March 2016 Ireland

March 2016 Ireland

Sunday, March 20th, at 9pm I had a three hour flight from Bari to London Stansted Airport where I had about a six hour layover, before catching my flight to Dublin, Ireland.  We were two hours late arriving in London, but since I had a longish layover here, it was not a problem for me. There was an Air Traffic controllers strike on in France, so this picture partially shows just what kind of havoc that caused here in the airport in London. This is just one small area of the airport and as you can see a few hundred people 'hanging out' here at between 2 and 5am in the morning. The whole airport looked like this. Also, there are five major airports in London, so I can imagine they all looked similar.  The Departure board had many, many cancelled flights displayed.

With no where to go until I caught my 6:30am flight to Ireland, I sat here in this cafe, trying to doze a bit, but the 'strange looking hair' dude, (reminds me of the Munsters) and his 'girl' friend were having a very animated conversation and after at least three each, of those pints of brewski, they were entertaining to observe. I wasn't probably going to get much sleep anyway, so at least this gave me something to do ☺

About 5am it was time to go get a coffee and these two very friendly, but 'took their job seriously; as displayed by this weaponry!' young men were getting coffee too.  Anyway, they were proud to have their picture taken and were all smiles, then asked to see the photo to make sure they looked good in it! In all the airports I was in, this was a common sight.

Finally, we were airborne again and coming in over the very overcast and rainy coast of Ireland.

Monday, March 21st

It is now Monday morning about 8am and by now, I have been up since 5:30 Sunday morning, but I still had to wait about an hour to catch a bus and then take a two hour bus ride to Enniskillen, where my friends were. I arrived sometime around noon or 1pm, can't remember. Joan picked me up from the Bus stop (bus was late, she was beginning to wonder if I was coming), and off we went first for a bite of soup. My that did taste good!!  Too many things to see and do, so decided to take advantage of the semi-nice weather this day and do a bit of sight seeing before getting some rest.

Wiki: Enniskillen Castle, situated beside the River Erne in County Fermanagh, was built almost 600 years ago by the ruling Gaelic Maguires. Guarding one of the few passes into Ulster, it has been strategically important throughout its history. Today, the historic site houses two museums, Fermanagh County Museum and The Inniskillings Museum.

Even though, I am excessively tired from lack of sleep now... must not let that interfere; time to take advantage of this semi-nice day. Joan assures me that it will rain next few days, so better take this opportunity while I can.... ☺ So next few photos are taken in Enniskillen as we trekked around this quaint village, where Ian has his shop.

Sight seeing in Enniskillen and also took care of a couple pieces of business, like getting a UK Sim card for my phone (which never did work very well in Ireland, but worked fine in London... go figure).  Also needed to get some Pounds Sterling. These exchange rates are killing me. Where's that strong American $ when I need it!!  Also, this is still a somewhat politically charged country. For the most part, the North uses GBP and the South used Euros. However, there were a few towns in the north that used Euros, so I had to have both denominations on me at all times.  I never did really figure out their coins... they were not well stamped with the denomination and size did not dictate value... they were every size and shape and weight and metal type.  And even though, this photo makes it seem simple, many of them were well worn and the words were no longer visible... besides, I was tired and sick... ☺

Downtown Enniskillen

Joan met some of the friends here at the Buttermarket, so was nice to meet them and say hello, even though, I hadn't changed clothes, showered, or had a place to straighten my hair yet, and was seeing double between yawns ☺ Hopefully they understood....

 Ian & Joan's shop here in Enniskillen

 Ian and  Joan Black. Love this couple! Met them two years ago at Carema here in Italy and became great friends! Joan kept asking me to come see them, so here I am!

Then we were off to tour the Castle Coole

Wiki: Castle Coole 1798. Built by the politician Armar Lowry-Corry, 1st Earl Belmore from 1789, Castle Coole was designed as a showpiece by architect James Wyatt. The house is now managed by the National Trust and is open to the public

After this, my body was definitely shutting down, so we headed to the house. There I took a shower, did a few personal things, and had intended to lay down for a nap, however, now it was dinner time, so stayed up for that, then immediately after, went to bed and slept like a log. I had been up about 40 hours by then. I don't think 'old people' are suppose to stay up this many hours in a row.

Joan's gardens. All the properties and gardens here in Ireland are outstanding in beauty and tidiness. Everywhere you look in Ireland is a show place. Lovely, Clean and Beautiful!!

