Samantha Brown's Places to Love

-I'm in a country that is equal parts, beauty, history, and culture, where a vibrant capital city leads the way to a magnificent coastline of charming villages, working castles, and epic beaches.

It's a destination both off the beaten path and a European hotspot, where the feeling of the familiar is mixed with something totally new.

It's where chatting up the locals is a national pastime and music always in session.

I'm in Belfast and the Antrim Coast of Northern Ireland.

[ Upbeat tune plays ] I'm Samantha Brown and I've traveled all over this world.

And I'm always looking to find the destinations, the experiences, and, most importantly, the people who make us feel like we're really a part of a place.

That's why I have a love of travel and why these are my places to love.

Samantha Brown's "Places to Love" is made possible by... -Exploring the world for over 150 years.

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-I've been to Ireland many times, but this is my first time to Belfast, and it's going to be the starting point of an adventure that is going to take me up the Antrim Coast of Northern Ireland.

I have a lot of history to catch up on, but that's not going to be a problem.

-People tend to come to Belfast with massive misconceptions.

So I like to take them around the city and break down those misconceptions.

This here is Belfast City Hall coming up on the right.

Over on the left is the Ten Square Hotel.

And that was quoted by Cosmopolitan magazine as one of the top-10 sexiest hotels.

-[ Laughs ] -I'm Billy Scott.

I am from Belfast, born, bred, and some say battered.

-Billy has been giving tours for 20 years.

Black Taxi Tours give you both the physical and historical orientation of a very famous city.

-Led Zeppelin came here in 1971 -- Ulster Hall.

That's where they played "Stairway to Heaven" for the very first time.

-Wow.

-Now, This is Queen's Quarter, 'cause that's Queen's University just on the left-hand side there.

-Oh, my gosh.

That's beautiful!

-One of the most highly respected universities certainly in the U.K. One of the highly respected in the world, too.

There's got to be 25,000 students full time.

C.S.

Lewis -- his mother was one of the first female graduates out of the university here.

She graduated in mathematics.

-So not only is C.S.

Lewis Irish, he's from Belfast.

I actually always thought that C.S.

Lewis was... Don't say it, Sam.

Just don't.

...English.

I apologize.

-There was a man called Martin from here.

-Okay.

-And he invented ejector seat.

-The ejector seat?

Well, now you're making me nervous.

-Don't worry about that.

You have to pay before you get ejected.

-[ Laughs ] No tour of Belfast is complete without a visit to the Falls Road area, epicenter of the sectarian conflict of the '70s and '80s.

Being right here now at the peace walls, you really take in for the enormity of it, right?

I mean, I'm just used to seeing pictures.

-Okay.

-I didn't realize how long they stretched and how high they are.

It's really emotional.

-And that's very sad that, in the 21st century, you have these massive barriers separating people from what is basically one community.

Like, the people on this side here, you know, they're from Belfast.

People on that side are from Belfast.

They're Christian, they're Christian.

They want a good healthcare, they want a good healthcare.

They want a good education, they want a good education.

They all support Manchester United, you know?

So they've got so much in common.

What we're trying to do is, instead of having walls, is put shopping centers and act as a buffer zone between the two sides.

-Everyone loves shopping.

-Certainly.

And because what you do then, the workforce has to be from both sides of the community.

-Right, right.

-So then people are working together, shopping together.

-You create that common -- that community.

-Then you start breaking down the mental barriers and then pull down those physical barriers between the two sides.

-Now, it seems like a lot of people are writing messages of peace on the peace wall to -- -And it's from every corner of the world.

-Yeah.

-Hey, there's a pen.

Do you want to have a crack at it?

Write your -- express yourself on the wall.

-I have to admit, I was feeling totally inadequate to write a meaningful message about what is still a very sensitive and emotional subject.

-You've also vandalized British government property.

-[ Laughs ] -I think what I like to do is, when people do come here, I take them 'round, tell them the story of Belfast, and then build the confidence in them and let them go off and explore on their own.

-I love how, when you walk down the stairs, you have a decision to make.

You can either get a tattoo or a piercing or have a chocolate and cannoli.

For me, the decision was really easy.

[ Both laugh ] -For me, too.

-But chocolate just makes people smile.

Is there something about having a chocolate shop that you wanted to not only make something that you loved, but kind of spread that love and kindness?

