Trip to Ireland - Day 4 - Giant's Causeway

 

I am in love with Ireland.

I am loving the British/Irish English too. :) I'm getting it from all sides. We have it from our Irish tour guide, Mark (who is fabulous).  I'm also in a car load of Australians and have lots of time to visit with them. I love it. I wish we spoke more like they do. It sounds more proper, intelligent, and charming. :)

 

So the dynamics in my group are interesting. Basically, what has happened is I'm the youngest and I now have 12 people watching out for me and they have all sort of adopted me. I sometimes feel like a little kid, but have had such wonderful conversations with most of them. Last night I spent the evening talking with this couple from Baltimore. They guessed pretty fast I was Mormon since I didn't have any alcohol at dinner. They seem to know a bit about us and respect us. They have really taken a liking to me and I seem to be in a lot of their photos.

We went and saw the Carrick-a-rede rope bridge this morning. It was very windy. I mean...walk sideways just to keep from falling over, windy. Everyone whimped out, so I was the only one to cross the bridge. It was quite sturdy and since I was the only one to do it, the rest took pictures of me. I mean I know these people are in there 50's and up, but most of them are in pretty good shape and are game for a lot of things, especially the Australians. But...they aren't quite as adventurous as maybe I think they should be. :-)

We saw the most amazing rainbow today. We even saw the end of it dip down into the ocean. I've never seen the end of the rainbow before. Quite what you'd expect, but still very cool.

We saw Giant's Causeway and was able to beat most of the tour buses there. It truly was an amazing site. The formations are just incredible! It rained and was very windy so I don't know if pictures turned out, but it was a lot of fun. It was blowing so hard we all couldn't help but just laugh. Ok, well the rest of the group had also had a tour of the whiskey distillery up the street so they were all extra happy. :) We ended up all pretty wet and wind blown, but it was worth it to be able to see that site.

 

 

We also stopped by an old castle called Dunluce. Part of it was quite old, but a lot of it had been restored. It was the first castle we've seen so far. I'm sure it will be the first of many. They are everywhere.

 

We're in a B&B tonight and it's just fabulous. Seriously, I feel like I'm staying in a 4 or 5 star place. Everybody has been so kind and the food is just wonderful. Nothing too fancy, but just warm and wonderful.

Freshly squeezed orange juice, muesli with yogurt and fresh strawberries. 

 

Traveling with a group tour has been interesting. I have enjoyed everything and everyone, don't get me wrong. But I do miss the freedom of pulling off and taking a picture or wandering here or there. While I am enjoying the luxuries of places we're staying, I miss the adventure it is when you get to rough it a bit more. I love eating only what's in your backpack and finding a hidden oasis you stumbled upon because you were wandering. It's been great fun to meet new people and make new friends. I'm excited for what the next few days hold, but I do miss the easy conversations you have with a good travel buddy. It's been good to learn that about myself. There's been a lot of that... Learning who I am when I'm in a foreign country on my own and what I like and don't like. It's been an opportunity I am grateful for.

I seriously can't believe how beautiful it is here. If green wasn't already my favorite color, it sure would be now. The fields dotted with sheep and cows are just breathtaking. Designs are made in the fields because they are separated by bush walls or rock walls. In some ways it is very peaceful here. In other ways you can feel the contention. It's quite interesting.

All of the signs were in English and Gaelic