The Strand

Be warned: now that I've figured out how to get pictures on here, you are going to bombarded. You think I'm kidding.

On Thursday, some of us from Christian Union went to Spring Hill, a traditional Irish pub. It was really nice- there was a good fire going, and there was a traditional Irish band. It was my first "genuine" Irish experience. If you stay after midnight, the bartender will walk around and serve free wheaton bread sandwiches- just a slice of thick wheat bread with butter, ham, and Coleraine cheese on top. It's pretty good! I was able to get a few pictures, but I still need to get them off my camera. Coming soon.

This past Friday, Carrie and Sarah and I went into town to run errands. We had dinner at a local pub called Witherspoons. It's pretty sweet- it's the old town courthouse that they preserved and turned into a pub. I had my first traditional fish and chips dinner! It was delicious.

Carrie and I outside of Witherspoon's

Even dining here is different. I guess it's not uncommon for people at one table to just strike up a conversation with people at a neighboring table, even complete strangers. It took me by surprise at first, but that's probably just part of the culture that I'll eventually adjust to.

On Saturday, the International Friends people (from various area churches) drove all the international students up to the Strand, the beach in Portstewart. It was a gorgeous day, but extremely windy! We walked along the beach, and then followed a path and walked among the sand dunes for a while. I have so many pictures- I just couldn't stop! I apologize if it gets tedious- you have my permission to skip ahead ;)

Portstewart

If you look closely in the background,
you can see snow-capped mountains



Carrie filming the ocean

we climbed up to the top of one of the dunes

The view was gorgeous from the top!

We followed a path back behind and between the dunes to the River Bahn.

Carrie

some farms across the river

Behind the dunes, the River Bahn winds for a while
before eventually emptying into the ocean. It enters
between the dunes to the ocean at the far right.


more photos of the river


Carrie and I



All that green is so beautiful!


...it's all so pretty! It's also a golf course.



We looped around and came back to where we started.

It was a really nice and relaxing weekend. Nothing really new has happened this week, so far. Some friends and I are starting to gather information about traveling different places, so that's exciting. Later today, I'm leaving for the weekend with some friends from the Christian Union to go to a conference outside of Dublin. I'm looking forward to it- hopefully I'll be able to get to know some of the Irish students a bit better! It should be a good time. And yes, there will be more pictures!