Belfast

Our guide, Susie, is a Belfast native and told us her experiences of growing up in Northern Ireland.  She noted a vast majority of peace fences had been removed and that there was a more relaxed atmosphere since the time of The Troubles and Bloody Sunday.  Though some peace fences remain, the remnants of a time where they were meant to protect the land owners from violence, murals from both sides of the conflict still proudly proclaim their respective allegiances, even those who embrace peace in the current era.  

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We also went to the Titanic Experience where Susie's great-grandfather's story of the two pennies was told to the group.  Though he was not slated to go on the Titanic's maiden voyage, he was recruited upon another engineer's illness.  He left two pennies (to rub together as Susie said) with his two sons, who stayed with family.  He did not survive the infamous ship's sinking, though his legacy continues to live on both through his great-granddaughter and the Titanic Experience, which does a wonderful job at walking you through how the ship was built and the people who were a part of this history.