Belfast

Northern Ireland is a puzzle. I don't know what the animosity is all about. Mostly religion, which is nuts but true. We started the day with a trip to the Giant's Causeway on a cold and rainy morning. I don't know what I expected but it was an over-rated World Heritage site. Just a bunch of big stones in the water near the shoreline. Some Game of Thrones filming took place there. It was a long walk down and cold and rainy. Actually, we had another activity first. We went to a site where there was a small suspension bridge over a deep cravass over the water. It was a tremendously hard climb and we were all totally exhausted. Crowds galore. Lunch on time run then a tour of Belfast, especially the areas where the fighting occurred. Not much different at present. There s still a giant wall separating the Protestant and Catholic areas of the city. It looks just like the Berlin Wall.

Liverpool

We met friends Carol and Ian when the ship docked and they schlepped us all over Liverpool. We sang Beatle songs in the museum and got ourselves immersed in the Beatles culture. After a lovely lunch we went shopping at a great mall and then headed over to the Cavern, where the Beatles played before they became famous. it was a total Beatles experience made special by good friends and with good friends.  All in all a great day. Even the weather cooperated and our hosts were gracious enough to get us matching baseball caps.

Dublin

Dublin is certainly more crowded than I remember.  Most of the people are young and loud and they drink too much. In fact,  the whole town is based on alcohol what with the Guinness and Jameson breweries taking over the whole town.

We came back to the cabin tired and needing a rest. But that was not to be. The toilet decided to act like Niagra Falls and flooded the whole bathroom. After much action they finally fixed it. Everyone is very tired and we have a big day ahead of us in Liverpool tomorrow. It will be a busy day with an emphasis on the Beatles.

Cobb two

There is a military band playing on the dock and there are a bunch of people dressed in period clothing walking around. I don't know what's going on.

Cobb/Cork

So this is very typical Ireland.  It is very green, there are many churches and everyone has bad teeth. It is pretty laid back and old fashioned and that is nice. This was the final port of the Titanic so there is a plethora of Titanic memorabilia. It is also the home town of the first immigrant to enter Ellis Island. Everyone here is very interested in American politics. We are all cringing.

On Board Caribbean Princess

So we made it to the ship. We had a scary ride from the airport to the hotel. The driver spoke no English and couldn't read his GPS or stay in one lane. He kept trying to get directions from us. It was raining and cold but somehow we found it. It is an adorable thatched roof cottage in the New Forest. We ate dinner in the pub on the grounds.

An early arrival at the ship and met our friends. It's cold and rainy. The seas are rough so they delayed our departure and we will miss our first port stop which is Gurnsey.  That's ok since I need a day to recover. Somebody pushed me down while trying to get to the elevator. Stupid SOB. I hope he falls overboard. This ship is old and so are the passengers. We all met for dinner tonight and had some good laughs. I am now staring at my veranda which is too cold to go on. No stores or casino open. Guess I will have to go to sleep.

The amazing thing is that it's D-Day. On June 6,1944 thousands of troops were in this very spot on the way to the beaches of Normandy. Wow!  Gives me the chills.

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