A day in several parts

 

You know when you have one of those really long days, when the stuff you did in the morning seems so far away that you would swear that it happened on a previous day? I am surprised that we managed to squeeze in all the things we did in the same 12-hour span. Well, I am always amazed at how much we manage to squeeze into our days when travelling, but we really do want to get the most out of our experiences and visits. We start the morning off right with a full Irish breakfast at Cherryville House B&B, courtesy of the lovely Caryll, who is gracious and super-welcoming. Her son, Steven, is surprised to see us up so early - when we ran into him at the pub last night, he wished us a good rest of our trip since he thought he would miss us. Turns out, we are travelling in opposite directions: his work is taking him to Dublin, whereas we are headed north to Belfast and beyond. We finish our coffee and part ways in the rain.

Of course there is traffic heading into Dublin, but we make it for our timed entry to the Titanic experience. This was not something that was originally on my list on "must-visit" places when planning this trip to Ireland, but when I was younger, I had this obsession with the sinking of the Titanic. I read lots of books on the topic, and it was often the subject of my school projects, regardless of class or topic. Mario suggested this might be something I should do, as sort of pilgrimage, if you will, and I guess it did make sense. Interestingly, the museum covered so much more that the story of the ill-fated ship: the early history and industrial beginnings of the city of Belfast, up to the diverging of the river and creation of the shipyards. It showcases stories about the lives of people and companies involved in the conception, planning and building of the Titanic, and included a rather fun little "Disney-esque" ride that took us down into the shipyards to see what life was like for the dock workers at the time. 

Workers stare up at the Titanic's propellers

A luncheon menu from onboard

Most of the rest of the museum, including the sinking and subsequent discovery by Robert Ballard, were things I am much too familiar with, and easily dredged up from the dusty, cob-web filled back corners of my memory. There were a few tear-jerking exhibits towards the end of the tour: a wall of names of those lost at sea, pages upon pages of transcripts from the investigation following the sinking, personal items saved by the survivors, or found on the bodies pulled from the freezing water. I think the thing that got me the most was outside the museum, on the docks, where there is a paved outline of both the Titanic and her sister ship, the Olympic. We walked right to the very end of it and back again, admiring the size of the ship, the placement of the funnels, the location where the crow's nest would have been, felt how big the whole thing really was.

Thankfully, our morning at the museum meant we missed out on most of the rain passing through the area, driving through the rest of it, stopping at a service station to pick up lunch, watching the parade of green fields full of sheep and cows pass by as we got further and further out of the city. By the time we get to the Giant's Causeway, the sun is beginning to break through holes in the clouds overhead.

Giant's Causeway is a naturally-occuring geologically formation of hexagonal-shaped basalt, some in columns, others in flatter tiles, but always smushed together as though someone laid out paving stones. We've seen similar formation behind the Svartifoss waterfall, and along the beach in Vik, Iceland, but we've never had a chance to walk over so many of them. Turns out, a lot of people haven't, as there are plenty of people climbing and crawling all over this area. The area's supervisors have their work cut out for them! 

Obviously, Mario and I follow a hiking trail behind the rocky area, alongside the neighbouring cliffs, to get better views of everything. We are surprised at how many other people are doing the same - normally, this is how we get away from the crowds. I would guess maybe 40% of people visiting also explored the hiking trails. We head up 192 steps to the cliff tops, and back to the parking lot.

Mario on top of the basalt columns	My feet and geometry
Walking towards "the Chimneys"	Looking down at the upper and lower trails

For the rest of the drive, we enjoy blue skies. We stop a moment at a viewpoint overlooking Dunluce castle(as seen in Game of Thrones, not why we stopped), at a Lidl grocery store to stock up for the next few meals, and then at a SPAR convenience store to mail postcards home. We make in into Londonderry and to our apartment at Hestia House with just enough time left to catch the sunset over town from a viewpoint atop the Derry City Walls.

Some local pubs in Derry

Dusk falls over the Derry City Walls

Remember way back when we left for Belfast this morning in the rain? Feels like a million years ago.