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 by the old Dunluce Castle Ruins, the gates were closed for Christmas, but we will probably stop by to get a better tour of the place when it opens again. According to my grandmother, the Castle used to host banquets and parties. During one of these events, part of the cliff collapsed and the castle kitchen along with it. It hasn’t been used for banquets since.
Making our way into Portrush, we had time before our dinner reservation, so we walked along the beach toward the white rock cliffs of Portrush.
As we ate dinner, at a very nice Bistro overlooking the sea, my grandmother reminisced about her childhood here, where the ice-cream shops used to be, where she used to ballroom dance with friends, how she and her siblings used to play in the cold waters of the Irish sea before coming inside to a warm cup of tea.
After supper we walked through the town of Portrush, stopping by some of still open shops for some souvenirs before they closed for Christmas. We then headed to Causeway Coast Vineyard Church, in the nearby town of Coleraine, the church where Kathryn Scott, writer of songs such as, Hungry, At the Foot of the Cross, and Be the Center, used to lead worship (she and her husband recently moved to Anaheim California). We celebrated a nice Christmas Eve Carol Service there, before making our way back to our little cottage for a quick Christmas Eve dessert.