N. Ireland - August 7 - Giant's Causeway & Bushmills

On our final day in Northern Ireland, we ventured onto the highway and byways once again and took a drive to the Giant’s Causeway. We stopped for a quick leg-stretch at the Dark Hedges, a roadway with twisted, gnarly trees that had been planted along either side many years ago. Not quite as many years ago, this roadway had been covered in dirt and rocks and leaves and used for filming some scenes from the Game of Thrones series, i.e. the road to King’s Landing. It’ll be interesting – and fun – to see if it ever shows up again in The House of the Dragon. The Giant’s Causeway was spectacular. Beautiful cliff-side vistas, and magnificent basalt columns the formed from lava and seem to just burst out of the ground. The columns that are still part of the cliff stretch straight up 50 or 60 feet…maybe more. (I didn’t have my tape measure handy.) The basalt columns near the shore have been broken or worn away into formations of what almost look like man-made steps. Another healthy hike for a fun morning. The afternoon brought us to the Old Bushmills Distillery, where we took a tour of the whole operation. Bushmills Whiskey is fermented, distilled, aged and bottled completely on-site at the same location that has been standing since 1608 – that’s over 400 years of making whiskey. And, they do a fine job of it, let me tell you. Our tour included a tasting afterward. I had never tried Bushmills prior to this visit…I will definitely be taking a bottle home at some point. IMPORTANT TRAVEL NOTE: The only reason I didn’t buy a bottle at the distillery is because I didn’t think I’d be able to bring it on the plane. We only had carry-on. I was bummed to learn as we passed through security that in the UK, you can bring up to 2 liters of liquid in your carry-on – which would have been plenty. I wonder if that’s the law specifically so that people can bring along their whiskey??? We had a real treat when we got back to London, because my good buddy – Chase Smith – had reached out a few days before. He was in London visiting his girlfriend, and we were able to meet up with them for dinner at La Mia Mamma (a Stanley Tucci favorite) in Notting Hill after we got back. It was wonderful catching up with Chase, and Jess – whom we had never met before – was lovely. They make a fantastic couple.