Parliament Buildings, Stormont, Belfast

This is another of those places which we frequently pass but have not stopped at for many years. It's a really imposing building and the grounds are beautifully kept.

We'll have to come back soon and have a look around inside as we've never been in there yet. This photo is not even centred properly because I caught sight of the magnificent St. Bernard (bottom photo) coming across the road and lost concentration!

Lord Carson

 Reconciliation statue

The Gleaner

I just can't pass a dog!

Scrabo Tower, Newtownards, Co. Down

 Meet Trixie :) I just can't resist a cute little dog when I'm out for a walk and  they don't come much cuter than Trixie with her gorgeous red collar and cosy jumper!

 We went for a walk up the hill to Scrabo Tower, just outside Newtownards in Co. Down this afternoon and the scenery was beautiful. 

 You can see how tall the tower really is when you see the person standing at the bottom left.

 We stood for a while at the top watching the little planes taking off and landing at Newtownards airport.

 Trixie's owners pointed out Islandhill in the photo above as another good place for a walk. By the time we finished admiring the view up at Scrabo and got to Islandhill we decided to leave  the walk to another day - hopefully soon, as it looked lovely.

View from the carpark at Islandhill.

Titanic Centre, Belfast and the Nomadic

We took the day off a couple of weeks ago as it was David's birthday and finally made it to the Titanic Centre in Belfast!I meet people every couple of weeks from all over Ireland and beyond who have all visited this centre and were amazed that I'd never been, even though It's only about 15 minutes from home. As many of you know, David and I were working together in Belfast for quite a bit of the time when the centre was being built and passed the site twice a day. I used to say that I'd be in there as soon as it opened! Then, it was just so busy that we thought we'd wait till the crowds died down - well, that's almost 5 years ago and we only made it this month!! 

When it got the award for being the world's best tourist attraction earlier this month we decided we;d go for David's birthday :) We had a lovely day :)

The photo above shows the cranes of Harland and Wolff (and for the crafters among you - that's the Titanic Exhibition Centre to the left, where the craft shows, among other things, are now held)

 With the birthday boy :)

Andrew -who treated us to a lovely turkey dinner before the Titanic tour :)

 There's just so much history (including so much of the history of Belfast which is so relevant to my family) captured inside this building that it's difficult to take it in in one day - that's why it was dark when we came out! Now we'll definitely have to go back to have a second helping. My photos do not in any way do this place justice.

When we lwft the Titanic building we also had a tour of the Nomadic which is docked on the Lagan.

The Nomadic

Belfast City Hall and Christmas market

Gideons Green and the White House , Newtownabbey

 The White House

 Belfast Lough from Hazelbank

 Photobombed by a passing Schnauzer! I was just trying to grab a quick photo of David with our car in the background and this very friendly dog ran in to the photo. 

 Always making memories :)