Wednesday, March 22nd

Another nice(ish) day here in Northern Ireland, so off we headed for the North Coast. It was overcast and the gray sky blended with the gray North Atlantic Ocean, but still managed to get a few great photos. The sun came out by spurts! just like the rain from time to time, but overall, it turned out to be a very nice day.

The sky and sea all blended together....

Cool old church and cemetery

As you can tell, I got lots of nice photos this day, and caused Joan to have to stop often so I could get them. She was very gracious about it. Thank you Joan!!

Now time for a coffee stop! Joan had invited her sister-in-law, Lyn to come with us this day.

Joan, me, Lyn

Took this cool photo just outside the coffee shop.

Wouldn't I love to have this home, sitting up here overlooking the sea. What a gorgeous place and gorgeous view with islands visible in the distance!

Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge (locally pronounced carrick-a-reedy) is a famous rope bridge near Ballintoy in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The bridge links the mainland to the tiny island of Carrickarede (from Irish: Carraig a' Ráid, meaning "rock of the casting"). It spans 20 metres (66 ft) and is 30 metres (98 ft) above the rocks below.[2] The bridge is mainly a tourist attraction and is owned and maintained by the National Trust. In 2009 it had 247,000 visitors. The bridge is open all year round (subject to weather).

Lyn Wilson & Joan Black

Several nice beaches along the north coast here.

and we moooo ve on ☺ . How beautiful is that; a pasture full of cows.

The Giant's Causeway

Wiki: The lunar landscape of the Giant's Causeway, lurking below the gaunt sea wall where the land ends, must have struck wonder into the hearts of the ancient Irish. Like the early people of North Antrim, Thackeray was very impressed by the strangeness of this place. Like other sophisticated visitors he had read that the Causeway is a geological freak, caused by volcanic eruptions, and cooling lava.The ancients knew differently: clearly this was giants' work and, more particularly, the work of the giant Finn McCool, the Ulster warrior and commander of the king of Ireland's armies.Finn could pick thorns out of his heels while running and was capable of amazing feats of strength. Once, during a fight with a Scottish giant, he scooped up a huge clod of earth and flung it at his fleeing rival. The clod fell into the sea and turned into the Isle of Man. The hole it left filled up with water and became Lough Neagh. Finn was said to inhabit a draughty Antrim headland: 'He lived most happy and content, Obeyed no law and paid no rent.' When he fell in love with a lady giant on Staffa, an island in the Hebrides, he built this wide commodious highway to bring her across to Ulster. The first historical accounts of the Causeway started appearing in the late 17th century. The Bishop of Derry made one of the first recorded visits in 1692 and the Chevalier De La Tocnaye, who had the good sense to take his umbrella, galloped up to the cliff edge in 1797 when both he and his horse were enraptured by the view. Before the famous coast road was built in the 1830s visitors complained about the ruggedness of the trip. But there was one shining compensation on the journey: the town where tourists made their last stop before the final push to the Causeway was Bushmills. Ever since 1608 saddle-sore travellers had been revived with magnums of the King's whiskey at the world's oldest (legal) distillery, which is still in business. The Causeway proper is a mass of basalt columns packed tightly together. The tops of the columns form stepping stones that lead from the cliff foot and disappear under the sea. Altogether there are 40,000 of these stone columns, mostly hexagonal but some with four, five, seven and eight sides. The tallest are about 40 feet high, and the solidified lava in the cliffs is 90 feet thick in places. A fine circular walk will take you down to the Grand Causeway, past amphitheatres of stone columns and formations with fanciful names like the Honeycomb, the Wishing Well, the Giant's Granny and the King and his Nobles, past Port na Spaniagh where the Spanish Armada ship Girona foundered, past wooden staircase to Benbane Head and back along the cliff top.

And more castles, most of them in ruins. What Ireland is famous for, it's castles. 

Wiki: Dunluce Castle. Built by the MacQuillans on the site of a 10th-century fort, the original castle dates from the 14th or 15th century. The castle passed to the MacDonnells with the marriage of Colla MacDonnell and Evelyn MacQuillan in the 16th century. Shane O'Neill captured Dunluce from Sorley Boy MacDonnell in 1565, and in 1584 it was besieged by Sir John Perrot who battered the castle with artillery. The castle was repaired by Sorley Boy's son Sir James, including construction of the Scottish-style gatehouse. In 1635 Randal MacDonnell, 2nd Earl of Antrim, built the hall for his wife, the Duchess of Buckingham, though she refused to live in the castle after part of it fell into the sea in 1639. The MacDonnells later moved to Glenarm Castle and Dunluce deteriorated. It was given into state care in 1928, and is open to the public.

