Belfast was where the Titanic and its sister ships, the Olympic and Britannic, were built. We’d heard that because of this, the Titanic Museum was mainly about how the ship was built and not so much about the sinking, but we found this not to be true.

I was thankful for that because, of course, the sinking is what the Titanic is known for. Although I don’t care to watch the movie version of the sinking ever again (all that death made me ill!) I was interested in seeing the museum version of the tragedy.

The museum was well worth the entry price. Pre-booking of tickets is required. The displays were built in various ways that appeal to all types of learning: audio, visual, reading, entertainment, experiential, and probably a few others I don’t know about. Talking holograms of passengers and crewmembers offered interpretation along the way. There were models of the Titanic, and even a ride in these funky, boxy cars that took visitors through the experience of building the ship. Outdoors, the yard where the Titanic and other ships were built is visible from the museum.

My favorite part were the displays that dealt with discovering the ship’s resting place at the bottom of the North Atlantic. Visitors can walk over a glass floor that simulates walking above the wreckage on the ocean’s bottom. That was so cool!

After our tour, we popped into the museum’s Galley Café, which had food just about a delectable as a first-class passenger’s on the Titanic. I ate a wonderful chowder and topped it off with trifle for dessert. Trifle is a parfait made with cake cubes, vanilla pudding combined with whipped cream, and interspersed with berries and peaches. The café’s trifle was not as good as the one I make, but I wasn’t going to complain. I was impressed that they even offered it as I’d never seen it on a menu before (especially in the U.S.).

Afterward, we meandered outside and toured a ship in dry dock called the Nomadic. Like the Titanic, it was built by the White Star Line and was the tender ship for the Titanic. This means it ferried passengers and supplies to it. The Nomadic is the only surviving White Star Line ship left. Entry onto it was included in our ticket price for the museum. That was fascinating to see, especially a few pieces of original oak paneling that are left in the women’s bathroom sitting room, and how the various classes of passengers were kept separated.

After that, we hopped onto the Maritime Trail in a light drizzle. It goes right past the museum, so a stroll along it was a no-brainer. In addition to interpretive signs about the city’s maritime history, there were “Game of Thrones” stained glass displays. The TV series was filmed in Ireland.

As the drizzle increased and our feet got sore, we tried to order a cab to take us back to our hotel but had no luck. The problem was Shania Twain. The singer was in town and all the cabs were booked by her fans. We trudged back to the Titanic Museum and were able to nab a cab that was waiting in front for passengers. Our driver said that Shania is of Irish descent, along with Taylor Swift and Mariah Carey, so they’re all big deals in Ireland.

The main reason we decided to visit Ireland was to explore Russ’s heritage. Like the famous singers, Russ is of Irish descent (as well as French and German). His great-great-great and great-great grandfathers and grandmothers lived there, and the female line goes back even farther. In the next post, I’ll describe what happened on Day 3, which involved a genealogical tour to his ancestral homelands outside of Belfast.

Also, one of the main reasons we were visiting Scotland later on our trip was to investigate my ancestral heritage. Since the last time I was in Scotland eight years ago, I discovered (thanks to my cousins) that we’re related to Robert the Bruce, first king of Scotland. (He is my great-grandfather to the 21^st power.) While we were backtracking to the museum in the rain, one of our plans on that account came to fruition. I’d been trying for months to book a tour of Broomhall House outside of Edinburgh, which is the family home of the Bruces, and it was only recently opened for public tours.

We got news that those plans were a “go!” That lightened the misery of walking with tired feet in the rain. We only hoped that our luggage would finally arrive so that we’d have something nicer to wear than blue jeans and stinky underwear to Broomhall.

We capped off our evening with supper at Ryan’s Pub. This was a second visit for us because it was within walking distance of our hotel and the food and drinks were grand! I was introduced to a whisky sour there (topped with a sprig of mint), and it has quickly become one of my favorites. As if that weren’t good enough, when we arrived back at our hotel, our luggage was waiting for us!