Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

A Byrd

Oct 11, 2024 — 2 min read

A town on the Antrim Coast.

Since we last posted, we spent six wonderful days in Northern Ireland, staying with our friend Sharon and her two sons. I'll do some separate posts for our more major, photo-heavy outings, but here are some of the other things we did while based at Sharon's...

A scenic drive to Derry/Londonderry, where we walked part of the city wall, ate at a delicious Malaysian/Thai restaurant and went to the Tower Museum (featuring the history of Derry, the Troubles and a Spanish Amada wreck found nearby)...

Walking along the wall.

View of Derry/Londonderry from the wall.

A brief bookshop break.

Playing dress-ups at the museum.

Cuddling their pet rabbits...

Some rugged outdoor adventures in the forest for the boys...

A walk with Sharon...

... and two musical evenings with the locals! ❤️

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Best of/ Worst of Awards – ATTRACTIONS

Favourite Attraction(s) A: Warner Brothers Studio Tour. Underground Naples. GRIMMWELT. Universal Studios Hollywood. B: Warner Brothers Studio Tour and Pompeii. F: Universal Studios. The Gunpowder Plot. Warner Brothers Studio Tour. J: The Gunpowder Plot. Warner Brothers Studio Tour. Universal Studios. Least Favourite Attraction A: Cat cafe ($142.77 for

Best of/ Worst of Awards – AMENITIES

Best Toilets Japan in general (heated seats/ toilet slippers/ amusing signs/ lots of interesting buttons to explore). And the fantastic public toilets outside Vanha Kauppahalli in Helsinki. Worst Toilets England (so often hard to find/ poorly maintained/ filthy). And the stomach-turning state of the toilet in a restaurant we ate

Best of/ Worst of Awards – SCENERY

Cleanest Streets Japan. Dirtiest Streets Rome. Favourite Park Villa Borghese in Rome. Best Snow Ishiuchi, Japan. Nicest Weather France and Italy in October and November. Most Inconvenient Rain Florence. Favourite Snow-Related Memory A: Driving around Ishiuchi. B: Clearing a metre of snow off the car in Japan. F: Skiing. J:

Best of/ Worst of Awards – TRANSPORT

Best Train System Italy for overland travel (Japan’s Shinkansen were also good but more expensive). Singapore for underground travel. Worst Bus System ROME. Favourite Non-Train/Bus Mode of Transport A: Biking in France. B: Trams in Helsinki. F: Car. J: Plane. Favourite Public Transport Moment A: Reading Harry Potter