Friday, April 18--Driving to Dingle

Friday morning, Bob was up bright and early to go golfing somewhere. I really don't know much about it, except that it took him 45 minutes to get there, he battled 40-50 mph winds while playing, and took several hundred pictures while there. I am not making this up. Those of you that are familiar with Bob's picture-taking tendencies will know this is the truth!

I got up, showered, and meandered down to breakfast in the hotel, which is included in your night's stay. A proper Irish breakfast is called "the full Irish", and it is an artery-clogging fest. Eggs, bacon (but nothing like our American bacon, and they call them "rashers"), sausages (or "bangers"), toast, grilled tomatoes, and black and white pudding. For those not familiar with black pudding, don't be fooled by the name. It is definitely not pudding! It has something to do with pig's blood, and I think that says it all. In the manner of "Extreme Foods", I did try it. And that was enough. Blecch!

An aside to my friend Jack--they also had baked beans! The British kind--just tomato sauce and beans. I thought of you right away. I did try some (not the best, IMHO), but forgot the key of putting them on toast. Next time...

After breakfast, I caught a bus downtown and went to Grafton Street, which is like the 5th Avenue of Dublin. All kinds of high-end shops, including Marks & Spencer. I very excited to finally see a Marks & Spencer...it's the little things, you know.

Grafton Street also houses my own personal mecca--The Body Shop! I enjoyed talking shop with the shopgirls and seeing the stuff that they had that we don't have in the states. Erin, do I have stuff to tell you!

I took the bus back to the hotel and waited for Bob to return from his golfing adventure. I should mention that buses in Dublin are of the double-decker variety, and they are everywhere! The bus system is quite easy to navigate.

Bob and I set out to Dingle around 12:30 pm. Getting out of Dublin was much easier than trying to get in the day before. In case you're wondering, we took the M50, the N7, the N20, and finally the N86 to get to Dingle. Surprisingly, most of these roads were four lane highways. A few, however, were two-lane, narrow, hair-raising affairs where folks sped along at 100 km+. We heard a stat on the radio around Limerick that 75 people were killed on Limerick roads in the past year. After driving the roads, I can see why.

A few words on the drive itself. It was gorgeous, of course. Lots of open land divided by hedgerows, so that it looks much like a patchwork quilt. In the "patchworks" are various types of animals--cows, goats and sheep. There are TONS of sheep. Sheep, sheep, and more sheep. Did I mention there were sheep??

Also, there are no billboards to be seen anywhere. Really! And there are no signs at exits to towns pointing out possible amenities like food or gas. If you get off an exit looking for food, it's a crapshoot. There was also this strange species of yellow shrub everywhere. It kind of looked like a holly bush, but had yellow at the end. Any plant lovers out there that might know?

Over 5 hours later, we arrived in Dingle. Patti, you're right. What an adorable town! It's situated next to Dingle Bay with lots of brightly colored fishing boats in the harbour. There are tons of little shops here and there, and the best part--over 50 bars! Some of the bars are located in stores, like Foxy John's Hardware. This is every man's wet dream--a bar in a hardware store? But I digress...

Bob and I got situated in our B&B, The Bay Watch B&B (I am not making this up), and set out to get ourselves a pint. About 30 steps away is Murphy's Pub, so we had a few pints there and made a new Irish friend in the process! He was quizzing us about the upcoming Pennsylvania primary on Tuesday, and US politics in general. Bob and I are just amazed that we are what? 4,000 miles from home and the PA primaries are ALL OVER the news here. And when people here find out we're from PA they always have to comment on it. We can't get away from all the hype, even an ocean away. *sigh*

Both of us having nice Guinness-induced buzzes, we meandered around the town looking for a cool pub that served food and had Irish music. We settled on a place called John Benny's, which must have been the happening place, 'cause it was packed. We each had fish & chips, and settled back to hear the music.

I should point out that Dingle is crawling with American tourists. I mean, you can't swing a cat without hitting an American tourist. Initially at John Benny's, an American couple sat down next to us, and the guy asked the waitress if they had any American beers on tap. I was ready to just crawl under the table. Are you kidding me? You're in Ireland, for crying out loud! Drink Guinness, or at least Harp, and LIKE it! The annoying American couple left, and were replaced with four girls from Florida, probably in their 20's, here in Ireland for vacation. They were a lot of fun, so we chatted with them for awhile.

Again, after a long day of driving and one too many pints, we were both ready to call it a day. We left John Benny's and headed for the Bay Watch (tee, hee).