Ireland

I joined up with my parents for Ireland. We flew into Belfast and spent a day there. My parents headed off on a tour of the artworks. The local taxi drivers offer a tour through the areas of the "troubles" as they call them. In retrospect, I should have gone, but I was feeling bushed at that stage adn was looking forward to just turning off for a bit.

The following day we headed for the reunion at Rathmullan. This of course meant a long, round-about trip along the coast. I enjoyed it a lot, it was very scenic. Very green and lush, but with nice contrasts of cliffs and rocks with ruins and abandoned buildings scattered about.

Carrickfergus had a nice castle right on the coast, although I'd personally classify it more along the lights of a fort than a castle. Rather amazingly my Dad remembered the address of my Uncle's place in Cushendall, so we stopped in for a cup of tea and a quick trip out to the countryside.

Next stop was the Carrick-a-rede Rope Bridge up on the north coast. I was amazed at how clear the water looked. I suspect it was freezing, but it still looked great, surprisingly sheltered too around there as well. We then scooted along to the Giant's causeway, which is interesting, but also slightly disappointing. I would have liked a little longer to do some exploring, but by that stage we were under the pump to get through to Rathmullan.

I've got the reunion covered in the next set of photos, so I won't mention it here, but after the reunion I got a lift down to Dublin with Pascal and Rossa who were incrediably gracious to let me crash in the spare room. I was in Dublin for about sixteen hours and saw their house, the house my father use to live in and the airport. I really need to go back