We enjoyed lots of gorgeous Highlands scenery. We drove along the shores of Loch Lomond. Absolutely stunning!!
We made a stop in Alloway at the Burns National Heritage Park. (Alloway is the birthplace of the famous poet Robert Burns.) I admit, I didn't really remember the poet. So I wasn't overly excited about the stop. But! It was nice anyways. We went into the Alloway Parish and it was beautiful!
After that, we rode along the coast, making a stop along the way. It was windy but beautiful!
We got to see the Creag Ealasaid (which is Gaelic for Elizabeth's Rock) also. It was neato! It's an island that looks like it's moving. Very cool!
Ok, moving along now!
We traveled along the coast to Cairnryan for a ferry ride to Larne! Looooved riding the ferry!
Again, very windy! But this was awesome!! Great memories!!!
So after the ferry ride, we arrived in Larne. We picked up our new driver, Patrick! I was sad to lose Peter but Patrick turned out to be another awesome Irishman!
We drove on into Belfast to the Europa Hotel! This was probably one of my favorite stops! The hotel was beautiful, the tour of Belfast was interesting, AND one of my favorite things... We went to see the show, Celtic Dream! That show is a definite "must see" if you ever get the chance!
This is the view from the room! The famous Crown Bar was across the road from our hotel.
Anyways, I'm getting ahead of myself! This was the end of day 5. We had a nice dinner at the hotel and got to relax for the evening! Super nice! :o)
Day 6! Tour of Belfast!
Extremely interesting but it seemed we didn't get enough time to see and hear everything! We went to Titanic Belfast where the RMS Titanic was built. It was ok, but not as interesting as I had built it up in my mind to be!
Then we went to Mount Stewart House and Gardens. This place was nice, but the gardens were amazing! (I'm running low on adjectives to describe it all! LOL)
It was simply spectacular! Such vibrant colors.. There are not enough words to describe all the beauty!!
So after this, we went back to Belfast for another night. (This is the night we went to see Celtic Dream!) Fantastic show! Loved Belfast!!
Day 7... The Giant's Causeway and Derry!
This ended our time in Belfast. We drove the scenic route of the "Nine Glens of Antrim" and it was some more breathtaking views! I can only say that pictures do NOT do this place justice!
This was the view while riding along the coast. Can you imagine what it would be like to see this out your window every day? Lucky people!!!
It was also along this gorgeous stretch of road that we had the awesome luck of driving right into a rainbow! It was so incredibly cool, especially to someone like me that loves rainbows! :o)
After this, we stopped at the Giant's Causeway. Awesome!!! If you don't know what that is, google it! It is fascinating, both the myth and the scientific reasoning! It's another place that I highly recommend seeing if you are ever in Ireland!
After this stop, we went on to Derry where we enjoyed a very interesting walking tour of Derry! Our guide did a great job and I learned quite a bit!
We then left Derry and drove on to Letterkenny, which was our stopping point for day 7...
And this is also my stopping point for part 3! Lots of pictures and I know I missed several highlights! (Like, the swinging bridge we saw... And the castle that sits on a cliff edge.. The kitchen actually fell off into the water -with the staff inside!) I just can't fit all the awesome details in!! It's definitely one of those tours that if you ever have the opportunity to go on, you should!!
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