Working, Living & Travelling In Ireland

Tag: Belfast

  • Visit tot the W5 science and discovery centre at Odyssey in Belfast and Fat Dad

    Visit tot the W5 science and discovery centre at Odyssey in Belfast and Fat Dad

    Hi all,

    I hope you are enjoying your Sunday Evening! It’s been a very sunny day here in Galway, and we went for a walk in Coole Park! I took a newly found French friend of mine for the walk, as I wanted to show her Coole Park. It’s one of my all time favourite parks, and I don’t think she was disappointed! Pity the restaurant isn’t open yet, I saw a sign that it will open next weekend:)
    We were up North last weekend, to attend a funeral, and decided to stay a few days days longer. It’s a long drive from Galway ( 5 hours) so it makes sense to take in some sights. 

    We had been to the W5 museum before, and thought we’d go again, as you never have enough time to see all the floors. The great thing about going there is that the kids can try and explore, so no need to run after them to tell them they can’t touch. It starts as you enter, where you can simulate how to make steam.

    There was a light show, which explained about light, the power of light, the rainbow and much more.

    There were a number of new displays or activities. Suffice it to say I did NOT climb to the top of this climbing structure called Climbit. The kids did and they loved it!

    Rueben had great fun standing in a virtual goal, and Alex tried flying a plane with the flight simulator!
    Definitely worth a visit if you are in Northern Ireland. Across from the W5 is the Titanic Museum, also very much worth a visit. 
    A word of advise, book your ticket ahead, as they get so busy, you may be refused entrance if you turn up without a booking!
    So what about Fat Dad? When we got home, the boys were saying there is a way to remember all the 6 counties in Northern Ireland, and it’s by the two words of FAT DAD.
    F: Fermanagh
    A: Antrim
    T: Tyrone
    D: Derry ( previously Londonderry)
    A:Armagh
    D: Down 
    More next week:)
    Katleen

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  • Titanic disaster, 100 years have passed & Opening of Titanic Quarters in Belfast

    Dear Readers,

    As the Easter break draws to an end ( and the sunshine has returned!) , the media here in Ireland is full of Titanic reports, as it’s 100 years ago  that R.M.S. Titanic sunk. A Titanic memorial was unveiled in Belfast today. The names of the dead, from all classes on the doomed liner, are engraved in alphabetical order on five bronze plaques.
     
    There was a great documentary yesterday, where the film maker James Cameron sat down with a variety of naval engineers, to analyse how realistic the film was in relation to what supposedly happened 100 years ago. 
    There was some debate about the angle  that Titanic rose to before it broke in two, it seems that in the movie the top part of the main part  broke at a  higher angle than in reality. ( You can read a thorough discussion here ), and some discrepancy on the colour of the of firework( in the movie it was bright white). Some of the unused recovered fireworks all had colours near the top of the canisters, so that was another difference. However, he commented he would not be remaking the movie because of those differences! Another discepancy, like what stars were visible when Kate Winslet is hanging on driftwood has been changed in the newly released 3D version.
    Titanic was equipped with a Marconi Wireless installation, that enabled Titanic to communicate /send messages to other ships/outside world and ultimately helped to save the survivors.
     It was only when I was reading about Marconi, I realise that he was born to an Italian father and an Irish  mother! He was a real entrepreneur, but when he was unable to get funding for his very new ideas on wireless communication, he moved to England and subsequently to the USA.
    You can listen to an interpretation of the morse code here that was created by the BBC.
    As I wrote in one of my posts last year , Things to do in Belfast, they were busy building the Titanic Quarter in Belfast. This has been completed now, and is a great attraction to visit in Northern Ireland.
    The newly opened Titanic Belfast® is an unmissable visit in any tour of
    Northern Ireland. It is located in the heart of Belfast, on the slipways
    where RMS Titanic was built. Inside this iconic building, visitors will re-live the entire Titanic story from her birth in Belfast to the fateful maiden voyage and her eventual discovery on the seabed.
    I strongly recommend  you book your tickets on line,  as there has been in influx of visitors and there have been days they were booked out . If you click here, you’ll get a 5% discount( not sure if this will last).
    Here is just a selection of  some other  Titanic resources:
    http://www.titanic1.org/ – the oldest Titanic Historical Society

    Have a nice evening!
    Katleen

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  • Things to do in Belfast – worth a trip!

    Things to do in Belfast – worth a trip!

    Dear Readers,

    If you haven’t been to Belfast in a while, I would recommend you take a trip!
    It all starts off as you drive into Belfast, where you can see a huge sculpture called the Rise.

    Rise is a 38m high new spherical sculpture designed by Nottingham-based artist Wolfgang Buttress, currently being installed at the end of Belfast’s M1 motorway, above the city’s gateway Broadway roundabout where it hits the Falls Road. The £500,000 duplex galvanised steel commission, consisting of one sphere set inside another, was won in a competition in 2008 and symbolises, according to the artist, “a new chapter in the history of Belfast”. ( It’s already been affectionately renamed “The Balls on the Falls”.)
    We decided to visit whowhatwherewhyhwen museum I would highly recommend it!
    Here are the instructions on how to get there .
    It’s a huge museum over several floors, dedicated to technology and science. Just about every  topic is covered, and is a great place for kids to try things like flying an airplane, steering a (motor)boat, build an engine, understand gravity, make a film, learn about inventors, the list is endless. (Just one thing, if you are from Southern Ireland, they don’t accept Laser card, so it’s cash or Visa Card).
    There is a Costa Coffee bar, but you can also bring your own lunch, which I thought was a great idea. (Saying that the children’s menu Chicken Nuggets and a drink for £1.99 really was a good deal)
    It got pretty busy, so I would advise to go early! 
    Here is a link to the opening hours and admission charges.
    If we were living a little closer, I’d consider holding a birthday party there for the boys! 
    There is also floor dedicated to the building of Titantic, as it was built in Belfast.
    It will be 100 years next year ( 2012) that Titanic sank and lot’s of preparations are on the way to commemorate the event.
    This is the way the building will look when finished.
    A new building is currently pushing its way towards the sky in Belfast’s Titanic Quarter. Drive over the Lagan Bridge or along the historic Queen’s Road in the heart of the former shipyard and you will see a stunning piece of architecture coming to life.
    The building is clad in metal shards and when the light plays on them it looks like the movement of water. From above, the building resembles a white star, the symbol of Titanic’s operators. When finished, the visitor attraction will be surrounded by public realm, including reflecting pools and a trail which will take the visitor on a journey through Belfast’s industrial past.
    After all that, it was time for a bit of retail therapy! There is a new shopping centre in Belfast called Victoria Square Shopping Centre ( I suppose it’s a bit like the Dundrum Shopping Centre of Northern Ireland)

    Victoria Square Shopping Centre - Belfast

    As we walked over a Pedestrian bridge in Belfast, I saw a banner from the Lagan Boat Company with their company sloagn  that said ” She was alright when she left here “, referring to the Titanic, leaving Belfast harbour in perfect condition on the 2nd of April 1912 and unfortunately sinking on the 15th of April, just three hours after hitting an iceberg.

    That’s it!
    Katleen

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