One Day Left :(

Friends,
I know this is taking forever, but I am almost finished. I left you at Belfast after our day trip to Giant's Causeway and the rope bridge. We got up in the morning and ate breakfast in the Cafe downstairs which was good but expensive esp. after we had been making our own. We took off to find a Black Cab Tour. On the way, we ended up buying tickets for an open bus tour. We walked to the town center to catch the bus. Everyone was so busy going places. Our tour was great. It was a double decker and we sat on the top. The weather was great-second day in a row. Belfast isn't too terribly big, a little spread out. The murals were interesting. So much conflict. After that we went to McDonald's so I could use the WiFi. While we were there, 2 boys were eating nearby and the one boy would eat some fries and throw the rest of the handful on the floor. I had to look twice to make sure I was seeing correctly. Of course Mom & Dad(that was us) let him know that what he was doing was completely unacceptible. He looked at us like we were from Mars, but he started moving when Tom went to get the manager. The manager said it was a common practice along with putting pickles on the windows. Whatever!
We went across the street to the "Mall", up instead of out, and looked for a quick sec. and then we were on our way to go to the Museum on the Queen's Univ. Campus. and Church. The Museum was way cool, wish we had more time to see it. Walked to St. Brigid's and attented Mass. Very diff. from St. Mary's in Killarney. Still pray at the speed of sound, though. Went to dinner in the univ. section of town. Another good meal but we did miss eating in Pubs. Tried to WiFi in Starbucks but couldn't connect there either so we went back to the hostel where I tried again. No luck. That night we thought Mardis Gras was taking place outside our window, it was that busy and noisy.

Breakfast at International Hostel. We paid for it.

International Youth Hostel in Belfast.

Double decker tour bus.

Hotel built like the Titanic's bows.

Government building. Stormont



One of the murals



Got up and made breakfast for ourselves and hit the3 road. We took the picturesque route. I like the villages on the Eastern coast. They have the water on one side and the mts. on the other. I could live there if they had food in their pubs.lol. We found our way to Newgrange with the help of the garmin, however, what it didn't know was that you needed to go to the Visitor's Center 2 miles away. So back we drove to catch the shuttle and go right back. Newgrange is interesting in that it is a passage tomb that pre-dates the pyramids. Big on the outside, it looks like a huge mound, but narrow and small on the inside. Actually built in a cross shape with an opening for the winter equinox sun rays to enter in the morning and light up the passage. Met an interesting man. He was an actor from Australia. We got his card and a list of movies he starred in. Can't wait to look them up. The weather wasn't nice, misty, rainy and chilly. Gave up looking for the Hill of Tara. Drove on to Dublin. Found our exclusive hotel--NOT!. It was right on the Liffey but showing some wear and tear of the years. The reception room is on the 2nd floor. What do they do for Handicapped? Our room was up another flight after that. All that luggage. Ugh. We went out to find a place to eat. A pub! Dinner was okay, I didn't like the chowder, it tasted fishy?? Slept like the dead after we spent 2 hours trying to pack all of our trinkets and goodies in our bags. Got it done but wow they weighed a ton. Tom took the car back next a.m. while I got ready. The breakfast there cost as well even though it was exactly like the hostel's. We didn't partake and instead went to find a place but nothing was open. It was, after all, 9:00a.m. but a bank holiday. We found a bus stop and went to the airport, which ended up being a good thing because it took us 2 hours to get through 4 check points. Apparently you can do US customs there instead of the states. However, it doubles your time at the airport. They actually had to hold the plane for all the passengers still in the lines. We had boarded on time, but ended up waiting 15 mins. for everyone else. This plane was nicer than the one we took before. We each had our own screen that we could watch various movies or tv. It seemed wider too. The ride back was over before we knew it. In Atlanta, I checked on our next flight which was changed we found out. I asked for an earlier flight and lo and behold we got one without xtra charges. Yeah Delta! Unfortunately no one told my bag. Consequently, I stayed with Sarah that night and Tom drove on home. My bag was there the next a.m. and Sarah and I drove back home.
The End.   (of this journey only, we are now planning our next one.)
Thank you all for keeping up with me. If you have ?'s, just send me a note here or my e-mail--mailto:e-mail--haines6@wildblue.net. Ta Ta all and love to you Mom, wherever you are.








Tallest building in Belfast.



This monument structure is actually leaning.



Queen's University

The Mourne Coast

Pastoral scene from Newgrange across the river.

Newgrange-passage tomb

Ruins beside Newgrange in shape of a cross

The opening to passage tomb with original rock in front.

Custom House in Dublin





My family crest-Costello .

Tom and his new favorite drink-Bulmers

Our fully packed bags.

                 

First Venture Out

We finally made it out of the Obama confusion.Trucked on over to Temple Bar. Alas all the stores were closed. We looked around for a pub to eat and found one on the corner. Noisy, busy and fun looking. The band was great but they played all American oldie goldies. Beatles, Van Morrison, Cat Stevens. Sounded really good, though. Sat a small table with a family from Holland. Dad, son and daughter-grown ups. Had an interesting conversation. Ordered steak and Guiness pie-Tom, and seafood chowder-me.  Yummy good and more than enough. Walked back in the windy rainy night. Here are our first pics.

Three more days til departure!

The coast between Derry and Belfast.



Dunluce Castle

More of Dunluce

The main part of the Castle

B&W of Dunluce

Coastline

The walk down to Giant's Causeway

The Camel's Head

How the rocks look

The rocks can be tall.

Us sitting on top

One of the coves

Me on the rope bridge

The rope bridge from a distance

Even fafther away

Me coming back on the rope bridge

Friends,
Can't believe we have been here for 10 days. We have seen enough sights for a 6 week stay. And have walked at least 100 miles. We left off at Derry. Today we drove to Belfast by way of the coast. Our first stop is Dunluce Castle. It is perched on a steep crag. Dating back to the 13th century, it was the main fortress of the MacDonnells, chiefs of Antrim. It is remarkedly well preserved. Part of it is built on the mainland with a bridge to the crag. The views are magnificent. Many other families lived here and it has a rich history. It was quite an elaborate structure at one time.
From there we traveled to the Giant's Causeway. It is Ireland's only World Heritage Site. By the way, the sun was out and I actually wore my long shorts and a t-shirt. Too bad my sunscreen was in my suitcase. My sunburn attested to that fact that night. Anyway, we parked in a lot and took a shuttle down. The walk down to the Causeway is long and steep, but paved. If you have knee problems you can take the shuttle down. Tom and I managed the walk down slowing a few times for my old body to catch up. The Causeway is between two coves. it resulted from gigantic outpourings of volcanic basalt some 60 million ago.The rock cooled in 2 distinct formations. Firstly a lower layer of thousands of hexagonal columns and secondly, a upper layer of slim uneven prisms. Finn MacCoul, an Irish legend, was reputed to have built it as a bridge to Scotland. It reminds me of Devil's Postpile in Calif. So many steps to climb and sit on. It is overwhelming. We ate lunch sitting on a few steps. The walk back up was sloooow.
From there we drove to Carrick-A-Rede for me to walk across on the rope bridge. The day was so beautiful. The rope bridge is reached from another long steep walk. It is 66ft. long swinging 80ft. above the sea and rocks separating the cliffs from a small rocky island. The bridge has been erected for 200 years or more for the fishermen who operate a salmon fishery on the island. Tom would not go across as he doesn't enjoy heights. The views from the island were amazing. Tom saw a Razorbill bird in the water diving like a penguin, which family he is actually a part of.
The drive to Belfast was serene. I think because we were plain wore out. More to come.

The coast close to Giant's Causeway

White Cliffs

Dunluce Castle

2nd Thursday in the Land of the Leprechauns

Sorry friends about the hold-up, but it's the old WiFi thing. We left our beautiful B&B and began our drive to the Ulster Folk Park. Tom was disappointed that we didn't get stopped at the border to have our passports stamped. Ulster American Folk Park was a delight. A much larger version of the place in Killarney. it portrayed the Irish immigrants before and after the Great Famine. It was a beautiful day to walk around. We saw re-created & original homes that still exist in the countryside. Interpreters were there to answer ?s. Some famous Irish-American men had their houses there. John Joseph Hughes, the first Catholic Archbishop of New York, and Thomas Mellon were two.

 After we walked around we had to register to emigrate to go to America. The boat was not very large and our quarters were horrible. One bunk style bed for 3-4 people or family. Everyone was so sea-sick. No bathrooms, just pots that we couldn't  empty if it was storming. Imagine the smells. At long last, we made it to the shores of America. Many died on the way. It was scary getting off in a country, where we didn't know anyone. People everywhere tried to take advantage of us. We gradually settled into a home and life commenced again. As we got more involved with life in America, our situation improved. We moved west in search of our own land to settle. Our houses got bigger and farms as well. Life is good over here, but we miss Ireland very much.

When we finished the outside we toured the inside museum which was equally informative. We definitely had a better appreciation for our ancestors after that.

Village in Old Ireland

Our cottage in Ireland

The emigration clerk taking our names

Our ship



The inside of our cabin with bunks and table



The deck which we saw very little of.

America at last!



What we saw when we got off the ship



Our first log cabin

As our wealth grew, so did our houses.



The wall around old Derry.

Speaks for itself

We drove on to Derry. St. Columba founded a monastery here besides the River Foyle in 546. He called the place Doire, or "oak grove", later anglicized as "Derry. We got settled in our hostel. This hostel, like the one in Killarney, was under renovation so we stayed around the corner. Not a bad room. Had Asian roomies. One bath had a claw foot tub, unfortunately it had no hot water. Met some interesting travelers in the common room. Went out to explore before eating. The old part of Derry is surrounded by a wall. A very old, up to 30 feet wide in places, wall. You can walk on the top, by finding staircases to access it. We walked quite a ways because the view was great. Saw St. Columb's Cathedral, built in 1628. We were hungry so we went to an eclectic restaurant and had an interesting meal. Chicken filet on mashed sw. potatoes, topped with sweet peppers tomatoes and onions, and a creme sauce. Pretty yummy. While we were walking, we found 2 malls. These malls go up instead of out. Looked just like ours with many of the same stores. Off we went to get some needed sleep.

St. Columb's Cathedral












Our hostel



A sign from the troubled times