Day one and I guess day two of our Ireland adventure have gone well. As Trump would say "a lot of people" said I did really well going through security at the airport. Who are "a lot of people"? Just a lot of people. I went through the security better than anyone else.
The second take-a-way from the day is: why are they giving me keys to this nice car and then turning me loose with no instructions knowing that I'm horribly sleep deprived? I didn't know so much as how put this weird key into the ignition, turn on the lights, or start the defroster and all of a sudden with no instructions I'm driving down the motorway at 120 KM per hour on the opposite side of the road and the steering wheel on the other side of the car! Who in their right mind would think THAT was a good idea!!!!!?
Our first stop as we exited that death trap of a car was Belfast, Northern Ireland. We
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| The Catholic side of the wall |
took a tour called a black taxi tour. It's part taxi cab ride and half history lesson regarding the Catholic/Protestant "troubles" which had come to a head between 1969 and 1980. The biggest surprise to me was that they still close the barricades blocking the Catholic/Protestant neighborhoods from one another at night. Seeing many of the murals on the walls showed that Belfast is still a city with a great divide. When we got off the plane we moved our watches up 6 hours and our hopes for a united Ireland back 50 years.
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| Our Bed & Breakfast |
We left Belfast and headed to BallyCastle, still in Northern Ireland where will hope to visit the Giants Causeway and the Bushmills Irish whiskey distillery. Who am I kidding? We ARE going to the distillery and perhaps the Giants Causeway afterwards if there is time.
We are the only guest at the Crockatinny Bed & Breakfast and after fish, chips and a Guinness at
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| Cathy outside of our B & B |
the Diamond Bar, will be in bed by 8:30. You see Cathy is struggling with the time change. She thinks she's been awake for 40 hours straight but really it's only been 31.
Glad you arrived safely. Sounds as if you are off to a good start. Chloe is finishing week three of a month Scotland-Ireland holiday. She was at Bally Castle and Bushmills and is at Galway now. Maybe you will run into her as she is self-directing as are you. Be glad you aren't in GB. It is cold and windy and the 1" snow remains on the ground--sunny though. Enjoy your weekend!
ReplyDeleteWe have no idea what 120 KM is. While I’m sure you are sad to be missing the first snowfall, I hope you continue to enjoy many more adventures. P.S. They don’t like to be called “The ‘dahrty’ orangemen”. It’s not a term of endearment. Perhaps I should have mentioned that earlier.
ReplyDeleteMJ, it's easy. One km equals a bushel and two teaspoons.
DeleteAnd divide by 32 degrees.
DeleteMary Jo and Ken: the conversion to MPH is simply divide the KMPH by 6. So 120 KM is really like 20 MPH. It helps if you imbibe Guinness and Bushmills before attempting the math.
ReplyDeleteClose but no cigar. 120 X 6.2 = 74 MPH
DeleteExcellent start to your trip
ReplyDeleteSounds like a good start! Glad you made it safely.
ReplyDelete