My First Trip to Ireland - Day 2

As I mentioned previously, I hired a car so that I could drive up to Northern Ireland. I decided to drive up there on Friday morning, which coincidentally was my 45th birthday. What a way to spend a birthday!  I got up fairly early as I didn't want to waste the day.  Castlederg in County Tyrone (pronounced TA-rone), where my Grandfather was born, was only about a two hours drive from Dublin city centre.  I partook of the included breakfast that came with my room. I enjoyed a full Irish, which was rashers, eggs, button mushrooms, black pudding and white pudding, sausage and roasted tomatoes.  This was my first experience with the puddings, which I've always, albeit a little hesitantly, wanted to try. You see, pig blood is one of the main ingredients in the black pudding.  I found it interesting, yet tasty. It's a taste that I cannot describe, as it's not similar to anything I had ever eaten before.

A full Irish Breakfast

After breakfast I began my drive. Traffic was terrible and it took me about an hour just to get out of Dublin. Part of my journey involved going through a toll to get to a tunnel. I mistakenly got in the wrong lane, thinking it was a cash lane with an attendant, but it was not. It was designated for what we call SpeedPass.  I tried to back up to get to another lane, but it was too late; there was already another car behind me. I pushed the help button to explain that I was a dumb tourist, and before you know it, the gate opened and I got a free toll pass!  I felt kinda dumb but I quickly learned the symbols at toll plazas, though.

On with my Journey. The drive was pleasant, without about half of it on a major motorway (highway).  What I like most about driving in Ireland is that people use the passing lane to pass, as it's designed.  You don't have stupid nobs driving in the passing lane like they own it.  The speed limit on the main motorways was 120kmh, which is about  75mph, which is fast.  The funny thing is, being such an agricultural country, even farm tractors were on the motorway, yet they tool along at a very quick pace. The lorry's, or trucks, over there are very intimidating.  Here is a pic of a typical Irish lorry, all decked out in copious amounts of lights.

A typical Irish Lorry

I have to say, though, that I love the design of these trucks.

So, after a couple of hours and a very uneventful crossing into Northern Ireland (which, remember, is another country!), I made it to Castlederg. The town centre was larger than I expected, and was very quaint.  I went into the local grocer to check out some of the UK offerings, and then found a chippy (Fish and Chips) and ordered lunch.  I couldn't even finish the whole thing!

After lunch, I took another brief walk through the village. Here is a short video showing the town centre.

As I was leaving town, I saw a small graveyard. I decided to stop to see if I could find any Wilson's (my surname), and I did. Of course, it's a long shot to whether or not they are any relation, but I snapped a picture of the headstone anyways.

Time to head to my lodging for the evening. It was just under a two hour drive to Belfast, where I was staying for the night.  I arrived around 3:30 and was able to check into my room at the Ivanhoe Hotel.  My room here was spacious and recently renovated (in fact, they were working on the front lobby renovations when I arrived; it didn't even exist but for an empty shell!) I inquired as to the distance to the Giant's Causeway, as I knew it couldn't be too far away from where I was.  I was told it was about an hour, so I decided to go ahead and make the journey. Well, it was more like an hour and 40 minutes, but I was able to get there with about an hour of daylight left.  The visitor's centre had just closed, but you could still access the causeway.  I'm so glad that I decided to go. There were only a few other people there, so it was very peaceful, and beautiful.

What an amazing sight this was.  I had read and seen many, many pictures and articles about the causeway, and now I was standing there. This was the moment that was the most emotional to me, as it was here that I really came to grips with the fact that I was actually in Ireland...Ireland!  I was so happy at this moment that I actually kissed one of the rocks.  I then sat down and enjoyed the roar of the surf of the North Atlantic crashing on the shores.  Now I was hungry. I passed a restaurant/hotel on my way here and decided to head there, but first I went to see a castle....well, I thought it was a castle, and it was, at one point.

As soon as I pulled in to a little pull off area, my mom called to wish me a happy birthday. It had been a great birthday that day.  Now off to dinner.  I dined at the Smugglers Inn. What I found really neat in Ireland is that many of the restaurants/pubs have guest rooms, and many of the Guest houses and hotels have nice restaurants. Dinner was a beef and Guinness stew with a rhubarb crumble with warm custard for dessert. It was divine.  After dinner I headed back to my hotel room in Belfast, passing through Bushmills, home of the Bushmills distillery.

I retired to my room and enjoyed a bit of telly before heading to bed. It was neat to be able to watch Irish and British TV live. In the states I watch, almost exclusively, TV from other countries, mainly the UK and Australia. 

Day three to follow....