June 19: to Monasterboice and Belfast by bus

Dear Friends and Relatives,

I am writing you from Belfast tonight, still lacking my large piece of luggage, which has not been delivered as yet to my hotel in Dublin, where I will stay tomorrow night.  If I haven't received it by tomorrow night, things are going to get a lot more complicated, as I am not flying by Iberia, but by American Airlines.  Think of me, please, and hope the best.  I have worn the same outfit for two days and will have to wear it a third.  At least Paula has some toiletries she has lent me.  

Today was a rainy date, and of course my hair totally frizzed up, in its usual hyperbolic fashion.  What can I do?  This afternoon's phone calls were useless, since I could get no one on the horn.  What a calamity!

Anyway, we had breakfast at the hotel, and then walked to the Custom House to join a Viator tour of Monasterboice and Belfast.  Monasterboice was founded in the 5th c. by an obscure disciple of St. Patrick called St. Buite.  It is one if the most famous religious sites in the country, and is enclosed in a graveyard in a lovely secluded spot north of the town of Drogheda.  The site includes a roofless round tower and two churches.  Its greatest treasures are its 10th c. High Crosses, depicting the life of Christ and Old Testament scenes.  It was raining significantly, but we shouldered on, and I took several  atmospheric photos, though my sandals felt the water and got quite wet.  Mind over matter, I kept telling myself.  It worked occasionally!

From Monasterboice we drove on to Belfast and the Titanic experience.  Right before we went to the Titanic Museum, we toured the Catholic and Protestant parts of Belfast, the gates, wall, and murals that still divide them, perhaps not so much physically any more, but the tension is still palpable.  

The Titanic Museum is a visitor attraction and a monument to Belfast's maritime heritage on the site of the former Harland and Wolff shipyard in the city's Titanic Quarter, where the RMS Titanic was built.  It tells the stories of the ill-fated Titanic, which hit an iceberg and sank during her maiden voyage in 1912.  The building contains more than 130,000 sq. ft. of floor space, most of which is occupied by a series of galleries.  

The building's design is intended to reflect Belfast's history of shipmaking and the industrial legacy bequeathed by Harland & Wolff.  Its angular form recalls the shape of the ship's prow.  Most of the building's facade is clad in 3000 individual silver anodized aluminum shards.  It stands 126 ft. high, the same height as Titanic's hull.  A fascinating exhibit, and one well worth visiting!  Before our van picked us up at the close of our visit, we had lunch--salmon, pureed carrots, and mashed potatoes.  

By 3:00 we had reached our apartment in Belfast for the night, and I was going crazy trying every number I knew to get help with my luggage.   It was Sunday, however, and my efforts were nil--I only found out from the hotel in Dublin that my bag had not arrived yet.  I was so discouraged, but luckily there was Paula, who diverted me into watching two episodes of "Planet Earth" on TV.  After that we walked our neighborhood and found that we were very close to Queen University, which exhibited some very nice Victorian architecture which I photographed.  We discovered several restaurants in the area, which looked to be run by students, and at a Nordic Café we had stew, a small salad, and water.  On the way we discovered that a new movie was playing in a cinema close by, so we saw "Tale of Tales" with Salma Hayek--a bizarre fairy tale which kept me interested, if nothing else, and made me completely forget about my luggage problems!  

Tomorrow we are off to the Giant's Causeway and Dunluce Castle before returning to our Dublin hotel.  Let's hope that by this time tomorrow night I have my luggage, or else there will be hell to pay!  As ever, SV

Sylvia M. Venable, PhD

Instructor, German

St. John's Episcopal School

Dallas, Texas