I was cleaning out my desk and I found an old travel journal I had kept during a trip to the UK and Ireland from a few years ago. This had been the first time I had returned to England after being expelled for working without a permit back in the late 80’s. (I have been back a few times more since) But I thought I would share the journal and some pictures with you all.
The wind and the rain from last night finally died down and by morning it was warm and sunny. The skies were fickle and the sun and clouds played tug of war all day. Some people at the hotel had asked if I had seen the Giant’s Causeway yet and when I told them I didn’t know what it was they seemed taken aback. I was told that the causeway was one of the most popular tourist attractions in all of Northern Ireland. I made arrangments to go and can say without any fear of hyperbole that the causeway was fascinating. 
After the causeway, I rode the train to Belfast. SinceI had a flight scheduled for Liverpool, my time was limited. I did get to do some touring but would have loved to spend more time there. 
My flight to Liverpool was crowded, turbulent but mercifully short. I didn’t know the airport in Liverpool was called the John Lennon Airport. They had a statue and some Lennon/Beatles memorabilia.
Didn’t get a lot of time in Liverpool as I was heading for Blackpool for the day. I would have time to visit the next day. But for now, it was Hello, Goodbye Liverpool. There was a shuttle that took me from the airport to the train station. I then took the train north to Blackpool. My itinerary for this trip had been strongly influenced by films. There was a movie that was set in Donegal so I based that leg on that. There was another British film I saw that was set in Blackpool and the movie made the place look like fun, so I decided to go there too.
Blackpool is the home of Pleasure beach one of the most attended amusement parks in all of Europe. There are lots of Clubs and bars here many of which feature karaoke. I love to sing and did a lot of bouncing from one place to another. I had a nice visit with a guy and his girlfriend from Newcastle and after the clubs closed we got some samosa take away and ate Indian food on the beach chatting and watching the sunrise. I need to get some sleep I have an early afternoon train to Liverpool. I want to have some energy so I can see all the Beatles spots.
