Antrim House Portrush

aka. most beautiful place in the world. i don't think thats overstating it much, and i'm definitely qualified to make that statement! we got back on the bus bright and early and drove up the coast to dunluce castle. it was a really beautiful day which was a nice change from the day before. the castle was on the edge of a cliff and it was amazing, the coastline was so beautiful and the views from the castle were fantastic. next we drove to the giants causeway which was also amazing. we took ...

on friday jen, alana and i started the northern shocker tour (with about 20 other people). we caught the bus from dublin to trim castle and had a quick walk around the outside of the walls then got back on the bus. next stop was at a megalithic tomb, we climbed up a mountain through a sheep field in the most delightful weather! the tomb is older than the giza pyramids, we could only fit about 6 people in at a time so we spent alot of time standing outside in the rain ...

... to drink you have this city to thank for your hangover. There are huge murals on both sides of the wall. The Protestant side has images memorializing hit men and thugs who "fought" for their cause and other glorifying the conquest of Ireland by the English. But then you move to the Catholic side. The Irish Republicans up in Belfast relate strongly to the Palestinian cause, and they have murals calling for an end to "Israeli Barbarianism." Others have Jewish Stars and Swastikas side ...

... 20,000). There are still about 400 Protestant folk who still live on the Catholic side, behind huge barbed wire fences, and they get pelted with rocks and bottles of urine on a daily basis. There continues to be conflict in Derry - it was origionally settled by Catholics, then during the reign of Elizabeth I, the land was given off to Protestant English folk (Derry is technically known as Londonderry). Nowadays, the Protestants are happy to be part of the UK, however the Catholics want ...

So last minute the day after my birthday, David & I decided to go to Northern Island. I quickly called a couple B&B's and reserved them and then the next day we left at 6:40 to head to Bushmills. It was a very long day of bus rides. I got off at the wrong station in Dublin and we only had a half hour to find the station we wanted so I had to ask a guy how to get there and we barely made it. Then in Belfast we ...

... stream. We had the fast-moving stream from the waterfall alongside us all the way, as the path zig-zagged from one side to the other over bridges. At one point we saw three small waterfalls, and finally came to the end of the trail where the larger one was. We took some pictures for another couple who were there, and they returned the favor. After sitting on a bench enjoying the peacefulness, we walked back to the car, disturbing several sheep who were grazing on a ...

An interesting castle ruin. The main castle is on a rock. Part of the old kitchen fell into the sea. They built another block of buildings on the main land.

Afterwards, I climbed down to the base and saw the natural cave underneath the castle.

... a different experience traveling with people you know from home. Compare it to friends who move into together. On one level a friendship can be the most gratifying thing ever, but take it to another level and it can all hit a landslide pretty damn quickly. I thought on whether or not I should even write about this, but it happened and that is reality. What happened happened, and it is something to look back on, learn from and move on. Trial and error. Love to you all.

... Derry it wasn’t long before the Nationalist Catholic/Unionist Protestant divide became clearly evident. Even the confusion of what to call the city is proof of that, whether it be Derry (the choice of Nationalists) or Londonderry (the choice of Unionists). From atop the intact early seventeenth century city walls that still surround the very centre of the city we looked down on the less than exotically named Catholic neighbourhood of Bogside. Though now far-removed from the ...

... the home of the chief of the Clan MacDonnell and the Clan MacDonald of Donnyveg. Part of the kitchen collapsed into the sea below taking some servants during a storm in 1639. It was then that the castle was abandoned. Dunluce was also on an inner album cover of Led Zeppelin's Houses of the Holy. This castle was one of my favorite sites in all of Ireland! Next up was the basalt columns of GIANT'S CAUSEWAY which is ...