-Because we've been so used to commercial chocolate that what we have forgotten is that chocolate in its truest form, you know, it is such a good food for our bodies.

Once you taste fresh chocolate, the taste is just mind-blowing.

-And this hot chocolate that I'm about to take my first sip of has actually won an award.

It's a gold medalist.

-With the quality of the chocolate that we work with, so whenever we decided -- -Oh, my gosh!

-[ Laughs ] -That is phenomenal!

Deirdre's place was the first high-end chocolate shop to open in Northern Ireland.

-And our chocolate that we source is from Madagascar.

And this is actually a pod from Madagascar.

I was lucky enough to visit the plantations in 2016.

This is what they call a Trinitario pod.

But it is a mixture between this pod here, which is the Criollo, which is the finest, finest chocolate that you can ever get -- And you'll see with the lines running down.

The beans from this are phenomenal.

-And when you get your chocolate, your source of chocolate, does it come like this and then -- -It comes like this, and then we make it into this.

Then that's our powder.

So, there's literally four ingredients in this, and that's the cocoa mass, cocoa butter -- So, that makes up the cocoa bean.

And then we have sea salt and sugar.

[ Whirring, hissing ] Chocolate, when it's working, it does not tolerate chaos.

Any chaos at all, the chocolate reacts.

It really reacts with energy.

So you have to have everything very calm.

-Oh, I love that.

-I know.

-It feels the bad energy.

-I mean, it's magic.

-Yeah.

[ Grinding, clanging ] -This area that we're in now would have been a hive of activity.

We would have had vessels out in the loch sounding their horns.

There would have been shouts of the workmen, hammering the riveting that would have gone on.

I'm Maureen McKinney and I'm the vice chair of the Belfast Titanic Society.

The aim of the Belfast Titanic Society is to perpetuate the memory of the Titanic.

And we also continue to have memorials each 15th of April, where we commemorate the lost who went down in the sinking.

This is the slipway from which Titanic was built, and she would have been launched from here.

-How many men would have been working on the ship right here in the slipway?

-Roughly 3,000 men and women worked on her construction.

-Wow.

-Everyone from the designers through to the riveters to the joiners to the shipwrights and the very man, then, who pulled the launch and trigger to put the vessel in the water.

-But, also, all the luxury we know so much about, like the furniture, the balustrades, everything, the tilework would have been put in place here in Belfast, too?

-The lifeboats were even constructed within the shipyard, too.

There was very little that was actually tendered out to anyone else.

-This area of the city is appropriately named Titanic Quarter, one of Europe's largest urban waterfront-regeneration projects, which pays tribute to the city's maritime and industrial past.

The stunning centerpiece is Titanic Belfast.

And off to the side, a gem -- the SS Nomadic, built as a tender to the Titanic and the last remaining vessel of the White Star Line.

-I'm deeply interested in learning more about Belfast shipbuilding, but my overriding passion is to learn more about the men and women who built the vessels.

One of those included my grandfather.

My grandfather used these tools when he worked on the Titanic's construction.

And it's not inconceivable that he would have also worked on this vessel, too.

-So, how old are these tools, then?

-He was born in 1885, so they probably date from 1900.

Each tool has his name engraved in it.

If they got lost or stolen, they could be returned to their rightful owner.

My grandfather was a joiner for 55 years.

-We so often hear about how people felt about all the lives lost in the Titanic, but we rarely concentrate on the people who actually built the Titanic, seeing what they worked on being lost.

-There was an incredible shock when the news reached Belfast.

Naturally, they were devastated for the loss of the great number of people's lives, but the idea that, on the maiden voyage, their handiwork that they had spent months and years -- they put their heart and soul into it -- was lying at the bottom of the ocean, 2 miles on the ocean floor, it was as if there was nearly a sense of shame about it.

-A subject that was once taboo can now be celebrated.

Another gem still intact, the offices of Harland & Wolff, now a hotel.

The Titanic was built, it was launched, but it was also designed here.

-These are the former drawing offices, which is the central heartbeat of the shipyard, where the plans were drawn up by the draftsmen.

The high vaulted ceiling and the windows meant it was the optimum light to come in.

There would have been rows of desks that the men would have worked out on the plans, and then there would have been lady tracers, who would have taken those plans and traced them out onto sheets of paper.

No photocopying in those days.

