I don’t think this post will accurately express my love for
Northern Ireland. But let me first begin by saying I did not know very much
about Northern Ireland previous to coming here. I have some wonderful friends
that live in Ballymoney that told me a little bit about it, but that was all.
Our
trip to the North coast first started with a bus ride from Dublin to Belfast. Our
faces were glued to the window admiring the wonderful view for two and a half
hours. Once we got there we were greeted with two lovely faces, let’s call them
M&M. M&M are fantastic friends of my parents, who are from Northern
Ireland but lived in British Columbia for thirteen years back in the 80’s and
90’s. It was truly a blessing staying with them. They took us around their
amazing coastline. Day one started with a walk through the famous dark hedges,
then onto the Giant’s Causeway. We hopped on a mini tour bus and it took us to
a place where both of our Canadian jaws dropped and said “OHHH MYYYY GOSSSSSHH,
I HAVE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING SO BEAUTIFUL”. What, how and amazing were the only
words we could come up with. The Giant’s Causeway is all produced from a
volcano 60 million years ago. I still cannot believe something like that
exists. It felt peaceful, but almost childlike at the same time. As I hopped
the columns, I felt like I was truly in God’s happy place for me. It was as if I
was walking in the middle of the ocean. The waves crashed against the rock
formation loudly, but everything else inside of me felt still, and quiet. I
never wanted to leave but eventually everyone else started to get hungry. We
stopped at this little tiny restaurant on our way to the carrick-a-rede rope
bridge, which is another picturesque location. .
The water was crystal clear, with such beautiful aqua, and royal blue colours.
We constantly had to keep pinching each other. The bridge was a lot of fun, and
this is coming from me! A height striking fear lady! I’m so glad I did it to; I
have a certificate to prove it!
The day ended with pizza and ice cream at Morelli's at Portstewart, a cute
little beach town. The next two days were spent surfing and swimming at Port
Rush. Sandwiches and sand in my toes, while tanning on the beach, that’s the
sound of a good holiday. M&M also drove us all around their little town,
pointing at familiar places and faces. Everybody knows EVERYBODY in the North.
I
will always remember the wonderful generosity of M&M, and hope I can do the
same thing for somebody one day. So a big thank you to M&M, you are truly
amazing people. Of course thank you to Northern Ireland, for making me fall
head over heels in love with you. I hope to visit soon!
