Saturday was for seeing and experiencing Belfast. It was a half hour drive from Downpatrick and we arrived mid morning. First on our list was the Hop on, Hop off Bus. Once again this gave us an overview of the whole city. The only problem we had was that we weren't always able to pick up what our tour guide was saying. Although his accent wasn't too strong we did still seem to miss a quite a lot of what he said. We were impressed with the buildings, new and old. Many of the new ones had a nautical theme, using shapes from the huge ships that had once been built here. The dock yards had had a major rebuild and much is made of the Titanic and the fact she was built here. Our guide was quick to point out that it wasn't the Irish that sailed her, they just built her!
We got to see down all through the areas that were affected during "The Troubles" and in those areas are many murals depicting scenes of both incidents and those involved. An interesting way to preserve history. We would have liked a closer look at some of these but the big bus wasn't able to stop in these areas. Next time the more personalized tour in the Black Taxis might be a good idea.
At the end of the tour we walked around the city centre. There were thousands of people about, mostly for the Parade, that was taking place (Gay rights) and this certainly added to the colour and vibrancy of the city.
The main attraction we wanted to see was the new Titanic exhibition but once again we under estimated the number of people wanting to view this and do the tour. (We must be slow learners or just too rural!) We still managed to see some of the area where the ship was built and get a few photos. On a positive note I could say that we saved ourselves £13 each. We have noticed that a lot of the tours here are not self guided, obviously upping the price and restricting the numbers.
On the way to the Titanic exhibition we passed The Markets. This runs every day and we could have spent a lot longer just looking. There was a huge selection of farmers local produce as well as crafts and the likes. It would have been a good place to eat lunch.
Walking back to our car we spotted the clock tower in Victoria Square. This Belfast's own leaning Pisa. This tower had a distinct lean - 4 foot at the top, even though it has had remedial work recently. This photo was taken from the top of the Victoria dome that we had climbed.
On our return to Downpatrick we called into see some gardens - another National Trust, and it was a lovely way to finish the day wandering around the expansive gardens and woodland areas.
At the end of the tour we walked around the city centre. There were thousands of people about, mostly for the Parade, that was taking place (Gay rights) and this certainly added to the colour and vibrancy of the city.
The main attraction we wanted to see was the new Titanic exhibition but once again we under estimated the number of people wanting to view this and do the tour. (We must be slow learners or just too rural!) We still managed to see some of the area where the ship was built and get a few photos. On a positive note I could say that we saved ourselves £13 each. We have noticed that a lot of the tours here are not self guided, obviously upping the price and restricting the numbers.
On the way to the Titanic exhibition we passed The Markets. This runs every day and we could have spent a lot longer just looking. There was a huge selection of farmers local produce as well as crafts and the likes. It would have been a good place to eat lunch.
On our return to Downpatrick we called into see some gardens - another National Trust, and it was a lovely way to finish the day wandering around the expansive gardens and woodland areas.
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