he was talking to another Irishman!).
It was then time to book in and after a 4.15 alarm time for a little snooze!💤
Now time to eat and then seeing as Ern did Titanic with me and there's a cinema across the road I'm taking him to see the new Bond, yawn!! Think I'll have some more sleep!

Cranes

And there they are the famous Harland & Woolf cranes and the Titanic Quarter, the whole reason for coming!!

Belfast

So here we are! After a short and fairly smooth flight (just a bit rough over Liverpool, but what do you expect from the scousers!) we arrived in Ireland. Weather is wet and windy, exactly as we left it at home but never mind.
After a short drive we now find ourselves in Carrickfergus having breakfast. Ernie as you would expect is treating himself to an Ulster fry whereas I'm being a bit more restrained with a filled soda, egg bacon and sausage! A good way to start the day!

The Lion King

So Saturday saw me visiting the theatre along with Poppy. It was a Christmas treat from Lily who also came, along with the OM! (The old man, also known as JJ!).
For those who haven't seen it I highly recommend it. Worth seeing for the costumes alone, tho its also very humorous!

First trial!

Well seeing as its only 9 days til we got to Belfast I thought I should give this a try! So here goes!
This morning saw us at the cenotaph in Cardiff for the national service of remembrance the sun came out and it was a beautiful crisp clear day for remembrance.
The military band (and their goat) were there as well as The Salvation Army .