Martine à la plage...

Is there such a thing as a quiet week end in Northern Ireland? Quiet weekends have never been an important part of my vocabulary back in Canada and so I should not be surprised that my plans for a quiet weekend are slowly becoming an illusion. Do not read this the wrong way, I am truly enjoying this ‘quiet time’. Since I have no classes on Friday, the weekend always starts early. On Thursday night, my flatmates and I had grand plans to go dancing in a night club near the student village. Also that night, the internationals were having a birthday party for Paloma. The girls and I got dolled-up and started our night at the international party before heading out. The night was a success! In my setting here I consider every night where I get to speak English, French, Spanish and even a word or two in German a very successful night! Oh yes and we also went dancing.

Vendredi matin, je fais la grasse matinée avant de partir à l’aventure avec trois de mes colloques : nous allons à la plage! Il semblerait que la plage se trouve à moins d’une heure de voiture d’ici. Parfait pour un petit ‘road trip’. Même si Diane et Caoimhe sont native de l’Irlande du Nord et de l’Irlande respectivement, aucunes d’entre nous s’est déjà aventuré dans le compté de Donnegal. Pas de problèmes, nous avons une carte routière de l’Irlande, nous sommes invincibles.

The two locals are put in charge of driving and navigation. Heather and I get to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the country side. Without getting too lost we arrive in Rathmullan, a quaint village with a butcher shop, a corner store and not much else. I feel right at home. A sign indicating the beach points to a small patch of seaweed and seashells. That’s it? The map indicated a small beach, but really only a few meters of seafloor with barely any sand....Oh well, let’s make the best of it! We snap a few pictures, dip our fingers in the glacial sea water and head back to the car. The butcher shop catches our eye... How great would it be to have a freshly cut steak for dinner tonight... mmmm! Again I feel right at home at the sight of a giant cutting bloc, saws and the smell of red meat. We take our time selecting our future feast and chatting with the ‘wee’ man who owns the shop. He explains that there is another beach only half a mile away that we should definitely visit before we head back home.

Beau gros soleil...toute petite plage

Moins de cinq minutes de voiture et nous découvrons alors la vraie plage! Du sable a perte de vue, un quai et de nombreux bateaux qui flottent au loin. Il se fait déjà tard, mais nous décidons tout de même de prendre une marche dans le sable, question de profiter pleinement du paysage!

De retour à Derry, nous préparons notre festin! Surlonge, petites fêves vertes et salade de concombre, tomates et mozarella… Délicieux! Ensuite, Heather et moi rencontrons Paloma et Elia et partons, direction pub. Nous allons à la rencontre de ‘locals’ que nous avons rencontré lors de l’anniversaire de M. Arthur Guinness. Une autre belle soirée en perspective, mais… ou est passé ma fin de semaine tranquille??