A great day in Belfast

The forecast was pretty good, we'd made our plan and off we went. We took our little car to the Connswater shopping mall to find it a nice parking spot for the day so we could take a bus to the centre of the city. The Sunday schedule for the Metrolink bus that stops about 50 feet from our location, was iffy at best.

Getting to the mall was easy enough but navigating the parking lot was rather frustrating. There are several sections of shops and each has its own parking lot. There is only one way in and out of each area and you have to drive back out onto the street to find the next one. We had no idea where to find the bus stop. Eventually, we parked near Starbucks and asked for directions, and no, we didn't have a Grande Moccha vanilla cream latte extraordinaire, or even a Tall Pike Place black coffee. We just wanted and got information.

The "bus" was what they call The Glider. It's a hybrid vehicle, rather like our long bendy buses at home although the wheel covers make it seem like it's just gliding along the street. So we glided to St George's Market on our all-day city bus ticket. 

Judi did some shopping, we bought a large scone each, and wandered and marvelled at many of the interesting crafts and foods. Those scones turned out to be lunch and afternoon snacks and saved our growling stomachs from disturbing others. We saw a Bacon Bap and figured it would take days to eat anything that big. There were food offerings of all kinds from all nations. My favourite to look at but not purchase was the Wee Giants Meringue. 

The word "wee" seems to precede everything and it doesn't mean small. Like, let's have a wee pint. Here's your wee ticket. Have you done a wee tour of the city? 

From the Market we got back on the Hop-on Hop-off bus, having bought 2-day tickets yesterday. The guide this time pointed out a few different things from yesterday. We soon hopped off at the Europa Hotel and Crown Bar, across the street from each other and close to the Grand Opera House. The Europa is the most bombed hotel in Europe, maybe in the world, having been hit 18 times. The Crown Bar is the oldest in Ireland, maybe in Europe, or even the universe because I don't remember what we were told. Unfortunately, the bar was closed so we couldn't go in. We did marvel at the exterior in all its detail. The Opera House was also closed so we couldn't visit the lobby. The Europa lobby was open and we were able to read a bit about its history and some of its clients.

The Crown - our timing was off. It was closed.

All evidence of the bombings has been repaired

The Grand Opera House

The four triangles that make up the Titanic Experience, are each the size of the bow of the ship

Hopping back on the tour bus half an hour later, we finally got to the Titanic Experience. Our tour tickets gave us a discount, on top of the senior discount, so entry was "only" £18.50. It is very well done, and this time after missing it on the first tour 7 years ago, and on our first go-round today, we did take the cable car which gave us an idea of the very loud, very hot, very cramped working conditions experienced building the Titanic. The movie showing the discovery of the Titanic and various artifacts was also well done. It's a definite MUST SEE.

Part 2 of the Titanic experience was to visit the SS Nomadic, a tender to the Titanic and many other boats. It's the last surviving boat of the White Star Line. For such a short duration between shore and ship, the Nomadic was also divided into First, Second and Third Class. It certainly saw a large number of movie stars and other notable people over its working lifespan.

Then it was time to find transport back to the shopping mall. We had a choice between the Glider and the Hop-on services. We had tickets for both. We opted for the Glider to City Hall (the centre of everything in Belfast) and a transfer to the other Glider for the drive back to our little car. It was much faster than sitting through 14 more stops on the tour bus.

Once back in the car we headed to Lidl a couple of hundred metres away. But, there is no passage between the parking lot where we were and the Lidl store. We did pick up some dinner and a few other consumables. We've come to quite like the cans of Gin and Tonic available in supermarkets. Ontario are you paying attention? 

Back at our lovely apartment, we had our own happy hour and then dinner. We spent the rest of the evening watching an event for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee. Her Majesty seemed to enjoy the show which mostly involved horses. Some of the acts were astonishing, especially the Azerbaijan demonstration of horsemanship which left us gasping, the synchronized drumming, and the general pageantry of it all. The Queen herself is looking frail which someone of her age is more than entitled to. She was accompanied by Prince Edward and Sophie, and their daughter Lady Louise drove Prince Philip's horse cart in the display of all the Queen's horses. 

Today we're not sure what we'll do. It's still early and it's raining. We might enjoy the apartment we're in and the books we're reading, or we might go for a drive. Walking outdoors is not on the program.