Ballintoy

I was actually excited that we weren't staying in Belfast when we arrived at our hostel in Ballintoy. Ballintoy is on the North Antrim coast and about as north as you can get! You can actually see part of Scotland if the weather is clear. Our hostel looked right out to green fields scattered with sheep and the beach...I was ready to spend 2 nights there! We arrived at our hostel on Friday just in time for dinner which was provided for us. We had noodles with red sauce, bread, french fries (chips), and cheesecake! The owner of the hostel was more than gracious and kept offering us more and more food. After dinner we set out to one of the two pubs in the town but were easily distracted by the immaculate sunset that was right in front of our eyes!! I have never in my life seen anything like this sunset. The way the sun hit the ocean and the green fields is indescribable. The sky was purple, orange, and pink and it contrasted so well with the bright green fields. I tried to take lots of pictures but they barely do justice to the beauty of the sunset! It was so peaceful to just sit and watch the sun go down and listen to the baaaaah's of the sheep!

The next night the sky wasn't as clear but the sunset was still beautiful. Instead of staying up by our hostel we took a 30 (or so) minute walk down to the beach. The walk itself was satisfying. You winde around a small road in a residential area that takes you right down to a dock with just a few small boats and a sitting area. A few girls and I walked around the beach and watched the sunset on top of some large rocks.

The pub in town was quaint and crowded when the group of 25 of us arrived. We all drank Magners which is a cider drink and really refreshing! My favorite flavor is pear and I'm hoping I can find some when I get home to the states because it's a great hot weather drink! We also had an amazing dinner the second night. A group of us went to the second pub (directly across from the only other pub in the town) which had a large selection of courses that came with side dishes. I had beef and guiness with cheesey mash AND king pranws. Some friends had sizzling chicken, sweet chilli pasta, cod with garlic mashed potatoes, and salmon fillets. It was a very reasonable price for what was included which is always good!