Bob and Theresa: Ireland Pilgrimage

We ate early and boarded our bus for the hour+ trip to Armagh, where Patrick established the Church - to be close to the ruling families.

We saw this beautiful monument to War Dead along the road

As well as some very nice houses going up

Another monument in a park

St Patrick's Catholic Cathedral is an impressive building - and this is the back!

The front towers over an impressive set of steps

Statues of the Apostles adorn the front facade

We thought this photo from a brochure gave a great presentation of the Cathedral

This is the other St Patrick's Cathedral (Armagh is the only city that has two cathedrals dedicated to St Patrick!) This one is the Church of Ireland (Anglican)

Back to the Catholic Cathedral, the inside is even more impressive than the outside!

The stations of the cross are especially gorgeous!

The main altar

The Sacred Heart - also the Blessed Sacrament chapel

The Cathedra - the Bishop's Chair (it's what makes a Cathedral a Cathedral!)

The Saints overlook from above - here St Peter (the Keys)

Behind the main altar is now a large golden screen that creates a Marian Chapel with exquisite stautuary!

The assumption

The Passion

The leaves were turning much to our enjoyment

Bishop Don (as he invited us to call him) and Theresa

Kevin Donovan & Teresa Glotzbach

Buzz & Beth Gough - celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary with this trip! Buzz is 6'6" same height as Bob!

Barbara & Gary Foster (facing camera) put this trip together

Back in Belfast, we had a short driving tour of the city. Here is the "Rise" Sculpture which is visible above the main road into town

The history of Belfast has been a history of conflict between Catholics and Protestants. At one time, Catholic ghettos were walled in and secured at night. The walls still exist but now sport murals dedicated to a number of conflicts about the globe

This protest shows there are still strong feeling even after several decades of peace.


The Albert Memorial Clock Tower leans about 5 degrees! It was originally built on a foundation on wooden pilings in marshy land. In 2002, a multi-million pound project was completed to arrest the lean and stabilize the structure.

The Titanic exhibit in Belfast opened in March 2012 and is a major attraction in Belfast.

It pays homage to the Titanic (built in Belfast on this site) but to the heritage of shipbuilding in Belfast

This sign marks the slipway where Titanic and her sister ship Olympic were constructed

This huge compass rose is in the center of the first floor

The Nomadic was built by White Star lines to "tender" the First Class Passengers out to Titanic in Cherbourg, France.

From her berth in the dry dock, Nomadic looks on the Titanic Belfast museum.

While we waited our scheduled time, we were entertained by a group of very talented singers. . .

. . . as well as some costumed characters.

At the foot of the slipways, there was a cable tow and some talented wake boarders practicing ramp tricks.

Inside the exhibition, we were treated to a ride through the experience of shipbuilding in 1910 - here rivets are heated red hot!

After the launch, the shipbuilders retired to the pub to celebrate

One of the best experiences was the launch - looking over the (now filled in and leveled slipways) you hear the sounds of the launch and can almost feel the thrill!

The tall red posts outline where Titanic's slipway was

This clever two sided model showed how she looked at launch (left) and how she looked after fitting out.

A captivating psuedo-3D film took us up from the engines to the bridge - here is First Class lounge

The famous First Class stairway

One of the options for First Class - you could pretty much select any decor you desired

Second Class was bunk beds and small but not bad quarters

Third Class (there was no steerage class) was also bunk beds and very spartan

Near the end of the exhibit was this glimpse into the undersea exploration of Titanic

Finally a tribute to the many films that have been made about the sinking of Titanic

Back outside we saw the hydrofoil ferry to Scotland. About a 2.5 hour trip costing just over 20 pounds round trip

We were on our own for dinner. Bob had searched Tripadvisor and had discovered Made in Belfast. We made reservations and walked the short three blocks from the hotel. They seated twelve of us 4 and 8.