We had a long weekend in Dublin including a full Friday and a full Monday. I wanted to take full advantage of our time in Ireland. A friend had suggested we look into a day trip out of Dublin to another sight. I found two different tours I was debating between - one which would go to the Giant's Causeway, the other to Cliffs of Moher. I let Josh look over the details of either tour, and he picked the trip to the Giant's Causeway.
Our tour left at 6:30 a.m. We left our apartment at 5:50 because we wanted to have enough wiggle room with time. We walked to a convenience store to buy coffee and pastries for breakfast. I am glad we gave ourselves extra time. We had scoped out the area where we were suppose to meet the day before, but we hadn't found the exact place... we just found the street. We walked in circles for a bit before we found the place we were suppose to meet. Within a few minutes other people arrived, so we knew we were in the right place. As we waited for our bus and tour guide to arrive two people (who had clearly just left the bar) entertained us by climbing on a statue and singing.
Our bus driver was also our tour guide, which was a first for us. He talked while he drove, and I was impressed by his skills of multitasking. We drove for about two hours to reach our first destination, the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge. For most of the drive it was dark and foggy. I had my book to read, but most of the people on the bus napped. We stopped briefly at a small coastal town to take pictures and give people a chance to use the bathroom and buy snacks. The sun was just starting to come out, and it was going to be a beautiful day.
The Carrick-a-Rede bridge was originally built by locals to be used as a bridge out to an area where it was easier access to the sea for fishing. Over the years it has been improved and replaced. Now it is a national park and used for tourist purposes. We arrived at the rope bridge, and we were one of three tour buses. The walk to the bridge is about a mile that winds up and around the coast. Even if you are a fast walker (which Josh and I are) it takes at least 20 minutes to get there. It is a pretty walk.
When we reached the bridge, there was a long line ahead of us. They only allow six people to walk across the bridge at once, and the bridge is only a one-way walk. They would let a group of people cross from one side, then let people cross from the other. I would say most of our time at this place was spent waiting in line, but it was okay as it was a beautiful day and there wasn't a lack of things to look at/photograph.
Crossing the bridge was a bit nerve wracking for me. There are very steep stairs - almost like a ladder - you have to climb up/down to get to the bridge. The bridge is suspended about 50 feet about the water, and it is sturdy, but it does move quite a bit as you walk. Add to that there were people in front of me who were stopping on the bridge to take pictures/selfies... The nervous part of me was ready to rip their heads off and shove them off the bridge so I could get to the other side.
On the other side of the bridge you are free to walk around. We made a loop of the area (a less than 5 minute walk - but it offered different views and new things to take pictures of) and then got back in the line to go back over the bridge.
After we were safely back on the other side, we followed a different trail back to our bus which went higher up around the area. This was more of a hike than the other path, but it was less crowded.
We got back on our tour bus, and drove about an hour further to the Giant's Causeway. This drive was stunning. We were lucky to have a beautiful sunny day, so we were able to see everything for miles around. Ireland lived up to the stereotypes - the grass was bright green, there were rolling hills dotted by farms, sheep roamed freely, and the ocean seems to be a special shade of blue off-set by the green grass.
The Giant's Causeway is a rock formation made up of rock pillars which juts out into the ocean. Legend says it was built by a giant who was trying to make a bridge from Ireland to Scotland (which is about 17 miles away). If my pictures don't give you a good idea of what it looks like, Google it. When we arrived at the Giant's Causeway we were told there were three different ways to get down to the sight. You could take a shuttle van, or you could walk the paved path the shuttle van drives (which is faster/easier), or you could follow a hiking trail down the cliff face. We chose to do the hike as we were told it was more scenic. Going downhill it wasn't a difficult hike, but I wouldn't have wanted to do it uphill. The hike itself involved multiple stairs, followed by switch backs which led you down to the ocean. I liked going this way because we got to see a eagle eye view of the causeway from above.
When we got down to the causeway, I was surprised by how tall some of the pillars are. They rise up out of the ground (seemingly out of nowhere) then slowly taper off as the causeway meets the ocean. There were people everywhere - more tour buses - but the causeway is big enough I feel I was able to get my pictures without too many people in them. There are some "officers" there to monitor people for safety reasons, but for the most part you have free reign to go crazy climbing all over everything.
We walked out via the paved road - it was quite an incline. Downhill is always easier than uphill. We had time to get lunch, and we stopped at a local restaurant which was full of other tourists to have fish and chips and Guinness. Our bus then made a brief stop to show us castle ruins on a cliff. Pretty, but I can see why now it is abandoned and in ruins! Our tour guide told us the reason nobody lives there anymore is a portion of the kitchen fell off the cliff into the ocean. Clearly a sturdy building.
Our tour then started back to Dublin. We were scheduled to stop in Belfast for a brief amount of time. I knew we were going to stop in Belfast, but I also knew (from a friend, and from reading online reviews) our time was going to be extremely brief. I didn't plan anything for Belfast and just figured we would check out what we could while we were there. We were dropped off right by the Belfast court house, which reminded me of the Berlin Dom.
There was also a Titanic memorial right by the courthouse (if you don't remember 1997 and all things Titanic related, the ship was built in Belfast). There is a big Titanic center near the shipbuilding yards in Belfast, which I think would be worth a visit someday.
That about sums up our time in Belfast. Only enough time to say I have been to Belfast and Northern Ireland, not enough time to actually have done much. Our bus drove back to Dublin without much fuss. As soon as we got back to Dublin, we were in a rush to get to our next activity. Right near our apartment was a "traditional" Irish dance and music show. I saw advertisements for it all over town. I knew it was probably not traditional and most likely a huge tourist trap... but I couldn't help myself, I wanted to go see it. We had wanted reservations for the day before (Saturday), but the show was completely booked, so our only option was to try to rush there after our tour was over on Sunday. As luck would have it, we made it in time, and we had great seats. I couldn't take any pictures of the show... but we were seated at a long table we shared with other couples and groups. We were served dinner - we both had salmon with potatoes (delicious), and then had dessert. The show itself was excellent. There was live music made up of guitar, flute, and accordion (not not exactly traditional) as well as a talented lead vocalist. We heard traditional Irish songs and stories, which was highly entertaining. There was also a group of dancers who performed four different times throughout the show both with soft shoe and hard shoe dances. I was in heaven. We really enjoyed ourselves, and it was a great final evening in Ireland.
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