Belfast and Northern Ireland

Hello Everyone,

I have to make up for some lost time in Ireland.  My last post was on Sunday morning. 

Well, it had been a whirlwind since then.  That morning, we headed up the eastern coast on the ‘Scenic Coastal Route’ to the Giants Causeway.  I cannot tell you all how beautiful the landscape was.  Every time you turned a bend, the views got better and better.  We stopped at Carrackfergus Castle.  We literally drove on the very edge of this island with the land, valleys and hills on the left and the beautiful blue, green water on the right. We stopped at the famous rope bridge. The Rope Bridge Carrick a Rede is a narrow rope bridge, spanning the strait of 20 meters with a height of 30 meters. Located near Ballintoy, County Antrim, Northern Ireland.  It was very exciting walking across the bridge! 

After that, we went to Giants Causeway situated on the North coast of Ireland (about two miles north of Bushmills), the Giant’s Causeway is an area of approximately 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic eruption. 

We then headed back to the dancing venue to watch our friends compete and practice for the team competition tomorrow. 

By the time we finished our day; it was close to midnight.

Monday brought an absolutely crazy, busy day.  It started at 7 in the morning, with hair and make up for the girls on the team.  Practice followed and by 11 a.m., the team was polished and ready to dance.  The team is an eight hand mixed ceili made up of four girls and four boys.  I watched the team complete with the best of the best of Ireland and England’s teams and they did a terrific job.  Eleven teams competed and at the end of the day, our team finished 5^th.   It was a huge accomplishment for them.  We are super proud.  They had such a fabulous time on the stage and it showed in their faces and the feet! 

Throughout the day, between dancing, we headed to Queens Square, Victoria Street,  for a little shopping and then onto the Titanic visitor site.  Titanic Belfast first opened the doors to the world on March 31, 2012.  It marked the centenary year of the launching of the legendary liner. 

By the end of the night, it was back to Dublin.  We arrived back by midnight and we were up by 6 am., to get to the airport for our trip back home. 

I truly feel like it has been a whirlwind vacation.  We had such a wonderful time in this new part of Ireland and again look so forward to our trips back. 

I hope you all enjoyed reading about our family’s experiences in Northern Ireland as Shannon competed in the World 2012.  It is always a pleasure to share with you.

Stay well,

Sharon