12 May 2012
529
R. Linda:
Once we got ourselves back towards the motorway, we headed out and were told we could stop at the Harland and Wolff Shipyard, where the Titanic was built. An interesting story I did not know was that three large ships were commissioned. One was the Titanic, another was the Olympia and the last, the Britannia. On launching the Titanic, she got damaged and the Olympia was substituted in her stead. It was all hush-hush at the time, but the truth is out, the ship we thought was the Titanic was really the Olympia. Hum.
From a distance, we could see the large cranes fondly named Samson and Delilah. Here is one of them:
We drove by the new visitor's centre but didn't stop there. Joseph said the shipyard was much more interesting, and we didn't have time. Right.
As we pulled into the shipyard I decided to have some sport with Dragon and told her they had built a replica of the ship. She was intrigued until she saw the size of it.
It was one windy afternoon, and as we walked toward the pump house the wind gusted and moaned like the dead souls from the ship. It was eerie. The sun had gone in for just a moment when it happened, so the ladies were a wee bit unnerved. We walked to the visitor's shop where you can pick up a tour (I think it lasts two hours). There, you can go down into the dry dock, see replicas of the ship's insides, and learn her history and about some of her heroic and not-so-heroic passengers and crew, but Joseph said. "You have to pay for that." Well, that was fine, and we were all about doing that, but the tour started at 4:00 p.m., and it was not yet three, which put us behind schedule to arrive at our hotel in time for dinner (according to our driver).
We were disappointed, and he did mention he was just giving us a quick look since the Titanic tour was not on our tour. How could it not be? So he told us to loiter in the gift shop and stretch our legs, maybe get a bite to eat, etc.; this refrain was becoming increasingly familiar as time went on.
As everyone was "loitering" in the gift shop, which was sadly lacking in anything, I took a walk up to the second floor to look down on the dry dock. I wasn't successful; the view was not to be had, so I came back down, and the guide for the Titanic tour was talking to Tonya (who he mistook for a Canadian), and he asked me if I'd like to take the tour. I told him I was already on a tour and, unfortunately, had been told we didn't have the time.
"No time?" He asked incredulously.
"No, we 'ave to get to our next stop on time, and we don't 'ave the two hours for da tour, nor da 'our to wait," I observed sadly.
"What? Come all this way and not see the Titanic?" He looked from Tonya to me.
"Fraid so," I commiserated.
"Who's your tour guide? Where is he?"
"Ee's over dere," I pointed Joseph out. I know I shouldn't have played the man, but I was getting suspicious of Joseph. I got the distinct impression he wanted to unload us early so he could go to church. No, go to a pub more like. He drove us through Irish villages on the way up when he could have taken the motorway and got to Belfast quicker, and THEN, we could have taken the earlier tour of Titanic. I watched the man approach Joseph, and they got into a conversation that I overheard, "If you let us know ahead, we can arrange good pricing and times so your people can take the tour."
"Well, I only werk fer da tour company I can't set dese tings oop I can't." Joseph was saying. I made a mental note to self: email the tour company when I get home and suggest they put the Titanic on their list of things to see instead of driving the back roads where every village looks like every other village. Gees! AND no unscheduled stopping at the shrine where the Pope gave an "open-air mass." That was just ridiculous.
Tonya asked me if there was a way at least we could see the dry dock and I did notice a way to see it when I was on the second floor looking out the window, so we went outside. There is a massive banner (see smoke stack photo) that is used to cover the fencing where the dry dock is. I lifted it up and Bob's your uncle, instant dry dock. So here are a couple of Tonya's pictures of it taken covertly while everyone else was occupied. It is a considerable area, unbelievable to see.
R. Linda:
Once we got ourselves back towards the motorway, we headed out and were told we could stop at the Harland and Wolff Shipyard, where the Titanic was built. An interesting story I did not know was that three large ships were commissioned. One was the Titanic, another was the Olympia and the last, the Britannia. On launching the Titanic, she got damaged and the Olympia was substituted in her stead. It was all hush-hush at the time, but the truth is out, the ship we thought was the Titanic was really the Olympia. Hum.
From a distance, we could see the large cranes fondly named Samson and Delilah. Here is one of them:
You can see these massive structures from the motorway as you approach the shipyard. I don't know which one this is, but there are two of them |
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| The new visitors centre to the Titanic |
As we pulled into the shipyard I decided to have some sport with Dragon and told her they had built a replica of the ship. She was intrigued until she saw the size of it.
 |
| Here |
We were disappointed, and he did mention he was just giving us a quick look since the Titanic tour was not on our tour. How could it not be? So he told us to loiter in the gift shop and stretch our legs, maybe get a bite to eat, etc.; this refrain was becoming increasingly familiar as time went on.
