Northern Ireland and Giants Causeway

Today we went to Northern Ireland! We began our trip in Derry, Northern Ireland. This was especially exciting, as the tourist center had a plaque noting the importance of Derry and Londonderry, New Hampshire, USA (Nicole is from New Hampshire). While Ireland and Northern Ireland may be one in the same island, electronically (and actually), they are of different government systems. As a result, some students had some problems with converting from Euros to Sterling, but this was quick sorted out. Also, the conversion rate is a thing.
Gerry gave us a tour of Derry and noted the important places in the city regarding The Troubles and the important landmarks. Belfast is a city separated into different sections. During The Troubles, there were extreme conflicts between the Protestants and the Catholics of Northern Ireland. There were many monuments and murals commemorating the union and peace after The Troubles. Gerry then made a quick pit stop to the Dark Hedges, where an episode of Game of Thrones was filmed.
After, the group traveled to Giants Causeway. This is a geographical site that was formed by rapidly cooling lava from a volcano. The lava cooled from the inside out, forming hexagonal cracks in the rocks, into what is now known as Giants Causeway. The legend of the Giants Causeway states that there was a giant that lived there in Ireland with his wife. Another giant in Scotland would taunt the Irish giant, and the Irish giant grew tired of this. He threw boulders, which had no effect. So, he decided to build a bridge to the other giant, but realized that the Scottish giant was a lot bigger than he was. The Irish giant ran home but was followed by the Scottish giant. Before the Scottish giant got to Ireland, the wife of the Irish giant cleverly disguised him as an infant. When the Scottish giant arrived, he realized that the father of this giant baby must be much bigger, and ran back to Scotland tearing up the bridge behind him.