Left at 8.10am and arrived very easily at Titanic at 8.40am. Sat and waited for carpark to open and we were one of the first in the doors. For £25 we bought a White Star Ticket which entitled us to a photo, entry to the galleries, a discovery tour and then entry to the Nomadic, the tender ship for the Titanic in France. "Today, the area of Belfast Harbor that once housed the RMS Titanic has been renamed the Titanic Quarter and is dominated by the towering silver façade of the Titanic Belfast, a remarkable building fashioned from four ship-hull-shaped wings. The futuristic building is home to the state-of-the-art Titanic Belfast exhibition, which spreads over 6 floors and includes interactive discovery zones, full-scale reconstructions, real-life accounts and mind-blowing special effects. From the first talks of building ... read more

Had a bit of a sleep in this morning and headed down to breakfast at 9am having packed up the car ready to go. Finding somewhere for dinner last night at 9pm was hard, well finding breakfast at 9am was just as hard! Finally found a lovely little coffee shop on the other side of the Diamond. Then walked around the corner to Donegal castle for 10am. “Built by the O'Donnell chieftain in the 15th century, beside the River Eske, the Castle has extensive 17th century additions by Sir Basil Brooke. The Castle is furnished throughout and includes Persian rugs and French tapestries. Information panels chronicle the history of the Castle owners from the O'Donnell chieftains to the Brooke family.” An amazing restoration with a full banquet hall. It took 4 months for the roof to ... read more

After being thoroughly spoilt by Lynne for breakfast we said goodbye and headed off to Knock, which was just down the road. “The Story of Knock began on the 21st August, 1879 when, at approximately 8 O’ clock in the evening, fifteen people from the village of Knock in Co. Mayo, witnessed an Apparition of Our Lady, St. Joseph, St. John the Evangelist, a Lamb and cross on an altar at the gable wall of the Parish Church. The witnesses watched the Apparition in the pouring rain for two hours, reciting the Rosary. Although they themselves were saturated not a single drop of rain fell on the gable or vision. There were fifteen official witnesses to the Apparition, most of whom were from the village of Knock and surrounding areas and ranged in age from just ... read more

Tuesday Left Dublin this morning and made it out ok through the traffic onto the M6 and on our way to the Cliffs of Moher. We travelled across the country in a morning! Equivalent from driving from Perth to Southern Cross. We drove from Dublin, Athlone, Ballinasloe, Loughrea, Gort and Cliffs of Moher. We left the main highway and travelled on some of the back roads and suddenly came across some ruins. Pulled in, wow very cool. "Kilmacduagh Monastery is located in a small village of the same name, about 5 km from the town of Gort. The name of the place translates as "church of Duagh's son".... read more

Left Perth at 6.05am on Sunday. Emirates flight half empty so we had space to spread out. Flight was non-eventful but long, slept, watched several movies, crocheted, ate, read, slept, ate, you know how it goes on an 11 hour flight. Transit for 3 hours in Dubai then it was groundhog day and it all started again for 7 hours. I've decided that it is very easy to get into Ireland, just answer the question of how long you are staying and smile and you get a stamp, customs didn't even look at my photo or details or anything, quickest customs I have ever been through! Picked up our car, entered hotel address in Tom Tom and off we went. Turn left, woops that's the windscreen wiper, turn right, woops clean windows again, remember it is ... read more