Belfast and Dublin

Here we are in the “Emerald Isle”, and it is truly lovely and green.  We were fortunate to escort tours outside the city on a day with glorious weather.  The drive up the coast was a vision of photo ops no matter where we looked.  The rugged coast line on one side is breathtaking, with beautiful fields of crops and pastures dotted with flocks of sheep and herds of cattle.

Gail on the coastline

 

We both went to an area known as the Giant’s Causeway.  It is a most interesting site, with huge stone columns, hexagonal in shape, formed by molten lava millions of years ago.  The myth of the giant has been perpetuated because of the amazingly uniform shapes of the stones, as if they had been formed by human hands.

Giant's causeway from the side

Top of causeway

The Antrim coast drive took us to the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge.  It is a fascinating site, where salmon fishermen built the bridge over a deep chasm that hangs 80 feet above the sea.  From here, they were able to snag the fish which years ago were abundant in the area.  It was a steep climb down to where the bridge starts and a scary walk across the rope structure, which sways as you walk across, much like “Indiana Jones”.  Once on the other side, it is another climb up to the top of the island, from which there is a magnificent view.  Of course, there is the necessary walk back across the bridge and then the climb back up the steps and over the hill to return to the bus.  Exhausting as it was, it was an invigorating and unique experience.   

Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge

John’s group also went to the Giant’s Causeway, a Word heritage Site. It was, as described earlier, absolutely spectacular. We had lunch at the restaurant of the golf course where Darren Clark, the winner of the British Open this year, is the resident pro.  The meal was great, but the golf course (a links course) was even better.  After lunch, the group headed down the Antrim coast, through Bushmills village where Irish Whiskey is distilled, to the rope bridge that Gail crossed, to the ruins of the Dunluce Castle (dating back to the early 14^th century) , through the “Glens” region and some of the most amazing coast line I have ever seen. After 8 and a half hours we returned to our ship.

Ruins of  Dunluce castle

Northern Ireland coastline

 

All this nature was a refreshing change, and an experience that we will not forget.

In Dublin, Gail went with a group that had chosen to be involved with “Making a Difference” whereby they choose to be involved with helping out in the local community as volunteers.  We went to an inner city community centre where there are great programs for people of all ages, with an emphasis on inter generational activities.  It was great to see youths and seniors playing snooker and being friends.  We would have liked to actually do more than tour the facility, but it was enjoyable to chat with the local people. 

John’s tour was called “Dublin City Highlights”.  The tour took us past River Liffey to Trinity College where, after a 45 minute que, we got to see the Book of Kells, an illuminated bible dating back to the 8^th century. We also saw several important buildings such as the Guinness Brewery, St. Patrick’s Cathedral and Phoenix Park. The problem we had today is that Notre Dame University is playing Navy on Saturday (tomorrow) in an “American football game”. As a result, 35,000 U.S. football fans have descended on Dublin to see the sold-out game.  What a zoo! Parked beside us in the harbour is the biggest battleship (U.S. of course) I have ever seen, except for the aircraft carriers in San Diego. This ship makes our cruise ship look like a row boat. I’m guessing they are here cheering for the Navy football team.

Harp bridge - Dublin

Note that above are photos of the original wall that once protected Dublin and the interior courtyard of Trinity College with the line up to view the Book of Kells.

 

The tour ended just after noon and Gail and John got to do some organization of the art cabinets.        

                                                                                      

Tomorrow we are in Wales on two different tours that should prove to be very interesting.