Irish Blessings

Belfast International Airport:

Customs Officer: “Do you live here?”

Us: “No.”

Customs Officer: “Are you visiting any relatives or friends?”

Us: “No.”

Customs Officer: “You must be here for the weather then.”

You can’t not LOVE the Irish!! I love their cheekiness, warmth, welcoming nature, friendliness, irreverence, joyfulness, colourful language, craziness and humour. It’s like you’re part of the family after only chatting for a few minutes. It’s so great to be back in this stunning country. A great start to our nine days exploring the north and a fitting end to our truly wonderful holiday. We are blessed.

Talking of the weather… it is superb! We are being continually told of our good fortune. Apparently it rained every day during summer, but we are experiencing similar temperatures to Amsterdam, but with no rain…. as yet.

We started with three nights at a hotel in the heart of Belfast. This hotel has the dubious honour of having being bombed seven times in the ‘troubles’ (apparently, the most bombed hotel in Europe!). This little fact was omitted at the time of booking.

If we don’t start off with a walking tour of a city, we like to do a ‘hop on, hop off’ bus tour to get our bearings. This usually involves headphones and an automated commentary. The Irish do it differently… they turn the tour into the most hilarious stand-up routine, keeping us entertained and informed with our lively guide cracking jokes and playing music along the way.

Part of this tour included driving through the areas notorious for the violence and skirmishes during the ‘troubles’. Such a turbulent history. We were quite surprised to discover that there are still two large gates and a huge wall separating the two sides of the city. These gates are still closed and locked at 6.30pm every day. Peace and hope messages are plentiful throughout the city and even though there is hard evidence of it’s dark history, it is a very safe city now. In an impoverished area of the city, we found the famous murals covering the walls commemorating those that fought and died during these years sobering.

Tourism is really assisting the Northern Ireland economy and we’re doing our bit. We visited the Titanic Exhibition which has won many awards. We are also in good company here at the moment… Game of Thrones cast and crew are  currently filming, staying at a hotel around the corner from ours and frequenting some of the many bars we have visited in our search for local artists! The road behind the Titanic Exhibition was closed as they were filming at the studios next door!! Nat, I’ve been keeping my eye out for Kit (aka Jon Snow) but unfortunately haven’t bumped into him yet. We were told by a fellow tourist that he was in a bar with another cast member the night after we left Belfast. @&$&@!

As Game of Thrones fans, we thoroughly enjoyed a full-day tour to visit County Down (Winterfell), site of many scenes and absolutely stunning countryside. Bruce won the archery competition and got to behead the loser! Maura, thanks for your recommendation! With all the beautiful places we’ve been blessed to see on this holiday, Tollymore Forest has got to be one of our highlights!!

Our driver and guide, Patrick, entertained us with stories about the cast and crew, as his tour company is used to transport the extras (the great hairy, unwashed – Patrick’s words) to the filming sites. Since leaving Belfast for our six days driving to explore the very north of Ireland, we’ve actually run into Patrick two days in a row as we visited some more Northern Ireland ‘must sees’. Stalker alert!

The scenic coastal road was a most beautiful drive up north from Belfast following the coast (obviously), with many panoramic vistas around each bend. Anne, thankyou for recommending we do this as part of our ‘north’ experience.

The ‘Dark Hedges’ (the King’s Road) was eerily beautiful, particularly since we were there at dusk and apparently that’s when the ghost appears. If you look very closely, you might see her. The Giant’s Causeway was fascinating. The rope bridge was too windy for me, but Bruce braved the gale and apart from a Chinese tourist who had a meltdown halfway across the bridge, enjoyed the experience.

Bushmills whiskey distillery is the oldest licensed distillery in the world and was a favourite of Bruce’s. Brian, Bruce has a new addition to his bar that he (and you) will enjoy!

A little Irish blessing:  May your blessings outnumber the shamrocks that grow, and may trouble avoid you wherever you go.