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Published: December 14th 2009
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FUN few days as we headed to the Dingle Peninsula. Definently the prettiest part of Ireland I have seen. By this stage Rita and I were well and truly into a routine and use to each other 24/7. It took a while to drive to the Peninsula but the coast line is very untouched and filled with sheep and farms. We arrived after dark and settled into our very cool Hostel. Probably the best one we stayed at all week. They were quick to recommend a place to eat and have a few drinks. The beds were soooooooo comfortable that I headed straight for my usual afternoon nap and struggled to wake up 2 hours later, but we only had one night so we were up and joined every single tourist staying in the town at the pub where they played traditional folk music. The baileys was going down fast and the music was lifting our spirits. A fire place made it cosy and everyone was in a jolly mood. But all that driving left me exhausted so by 11pm I was in bed.
Another early rise was called for so that we could do the coastal drive which I highly,
Baileys anyone?
I'm looking very tired but troopering on. highly recommend. Following the Atlantic, green pastures and rolling hills stretch as far as the eye can see and the views of Atlantic waves hitting the rocky terrain and one tiny little house engulfed by it's surroundings are breathtaking. This is also one of the locations where Far and Away with Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman was filmed (just a little film trivia) which is alos another girlie fav of mine but once again there was noooo Joseph waiting to sweep me off my feet. It has became famous more recently for being the home of Fungie the dolphin, who apparently, could often be seen swimming and playing in the waters offshore. We looked with little luck but we constantly stopped and jumped out of the car to take happy snaps and around every corner a new and special veiw was delivered. Gallarus Oratory is without doubt one of the highlights of any drive around Dingle Peninsula. This tiny church dates back to the 6th century and it was built like a boat standing upside down. There is no seperate roof, but only the walls are meeting on top and all of the stones were perfectely set togeather without any
kind of a cement. There is just an open door at one side and a tiny round window at the other side of the building. We also saw some original accomodation from the potato plight in 1845. The drive took longer than we had expected and by the time we got back to the town we were very hungry but eager to move onto the Cliffs of Moher. Our appetites got the better of us and we stopped in for fish and chips and it was well worth it. I had smoked haddock whick from this point on is officially my favourite fish and the oily batter was awesome. All dietry plans officially went out the window two days ago so now our attitudes are, we will only be here once!
Knowing that daylight was escaping us we really needed to get moving. The plan was to see the cliffs of Moher then drive to Galway and spend the night. The night before Rita had made friends with one of the local boys at the restaurant we ate at and he told us about the Shannon ferry that goes from Tarbert Island to Burrane Lower, across the Shannon Estuary. What
would normally be a 2 hour drive became a 20 minute boatride and while Rita slept in the car I watched the sunset and took some beautiful photos. Maybe Fungie had decided to leave the Bay and suprise us in Shannon! The moment was truley complete when dolphins began to jump out of the water and Rita was pretty annoyed when she woke up and found out what she had missed lol. Unfotunatley, by the time we got to the cliffs it was pitch black and high beam lights guided us around the long windy road. Nothing could be seen so I stopped the car and said, 'well somewhere here are the cliffs of Moher, we have been but have not seen' and on that note we drove off leaving the mystery of Moher for another excuse to return.
By the time we got to Galway it was 9pm. We settled into our large hostel, which was also very good and took off to do some more work on our goal of 20 pubs while in Ireland! That night we did pubs 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15. Little did we know that thursday nights in Galway is the place
to be. It is a very large university town and it was also the week of Halloween so students were out in their masses. We finished in a Bar that had a live band playing less traditional Irish music and the students were wild. The final straw was when the 3 girls at the front of the band started kissing each other ha ha ha. Rita and I did not have to say anything to know what each other were thinking and I have never left a bar so quickly as I did that night. The streets overflowed with Halloween pandamoniam, drunks lying in the middle of roads and girls walking around with bare feet and carrying their very high stilettos shoes. Boy! did it bring back lots of great memories!!!! In the morning we headed back to one of the pubs to be daing and drink a Guiness at 11am. At this particular pub you could pour your own which we had to do. All my years of pouring beers at Lidcombe Catholic Club paid off and after downing a pint each we carelessly hit the road top Cong, the day we had been waiting for and the highlight
of our Ireland tour! Stay tuned........
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