Early Sunday Morning May 25

Early Sunday Morning

May 25

So here I find myself sitting in the quiet of Bebe's kitchen this morning catching up on my blog. I'm not a late sleeper, never have been. This is about my regular wake up time even when I've gone to bed on the late side, like last night after a few “jars”.

First, there is the business of what we did earlier in the day yesterday. After departing our B&B we headed out to do a portion of the Inishowen 100. It's a wonderful scenic drive all around the Inishowen Penninsula. Three years ago we did the entire drive all the way to Malin Head, so this was just a partial refresher. We did find a few new sights to explore, Inch Island, and Fort Dunree, on Lough Swilly. The fort was the biggest surprise. It was built in 1798 to guard against a French invasion and later used in WWI and WWI to guard against other invasions. It's always amazing when you build a fort into a rock outcropping. The day was clear and sunny and had some wonderful views. (I'm really frustrated that I cant post pictures of this but will do some as soon as I can.) This was just north of Buncrana and as far as we went for the day. We were already running late.

I met Bebe 3 years ago when I was in Ireland and attended a concert that she put together to support suicide prevention. The concert at the Millenium Forum was the third time she had organized this and was a real treat to be able to attend. There were many local talents and Damian McGinty was home from working on the Glee Project for this and also performed a song that Mickey Coleman had written for Bebe called “Miss You More Than Words Can Say.”

That chance meeting lead us to become Facebook friends and we've kept in touch ever since, and now Bebe has been kind enough to invite us to spend a night with her in the Bogside area of Derry. Just for a reference for those who have been here or know of the “Free Derry” sign. We are less than a block away and across a small side street from the memorial to those who lost their lives here during the troubles.

Now I'm not just saying this to impress her, but Bebe made us a wonderful Irish stew for dinner. And we also had some seafood chowder. While some of the local places we have eaten have had great food, there is nothing like a home cooked meal that comes from the heart. Add lots of great conversation and it made for a wonderful meal.

After dinner the chat continued as we moved to the front room and were soon joined by wee Jenny and a some other friends of Bebe's for some music and more drinks! Jenny, at 11, has a beautiful voice and has been taking guitar lessons every week. It was a joy to hear her sing and play. And Gareth, at 18, is an amazing talent vocally. He's had his guitar for less than 2 years and has taught himself to play. I'm sure at some point in the not so distant future we will be hearing more about him. Later in the evening even Gareth's father sang us a wee Elvis tune. Before the evening was over we were all singing along. :) It was definitely a night to remember.

As I stumbled up the stairs to bed, I have to say this Saturday was a memorable day. Now Sunday has arrived and at some point, we will be moving on.

Cold But Amazing

Cold but amazing!

May 23

We got a bit of a late start this morning after our first Full Irish Breakfast. Our host here at the Groarty B&B on the outskirts of Derry makes a mean breakfast. Up until now we have had serve yourself hotel breakfasts, or menu order breakfasts and have skipped the Full Irish until it would be cooked for us fresh. Margaret did not disappoint.

So many people ask my why I keep returning to Ireland as I've seen all the tourist things. But I go to see many of the off the beaten path things that surprise and awe me. Today was one of those days.

Finally on the road we decided to take a drive to Sleive League Cliffs. It's about a 90 minute drive, but took us longer as we felt the need to stop so often along the “Wild Atlantic Way”, a new scenic route, to see all the great views. The road also lead us to some very narrow roads that slowed us down just a bit. We stopped at a great little place just before the cliffs for lunch and a bit of souvenir shopping. By the time we arrived at the cliffs the wind was wailing away, so much so that it was difficult to open the car door. We made it out and walked a bit to take in this magnificent view. Sleive League Cliffs are the highest in Europe, even higher than the famous Cliffs or Moher. If you take the time to get there, it is more than worth it. They are not the easiest to get to, and quite off the beaten path, although signposted. I'm not even sure my pictures will do it justice. And once we got stabilized enough to take pictures, it started to rain. With the help from the wind it became a pelting rain. So we didn't stay as long as we would have liked. Definitely on the list for a return visit. We talked to some locals about it and they say even they have done the drive up to the top, or as far as you can drive, many times just for the view.

We continued on the Wild Atlantic Way route through Donegal, covering a lot of towns along the north coast, including The Rosses, and Dunfanaghy, then back around to Letterkenny and Derry. It was a long day as we didn't arrive back at the B&B until after 8:00PM. This is a drive I would love to do again. We missed Glenveagh Park, but might take a drive over tomorrow, or maybe some of the Inishowen Penninsula. Or there is also Grainan of Aileach.... So much to see around here. :)

I almost forgot. We had dinner at this little cafe on the road back. There was a gas station, a small grocery, and the cafe attached. One of the best dinners yet! And only 9.95 euros for a sirloin steak dinner. I still can't finish all the food they serve here.

