Today the tour rolled out of Dublin at 8am to begin the journey onward towards Belfast in Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland is actually a part of the UK, whereas the rest of the island is a part of the Republic of Ireland. So I'm actually going back to the UK even though I just flew out of it yesterday! One thing I didn't consider is that in Northern Ireland, the currency is actually the British pound sterling. That's right... I'm back to $1.60 for 1£. Joy! (I know, I'm in Ireland, complaining... it doesn't make sense)
We were supposed to stop at a cathedral that has a petrified head of some person but due to today being a bank holiday, a lot of things were closed. Our driver, Seanie, took us to a cemetery instead (creepy?), which was actually quite beautiful. I'll add more details tomorrow, MOM. We continued to Belfast (and of course saw a rainbow along the way) and had a short time to explore the city before going to the Titanic museum. The museum was an optional thing, and Seanie was just going to drive us there. Due to it not being a part of the actual tour, we didn't have pre booked tickets. It turned out that the whole place was completely booked, and we had to meet back up with the group around the time the next available slot was. A small group of us decided to buy tickets for the last entrance of the day, 5:20, and planned to get a cab from our hostel to the museum. In the mean time, a few girls and I walked around Belfast some more, shopping. Yes, Emily... shopping. I didn't buy anything, but I did convince myself that I need a hat that comes down over my ears. I will find one...just wait.
We met back up with the group and Shawny drove us our hostel. He had a taxi waiting for us, so we made it to the museum just in time! The place was EMPTY. We were able to walk through at our own pace, read everything, listen to anything we wanted... I'm actually really glad that it was sold out earlier in the day! It was quite interesting to read through the history of the Titanic and more about what happened the night of the disaster... In all honesty, I've never read anything about it. I've only seen the movie, which really does a decent job portraying real events. As we got through the construction phase, and into the night of April 14, 1912, the music saddened... the lights dimmed... and the attitude of everyone just became somber. Reading through the distress calls sent out... seeing the last one before the Titanic went silent... seeing that most of the lifeboats were only half full... it's just a depressing event that can give you chills.
At the very end of the exhibit, there is a glass floor that you stand on and watch footage of the wreckage so many years later. You see shoes in the sand. Dishes strewn across the ocean floor. A massive ship sitting upright as if still pushing full steam ahead toward New York...
We left the museum and headed to a pub called Lavvertys, where most of the other members of the tour were hanging out. We ate dinner, listened to an Irish band, watched some of the more wild group members play drinking games with cards...and saw a fight between a bouncer and a patron.
Ok, so first day in Ireland... Rainbows: 1 Fights: 1
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