Day 102

May 4, 2019 – Belfast, Northern Ireland, The United Kingdom

We began with our cruise in to Belfast at 8 am. Ian was in the Crow’s Nest on his microphone.

We arrived in Belfast at 10 am. A working port, we needed to take a shuttle bus to the center of town. We were on our own and did a walking tour of some of the sites.

City Hall was our first stop and was right across the Belfast visitor center where the shuttle dropped us off.

Ulster Concert Hall. Built in 1859

The Europa Hotel has the reputation of the most bombed hotel in the world. 28 bomb attacks during “The Troubles”.

The Grand Opera House – 1895

Belfast Metropolitan College

St. Mary’s Church – 1784

Belfast Central Library 1838

St. Anne’s Cathedral

Royal Ulster Rifles Museum

Albert Memorial Clock – 1869

The Big Fish – 1999

Beacon of Hope – 2007

We finished out tour and had some lunch in here.

We then walked to St. Georges Market

We then decided to do a 10 stop pub crawl. On a slow day that would be tough complete. It was Saturday and would be tough. Our first stop was Laverys.

We sat at the bar and chatted it up with a few guys preparing for the Belfast Marathon on Sunday morning. Each had a Guinness in their hand. We were surprised at the Irish prepare for a marathon. The pub was close to full with folks watching the soccer match.

The Five Points was next. This place was nice but empty.

The Crown Bar was next. Absolutely packed. We barely made it from one end to the other. No place to sit or even stand.

We walked around the corner and found and entrance to the second floor where the dining room was.

Interesting drink.

Bob and Brenda came up for dinner just as we were finishing. We chatted for a while and then we were off to the next stop. Robinson’s.

We entered Fibber Magee’s and half way through it connected to Robinsons. The place was packed with people.

We made it through the crowd and went on our way to Kelly’s Cellar.

After I took a photo of this chap he asked where we were from.

He handed me one of his pint’s and then went into the bar to buy Terri a drink.

We thanked him but he really wasn’t interested in chatting. He did say this was the best pub in Belfast.

Next stop. Maddens.

This place had a buzzer that you had to ring before you could get in. Reminded me of the Kociuszko Democratic Club in Hamtramck where I was a member back in the 70s. Terri said it was similar to the Ukrainian Club in Rossford, OH where she grew up. This place was quite cozy but we decided we had enough. Good effort at hitting all 10 but it was getting late. We headed back to the shuttle and then to the ship.

Evening entertainment was Kaitlyn Carr. Kaitlyn is from Scotland and did a performance of local Celtic music. She played the Irish tin whistle and the Celtic flute. Great performance.