Giant's Causeway

Our final coach tour, we took a trip up into Northern Ireland, for the purpose of seeing the Giant's Causeway. We debated for a while before going to Ireland whether we wanted to do this tour. I am SO glad we did, I think it was my favorite tour. It was a very early morning (I think our tour LEFT at 6:30am, so we were up and out the door right away). I'm not going to write TOO much about this trip: I think that the pictures themselves can explain more than I can verbally. It was just an amazing place, radiating with history and spirituality.

I cannot remember the town this was in, but it was our first pitstop that we made. Like many coastal towns, it was an active harbor. Very, very lovely.

We then arrived a while later at the first main stop on our trip: The Carrick-A-Rede Rope Bridge! It was optional to go over the bridge to the other island, but I was really excited to do so! 

The water was so clear and as you can see, a very turquoise color. It kind of reminded me how the ocean looked when I was in Hawaii!

Below you can see the jagged cliffs where seagulls are nesting

Over in the distance, you can see Scotland!

We stopped for lunch at this little place, and outside they had shetland ponies! Our tour guide dubbed me "Joan of Arc" due to my short stature, hair color, and my affinity for ponies. 

And then we arrived at our favorite destination: The Giant's Causeway! We only had about 2.5 hours to explore this extraordinary place. It is definitely somewhere on my list I must go back to - this time was not enough to see everything! Do to the time constraint, we mostly stuck around the waters edge, but there is a walk you can do up into the hills.

It was really fascinating to see the Causeway formations - the volcanic structures really were the same shape!

This formation is referred to as the Giant's Boot! He was a pretty big Giant, I see!

On the way back, we stopped in Belfast just for an hour. By this time of the day, we were absolutely exhausted! We just hung out in a coffee place. The week prior, there was a great deal of violence in Northern Ireland. I may have mentioned before, but I really did not grasp the gravity of the unrest that still exists between Northern Ireland and Ireland. There is still a strong religious tension between Catholic and Protestant people that has remained since the Troubles. Although tourists usually do not have to worry, I have had Irish people tell me horrifying stories about the harassment often experienced in Belfast.  

On the way back, we also stopped for a photo opportunity at this castle, which was used as a set in Game of Thrones. Paul and I also met and spent some time with someone who is an extra in Game of Thrones. It is pretty cool that we were able to see a great deal of production going on for different television programs we both enjoy!

Glendalough and Wicklow

The next day (Monday), we took a coach tour to Glendalough and Wicklow. The Wicklow mountains and the loch, formed from glaciers, were so beautiful (though I feel like I say that about everywhere I've been)! The first stop we made we walked through the national park, stopping to enjoy the loch, and slowly meandered through the woodland trails.

Legend has it that it was by this loch that St. Kevin famously had a bird build a nest and hatch chicks in his hand, all the while feeding him bugs to keep him alive. St. Kevin was an interesting guy. He also apparently threw a woman in to the loch who he believed was "satan come to tempt him." She drowned. Nice guy.

As you can see, it was quite windy! Again, I feel like I say that about many places...

Below you can see a round tower in a monastic community that is associated with St. Kevin. It's one of Irelands most well preserved monastic settlements. The tower is one of the best preserved in Ireland.

Another legend had it if you could touch your hands while wrapping your arms around this huge cross (also associated with St. Kevin), you would be married within the year. THAT'S not happening, but Paul was pretty excited his arms were long enough.

Driving through the valley, we actually were able to see some of the filming of the show "Vikings" that was occurring there. There were lots of people on horseback (warming up the horses), many trailers, vehicles, and even a helicopter flying around getting arial shots. That was really neat! You can just make out the line of horses in this picture.

Lead mining was once prosperous enterprise in Glendalough, but in many parts of the valley you can see damaged patches of land that were poisoned by these efforts. Mining does not occur here anymore, and the government is hopeful that the land will eventually heal. 

After a lovely morning in the beautiful mountains, we headed towards Kilkenny, an interesting medieval town. We decided to do our own thing in town. First, we wanted to get lunch, and we ended up finding a place to eat right across from the Kilkenny Castle.

    However, this cafe was close in the running between the two places. I think we both were happy we chose the other place, though!

These were the Rose Gardens of the Kilkenny Castle

Later that night, we met up with my family again - it was my cousin Tom's 21st Birthday! Here is a picture of us at his birthday dinner celebration. Afterwards, the oldest four in our party went out for drinks. I have said this before, but I feel SO blessed to have been able to see my family, even being across the ocean! It just so happened that our time in Ireland overlapped. Spending time with them on those two days was such a highlight of our trip!