Tour de Ireland- Stage 1

Day One on the road right round Ireland, the plan is to go from Newry to Belfast. Stop for a quick lunch and some sightseeing, then onto Giants Causeway at the North, and ending in Derry (Londonderry) for the night.

Right, so things never really go as planned and this day was no different. First, we slept in, then took advantage of the wonderful breakfast that came with the room. This was no continental thing either, full on order off the menu and eat off the breakfast bar too, good – mmmmmmmmmm. Fully tanked up, we took full advantage of the health club and I even managed to get a mini workout in the lap pool. Brian took a steam, cold plunge, and a hot tub. It was fabulous and most refreshing. However, by time we got out of there, it was 1pm!

Belfast City Hall

Off to Belfast! Luckily it was only an hour away from Newry and we only went the wrong direction once! Pulling into the city, we stopped first for a quick bite to eat. We were starving. Choosing something from the good book, we stepped into a pub called the Crown. It was packed. Brian got a pint and I ordered a Snake bit (half cider, half Guinness). After speaking with some people we decided to go for fish and chips at another place but on the way back to the car, noticed the time, and decided to detour into the nearest spot. Trying to get back on schedule, we just drove around Belfast, looking at the sights. I was a bit unimpressed but then again we really didn’t spend much time here.

Downtown Ballycastle

Heading north, we hit the coast at Ballycastle, which is a town not a castle as I previously thought. Oh well, stopped in for another quick pint and some unsolicited bar man advice, and off we ran. Stopping only to snap a picture of the coast, and of Scotland, which was only 20 miles away (that could be clearly seen). It was already 5:30pm and some of the attractions we wanted to see closed at 6pm, we think? Oh, did I mention that because we are so far north, it doesn’t get dark until around 11pm, and the sun comes up at 4:30am, and it wasn’t raining! I guess it rains here a lot. Like ever other day, all year round. Anyhow, hustling we make it to Carrick-a-rede by 6pm. It is posted that it is open till 7pm, but it’s not open. This will be a reoccurring thing we run into in Ireland – strange! Bummed that we are not able to go across the swing bridge, we take a few minutes to snap some more awesome pictures of the coastline. Enjoy!

Ballycastle - you can clearly see scotland in the background!

Castle ruins along the north coast

Carrick-a-rede- site of the famous swing bridge

Next, we run to Giants Causeway, a natural phenomenon at the top north east end of the island. This was incredible. It looked like a quasar video game (made up of pentagon blocks), like the one from 1980’s arcades. At 8pm we leave and head to Derry, or what the Brit’s tried to re-name Londonderry. Oh ya, we are in the north, you know the UK, even though it's Ireland. This is the town/site of Bloody Sunday. It is also one of the last walled cities in Ireland. We arrive at 9:30pm ish, secure a hostel to stay at, and promptly turn around and leave our room at 10pm to get some supper at the only place still open. Wow, did I tell you this staying light out til 11pm is really screwing us up? What time is it? J Enjoy the photos!

Brian sitting on Giants Causeway

Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/katnbrian/sets/72157621380029871/