Giant's Causeway is only about an hour's drive from where I'm staying, but because of how small N. Ireland is, the locals mainly consider an hour drive quite long. An 8-hour drive would almost be unheard of. (This is a generalization of course. Not all the Irish think an hour drive is long.)
The scenery on the way to the Causeway is beautiful as always. There were lots of sheep, cows, and horses spotted on the way. Also, right by the Atlantic Ocean, there are numerous fishing villages. Many of the fishing villages I saw had maybe 15-30 houses tops. There's always wild flowers growing along the roads and in fields, and they make for a bit of a color change. The sky was bright but overcast as it has been the last two days, but it didn't rain at all today again.
To get down to the Causeway there's about a 10 minute walk: almost all downhill, which is great until you have to walk back up! The Causeway itself is amazing. A spectacular work of nature coming forth from volcanic activity and the inspiration for shape of 2 of the British currency coins. It's not quite as long as I thought it would be, but it's even more spectacular than I imagined. The view from the trails is beautiful, and you can even see Scotland way off in the distance.
After the Causeway, we went to the famous Carrack-a-Rede rope bridge. Pictures make this bridge look so much longer, but there's still a thrill walking over it. I mean, a tiny rope bridge suspended over a 200-ft drop as your only access to an island? The view from the island is spectacular. You can see the Scottish coast even better from the island.
So, a few more differences from back home. The main one I thought of today is how even though all the people are so friendly from the moment when you meet, they don't greet each other on the streets like we do in the States. To further explain: when I'm taking a wall and I pass someone, I say hello or nod my head in acknowledgement. Here in N. Ireland I've noticed that people don't really do that. They're not being rude, obviously, it's just an interesting difference. Also, in stores, the workers don't really come up to greet you or ask how you're doing like back home.
After we got back to the house, we had dinner and relaxed more. There's always plenty to eat, and plenty of "sweets" for afterwards. I also took a walk after dinner, an it was pretty funny to hear some elementary-age kids singing a Selena Gomez song. The neighborhoods are pretty quiet here even at 6 PM. People aren't out mowing lawns and even the kids that are out to play aren't very loud. It's kind of a sleepy country. And I, myself, am getting sleepy. So I'm off to the heavenly guest bed. Goodnight America.
Tomorrow's adventures: Belfast again!
Word difference(s) of the day:
USA: Parking lot
N. Ireland: car park
USA: Windy
N. Ireland: blowy
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