British Isles Cruise

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On Murals of Belfast

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While cruising the British Isles in 2017, Belfast fascinated me. In my past post about Belfast, I opened the post with the following: Belfast, Northern Ireland is beautiful, interesting, and gut-wrenching – and we were only there for a part of one day. On one end is the natural beauty, architecture, vibrancy, and history – and the other end The Troubles – what the locals call the Northern Ireland Conflict (1968-1998).”

Belfast, Northern Ireland has a history of conflict – especially in the past one hundred years. Many of us remember the conflict from fierce conflict that raged their land from the 1960s well into the 1990s – a conflict centered around politics and religion. Today, Belfast is a beautiful city. Yet, visitors who have a sense of history about The Troubles carry a strange and troubling feeling during their entire stay.

The Peace Wall that separates sectors of the city is anything but peaceful, while its stories feel like a punch in the gut. Beautiful murals are found throughout the city – but many are dedicated to the heroes of one side or the other. Others make political statements, and other commemorate battles or events.

I wanted to feature the murals, but do so got lost in the shuffle. So, I stumbled across what I do have when cleaning out the blog closet. Besides, Belfast’s murals would fascinate Resa.

The first is a different collection – especially when seeing their location (the last pic).

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Commercial Court is located in the part of the city known as the Cathedral Quarter. It’s a courtyard loaded with murals that included famous people. Enjoy the collection. Recognize anyone?

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Unfortunately, I didn’t capture many of the murals I saw around the city. For more information about Belfast’s murals, see the links below the video. They are fascinating, and not very subtle.

More Information

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On Two Towns in Normandy

One of the reasons we selected the cruise itinerary we did is this one stopped in Normandy France as we wanted to visited the sights of the D-Day: 6, June 1944. Because we also prefer to book off-ship tours, we selected OverlordTours for our day. (Previous post about Omaha Beach)

Overlord picked up numerous passengers at the Le Havre cruise terminal. After visiting Omaha Beach and the American cemetery, we didn’t realize what a pleasure the rest of the day would be.

Beside the beautiful countryside, the area is also well-known for Calvados: an apple brandy the GIs loved. (Calvados is similar to Applejack and Somerset Cider Brandy.

First Stop: Bayeux

  • Town center has a medieval flare of architecture and cobbled streets
  • The first city liberated in the WW II Battle of Normandy
  • Home to the Bayeux Tapestry, a 15th century embroidery detailing events leading to the Norman Conquest 224+ ft. (68.4 m) by 1.6 ft. (0.5 m). Click for more information

The town exhibits an Old World charm …

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… but the massive and impressive Bayeux Cathedral (The Lady of Bayeux) dominates the town center.

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Second Stop: Honfleur

  • Located on the estuary where the Seine River meets the English Channel
  • It’s old harbor area is surrounded by Old World architecture
  • St. Catherine’s Church is composed of all wood
  • Point of departure for New World explores as Samuel Champlain and Binot Paulmier de Gonneville
  • Popular with tourists

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For those wanting to see more, here are short video tours of each: Bayeux and Honfleur.

Given their experience in dealing with cruise ships, Overlord returned us to the dock with time to spare. We recommend Overlord Tours for those visiting the area.

As we departed Le Havre, we realized our British Isles cruise was over. Simply a fabulous itinerary. In the morning we would be up early for our transfer to Heathrow. On the plus side, our vacation wasn’t over as we would deplane in Reykjavik for 3 days in Iceland – but I’m going to give you a break from the vacation by returning to other topics. I will post about Iceland later.

For other posts about our time in the British Isles, click here. Thanks for coming along!

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On a Beach: But Not Just Any Beach

The walk to the view from above is as serene as the view.

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The view from the beach is calm. The surrounding houses, people on the beach and in the water are reminders of the why.

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The statue, the sign markers, the museum, the photos are reminders of what happened on 6 June 1944 – right here on Omaha Beach.

