The ship didn’t dock until 1:00 PM, so the normal thing to do would have been to have lunch on board and then venture ashore to see Belfast. But who said we were normal? Having been to Belfast before, our number one thing to do was to pay a return visit to the little Mourne Seafood Bar for lunch. The dock is isolated, so we took the shuttle downtown and quickly found the Mourne. There was a short wait but we got in quick enough.
Elaine wasn’t hungry, having just finished a late morning “French Classics” cooking class with my stand-in, Len. So she had a Belfast Lager and a Bowl of Seafood Chowder (“The best seafood chowder ever!”). I had six scrumptious local oysters followed by a delicious seafood casserole (sort of like a bouillabaisse). My beverage was Mourne Oyster Stout.
Then we just walked around. We had missed Belfast Cathedral (St Anne’s – Anglican) on our last visit here so we made a stop. Then we walked to the Belfast Clock Tower which has always been the ultimate Belfast sight (at least until the Titanic Museum opened a few years ago – been there, done that). The clock tower had been shrouded in scaffolding the last time we were here. The other place we wanted to see was White’s Tavern, Belfast’s oldest bar (1630), but we hadn’t a clue where it was. As we walked back toward the shuttle bus, I noticed an innocuous little sign pointing to White’s Tavern down an alley. We stopped in and had pints of Harp. Elaine made a new friend, Jim Kenner.
Then it was back to the ship in time for 5:00 PM canapés and cocktails. Dinner tonight will be casual in the Terrace Cafe. We sail at 11:00 PM for an 8:00 AM arrival in Dublin.
Arrived safely at Heathrow half hour early. Uneventful flight, a little rocky over Newfoundland and final approach was in heavy clouds. They had rain here in the AM. Clearing now, but quite windy and chilly.
The cooking class looks great, hope it was fun!