Belfast

Belfast City Hall

We spent a beautiful, although quite cold, Saturday morning walking the downtown district of Belfast. Belfast is a fairly small city and we easily found our way to Belfast City Hall and the Belfast Cathedral, passing some interesting art along the way. Queen Victoria granted city status to Belfast and planning for the Belfast City Hall began in 1888. At that time Belfast was a vibrant and prosperous city known for shipbuilding, linen production and rope making. Small wonder, then, that Belfast was later selected as the place to build the world's largest passenger ship at the time, Titanic.

The "Spirit of Belfast" is a modern sculpture placed in the city center in 2009. It is found in Arthur Square and is intended to bring together the "strength of steel, ocean liners and linen, progress and peace".

At a cost of £2500, this clock tower was built as a memorial to Prince Albert in 1865. The structure was built on wooden piles and actually leans four feet out of vertical.

On our walk we stopped in at St. George's Market where on a Saturday morning you can listen to live local music, buy all manner of fresh fish, meat, and vegetables, or you can sample local food.

Belfast has a beautiful Cathedral that also was first constructed in 1888 when the queen granted city status. The Cathedral was built around an old parish church dating back to 1776.  The original parish church was demolished once the new structure was completed. The building has continued to be a work in progress. Most recently, the Spire of Hope was added in 2007. 

St. Anne's Cathedral also called Belfast Cathedral

Mosaic Dome of the Baptistry

The Sanctuary

The RMS Titanic   

Belfast is known to many of us as the place where the great ship RMS Titanic was designed, built, fitted out, and launched. Today you can visit the site of the Harland & Wolf shipyard, the dry dock where she was built and a first class exhibit depicting the lives of those who built her and those who were on board on that unfortunate maiden voyage in 1912. We spent the afternoon and had some fun checking this out. 

Views from the exhibition hall.

 Titanic Exhibition Hall, each of the four wings is the size and shape of the ship's bow.

Saturday night we visited a few famous Irish Pubs. We enjoyed great food and some Irish Beer at the Crown Bar and then we moved on to Robinson's, where we stopped in to enjoy a wee pint and some live music at Fibber McGee's, located in the back of Robinson's. Definitely a highlight of our time in Belfast!

Gates in the Peace Wall (these gates never open)

"The Troubles"
The history of conflict in Ireland can be traced well back in time. Armed conflict between Catholics and Protestants subsided as a product of a 1921 agreement.  However the conflict known as "The Troubles of Northern Ireland" took front and center in the eyes of the world during the riots of 1968. The riots were followed by mobilization of British troops and open conflict that persisted for more than 35 years. Tensions and peace and reconciliation efforts continue. The Peace Wall, a tall and strong barrier remains today separating the neighborhoods and the people. Political murals are displayed on both sides of the wall reflecting the strong and opposing views that continue in West Belfast. We took a Black Taxi Tour to see and to hear of the history of the conflict marked by such tragic loss of life. 

Our taxi driver/tour guide explained that this "Peace Wall"
extends more than 2 miles with gates closing the crossroads.

Wall of political murals placed by the political party, Sinn Fein.

Bobby Sands, who was a member of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA), died in 1981 during a hunger strike that he lead. He is memorialized on the side of the Sinn Fein building. He was elected to the British Parliament while in HM Prison Maze.

The Peace Wall extends as far as the eye can see, this Mural is on the protestant side of the wall.

Tribute to the Queen and statement of loyalty of  Ulster to England also
on the "Protestant Side" of the wall.

Memorial to the Belfast Ulster Volunteers (UVF)
This memorial wall has been completed recently and is on the side of a
building in the midst of a residential area. 

A memorial to Stephen McKeag nicknamed "Top Gun", a Commander in the Ulster Defense  Association (UDA) in the 1990's, died in 2000 and was known for violence on Shankill Road, on the Protestant side of West Belfast.

We really enjoyed our time together in Belfast. This city has seen some very good times and no doubt some most difficult times. Above all we found the people to be warm and welcoming. The food is really good and of course the beer is outstanding!

Rome at Christmas

Buon Natale e felice anno nuovo!