Some other folks which I had met at Petacciato, Italy, in 2014, John & Ingrid Armstrong, (she is cousin to Doug Fulton), and they live here in Northern Ireland, so while we were going to be in this area, I wanted to stop by an say hello. When Joan phoned to make plans to stop by, Ingrid insisted we stay for dinner. We arrived around four, I think, which gave us a bit of time to visit and see their lovely place.

John had built on their property an authentic thatched roof cabin... his man cave ☺

Ingrid has lovely gardens here, both flower and walk paths around a beautiful stream, and vegetable gardens. There are also a great variety of birds.

Ingrid had told us to bring our swimsuits. What a wonderful private pool and outdoor patio, barbecue area. The pool house is fully equipped with showers, robes, workout room, sitting room, kitchen, etc. I could just live there!

We didn't have a great amount of time to 'play', as we were off to Esther Blaney and Heather Holmes g'mtg right after dinner.

Ingrid preparing dinner

John and Ingrid Armstrong

Walter Milligan (Herbert's uncle. Herbert & Heidi live here in Italy at Pisa).  Walter is staying here at Armstrong's for a while, as he is recovering, and swimming is the best therapy.

We were fairly late getting back to Blacks this night, around 11pm I think.

Wednesday, March 23rd.  Up and out the door for more sight seeing around Northern Ireland, however, we went to pick up Joan's brother Newbury and Lyn Wilson to go with us.

 Got to watch her feed a couple baby lambs that the mother was unable to produce milk for.

This is the home place where Joan was raised and where her brother, Newbury, lives now.

Love the sheep

The views from their home place.

And we're off touring.  First site was the castle which Lord Mountbatten had here in Northern Ireland. See note below from Wiki re this castle

Wiki: Classiebawn Castle is a country house built for Viscount Palmerston on what was formerly a 10,000 acre estate on the Mullaghmore peninsula near the village of Cliffoney, County Sligo, in the Republic of Ireland. The current castle was largely built in the nineteenth century. It was designed in the Baronial style by J. Rawson Carrol, a Dublin-based architect, and is constructed from a yellow-brown sandstone brought by sea from County Donegal. It comprises a gabled range with a central tower topped by a conical roofed turret. The land, which once belonged to the O'Connor Sligo, was confiscated by the English Parliament to recompense the people concerned in putting down an Irish rebellion. Around 10,000 acres of land on which Classiebawn now stands was granted to Sir John Temple, Master of the Rolls in Ireland.

The property passed down to The 3rd Viscount Palmerston, the statesman who served as both British Prime Minister and British Foreign Secretary. It was this Lord Palmerston who commissioned the building of the current Classiebawn Castle and the harbour at Mullaghmore. The house was not complete on his death in 1865, but was completed in 1874 by his stepson and successor, The Rt. Hon. William Cowper-Temple, P.C., M.P. (later created The 1st Baron Mount Temple). The latter died childless in 1888 and the estate passed to his nephew, The Hon. Evelyn Ashley, second surviving son of The 7th Earl of Shaftesbury. Evelyn Ashley spent some time there each year and on his death in 1907 was succeeded by his only son, Wilfred William Ashley (later created Baron Mount Temple in a new creation). He also spent his summers at the castle with his daughters Edwina, the future Countess Mountbatten, and Mary, the future Lady Delamere.

In 1916 the house was cleared and remained empty until 1950. It was inherited by Edwina Mountbatten, Countess Mountbatten of Burma (when she was still officially styled as Lady Louis Mountbatten), in 1939 who, with her husband Admiral of the Fleet The 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, made a number of improvements, installing electricity and a mains water supply. 

After his wife's death in 1960, Lord Mountbatten, the last Viceroy of India, spent his summers there until his death when his boat was blown up off the coast of Mullaghmore by the IRA in August 1979.

The castle and surrounding lands are now owned by the estate of Hugh Tunney, a deceased businessman, who bought the castle and 3,000 acres of surrounding estate in 1991 after having leased it for many years.

The waves were rolling high on this cold north Atlantic shore.  Crazy surfers were out here surfing!

It was in this north sea, that his yacht was blown up by the IRA, in view of his 'home'.

Time for coffee break, so we stopped at the old church here where Yeats is buried. They have a lovely little shop here and the homemade scone was very nice!

Then we motored along to Donegal. What a cool little town and was fun to take a walk around it and look in a few of the shops here.

Me, Joan & Newbury. Thanks Lyn for this photo

Donegal Castle.  Wiki: Donegal (Irish, Dún na nGall), translates as Fort of the Foreigner possibly coming from a Viking fortress in the area destroyed in 1159. However, due to hundreds of years of development, no archaeological evidence of this early fortress has been found. The elder Sir Hugh O’Donnell, wealthy chief of the O’Donnell clan, built the castle in 1474. At the same time, he and his wife Nuala, built a Franciscan monastery further down the river. A locallegend[citation needed] tells of a tunnel connecting the two but no evidence for this has been found. The castle was regarded as one of the finest Gaeliccastles in Ireland. This was indicated by a report by the visiting English Viceroy, the Lord Deputy of Ireland, Sir Henry Sidney, in 1566, in a letter to William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, the Lord High Treasurer, describing it as "the largest and strongest fortress in all Ireland", adding:"it is the greatest I ever saw in an Irishman's hands: and would appear to be in good keeping; one of the fairest situated in good soil and so nigh a portable water a boat of ten tonnes could come within ten yards of it".  In 1607, after the Nine Years war the leaders of the O'Donnell clan left Ireland in the Flight of the Earls. In 1611 the castle and its lands were granted to an English Captain, Basil Brooke. The keep had been severely damaged by the departing O'Donnells to prevent the castle being used against the Gaelic clans but was quickly restored by its new owners. Brooke also added windows, a gable and a large manor-house wing to the keep, all in the Jacobean style. The Brooke family owned the castle for many generations until it fell into a ruinous state in the 18th century. In 1898 the then owner, the Earl of Arran, donated the castle to the Office of Public Works.

Here in Donegal we met up with Hilda Landen and Ruth Landen (cousins) and then went to Lough Eske Castle for tea.

Lough Eske Castle, renovated into a luxury hotel. When we arrived, there was bride just preparing to leave. They have a lot of weddings at this five star hotel.

Wiki: (Lough Eske Castle Hotel & Spa sits within 43 acres of forest woodland, surrounded by the shores of Lough Eske on one side and the Blue Stack Mountains on the other. Open since December 2007, this lovingly restored castle-hotel blends its historic past with a dash of contemporary elegance. Beyond being the only five-star hotel in Donegal, Ireland, we are proud to announce that our property has been named the World's Best Luxury Country Hotel for five consecutive years (2009-2013) at the World Luxury Hotel Awards. In addition to nominations as MyGuideIreland's “No. 1 Hotel in Ireland” and "Ireland Venue of the Year" by the country's top wedding website weddingsonline.ie., Lough Eske Castle has received Condé Nast Readers' Award 2013, European Hospitality's "Innovation in Service" Award in 2013, has been recognized among the “World's Best Castle Hotels” by global travel expert Stephanie Abrams, and is included in the Condé Nast Gold List of the world's best places to visit for 2014.)

We had afternoon tea here with Hilda and Ruth. Joan's brother, Newbury, and wife, Lyn, came with us today on our touring.

Thanks Lyn for this photo.

We arrived back home shortly after, as we needed to get supper and then go to bible study at Reuben & Janette Smith's (Freda's cousin). They have moved here from England. Their daughter's name is Abigail, just like my granddaughter and almost the same age and such a sweetie! Both her and David are taking piano lessons, so gave me a mini recital ☺while we had tea and biscuits after bible study.
Also, I stayed in close contact with Freda back in Bari, sending her photos from time to time, as Ireland is where she is from and knows most or all these folks in my blog!

David Smith (Reubens father),  Abigail, Janette, David, Reuben

The rest of our group this night. Front, L-R: David Smith, g'pa David Smith, Trevor Carson, Ian Black, Abigail Smith. Back, L-R: Janette Smith, Reuben Smith, Joan Black, David & Frances Stubbs, Rhoda Bell.  We stayed for tea so again, had a bit of a late night, and by the end of this day, I knew I was coming down with something.

This was my last 'good' day until Saturday.  All day Tuesday and Wednesday, I was so cold. I had put on layers and layers of clothes, and a heavy coat over it all, but just could not keep warm. It was a damp bone piercing cold and cold wind that just penetrated. I had not felt good since arriving Monday, but just thought it was a lack of sleep, but now I had fever, head cold and chest congestion coming on in a big way. I went to bed after bible study, and basically slept day and night for the next two days. During the day, I would sleep three or four hours, get up have a drink, but no food, as I didn't feel like eating, then go back to sleep, and then sleep all night too. Friday, I slept a little less during the day, but never got up, and slept through the night again.

Thanks to Joan and Ian, they continued on with their regular routine and let me just 'get well'. Of course, all this made for a big change in my touring plans. I had originally planned to be in the South before the weekend and tour five or six days there, however, that was not going to happen, so continued through the weekend here.

On Thursday morning, Carole Freeburn (Nigeria, but temp. back in Ireland for health recovery) had come for a stay at Ian & Joan's also, and to help Herbie Jennings with the mission here, as Denis McKendry is still in hospital. They did receive exciting news this day, though, as Denis had started speaking and could walk with help. (In January, he was working on a roof and slipped and fell to the ground. Doctors were very unsure what the outcome would be, so was wonderful news to see this progress. He is only in his early 30's, I think.)  *Update April 11: "he has been moved to Shrewsbury to be near his folks & has walked, talked, eaten & gone out of home for a couple of hours - tremendous progress."

Carole Freeburn

By Saturday morning, I was feeling much better and we went for tea and scones to Ian's sister's.

Harold & Sylvia Montgomery

Carole, Sylvia, Harold & Joan

They have such a lovely place here on the lake.

Then we took a jaunt over to Gortalochan or Fermanagh Convention. Anyone recognize what this kitchen is ☺

Everything so neat and tidy here.

Ken & Esme Gregg who live here have been to Washington, Oregon, etc., and knew many folks that I also know there. Was great to get visiting with them!

Would be lovely to come here for convention some time. This is where Ian and Joan go.

Time to motor on down the road as the day is quickly passing. I felt much better today, and was glad for the outing, however, was still glad to get home early and to bed and rest so I would feel even better on Sunday ☺ I'm not sure being out in all the cold wind and rain was improving my state of health any, but the fresh air was very nice!

On our way home, we passed this wedding in progress. I didn't have such a good angle for taking photos, but you get the idea... lots of Hats! and what a neat car!!  One thing I've been very aware of since I've been in Ireland, is the amount of wealth in this country. Very impressive to see a whole country so prosperous.

Easter Sunday, March 27th.
Also, today is my brother's birthday. Remembered him today, miles and miles away.

Joan made lamb and Ian is ricing the potatoes.  A truly Irish Easter dinner!

I just loved this stark old tree in their front yard, with the dark rain clouds in the background. After the first couple of days of semi-good touring weather, it proceeded to rain everyday after that and the cold wind blew and blew! At least, it rained while I was in bed sick... would have really been bummed if it had been sunny and I would have had to stay in bed being sick.

After church, an Easter dinner in Ireland with Ian & Joan Black, and Carole Freeburn

Then Ian made this for Sunday night supper after we returned from Herbie's G'mtg.  My kind of supper!!!  Two full meals today... my appetite was back!

Monday, March 28th. Belfast

Time to do some more touring, now that I am finally feeling better. Was lovely to have the weekend with Ian and Joan, but now I have only a couple days left, so want to at least see Belfast and Dublin while I am here. So up early this morning and caught the bus in Lisbellaw, near their house, on my way to Belfast. I am sorry to say, that by the time I left, both Lyn and Joan had come down with the sickness like I had. I love sharing, however, that is not something I wanted to share with them. Hopefully, they get well soon. I received a note from Joan today that she went hiking as planned, anyway... she just took more pain pills. Get well soon you two and thanks for Everything!!!! Joan and Ian were also on their way to England a few days after I left.

It was basically a sunny day in Belfast after a two hour bus ride here. It did rain some too, however, I only had the one day to see it, so rain or shine, I hopped on the tour bus and saw what I could. 

Belfast Castle

They have great live commentators. This is very helpful in understanding what one is seeing.☺ The Troubles, also called the 30 years Northern Ireland Conflict (1968-1998) was a campaign to end discrimination against the Catholic/nationalist minority by the Protestant/unionist-dominated government and police force. This still plays a big part in the way people think in this city.

Since Belfast is where the Titanic was built, everyone wanting to capitalize on the Titanic... notice the play on words at this 'Thai Tanic' restaurant

The globe-shaped, white and silver steel sculpture is a representation of a new sun rising to celebrate a new chapter in the history of Belfast.

just happened along as there was a funeral procession...
Also, notice the blue fence around the hospital here... made to look like DNA strands

Wiki: Belfast is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland. Most of Belfast, including the city centre, is in County Antrim, but parts of East and South Belfast are in County Down. It is on the flood plain of the River Lagan.  The city's motto is Pro Tanto Quid Retribuamus (roughly Latin for "what shall we give in return for so much"). By population before the 2015 council reform, Belfast was the 17th largest city in the United Kingdom and the second largest on the island of Ireland. It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly.  At the time of the 2011 census, the city of Belfast had a population of 286,000. With the 2015 council reform it is 333,871 and lies at the heart of the Belfast Urban area, which has a population of 483,418 and the Belfast Metropolitan Area, which had a population of 579,276 at the 2001 census.  The larger urban zone, as defined by the European Union, had an estimated total population of 673,000 on 1 January 2012.  Belfast was granted city status in 1888.  Historically, Belfast has been a centre for the Irish linen industry (earning the nickname "Linenopolis"), tobacco processing, rope-making and shipbuilding: the city's main shipbuilders, Harland and Wolff, which built the well-known RMS Titanic, propelled Belfast on to the global stage in the early 20th century as the biggest and most productive shipyard in the world. Belfast played a key role in the Industrial Revolution, establishing its place as a global industrial centre until the latter half of the 20th century. Industrialisation and the inward migration it brought made Belfast, if briefly, the biggest city in Ireland at the beginning of the 20th century, and the city's industrial and economic success was cited by unionist opponents of Home Rule as a reason why Ireland should shun devolution and later why Ulster unionists in particular would fight to resist it.  Today, Belfast remains a centre for industry, as well as the arts, higher education, business, and law, and is the economic engine of Northern Ireland. The city suffered greatly during the period of conflict called "the Troubles", but latterly has undergone a sustained period of calm, free from the intense political violence of former years, and substantial economic and commercial growth. Additionally, Belfast city centre has undergone considerable expansion and regeneration in recent years, notably around Victoria Square.  Belfast is served by two airports: George Best Belfast City Airport in the city, and Belfast International Airport 15 miles (24 km) west of the city. Belfast is a major port, with commercial and industrial docks dominating the Belfast Lough shoreline, including the famous Harland and Wolff shipyard. Belfast is a constituent city of the Dublin-Belfast corridor, which has a population of three million, or half the total population of the island of Ireland.

Wiki: Belfast has been the capital of Northern Ireland since its establishment in 1921 following the Government of Ireland Act 1920. It had been the scene of various episodes of sectarian conflict between its Catholic and Protestant populations. These opposing groups in this conflict are now often termed republican and loyalist respectively, although they are also referred to as 'nationalist' and 'unionist'. The most recent example of this conflict was known as the Troubles – a civil conflict that raged from around 1969 to 1998. Belfast saw some of the worst of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, particularly in the 1970s, with rival paramilitary groups formed on both sides. Bombing, assassination and street violence formed a backdrop to life throughout the Troubles. The Provisional IRA detonated 22 bombs within the confines of Belfast city centre in 1972, on what is known as "Bloody Friday", killing eleven people. Loyalist paramilitaries including the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and the Ulster Defence Association(UDA) claimed that the killings they carried out were in retaliation for the IRA campaign. Most of their victims were Catholics with no links to the Provisional IRA. A particularly notorious group, based on the Shankill Road in the mid-1970s, became known as the Shankill Butchers. In all, over 1,600 people were killed in political violence in the city between 1969 and 2001. Sporadic violent events continue as of 2015, although not supported by the previous antagonists who had reached political agreement in 1998.

The wall that still divides the city.
Wiki: Despite a period of relative peace, most areas and districts of Belfast still reflect the divided nature of Northern Ireland as a whole. Many areas are still highly segregated along ethnic, political and religious lines, especially in working-class neighborhoods. 'Catholic' or 'Republican' on one side and 'Protestant', or 'Loyalist' on the other – are invariably marked by flags, graffiti and murals. Segregation has been present throughout the history of Belfast, but has been maintained and increased by each outbreak of violence in the city. This escalation in segregation, described as a "ratchet effect", has shown little sign of decreasing during times of peace. When violence flares, it tends to be in interface areas. The highest levels of segregation in the city are in west Belfast with many areas greater than 90% Catholic. Opposite but comparatively high levels are seen in the predominantly Protestant east Belfast.

The Crumlin Road Courthouse was badly damaged in a fire a few years ago. They would convict the prisoners here...

take them underground directly from the courthouse through this tunnel

into this prison which is just across the road. A very infamous prison... see link

 http://thesarahstory.com/crumlin-road-gaol

Albert Memorial Clock constructed between 1865 and 1869

Titanic Quarters where the RMS Titanic was built. It tells the stories of the ill-fated Titanic, which hit an iceberg and sank during her maiden voyage in 1912, and her sister ships RMS Olympic and HMHS Britannic.

The largest ship builders in the world right here in Belfast.

It is hard to really grasp the size of these ship building cranes, but just the H & W letters on the top, are each six stories high, or so they tell me.  They are massive, however, they built giant ships!

Wiki: The cranes are situated in the shipyard of Harland & Wolff and were constructed by the German engineering firm Krupp, with Goliath being completed in 1969 and Samson, in 1974. Goliath stands 96 metres (315 ft) tall, while Samson is taller at 106 metres (348 ft). Goliath, the smaller of the two sits slightly further inland closer to Belfast City. At the time Harland & Wolff was one of the largest shipbuilders in the world. The announcement that they were to be built was an important event at the time. Each crane has a span of 140 metres (459 ft) and can lift loads of up to 840 tonnes to a height of 70 metres (230 ft), making a combined lifting capacity of over 1,600 tonnes, one of the largest in the world. Prior to commissioning, the cranes were tested up to 1,000 tonnes, which bent the gantry downwards by over 30 centimetres (12 in). The dry dock at the base of the cranes is the largest in the world measuring 556 m × 93 m. Shipbuilding has ceased in Belfast, but the cranes are to be retained as part of the existing dry dock facility within the restructured shipyard, situated adjacent to the Titanic Quarter, a business, light industrial, leisure and residential development on land now surplus to the heavy industrial requirements of the shipyard on Queen's Island. They are still (2015) kept in working order and used for heavy lifting by Harland & Wolff in its other activities.  
 http://www.harland-wolff.com/Documents/Dry-Dock-and-Gantry-Crane-H-W-Tecnhical-Specificat.aspx

And then the rain moved in yet again, but I continued to take pictures, however, not as clear as I would have liked.

Stormont Parliament Buildings

And now the sun is back out!

It is known as the "most bombed hotel in Europe" and the "most bombed hotel in the world" after having suffered 28 bomb attacks during the Troubles.  Presidents, prime ministers and celebrities have stayed here.

And my day is finished in Belfast. I headed to the Train station to go to Dublin and just about 15 minutes before we were to board, there came an announcement saying there was a "Safety Warning" and the train was canceled, so they brought buses to the station and bused us all, an hour away to another train station in Newry. That is where we had to wait another hour and then caught this train for the rest of our ride into Dublin. I will have to say, they have very plush trains here in Ireland!

Zooming along, taking a few pictures out the train windows, of the countryside.

Sunshine, then dark clouds and rain, then this beautiful rainbow. What a day!

Finally arrived in Dublin, but by now it is near dark and wouldn't you know it, the LUAS tram that I needed to take to my Hotel was on Strike on this four day Easter Weekend, trying to make a point, when it would be the busiest, so now I had to try and find a bus to take me to my Hotel. In addition, there was a huge celebration going on in Dublin honoring the Easter Rising or Dublin Rising 1916 - 2016, so many of the streets were blocked off for parades and the buses were stopping at unmarked locations. I finally asked a nice young girl if she could direct me and she was so nice, that she said she could do better than that, as she was going in that general direction and would take me there. What a sweetheart! I barely made it on the first bus though... there were so many people trying to get on since the tram was not running, that the pushing and shoving was terrible, especially, with me lugging my suitcase and a carry-on.  Oh, well, after another half hour on the bus, I finally arrived at my hotel.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_Rising

And it was very impressive looking.... however, I was soon to find that looks were deceiving...

I was so tired by this point, after getting an early start this morning, taking a two hour bus ride into Belfast, touring Belfast all day, then the bus/train fiasco getting from Belfast to Dublin, then another tram/bus fiasco getting to the hotel that I just crashed when I reached my room.

About 2am I woke up in a sweat as my room was roasting hot. I got up to turn off the heat, however, the thermostat was broken and I couldn't. Then I was just going to open the window, but two things became apparent.. the latch was broken on it and I was on the ground floor and there was construction going on right outside my window... a serious safety concern to have it open, but with the latch being broken, it wasn't so safe anyway!

I phoned the reception, to see if there was some way to turn off the heat, and he said he would send someone to look at it!!! Are you serious.... at 2am???  I said, "not a good idea, what else can you do", so he said he could turn it off somewhere else, and I assume he did, because it did start cooling down after that.  Anyway, needless to say, I did not get much rest this night and since I only had the one day to tour Dublin, I really was hoping to get some much needed rest after my long day yesterday.

Next morning, they said they would move me to another room. So that evening when I returned, I asked for my new key, and they had put me into one of their suites, so now I had a huge big 'joint' with not just one broken window but two!! At least I was not on the ground floor this time, so wasn't as bad I guess. I found out that they are in the process of renovating this hotel, however, they are continuing to operate with the rooms that they have, even though, they are in serious need of repair. There was however, a jacuzzi in this room, so I thought maybe I could at least enjoy that, however, I then became concerned about the amount of germs, in such a state of rundown as this hotel was, so decided that may not be in the best interest of my health!

The dining Room and food service were great. I did have a very lovely full breakfast every morning here in this nice Atrium Restaurant at the hotel.

Had a great day touring Dublin. Again, the weather was rain a while, then sunshine, but overall, apart from the cold wind that blew the whole time I was in Ireland, I had a great day touring Dublin. I will have to say, though, I think that constant piercing cold wind tires me out more than anything else.

Too much 'people crowding' for my liking, but this seems to be everywhere I travel/tour anymore.  Also, the Irish take lots of Holidays here in Ireland and because of the celebration in Dublin over Easter weekend, they came out in 'force'.

Seriously cool bridge over the River Liffey. It is designed to look like a harp.  The Celtic Harp.

Other cool modern buildings here in Dublin, along with all the very stately older ones.  I stayed in this hotel, the first time I was in Dublin. I'm wishing now, I would have stayed here again ☺

Love all the colored doors. Sure gives a burst of life to some of these gray/brown buildings that seem to be so popular here in Ireland.

Dublin Capital building

Dublin Castle

What the Irish are known for

The view from the 360 tower at the top overlooking the city

Newbury recently had open heart surgery and was advised by his doctor to have a pint of Guinness everyday, as it would help build up his blood. I guess all prescriptions have side effects, however, one side effect of this, could we say, is 'happiness' ☺ Lyn thinks he is enjoying it too much ☺
All things in moderation...

As you can see, it had started raining, again so some of my photos were taken through the window, and have a bit of glare, however, couldn't let a little rain stop me from getting a few photos.

and now the sun is coming back out.  Dublin has some of the most modern buildings I've seen in Ireland. They have lots of older stately ones too, but these glass and modern ones are very nice.

Time to head to London!

My original plan was to go to Kilkenny and see Norman and Moira Fulton there and then take a five day bus tour around the south of Ireland, however, getting sick changed all those plans. I just phoned and spoke with them and was hoping to at least get Wed. church in Dublin, however, that was not to be either, as it wasn't until 8pm and that would not leave me enough time to get to the airport for my evening flight to London. Anyway, I got to see a lot in just the little time I had. I will come back and tour the south another time.

My last supper in Ireland just before I flew to London... and it was a tasty one!

To sum up my time in Ireland. Even with unplanned sickness and touring that I never got to do, I had many wonderful opportunities and saw a lot of people and many sights and things anyway, thanks to wonderful people like Joan and Ian!! What great folks they are.  I will however, definitely return next time when the weather is warmer... its been a long time since I've been so cold ☺ . I guess all this warm weather here in Bari has made me a fair weather traveler.  Hopefully I will be able to connect up with Norman and Moira and tour the South of Ireland next time ☺

Now off to London to meet my Bari friends and celebrate turning 63 on April 1st. Next post coming of London!