June 5, 2024
Back in Belfast
Today I got the news around 10:30 am in Cork, that I am scheduled to fly to Grand Canary, Spain at 3pm tomorrow and I can access my baggage on the ship, at noon before heading to the airport. I quickly packed up all my stuff at Edel's and had a quick goodbye, for now, because we are determined to meet up again soon, somewhere warm, so she can have a proper ship experience!
It then took me about 5 hours, to drive back to Belfast in my sporty Kia Rio rental; did I mention I got a standard transmission to make things more of a challenge and exciting! I haven't driven stick in roughly 30 years & add on the opposite side of the road driving! Party!! Poor Edel did a couple of body jerks while riding shotgun and not in control, over our week of touring.
I am staying at a different hotel downtown this time in Belfast and the picture above, the Protestant headquarters, is right outside my window. I am also just 2 hotels down from the famous Europa hotel, the most bombed hotel in the world! Good Karma right!
Late tonight I found out that our itinerary, once we set sail on the 15th, is also changed for first couple of days but it means I am going to miss hooking up with my dear friend Tom Powl in Hamburg, Germany. I talked to him tonight and sent new itinerary below and he is going to see if perhaps we could meet up at another point. I hope so, really would love to see him!
We spent our last day in Adelaide exploring the downtown. It was an easy and convenient, 1/2 hour train ride from the port into the CBD. The University had a lot of interesting architecture and it was a nice quiet Saturday to walk around. The River Torrens runs through the campus and provides a many pathways to enjoy.
In the parking lot of the Cube there was another bonus art installation, and this one was much better known by me, Dr. Seuss !
The d'Arenberg Cube in the famed Barossa Valley w as the draw for me here; the wine tasting was an added bonus! The 15M AUD Cube was built in 2017, from the vision of 4th generation winemaker, Chester Osbourn , who likened the solving of a Rubik's cube to winemaking. The avant garde glass, concrete and steel visitor center is 5 stories tall with the top floor tasting room offering panoramic views over the McLaren vale vineyards, the Willunga Hills and the Gulf St. Vincent . The other floors house the Alternate Realitites Museum , a contemporary art gallery, bars, a fine dining restaurant, a virtual reality experience and a wine sensory room. There is currently a Salvador Dali Universe exhibit on a 2 year lease, with some of the artist's sculptures and graphics.