A perfect day in Newtownabbey today - the best night's sleep we have had since we arrived in Ireland - our B&B is amazing - an 1850 Victorian mansion overlooking Belfast Lough - it has to be seen to be believed. In 1945 it was visited by Dwight Eisenhower, hence the room names are after US Presidents. Tim and Ethy are exemplary hosts - if two people were meant to run a B&B it is they. To say Tim is a music and film buff is an understatement as the house if full of memorabilia - there is even a full size Elvis in the dining room. What a treat is has been to stay here.
Caught a train into Belfast - only 4 stations away - to have a look around via the hop-on hop-off bus. To be blunt Belfast is not a pretty city - much smaller than I had thought - only a population of 300,000. Interesting to see the now empty docks where the Titanic was built and left for her fateful voyage. More fascinating than the city itself was the narrative on the bus about the 30 year unrest with the IRA and the religious factions which is still not completely settled today. The innocent were the victims - must have been a difficult time living here during the 60s, 70s and 80s. We had a pretty quiet day today as we are still trying to shake off these coughs - had them for a fortnight now and they are still hanging around.
Abbeydene Manor - I call it our little bit of Downton Abbey
in Newtownabbey
Fabulous formal dining room with 18 ft ceilings
Elvis (and others) in the guest dining room
View out to the lough
Tim and Ethy's managerie
Waiting for the Belfast train
The Titanic Museum
Stormont building - which houses Parliament
The old belfast
Murals of world conflicts and uprisings
Old Belfast pubs
Inner city Belfast
Back to Ireland tomorrow (as opposed to Northern Ireland being part of the UK) for one more night before flying out to Oslo.
Ann
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