So much of interest to experience in Belfast: Titanic exhibit, City Hall, west Belfast, Linen Hall Library, PRONI, walking tour past the Peace Wall and murals (look for where I signed my name on the picture of a sewing machine), drinking Guinness in old city pubs, etc. The list could go on, but IGSI tour time here is limited. The Belfast City Hall is impressive. I have to admit I felt a wee bit abashed as we walked in to take their (free!) tour. My husband Bill said, "This reminds me of the Capitol Building in St Paul." You see, tho' I've lived in Minnesota for over 27 years, I've never visited its Capitol, and Bill was tweaking me with his comment. For about half my years in Minnesota, I drove past the domed building twice daily, on my way to and from work in downtown St Paul, but I've never carved out the time for a Capitol tour. Now I found myself in Belfast touring its beautiful city hall. Construction of the Belfast City Hall began in 1896 - following Queen Victoria conferring the title of 'city' to Belfast in 1888 - and its doors opened on 1 August 1906. The grand entrance hall, staircase and landings use four types of marble, three from Italy and one from Greece. The principal dome rises to a height of approximately 173 feet. No wonder Bill mentioned a similarity to Minnesota's Capitol. The two structures were built during the same time period. Here's what I learned from Wikipedia: St Paul's first Capitol was destroyed by fire in 1881, and the second (completed in 1883) was almost immediately considered too small. Work was begun on the current Capitol Building in 1896 and completed in 1905. It was modeled after St Peter's Basilica in Rome. The unsupported marble dome is the second largest in the world, after St Peter's. Like all domes in the U.S., it was also inspired by the United States Capitol dome. Until the current three-year restoration project began in 2014, much of the St Paul Capitol building was open to daily tours. However, one interesting sight is rarely accessible: a cloakroom behind the House of Representatives chamber where the walls are painted to simulate a north woods forest. In one corner is a tiny four leaf clover, added by an Irish artist to remember his home island.