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Time went by Belfast- reflections of the trip to the island of Ireland

 One of my favourite Irish words is craic- I love how it can be used to describe a variety of things in a positive way- and it epitomises how the trip was good craic. There was some irony in the fact that I had visited 24 countries in my lifetime, but had failed to go to one of the geographically nearest ones- Ireland. I've been subjected to numerous tourism adverts over the years, highlighting what the island has to offer, and after experiencing what I would describe as having quite a rough patch following my trip last Summer, I wasn't looking to push the boat out too far when it came to travelling this year, but knew that I still wanted to contribute towards my ambition to visit 30 countries before I turn 30. Therefore, going to Ireland seemed to be a viable way to ease myself back into things.  One of the things I'd learned from my big European trip last year, is that I need to do things on a step-by-step basis, hence why I decided that it would be good to experience the...
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A tee-totaller goes to the Guinness Storehouse

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Yes- there is some irony there, but it did happen, coinciding with a visit to Dublin yesterday. You join me whilst I am (well, as of yesterday) sailing over the Irish Sea back to Blighty, milking the amount of data left from my eSIM. But, there'll be no more talk of milk in this blog post, as there will be talk of a different drink, instead. But more on that later. It was my first time in the Irish capital, and in hindsight, we'd not left a good enough amount of time to peruse it, but, we did what we could in the given time.  After arriving at Connolly Train Station, we remarked on how quiet it was for such a central station. The quietness continued as we walked alongside the River Liffey, but the fact that it was Easter Sunday in a heavily religious country could well have played a part. We sauntered at a leisurely pace towards the Guinness Storehouse, passing through one of Dublin's most renowned tourist traps (*cough, areas, even), walking past the legendary ...
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A cause to see the Causeway Coast

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 Hello! I'm now not in NI, and am back to where I was at the beginning (well, slightly tenuously, albeit) of the trip- Dublin, for the last leg of the journey. But it would be remiss to not reminisce about the last full day that we hid in NI, so here goes... And from the not so rural- to the rural- after 2 days of city-hopping, we visited the Causeway Coast, with its variety of landforms- some of which are known more than the others. There are many scenic places along the Causeway coastline, and it doesn't take a genius to figure out why it draws in the tourists. First up on the agenda was Mussenden Temple and the Downhill Demesne. The temple is perched on the edge of the cliff face, overlooking the wild seas. Some chap in the past had a lot of money and built it to use as his library.  Any person of a certain age would have flashbacks to "Storm on the Island" from their GCSE poetry anthology- especially thinking about the typically clement Irish weather! You couldn...
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A Tale of Two Cities: Belfast and Derry

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 Hello! Still in NI, but am now further out amongst the wilds of the North Coast, Of course, knowing me, I've not pushed the boat out enough to go camping, but it takes 30 minutes to walk to the nearest bus stop- which is remote enough in my books. This region is famed for being one of the most scenic areas of this part of the world, and I have to say, that I can attest. View from my window So when you're in such an idyll, you go to a notoriously rural settlement- a city. In fact, it's the second day in a row that we've been to a city on this trip, as on Wednesday, we took the train to Belfast. And if you're wanting to satisfy your cheapskate credentials, then I can highly recommend an "I-Link" card- which gives you access to all forms of public transport in Northern Ireland (train, bus etc...) for a day for £20, so when your return train fare costs nearly £30, you know you've already saved :) Asides from that, after pootling around the Golden Thread G...
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IN NI

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Hello, So, as the palindromic title states, I am currently in Northern Ireland, schlepping about the sights that it has to offer.  The dynamic is a bit different this time around, as I'm not going solo (if you know you know, but not saying who on the small chance that this post ends up going viral and a wrong'un realises that the people in question's home is vacant! 😂), so knowing that I don't have to ferry myself about may reduce some stress and anxiety, but I also do not necessarily have the flexibility to do the things I'd normally intend to do, as I'm too much of a cheapskate to get a hire car! Furthermore, I am about a week into trying some medication for some mental health woes that I've been trying to get over for a couple of months, which will also potentially alter my mindset, so join me along for the ride to see what mental state I'm in come the end of the holiday! Oh, and obviously to find out about the places I've been to 😉 It's the...
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Caledonian Sleeper Train- but can you have a good amount of sleep on this train?

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Hello from Euston Station, where (as of 7am on a Saturday morning) I currently am after a night on the Caledonian Sleeper.  The main pull for me was to see what it was like to actually sleep on a train without having to share a compartment with strangers (like I did on the Serbia-Montenegro route last year). Whilst the scenery on that train ride was undoubtedly going to be better than a sleeper train ride in complete darkness (like mine was last night/this morning), the prospect of not being woken up for a border check on the Caledonian was appealing. After I left my "five hour" hotel room last night, the train had conveniently just turned up to the platform- some service, hey? I wanted to maximise my time on board, and intended to hit the sack as soon as I boarded. Anyways, I boarded and unsurprisingly, like most of the YouTube videos I'd watched beforehand about the experience, the corridor was narrow!- the same could be said about the room itself. Nevertheless, it did ...
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Layovers- the golden egg for neurodivergent travellers?

Hi all- it's half-term for me, so typically, I've decided to go away. I've been in Scotland for the past few nights, seeing family and doing some sightseeing. I will be leaving tonight, arriving in England when I wake up come tomorrow morning (which is a possible giveaway as to the mode of transport I'll be using). More on that later...   I've been in Glasgow for the past 24 hours, but commenced my sightseeing today, after a very leisurely morning prior to check-out. If you've not guessed by now, I am taking the Caledonian Sleeper in a few hours time. But, assuming the train arrives on-time, I won't be able to board it for a whole eleven hours after leaving my hotel. I felt that I had the first 6-7 hours or so covered by going to some places that I've never been to before, and after an evening meal, I banked on being able to spend the final two hours or so in the lounge at Glasgow Station before boarding.   But, as often is the case with travelling, thi...
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