Today is a long day. I am taking a coach tour north to see the Giants Causeway with a couple other stops. I contemplated renting a car and doing the drive on my own but since I have limited time here in Belfast I decided the whole rental car business is too much trouble – I really need to come back and do it properly when I have more time. There are some things I miss without the car: stopping at the cute small towns that catch my eye along the ride, the rope bridge that forbids bus tours from visiting, and stopping for whatever views I like. However not having to stress about driving is nice too.

We stop briefly at one town to see the Carrickfergus castle. Not really much time to see anything but walk along the water a bit and visit the bathroom. I’ve gotten my fill of castles lately so I skip trying to tour it quickly.

Our bus isn’t totally full so I get a row of my own as well as do other single travelers. There are days I am social and there are days I am not. Today I really don’t feel like being social so it is nice to have my space.

We pass by this hill that hides a school place where kids where taught Gaelic language in secret when it was outlawed by english.

We additionally stop at the dark hedges, famous mostly for a Game of Thrones scene. They are nice but I bet were much nicer in the past. There are parts not so dark and scary anymore….perhaps it is because it is technically still winter maybe. Before the dark hedges we are advised to get lunch at the hotel. It is a buffet of pub food. I wish I would have skipped it and snacked instead. I would have liked more time to take a longer walk down the street with the hedges.

The highlight of the day is visiting Giant’s Causeway, a rock formation near the water in Northern Ireland. Lava created this formation many millions of years ago. It is kind of impressive to view the symmetry that exists among the rocks.

I made dinner reservations at a pub but I still have a couple hours. I need some more St Patrick’s paraphernalia so I pop into shops real quick before they are about to close. Shops close early around here just like a small town. After shopping I decide to do a tour of a couple pubs since I have yet to do this in Belfast. Dinner at one more pub and then time to sleep since its been a long day.

Tomorrow I am going to visit the peace wall and head to Dublin where a friend will join me in my travels.