Northern Ireland & Ireland
June 12-22, 2007


Below was the path we took during our visit to Northern Ireland and Ireland. While on the blue path, I did the navigating and Jason did the "wrong-side-of-the-road" driving - a little tricky at first but by the second day he had it down.

  A. Belfast (Wed 6/13)
  B. Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge (Thurs 6/14)
  C. Giant's Causeway (Thurs 6/14)
  D. Killybegs (Thurs 6/14)
  E. Slieve League (Fri 6/15)
  F. Doo Lough Valley (Fri 6/15)
  G. Clifden (Fri 6/15)
  H. Galway (Sat 6/16)
  I. Dublin (Sat-Mon 6/16-18)
  J. Cashel (Mon-Tues 6/18-19)
  K. Kilkenny (Tues-Thurs 6/19-21)
  L. Cork (Thurs-Fri 6/21-22)



  Blue Path: Jason and I
  Red Path: Mom, Dad, Jason and I


 
We landed in Belfast, Northern Ireland first. Not a very exciting city, but definitely interesting. We took a city bus tour that afternoon but were so tired that we didn't take any pictures during the tour. I wish we had though. The politcal murals were so fascinating and some Protestant business owners paint their curbs red, white, and blue to show their religious/political affiliation.

Wednesday, 6/13
  
We reached Belfast Wednesday morning and checked into Benedict's Hotel. A great, centrally-located boutique hotel.
 

Views from our room


We walked around for a bit then took the bus tour of the city
 
  
After the tour, we walked around the city passing by City Hall (left) before stopping in Crown Bar (right), the oldest pub in Belfast (est. 1826).
 
  
Jason's first overseas Guinness came with a shamrock (left)! Jason says Ireland's Guiness has a noticeably "fresher" taste when compared to Guinness in the states.
 
  
That evening we had dinner in the hotel's restaurant and it was superb. I had pan fried cod, with basil mashed potatoes, sundried tomato and chili cream. Jas had pan-fried chicken breast on champ, sage & onion stuffing, crispy bacon, with rosemary jus. For dessert it was Benedicts Banoffee Pie - biscuit base, layered with caramel and bananas, fresh cream and shaved chocolate - so. damn. good.
 
Thursday, 6/14
  
The next day we hopped in our rental and hit the road, driving along the beautiful Antrim coast.
 

Video of the angry Irish sea
 


 
  
We stopped along the coast to watch the waves.
 
  
Rain was the theme during the whole trip. We read about the narrow Irish roads so we made sure to rent the smallest automatic possible.
 
  
We passed by tons of beautiful, erie graveyards and cute little towns.

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