TITANIC

Yours truly madly went to the Big Smoke to meet up with the Yankee Doodle cousin and the Earl. What a treat. We stayed at the Europa and as per usual it was my little piece of heaven on earth. The beds are the most comfortable I have ever slept in and it would be real hard to get up in the morning if not for the call of the buffet breakfast. There is no way I'm going near the scales as we decided to push the boat out. No pun intended. Deane's Seafood restaurant on Howard Street is a wee dander from the hotel. It was a gastronomic delight but there just isn't enough grub for the price. £29.50 for a bottle of Riesling one could buy for a fiver in the offy is a tad OTT. The staff were very attentive, charming and knowledgeable about all the wines and food on offer and made my evening.

We stopped off at the LinenHall Library on the way to take a bus tour of the city on Saturday. It's a really lovely place to carry out research and the leather bound tomes are beautiful to hold. No matter how much technology progresses there will always be a place in my heart for a book.

The Concierge recommended the Red Bus Tour but it had just left and we took the Allen one as it was about to set off. What a titanic disaster. We got off at the Queen's University/Botanic Gardens/Ulster Museum stop and established the pick up time. At first I was disappointed with the museum's ground floor but as we progressed upwards I realised what a fantastic place it is. Many exhibits are reproductions and are amazingly lifelike. The guys had to drag me out. We were 10 minutes early for the pick-up. After half an hour standing in a brisk breeze we called Allen Tours and were told it would be another 30 minutes before the bus arrived. We elected to go into The Parlour to thaw out and no sooner had we sat down than the bus went past at speed. We eventually flagged one down as we were walking back to the hotel. The tour was way behind schedule and they were going so fast that we had to hold onto the bars otherwise we would have been tossed off our seats. If you go to Belfast to see the sights take the Red Bus Tour. They validate your ticket for 48 hours so you can get back on if you missed something or want to revisit a stop.

We went to Tony Roma's on University Road for dinner. Sticky Yum Yum. The ribs are to die for. The menu is in the American style and very good indeed. The meat fell off the ribs and the baked potato and coleslaw were delicious sides. Frank packaged my leftover ribs to take out when I got tired eating. The Earl got a burger that looked like a skyscraper. It was the first time he hasn't been able to clear his plate.

To cut a long trip short we went to see the Titanic Exhibition and I blubbed the whole way round. It is very well done. I'm a tad uneasy about Belfast cashing in on the disaster that took the lives of 1517 people. Everywhere we went there was merchandise. I bought some things I thought were really nice, like a little Titanic Bell. It's a sad tale. So many good people perished and they proved to be very brave indeed. We should honour their sacrifice.