The whole family went into Belfast the next day, Saturday, for our tour of the Harland and Wolff shipyard where the Titanic was built. This was a fascinating tour, even if it was in a post-industrial wasteland that is just now on the cusp of re-development into a thriving commercial/residential/industrial mixed-use quarter. The best part was standing in the cathedral like room in the company office building where the drafting tables used to be, where the designers and their underlings drew up the Titanic's plans. When this space is renovated, as it will be eventually, it will be a magnificent space. Not too far away you can stand where the Titanic sat before it was launched into Belfast Lough. I don't usually go in for guided bus tours but they are helpfully educational and this one was amusing and insightful as well, with a guide who had done a lot of original research to prepare for it. Afterwards we found a cozy coffeeshop right in Donegall Square and warmed up with a hot chocolate. Clement's puts them in a bowl - deliciously generous enough for the 3 of us to share.
More will be added to this entry over the course of this week on the following highlights of our Belfast visits:
St. George's Market
St. George's Market takes place every Friday and Saturday all year round in a purpose-built Victorian market hall, not too far from Belfast Central station and just a few blocks from the city center. Originally it was a butter and egg market. Now, on Fridays it's more of a general merchandise market and on Saturday it's given over entirely to food, with sampling opportunities galore. Local organic produce, eggs, poultry, jams, honey, and meat are available, along with local yogurt, Irish cheeses, fresh Irish seafood, imported cheeses and olives, fresh breads, and lots of choices for breakfast and lunch: sweet or savory crepes, sausages, scones and croissants, paella, kebabs, hamburgers, pasta, and curries. One of Reed's favorite samples is the dried seaweed, which is crunchy and salty and delicious, not to mention healthy.
Linen Hall Library
Birthplace of the Titanic/shipyard tour
This is the Drawing Office in the Harland and Wolff old office block, where the plans for the Olympic, Titanic, and Britannic were drawn out on paper and then on linen. Thomas Andrews spent a lot of time in this room, as he was one of the company's managing directors and one of the men responsible for the design of the ships. He died when the Titanic sank. In 1912, 15,000 people worked in the Harland and Wolff shipyard. The Titanic was launched into the River Lagan at the western end of Belfast Lough on 31st May, 1911. While what happened to the Titanic was a tragedy, the ship itself was a marvel of technology, and in the 21st century, Belfast intends to make science and technology the center of its redeveloped Titanic Quarter.
Grand Opera House
Donegall Square and City Hall
Belfast Welcome Center
Crown Liquor Saloon
This gaslit Victorian gin palace was apparently finished on the inside by Italian workmen who had nothing else to do for some reason - and the results are fantastic: intricately carved woodwork, tiled floors, colorful stained glass windows, and interestingly enough, enclosed private wooden booths with high walls called snugs, which a person or group can reserve for lunch. When I showed up - blown in by the wind I should say - without a reservation right at noon on a winter Friday, I was still able to get my own little snug in the corner. I drank a half pint of dry cider and ordered the steak and Guinness pie and did my best to get it all down and the mash potatoes and vegetables too, it was so delicious. But alas, even my prodigious powers of eating failed in this case - it was just too much food.
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