Entering/exiting taxis; driving about 20 miles, approximately 2.5 hours total field trip time including frequent breaks from driving. Walking about 2.5 miles, periods of standing; paved streets, some cobblestones.
In the hotel dining room, the full Irish breakfast buffet offers choices such as eggs, bacon, sausages, tomato, potatoes, cereals, fruit, toast, pastries and jams, plus juices, coffee, tea, water.
We’ll gather in the hotel for an illustrated talk on the colorful and evocative political murals of Belfast, delivered by a local expert. The political mural tradition in the north of Ireland is more than a century old, and the lecture will trace the history of this distinctive form of political expression from the earliest examples — painted before the War of Independence, by loyalists who supported British rule — to its heyday in the 1980s and 1990s, and more recent murals painted since the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. After the lecture, we’ll walk to Belfast’s City Hall for a docent-led field trip. We’ll discover more of Belfast’s fascinating history as we explore this grand 1906 Baroque Revival building, and gain an insight into its links with the ill-fated ocean liner Titanic. We’ll board a motorcoach after our field trip, and ride to our lunch venue.
At a local restaurant, we’ll have a plated lunch with coffee, tea, water included; other beverages available for purchase.
It has been said that a city can be defined by its taxi drivers and nowhere is this truer than in Belfast. Via the renowned Black Taxis, we will ride to see the colorful and evocative murals of West Belfast with commentary by the local expert taxi drivers, stopping at some of the most significant to hear further explanations and take photos.
At the Titanic Hotel, located in the former headquarters of Harland & Wolff, we’ll enjoy a 3-course plated and served candle-lit dinner with coffee, tea, water included; other beverages available for purchase. A local expert will deliver a talk as we dine.
During dinner, our host will deliver a talk on the history of industry in Belfast. We’ll linger over dinner to enjoy the conversation and camaraderie. After returning to the hotel by motorcoach, the remainder of the evening is at leisure.