Game of Thrones | Tales from the Hutt

Saturday, 16-Nov-2024

Our two exploration goals for Saturday were Dunluce Castle, and the Giant’s Causeway – two standouts from a trip my friend had taken to Northern Ireland earlier in October. Dunluce Castle, at least, is connected to Game of Thrones (I believe it was the set for the Isle of Pyke?), while Giant’s Causeway itself is simply a beautiful spot, with some impressive examples of columnar basalt.

They’re great, they were a good goal, and they gave Andrea and I an opportunity to escape Dublin, wander around some ruins and some beautiful surroundings, and for me to get a new country in my logbook. Really, what more could I ask for?

Not much. Not much at all.

Now, to the actual spots?

There’s not much of a review for me to write, that hasn’t already been written. Instead, I’ll focus in on the feelings – They were beautiful, cold, and left us both feeling positive. Really, they were more of a backdrop to our conversations and deepening bond, and I couldn’t have asked for more beautiful scenery to enjoy together.

Thursday, 29-Aug-2024

Game of Thrones was a really fun show, until the end.

I’d watched it first in New Zealand, if I’m remembering correctly, and was fairly quickly struck by the visuals and amazing acting. As the seasons wore on, I watched more… finally seeing the end while living in Portland, and nearly immediately forgetting the whole series due to the slapdash nature of the final season.

It still holds a place in my heart and memory, though I don’t have any intent of rewatching it any time soon.

As such, when I saw that a large portion of it was filmed in Northern Ireland, and that there was a tour organized from Dublin, I jumped on the opportunity to see both a peek behind the scenes… and the chance to visit another country before starting classes!

(That’s right – Northern Ireland is a completely different country. In fact, it’s not technically even in the European Union anymore, thanks to Brexit… though I didn’t dare ask too many questions about the minutia)

I hopped the bus, and appreciated the ride up.

This is going to be one of those posts where I don’t really type much, and instead let my photography tell the story. It was lovely, it was fun, and it was an amazing view behind the scenes of the show. Having known a few Scenic Artists while living in Portland, much of this was familiar to me – which was kind of nice, honestly, since it let me see a bit further into the small details than I think I could have otherwise.

I wandered, I learned, and I had an amazing second-to-none high tea lunch in the cafe. They called the “Dragon eggs” a “fudge brownie”… which was completely underselling the fact that it was basically just a sphere of dense fudge. Every bite was amazing, and the coffee… Ohh man, I wasn’t aware that Westeros had coffee that good.