Ireland - Day 3

**I had problems with Blogger towards the end of last week and then we switched hotels and no longer had Wi-Fi.  Things are slowly but surely returning to normal around here so I am trying to get my trip posts updated.  The end of the school year is making for a crazy schedule (and a crazy me!)  so I'll get them done when I can.**

On Thursday, Dan met with customers all day so I was on my on.  I walked to the bus station which just happened to only be a few minutes from the hotel and hopped on a bus to Belfast.  In less than an hour and 30 minutes, I arrived!

I got off the bus and asked around until I located the Hop On, Hop Off bus.  This was a double-decker tour bus that took went all around Belfast.  I sat on the top deck and enjoyed the sites and the humor from the tour guide!

These are the sites we visited:

• Titanic Quarter birthplace of the famous luxury liner.
• Great Victoria Street, (Europa hotel, Jury's hotel, Day's hotel, Grand Opera House, Crown Bar, Europa Bus Centre)
• Murals across every quarter of the city,
• City Hall, Linen Hall Library, Donegall Place shopping precinct.
• Falls Road (Republican murals, Divis tower, Peace Line, Clonard Monastry, St Peter's Cathedral)
• Shankill Road/Agnes Street, (Loyalist murals, Garden of Remembrance, Peace Wall )
• Crumlin Road, (Crumlin Road Jail, Court House, Mater Hospital)
• Donegall Street, (St Anne's Cathedral, Cathedral Quarter, University of Ulster, Belfast Telegraph, Irish News)
• High Street, ( Albert Clock, Customs House Square, Victoria Centre)
• Queen's Road, (Odyssey Pavilion, w5, Titanic Quarter, Harland & Wolff cranes, SS Nomadic)
• Waterfront Hall, (Waterfront Hall, St George's market, Law Courts, central station)
• City Hall, (Ten Square Hotel, City Hall, Commerical Centre, bars & restaurants)
• University Road, (Queen's University of Belfast, Ulster Museum, Botanic gardens, )

Belfast City Hall

Another View of City Hall

St. Anne's Cathedral

St. Peter's Cathedral

 

One of the many political murals in Belfast

After a great day in Belfast, I hoped off the tour bus and made my way back to the real bus station to catch a bus back to Newcastle.  The hop on, hop off bus is a great way to see a new city when you don't have a lot of time.  It is also a great way to figure out the location of places and to determine what areas of a city you might want to spend more time exploring on your own.