Into Northern Ireland

We left the Donegal area fairly early, planning to stop at the Ulster American Folk Park. Alas, we discovered it didn't open until 11:00 and we didn't want to wait more than an hour, so we kept heading north. We had a wonderful drive along the coast, which is absolutely gorgeous. We stopped for tea in the little seaside resort town of Castlerock.

Dan had a latte; pretty, isn't it?

Our main stop for the day was the Giant's Causeway, a World Heritage Site. Basalt columns pushed up by ancient volcanoes form an amazing natural phenomenon. It was about a kilometer's walk from the visitor center to the actual rocks. The audio guided tour was very enjoyable, including quite a few stories about Finn McCool, the giant who allegedly used this walkway.

You can see the columns here

Camel formation in stone

Finn McCool's giant chimneys in the distance

Looking across the cove

Dan at the top

You can see some of the hexagonal rocks

The surface near the top

After we left there, we headed on around the coast, back toward our B&B in Portrush. We passed this old castle.

Small rock islands seen from the shore

We easily found our B&B, right on the main road through Portrush. This is another holiday resort town and lots of people were around here for a Sunday outing. We had dinner at 55° North, a very nice restaurant just across the street. We enjoyed sitting next to a couple from Belfast who were very friendly. This place has a special 3-course early bird menu and it was really busy!

We both had Caesar salad to start

Dan's pork chop on mash with red cabbage

My stir fry with veggies, cashews, and noodles (I left most of the noodles!)

Dan's brownie with toffee sauce

My fresh fruit roulade