Difficult to Reach Destinations.

This summer we're heading to Symi.  Have you heard of it?  Probably not.  But it is an important place in our family--some of the DINKs ancestors are from there, lived there for generations. Symi is a (tiny) island in the Dodecanse region of Greece.  It's a two-hour ferry ride from Rhodes (which you have probably heard of, but still not exactly and easy-to-reach destination).

Symi, Greece. Beautiful. But not easy to reach.

Because of a wide range of issues, we have a limited window for traveling and plan to spend a whole 7 days on Symi with the extended family.  So the challenge: how to get to Symi as quickly as possible?  There are no direct flights to Athens from DC.  And, well the Traveling DINKs HATE changing planes, but we have done Dulles to Paris to Athens before and that's not too bad, but prices on Air France were crazy and we would still need to fly to Rhodes and then ferry it to Symi.  So we wanted to see what else was out there.

We used Expedia and Orbitz to see what other options were out there and discovered we could fly to Rome or Istanbul direct.  We then decided to explore an airline we knew didn't surface on Expedia and Orbitz--the dreaded (but grudgingly used) Ryanair from Ireland.  We have used this low-cost carrier for strange hops in the past (Grenada to Madrid and Belfast to Glasgow). Sure enough, there was a flight from Rome to Rhodes--allowing us to bypass Athens.  But the times didn't work out so we started looking at Turkish Airlines--thinking of flying from Dulles to Istanbul, spend a few days in Istanbul then on to Bodrum, Turkey and then a series of ferries to Rhodes, then Symi.  But doing this route completely blows our plan for a short and  simple route out of the water, plus the timing wasn't exactly awesome for all the different pieces. 

I decided to search Ryanair one more time as they have multiple options into Rhodes from all over Europe.  And low and behold!  A new flight announced from London Stanstead!  So I snapped that up allowing us to fly Dulles to London and then onto Rhodes.  Perfect and Easy.  Bookend the trip with a few nights in London (allowing us to have a couple good Indian meals and wander around one of our favorite cities) and able to bypass Athens and then zip over to Symi on the many ferries that move between Rhodes and Symi each day.

So to sum up the tips:  Start with the big search engines to explore all your direct flight options; then see what low-cost carriers have to offer; don't hesitate to reach out to local travel agents.  A travel agency in Bodrum and Symi both confirmed ferry service timetables for me and cemented my feelings that the fewer ferries, the better.

Giant's Causeway

Besides taking in the rural and rugged coast of Northern Ireland, The DINKs wanted to check out the UNESCO World Heritage site known as The Giant’s Causeway.  Folk legend Finn McCool (Fionn mac Cumhail) allegedly built the causeway to walk to Scotland and battle his Scottish counterpart Benandonner.   One version of the legend tells that Finn fell asleep before he got to Scotland. When he did not arrive, the much larger Benandonner crossed the bridge looking for him. To protect Finn, his wife Oonagh laid a blanket over him so he could pretend that he was actually their baby son. When Benandonner saw the size of the “infant,” he assumed the alleged father, Finn, must be gigantic indeed. Therefore, Benandonner fled home in terror, ripping up the Causeway in case he was followed by Finn.  This legend corresponds with geologic fact: a portion of the same geologic wonder (aka “causeway) is visible in Staffa, Scotland. 

Giant’s Causeway is actually 40,000 basalt columns (some 12 meters high) created during ancient volcanic eruptions 50-60 million years ago.  I’m not going to go into too much detail, here.  I’ll let the pictures speak for our impressions, but hiking on and around Giant’s Causeway should be on everyone’s “bucket list.”

Driving the Antrim Coast Road (A2)



Kevin in the Saab rental near Ballygalley.

The Traveling DINKs are not big road warriors. Most times when we travel, we choose to stay near public transit and pedestrian-friendly locations.  But once you leave the boundaries of Belfast, you really need a car to see Northern Ireland properly.  So we picked up a rental at the airport (an aging Saab with over 60K miles on it) and headed towards the A2.

There are two routes to reach County Antrim, which was our destination--you can cut across the middle of Northern Ireland along a true motorway or you can take the curvy road along the coast A2.  We decided to take the scenic route up because we had the whole day and would take the fast, motorway back for the return trip.



Anne near Carrickfergus Castle

 We first stopped at Carrickfergus to visit the Castle there, which was built in 1177.  We were there too early to explore the castle proper, but we did wonder around the town, which was bustling with locals running errands and chatting with neighbors.  One of the interesting things you'll find in Northern Ireland are the loyalist areas have union jack streamers decorating the streets.  We noticed this quite a bit in Carrickfergus.

