A Visit to the Irelands

Marco had a conference in Belfast (Northern Ireland and part of the UK) and in Dublin (Republic of Ireland) this past week and I got to tag along.  We flew into Belfast and had just enough time to visit the Titanic Museum before Marco had to get to work.  The museum was very well done!  It started with the history of Belfast before the Titanic was built.  It then takes you through the process of the ship being built, the maiden voyage, about the crew and passengers, the communication after the ship hit the iceberg, the aftermath, a journey to bottom of the ocean, and then finally live feed of current work being done by Professor Ballard (who discovered the Titanic).

While Marco was working, I visited the Belfast Castle.  It was much smaller than I expected.

The first castle was built in the last 12th century.  The current castle was completed in 1870.

The gardens surrounding the castle...

The castle sits up on the slopes of Cave Hill and looks out over the city of Belfast.

It is said that good fortune will come to those who visit Belfast Castle as long as the tradition of the Castle Cat is kept (sounds a bit like the ravens at the Tower of London).  The story goes that there has always been a resident white cat at the castle.  The gardens celebrate this tale with 9 cats in the gardens in the form of mosaics, statues, a topiary, etc.

We stayed the night in Belfast and then took the train to Dublin early the next morning.  We only had one snag on the trip...  One of the carriages had an electrical fire so we had to wait for that issue to be resolved.  Fortunately no one was hurt and we were soon on our way.  We passed a lot of farms and small villages.  I like to travel by train so you can see the countryside.

Again, while Marco was working, I got to do some site seeing.  I visited Trinity College and saw the Book of Kells.  The Book of Kells is the four gospels in Latin and written early 9th century in Scotland and probably by monks.  During this time all bibles were written in Greek or Hebrew.  The gospels were written on calf skin and has elaborate art work telling the stories of the gospels.  The Book of Kells was sent to Dublin around 1653 for safe keeping when Vikings attacked the area where it was kept in Iona.  The Book of Kells has been at Trinity College since 1661.

The college's library (behind the tree) was completed in 1732.  The library has the books on the upper floors to protect from dampness.  The Liffey River came up to the walls of the college and flooding was a problem.  It is no longer a problem though.  The river no longer reaches that far and there are 2 Oregon Oaks planted in the green space and they have sucked enough of the water that dampness is no longer an issue.

All over Dublin signs are written in English and Gaelic.

I visited the Dublin Castle.  It was not very impressive.  I had a friend say that the castle "should have been called 'offices from where you will be ruled by England for 500 years'".

I met up with Marco after he was finished with work.  We went to a local pub for dinner.  They had live music and then they had Irish dancers.  The music made me think of Bluegrass and the River dancing made me think of cloggers.  It was very enjoyable!

The following day, Marco and saw St. Patrick's Cathedral.  We were not able to go in because of a graduation taking place.

The Cathedral Gardens were very nice and full of people enjoying the sunshine (even though it was cold!).

I almost missed this plaque for looking up....

Store fronts...

The last thing we did was visit the Guinness Brewery (top of Marco's list)

It was very interesting!

The tour ended with a pint (I had a half...).  Here are some pints settling before they are topped off.

It was a short trip and there were things we did not have time to see and do (another time) but we had a great time!

I hope you have enjoyed!!

London - Clipper Round the World Race 13/14

 We are so lucky (& blessed) to experience the events in London since we have been here.  The latest event was seeing the Clipper Round the World Race 13/14 leaving from London.  The boats came in a week ago and were docked at St. Katherine's Docks - just down the river from us.  The boats left September 1 for their 40,000 mile, 11 month race and they passed right by our balcony. 

We invited some of our friends over to watch and it was very exciting!!

Here is Team GB (Great Britain).  There are 12 teams, 8 legs of the race, and 23 crew members.

 

Here is Team Qingdao.  Qingdao is a major city in the province of Shandong, China.  The 5th leg of the race travels from Eastern Australia to Eastern China.

Here is Team Jamaica.

Team Switzerland...

Team Invest Africa.  The boats are currently on their way to South America.  The second leg with be to South Africa and then to Western Australia.

Companies also sponsor boats.  The crew is not required to have any sailing experience when they sign on.  The Skipper is the only experienced / professional sailor on board.  It was very interesting talking to volunteers at St. Katherine's Dock who have done this before.  An experience of a lifetime.

Team Old Putney....  Crew members can choose to race the whole 40,000 miles or they can choose to do particular legs of the race.

Team Garmin & Team Mission Performance....  The 23 crew members work in shifts.  I'm not sure I would want the night shift in the middle of the ocean some where!

Team Logistics....  The boats are 70 feet and the new design is all about speed.

Team Derry-Londonderry-Daire...

Team Henri Lloyd...

Getting ready....

And, they're off!!  See y'all back in July!

Spectators were out in full force cheering the teams as they left for their adventure of a lifetime.

While the clippers were getting ready for the race earlier in the week, these boats were also in town for a visit.  They were in Greenwich which is southeast of us.  Greenwich is where the Old Royal Naval College is.  The boats did come by our apartment and we got to enjoy their splendor from our balcony.

Hope you have enjoyed!!

Greece - Part II - ATH.CON & Jockey Horse Club

Our visit to Greece was because Marco was speaking at a conference - I got to tag along for fun.  If any of you are familiar with Black Hat, this is Greek's version of the conference.

 

I just like this banner.... (Geek's wife)



 

The conference is about IT security.  Marco was one of the speakers during the 2 day conference....

 

During the conference there was also a hacker competition.  The winner was a 15 year old boy.  One of the benefits of the conference is to find young talent and point them in the right direction.  I always said that Marco uses his knowledge for good instead of evil... with the youth, a company would rather have them work FOR them instead of AGAINST them....

 

Marco (among other speakers) were interviewed for a local TV news station.

 

The conference took place at a horse club - Jockey Horse Club.  I've started taking riding lessons in London so I enjoyed watching the riders and seeing their facility.  The building in the back is an indoor arena with a soft top.

 

I watched this instructor give a lesson and I also watched him work/train a horse later in the day.

 

The stables were very nice.  This barn had 2 rows of double stables with offices upstairs.  There was also a single row of stables in another building that had been added at a later time.

 

This horse was getting new shoes.  The farrier would say, 'up, up' and the horse would put is leg up on the jack.  This was a really sweet horse with a very soft nose....

 

Another rider getting a lesson....

 

A jumper....

 

Another lesson.... very pretty horse.

 

The stables had their own chapel.....

 

 

A fun day and I hope you enjoyed!!