Jamie Thingelstad

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.

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.

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.

Tyler and Mazie wanted to try surfing in Ireland and there are a number of places that do surf lessons but we weren’t having luck with any of them. Then we found Rossnowlagh Surf School on the beach and they were happy to have them join. 55 °F with 15 mph winds.

Weather: Overall good. Some sun. Kind of windy. Chilly but not too bad.

• Picked up to go baked goods and breakfast items at the Bakery Shack in Rossnowlagh.
• Drove to Teelin Pier.
• Took Sliabh League Boat Trips and got a tour of Sliabh Liag Cliffs from the water with Paddy.
• Lunch at The Rusty Mackerel.
• Coffee stop at Brew In Thru in Teelin.
• Drove to upper car park for Sliabh Liag Cliffs and hiked up to viewing location. Mazie hiked up beyond to a further point.
• Drove to Silver Strand Beach.
• Delightful time on this incredibly secluded beach.
• Started drive back to Airbnb.
• Stopped in Donnegal for food. Ended up having crêpes at Little Mamma’s as most dining options were closed.
• Fed the Alpacas at the Airbnb.
• Evening hot tub at Airbnb. Tammy gets an evening walk in.

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.

Mazie has been enjoying feeding the Alpacas here at the Airbnb.

Today was filled with sheep as we ventured further north.