2 months is waaay too long

...to go without posting everything! I let it all build up on me, and now I don't even know where to start! OK, I'll try not to make this TOO long.So, back in the end of February/start of March, Arcadia had set up a trip up to Northern Ireland, specifically Belfast and surrounding area. This meant another long bus ride, mitigated partially by having the movie The Boxer playing in the background. It was a pretty good movie, more than anything just for giving us a more concrete idea of how crazy and dangerous it was living in contested ground during the IRA/ North Ireland "Troubles." I recommend it, but don't expect a comedy fun-fest for the whole family.

We stayed at a hostel very similar to the one we stayed in back in our first week at Dublin, but crazier. Many of the room were only separated from others by sliding partitions, meaning that you had about 25 people jammed into what was technically a single space. Thankfully, I wasn't in that one, so I could visit the craziness without having to worry about sleeping there.
The next day, we were off bright and early (about 10:00) to the Giant's causeway. Now, this is almost impossible to describe without seeing it yourself, so pictures first!This doesn't really do the whole thing justice, but it shows the shapes of the rocks and natural columns. it all has to do with how the lava(!) that burst out of the area cooled over an unnaturally slow amount of time, in the 10s of thousands of years. At least that's what the guide said.
From the side, it looks a bit closer to this, without each rock being about 2 feet in diameter.
It just juts out a couple of hundred feet straight into the ocean, and it's all surrounded by these massive volcanic rock cliffs, of which I am not-too-intelligently standing on the edge of here:
We were lucky it was such a clear day; we could easily make out the outline of Scotland in the distance, which apparently is pretty rare to see. Ooo right, and it's got this great background story. Supposedly, the famous Irish hero and giant Finn MacCool (awesomest name ever) got into a shouting match with the Scottish giant Benandonner. Since Benandonner couldn't swim but both demanded satisfaction, MacCool starts tearing big chunks of the cliff out and building a causeway between the islands. The next day, . Finn looks out to see if Benandonner is coming, and realizes that the Scottish giant is big. And not just big, but BIG, as in much larger than MacCool. So, he runs back home to his wife (a very cool-headed druidess supposedly , but unfortunately nameless) who tells him to get into the baby's cradle and feign sleep. Confused, but compliant, he does so just as Benandonner comes pounding on the door. MacCool's wife open the door, and says Finn is out, but invites Benandonner in for tea while he waits. Inside, Benandonner looks into the cradle to give a compliment, and realizes sees how huge the 'baby' is. He thinks, if the baby's this big, how ferkin' big is his Da?! He excuses himself and hightails it back to Scottland, followed at a distance by MacCool, who tears down the causeway from the Ireland side. Hence, big broken Giant's Causeway.

OK, time for lunch. More to come soon!