On the Road to North Antrim

Driven by pure excitement, Gaby & I were ready to hit the ground running once we landed in Dublin. There was a little delay thanks to a debacle at the ATM, but unlike our first trip to Ireland, the car rental went off without a hitch. All is well that ends well.

A quick shuttle ride to the car lot & several turns later, we found ourselves on the highway towards Northern Ireland, ready to get our vacation started!

In just a few short hours of driving through gorgeous landscapes that I’ve come to expect from the Emerald Isle, we arrived in Belfast; and despite leaving the airport later than expected, we still made it before many of the restaurants and shops opened for the day.

To kill time, we hit up the nearest Starbucks, where we both forgot that Sterling is the currency of Northern Ireland. I’m sure that iced, venti chai tea w/ soy cost a small fortune thanks to the exorbitant conversion rate from the euro, but it served me right for being unprepared. As we made our way back down Arthur St., Paperchase and Avoca caught our eyes, so we took a little shopping detour.

I’m proud of myself for showing restraint & not blowing my travel allowance in Avoca, but the same cannot be said for Gaby. She’s a shopaholic & I’m looking into 12-step programs for her. After working up an appetite, we headed over to Cafe Vaudeville where I promptly sunk into a food coma & rendered myself useless for the remainder of the drive to North Antrim.

But really…can you blame me?