I did my Hop-on, Hop-off tour, or at least I used the bus. I ended up not doing it for the two days I had scheduled, which makes me feel a bit bad, but oh well. today I was going to go to the Titanic Dockyard and the Titanic Musem and then do as much of the tour as I could, but I slept later than I planned, no breakfast as I planned, so I got on the tour and got off at Titanic Quarter, and went to the Dockyard and to the Titanic Museum, and by the time I did both the tour was over for the day. oh well. it was only about $30, and the ticket covers doing the tour in Dublin, so I'll do that when I get to Dublin on Friday. and my priorority was Titanic, its the reason why I did this trip, and I have been walking around city center so its not like I have not seen the city. just haven't seen all of the memorials and other stuff. just means I'll have to come back to Belfast, but that's a different story. 
As you can see above, I went to the Titanic Dockyard, and it was such an amazing experience for me. getting there was slightly scary as you have to walk along the edge of this small balcony area, but I got through it. being there truly does give you the reality of how massive the Titanic was. it truly is her footprint. I can tell you how long she was, roughly how much she weighed, and that she was the largest moving object built by man at the time, but I was still blown away by how massive it was! She was so long, and so tall! it's amazing! I was too scared to go down the metal stairs, 4 flights, to the floor of the dockyard, but it was fine with me. It gave me a whole new appreciation for those people who got into those lifeboats, because the dockyard was not as high as the ship would have been, she would have been as high as the roof of the building, the pumphouse, to the right, but it was still scary for me to look down! I cannot put into words how much it meant to me to be there, and neither can any words do it justice. I did also go to the Titanic Belfast Experience, which was SOOO good! I loved that they did not concentrate on just the sinking. they started with Belfast's becoming a world center for Linen, for Shipbuilding, on the planning of the ship, on the building, on the launch,etc. they sinking was included of course, but it was only part of her story. to me, it gave me this new way of looking at her, in fact being in Belfast has done that. The sinking was a tragedy, but there is so much to be proud of concerning this ship. she was not always the wreck we see on the ocean floor today. They have this cool ride in the part about buiding the ship, 6 minutes, and its a slow rollercoaster type of ride. it was cool. it was a facinating museum.
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I took a cab back to nearby city centre, my first since I got to Ireland, and then had dinner at the Fountain Bar and Resturant again. I had the 10 ounce Sirloin Steak with Mash Potatoes, and it was yummy!
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When I was at the Titanic Dockyard, I was told about this Ghost Walk tour that left at 7:30pm from City Hall, only 8 pounds, so I decided to do it and I'm so glad I did! It was a short tour, 1 hour or so, but it was great! it took my to small alleys and parts of Belfast I hadn't seen, and it was great hearing all the different ghost stories. the picture to the left are two of the people I met on the tour, I cannot recall their names, I'm bad with names, but the one on the left is Austrialian and she's actually going on the same tour to the Giants Causeway tomorrow that I'm going on, and the one on the right is German. we went for a drink and some late dinner at a pub called Kelley's Cellar near where the tour ended, and hung out talking until about midnight. I did try the Guiness, and I...did not like it. they added some berry stuff to it, and it did help, but not enough for me to like it. I tried a sample and once they added the berry stuff it was okay, but the half pint with the same berry stuff was for some reason not good. anyways, it was an experience and it was fun hanging out with them, talking, etc. and now I'll know someone on the tour tomorrow, which is nice.
I know I seem like I'm rushing through today's post, and I am because it is 1:45am, and my tour leaves at 9:30am, and I need to be there by 9am, and that means I have to get up around 8am, so that is why.
Tomorrow is my last day in Belfast, and I'm about that. my time here has been amazing, I am in love with this city, and I'm going to find a way to comeback, for good or for a much longer period of time. Friday it is on to Republic of Ireland for a few days, and then home on Monday. I'm sad to go home, I don't want to leave Belfast, I don't want to go back to Abilene, to that job I hate, but like I said....I'm going to find a way to come back here.
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