Dingle

Dingle-the most beautiful scenery, the most fun B&B, and great food....our favorite place in Ireland, my favorite vacation spot so far!

Views from our drive to Dingle.....amazing!

 

Gotta watch out for those sheep on the side of the road!

View from our B&B....breathtaking!

The kids loved to chase and feed the chickens!

Looking for the famous dolphin...Fungi.  Fungi is Dingle's own personal pet, he has been coming to the harbor since 1984.  Our host said that he sees the dolphin almost everyday.

See him yet??

There he is!!!  We spotted the dolphin after being at the B&B for just an hour or so.

The scenery from the back porch of the B&B was just glorious!  And we got to have tea there everyday!

Of course, Drake loved the hot chocolate too!

On our full day in Dingle, we decided to drive the Dingle Peninsula Loop. It's about a 30 mile loop around the peninsula with lots of sites to see along the way.  It must be a pretty popular thing to do because when I told our B&B host we were going to do that, he told us it was a great drive and gave us some hints to include in our journey.  The kids weren't thrilled about being in the car all day but the drive included a lot of stops, the first being this gorgeous beach at Ventry Bay!

This is the pub that the famous Irish football star Paidi O Se (Paddy O'Shea) owns. He won 8 all-Ireland football titles in his career.

This little blue cottage was where Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman stayed while filming Far and Away.  I think I will have to rewatch that movie!

View of Skellig Michael and Little Skellig...islands that project out of the water and contain a 6th century monastic settlement.

Going to see Dunbeg Fort-built, they think, during the Iron Age...500 BC- AD 500

The fence is marking where some of the fort has already fallen in the ocean....eek!

Up the road a little we found these Beehive Huts or Clochans....mysterious stone igloos that no one really knows precisely when they were built.

Stone fences were along the hillsides as far as we could see.

This is a bad picture taken from inside the car, but it's known as the "upside down" bridge because its a bridge where the stream runs over it....strange, but I'm sure has a purpose. 

Crucifix at Slea Head

The Blasket Islands....westernmost point of Europe.  More beautiful scenery!! We actually stopped at the visitor's center here for a break and the food here was even great!

This is the schoolhouse that was built for the movie Ryan's Daughter...it's famous here too.  Another movie I need to watch!

An island named the "Sleeping Giant."  Do you see the giant with his hand on his beer belly??

Remains of a walled Reasc Monastery from the 6th-12th century.

500 BC Celtic stone pillar inside the walls.  This pillar was the only thing visible in 1975 before the excavation was started.

Gallarus Oratory-built 1300 years ago, one of Ireland's best preserved early Christian churches.  It was a small church, only could fit about a dozen monks inside.  Lit with candles and waterproof!

Ruined church of Kilmalkedar, 12th century

You can see, somewhat, how the over-populated graveyard is starting to rise up...a little creepy.

This is an ogham stone that was here 900 years before the church was built.  It's marked with some kind of ogham script that was used from the 3rd-7th centuries and has a hole drilled into the top.  It is said that two people would put their thumbs in the hole to "seal a deal" or "swear to God" standing on their ancestors' graves and in front of the house of God.  And now people come here to touch thumbs and renew their marriage vows....we touched thumbs and quietly renewed :)
That was the end of our Dingle loop....the kids were happy and we were ready for some tea and hot chocolate!

That night Mike and I got to go out and enjoy some great food and Irish music.   Dick Mack's is "that" pub where all the famous people go to.  It used to be a leather shop during the day and pub at night, now just a pub.  It actually has one of the old "separate" rooms where the women had to drink.  It was a busy, busy place!

So, like I said, we loved Dingle.  The B&B with the amazing views, large bedrooms, and very attentive host was our favorite by far.  The town was very quintessential Ireland....still using their Gaelic language, everyone knows everyone, all very friendly people, and everything is just 10 minutes walk away.  We were here for about two and a half days, but I could stay for a week!  Loved it!