-[ Laughs ] -We're in the historic Presentation Room, where prospective buyers would be shown plans, paintings, and models to get them to order a ship.

Even luxury furniture sets were a part of the sell.

-There are a few pieces available over here that were made by one of Harland & Wolff's cabinetmakers, using the same tools like my grandfather in making these beautiful masterpieces that are in the room today.

After the early '90s, there was a resurgence of interest in the ship.

And unlike other parts of the world that commemorate the disaster, we in Belfast are able to celebrate the great engineering achievements and the craftsmanship, including those of my grandfather, who I'm proud to say worked on Titanic's construction.

[ Upbeat folk music playing ] -I've always thought that the term "traditional Irish music" was so unbelievably generic for what we get, right?

You get something that is passionate and spirited and full of culture and history.

As a traveler, I'm never getting a watered-down version.

Do you feel that when you're playing for an audience?

Do you know when an audience is made up of travelers or locals?

Do you play differently?

-There's a couple of ways that people consume traditional Irish music.

One is going to a show, and a session, like you're just sitting around in a bar, basically playing tunes around a table and having a wee drink.

And that's a totally different experience, because you're not actually playing for the audience at that point.

You're just playing amongst yourselves.

-Oh!

-You would play slightly differently.

[ Music continues ] Sessions are very, very welcoming and they're very egalitarian, so you get people of all ages and all abilities, you know.

So you could be sitting there with one of your musical heroes, and, you know, you just get to play with the most amazing people.

So it's very welcoming and very friendly that way.

Basically, anybody can join in, but you have to know what you're doing.

-Why did you gravitate towards the harp?

-I have no idea.

I wanted to play the fiddle first.

-Mm-hmm.

-And then I saw somebody playing the harp and I was just sold.

So, I really love it because you can accompany yourself, as well, so you've got the bass going on, too.

And -- I don't know.

I just never grew tired of it.

-Is that some type of accordion?

I'm sorry.

I don't -- -Sort of.

It's a concertina.

So, it's a variation of the accordion.

And the difference being that with an accordion, if you're right-handed, you play all the melody with one hand.

With this, you actually play on both hands.

It's loud and it cuts through in sessions.

And, yes, it is portable.

It does fit under the airplane seats.

It's great for traveling.

-And then you win for the oddest-looking instrument.

[ Laughter ] -These are called the uilleann pipes.

And it comes from the Irish word uillinn, for "elbow."

And when I play, I have a lot of elbows going on, you know?

[ Music continues ] They say it's one of the most difficult instruments in the world to play.

I suppose that the most difficult thing about these -- you've got seven reeds in them, so you're trying to keep seven reeds in tune with each other.

-Oh, my gosh.

-And then they are affected by cold, heat, damp, dry, attitude.

[ Laughter ] -The attitude is always high in an Irish pub listening to traditional music.

Nice.

Wow.

[ Cheers and applause ] Not even an hour outside of Belfast is the magnificent Antrim Coast.

Sea cliffs rise to meet remnants of eras long past and where you'll find medieval castles in ruin... and very much standing.

I plan on enjoying tea at the Glenarm Castle, but before I embarrass myself not knowing which forks to use, I have work to do.

-These stones built the castle, built all the surrounding walls.

Over 10 miles of walls.

And there's over 14, 15 miles of built walls.

-So I've got a lot of work ahead of me.

Is that what you're saying?

-We've got a long day.

[ Both laugh ] A very long day.

I'm Nathan Morrow.

I'm a stonemason in the Glenarm glen.

I'm responsible for all the estate's management for masonry.

So, we've got our little stones, which can be pegs or wedges.

-Mm-hmm.

-A peg is something that's not structural.

-Mm-hmm.

I see.

-It just fills a hole.

-Got it.

-And a wedge is something that is structural.

-Ah!

Alright.

Balances it.

Okay, 'cause this is a big guy.

-Yeah.

-Wow.

All right.

-So, the center is called a heart, and the heart is the most precious thing of everything.

-Oh, geez.

The Irish.

They're so good.

-Sometimes.

-They're so good.

I've always wanted to learn how to build a stone wall.

[ Cows mooing ] And I don't appreciate being heckled.

We're talking here.

We're trying to -- He's trying to teach me how to build a rock wall.

Could you keep it down?!

[ Mooing continues ] -These guys and that guy is the reason why these walls need maintained -- the big bull.

