TRAVEL
By Karen T. Bartlett
Destination: Get Your Irish On!
Finn McCool and the Giant’s Causeway So here’s what happened. Once upon a time long, long ago, a troublemaking giant from Scotland named Bennandonnar decided to stomp his way south through the Irish Sea and take over Ireland. Which didn’t sit well with Irish giant Fionn MacCumhaill (Finn McCool for short). He threw massive boulders into the sea facing Scotland, creating a bridge that he could stride across and take the enemy down. Much drama and trickery ensued 36
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in the best fairy tale fashion, but eventually Bennandonnar retreats to Scotland in defeat, furiously tearing up the causeway as he goes. Today, the four mile-long Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland is a super-mc-cool place to visit, with its surreal formations of 40,000 basalt rock columns and giant flat stones dubbed Giant’s Eyes. The Causeway Coastal Route is an eco-adventurer’s dream, meandering through marshes, along beaches, past castles and through picturesque seaside towns. And, of course, Game of Thrones country is all around. Visit discovernorthernireland.com King Puck and the Puck Fair If you’re free in August, head to the oldest fair in Ireland, dating back 400 years, to help celebrate a very old goat. No, not some politician – or your weird uncle thrice removed – but an actual wild mountain goat. Kind of the cloven-hoofed Paul Revere of Killorglin, Ireland, this
Photo by Philip Newman
T
he St. Patrick’s Day Parade is all well and good (especially if you happen to be in New York City, Chicago, or Savannah, Georgia, on or around March 17). But if you crave more Irish than a day of green beer and marching bands, why not dig a bit deeper into the Irish tradition: meet some other real and mythical characters, and make a summer vacation of it? May I suggest:
NEAPOLITANfamily • March 2020 Photo courtesy of Walt Disney World Resort
