Ireland Day 5 Dingle Peninsula

Location: Dingle Peninsula
B&B: Dunlavin House
Attractions: Slayhead Drive, Blasket Islands
Beer of Choice: Tom Crean’s Irish Lager and Bailey’s and Coffee

Breakfast started with a delicious parfait with granola, yogurt, fruit and preserves. It was soooo good! We had avoided trying Black Pudding after finding out what it was made of, but after some convincing by our host, the couple from Missouri that was also staying at Dunlavin House said they would try it, and shared some with Shane. It was surprisingly good. Shane had the eggs and Smoked Salmon, Jill a poached egg on a muffin. It was a great breakfast. We decided to just hop in the car and cruise around the peninsula. There is a route called Slayhead Drive and it seems every view is better then the last. One postcard worthy picture after another.

The first place we stopped was a location that had several bee-hive huts. We saw one piece of literature that said they were from 500 B.C. and another that said 2000 B.C. It was really cool to see how they were put together with no mortar. Just stacking rock on top of rock. The next place our curiosity took us was a really cool beach stuck between some steep cliffs. We almost didn’t stop, but I’m so glad we did. It was gorgeous! It was other worldly being on some soft sand, surrounded by cliffs, with the waves crashing. To add to the ambiance, there was even an older gentleman sitting on a rock, playing his harmonica. He wasn’t looking for money, like so many other people we saw playing instruments on this trip. He was simply enjoying life and expressing it through his music.

Our next stop was Dunquin, a little cafe that we found for some lunch. Jill got the Potato and Leek soup, and Shane the Toasted Ham Sandwich. Both were a better then we imagined they would have been. We of course had to cap the meal off by sharing an Apple Crumble topped with whipped cream for dessert.

We continued our drive, stopping, what seemed like every 5 minutes, to soak the view. Around every corner there view seemed to get better. There ocean next to the cliffs, the sheep peppered hills, and the stone walls that created an emerald grid on all the hill sides. It was all so perfect and seemingly untouched by the commercial tourism that we are used to in The States. We couldn’t help but think of all the high rise hotels that would be on the hill sides if this jewel were in California.

We made it back to Dingle around 3:30 and decided to take a quick nap… because we could… because we were on vacation! After our cuddle session, we showered up and headed into town to find something to eat. We soon found out it was a bit too early to do this. We couldn’t find a place that was open so we decided to have a drink, which I decided to spill all over my lap. Then minutes later, the bartender dropped a glass that shattered on the floor. I guess my clumsiness was contagious. The guy next to us said he was going to drink his quick before he dropped his. 🙂

When it was late enough the the restaurant across the street was serving, we headed over and had one heck of a good meal. Shane had the John Dory with Mussels and Jill had Hake in Dingle Cheese Crust. The restaurant, The Global Village, was probably the fanciest one we went to during the whole trip.

From there, we walk to past a pub named Dick Mack’s and with a name like that, we had to stop in. We hung out in one of the snugs, a private little room in which ladies used to hang out while their husbands drank. We met a puppy named Charlie in the bar. He was so cute! It was a little Golden Retriever. The night lead us to some more live music at Paudie’s again and then we hit up Murphy’s Ice Cream before going to The Courthouse for some more live music. Murphy’s supposedly has some of the creamiest ice cream in the world, thanks to the Kerry Cows that they get the milk from. At The Courthouse, we met a few guys from Florida, some local girls, and a couple from California. We sat outside listening to music and having some great conversation. It was getting late, and we had some traveling to do in the morning, so we grabbed some Chinese “take-away” from a restaurant near by. The food was great, but it was more a precautionary measure to soak up some alcohol before we went to bed. To our surprise, we woke the next morning feeling pretty good.