One thing we were excited about was that the Tall Ships were visiting Belfast and that where we were staying was a great viewpoint to see them leaving in full sail. As you will see below, our 3 hour wait left a bit to be desired! The Red Arrows air team did a fantastic display however!
Eventually, we caught a train down to Dublin, our favourite place. After checking into "our" hotel, we entertained ourselves by just wandering about, which is what we enjoy most. We did take a train down to Bray, Greystones, and Dalkey, where we would live if we had enough money, which we don't! Sigh. As we have shown you Dublin before, we just have a few shots of some things we found interesting, as we always seem to find odd things wherever we are.
All in all, it was a lovely time spent in Ireland, which we will miss visiting as easily as the year allowed us.
The imposing Carrickfergus Castle, built in Norman times. It is one of the best preserved medieval structures in Ireland. |
Inside the castle. |
One of the upper rooms. Notice the thickness of the walls, which may be why it withstood so many seiges in its history. We assume that the games are not original. |
You know it is a bad day when your armour needs a pee! |
Speaking of which, the facilities at the castle leave a bit to be desired. |
Beautiful downtown Carrickfergus, as viewed from the castle. |
Looking east, the direction you drive to eventually get to Robert and Eileen's house. |
The castle by night. |
After our journey through the fog, we were pleased to be bathed in sunlight in the town of Ballycastle, with its lovely beach. |
A first glimpse of the bridge. |
And here is the proof that Rick made it. Once on the island, he realized that he had to come back over the bridge. Drat. |
The water in this area is certainly beautiful. |
Back on the mainland, safe and sound, but with a great view of the bridge. |
The beautiful Antrim coast. Sometimes old sayings are true, as Ireland is certainly green!! |
The next stop was the remnants of Dunluce Castle. What a lovely hulk of ruins it is, just what we enjoy. |
At least the bridge to the main part of the castle isn't a rope one. |
The central court of the castle. Archaeological work around the castle has discovered the existence of a town outside the castle walls. |
Coastal view from the castle. |
The crowds start to gather for the passing of the Tall Ships and the aerial display. |
The Red Arrows flew one way... |
...and another... |
...and sometimes didn't seem to know which way to go!! |
All in all, a spectacular display. |
You'll be pleased to know that neither of us were kidnapped!! |
Carrickfergus' lovely train station. |
In Belfast, we had supper at the Morning Star, which is a pub that Robert took us to on one of our previous visits. We were proud of ourselves that we could find it. The building is from 1810. |
My train seat companion down to Dublin had an interesting tattoo - or maybe he was just commenting on the coffee company's commitment to the environment. |
Rick's beer of choice one evening. You do know a Galway Hooker is an Irish fishing boat, don't you? What else could it be??? |
My drink of choice. A cute hoor is a bit of a rogue who is quite brilliant. Once again, you knew that, right? |
The beach at Greystones, which is south of Dublin. |
I'm not sure why this beach-goer looks so grumpy. Maybe he has sand in his trunks! |
Another beach, this time at Bray, which is also south of Dublin. It is a very rocky beach, but fronts a nice wee town. |
Once in Dalkey, we headed down to one of its two harbours, where you might say it has a rocky shore. |
Oh, and gulls. The local fishermen leave bits of fish in the tubs and the crowd goes wild!! |
We didn't try to join them for lunch. Noisy bunch. |
Oh my...a bunny in bondage. |
Oh yeah, baby, I'm bad. |
We liked this device at one of the pubs, where you can call for whichever service you need. I wonder why more places don't use something like this. |
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