Antrim Coast

We started off our last day of vacation with a yummy breakfast at our hotel and then hopped a tour bus for a day trip along the Antrim Coast. We knew we were going to see a number of landmarks quickly, rather than take our time, but since we only had a week and I wanted Andy to see as much of the beautiful countryside and coast line as possible, off we went. The drive between locations was gorgeous, whether we were passing quaint villages, green hills, or rocky ocean shores.

Our first stop was a castle just north of Belfast that was being restored, and Andy enjoyed the added touch of soldiers peeking over the edge:

We stopped at or drove past a number of castles and castle ruins, and I love that this one was still occupied! The moss covered bridge was the perfect touch!

I was able to catch a picture of a crane that was posing for us in the water:

We drove along the gorgeous Antrim coast and saw the coast of Scotland across the foggy bay, through the stunning glens of Antrim, and passed a herd of Scottish Highland cattle, which were the shaggiest, largest, scariest cows I have ever seen. Finally, we arrived at one of my favorite places on earth, the island and rope bridge of Carrick-a-Rede.

I was bummed it rained a bit, but we still took some nice photos and Andy videotaped looking down while walking across the bridge, which I opted not to post for fear that both of our mothers would pass out. It was a surreal moment to share this place with Andy, as it had been a special place for me to visit when I was freshly out of college and on my first international adventure and on my own. Here are some views from the island, including the cave where Andy thinks pirates still live:

I thought Andy did a really nice job with this shot:

We had lunch in a pub in Ballintoy, where we tried all of the weird, unfamiliar condiment packets (seriously, what is “brown sauce”?) and enjoyed what was one of the best Cokes ever! Our tour briefly stopped at Bushmill’s Whiskey Distillery, the oldest licensed distillery in the world, of course started by monks. While we didn’t have time to take the tour there, we popped into the cafe where I had a hot toddy, which was what I had last time and was my first taste of whiskey ever. We spotted this mirror, which I contemplated trying to fit in my suitcase:

I also liked the barrels outside:

The big stop, the highlight of the trip, was Giant’s Causeway, the coolest and weirdest coastline in the world (and a World Heritage Site). It poured for a few minutes and Andy and I got soaked to the bone and muddy, but we dried quickly in the gift shop (I’m sure they LOVED us squelching around in our wet shoes) and then headed down the long hill to the coast.

Andy being artistic:

We had about an hour to climb over rocks and enjoy the bizarre stepping stone- like terrain, and Andy loved it! It was great to see such a famous sight and check another one off our list! On our way back to Belfast, our bus stopped for a photo-op of Dunluce Castle, which was once inhabited until the kitchen fell off into the ocean one day!

We ended our trip with an evening in with room service and some serious British TV watching, not to mention consuming more Cadbury’s and some Tim Horton’s donuts (Wendy and Neil!!! Tim Horton’s!).

We flew home the next day, which was filled with the usual mishaps, miracles, and sheer smugness over how light we pack compared to those people with the luggage carts loaded down with 15 bags. Our layover in Heathrow allowed me to shop at their Harrod’s outlet and Andy to load up on Cadbury’s– it has to last us until our next European trip!

So we made it home safely and Andy was sick for another week and I kept waking up at 5 a.m. wide awake for about 2 weeks. But at last we are back in business! Thanks for joining us on another trip and we will try not to be lame sick people next time!