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Dingle
Ireland So, my parents came for a lovely visit to Ireland May 5-10, and it was fabulous! They arrived on the morning of the 5th, and after some difficulties, finally found my quite-tucked-away house. We wandered around campus and Limerick City some, and it was quite a lovely day to do so, I went to one class after dropping them off at a cafe, and then the adventures really began!
After grabbing some stuff from my apartment, they whisked me off to their Radisson Inn Hotel. We ate at Dolan's that night, a traditional Irish pub, and woke up the next morning (late-- they were jet-lagged) for a fun visit up to the Cliffs of Moher. Unfortunately for my parents, the roads were terribly windy and narrow (and my poor Dad driving on the left-hand side!) and a thick mist/fog blew in right as we reached the cliffs! So, you really couldn't see much, but it was kind of neat because it all looked so mysterious and otherworldly. After the Cliffs, we headed to Doolin to wander around a bit, and then ate a delicious fish-and-chips dinner (fresh fish!) in Lahinch at a place called O'Looney's, I believe.
Worn out
again, we got some good sleep that night before heading to Waterford the next day-- and at last it was sunny! We toured the crystal factory, saw some pretty, shiny, and expensive stuff, and then headed of to Cashel. This time, I actually got to go inside (woohoo!) and had a lovely tour of the place. It was very rich in history, and the architecture was really neat. I was glad we got to go, and glad I actually got to go inside this time!
That evening, we had fish and chips again, this time at a fast-food restaurant near my house (we had to stop at my house because I was running out of clothes at the hotel). Ah, yes, what a lovely Irish tradition (the fish and chips, not the running out of clothes bit!).
On Sunday, Dad was finally getting used to the roads so we took a scenic drive down to Dingle (where I'd never been before) and toured the Dingle Peninsula. If you ever go to Ireland, you MUST go there. The scenery and nature was simply breathtaking! The views were fabulous, and the nature amazing. It was also fun because it was
Green hills!
In Dingle, Ireland part of the Gaeltacht (Gaelic-speaking areas) of Ireland and all the signs, basically, were in Irish. It was great fun trying to figure out where we were going! And Dad with two back-seat drivers (especially me, who pretended like I was doing the navigating)! Anyway, the whole place was just fabulous, and we ate fish and chips again, this time in a pub in Dingle where we also got to hear some live traditional music (aka 'trad').
By Monday, I had run my parents ragged, so we decided to stay near Limerick, where Mom finished up some souvenier shopping and we saw a couple more sights. We also made a short trip to Adare and its surrounds and enjoyed walking the Adare Manor. That night, we finally broke away from the fish-and-ships tradition and ate at a neat Italian restaurant called Fat Zoe's. It was absolutely delicious, and quite a deal, too! (It's on O'Connell St. and I totally recommend it to any Limerick visitors).
Later that night, we headed over to The Locke pub and had drinks before Mom and Dad took me back to my house. So, it was a fabulous set of trips overall, and
How artsy is that?
Mom and Dad in profile in one picture without them even knowing. Now THAT's cunning... and we're in Dingle! I hope my parents had as much fun as I did!
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Al Antosca
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Great pictures of Dingle
Alexis What great pictures of the Dingle Peninsula! Are you a pro? You have echoed the words of friends of mine that are from CorkĀ If you are going to Ireland you MUST go to Dingle. My wife and are planning to go to Ireland from New Hampshire, US in June 2006. The pictures and your blog only added to the anticipation. al@antosca.com