Wanderlust - Northern Ireland Edition

Many moons ago while doing my graduate work I applied to present at an Olympic Conference in London, England. This was in 2010 while London was ramping up to host the summer games in 2012. 

My application was accepted and so the planning began. Of course the way we travel we never go to just one location. This trip was no exception. We loved our time in London and totally geeked out over the Olympic Park and visiting lots of the big sites like Windsor Castle, Tower Bridge, Big Ben, Parliament and Kings Cross Station to see Platform 9 3/4.

So we started looking around at side trips. If you have ever been to Europe flying around on the low cost airlines can give you so many options for not much money. We found roundtrip flights from London Stanstead Airport to Dublin, Ireland for about $40 a person. Neither of us had been to Ireland...sssooooooo off we go with as much crap as one person can stuff into a small backpack. 




TRAVEL TIP!!! Ziplock bags and rolling clothes can save you space! Also if you can layer. And then layer again. These airlines can be very serious about the size limit for your carry on and paying to check a bag can cost more than your seat on the plane.

A good portion of my ancestors came from Ireland. We went in late May and let me tell you the North Atlantic is no joke and while we lucked out and had beautiful sunny days, they were still chilly with the wind coming off of the ocean.

Oh and renting a car and driving in Ireland...just be prepared. Turning. Roundabouts. Sheep (actually we got stopped by cows). Non existent shoulders...they were either cliffs, rock walls, or rock walls covered in shrubbery. Also people native drivers barrelling at you on the wrong side. As a passenger you also experience another form of terror...you are sitting where a steering wheel and pedals should be, but aren't. It is a bizarre adventure.

This entry will only touch on a brief portion of the trip, because if I talked about the whole thing it would end up being a novel and nobody got time for that while reading a blog.

We rented a car in Dublin and headed north. We had a hostile in Belfast calling our name and we were on our way...cautiously because well you know driving in a manner we were not accustomed. 

Traveling in Europe across countries since the joining of the European Union is interesting because sometimes you have no idea you have entered another country. This was the case passing from Ireland into Northern Ireland...we had no idea until we saw the Great British flags flying...surprise and welcome to another country! It reminds me of driving from say Ohio to Pennsylvania, except there are usually signs along the highway.
First stop a pint of course. And we rolled in like a couple of insane foreigners and drank the sweet dark nectar of Dublin. If you find yourself in Belfast, and I hope you do, go to the Crown Liquor Saloon and take up a stool and just take it all in...this gorgeous old gin joint.

I didn't realize it until after I took the picture...yep my photographic genius captured Ass Whiskies...

While we were in Northern Ireland I was finishing my last few projects for my grad degree...just be aware, most European coffees are very different and Americano is not always a good thing oh and water in many places is flat or sparkling. I found a love for sparkling water, but many people are not so keen. Flat is like tap water.

Our Ireland trip was part planned and part free-form. We knew we wanted to see Giant's Causeway but a few other places were a very happy serendipity.
We were unprepared for the magnitude and beauty of Giant's Causeway (<<<want to learn more...click the name). Giant's Causeway is named for Finn McCool (<<<brush up on your mythical story) and his epic battle with a Scottish giant named Benandonner.
There is also a much more scientific explanation which involves an ancient volcano and the resulting hexagonal basalt columns left behind, but I will let you form your own opinions on how it got there.
This place is magical. Green clifftops followed by gorse (see picture - yellow flowering scrubby bushes) covered cliff sides and then you turn a corner and all you see is these amazing hexagonal columns packed together like a huge puzzle created ages ago in violence and now they stand there flowing into the sea and beckon you to just stay a while.

Heading to Giant's Causeway 

The coast of Northern Ireland is stunning. Green cliffs leading to the North Atlantic...islands and birds and a whole lot of magical views.

 The trail out to Giant's Causeway is a fairly easy hike and slightly picturesque. 

This is gorse...it was everywhere and in full bloom while we were in Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Show off.
Then you turn a corner and start to see the columns. They seem to stretch on forever...as you get closer they get even more amazing.

The perfection. The simple repeating beauty.

You can easily see where the legend of Finn McCool came from as the columns disappear into the sea.

It isn't a stretch to think giants fought here.

After spending some time here and soaking up the energy this amazing place offers off we went still trying to get the hang of driving on the other side of the road and not harm sheep or man or the rental car.

Oh wait...is that a random castle just hanging out on this gorgeous cliff. Why yes it is. Stop the car!

Serendipity. Castle. No real safety guidelines and no one to stop us from wandering around and wondering what this place must have been a couple hundred years ago.
I give you Dunluce Castle (<<<<Learn more).

I will end on this gorgeous note...
If Northern Ireland is not on your list, it should be. 

Other serendipities in Northern Ireland: Bushmills (closed because it was a Sunday) and Belfast Castle pictured below.