Posted by Karbo
We know we're falling behind on the posts! Sorry mom!
We know we're falling behind on the posts! Sorry mom!
From Scotland to Northern Ireland we had 3 days of non-stop hopping around.
Glasgow
We left Inverness and arrived in Glasgow on the 14th at mid-afternoon. We were only staying in Glasgow for the night so we didn't make any plans. Once we arrived and let ourselves into our Airbnb apartment we walked around looking for dinner. We'd heard that the seafood in Glasgow is very good but before we could decide which seafood restaurant to try, we got lured into an American-style restaurant by their "2 meals for £6.95" deal.
After dinner we walked across the city centre from Merchant City (where we were staying) to the West End, which is where the University of Glasgow and Kelvingrove Art Gallery are located.
We left Inverness and arrived in Glasgow on the 14th at mid-afternoon. We were only staying in Glasgow for the night so we didn't make any plans. Once we arrived and let ourselves into our Airbnb apartment we walked around looking for dinner. We'd heard that the seafood in Glasgow is very good but before we could decide which seafood restaurant to try, we got lured into an American-style restaurant by their "2 meals for £6.95" deal.
After dinner we walked across the city centre from Merchant City (where we were staying) to the West End, which is where the University of Glasgow and Kelvingrove Art Gallery are located.
Byre Road in the West End was really neat with lots of cafes and restaurants. We came across a cafe called Kember & Jones and stopped in for some pastries and coffee. It was the weekend before the university term started and some very nice Scottish ladies assumed we were students and welcomed us to Glasgow.
From the day we spent in Glasgow we both agreed it had a much different vibe from Edinburgh. Glasgow seems younger and more modern. Now that we've been there we wished we had allocated more time to Glasgow!
We took the subway home since we had walked over an hour away from our apartment. The Glasgow subway system was the easiest to use by far! There's only 1 line shaped like an oval and trains run in both directions.
Belfast
On the 15th we took a bus from Glasgow to Cairnryan in order to catch the ferry to Belfast. We've both been on BC Ferries before and in comparison the ferry to Belfast felt like a luxury. Here are just some of the amenities and services they provide for the 2 hour crossing:
- free wifi
- free movies in the movie theatre (Playing during our trip: Jack the Giant Slayer)
- restaurants, lounges, and cafes
- free magazines
- news lounge with plasma TVs
On the 15th we took a bus from Glasgow to Cairnryan in order to catch the ferry to Belfast. We've both been on BC Ferries before and in comparison the ferry to Belfast felt like a luxury. Here are just some of the amenities and services they provide for the 2 hour crossing:
- free wifi
- free movies in the movie theatre (Playing during our trip: Jack the Giant Slayer)
- restaurants, lounges, and cafes
- free magazines
- news lounge with plasma TVs
Once we got to Belfast we had our 2nd Couchsurfing experience with Rik and Kasia. It was Culture Night in Belfast (more on that in our Dublin post) and on top of opening their home to us they had invited a few of their friends over and made pizza for dinner. They were a really lovely couple and it would have been great to spend more time getting to know them better but we were off again bright and early the next morning.
The Causeway Coast
On the 16th we picked up our rental car to drive across the northern coast to Londonderry/Derry. It was a very compact Vauxhall Corsa and we loved it!
After a shaky start (and a few stifled screams while I was sitting in the passenger seat) Jason got the hang of driving on the left side of the road and once we found our way onto the scenic route it was a smooth drive for the rest of the way. The Causeway Coastal Route is one of the most scenic drives in the world and there were lots of attractions on the way.
On the 16th we picked up our rental car to drive across the northern coast to Londonderry/Derry. It was a very compact Vauxhall Corsa and we loved it!
After a shaky start (and a few stifled screams while I was sitting in the passenger seat) Jason got the hang of driving on the left side of the road and once we found our way onto the scenic route it was a smooth drive for the rest of the way. The Causeway Coastal Route is one of the most scenic drives in the world and there were lots of attractions on the way.