We were picked up early on Friday morning, on only our second bus tour of our trip, which is almost six months old! First stop was the Trim Castle, a twelfth century Anglo Norman fortress. This was nice, but just another big old castle that was falling down! Next up was Lough Crew which was a climb to a top of a hill in a muddy paddock. On top of the hill are prehistoric tombs, apparently older than the pyramids of Giza. 
After a brief shopping stop in another nice town, Enniskillen, it was back on the road to our accommodation in Derry. We had to quickly organize our costumes for Halloween, before heading out on a walking tour of Derry. This was amazing, led by an old guy that is local to the area. We saw all of the sights including the cathedral, city wall and murals. The history here is amaz
ing and some of it very recent, like the massacre on ‘bloody Sunday’. The group then headed to a pub for dinner and drinks in a nightclub in town.
Up early the next morning we were back on the bus, for a day of sightseeing along the Antrim Coast. First stop was at the Dunluce castle, another ruin, on the edge of the cliffs overlooking the water. The kitchen is no longer on the cliff however, its sitting in the water below.
The last stop was the Carrick-a-rede Rope Bridge, which luckily was open due to it being a sunny day. The bridge is a rope swing bridge above the ocean, standing about 80ft in the air. Of course Christine got in trouble for jumping on the bridge and making it sway too much “you have to respect the bridge!” exclaimed the staff member.
Tonight is Halloween which is the reason the tour stays in Derry. The whole to
wn goes nuts for Halloween, everyone from kids to grandparents get dressed up, the town has a street parade and fireworks display. Everyone in the hostel spent an hour or so getting dressed up, everyone looked amazing, although Damien’s costume was a bit unimaginative, a mask and not much else!
Christine looked great on her broom stick dressed as a witch and there was also an awesome vampire, catwoman, policewoman, sailor and fairies. Once everyone was ready we headed down to the main street, had a few drinks in a nearby bar, again Damien’s full beer was knocked over by someone. It was then down to the parade and the fireworks before retiring to a small bar somewhere in town. The pub was awesome, packed and everyone in costume. Our favorites were batgirl, violet (from Charlie and the chocolate factory), the pope, Minnie mouse, beetle juice and a Transformer (who we met at the pizza shop). After a long day and big night w
e stumbled our way back to the hostel, seeing more crazy outfits in the streets.
After a brief shopping stop in another nice town, Enniskillen, it was back on the road to our accommodation in Derry. We had to quickly organize our costumes for Halloween, before heading out on a walking tour of Derry. This was amazing, led by an old guy that is local to the area. We saw all of the sights including the cathedral, city wall and murals. The history here is amaz
ing and some of it very recent, like the massacre on ‘bloody Sunday’. The group then headed to a pub for dinner and drinks in a nightclub in town.Up early the next morning we were back on the bus, for a day of sightseeing along the Antrim Coast. First stop was at the Dunluce castle, another ruin, on the edge of the cliffs overlooking the water. The kitchen is no longer on the cliff however, its sitting in the water below.
We did a walk along the top of the cliffs and then down to the Giants Causeway. This place was rushed, but amazing. There are thousands of stone hexagonal columns, and was created by the legend of Finn McCool, an Irish Giant who built a bridge to Scotland so that he could fight a Scottish Giant. It was similar to the tessellated pavement in New Zealand in some ways, although busier and we didn’t have much time on the rocks after the walk down to them.
The last stop was the Carrick-a-rede Rope Bridge, which luckily was open due to it being a sunny day. The bridge is a rope swing bridge above the ocean, standing about 80ft in the air. Of course Christine got in trouble for jumping on the bridge and making it sway too much “you have to respect the bridge!” exclaimed the staff member.
Tonight is Halloween which is the reason the tour stays in Derry. The whole to
wn goes nuts for Halloween, everyone from kids to grandparents get dressed up, the town has a street parade and fireworks display. Everyone in the hostel spent an hour or so getting dressed up, everyone looked amazing, although Damien’s costume was a bit unimaginative, a mask and not much else!Christine looked great on her broom stick dressed as a witch and there was also an awesome vampire, catwoman, policewoman, sailor and fairies. Once everyone was ready we headed down to the main street, had a few drinks in a nearby bar, again Damien’s full beer was knocked over by someone. It was then down to the parade and the fireworks before retiring to a small bar somewhere in town. The pub was awesome, packed and everyone in costume. Our favorites were batgirl, violet (from Charlie and the chocolate factory), the pope, Minnie mouse, beetle juice and a Transformer (who we met at the pizza shop). After a long day and big night w
e stumbled our way back to the hostel, seeing more crazy outfits in the streets. The bus ride on Sunday morning was very quiet, at least it was when Karen the guide wasn’t on her microphone. We were headed to Belfast about a 2 hour drive. When we arrived we it was rainy and cloudy. We were doing a Black Cab tour which was great. Sitting in an old taxi, you get driven around both sides of Belfast, Catholic and Protestant, which are still divided by the ‘Peace Walls’. Again, it is all so current, hearing about the IRA and the fighting. There are many murals around
town most of which are promoting peace and tributes to those killed. Others on the Protestant side were a bit more confronting, such as the portrait of one of the leaders, who is looked at as a hero because of the number of people he murdered.
town most of which are promoting peace and tributes to those killed. Others on the Protestant side were a bit more confronting, such as the portrait of one of the leaders, who is looked at as a hero because of the number of people he murdered. After the tour we had lunch in Belfast looked at a couple of the old hotels and pubs including the Crown Bar before reboarding the bus and being driven back to Dublin.
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