April 28, 2014

This is our third visit to Belfast. One of the benefits of writing a blog is that I can look up what we did last time! This time we booked a tour outside of the city to Ards Peninsula and Grey Abbey. The tour was scheduled for 1:20 PM so in the morning we took the shuttle bus to town. Since it is Sunday, the shops would mostly be closed or open later in the day but our destination of the St. George’s Market will open at 10 AM. We really wanted to meet an artist that we purchased an item from for Mark and Ramsay’s wedding in 2019. And we just love that market in general.

We got the shuttle at 9. We passed the giant blades for the wind turbines that are ready to be shipped out to be installed in the North Sea.

We walked around the city before heading to the market.

We got to the market before the opening at 10 but the food and coffee places were already open. We walked through and didn’t see the vendor we were looking for. We stopped for great coffee and then went through when everything was open.

Some of the vendor names are very clever.

There is a wide variety of food, antiques and other merchandise here. You can spend a lot of time.

I bought a ring and earrings from one of the vendors and asked about the one I particularly wanted to see again. She knows her well, and promised to give her our regards. She only comes every two weeks since she now has two children. And sadly this was her off week.

We headed back to the ship to get ready for our afternoon tour. We met our guide, Bibi, who entertained us non stop with commentary about almost everything you can imagine.

We heard about Belfast WOW which means Windows on Wildlife which they are very serious about preserving here.

We passed through a town called Holywood, which should be pronounced Holy Wood, but they call it Hollywood because many famous people come from here, including Rory McElroy, the golfer, Liam Neeson from close by and Jamie Dornan who will apparently be the next James Bond. CS Lewis also comes from the area. Bibi has a fond expression “love him to bits”! She doesn’t have much use for politicians and said that even though St. Patrick drove the snakes from Ireland, they are still there in the form of the politicians.

Ireland is known as the Emerald Isle and the area we traveled in is a great example of the greenery and the rich soil. It is temperate all year. Love those baby lambs!

We drove through the Ards Peninsula and reached Grey Abbey.

It is a Cistercian monastery which was founded in 1193 by Affreca, the wife of the Anglo-Norman invader John de Courcy. It is the only monastery in Ireland known to have been founded by a woman in thanksgiving for her safe landing after a storm at sea.

It is built in the Gothic style, one of the first churches in Ireland to be built in that style.

We had a guide to take us through the buildings and of course, there was a “monk” to add to the stories.

The herb gardens were present back in the early years and used as medicines. Volunteers maintain them.

Here are some pictures from our walk through the ruins.

There was a small museum with explanations of the history.

We enjoyed the tour and we chatted with the dedicated volunteers who maintain the gardens and the grounds. Fifteen monks lived at the Abbey and it was a silent order. The Abbey was self sufficient – they grew their own food, used their herbs for medicine, kept animals for milk and meat and did all their own maintenance.

Before we left we met Wolfie, a dog that is apparently very well known here in County Down. He has appeared in many movies and TV series, the most well known is Hope Street. He wanted to get on the bus with us but that’s not allowed!

We drove across Ards Peninsula to Donaghadee to visit the small town and have an Irish Coffee at Pier 36 (Commodore) pub where some episodes of Hope Street were filmed.

After our delicious coffees, we went out for a walk around town. On the way out of the pub we met Eddie, a 16 year old dog, with his owner. They come every Sunday and Eddie gets his own treats.

There are signs of spring everywhere and again, we were lucky to not have rain.

Here are some pictures from around town.

On the way back from the ship, Bibi gave us recipes for champ, which is a kind of mashed potato dish that everyone has as a side dish, and she talked about the Ulster Fry breakfast.

She mentioned several times that the Irish people believe in all kinds of fairies, goblins, etc. In Ireland, the concept of a fairy tree is deeply rooted in folklore and mythology. These trees are often ancient and are believed to be inhabited by fairies or other mythical creatures. They are typically respected and left undisturbed, as disturbing a fairy tree is thought to bring bad luck. While there isn’t a specific tree designated as the fairy tree in Ireland, there are many scattered throughout the country, each with its own local stories and legends. If you see a tree all alone in a field NO ONE would dare ever cut it down, even if it is dead. We spotted one and she told us all about the legends.

We had a really great day, full and tiring. Our dinner was in Red Ginger, our last one there for this trip.

Tomorrow we arrive in Dublin. We have been there many times so will again take the shuttle and wander in the city and probably have lunch in a pub.