Thursday, August 9 En Route to Belfast

 Before breakfast I walked outside to enjoy the blue ocean and sky and cool morning. Yes, it wasn't raining,

We visited first the Giant's Causeway. This World Heritage Site is the result of volcanic action and weathering with cracking over the millenia. The California Devil's Postpile is a similar natural phenomenon. Walking over rocks which have been moved by powerful nal forces and weathered into a pattern which appears planned is breathtaking.  It was windy and rained lightly. We were just 13 miles from Scotland. There is a myth about an Irish giant and Scottish giant and their rivalry - the reason it is called the Giant's Causeway.

Dunluce Castle which is a large structure and sprawls on the edge of the North Atlantic Ocean. Built in the Middle Ages it was a great fortification. However, the kitchen fell into the ocean in 1639, and the Countess of Antrim, the esidents and staff left. The remains are intact, and the views are spectacular.  

Up the road aways is a rope bridge over a narrow inlet. Called the Carrick-a-Rederoap Bridge it was constructed over 200 years ago for fishermen to enable catching salmon on their journey upstream. It is 90 feet above the water and 65 feet long. Walking the bridge was, at one time, on the itinerary, but it took too much time from the day's itinerary, 

We found lunch at a lovely cafe in Bushmills. The whiskey distillery there is the first in the world and now Ireland's only whiskey distillery. Our outside picnic table with two local couples. We got to talking and learned that one of them is in a local church choir, and the choir has sung in St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin. Small world indeed.

In a few hours we were in Belfast, Lynn's home town. We were driven by the "peace wall" which divides the Romam Catholic side from the rest of the city. It's gate is closed nightly at 7 PM as a prevention. Murals and messages, people's faces, and memorials to those who died during the "troubles" are also visible.

Lynn informed us that on the other side of the wall one sees lots of UK flags and people of both faiths do live together there. Nevertheless,  there are strong feelings on each side regarding  reunification,  on joining the EU, and on remaining part of the UK. Interesting is that of the countries in the UK Ireland receives the largest financial support.

After supper in the hotel we were entertained bya violinist, a guitar player, two dancers, and an MC.  Irish music, singing and dancing was a great delight - a perfect end to a variety of experiences and emotions in the day.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sunday, July 13, 2025 - Travel Day to Kyoto

 We selected breakfast items and picked up some requested items for Kenji rom the grocery store across the street. Karin had already started a load of laundry while I was still asleep. In our room we ate our purchases. I had a banana, a small bag of shelled edamame,and half a ham,cheese and llettuce. It was p,enty to hold me over four our 1130 reservation at a shabu ahabu restaurant.  Karin had researched inexpensive shabu shabu restaurants and found this one out of the main  touristy areas and in a metro mall. This meal had many parts: a choice of broth which is simmered on a burner at the table. On c houses a meat and how much  eat. One chooses  two dipping sauces and what kind of rice,  oh yes. The. There was a large bowl of fresh vegetables some of which I didn't recognize. I put them and the meat into the simmering broth.  With spoons to stir the ingredients there were lots of things on the table. The  meal was delicious,  super deliciou...
Read more

Begining of our family journey in Japan July 1 - 3, 2025

 This blog will cover our travel day and our first full day in Japan. Now, it already early morning on the 4th of July. Adjusting to the humidity is a challenge. Our travel day and our first full day are behind us already. I had no energy to write when we returned to our hotel yesterday. The humidity had taken it away. Nevertheless it's a new day after a good night's rest.  Our travel day passed smoothly as did the flight. We arrived ahead of the scheduled time and then taxied more than fifteen minutes to the gate. Kenji was very helpful in leading us through immigration and customs. He had also arranged for us to be picked up and driven to our hote that was a real gift after a length mostly sleepless flight. Karin lead us to an ATM to obtain cash as well as a "Suica" card. The card is very useful for public transportation as well as purchases in some small stores. I had read that both the Suica card and cash would be most useful in meal and transportation purchases, ...
Read more

Saturday, July 5, 2025 - Tokyo

 Karin and I went to bed Friday watching a newscast about residents being evacuated from a very small Japanese island near Okinawa, following an earthquake the day earlier. Saturday morning we watched a forecast of higher temps with little rain and a bit more about recent earthquakes on the outer islands, and we enjoyed our coffee and banana while listening to Japanese. Perhaps it will seep into our brains to help us understand more? With Leo Karin and I went to the nearby Family Mart to purchase additional breakfast food for the four of us to enjoy in our room. We ate and enjoyed relaxed conversations about the plans for today and train reservations for next week Tuesday to Osaka.  We then took two metro lines to the location of the digital Team Lab light show. For more than two hours we wandered in rooms large and small and corridors. Sights were flowers, figures, curved lines, abstract drawings,  birds butterflies, fish,  and small animals all moving on the walls ...
Read more