Ireland Day 4 - Dingle & Limerick

Day 4 started with breakfast at Gorman’s Clifftop House and some gazing at the beauty of the Atlantic Ocean. We then headed for the town of Dingle for a morning of shopping and just enjoying strolling through a really cool town. Thus far, Dingle has been our favorite town and the place we would choose to stay if we were ever living in Ireland. The shops were fantastic and we picked up a lot of little goodies.

After our shopping and a coffee from a Dingle coffee shop (thanks again Rebecca for getting Am addicted to coffee), we headed for Slea Head Drive, a beautiful drive around the coastline in the Dingle area. We actually found that we enjoyed this drive more than The Ring of Kerry. Maybe it was the lack of rain but we just really enjoyed the views as we wound our way along the coastline. The cliffs are fantastic and the waves crashing against them make one of the best sounds in the world. I soooo wish we had a video camera (forgot my point and shoot) to show the waves! Here are some shots of the cliffs, the ocean, and the crashing waves:

One of our fun stops in Slea Head Drive was at a beach. We broke out the tripod and took some pictures together (below are a couple of them) which was a lot of fun. Am did some beautiful artwork in the sand and we shot it from up on top of the cliff (it was huge!). Now all of Ireland knows I am in love with Am. To top off this stop, there was a cool little truck set up selling coffee and snacks. Can anyone say “smoothie cart”?

After finishing the beautiful Slea Head Drive, we headed for the city of Limerick where we booked our first night at an actual hotel. The Clarion we stayed at is one of the tallest buildings in Ireland at 17 stories high (one record actually said it was the highest). The rooms were inexpensive and we ended up with a massive one with views of the Shannon River right below the hotel. We decided to order some room service and kick back and watch a movie (Blind Side – one of the best movies I have seen this year). Another awesome day complete.

Ireland Day 3 - Killarney & Dingle

We started the morning of day 3 with another great B&B breakfast and then headed back to the point on the coast that we had fallen in love with the previous night. When we arrived, we went our separate ways and spent about 30 minutes in quiet time with God. Stumbling on this spot while lost truly was a fantastic gift from our Creator.

We headed out from Baltimore on our way to Killarney and the start of the Ring of Kerry. The Ring is a scenic 110 km drive through southwestern Ireland (Kerry County). We were a little disappointed in the lack of sunshine (very cloudy day with some rain) but the views were still spectacular. It is kind of frustrating trying to capture them in pictures because they don’t truly convey the beauty. You can capture a small portion of the landscape but what makes it so amazing is that it is 360 degrees. You drive another kilometer and it is still 360 degrees of beauty. It is really something you have to experience in person but, while these pictures won't do it justice, this will give you a little bit of a feel for the beauty we witnessed:

After The Ring of Kerry, we decided to head for Dingle and spend the night there. We were able to reach a B&B from our guidebook that sounded neat because it said it had views of the Atlantic. When we arrived in Dingle, we fell in love with the little town as we snaked our way through it and pledged to return the next morning to walk the streets. The GPS took us out of town and off on to a lot of back, narrow roads (a common theme in Ireland). We stayed near the coast but eventually the GPS told us we reached our destination in the parking lot of a pub. The B&B was nowhere to be found. We called the owner and she told us to drive 1 km up the hill with the ocean always at our backs. Our hearts kind of sank as we realized we weren’t going to be as close to the water as we hoped. We finally reached the top and pulled into the parking lot to discover this:

Needless to say, this B&B was AWESOME! Here is a picture of our room:

The B&B had a restaurant on site that was one of the top in all of Ireland. It had won a ton of awards. We decided we would take advantage of it (it was late and we weren’t psyched about the long drive back into Dingle for food). And then we sat down and saw the menu…the selections sounded amazing but the prices were a bit more than we expected. We ultimately decided to just think of it as if the dinner was sponsored by one of our wedding guests who gave us a very generous cash gift. So thanks to you because we both agree that our meals were the best we have experienced yet in Ireland. Am got an awesome prawn pasta and I had a plate of salmon and monkfish in a delicious white sauce. Superb! Am topped the night off with a Chocolate Nemesis dessert that was out of this world! Here we are enjoying dinner with a view and the Chocolate Nemis: