Titanic Quarter

I got scooped by Sarah.  She shared a bit of our adventure already.  We set out at 9:30 and got back to our hotel by 3:00.

We have taken a bus thru the Titanic Quarter, but nothing beats walking thru.  I also carried my good camera not my cell phone.  Way better pictures and lots of them.

first kid to touch the water in Ireland

Samuel was the first kid to touch the water here in Ireland.  The tide was low so it looked more like nasty pond scum than we expected.  Sarah was worried about falling in if she leaned over to try touch the water on slippery stair.  Some of you know of her accident prone ways right now and would agree she should hold off for better footing.

The amazing Titanic Museum

I have been so excited to see this building.  Some may not agree but I think it is an amazing memorial to the builders and passengers of this ship that still fascinates people. 

Standing under the bow of the museum looking up to the sky.

Slipways

This area is so cool but so hard to capture with a photo.  The standing light poles mark out the slipways for the Titanic , left and the Olympic her sister ship on the right.  The rails you can see in the ground are the ones that would have carried metal and other pieces to the workers assembling the two ships.  The raised ramp on the left is what the bow would have sat on.  It now is glassed in and has the names of ever passenger, crew member and worker that died with the Titanic.  Farther down on the Olympic side of the slip way, grass and cement blocks lay out the proportions of passengers that live and died  by class.  Just standing there you get an understanding of the magnitude of these great ships and how the loss of the Titanic could hurt ship building in Ireland.

With my good camera along for our outing it was fun to capture some of the details on buildings.

Like every city there is a mix of the old with the new.

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The above bridge was widened in1885

very old bridge in the background.

old stairway

Thank you to everyone who is praying for our safety on our trip.  Yesterday we had a crazy incident when Samuel used the bathroom at McDonalds.  I always worry about letting him go alone the girls have each other, but he has no one.  I waited right outside the door for him and suddenly I heard a guy yelling in another language at someone in the bathroom.  He was not stopping and my heart stopped.  I was just preparing to go in after my boy when a bus guide entered the bathroom.  He quickly assessed the situation and brought Samuel out to me.  Samuel was a little shaken up but untouched.  I was a mess, we thanked the tour guide.  He thought the guy was from another country and not quiet okay.  I am so thankful that my boy was okay. Hhe was back to his usual self within the hour.  I am not sure what the next bathroom visit will look like though I may cover his eyes and make him come with me or look for a single bathroom.  Kind of affects your day.

I watched the opening football game of the Olympics GB vs New Zealand.  It is my understanding that a few other countries may have played too, like Canada but they hardly got honorable mention. lol  National pride is a funny thing.

We have now been here a week, wow hard to believe.  It is laundry day.  That is not a bad thing but trekking around the city trying to find a laundry mat with 2 bags of wash is not sounding exciting.  Better go get to it. =)

Map of Belfast

To help you see where we go in the city.

downtown Belfast

Our Hotel is in the blue area Jurys Inn.

The Queens University is in the pink area.

Our favorite shopping area is in the purple.

The Titanic Quarter is in the orange/yellow.

Today-Sarah

Hi today we went on the longest walk we walked from downtown Belfast to the Titanic Quarters. It was so much fun, although we did get tired toward the end but it was all worth it.it was worth it because I have discovered that you can hardly go anywhere without finding something Historical.

 This is the Europa Dad said it is Historical for being the building that was the most bombed.

 This is a cute merhorse they were everywhere.

 These are some Daisies growing out of cement towards the water.

                                                This is me by River Lagan.

          This is Sammy By that River too.

 This is a better view of the river Lagan.

 This is Sabrina by the river Lagan.

 This is all three of us by the river.

 This is Sabrina Standing by a memorial at the Titanic it is a list of the names of all the people who died during the tradgedy. Sabrina only got to 79 on the third one out of 10?

The titanic Museum.

Food review:

• McDonald-as good as Canada
• KFC-as good as Canada
• Robinson's- THE SECOND BEST RESTAURANT!!!
• Pizza Express -THE BEST RESTAURANT!!!!
• Subway - as good as Canada
• The hotel Restaurant - GOOD CROISSANTS

I miss you all lots.

-Sarah Lynn Gyllich

Tuesday Exploration

I am happy to report the downtown and hotel noise is mostly a weekend thing.  I have a funny feeling that the weekend may start on Thursday night though.  My suspicion arises from the mall hours, Thursday is the only night they are opened until 9:00 pm.  I will let you know in two days. lol

We are all starting to feel more rested the kids are sleeping in until 8:00 or 9:00.  I am usually awake at 6:00 with Steve.  We even had the alarm clock wake us up one day, often the increased traffic noise wakes us before the alarm can.

Steve's company has paid for our breakfast here at the hotel.  That has been so nice.  They have a large dinning room and breakfast is a smorgasbord style with two kinds of eggs, bacon, sausage, roasted tomatoes, cereal, yogurt and a few kinds of  bread.  With three growing kids this has been a blessing.  They are definitely filled up for an hour before we head out exploring.

Jury's Inn - our hotel

Here is a picture of our really plain hotel.  Well the outside is nothing to look at.  The rooms have been updated and they are nice.  The corner glass areas on each floor are meeting rooms.  I will have to get a picture of the Europa on the next street it is a beautiful hotel. =)

For something new yesterday the kids and I headed off to ... Ikea. Yes they have an Ikea over near where Steve works.  There is still so much confusion over the apartment we are supposed to be staying in.  Confusion is more like complete lack of communication.  It looks like the one we have been told we could have will be available after the 1st of August.  It is a two bedroom and that might not sit well with management that we have 3 kids in one room.  I am not sure they will know it has someone new in it though as it is rented by a guy other than the one staying there and the company pays for it, sigh.  We also have not been advised if the furniture will be staying on the 1st or if it belongs to the people there now.  Thus a trip to check prices and selection was in order.

The trip to Ikea involved catching a new bus.  Which we did with little difficulty.  Our kids like to sit at the back of the bus over the motor.  Yesterday with the muggy warm weather it was almost my undoing it felt a bit like sitting in a toaster oven.  On the return trip I picked our seat near the front of the bus and felt much more comfortable.

Upon arriving at Ikea we had lunch.  Their food must be the same everywhere.  Out the dining area window we could see the big Bombardier building where Steve works, so we called him to let him know we were waving.  There is a airport runway between him and the Ikea mall so he could not just walk over and see us.  We wrote down prices of several thing like beds and a table in case we need one.  The kids had fun making suggestions but soon got the idea of looking for inexpensive items that fit our family.  Our time finished off with an icecream for the kids.  Just like home.


We then headed over to the strip mall next to Ikea.  It had two house wares stores and a sporting goods store.  The one house ware store seemed to be like winners everything had a price but was marked down at least half of the original price.  The girls found bedding they would love to use and it was comparable to Ikea.  Lighting section was amazing, reminded me of McInnis Lighting in PG.  So many chandeliers as ceiling lights and lamps.  The kids were all in awe of their display.

On our return bus trip we got to go through the Titanic Quarter where Steve works. It is right on the docks.  Ship building really went down hill for Ireland after the sinking of the Titanic. So they have added industries to the area the used to be shipyards. 

I love that the Titanic Museum was built to look like the front of the ship on all four sides.  The kids and I are excited to visit the museum.  We have been warned that you have to book two weeks in advance to get in.  It is a very busy place.

Ferries at the dock

Sampson and Goliath the cranes that helped build the Titanic

Bombardier - one of their may buildings

A better idea of the size of these two massive cranes.

Titanic Museum

Another fun part of being here right now is the Olympics.  That same energy is flowing through Northern Ireland as what we had in Canada during the Winter Olympics.  The bus exchange in the downtown is City Hall where the big Olympic screen is so we spent a bit of time there yesterday it is a good spot for the kids to chase pigeons and play tag.  We got to watch on the huge screen the final bit of the torch relay.  I am not so sure about going down for the opening ceremonies on Friday night but with the security we saw yesterday and the good will of the crowd we may try it.  I will make sure to take my hunny with me.

more people watching today

Sabrina and Samuel

Sarah

For dinner we headed out to a place Steve has been wanting us to try.  It is one of his favorites.  Pizza Express, oh my it was so worth waiting until 8:30 for him to get home and go there.  Their pizza is amazing the place is crazy busy and the service is slow.  We were there until 10:00 our poor boy almost fell asleep on the table.  He told our waiter that it was number one on his list of places to eat.  We all agreed with him.  It was not the best place for me to eat because I suspect I might have an allergy to wheat and milk but a few digestive enzymes helped me to not suffer.  For dessert I was able to have a dairy free raspberry sorbet that was to die for.  The kids enjoyed their gelato icecream and Steve had Bannoffee pie.  We may have to make it a weekly place to visit. =)

Banoffee pie (also spelled banoffi, or banoffy) is an English pastry-based dessert made from bananas, cream, and toffee from boiled condensed milk either on a pastry base or one made from crumbled biscuits and butter. Some versions of the recipe also include chocolate and/or coffee.

Now doesn't that sound yummy.

Rainy Monday

The kids and I survived our first day of entertaining ourselves.  Steve went to work at 7:00 am and we did not see him until 7:15 at night.  Life on a start up job is crazy.  Being there to see your spouse/daddy is kind of a thought not a fact that is going to happen every day.

On our Sunday walk to the mall we had passed a Disney Store so that is where the kids and I headed on Monday.  We arrived in the upscale shopping district at lunch time on our first rainy day.  The sidewalks were filled with people and umbrellas.  I think there should be a course in using an umbrella, Sarah was especially lethal with hers.  In an effort to stay close to me in the crowd I often had an umbrella support tangled in my hair.  At least I did not have to wonder were she was.

We took our lunch at the Castle Court mall.  Their food court has so many of our home options, Subway, Burger King, KFC, Pizza Hut and Bagel Shop.  We did not try the Maple Moose but maybe in the future.  they have crepes and ice cream.  mmm

food court

Castle Court mall

 

 

cupcake shop

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We even looked in their dollar store whose name gave us all a laugh, Poundland.  Does it need explanation?  Northern Ireland is part of the UK, their currency is the Pound.

Titanic memorial

Memorials for other ships built in Belfast.  These are in the nice shopping district.

Buses every where.  There are 4 in this picture can you see them?

We had a very enjoyable time in the misty rain, checking out all kinds of shops and finding the post office.  A lot of our wandering would have been done quicker if we were as brave as others in the city.  they simply press the pedestrian walk button and then proceed when ever they feel like it is safe to cross.  we still wait for the little walk guy on the light.  Some intersections are hard to gauge when the light will change and it is easy to forget where the cars maybe coming from.  The worst is when you are facing a street and the cars come from the right side of that street not the left like at home.  The buildings are tall and cross walks are often set back from the corner.  We look up and suddenly there is a car or bus bearing down on you.

 I am amazed at the buses in this city.  There are city buses, Translink Metro, then buses to see Northern Ireland, Translink Gold, buses to see the Titanic, open top buses to see the city, tour buses to see the city, tour buses to see the country, tour buses to see Europe and tour buses that connect large airports around the Country.  Buses are as common as yellow cabs in New York movies. lol

Another thing that there is a lot of is restaurants. Restaurants in the downtown shops are about 3 to 1.  It seems that on weekends it is very common to go out for dinner and stay at the restaurant until closing time visiting.  We have not visited any with a waiting area and the servers are quick to turn customers away when they are full.  Unlike home they do not check to see if someone is almost finished eating because that is not a sign that they will be leaving.  You can then imagine our poor servers surprise when we sought her out on Friday night to get our bill right after eating.  She was very worried and kept asking if everything was alright with our meal and service.  I quickly assured her the food was great and her service was wonderful, but our poor kids were falling asleep in their dinners.  We have just arrived from Canada and the time change is doing them in, I said.  She then smiled and started asking about our trip.  Well the food was amazing so we went back last night she was happy to see us and commented on how much more rested we looked.

A short time after our shopping adventure.  The kids were starting to act like caged monkeys in our room.  They asked to go out into the rain again, so off we headed, to the southeast this time to see the Queens University.  Well it started out as a little walk to try find a restaurant that I was told to try.  But every time we reached a cross walk I could see something new to see in the distance.  So we would press on to see it.  Then there was always something new until we were at the beautiful Queens University.

Queens University

Student Housing for the University

For our return trip we took a street that ran parallel to the busy one we had walked in on.  What a treat that was it took us through the University shopping district.  Maybe more of a coffee shop, eating district.  What ever the name it was neat?  They even have a well known coffee shop.

Starbucks Belfast

Sunday in Belfast

We had a quiet Sunday.  The kids and I are starting to get used of the time difference.  Steve is suffering a stomach issue, so resting was a good call for the day.  We hung around the hotel until about 3:30 then went out for some lunch/supper and a walk.  

my boys watching movies

Our walk took us to City Hall and a really nice shopping district.  City Hall has a big screen set up to watch the Olympics just like Vancouver had.  We look forward to watching a few events there.  Hopefully the crowds like the out come of the games or it maybe safer to watch from our room. lol

City Hall

Queen Victoria memorial

Olympic Screen

Samuel was posing alot

War Memorial

building across from City Hall

The shopping center was called Castle Court.  It was a very nice mall.  We are amazed at all the shops and restaurants that are the same as home, Gap, Body Shop, Footlocker, KFC, Burger King and Subway.  I will have to take pictures of the mall it is just so pretty. 

Ordering at restaurants is interesting.  Mashed potatoes are chump, chips are fries and crisps are potato chips.  At subway you will be asked what salad and sauce you want on your sub, veggies and dressing.  I forgot and asked the front desk lady the time, Steve had warned me.  I was a little stumped with her half 11, 11:30 to us.

I woke up at 2:30 today but I guess going to bed at 8:00 with the kids could be part of the reason for early mornings.  I was able to be fully awake to enjoy the street sweeping that is still going on 3 hrs later and the hall noises.  Hotels are often noisy places but we are finding the one here even more so.  Inebriated guest often do a nicky nicky nine doors approach to finding their rooms.  You knock on any door you thing might be your room and call out to the person inside hoping your buddy will open up for you.  And definitely if at first you don't succeed at finding your room try every door on the floor including the linen closet.  This game is most common at 3:00 maybe that is when the pubs and restaurants close.  Last night we had the added entertainment of two young men playing an impromptu game of hide and seek in the halls.  The one guy found a great spot judging by his buddies scream, it was a little high and unmanly but it was 3:30.  This was followed up by the buddy chasing the friend down the hall trying to punch him.  It was so successful they decided to try the door knocking and scaring of a girl in their group.  Maybe it was the yell or the knock but she was not nearly as surprised, thank goodness because then they headed off to bed.

street sweeper