Day 06-- 6/06 - Belfast, Northern Ireland

 This day found us in Belfast, Northern Ireland.  Like yesterday, the harbor is shallow and must be approached at a slow speed and using the flood tide. The tide here is also an issue and we didn't arrive until 9:15am.  We were able to have a leisurely breakfast before disembarking the ship.  We used a very cool all electric double deck shuttle bus to reach the city from the industrial port we berthed at.  The shuttle cost $15.95 per person.  It dropped us off at City Hall in downtown and the Hop On Hop Off (HOHO) bus leaves from that same area.  We purchased two tickets for 20 pounds and elected to switch for a bus with open air seating on the top deck.  It was a bit chilly, but tolerable. This tour took us by the Titanic museum (fabulous in its own right) and in the area of the "Troubled Times" where there were significant battles between the Protestants and the Catholics.  It's a sad and intense part of their history.  At the end of the 1.5 hour tour, we found a McDonalds for a quick lunch and then used our GPS MY CITY app to locate a few historical sights in the area. Before boarding the shuttle, we did find a Tim Horton's (a famous Canadian coffee and light foods chain) and enjoyed some raised pastries.  

We were back on the ship by 3:30pm as we wanted to see the Irish folkloric show at 4pm.  It was quite good and was performed by The Magic of Irish Rythms.  There was also a Scottish bagpipe artist (Pipe Major Tom Johnstone) iplaying in the central Piaza.  A superb Celene Dion impersonator (Crystal Cimaglia) was the main stage entertainment and she was off the chart good.  We even returned for her second show at 9:30pm between which we watched the Marriage Match game show.  Allie was a terrific host for this.  After the 9:30 Main Stage show, we watched a bit of Karaoke 

Tomorrow our port stop will be in Greenock, Scotland where we have a private excursion to visit a couple of castles and some hairy coos.  You'll have to stay tuned to learn what hairy coos are.