As everyone was "loitering" in the gift shop, which was sadly lacking in anything, I took a walk up to the second floor to look down on the dry dock. I wasn't successful; the view was not to be had, so I came back down, and the guide for the Titanic tour was talking to Tonya (who he mistook for a Canadian), and he asked me if I'd like to take the tour. I told him I was already on a tour and, unfortunately, had been told we didn't have the time.
"No time?" He asked incredulously.
"No, we 'ave to get to our next stop on time, and we don't 'ave the two hours for da tour, nor da 'our to wait," I observed sadly.
"What? Come all this way and not see the Titanic?" He looked from Tonya to me.
"Fraid so," I commiserated.
"Who's your tour guide? Where is he?"
"Ee's over dere," I pointed Joseph out. I know I shouldn't have played the man, but I was getting suspicious of Joseph. I got the distinct impression he wanted to unload us early so he could go to church. No, go to a pub more like. He drove us through Irish villages on the way up when he could have taken the motorway and got to Belfast quicker, and THEN, we could have taken the earlier tour of Titanic. I watched the man approach Joseph, and they got into a conversation that I overheard, "If you let us know ahead, we can arrange good pricing and times so your people can take the tour."
"Well, I only werk fer da tour company I can't set dese tings oop I can't." Joseph was saying. I made a mental note to self: email the tour company when I get home and suggest they put the Titanic on their list of things to see instead of driving the back roads where every village looks like every other village. Gees! AND no unscheduled stopping at the shrine where the Pope gave an "open-air mass." That was just ridiculous.
Tonya asked me if there was a way at least we could see the dry dock and I did notice a way to see it when I was on the second floor looking out the window, so we went outside. There is a massive banner (see smoke stack photo) that is used to cover the fencing where the dry dock is. I lifted it up and Bob's your uncle, instant dry dock. So here are a couple of Tonya's pictures of it taken covertly while everyone else was occupied. It is a considerable area, unbelievable to see.
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| A man looks like an ant when he's down in the dry dock, which is straight in your view |
Close-up of dry dock used for the Titanic - well, as close as we could get
Before we got caught, we strolled about the place until it was time to leave and head out to Stormont Estate. To be honest I'd rather have been on the Titanic tour than standing at the gates of Stormont looking up the hill at the seat of government for Northern Ireland. Though it was a photo op as far as Tonya was concerned. She fell in love with the lime trees that run up the side of the estate.
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| Stormont |
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| Stormont from the gates -- impressive isn't it? Lime trees on either side |
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| Lime Trees |
Just as we got into the van, it poured. As we drove to east Belfast, the sun came out and it was glorious. We made our hotel around 4:45 in plenty of time. So this thing about being late for dinner (which is served until 9 p.m.) was just an excuse. The hotel was once a bishop's manor house on the Belfast Lough. It was fabulous after The Westbury and our home for two nights. What I did notice was the nude woman statue gracing the garden area looking out toward Belfast Lough. I did wonder what the good bishop would have thought to see such in his garden.
Our hotel in Belfast, The Culloden, a former Scottish Baronial Castle and Bishops Residence |
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| The statue in the garden |
One of the gardens taken from our window - we woke up to this view each morning. Simply lovely! |
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| Our room was MUCH better than the Westbury |
And one of the first things I noticed before the Dragon was that one of her relatives was sculpted forever on the castle grounds. I pointed out the relative, but for some reason, she didn't find me funny.
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| Dragon's father |
WELL, I THOUGHT IT WAS FUNNY.
Gabe
Copyright © 2012 All rights reserved
(All photos are the property of © 2012 Irish Memories)
Copyright © 2012 All rights reserved
(All photos are the property of © 2012 Irish Memories)
3 comments:
lol I thought you were funny. no titanic tour? bummer.
(Beautiful hotel) I believe the ship in question was the Olympic. That theory was never proven that the Olympic was substituted for the Titanic. I remember reading that the ship numbers for the Olympic were not the same numbers salvaged off the sunken ship. Those numbers matched those of the Titanic. Also, the Olympic (as was the Britannic), was structurally a different ship. The Olympic being the largest, followed by the Titanic and then the Britannic. Hope this was helpful.
Yes, thank you it was. I was wondering how that could be that one ship could be masked as another. Too many people working on those ships, someone wouldn't have said something long ago. I do know there were similar staircases in the Olympic (thank your correcting the name) and the Titanic. I think that was what got me that it was possible.
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