Other than tomorrow morning, tomorrow is our “Derry Day”. Visiting with some friends, and staying close by.

I'm off for now. Need that sleep to keep up my energy. :)

The North Coast

The North Coast

May 22

Today was a slower morning and a late afternoon rush. We slept in with no alarm to worry about and got to the breakfast at the Inn about 10:15 (with 15 minutes to spare). After breakfast we checked out and headed in to Portrush to find an optician as Rita needed a wee fix for her glasses. After getting lost for a bit, we did locate the office and the receptionist took care of her. That was all well and good, but as we walked back to where we parked the car, the most delicious aroma was wafting its way out of a small bakery – Tom Toms and we could not resist.

We bought some pasties to take along for our lunch, and also a sweet treat each.

We then headed off for the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge. This was something on Rita's wish list for this trip. It's never been something that I was that interested in. If you ever want to do this keep these things in mind: The walk from the pay booth to the rope bridge is .62 miles each way, up and down a steep, at times, pathway. As you near the end of the walk the last part is first down 72 uneven stone steps, then more gravel pathway until you reach 88 uneven stone steps, and finally some steep metal steps, maybe 20 to get to the bridge. If you have survived this you get to cross the bridge – 100 feet above the water – and climb up another embankment to the top of the view across the bridge. And if all that was not enough, remember what goes down, must also come back up, so the step climb is the beginning of your return and the .62 miles back to the beginning. There are no alternatives. No shuttles, no other options. And Rita made it with lots of perseverance and guts!

I walked to the first set up steps, too one look at them and said, “I'll wait here!” And I did.

We also stopped off at Dunlunce castle and took another look. We had both been there 3 years ago, so no need to pay to walk around. Same this with the Downhill Demense. I was going to walk out there, but we were running behind, and I saw how far it was, and decided not to take the time or effort.

After that we headed on the A2 into Derry and found our B&B with the help of the lady of Rita's Samsung cell phone.

We are outside of Derry looking across the hills to the lights coming on in the city. It's beautiful. And if I didn't mention it earlier, today was a beautiful day, warm by Irish standards, and sunny. We hope for the same tomorrow.

I've having trouble posting pictures to the blog, so I will try and get some on FB as I have time to do some transferring.  

Sun and Sightseeing May 21

Sun and sightseeing – May 21

We were up early this morning for one of those delicious Irish Breakfasts at our hotel in Belfast. We had a 9:00 appointment for a Black Taxi tour. For those of you who have never heard of them, there are taxi drivers who take people around to see the murals and talk about The Troubles that have existed for many years here in Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Norman, our guide has been doing this for quite a few years. He was entertaining and knowledgeable and we were very surprised with some of his insights. I've done the Black Taxi tour in Derry, but this was the first time in Belfast. There are definitely some differences between the two cities, but still the feelings are there. Most amazing to me was the Peace Wall that was built between the Catholics and the Protestants. They still lock it shut at various points every night.

Having a native who experienced the situation made it really come to life.

Back to the hotel to check out and say goodbye to our friends Stefanie and Ines as they had to fly back to France at 1:00. Once we saw them off, we picked up our rental car and headed off to the Titanic Exhibit. I have to honestly say that seeing it from the water on the boat tour was much more exciting that walking through the exhibit. At least I can say I've been there.

After Belfast we headed to Ballymoney in search of the Dark Hedges. If you have never heard of them, watch the opening session of the Game of Thrones. They are a short road of beech trees that are linked together in an archway. A bit spooky, especially at night.

I do have to say, the location is not the easiest to fine. We might have passed the access road 3 times before we finally found it. It was well worth it. Haunting is more like it. I would love to be there as the sun sets one day.

After the Dark Hedges we took a back road to Bushmills over some hills to the Coastal Route. Beautiful does not describe it. With the hills all covered with gourse, and suddenly the ocean shows up in front of you....Blue, shiney, and vast as ever. The day was even getting a bit warm. A scorcher as the Irish would say. The drive along the route with lots of stops for pictures was something I will always remember. We could see Scotland, and even as far as Inishowen.

We arrived at our B&B, actually our hotel, about 6:00, in time to get settled and checked in, and head off to a delicious dinner. The dining room looks out across the road to a golf course and the ocean. We had our first fish and chips tonight, and I'm about ready to fall asleep as I type this. Tomorrow is a relaxing day and drive to just past Derryl

So I'll sign off now. So glad to be able to get the posts caught up. Hopefully next time there will be some pictures. :)  

Lots of Rain May 20

May 20

Lots of rain, and off to Belfast

Tuesday morning was a cloudy day, at least to start. We finally got going from Sligo about 10:30am and headed off to Belfast. Of course we could not just drive straight there with all the signs telling us about some amazing scenic views. We did try to pass by some but when it came to Glencare Lough (Lake) and waterfall we could not resist. That is what makes our trips so much fun with the unplanned, extra little journeys.

