Tuesday 20th September – Giant's Causeway, Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge and back to Dublin again

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So turns out after the other 2 inspected their bedding they decided to get out their sleeping bag liners too...good decision! We packed up this morning and enjoyed our free hot breakfast that was included in our £11 a night price. We headed off, against the will of our GPS system, to the coastal route to Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge with a few stops along the way.
As we arrived at Carrick-a-Rede it started to rain and the wind was blowing big time so we decided that shorts were not the best of clothing choice for the day and got changed. By then the rain had stopped-ish and we had our lunch in the car. The rain had kind of stopped by the end of lunch so we made a dash for it. When we went to buy our tickets Steve asked the guy when the sun was due out and his response was 'When you are over the bridge'... well he was right. We walked over a very skinny rope bridge with planks of wood to stand on with a 20 meter drop below... I was fine getting over but it was the walking back where the man infront of me was bouncing the bridge along with wind adding an extra sway that was not so pleasant! We spent a while on the small island thingy... Mum B, you would be proud of me... I had a small 'Mum moment' where Steve was standing on the edge of a cliff and I was in a panic and had to stand back towards the middle of the island! By the time we headed back the sun was shining and I actually managed to take my beanie off... yes that is right I have gone from 40 degree heat in Rome, Pisa and Greece to such cold temperatures that I require a beanie, I knew there was a reason I packed my beanie and it wasn't for Brunei!
After this we drove to Giant's Causeway where the weather was a tad crappy again. Giant's Causeway is a 'free' attraction... but you have to pay for parking! LOL cheeky sods! I think I went to Giant's Causeway expecting great things and when we got there it my response was 'Is this it?' - By the time we left I really loved it. For those who don't know what Giant's Causeway is it is a pile of rock formations that look like they have been placed there by giants. The rocks are like hexagonal steps that all fit together – If you still can't image it... Google. I think it is because all the pictures I had seen of Giant's Causeway made the rock formations look like they were massive and being called 'Giant's Causeway' you would expect something rather large. After I began to take some photos I soon changed my mind about it, though. I got some really (well I think so) cool photos so I am going to add a photo to my 'Print onto canvas' pile. We spent about an hour wandering around then we saw the black clouds heading our way so we thought we should probably return to the car, it was a 15 minute walk from the car park to the rocks. Turns out it was a great decision because just as we were on the home straight to the toilets it started bucketing down. We only got a wee buit wet so that was alright!
After this we drove all the way back to Dublin as we had to be back ready for a flight tomorrow morning. When we arrived back at our 'local' hotel (Travelodge)... (I think this is Nicole's favourite accommodation place because she doesn't have to make her own bed... the fold out couch... and actually has a proper bed. We went to the local restaurant for dinner then headed back for my biggest mission ever... the repacking of Nicole's 'crap'! Somehow along the way she had managed to fill up about 10 bags as well as already sending a package home (she knows I am writing this and we always joke about it!) We sat down together and went through everything to make sure she actually needed to keep it, especially her scrapbook bits and pieces where we found 3 copies of a Dinseyland brochure... it was quite funny by the end as she seemed to feel the need to justify everything to me! After about 2 hours we had about 4 bags of rubbish and had managed the rest of her stuff down to 2 bags... I do believe it is now time for bed after that tiring exercise!
Goodnight
XX

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Photos

Photo 2
View along the way to bridge

Photo 3
Nickles and I

Photo 4
Steve and I

Photo 5
The 20m high Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge

Photo 6
Giant's Causeway

Photo 7
Waves splashing on the rocks