Hillcrest House Letterkenny

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 ...

Morning all! Well guess it's time for a quick reflection on Tuesday and our trip to Derry.

So we set off early(ish) with several hangovers along for the bus ride. Before long we arrived at the Carrick-a-rede rope bridge, which like the name suggests is a wee little rope bridge over a 100 foot drop, connecting the land so a small island which was traditionally used by sherperds and their sheep (i guess the foxes couldn't jump the gap!). Now true to form i totally bailed on walking ...

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We went back to the laundry to pick up our clean clothes, and paid 12 euros or $15 for the convenience. We’re happy to have it done, and now we’re set with clothes for a while.

For dinner, we went to the Beach House, which was one of Marie’s recommendations. As the name suggests, it is on the beach, and quite nice. I had one of the best meals of the trip there--everything was fresh and incredibly delicious. We truly enjoyed everything.
Buncrana, County Donegal, Ireland rovingwerners

... Families had to enter the workhouse together, but once inside, they were separated by gender and age. Parents were allowed to see their children, but could not be with them. The daily diet was posted: Breakfast was 6 oz. oatmeal and 1/3 quart of buttermilk; dinner was 3 pounds of potatoes and 1/3 quart of buttermilk; supper was 5 oz. oatmeal and 1/3 quart of buttermilk. Their days were filled with work, the men breaking up rocks, and the women sewing ...

What a nasty morning! The wind was blowing, not quite howling, and the rain was beating against the windows as we ate Marian’s wonderful breakfast. We always have brown bread and toast in addition to the bacon and eggs, but today, we also had scones warm from the oven. They were the best scones I’ve had, and when I told Marian, she gave me a plastic bag and told me to take some with us. They were a tasty snack later.

Today was our day ...

... and painted the white line down the middle of the road Cork red. Kerry’s colors are green and gold, and I’m sure the Kerry fans were truly “seeing red”. Kerry won the cup for the 36th time, and that’s all there is, sports fans.
Before we went to bed, the wind picked up, and rain started hitting our window. It did not bode well for our plans for the next day, but the weather is totally out of our control. What will be, will be.

Now we are in Ireland. Delay with the plane so were an hour late in leaving but Anne was atBelfast airport to meet us. We picked up the hire car and drove to Maghera in Northern Ireland and the home of an old friend of Anne's who gave us a wodnerful afternoon tea. A realIrish character and a natural story teller who regaled us ...

... of towns such as Coleraine and Bushmills were drowning in pro-British sentiment. Union Jack and Hand of Ulster flags hung from every building and lightpost without exception, and red, white and blue pennants were strung up overhead, running the entire lengths of the main streets. It looked as though they were preparing for a royal visit, and had been decorated with such fervour for the English monarch that I have never seen anything even remotely close in England. As this was ...

... flocks of sheep skittering along the roads.

By evening we had reached Letterkenny, a stone’s throw away from the border with Northern Ireland, and were soon in the midst of our now well established pattern of finding a B&B for the night before heading into the town centre in search of a reasonably-priced pub dinner.

I hope that some of you who explore this travelogue will, like me, decide that these three charities are very worthwhile causes. If you do wish to donate a bank account specially for this event has been opened. Myself and a representative of one of the charities are joint signatories to it. No money can be taken ...