Like I said before, I had NO IDEA that the Titanic was built in Belfast. And naturally Belfast has dedicated a huge chunk of the city to the ship, in an area called the Titanic Quarter. The building itself is awesome, particularly from afar where it looks like the front of four ships jotting out of the horizon. I balked at the £17.50 entrance fee and even questioned whether or not to pay it and go inside. That's a lot of money for something I'm not super interested in. But we paid and honestly it was worth every single cent. Or pence? Whatever UK. The museum is incredible! There are 4 floors taking you through each stage of the building process, through to interior decorating, the sinking, memorials for those who lost their lives, and then the discovery of the wreck on the ocean floor. They even had a ride that took you through the different jobs of those building the ships. The one that stood out most for me was the rivets that were bolted into the ship by hand. There were three teams for the rivets, one to heat each one up til they were red hot, the second who would catch the red hot rivet (while trying not to get it in his eye - which apparently happened a lot) and drive the rivet in the hole, and the third team who would bang the rivet in place from the other side.
Part of the ticket price included entrance to the SS Nomadic, a smaller ship that was used to ferry passengers from the mainland onto the Titanic. This is the only surviving ship of the White Star Line fleet. All the interiors had been restored to it's original designs, with a clear distinction of first and second class. And most importantly, they had clothes available for dress ups. Which we took advantage of at every opportunity. Who doesn't want to dress up as a fancy lady on board the mini Titanic?
Just call me Lady Waddington
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