Belfast, Northern Ireland

 I have mixed feelings about writing of our experience in Belfast. I originally booked a walking tour that focused on the architecture and ALL the history of Belfast. I was actually trying to avoid any tour that focused on the unrest that happened there in the 1960's and continued for the next thirty years because I am of the age where I remember hearing about it on the news. All the violence and hatred... 

Unfortunately my tour guide had made a mistake and missed our booking but he set us up with a taxi tour later in the day free of charge. So we spent the morning at the Titanic Experience because it was brutally windy and raining outside. It was okay in my opinion but I'm not one of those people who are giant fans of the movie. The movie lovers all seem to think it's great. The first part focused on the construction of the ship. Then there were just a few exhibits about some of the people onboard etc. They had furniture and things from the sister ship the Olympic to look at. I will say that it was quite hot inside the building which diminished my enjoyment of the exhibits. Everyone was fanning themselves in an attempt to cool down. We left the museum and got some lunch nearby and then returned to the hotel to wait for our tour guide.

Our guide drove us past a couple of buildings and spoke a bit about the architecture but it wasn't long before he started sharing about this own childhood in Belfast which eventually led us to the peace gates - which are still promptly locked at 7pm each day. We walked the no-man's-land between the gates and later stopped at a memorial that has haunted me ever since. It was a memorial to several victims of the violence but I was particularly moved by two of them. Maybe it's because I have young grandchildren, but the stories of these two little boys left me in tears for quite a long time afterward and I even now have trouble talking about it without crying. I have tears running down my face even now as I'm typing. Why does violence have to touch our young people? Why can't innocent children be safe? I knew I would react that way which is why I tried to avoid the political past. I did tell the guide when we started out that I didn't want to focus on the "troubles" but I think it's such an interwoven part of their lives that it's just natural for them to speak of it. My husband is interested in world politics so it didn't effect him the way it effected me. 

Anyway, we finished our tour at City Hall where I was supposed to be able to appreciate the lovely architecture inside which would have been a welcome distraction. Most of the interior public rooms however were closed for an event so we left and walked back toward our hotel. We stopped to look at some of the "entries", narrow passages between buildings with pubs and business inside. We found a nice, cozy pub where we had dinner before returning to the hotel for the night.