We have had a few opportunities to visit Italy over the past three years and we love it. At Christmas time this year we were able to gather some of our family and spend time together in Rome. Christmas is celebrated well in Rome. Bright decorations adorn the city with Christmas Trees and Nativity displays everywhere. The people of Rome are wonderful and the food is a second to none. Our young grandson especially enjoyed a diet of Gelatto, not such a surprise. We had a great time!

The Musei Capitolini is a don't miss place to visit. The historic buildings house many treasures of ancient Rome. Cindy and I always have fun poking around museums and this one suited us well.  The significance of the works exhibited here is mind boggling. 

Really big foot of Constantine...

 and his really big matching head!

Caravaggio, the Gypsy Fortune Teller 

The Marforio Statue dates from the first century.

Capitoline She Wolf: the symbol of Rome

Capitoline Venus

Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius

big pieces of bronze Constantine

The Dying Gaul

Guilded Hercules

The Fuime Tevere, happy grandparents

The Colosseum and the Forums are at the heart of the ancient city and are the landmarks we all associate with Ancient Rome. Walking among of the ruins of the ancient city with beginnings that date back an amazing 3000 years is really quite an experience. The Colosseum construction began in 70 AD, relatively modern when considering that the valley of the Forum was drained and paved by Cloaca Maxima in the 7th century BC! Many of the remaining structures are dated from the 6th to 2nd century BC.  Left behind among the ruins is evidence of elaborate mosaics and colossal carvings and statuary complemented by fountains all that would have had running water. In it's day this was really quite a place that could hold its own to any modern day creation.

The Roman Forum, center of the empire for 1000 years.

Vestal Virgins, noble priestesses

Forum of Augustus

The Roman Forum 

The Basilica of San Pietro in Vincoli includes the tomb of Pope Julius II. The tomb is the creation of Michelangelo. The Michelangelo Buonarroti Moses is the centerpiece. He has horns! 

Michelangelo's  Moses with horns

Tomb of Julius II

Piazza della Rotonda and the Pantheon

The Pantheon and the Santa Maria ad Martyres is a sight known throughout the world. The structure was designed by Emperor Hadrian in AD 118-25 and was first a pegan temple.  It was donated to Pope Boniface IV in 608 and has been a place of christian worship since then, although through time it has been sacked and pillaged a few times. The dome is the widest masonry dome in Europe at 142 feet across.  This is really something to see. I wonder how they did that?

The dome of the Pantheon 

Basilica Sancta Maria ad Martyres, the Pantheon

Pantheon

Pinocchios…

The Spanish Steps

Columns of  the Temple of Saturn

The Arch of Septimius Severus

Columns of the Temple of Castor and Pollux (left) 

Carlo Fontana created tho fountain at Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere.

Santa Maria Trastevere

Vittorio Emanuele II Monument
He was the first king of unified Italy. This is a "modern" monument and
definitely not a favorite amongst the locals who often refer to it as
"The Wedding Cake" and/or "The Typewriter".

Piazza Navona, Bernini's Fontana dei Fiumi 

More happy grandparents!

Santa Maria in Trastevere

San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, masterpiece of Baroque architecture.

The Temple of Mars Ultor in The Forum of Augustus

There are over 900 amazing churches in Rome and we went to see a bunch of them. These pictures show a part of the painted ceiling of the Church of Saint Ignatius. The church was built from 1626 to sketches of Jesuit mathematician P. Orazio Grassi.

Below are a few pictures we took at the Piazza del Popolo. This was once the sight for public festivals and executions. The obelisk dates back to the 1200's. We made the trip to see Santa Maria del Popolo built in 1099. The site of the church was also the site where Nero died and was buried. His bones were dug up and the church built in their place at the direction of Pope Paschael II.

Cheese...

The alter of Santa Maria del Popolo at Christmas

A bit of a surprise was to come across an elephant in the center of Rome. Bernini's baby elephant obelisk was created in 1667 and sits in the Piazza della Minerva.

We will all remember the Christmas we went to see Rome. We will remember the warm and generous people, the outstanding food and the amazing sights from so long ago. 

Grazie Roma per la vostra generosa ospitalità…Torneremo...Ciao!