Lazy Sunday

Today we got up early and took the bus across town to attend church. Church was from 10 to 1, and the people were very friendly. The ward was an older ward, with only just a handful of children. The lessons were wonderful, although it was exhausting listening to the Irish accent for three hours straight. A few of the older sisters that we talked to had visited Salt Lake City and one had even lived there for forty years. She was born here, lived downtown Salt Lake for most of her life, and moved back to Ireland to retire. There was also a sister missionary there from Hyde Park in Logan. I guess it just goes to show that it's a small, small world after all.
After church, we just hung out at the hotel, napping and reading, and then I went for a walk a bit later. Pretty uneventful day.

A Giant Excursion

Today we got up early, again, to go on a tour to the Giant's Causeway. Our tickets said that our bus departed at 9am. Well, when we got there at 8:50, they said, "Oh, it may be about 9:45 at this location." So, we walked over to the other location and were told, "It will be about 10 just around the corner." So, bascially, we just stood around forever trying to figure out where our coach was leaving from. Who knows where they were. Maybe they were just fittering about. Thursday, when we came in from the ferry, one of the bus guys said everyone in Scotland runs late. I guess he really wasn't kidding.

I love Asian tourists. While we were waiting, there was a group of Asian tourists who all quickly piled off the bus, took about 200 flashing photos while saying, "Ohhh . . . ahhh . . . ohhh," and then quickly climbed back on the bus, drove about three blocks, and did the same thing. They are so cute and funny to watch. Plus they are all about 5 feet tall. I feel giant. I kind of wish that I could be on their tour bus.

We got started on the tour at about 10:20 and stopped soon after that to look at another castle. We only had ten minutes, and by the time everyone got off the bus, we had about five minutes left. I didn't even get off the bus because I have enough castle pictures, and this castle wasn't that impressive. Our tour guide said that many of the guides joke about ABC tours: Another Bloody Castle. That made me laugh a bit.

We drove down to a small seaside town called Carrick-a-rede. There was a rope bridge that we could cross, but I didn't do it. We didn't have a ton of time there, and I was feeling a wee bit car sick. Our bus had problems with the air conditioning, and it smelled a bit like a gym locker. It was nice to walk along the cliffs of the beach and just get some fresh air.

We finally arrived at Giant's Causeway where we had lunch at the Causeway Hotel. After, we walked down the trail to the beach and causeway. It was beautiful! I wish that we would have spent the entire day here instead of going anywhere else! We were there for about 2 and a half hours, including lunch, and it was only enough time to do the first part of the trail. That place is just enormous! Here are some pictures and a short video of parts of the trail along Giant's Causeway.

Here are the Basalt Stepping Stones.

This is me relaxing on The Giant's Boot.

I know, I need to do a slideshow! That will be later for those, if any, that are interested.

Here are some pictures of a castle called Dunluc Castle. We didn't have time to walk down to it, only to take pictures. Sad! This is one that I would have liked to go in. Maybe because it's old and falling apart and not modernized. Misty, I know you will like that because it's kind of like erosion. :)

On the way home, I basically slept the whole way. Just more mountains and rolling hills, and one non-carsick girl.