Belfast, Northern Ireland

Another day, another city to visit.  A group of us (Cruise Critic members) hired McComb's as our tour company for the day.  And what a wonderful day it was--actual sunshine that day.  Mickey was our guide/driver and he was full of stories and information.  Again, one day is not enough time in any one place and to absorb and retain the information provided is challenging.  We did not include a visit to the shipyards but did you know the ill-fated Titanic was built here?

Mickey drove us along the Antrim Coast Road that runs from Larne to Ballycastle where the photo below was taken:

Note the gently rolling hill, the picturesque cluster of homes and the ever-present waves.

We continued towards the famous Giant's Causeway, an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns.  When people talk about Northern Ireland, they always mention how the Causeway is a 'must-see, a must-do' and once we spied it, we agreed. This is a windy area indeed but well worth it (as we joined hundreds of others who were there to enjoy and photograph the views too).  To get our exercise, we marched down the walkway into the head wind until we saw this:

At the Causeway

As you can see, there are many tourists enjoying their climbs over the different sized columns.  Amazing sight--Mother Nature, how did you do this?

Tranquillity

After our visit here, we continued towards Bushmills where our group enjoyed lunch together!

Guinness Time

The day is not done yet as we now made our way back to the city of Belfast, where Mickey tried to explain 'The Troubles'.

First, we entered the Protestant side of Belfast.  Note all the British flags.

And then we entered the Shankhill district, a working class area of Belfast, and Falls Roads area, where there are murals on almost every gable wall.  These murals tell the story of the violent past in this area. 

Headquarters for Sinn Fein

Belfast is in a gorgeous part of the world and it has a distinct history.  May one day the people who live there say:  "Remember when we used to have the curfew each night?"  Hopefully the curfew will no longer be enforced in this city's future days.