-Oh, I'm not going to yell at that guy.

-Actually, Barney is a big softy.

-Is -- Oh, Barn-- Barney the bull.

-Barney the bull.

He's a big softy.

-Now that Barney is safe, it's time to head indoors and enjoy a real castle, where the current Earl of Antrim and his family still reside.

-Afternoon, Samantha.

-Hello.

How are you?

Oh!

Very nice.

-Welcome to the home of the Earls of Antrim.

-How many earls were there?

-Well, this castle was built by the first earl.

It's now home to the 15th Earl of Antrim.

-Wow!

George Lynn, the butler, likes to show visitors an actual treasure chest from the wreck of a ship in the Spanish Armada from 1588.

-This is the key of it.

-No!

-Yes.

Isn't it wonderful?

-Oh!

-Will I help you with it?

-Does this mean I'm not a queen or a princess?

I don't get the gold, do I?

-You're not gonna get the gold, yes.

Will I just...

There we are.

-Oh, my gosh.

-There's a knack to it.

-Okay.

-Okay.

Have you got it?

-Oh!

[ Laughs ] -There we are.

-[ Laughs ] Is that -- Are those wigs?

Inside, the family keeps their Halloween costumes.

[ Chuckles ] Nobility.

They're just like us.

Both Nathan and I cleaned up nicely.

And joining us is Adrian Morrow, the grounds manager who grew up on the property.

-And this is our Castle Blend tea.

Yes.

There we are.

And a little hot water.

-You're gonna spoil us today, George.

-Oh, thank you.

I'll just get in a little sea breeze and get things started.

-Thank you.

Do I pour this myself, or do I wait for George?

-[ Laughs ] -Nope.

Castle protocol -- George pours.

And now that the tea was flowing, conversation could, too.

Adrian, how long have you been here?

-About 40 years.

My father started here as the chauffeur in 1960.

On his first morning to work, there was a Rolls-Royce at the front door, and the earl hopped into the back of the Rolls-Royce and told my father that he was going to be driving them to Dublin.

So my father managed to get the car started up okay.

When I got round to the main gate at the back, he says, "Excuse me, your Lordship.

Do you -- Do you turn left or turn right for Dublin?"

-[ Laughs ] -He'd never been out of Glenarm in his life before.

-[ Laughing ] Oh, my gosh.

-So the old Lord said, "I'll drive.

You hop in the back."

So he actually chauffeured my father the whole way to Dublin.

[ Laughter ] -This is beautiful.

And I imagine it takes a lot of work to maintain.

And as the estate manager, what are you responsible for?

Is it just the physical property that we're in right now or the whole shebang?

-No, the whole shebang, right across the board.

We've got our farm and all the land.

We've got our gardeners, so... -There's so much learning involved in the conservation around the estate.

-Mm-hmm.

-[ Speaks indistinctly ] That's why I'm sitting at high tea.

-Glenarm Castle is open to the public for tours, attracting 100,000 visitors a year.

Now, not everyone gets an invitation from the Earl of Antrim for high tea.

But a few steps away from the castle is a shop filled with slightly less formal delights.

I heard there was homemade ice cream here and... -Yep, lots of it.

-Have to try this.

Homemade using the milk from the local cows?

-Yeah.

-And are those your -- your girls right there?

-Yeah.

Those are the cows on the wall, yeah.

-Oh, my gosh.

Well, I would love to -- Oh, do you do samples?

-Yeah, of course.

-Mmm!

Oh!

[ Laughs ] Oh, wow.

I think I just mooed.

-[ Laughs ] -I went, "Mmmmm!"

-There you go.

-Thank you very much.

-No problem.

-Tell the girls thank you as well.

-I will.

Thank you.

Bye.

-As lovely as it is sampling homegrown ice cream on the grounds of an elegant 400-year-old castle, there's an extraordinary natural wonder on the northernmost coast of Ireland that I have to see.

-I love this place.

It's a stunning landscape.

It's a fantastic place to lose yourself in nature.

And it's a wonderful place to meet lots of people from all over the world.

I'm Johnny Little, and I'm a storyteller here at the Giant's Causeway at the National Trust.

-I've never seen anything like this in the world, which makes sense because there is nothing like this in the world.

-No, this is a unique place, and it's my office.

The National Trust is part of Europe's largest conservation charity.

We've been around since 1895, and it's our job to help keep these special places special for future generations to enjoy.

