Ashfield Guesthouse Ballymena

... the house was amazing, it used to be lord someone's summer residence and was a very impressive georgian manor. there was 11 bedrooms (used to be 16 but they merged some cause it just wasn't necessary to have 16 bedrooms in a 5 person household), at least 3 kitchens, an indoor swimming pool, tennis court, 2 lakes, stables, gate house and a big fountain in the courtyard. and it was all furnished in antique/period furniture. we'd all heard about it ...

... rd protestant area and were shown around by one of the protestant taxi drivers. it was just a quiet suburban area but it was quite scary listening to him talk. the uda (ulster defence army - pro uk) and ira (irish republican army - pro republic of ireland) have a cease fire now but aparently they're still active just not officially armed. when we first got in the taxi the driver asked us if we'd seen any ira members, we said no and he said how do you know? then he asked if we ...

... of photos on the thousands of hexagonal columns and it was so clear that we could see scotland. we had a picnic lunch there before going to carrick-a-rede rope bridge. we were really lucky with the weather cause they close it if its too windy or wet. it was a really beautiful walk to the bridge and we could see more of scotland from the island. the bridge wasn't as scary as i thought it would be! then we drove back to derry, through some really pretty countryside, to get ready for halloween<br>

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"< br><br>We're standing on the edge of Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland, facing out toward endless ocean and we're all sharing a cathartic scream out into the sea. The wind is blowing strong--so much so that every so often you have to kneel down and let the gale pass, and the rain is coming in horizontally, but I wouldn't have it any other way. This is how the Causeway is meant to the be seen, so you feel like you are conquering something, a ...

... any future trips I have planned. So in the future I can look back with fond memories. Although I have no immediate plans, I do have some ambitions for the future. I guess it's just finding the time and the funding to make them come true. I guess I should explain where I am at the minute. I have just finished my second of five years at university studying Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering ...

So heres what we've done so far... I'm going to try and make this one quick!! Aug 23 We did some grocery shopping before heading out with Britts 3rd cousin (or something) Stephen to a Ballymena United football match... we lost! Aug 24 We drove and drove and drove up to the Northern-most tip of Ireland, Fahed Head... lovely views, but a lot of driving. After we got back from that little trip we went to the local stock car races... apparently we were bad luck ...

Another quick breakdown of our days in Ireland... 29th Today we went on a drive in the morning. We drove along the Coastal road and ended at CArrick-a-rede rope bridge. We crossed it and it was significantly scarier this time as the wind was fierce and the tide was out revealing the jagged rocks below us... After pictures of the island we returned back to the car...grabbed lunch at the Giant's Causeway and then went grocery shopping. We then went on Ruth's advise to a ...

This morning was fantastic....no wake up call and for the first time in weeks my hair has felt like it does back home..... So yesterday our travels from Charles De Gaul were not to exciting..lots of lines and lots of secuirty but eventually we made it to Belfast where Derrick, Scott and Stephen picked us up... We toured around Belfast for a little while and then headed out toward Ballymena and to the little village of Cullybackey where we would be staying ...

... describe and instance or a conversation that could fully describe the feeling you get from the city, that feeling of unrest, instability and a lot of bitter suffering. I've also been really lucky to talk to some people while I've been on the road, to hear their take on the history of things, why they think things are the way they are, etc etc. It's really been an extremely educational and humbling experience.

... in the Republic heading towards Dublin. In the early evening we stopped at Monasterboice, another ancient monastic site manned by an ancient but very friendly senior citizen volunteer packing up for the night, and then found a B&amp;B nearby in Drogheda. Once unpacked we walked down to a big, modern tavern just down the road to try and get some dinner. The vast carpark was packed with vehicles but, unusually, the cars were all full of people. A series of numbers were ...