Elvis Presley music dominated the airwaves all day Friday, 16 August marking the 25^th anniversary of his death.  Cruising the N16, a narrow, winding, curvy road raced by small European cars, was a real thrill ride.  In the interest of staying on schedule, I had decided to forgo Donegal, so passing the many old stone home ruins, I fought my attraction at each and only stopped at one.

Hills and lakes - this is very beautiful place, but the things (i mean they cannot drive! they do it wrong, why do they drive on the wrong side of the street!?;) are so different ... and that's the best thing! That's why we're here, that's why it is worth to travel at all! There is not much about Derrylin - few homes, two shops, maybe one restaurant and few pubs. But the zone is so calm, there are pitoresque (maybe i should use here the word: 'scenic') views all around. After breakfast we rode to Enniskillen - which is the nearby town - for some sight seeing and shopping. And for wondering another time about things which we saw: the main road has in the centre two steel gates, which are at certain days and hours closed LOL!!!! You get in and then you cannot get out! ahahah, but there is maybe a reason for this (we have never discovered it).
As for typically irish things we wanted to see or experience - we went to a pub - and guess what we ordered. Maybe there are many irish beers that are worth to try, i'm ALMOST sure they are alot of! But i prefer Guinness! I wish i could have one on my table now, when i'm writing those words! :D

I'm not really sure why we stopped in Enniskillen, since we were only there for about 2hrs.  It was a cute litttle town though, and we did some shopping and got lunch.  We were again back on the bus..

There's another girl who came here to stay/work with the family. She's American, but I still think she's pretty cool ;) So this weekend we went to a party with our host mom and stayed over there so we could all get pissed! It was a lovely yoga center/cottage rental place right on a lake. Then in the morning we sat in the hot tub and drank champange! Our host mom was nice enough to drop us off at the ferry station on the way back so that we could ferry over to a place called Devenish Island, which is a very old monastic site. There was a very cool round tower that we were allowed to go up into. It was used mostly for shelter against attacks since the entrance was about second story level and they could pull up the ladder into the tower and the opposition couldn't get in. The remains of a church and another building were left behind. The monks that lived there were vegetarians, eating mostly produce grown on the lands, milk from their heifers, and (of course) beer. :) Once we were finished and took the ferry back to the main land we had to hitch back home. It was quite cool because there was an air show going on that day, so we were standing on the side of the road with our thumbs out while these crazy planes flew right over our heads! The British RAF were there, apparently they're the real deal. There was also a bike race going on that day and one of the bikers offered us a ride, but unfortunately we wouldn't all fit :( So we were picked up by a taxi drive after about 15 minutes, and I made sure he wasn't going to ask us for money before we got it. But it all worked out allright :)  

The Irish like to cuss a lot. I really like that about them. They also like to drink a lot. As soon as I got into the house where I am staying in Northern Ireland my host mom offered me a gin and tonic and said "welcome to ireland, have a drink". I think I'm going to like it here. And they have a tipi!!! I slept in it one night it was pretty sweet. Actually we had a wee party in it, me and my host's nephew and his 2 friends. They got me far too wasted. Drinks are much cheaper in bars up here in Northern Ireland then they were in Dublin. I bought a round of drinks for 4 people and it only cost me 9.45£! The guinness also isn't as good, even up here. Dublin is the place to drink guinness. It almost makes me want to move there.

I committed to 2 weeks here before I arrived and I think I will stay longer. My host family is so great! And they put up with me even though I don't know how to work their shower, or toaster, or oven, or washing machine, or anything really. There's the parents and then 2 kids, a boy (age 7) and a girl (age 10). They are pretty funny kids man. The other day I caught the boy with the vacuum attachment down his pants. Oh bloody hell.

Marble Arch Caves are one of Europe's finest show caves allowing visitors to explore a fascinating, natural underworld of rivers, waterfalls, winding passages and lofty chambers. Located at Florencecourt Co. Fermanagh the Marble Arch cave complex has good car parking, a souvenir shop, restaurant, exhibition area and an audio visual theatre. The caves are situated in a National Nature Reserve. Tours of the caves last approximately 75 minutes and are suitable for people of any age of average fitness. (Comfortable walking shoes and a warm sweater are recommended) Tours of the cave complex start with an underground boat trip, after which your trained guide will conduct you through a variety of cave formations, including the "Moses walk" which must be seen and experienced to be fully enjoyed Advanced booking is welcome and are recommended for large groups. It is advisable to check if the caves are open, as occasionally due to safety reasons, the caves are closed after heavy rain. Details of opening times are obtained from the contact number below. Marble Arch Caves are a facility of Fermanagh District Council. Tel: +4428 6634 8855