It is Saturday for us a and we have been in the UK for a week. Scotland so far has had the best weather. Yesterday in Belfast, it was cool and windy and mostly overcast. Our city tour was most revealing, especially about "the troubles" as the locals call all the mess that has been a part of Belfast and N Ireland for so many years. A mixture of political as well as religious issues has guaranteed a boiling pot headed for disaster. The IRA hate the Brits and the Loyalists of course like them. Protestants and Catholics eventually lined up also. Young people growing up in the 60s and 70s had poor role models in the revolutionists and the strife perpetuated itself. With the total decline in linen industry as well as ship building and other industrial revolution employers, along with the ubiquitous unrest, Belfast was surely headed for self destruction. That was until President Bill Clinton and our Senator George Mitchell forged the eventual Friday Agreement which laid the groundwork for a more peaceful Belfast.
Our visit to the Titanic was very interesting and revealed a vibrant, growing waterfront. As always, this visit just whetted our appetite for more information.
We enjoyed lunch in a little cafe downtown. Lydia and I found a little fabric shop and and managed to stimulate the local economy a we bit. Our afternoon tour took us toward the far eastern coastal area and a visit to the Mount Stuart House and Gardens. The house is a restoration in progress and is currently occupied by the Marchioness. The gardens remind us again of the Biltmore. They were beautiful.
We spent predinner time across the street at this very cool pub with a rich history. What a fabulous experience.
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