The Leprechauns Made Me Do It!

I've learned quite a lot about the jolly Irish since I got here:

1. A brief history of the Irish struggle for independence from the British which has ripped apart Belfast for the last 30 odd years. (I did a political walking tour along Falls Rd in Belfast)

2. That everything cool in Dublin happens after the sun goes down. (And in the morning apparently everyone has a hangover so nothing happens till about 10am)

3. That the Dublin tourish office is the most unhelpful place in the entire world unless you want to buy something. Instead of giving you information they would rather just sell you a crappy 2 euro guide.

4. Nothing made in China lasts. Okay, while that strictly has nothing to do with the Irish I'm just pissed off because the glasses I got in China broke on the ferry crossing to Ireland.

5. Motion sickness baaaad... Okay, so that also has nothing to do with the Irish but I was so awfully motion sick on the ferry to Ireland, I spent most of the time banging my head against the table wanted to die (although apparently that uses up 150 calories an hour so maybe I'm a good deal skinnier now... but whatever...)

6. You can blame anything on the leprechauns here! :p (Or at least that's what the sign on the hostel wall tells me)

So as you can see (or maybe you can't but it's true!) I've been doing a lot since my last entry. And so I blame fatigue for the disjointed nature of this entry.

While I don't want to bore everyone with the tedious details there are two highlights worth
mentioning.

Firstly a trip up to the Giant's Causeway. For those of you who have never heard of it see the picture. Although the actual Giant's Causeway is not as romantically inspiring as I would have imagined (although the photographers do indeed love it and are out there in droves with tripods and lenses bigger than their heads) the scenery there is utterly stunning. People travel hundreds of leagues there just to be utterly enthralled by the cliff top walk which delivers some of the most awe-inspiring views (especially the Chinese tourists who point and ooh and aah because they have never seen the ocean before). However I loved these beaches less because they were uniquely breathtaking and more because they just reminded me of home. It made me realise how lucky we are to have such incredible scenery on our doorstep just a stone's throw away. I mean I reckon the Great Ocean Road is just one of the best journeys you will ever make (unless you happen to be on it when some drunken pirate is playing chicken with the other crazy driver... I name no names...). But what I'm trying to say is that going there made me really nostalgic and homesick and I just miss all you guys at home so much!

But if you ever do head up the Irish east cost (which is amazing in its own right) make sure you stop off at Carrick Island which can be reached by the crickety Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge and just sit for a few minutes to enjoy some solitude and the incredible views and wildlife you get there. I even saw a dolphin!!! Yay!

Secondly Irish dancers are amazing. Makes me sad I never saw Riverdance. But the stamina and the energy required to keep jumping and tapping away like that just astounds me. I went and saw a short performance at the Arlington Pub here in Darlington and was just delighted by
these incredibly rhythmic and powerful dancers. You have to see it for yourself sometime! (And no, seeing Leo Di Caprio in Titanic does NOT count!)

Alright I'm going to go out and get a (half-)pint of something (I can't finish a pint of anything!!! It's pathetic and un-Irish I know!). But if I can't get up tomorrow I'm going to blame it on the leprechauns.