Hello Readers!

This past week I have been traveling with my parents. We started off in my homeland of Scotland and then headed to Ireland!

Monday we were still in Edinburgh so we started the morning wandering around trying to find a place to eat when we came upon The Grosvenor.

• This was a nicer pub at the end of Prince’s street

Once our bellies were full we got on the bus and headed to Leith. Our original plan was to tour the Royal Yacht Britannica, but the tickets were a wee bit expensive so we decided to walk along the Leith walk and wander the city. However, it had been chilly and a wee rainy all day so we didn’t find much enjoyment in the area so we got the bus again and went to tour the Craigmiller Castle

• I had been to this castle earlier in the semester and really enjoyed it so I was happy to bring my parents there.

After touring the castle we went back into Edinburgh to get some Ben’s Cookies and go back to the flat for the night.

The next day we spent the beginning of the day trying to plan out how we were going to get to Ireland the following day. So, we kept bouncing between the train station and the bus station until we finally were able to get it all situated.

When we got everything figured out we went to breakfast at Café Centro and then caught the bus to Cramond.

• Like the castle I had been here before with my host mom’s, but we didn’t go out on the island, so that was our first plan of attack
  • The pathway to the island we were going to was about a mile long and only visible/accusable when the tide was out
• The island itself was pretty cool. There wasn’t much on it except for an abandoned building that was fun to explore.

Once we were done on the island we made the trek back and found food at Cramond Inn.

After we were done eating we were going to go to Dean’s Village, but it was raining again so we stopped at Mary’s Milk Bar for some Hot Chocolate and Gelato before going back to the flat and calling it a night since we had to be up early the next day.

Today we got up at 4:30am to start our journey to Belfast, Northern Ireland.

The Journey:

Bus to Glasgow, Scotland -> Train to Ayr, Scotland -> Bus to Carinryan, Scotland -> Ferry to Belfast, Northern Ireland -> Car ride to Portsterwart.

• Once we reached Belfast we were picked up by Kristin Toso who took us to our flat in Portstewart (where they used to live).

After settling in a bit we walked down to the Prom (Prominade: The main street throught town) and found food at The Anchor which was absolutely delicious and so yummy after a day of traveling.

When we were done eating it had started to sprinkle so we went back to the flat, did some laundry and watched TV until it cleared up a bit and my mum and I were able to go on a wee walk down by the shore where there was a gorgeous sunset.

Thursday was our first full day in Ireland. We started the morning with breakfast at Bob and Bert’s before Terry Toso picked us up for a day of sightseeing. Our first stop was the Giant’s Causeway.

• We had the option of parking close to it and only seeing that or parking a bit away and walking the coast; we chose to walk and luckily we did. The view as breathtaking. We were able to walk along a beach and the cliffs which were spectacular.
• Honestly, I wasn’t all too impressed with The Giant’s Causeway because there were so many tourists there and since there was so much foot traffic over the area many of the stones had been worn down. But the views on the way there were well worth the journey.

After hiking for about four hours we made our way to the Burshmills Whisky Distillery, which is the oldest licensed distillery in Ireland and possible the world.

• We were able to tour the whole area from them starting the process to the bottling and shipping which was very neat to see, and once we were done we were able to try a sample of the whiskey.
  • I tried the 12 year which was delicious, but out of my price range so I didn’t end up buying anything other than a post card.

Once we were done with the distillery we went to the Toso’s house for some delicious fajitas and wonderful conversation.

• This was this first time I had been in a home since I left in January and I didn’t realize how much I missed it. I was so thankful that the Toso’s took us in and were exceptional tour guides for the few days we were there.

When we were done with dinner Terry drove us back to the flat so we could relax a bit from all of our walking and rest up for the next day.

Friday we started the morning with breakfast at Three Kings on the Prom before Kristin and Nikkia picked us up and we were off on the days adventure.

Our first stop was the rope bridge.

