A Titanic trip to Belfast - if it's good enough for Joe Biden...

Ah, give me the romance of a train ride over a customised state-of-the-art aircraft any day! The soft chug of the carriage, the relaxing options of both parents reading, drinking coffee (brought from the station, no trolley service for us at the time of typing, Biden wouldn’t have to put up with this nonsense) the three kids playing actual physical cards, rather than an online version, no Google maps bossing us around, telling us we missed the turnoff.

All this comes to an abrupt halt in Thurles when we are unceremoniously packed onto a dreary bus that brings us as far as Portlaoise, where we restart our rail adventure to Heuston. It would be akin to ushering Joe off the jet and onto a Ryanair Boeing.

But because we’re cool and chill, we go with the flow, it’s all part of the adventure. We hoof it on to the Luas from Heuston to Connolly and are back on track, if you pardon the pun, on the Enterprise service to Belfast in the lap of luxury all the way to Layton Station.

The boys love the Luas and the craic and the buzz of the train stations. It gives my wizened, jaded old soul a right perk up. First experiences are to be treasured and we enjoy watching the boys’ excitement over the thrill of travel, all of us backpacked and buzzing, it feels like a proper adventure. We vow to leave the car at home more often.

From Layton Place, it’s literally a three-minute walk to the Hilton where we’re staying for two nights. We get settled in and look out the windows, there’s an impressive view of the city and from here we can see The Grand Central, where Joe and his crew are staying.

“Ah, but can he do this in his room?” asks Scott the gymnast and disgruntled bunk dweller, as he executes a pretty impressive forward roll on his hotel double bed.

“No, he can’t, love,” I say encouragingly, pushing a mental image of an 80-year-old leader of the Free World cracking a vertebra out of my head.

Things to do

The main reason we’ve come to Belfast on a family trip (besides to brag about being there the same time as Biden) is because Scott is fond of the Titanic. In the same way that Biden is fond of Ireland. The enthusiasm and interest is endearing, he’s read about it, watched movies about it, and will talk about it with relish and authority while you nod and smile benignly and think it’s sweet he has feels such a connection to something that’s become a romantic, fantastical place in his head, and worry he’ll find the reality more mundane. But enough about Biden.

Scott’s birthday wish was to go to the Titanic Experience and because he is a child born in the era of gratification and indulgence, his wish is our command. To be fair, he first asked to go for his sixth birthday, but a global pandemic kicking off within days of your birthday has its consequences and we were able to fob him off until 2023.

The Titanic Experience

“Experience” is the word. It blew us away. We were awestruck before we even set foot inside, as we made our way along the Titanic Slipways, the Harland & Wolff Drawing Offices, and Hamilton Graving Dock where the unsinkable ship was designed, built, and launched.

You get to relive the story of Titanic from her conception, through her construction and launch, to her maiden voyage and place in history. It’s just had a £4.5m upgrade, and there’s four new themed galleries. You really are immersed in the story from the get-go.  I find myself welling up at one point, it’s very touching.

One of the new centrepieces is an illuminated 7.6m long scale model of RMS Titanic suspended rotating from the ceiling. The wow-factor in the whole place is off the scale. And of course we got a picture of us all doing our Rose and Jack impressions at a pretend prow. Kate Winslet, eat your heart out. Give yourself plenty of time here, it’s worth it.

• titanicbelfast.com

Indoor skydiving

Across the road in the Titanic Quarter is We are Vertigo, where we are booked in for an indoor skydiving session. What a laugh! We went from singing Celine Dion’s classic to Westlife’s ‘Flying Without Wings’. We get suited up, ear plugs, goggles, hair net, helmet, and one by one we pop into a tube that blasts 120m/h wind from below.

The boys are brilliant at it, I am last to go and determined to follow the instructions to a tee. Relax, chin up, legs straight, arms bent at an angle in front of your face. I do bump into the glass every now and then, and the wind does puff out my cheeks even more than usual, but I think my family quite cruel to be falling around the place in mirth. “You looked like Dory!” wheezes the 11-year-old. We’ll see how hard he’s laughing when he’s left out of the will. 

It was an exhilarating experience, hardcore mocking aside, and as it’s the only one in Ireland, don’t leave Belfast without trying it. There’s also an inflatable park and a Ninja Master Course should you feel the urge. I fell at the first punch-bag zipline, so let the lads fight it out through rolling logs, jungle bars, and the final wall. Great family fun.

• wearevertigo.com

Open-top bus tour

We are late taking off on our City Sightseeing Belfast Bus Tour because the presidential motorcade has most of the streets closed for a little bit while he glides through. Thanks a lot, Joe. 

It’s a novel way to see the city, you can hop on and hop off and our trip brings us from City Hall through the peace lines, past murals and remembrance gardens, Crumlin Road Gaol, Golden Mile, the Queen’s University and we even go back down to the Titanic quarter, sure we’re nearly locals there.

The guided tour points out unique features, like John Kindness’s ceramic Big Fish sculpture and The Beacon of Hope, aka ‘The Thing with the Ring’ sculpture. The full tour lasts around 90 minutes.

• citytoursbelfast.com

Where to eat

• For a great selection of burgers, the best cookie dessert ever, a magic mojito, and lots of lovely sides, Buba in the very cool Cathedral Quarter is worth a visit.
• We went for lunch in Drawing Office Two bar and grill in the Titanic Hotel, the hotel is based in the former headquarters of Harland and Wolff, builders of the RMS Titanic. Stunning surroundings and a great menu.
• Coppi restaurant is a cichetti bacari restaurant inspired by those found in Venice and named after cycling legend Angelo Fausto Coppi. Lovely beers, amazing Italian food, and achingly cool, it’s well worth a visit. The kids' menu was ridiculously good value.

Where to stay

We got two interconnecting family rooms at the Hilton. You can’t miss it, it’s an iconic part of the Belfast skyline and the first international hotel to open there. We have very cool views over the River Lagan. We spy all the hustle and bustle on the streets around the Biden visit too. A great base to explore the city.

• For more information, visit discovernorthernireland.com