All packed and ready to go. Is it time yet?
Sunday June 21st: Fly from Atlanta, GA to Belfast Ireland
Monday June 22nd: We arrive in Belfast bright and early at 9 am and are going to spend the day sight seeing around town. We have no specific plans other than to take a Black Taxi Tour which was recommended as the best way to see town by one of my classmates who lived in Belfast for a year.
Tuesday June 23rd: Waking up bright and early to take a bus tour up to Giant's Causeway and the oldest whiskey distillery in Ireland. I'm usually not a big fan of tour buses, but after some quick research it turned out that it is actually cheaper to take a tour bus than public transport, and we will be able to visit several sites (McComb's Tours, book online ahead of time for a discount).
Wednesday June 24th: In the morning we are going to take the ferry from Belfast across to Stranraer, followed by a train to Dunkeld Scotland (Stena Line Rail and Sail Package, you have to call for reservations, but it is well worth the money you will save. Our tickets were half the cost of purchasing ferry and train separately). Along the way we are switching trains in Glasgow, giving us a quick 1.5 hours to get a taste of the city. At Dunkeld we are staying in the nicest accommodations of our trip, a 4 star B&B. Pricier than our other accommodations, but its always good to splurge for a night.
Thursday June 25th: Most of Thursday will be spent exploring Dunkeld. We chose to visit Dunkeld because we wanted a taste of a smaller town in Scotland, and somewhere to go on a few short hikes. It also has the added bonus of cathedral ruins, as Dunkeld was once the religious center of Scotland. I realized how important it is to stop and enjoy a small town even if time is short when my family and I took two days exploring Rothenberg, Germany in 2007. After spending the day in Dunkeld we will be off on the train again for the short trip to Edinburgh.
Friday and Saturday June 26th and 27th: Two days does not seem long enough to enjoy Edinburgh. The city has so much to offer, and I have had several friends tell me that it is their favorite city in Europe. On top of all that, almost all of the sites we want to see are free! There are countless things we plan on seeing, but the one thing we did plan ahead of time was our visit to the castle. You can purchase tickets online ahead of time and walk right in, instead of waiting in line with the masses (purchase tickets here).
Sunday June 28th: I am heading back to GA to study for the Step, but Ryan will staying in Edinburgh for another week for the International Conference on Arabidopsis Research (lucky boy).
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