-What are we walking on?

Not just merely stones.

-We're walking on basalt formed here about 60 million years ago.

Tectonic plates of hardened magma from below flowed up, and whenever it cooled, we ended up with basalt.

-But that happened in a lot of places.

-It did.

-It doesn't look like this.

-This area was at one stage a river basin, and that allowed the lava to flow in and cool much more slowly.

And as it did, it cracked and started to form this wonderful structure that we're standing on right now.

-What do you call them?

Spires or -- -The geological term -- basalt columns.

-Are these columns as well?

Am I standing on a column right here?

-These are columns going right the way down below our feet here and actually probably down below sea level where we're standing currently.

-Has anyone counted how many columns?

-That's your first job that you do on your first day working at the National Trust at the Giant's Causeway.

You're sent out before the sun rises with a torch, and you count the 40,000 columns that we have.

-And if there are 5,000 missing?

-Then we have to report that back to the National Trust.

So this causeway is called the Middle Causeway... -Okay.

-...which locals still call the Honeycomb because of its honeycomb shape.

-Sure.

Johnny, I'm kind of, like, amazed that we just get to walk on this.

This is -- This is okay to do?

-Yep, yep.

Basalt is a very, very, very hard rock.

This pathway that you're taking up has probably been taken by tens of millions of sets of feet.

And all that that has done to the stones is give them a little sheen.

-Wow!

[ Gasps ] This is fantastic.

Oh, my gosh.

It's -- It's like a playground.

-Exactly.

It's a playground for big kids.

-[ Laughing ] It's a playground for big kids.

It's so much fun.

And on a gorgeous day like today, all of the coast of Northern Ireland becomes a playground for kids big, small, and in between.

-Ahhh!

-Perfect.

It's called the blokart It was designed in New Zealand.

Anybody can steer it, it's very friendly-family, and it packs all down into a very, very small bag.

-Totally wind-powered.

-Totally wind-powered.

-I-I have a fear of being on the ocean or in the ocean, so I've never parasailed.

I-I -- sailing I'm okay with.

-Yeah.

-This is fun.

-Yeah.

-It combines all the thrill of feeling that wind hit the sail and just move you, and yet I am on terra firma, which I love.

-Yes.

Well, that's it.

Your feet and all's inside the tray, so it really is very, very safe for all ages of the family.

-Off you go.

-[ Chuckles ] Whoo!

-As a native of Belfast, I can thoroughly recommend coming here.

We may not always have the warm, sunny skies, but what we lack in the warm weather, we more than make up with the people.

There is the food, the drink, the sights, and the sounds of the city and the wonderful heritage that we have here.

-I would love for more people around the world to come back to what call the Motherland.

You're gonna find cultural ruggedness.

You're gonna find just happy people.

It really shows exactly what Ireland's about.

-You say to somebody, "What do you love about your city?"

They say, "Ah, it's like a duvet I wrap around myself."

No, Belfast doesn't like that there.

Belfast's like your mate that comes along and takes you out for a pint or something and then whenever you fall in your face, laughs at you, but puts down his hand to lift you up again, so he does, you know?

And he'll lend you a couple of quid whenever you're skint.

And that's what Belfast is to me, you know?

-When walls meant to separate show us all that we have in common, when the people take time to show you who they are... -Perfect.

-...when a place feels familiar, but the experience is totally new, that is when we share a love of travel.

And that is why Belfast and the Antrim coast of Northern Ireland is a place to love.

For more information about this and other episodes, destination guides, or links to follow me on social media, log on to placestolove.com.

Samantha Brown's "Places to Love" was made possible by... -The world is full of breathtaking destinations and experiences.

AAA wants to help turn vacation dreams into reality.

Wherever you want to go, AAA has services to help you before, during, and after your trip.

Learn more at AAA.com/LIVETV.

-The endless deserts, canyons, and stunning vistas between Denver and Moab deserve to be traveled.

Rocky Mountaineer.

Proud sponsor of "Places to Love."

-Exploring the world for over 150 years.

Guests cruise to nearly 400 ports of call around the globe, exploring over 100 countries.

Live music at sea fills each evening.

Dining venues feature selections from a Culinary Council of chefs.

Offering mid-sized ship experiences with handcrafted itineraries, personal service, and connections to the destinations guests visit.

[ Cheers and applause ]