More Ireland

I'm home from Ireland, but was lazy the last few days there and didn't blog. In Northern Ireland I went to a couple major tourist spots. One was Giants' Causeway, a promontory of columnar basalt extending into the North Atlantic. It's quite cool...the columns are a bit surrealistic. I've seen this stuff before in all three west coast states, but it's always interesting.

Just east of Giants' Causeway is Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge. It was originally constructed to provide access to an island used for fishing by the locals, but is now almost exclusively a tourist attraction. My friend Wendy would love it...she has acrophilia, a love of heights. The bridge is roughly 100 feet above the ocean.

This is a street sign in Derry. The odd name derives from the fact that this section of Bishop Street is within the city walls, constructed about 400 years ago. The section of Bishop St outside the walls is named Bishop Street Without.

Sligo, a pleasant city in northwestern Ireland. There is a nice riverwalk in the heart of town.

I finished my trip in Galway. The central city is teeming with energy...there are tons of shops, restaurants, and pubs...great grazing and bar hopping! It's a college town and there are many young people, who together with the tourists give the city a fine cosmopolitan air. Great place!