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The rows and rows gravemarkers also reminded us of the importance of being about to enjoy happiness today on the beach below. This is the US cemetery above the beach.

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You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers-in-arms on other Fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world. Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well-trained, well equipped and battle hardened. He will fight savagely. (General Dwight D. Eisenhower, United States Army)

Next post: More Normandy

For other posts about our time in the British Isles, click here.

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On Edinburgh

Although Edinburgh’s human roots date back to 8000 BC, the city along the Firth of Forth became chartered in 1125. Today, it is Scotland’s political, cultural, and commercial hub. We journeyed into Edinburgh twice – first on a bus trip from Greenock (on the west coast) for the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo (previous post) – then several days later after our ship set anchor in nearby South Queensferry for encountering more of this Scottish jewel.

To me, Edinburgh was the most captivating of the cities we visited on this trip. The grand old stone buildings, the charm of Old Town, the Georgian and Victorian architecture of New Town, and being a city bustling with activity; – let alone the highly visible Edinburgh Castle sitting high on a hill above it all.

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With 5 major festivals in progress during August, the streets were not quiet – plus two cruise ships in town. I wonder how many of the people we saw were Edinburghers? But cheers to the many street performers!

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The Royal Mile (High Street) is Old Town’s main street. It’s loaded not only physical charm, it’s a vibrant area filled with shops, eateries, and establishments featuring adult beverages. Taking the long walk up the hill from our bus to the castle was a great introduction into Edinburgh. The feast continues by wondering nearby streets.

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As usual, our fee touched Edinburgh’s pavement many times on this day. This city is a visual feast – let alone filled with history. Greyfriars Bobby is an interesting story – a dog who faithfully stayed at his master’s grave for 14 years. Various people took care of Bobby during this time, and yes – he is buried a short distance from his master.

We loved Edinburgh and would like to return during a less-crazy time. We missed going into Edinburgh Castle because we chose to forego the long lines. Atop Calton Hill provides outstanding 360-views of the city, but I’ve shown enough pictures in this post. Besides the video shows it. Enjoy this 2-minute drone video tour giving you a taste of this fabulous city.

For those wanting to see more of Edinburgh, click here for a longer tour.

Next stop: Normandy France

For other posts about our time in the British Isles, click here.

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On a Tattoo

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No – This post is not about body art.

No – This post is not about Tattoo (Hervé Villechaize) proclaiming “De plane! De plane!” from the Fantasy Island tower.

Yes – This post is about an evening signal calling soldiers to their quarters.

Yes – This post is about an extravaganza of music, marching, and performance by military bands from across the globe as England, Scotland, France, India, and Japan providing precision and power.

Yes – A night including 11 pipes and drum bands from Scotland (5), Australia (3). Germany, Malta, and one composed of 45 players invited from at least Argentina, Chile, Mexico, USA, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, and Australia; all combining together (at least 300) to bring a layer of complexity through a national tradition.

Yes – A night when about 50 fiddlers from the Shetland Islands, a local children’s choir of at least 30, an international dance company, and The Queen’s Colour Squadron supplied elegance and poise to the instrumentation.

Yes – For us, a night of spectacle, exhilaration, and awe. Welcome to the 2017 Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo – the 68th edition of a 3-week celebration of music, culture, and tradition.

The castle quietly waits …

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The call is made.

They emerge from Edinburgh Castle.

They keep coming onto the Castle Esplanade …

… to entertain with music and theatrics

… with music and dance

… with music and fire

… with grace and majestic grandness

All in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle that also served as a beautiful backdrop

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Attending this event wasn’t on our radar, but for other cruisers this is the reason this took this itinerary. Two days before the event, we noticed tickets remained through a ship excursion, so we decided pay the price and go. Maybe because of my music and band experience, hte finale with over 600 musicians and others was so moving with moments of chills running through my spine. The video below is a high-quality edited version (2+ minutes). The full 5+minute fixed-camera version is linked below the video.

Full version link of the final dress rehearsal (5+ minutes)

Next stop: Edinburgh by day