Today was a long day! We started off with breakfast at the hotel in Belfast, then we packed up and headed to the Dark Hedges! It is one of the locations where Game of Thrones was filmed, unfortunately I have not yet seen the show or read the book yet.

It was drizzling and misty, but it felt nice and the air was cool so I enjoyed the walk! I took some pictures of pretty flowers on the way, and I really liked the area!

Afterwards, we went to lunch at the Fullerton Arms (whose door is based off of Game of Thrones with a cool dragon on it), and we talked with our bus driver, Hugh! We talked about soccer, Gaelic football, and Ireland in general. Then we headed to Giant’s Causeway.

I loved the drive there because we could see the ocean from when we were on the road, and once we got there, it was straight to hiking! We walked down the cliffs and went on the hexagonal steps, and then I just sat there because watching the waves was so peaceful. Then we walked back up, got ice cream, and I got a few gifts for my friends and family from the gift shop!

After Giant’s Causeway, we went to Derry! We met with Rory as we walked along a part of the city wall and he told us about their history. We saw some murals on the buildings on the Irish side of the neighborhood. After Rory left, we walked around for a bit and then got back on the bus!

We then went to Grianan of Aileach, an old fort in Donegal! We took some pictures there, and soaked in the fact that we were now in the Republic, and in a different phase of our program that is now focused on our projects and meeting people. It was really chilly but the view was amazing, of the lands and the ocean in the distance.

We reached our hotel, and had dinner with Erin, who will be taking over our adventures from Brandon starting Monday! We talked about our different schooling systems, in Ireland, the US, and India (which is where I grew up), and how universities and courses work. After dinner, we all went to the linedancing event held at the hotel.

Personally, I think a place’s identity and originality makes it worth visiting. It should be unique and different from other places, because if that activity or sight can be done/see somewhere else, then the place loses its allure. The tour guides also made sure to focus on how everyone has a different perspective on seeing facts, because everyone has a side to it (especially when we visited Derry). I think I would keep the history of the places instead of giving in to the commercial branding prospect of it (except if you have not much else to advertise but the pop-culture aspect of it).

I am super excited for tomorrow since we start meeting with different business owners to officially start off our projects!