Today we left our little cottage on the northern coast and traveled southward to Belfast, the largest city in Northern Ireland. We arrived early at Belfast Titanic, where the RMS Titanic was built, and visited the museum devoted to the ship, once called the “Pride of Belfast,” and her fateful voyage across the Atlantic. It…
We got up Friday morning with plans to see and do everything we couldn’t see and do over Christmas and Boxing Day, driving through and experiencing many of the places we had already been by. We headed up the coast past the old castle at Dunseverick, of which only a single tower remains, the site…
Today we took an hour long drive to the city of Londonderry, where my grandmother grew up. The city was the central location for English expansion into Northern Ireland, and the site of many of the troubles between Northern and Southern Ireland. Upon entering the city we drove around to see where my grandmother grew…
We expected stores to be closed down for Christmas. We even expected most places to be closed on Christmas Eve. What we did not expect was that everything will still be closed the day after Christmas, a day affectionately known as Boxing Day. Now to those of you who are American, and have no idea…
Christmas Day started the way most Christmas Days start, with breakfast and presents. After eating a hearty breakfast, we headed up to the Giant’s Causeway. Usually the National Trust (UKs version of the National Park Service) tries to make people pay to visit the Causeway, something that has caused much controversy among the locals, who…
Today we woke up late, still battling jetlag. Right from the start it we could tell it would be a beautiful day. After a quick breakfast of Irish Soda Farls, we packed up and headed westward to the town of Portrush, a favorite summer vacation destination from my grandmother’s childhood. On the way we stopped…
Well, it finally happened. My family was able to take my grandmother back to Northern Ireland for Christmas. It has been several years since my grandmother has been back and decades since my father has been. For my mother, my brother, and I, it is our first time setting foot on the Emerald Isle. After…