Northern Ireland - birthplace of the Titanic!!!

Some holidays are planned by us, and some are planned by others for us. Some one has to be, in charge of the planning. And this time; it was my good friend’s wife. She is quite a capable girl, diligent planner as well. I must give some credit to my friend as well, for also participating and helping his wife in selecting a suitable location, accommodation, booking/executing all necessary logistics, etc. At the end, it end up being one of the most relaxed & best exotic holidays, I have experienced ever.

In our childhood; we have all read this in our textbooks that Pacific Ocean is the silent/sober-most ocean, where as Atlantic Ocean is the naughtiest ocean. While travelling to America in the past; I look down constantly from the flight; to reassess if the Pacific Ocean was really sober-most. And this holiday was my perfect opportunity to review, if Atlantic Ocean was the naughtiest ocean REALLY!!! To our luck, we stayed just across the road, opposite Atlantic Ocean, for one full week, enjoying its awe-inspiring beauty, to our fullest!

Portballintrae is a popular seaside village situated just off the Causeway Coastal Route Road, to the north of Bushmills and to the east of the resorts of Portrush and Portstewart. It is approximately 75 miles away from the capital of Northern Ireland; “Belfast” city.  Portballintrae boasts a sheltered harbour, a quiet beach, a plethora of interesting rock pools and a beautifully situated nine-hole golf course. Its close proximity to Bushmills and the Giant's Causeway make it an excellent base from which to explore the Causeway Coast and the wider extended area of the North Coast of Northern Ireland.

Portballintrae has a charming village atmosphere, with will take us back on a reflective trip, to a life-style we may have lived 50 years ago (not me, our ancesters). People here talk slowly, respond slowly, walk/drive slowly, eat slowly and they live slowly. If we go to a local butcher shop and asked for some meat, we will certainly notice the difference in dealings between these butcher shops and those in the city centres. And that’s exactly why people drive away from the cities to places like this… to get lost…to wind down, to relax… to revive…to revitalize …no? And we had plenty of those in our share, at the end of the trip. We literally had to drag our feet from this beautiful house we lived in for a week…we didn’t want to come back to London...hee hee… life is such…we live in a place which we do not like, and we don’t live in a place, we do like ::))

In case you visit Northern Ireland; please do visit this place. Mount Royal is the second last house on the right as you head towards the car park in Portballintrae for the beach. Address of the place where we lived during our holidays: Mount Royal, Beach Road, Portballintrae, BT57 8RS.   WEB:  http://causewaycoastrentals.co.uk/