Hey! Back from the North. Pictures HERE! It was a faaaantastic weekend. We stayed in the country and had a great time with Stephen's family.
On Friday I took the train up and stayed with Stephen's brother Martin and his family. We played Wii and watched Big Brother. In the morning his brother made an Ulster fry for us (eggs, toast, pancakes, beans, bacon). Sooo good.
Saturday we drove up to Giant's Causeway in Co. Antrim. The Causeway is a group of rock formations on the northern coast of the country, all stacked up in piles of basalt, formed by volcanos 70mill years ago. The legend of Giant's Causeway is that the giant Finn McCool wanted to see if he was stronger than the Scottish giant Benandonner, so he built a bridge to Scotland so they could meet and fight. One night as Finn slept at home, Benandonner came across the bridge to fight. As Finn's wife was awake she saw him coming and knew he was bigger than Finn, and Finn was sure to win the fight. As Benandonner approached, she pointed to Finn and told Benandonner "be quiet, don't wake the baby!" Benandonner thought, "if that's the baby, Finn must be huge!" so he ran away, kicking the bridge apart as he ran, and the bridge settled in a huge pile that is Giant's Causeway.
Saturday night I went to the pub with Stephen's family. At 2am the band played the National Anthem and the place shut down. But the Toner's wern't done, so Stephen's younger sister shuttled everyone from the pub down to their house and we continued singing, dancing and partying until 7am. When the sun came up at 5 me and Stephen went out for a walk and I got chased around the fields by the cows a little. We finally went in and I laid my head down for an hour before Mrs. Toner--miraculously sobered in just a couple hours--knocked on the bedroom door. Church.
Went to church still tipsy--sure my Grandma is rolling in her grave--and then out for a "carvery lunch", which is a big lunch served in the pub--basically what you'd find on your Thanksgiving plate. Then we went out for a drive around Armagh town for a little, went to an ancient ring fort, then hopped on the train home.
It was such a great weekend and it was really nice to get out of the city. It's amazing that in an hour's train ride I can be somewhere so different and so new.
I hear MI had some terrible thunderstorms yesterday. I hope everyone is okay and your power is back on by now. :)
Good Monday!
On Friday I took the train up and stayed with Stephen's brother Martin and his family. We played Wii and watched Big Brother. In the morning his brother made an Ulster fry for us (eggs, toast, pancakes, beans, bacon). Sooo good.
Saturday we drove up to Giant's Causeway in Co. Antrim. The Causeway is a group of rock formations on the northern coast of the country, all stacked up in piles of basalt, formed by volcanos 70mill years ago. The legend of Giant's Causeway is that the giant Finn McCool wanted to see if he was stronger than the Scottish giant Benandonner, so he built a bridge to Scotland so they could meet and fight. One night as Finn slept at home, Benandonner came across the bridge to fight. As Finn's wife was awake she saw him coming and knew he was bigger than Finn, and Finn was sure to win the fight. As Benandonner approached, she pointed to Finn and told Benandonner "be quiet, don't wake the baby!" Benandonner thought, "if that's the baby, Finn must be huge!" so he ran away, kicking the bridge apart as he ran, and the bridge settled in a huge pile that is Giant's Causeway.
Saturday night I went to the pub with Stephen's family. At 2am the band played the National Anthem and the place shut down. But the Toner's wern't done, so Stephen's younger sister shuttled everyone from the pub down to their house and we continued singing, dancing and partying until 7am. When the sun came up at 5 me and Stephen went out for a walk and I got chased around the fields by the cows a little. We finally went in and I laid my head down for an hour before Mrs. Toner--miraculously sobered in just a couple hours--knocked on the bedroom door. Church.
Went to church still tipsy--sure my Grandma is rolling in her grave--and then out for a "carvery lunch", which is a big lunch served in the pub--basically what you'd find on your Thanksgiving plate. Then we went out for a drive around Armagh town for a little, went to an ancient ring fort, then hopped on the train home.
It was such a great weekend and it was really nice to get out of the city. It's amazing that in an hour's train ride I can be somewhere so different and so new.
I hear MI had some terrible thunderstorms yesterday. I hope everyone is okay and your power is back on by now. :)
Good Monday!
that trip sounds glorious. hey..my mom is over there for another week or two, her base Joe Dolan's apt in Mullingar, you guys should hang out.
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