Jamie Thingelstad

Today’s Guinness isn’t a Guinness, but instead an O’Hara’s Irish Stout Nitro. We had dinner at Brewer’s Corner and they served this delicious pint. Very good!

Tonight we arrived at Tubbrid Castle. This is the most unique Airbnb experience we’ve ever had. This 600 year old castle has been magnificently restored. We are sitting in the second level kitchen, dining, and living areas. The first, third, and fourth levels are amazing bedrooms. The walls are six feet thick. The castle itself is slowly warming now with heat installed for the first time in its centuries of existence. Amazing! I took a number of photos on arrival.

Weather: Rain. Wind. Crappy. Better as we got further South.

• Tammy and Mazie go for a run in Belfast.
• Continental breakfast in Titanic Hotel.
• Check-out of hotel.
• Visit Titanic Museum.
• Afternoon tea at Titanic Hotel.
• Visit the S.S. Nomadic, a tender for the Titanic.
• Departed Belfast for Kilkenny.
• Crossed into Ireland between Killeen and Dromad.
• Experienced rush hour traffic around Dublin.
• Fastest driving of the day — nearly all divided highways and 120 km/h speed limit.
• Dinner at Brewery Corner in Kilkenny.
• Get Tyler crêpe at Scrumdiddlys.
• Walk around Kilkenny briefly, everything closed for the night.
• Drive to Tubbrid Castle and check-in for our stay.
• Explore all the various areas of the castle.

Jump to day 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 or see Ireland 2024 Collection.

After having such a delightful afternoon tea at Adare Manor we thought we would try another this time at the Titanic Hotel after visiting the museum. We knew that it would not have the grandeur of Adare Manor but thought it would be fun to try. We all felt that it was less fancy, but maybe the desserts were a little bit tastier. The tea was not at the same level but not bad, same with the scones.

Today we visited the Titanic Museum in Belfast. It was an incredible experience, one of our favorites that we have ever visited. The museum itself sits at the end of Harland & Wolff Slip 3, exactly where the Titanic was built. Part of what made this experience so good was the multitude of stories it told. It starts with the booming story of ship building in Belfast. It tells the story of Harland & Wolff and the growth of the company that still is there today. It told the story of the Titanic being built starting on March 31, 1909 and launched May 31, 1911. It also of course told the story of the disastrous voyage, and of many of those that were aboard.

The images of the building of these Olympic Class ships was incredible. The massive scale of everything involved. Just the riveting alone, nearly all done by hand, was miraculous. This incredible museum even has a ride that you can take that shows amongst other things the riveting process in action with workers banging away in confined corners with these white hot rivets. The museum features recreations of First, Second, and Third class accommodations. It really was a wonder, and then it hits the iceberg.

The second half of the museum reminded me a bit of the 9/11 Monument. It tells the story, minute by minute, from radio signals sent and received from the Titanic. In less than two hours this giant ship is lost along with most on board. It was striking to see the giant wall with the names of the survivors above and those lost below. The museum then tells the tale of the search for the wreckage of the Titanic, and in an amazing display shows the top of the shipwreck underneath a glass floor as you stand above it.

It was a truly moving museum, worth the trip to Belfast just to see it. We only had about 2 hours, and could have easily used much more time. We’ll all remember this place for a long time.

On Day 12 of our Ireland trip and here is our driving path so far. Started in Dublin. We’ve almost made it around the country.

“Influencer Free Zone”. Tunnel entrance in Belfast.

Weather: Cool and nice. Not much wind. Warmer in Belfast.

• Up early to depart Airbnb at 7:00 AM.
• Drive to Giants Causeway.
• Cross into Northern Ireland at Lifford.
• Arrive at Giants Causeway Hotel to park.
• Hike Red Path to rocks.
• Hang out on rocks for an hour.
• Walk Blue Path back to car.
• Drive to Belfast.
• Arrive at Titanic Hotel.
• Lunch in Drawing Room Two.
• Jamie leaves lunch to join remote board meeting.
• Tammy, Mazie, Tyler explore shipyard section of Belfast.
• Tammy and kids check into hotel.
• Tammy and kids go to Central Belfast to walk around and shop.
• Jamie finishes meeting and walks to meet family.
• Dinner at Little Wing Pizzeria.
• Walk to Timescape and do the “Titanic: The Final Hour” escape room.
• Walk back to hotel.
• Have today’s Guinness in the hotel bar.

Jump to day 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 or see Ireland 2024 Collection.

I love how the Titanic Hotel displays room numbers. There are spotlights in the ceiling, and then a plate with the number cut out placed on the wall and the actual room number is displayed in silhouette! 🤯

Tonight’s Guinness just a half-pint at the bar in the Titanic Hotel.

We solved the Titanic: The Final Hour escape room at Timescape in Belfast tonight. We finished with 8:32 remaining! Fun and challenging room.

On our way from Ballyshannon to Belfast we took a big detour so we could go see Giants Causeway. We had seen this kind of columnar geology before in Iceland, but it wasn’t as accessible and right along the sea like this. We didn’t have a lot of time to explore, but we made the most of what we had. It was a very cool place to visit.

Cranes & Concrete. Belfast.

Antique car outside of Titanic Museum in Belfast.

I’ve been taking two daily supplements on our Ireland trip:

Vitamin G and Vitamin I.

Weather: Reasonably pleasant. A little less windy. Cool temperatures.

• Relaxed morning recharging. Tammy and Mazie go for run. Jamie tends to photos and blog. Tyler sleeps in.
• Drive to Donegal.
• Brunch at The Old Stone.
• Shopping and exploring around The Donegal Diamond including Elvery Sports and Magee of Donegal.
• Drove to Rossnowlagh Beach.
• After two failed attempts to have Tyler and Mazie do a surf class, serendipity struck and we were able to get them learning to surf!
• Pick up breakfast items for tomorrow at the Bakery Shack.
• Drive to Cria Lodge so kids could get warm and dry.
• Drive back to Donegal for dinner at La Bella Donna.
• Drive back to Cria Lodge and walk a kilometer down the road (precisely the middle of nowhere) for a pint at Whoriskey’s Pub.
• Walk back to Cria Lodge to get packed and ready for early morning departure tomorrow. Alarm set to 6:30 AM.

Jump to day 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 or see Ireland 2024 Collection.

Irish cows.

Today’s Guinness enjoyed at Whoriskey’s Pub outside of Ballyshannon.

Tyler and Mazie had a blast at their first surfing experience! Thank you Rossnowlagh Surf School! 🌊🏄‍♀️🏄‍♂️

Having a cappuccino on the beach from Sunny Jim’s while the kids learn to surf. 55 °F with 15 mph winds.