Where is the market?

In the lively Belfast! :)

Royal Avenue, Belfast 2015

As information, Royal Ave is the shopping street of Belfast ;)

Harmony of Belfast

I loved Belfast, I loved this statue also :)


Harmony of Belfast, Belfast 2015

It is a girl on the globe (for a total of 19.5 m), opera of Andy Scott of 2007.

One of its nicknames is "Beacon of Hope", and the globe at her feet indicates the universal philosophy of peace, harmony and thanksgiving, and has marked on its surface the cities where the people and industries of Belfast migrated and exported to (from wiki ;)).

Harmony of Belfast, Belfast 2015

No drink please

Free alcohol zone, Belfast 2015

Ireland may be very famous for its beers, whiskies and other alcoholics...

And probably also for its drinkers..:).. and I was wondering what they have done to lead Ireland introducing free alcohol zones...

Then I searched in internet...and from various posts and forums (eg, from bbc) I found that the main problem was/is that of young people getting around in group, drunk, noisy and becoming violent...opsss...now that I remember this was the same problem in Glasgow 10 years ago...well, fortunately I have not met such kind of groups of young people during my stay in Belfast, I do not know if because of the areas where I was or because the free alcohol zones result really in safer places...

The reduction of underage and on-street drinking was in fact the aim of the introduction of the free alcohol zones. Anyone over the age of 18 caught by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) drinking in a specified non-drinking area may be prosecuted and could face a fine of up to £500. Anyone under the age of 18 caught drinking will have their details passed on to the PSNI Youth Diversion Officer and have a letter sent to their parents.

If you look on the internet, there are also other cities that have applied this rule, both in UK and in the far Australia and New Zealand.

I am thinking now if a similar regulation would be applied in Rome, in area such as Trastevere or Campo dei Fiori...well, the last time that I was in Trastevere on Saturday night I did not feel very safe...so maybe..

Free alcohol zone, Belfast 2015

Never forget...

Never forget how strong and brave you are…

Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge, Northern Ireland 2015

Harland and Wolff

The Harland & Wolff is the company that built all the ships of the White Star Line, including the RSM-Titanic, this last one between the 1909 and 1911.

Close to the new Titanic Belfast, it is possible to see the former drawing offices of the company. The interiors of these two offices have a cathedral like atmosphere, are ornately decorated and efficiently naturally laminated. In these buildings the projects of the three sister ships, the Olympic, the Titanic and the Britannic were implemented and the detailed designs prepared.

In the first photo, the external wall of the offices. In the second photo, probably a room used as technical room or bathroom.

The Harland & Wolff's offices, Belfast 2015

The Harland & Wolff's offices, Belfast 2015

Titanic Belfast

One of the things that I have discovered being in Belfast was that the famous - for, ahime! :(, tragic reasons - Titanic was built here.

The initial part of the slipway where the Titanic was built is today occupied by the Titanic Belfast, a multimedia centre dedicated to the history of Belfast and of the famous ship.

The centre was open in April 2012, in the occasion of the centenary of the shipwreck.

I did not enter in the centre (have I already told you that I get bored in museum?), but I enjoyed a couple of hours in taking pictures there and around. Lots will come soon here! :)



Titanic Belfast, Belfast 2015