• The bridge was originally used to connect the mainland to the island where there was a fisherman’s cottage. Since it was first build the bridge has been secured more, but previously there were only three ropes, one for walking and two for hand rails.
• The water around the island was crystal clear and the views were amazing. Part of the Game of Thrones series was filmed on a beach right next to it as well.

After the bridge, we stopped at Gareth’s to get some chicken and mayo garlic sauce (Nikkia’s favorite food) and brought it to the church to meet up with Terry.

Once we were done eating we piled back into the car now with Terry instead of Kristin and went to Dunluce Castle.

• At first I wasn’t too excited to see another castle, but it was stunning because it was built on a cliff so the view from it was amazing. It felt like you could see for miles.

When we were done exploring there we went to Portrush were Terry left us to do some shopping, but unfortunately it started to rain so we ended up waiting in Koko (a coffee shop) for him to come back to get us.

• The coffee shop overlooked the water and a beach where we watched the storm roll in.

A bit later he picked us up again and dropped us at the flat so we could pack up and get ready for our trip to Dublin.

• Even though we were only in Portstewart for a few days it was still a great little town and I would love to go back and spend more time with the Toso family in the future.

Saturday was our day to travel to Dublin.

We started the morning with breakfast at Morelli’s before Terry and Kristin picked us up and took us to some gardens in Belfast before our train.

• The gardens were beautiful despite the sneak attach of showers
• We fed swans and walked around looking at some royal gardens and a bit of ruins

When it was time to go we headed to the train station and rode 2 ½ to Dublin. Upon arriving in Dublin we got a cab to our flat.

• With a few bumps along the way we finally found our home for the next few days.

Once we were settled a bit we went out to find something to eat.

• The owner of the house we are renting left a few recommendations of their favorite places to eat so we thought we could check them out, but they were all very much outside our price range so we ended up finding a hotel restaurant called Portobello which was in our price range and had very delicious food.

As soon as we tried to leave it started to pour, so we waited for a bit and then ended up just going for it since we didn’t live that far away.

After we got back and dried off a bit I did some writing while my parents read until 9:30ish when we went down the road to The Lower Deck Pub for some karaoke. A bit later we started to get tired so we went back to the flat and headed to bed.

Sunday was our first full day in Dublin and it didn’t start out too exciting. We spent most of the morning trying to figure out why the washing machine was still washing when it said it took a short time and end up trying to plan what we were going to do for the few days we were here.

• We ended up washing out clothes for 3 hours because we didn’t know how to turn off the machine. It just started flashing its lights at us.

Once we finally got the laundry out and hung up to dry we were off on the days adventure.

Our first plan of attack was to find the Jameson Whisky Distillery

• I have been on plenty of distillery tours but this one was unique in that we didn’t actually see where the whisky was being made, but we did get to learn about much of the history and got a walkthrough of how they make it with very interesting graphic assistance that made it easier to understand and learn.

After the tour we were planning to just walk about, but ended up going to the Guinness Factory for a tour there.

• I was very excited for this tour because I had heard many great things about the tour, however, sadly I was disappointed with the experience. There was a lot to do and see, but it felt disorganized and cluttered. If I were to do it again or recommend it for someone else I would say to tour on a weekday so there aren’t as many tour groups there and hopefully it will be less crowded.

Once we were out of the tour we were going to go to another whisky distillery but it was too late so we went to find food. We were planning to just go back to the flat and find something around there, but I had to use the restroom so we found a place close by called, BBQ Lounge.

• You would think that a BBQ Lounge would be your classes American BBQ, but this one was not. It was actually an Indian restaurant, which turned out to be delicious!
• As soon as we walked in I stopped in my tracks because we were the only white people there and there was Indian music playing. I was unsure, but we committed and I am so glad we did. It was honestly some of the best food I have had!

When we were done eating we headed back to the flat and spent the rest of the night fighting with the washing machine again and trying to relax until bedtime.

Talk to you soon & thank you for reading