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 an all night plane ride, which landed in Dublin at 5 AM Irish time, we spent the first half of our day in Ireland driving to our little rented cottage. It was still dark by the time we reached the border with Northern Ireland (technically part of the UK). In fact it was pretty dark right up until we reached Belfast, where we decided to take a little bit of a longer route along the Causeway Coastal road. The next couple hours were spent taking in beautiful views of the Irish sea (the body of water between Ireland and England) and the little villages that dotted the cliffs and coast lines.
Along the way we stopped in one of the little towns for some brunch at a Café. Although ,at 9 AM on a Sunday morning it can be hard to find places that are open. It was probably the 4th place we tried, none of the others were open.
When we finally reached our destination (a couple hours early), we were stunned by the view we had from our little cottage. Our cottage is located within view of the coast, within a short drive of many fascinating sites such as Giant’s Causeway. We will be sure to explore many of these sites in the coming days.
We ended the day by picking up supplies for the cottage (food, firewood, etc.) and grabbing dinner at a “The Cod’s Way” a little fish and chips shack down in the local village.
In all, our first day in Ireland was pretty laid back, simply enjoying the landscape around us as we made our way to our destination. I am sure that we will experience many new things in the coming days.