Learning curve

It's been great having R&B here because I've learned a lot about being a tour guide. My main source of information has been Michael & Faye Doherty next door. They've had great suggestions, many of which we've used. R&B took the sightseeing bus up the Antrim Coast this morning, which will get them to Carrickfergus Castle, Carrickarede rope bridge, Giant's Causeway, Bushmills and Dunluce Castle. They're going to spend the night in Portrush then take the (very scenic) train to Derry, tour the Derry walls, then come home tomorrow on the bus (faster than the train and a different route--over the Glenshane Pass). This means they will have taken in a pretty good chunk of Northern Ireland.

Michael and Faye also gave us a list of pubs with good food, after Beth expressed interest in same. I met David after work and we had a lovely meal at one of their suggestions, the Morning Star Bar, the oldest in Belfast, dating from 1810. We'll probably try out another one tomorrow night with R&B. The most famous is the Crown Bar, an incredibly ornate Victorian jewel. And then there's Bittles Bar, in a flat iron building. It celebrates Irish writers, so I'm keen to check it out.

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