Road trip!

So, um, I'm taking a road trip! This coming week, from Tuesday to Friday!

My friend Jenn and I are renting a car and driving up north.* We're going to County Donegal, which is in the Republic of Ireland, and County Antrim, which is in Northern Ireland. This is exciting to me for a number of reasons! I have never been that far north here, and it's supposed to be absolutely gorgeous... plus, I have never been to Northern Ireland, and even though it's on the same island and you don't need to show your passport or anything to cross the border, I'm still excited to be going to what is technically a different country. Also, we are driving there-- I have never driven in this country! I'm really excited (though admittedly nervous) about driving on the other side of the road. And we got a manual, so I get to try shifting with my left hand!

We're going to be mostly doing outdoorsy stuff-- hiking on Slieve League, Ireland's second-highest cliffs (and Europe's 6th-highest); walking the beaches at Malin Head, the most northerly point of Ireland and a haven for whales and basking sharks; hiking from the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge to the Giant's Causeway. We also might stop by Derry to see some of the city, particularly the murals. We're not staying in Derry, but Jenn has been there before (and she did her MA on Northern Irish stuff, and is really knowledgeable about the history) so she can show me around the cool stuff. Woo!


I'm also currently engaged in planning another trip-- my mother and I are going to Scotland!-- but that is a subject for its own post. Suffice to say, interesting times are afoot for this summer!





*Not to be confused with Up North, which everyone from Michigan knows is a place. No, I just mean "in a northerly direction." Though in Ireland, The North is a place-- Northern Ireland, part of the UK.