Belfast- Sunday, Aug. 4, 2013

After the tattoo last night, we arrived at our hotel in Glasgow shortly after 2:00.  We set the clock on the iPad to wake us up at 6:00, so it was a REALLY short night.  We knew that was going to happen, but there wasn't a whole lot we could do about it.  We had book the plane flight from Glasgow to Belfast early in the planning, and that was cemented in place. When we found out that the Tattoo was going to be on when we were in Scotland, we wanted to go but there was really only one time for us to go.   We knew this morning was going to be rough, but that's not enough to slow us down.

We said goodbye to the Audi that had taken us across Britain, and the GPS system (which we named "Sarah Cynthia."  She was not only very helpful, but also polite.)  Luckily our hotel was right next to the car drop off and that was walking distance from the airport terminal.  We got checked in without too much trouble, though our shampoo and sunblock was confiscated for being too large and Scott and Emma both got patted down by security.  The flight to Belfast was so quick.  Anna was the only one of  the four of us that was awake to see it, but she said you could look out of the window and see Scotland behind us and Ireland before us.

Once we arrived in Belfast, we realized a mistake that was made in the bookings.  We didn't realize that there were two Belfast airports-  Belfast International and Belfast City.  Our car reservation was at Belfast City, but we had landed at Belfast International.   We had chosen this car company because it seemed to be the only one that would rent us a car that we could drive from Belfast to Dublin.  The real problem was that Julie needs an automatic and all they had were standards--- except for the Mercedes.  It would cost us a little more than what we had planned, but given the circumstances, we decided to go with that car.  Julie is still getting used to the new controls, but there is no GPS system on this car.  We pulled our old GPS, "Lizzie" out for her first big overseas test.  She's not as polite and detailed as Sarah Cynthia was, but she's gotten us where we need to be, so far.

Our first touring stop of the day was at Titanic Belfast, an almost brand new museum that was built to commemorate the fact that the Titanic was built on that spot, in Belfast.  We got our tickets, ate a quick lunch, and went through.  We've been to other Titanic exhibitions-- in Halifax and Norfolk, but this was by far the most elaborate of all.  The tour begins with a look at Belfast and its industries, and the exhibition certainly emphasizes the construction of the ship.  The big surprise of the exhibition was the ride inside of it.  It is only one part of the story, but it takes you along the recreated construction of the ship, raising and lowering and turning to give you a look at it's engineering and the nuts and bolts of its construction.  In some ways, this part was a bit abstract, but it did best when it showed the work of the welding crews.  There's an old joke among people of Belfast that there was nothing wrong with the Titanic when she left here.  Of course, the rest of the Titanic's story is told as well.  Julie and Anna seemed to like the last room, which started in an enormous theater showing a movie of explorers looking at the wreckage of the Titanic on the bottom of the Atlantic.  After watching this, you go below the screen and seats, where you stand on a glass bottom floor and it appears that you are passing over the Titanic and its debris field.  Then, you can go to one of the many computer screens and examine areas of the site to find details on individual objects.

The next part of our big day revolved around a man that Matt, the guitar player for Rush the Growler, met when he and Cathy were on a tour of Northern Ireland a while ago.  The man's name is Seán Mac Eachaidh (or Seán McAughey) and in addition to being a tour guide, he has also authored a book called, "A Guide to The Silence of the Irish Other World."  He had challenged Matt to write a song about a place near Belfast called the Giant's Ring, which is an earthen circle that is several thousand years old.  Matt used the idea that this place was one of the "Thin Places", where our world touches the spiritual one, and where legendary figures from Ireland's past come to meet in the present.  (The song is scheduled to be on Rush the Growler's upcoming CD, and Scott played a version of the recording on his MP3 Player when we visited the place today.)  Seán has also been a big supporter of Rush the Growler via Facebook, and it seemed unthinkable to be in the area without meeting him.  He certainly gave us some perspective on the city of Belfast and the troubled past found here.  It was genuinely interesting to hear of the issues from his Republican perspective.  He is also a very gracious man, and it was a pleasure to meet him finally.  He volunteered to summarize the tour he gave us in an e-mail, and we're going to quote it here, mainly because there is no way that we could get all the names and Irish Gaelic correct.

"I met you all at the green gate of the historic Harland and Wolff Drawing Room a place where the Titanic was drawn to scale and first saw the light of day.  We proceeded then to the Giant’s Ring where Emma was invaluable in assisting me up and down hills."

"The Giant’s Ring is its own place and speaks to each one of us in our own manner it is an experience that has to be experienced, felt and recalled in an unique and individual manner."

"From the Ring we viewed Cavehill Mountain Belfast and saw the silhouette of what is widely believed to be the inspiration behind Jonathan Swift’s Giant, Gulliver in “Gulliver’s Travels”. "

"On leaving the Giant’s Ring we travelled to Milltown Cemetery we learned about Na Leanai (The Children) then visited the IRA hunger strikers’ Grave in the Irish Republican plot before setting out for some light refreshments in An Culturlann (The Irish Culture Centre) on the Falls Road."

"After this visit we stopped at the mural on Sinn Fein’s Lower Falls Office beside the Carnegie Library, where Bobby Sands is commemorated on the Sinn Fein office gable wall.  It was here also that Scott asked about the Gaeilge writing above the mural where the word Saoirse is written it means Freedom."

"We left here for Bombay Street where the Phoenix of the Provisional IRA arose out of the ashes of the burned down homes that were rebuilt by the generous donations from mostly Irish America.  Then  we set of the see the electronic Gates that are closed by the security services to separate the Irish and British Unionist communities and it was here also that Julie and Scott walked the street Cupar Way approx 1/4 mile long that housing  major “Peaceline”. " 

"We made out way back to the Titanic museum and your car via Old Belfast and high street where the Farset River flows still underground and viewed the leaning Albert Clock."

"We ended our day together by a quick tour of the Titanic Quarter where we learned more about the Drawing Room, The paint shop that houses Universal Studios today  and photographing the Drawing Room where the Titanic came to light in true scale and where we all first met in Belfast as well."

After we parted from Seán, we made our way north to the coast, where we are staying in a hotel in Coleraine (which we now know is pronounced something like "Col-Rayne").  In our hotel is a "pub restaurant" called Table Table, which is a British chain something like an Applebees, but a bit more upscale.  The hit of the evening was when Julie got the Steak and Ale Pie that she ordered.  She was surprised at finding a ceramic bird sticking it's head out of it, and Anna and Emma had the giggles watching her reaction to it.  We found out later that it's called a "pie bird" and is meant as a vent to help release steam.   Julie told the girls that she was afraid it was there to steal her peas and said she was freaked out by it, probably because we were all so tired.