No sooner did we leave our little lough excursion but the rain started. It was light and not something that really bothered us until we were hit with a huge downpour. Barely able to see out the windows let alone drive with the rivers running down the side of the road making for big splashes when we drove through. But by the time we arrive on the outskirts of Belfast, it was gone for the remainder of the day.

We had scheduled a boat ride with Captain Derek of the Lagan Boat Tours. ( http://www.laganboatcompany.com/) for 3:30 and arrived at the dock area for the tour at 3:20 after checking in to our hotel.

I highly recomment taking the boat tour if you are ever in Belfast. There are only 3 sailings a day, and Captain Derek is very knowledgeable about Belfast Harbour filling us in with lots of details about the Titanic also. The huge cranes that were and still are used at the docks – Sampson and Goliath – were beyond huge actually, and it was nice to get the perspective from the boat. The tour was about 90 minutes and the weather had settled to cloudy, but quite nice.

Last night we ate at a place called Benedicts. They have a “beat the clock” menu that only charges the price of the time you order for specific items on the menu. And also specific cocktails are only $2.95

So we each had a cocktail and a dinner that was only charged at $6.50. Not a bad deal at all!

It was an early night and I spent time fighting with my travel computer trying to get logged in. Jet lag had finally caught up and I headed off to bed early. Today was planned as a busy day.

It's Time to Crash

May 19

It's Time to Crash

It's technically Tuesday, May 20 at 1:30am but for blogging sake, I'm still on Monday. We just got back after the longest day between traveling, customs, traveling across country, meeting friends, and having a great night out.

Sleep is overrated. I have not slept except for about an hour on the plane. It just was not going to happen. And here I am wide awake after midnight! I know I will crash any time now.

So let me get back to the day we had today. Arrival went with out any glitches, and we checked through Customs quickly too. While the line was long it did move quickly and we were off to wait for our luggage. In all the time it took for us to walk the length of the terminal and go through customs, the luggage had still not arrived. More waiting. At first I was a bit concerned that the suitcases had not transferred from our first flight to our second. But they did arrive, at about the end of all the luggage to come off the carosel. On to our rental car. Simple easy process and in about half an hour we were in our little Hyundai i10. There was only room enough in the truck (if you can call it that) for Rita's 2 smaller suitcases. My suitcase and carry on pretty much filled up the back seat. There are only 2 of us, so not a big concern. And we were off across country to Sligo.

Ireland has some interesting toll roads, and tolls are paid online, or at a service center by 8:00 the next night after they are incurred. We needed to get onto the toll road to access our turn off right after the toll. So have now to pay the 3.10 euro toll for the 1/8 mile we were on the road. And somewhere down the road to Sligo there was a different type of toll road with an actual toll booth. Don't know when we will see another, but they seem to pop up at the strangest times.

We met up with some friends from France, Stefanie and Ines, who had been in Ireland already for a couple of days on our arrival. After a quick hello with them we changed and headed off for dinner in the hotel. And speaking of this hotel, the Clarion, Sligo, I can't wait to post a picture. It's beautiful and we got a great rate for the one night. And then I heard it was a converted mental institution! Still not sure about that. I think some research is in order. :)

I'll post a picture in the next day or so.

After dinner we went to hear this amazing band, Rackhouse Pilfer, at a local pub. They are extremely popular with the locals, and while we arrived early, by the time they started playing at 9:30, the place was packed and more people continued to arrive. They have just released their second CD through a “fund it” campaign. From what I've heard of it, I really like it. I guess you could call it Alternative Country.

And they are the reason we got home so late. It was a perfect end to our first night in Ireland with great local music. For now, I need to get some sleep. We're off to Belfast tomorrow morning. Nite. :)

Traveling, waiting, and more Traveling

May 18
Isn't that the problem with getting somewhere. Days to prepare and pack, or night before packing as I do, and then the journey begins. It would be great if we could instantly transport ourselves to locations that are great distances, but at this point, that won't be happening. So we board a shuttle to get to the airport, wait until we can take a 75 minute flight to an interim destination, and in this case, wait another 5 hours until the longest part of our journey begins.

So here I sit, 35,000 feet above the ground, traveling over 600 mph, and at this point 4000+ more miles to go. The map says we are over Montana at the moment heading into Canada airspace. This is the beginning of this journey.

It's not the first time I've been to Ireland, or the second. This is my fifth trip since 2004. Each trip is a different adventure mostly with different traveling companions, although this is the second time Rita and I have gone together. I do think she is a good companion for me and we have similar interests.

On to the trip. I am going to try and write a blog ever couple of days and maybe even post a couple of pictures along the way. That said, I never know for sure how successful I will be on that.

I am adding this blog to the one I created on a previous trip. I didn't see any point in starting a brand new one, but that's me.