Waterfall, Glenariff Forest Park.

We hopped back on the A2 and spent the next few hours making our way up the coast, stopping in Ballygalley and attempting to find something to eat in Waterfoot.  Instead, we took the A43 away from the coast and took a lunchtime hike in Glenarrif National Forest.  There are a series of nine valleys known as Glens of Antrim.  Besides being lovely, green valleys, each has a distinct culture and history.  After navigating an unwieldy parking meter (it only took coins and there were several people standing around it rather perplexed), we took hiked along a waterfall trail and took a break enjoying the vistas munching on a mint Aero and some crisps.  After our hike, we took some pictures of the heather, which was just past peak.  We then returned to the A2 and the lovely coastal scenery. 



Fields of purple heather, Northern Ireland.



My favorite stop of the day was Whitepark Bay near Ballycastle and Bushmills. This beach trail flowed through green meados and along rocky shores.  The bright sunshine made the beauty of the location even more intense.  I felt lucky to be there, experience that moment.  It just felt really special--the whole day just had that magical feeling.  When the weather, plans, all work out.  It felt perfect.

Scenic Whitepark Bay, County Antrim.

After wandering along the beach trail, we hopped in the car for our final stop Bushmils Distillery.  Whiskey has been distilled in this area of Northern Ireland since 1608.  So of course we had to buy some Irish  Whiskey from there!



Bushmills Distillery, County Antrim.



The whole day is a happy memory--cruising the A2, driving on the left-hand side of the road through little villages and seaside towns.

 









Visiting Northern Ireland.

The idea to make Northern Ireland part of the UK trip was all Kevin's idea.  We both had visited Dublin, but really, had not seen much more beyond a crazed, day trip to Glendalough.  Plus, we didn't know anyone who had explored Northern Ireland and we figured we wanted to give it a try.  I know--at least my whole lifetime--Belfast has been associated with violence and turmoil.  So of course I was a little nervous.  Looking back, I realize we followed a few simple rules:

Stunning cliffs, near Giant's Causeway, County Antrim.

1. Do not discuss religion and politics.  I think this rule should be followed all the time when traveling, but in a place like Northern Ireland it must be strictly observed.  Stick to pleasantries--weather  (it's a hot topic), sports, tips on the driving on the left, etc.

2.  Do not visit residential neighborhoods in Belfast without an organized tour.  Tensions are still easily on display with a wall cutting through the city, keeping the Catholic and Protestant neighborhoods apart.  We chose a black cab tour to take us through these areas as learning the history from a local and seeing the separation and amazing murals are not to be missed.

3.  Take some time to learn about "The Troubles."  Kevin and I came away realizing we knew so little about the situation. I felt really ignorant.  I was glad we kicked off our time in Belfast with a trip to the Ulster Museum, which breaks down the region's cultural and political history. 

Northern Ireland is a lovely place to visit filled with beautiful countrysides and friendly people.  If you practice common sense, you will be fine and thankful--as we are--that we had a chance to visit.

The DINKs 2010 travels.

Since I killed http://www.thetravelingdinks.com/ last spring, we had the chance to take a few weekend trips and one major trip to Europe.  I'll break down each of these trips in a few posts, but here is a quick breakdown:

1.  End of July.  I graduated. Joy.  To celebrate, we took a fun little trip to Reedville, VA and Tangier Island off the Northern Neck.

2.  End of August.  The annual trip to the AMEE conference.  This year it was held in Glasgow, Scotland so we took some time to visit the British Isles.  This was the a bit of a nostalgic tour for us since the UK was our first big international trip when we were college kids.  We spent time in London, took daytrips to Richmond and Bath, then flew to Belfast and rented a car and tooled around County Antrim in Northern Ireland; finally we went to Glasgow and took daytrips to Edinburgh and the Trossachs.

3.  November.  A long weekend to our favorite cabin in the VA countryside.  The weather was unseasonably warm and we had a lovely, peaceful time.

4.   December.  A long weekend some place warm is always a welcome treat when the weather cools in DC.  We escaped to Miami, staying at the campy chic The Standard on the Bay side of South Beach.  We had some memorable meals--one at Indomania (Indonesian fare) and a return visit to the always special Wish.  We did get stuck an extra day in South Beach because of weather troubles elsewhere, but there are worse places to find yourself stuck!