A Visit to Another Country!

Okay, so Northern Ireland isn't THAT different from the Republic of Ireland BUT I did have to use a different type of money so it counts in my book!  My first big accomplishment for the weekend was packing.  I think you will all be shocked and proud to know I packed for the ENTIRE weekend in my book bag!  I usually take at least two bags on weekends trips.  I also had to pack light enough that I could carry my entire weekend's worth of stuff around town all day on Sunday.  My pack wasn't too heavy Sunday morning when we left the hostel, but by the time we were walking to the train at 6:00 pm that night I felt like all I had packed were bricks!

Friday night, Natalia and I boarded the train at Drogheda (a town about 10 minutes north of Stamullen) at 7:30 pm and we were off!  It took about an hour and a half to get to Belfast and then the fun began.  Our first order of business was to find an ATM so we could get our hands on some sterling in order to pay for our hostel.  Bank of America has a partner bank in the UK, meaning I could use this other bank's ATM and not worry about any international fees.  Awesome right?  Well I'm convinced this bank doesn't exist because Natalia and I searched and never found it.  After walking around Belfast in the middle of the night (in the rain) and being pointed in the right direction to a not so "dodgy" part of town (as they put it) by some nice strangers, we settled on another ATM and just paid the fees.  We then had a 30 minute walk to our hostel but we found it and checked in without any problem!  Our hostel was okay, but nothing great.  The bathrooms weren't the cleanest I've ever seen but being Renee Muse's daughter I had shower shoes packed and ready to use!  We met Hailey close to midnight and we all went to bed shortly after since we had worked a full day before traveling.

Saturday morning we woke up, had a FREE breakfast at the hostel, and headed to our tour departure point.  We only got slightly lost and still arrived early.  We were able to get good seats behind the driver so we had great window views of the coastline the whole way to the Gaint's Causeway.  Our tour guide was great but he had a very heavy Scottish (at least I think it was Scottish) accent so I didn't understand everything he said.  The best part of our tour was that we traveled along the Coastline through the Glens of Antrim and the view was stunning literally the whole way!  We made several quick stops along the way before reaching our main destinations: The Carrick-A-Rede rope bridge and, of course, The Giant's Causeway.

Carrickfergus Castle was built in 1177

Carnalough Harbor

One of the many Glens in County Antrim

The coastline was breathtaking the entire drive to the Causway

Dunluce Castle, built sometime in the 13th century

Bushmills Distillery, the first licensed distillery in the world

The Carrick-A-Rede rope bridge is WAY up north next to the Giant's Causeway.  We had a 1 km walk to the rope bridge and I was actually a little disappointed by how small it was when we got there, but it was still scary!  The views from the tiny island the rope bridge connects to were worth the crossing.  We even saw part of Scotland!

It was a long way down

The bridge

Across the bridge on the island

Scotland in the distance!

Our final stop of the day... The Giant's Causeway!  There is a wonderful folktale about how and why the causeway was created but you'll have to look it up and read it for yourself because I can't do it justice!  I can't even explain how beautiful it was so you'll have to take a look:

After leaving the Causeway, I slept the ENITRE ride home (which was through inland Northern Ireland so I didn't miss many views, mainly some sheep) and we got back into Belfast around 7:30.  We ate dinner at an Irish version of a Salsarita's (thank god for Mexican in Ireland) and went to a pub close to our hostel for a pint before calling it a night.

The next morning we woke up early again and set off to explore Belfast and all it had to offer.  We walked around the city from 10 am until 4 pm when we had tickets to visit the Titanic center.  I think its safe to say we saw EVERYTHING Belfast has to offer.

The Botanic Gardens near Queen's University

City Hall

View of the skyline from Victoria Sq. Shopping Center

Lagan River

The Ring of Thanksgiving

Sampson and Goliath, the Howard and Wolff cranes used in the building of Titanic

Sir Albert Memorial Clock

Belfast's Big Fish

Stained Glass at St. Ann's Cathedral

At 4 pm we made our way to the Titanic Belfast museum.  Its a beautiful building dedicated to the history of the Titanic from its creation in Belfast to its sinking in the Atlantic.  A lot of the information I knew already, but it was interesting to hear how the Titanic was built in Belfast.  I had no idea that it was built in Northern Ireland until I arrived here.

Finally we boarded the train at 7 pm and headed home.  It was an exhausting weekend but I saw so much of Northern Ireland!  I can't wait for my next excursion which will hopefully be soon!