travel log: dingle, part 2
yippe! we're back in our favorite place in Ireland,
the Dingle peninsula
if you missed part 1, you can check it out here
and just to warn you, there is a LOT of green
they don't make you wear green on st. patrick's day for nothing!!
today we met up with some of our best friends at LAX
as they were just flying in from a 6 week trip from europe.
we sat in the airport and talked for 3 straight hours (until they caught their next flight) about our trips...
when they asked us what our favorite place was, hands down we said in unison "dingle"
the entire peninsula is only about a 30 mile drive
but what makes it so magical is that there are about 100 places to stop along the way
to get lost down an old dirt road surrounded by brambles, and stumble upon a church that dates back to prehistoric times. there is just nothing like it!
if any of you have seen the movie "Far and Away" with Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman,
then this scenery might look familiar! it's where they filmed it.
you can see the old fences made out of stone, a distance relic of old potato fields.
the famine hit hard in this region, forcing many to emigrate.
field beyond field left barren ever since.
a slew of islands off the coast, called the blasket islands, dotted the sea.
the history of the people who lived there marked the last bastion of true irish culture,
and were studied by anthropologists for many years, who encouraged them to write down their culture and stories.
the entire population was forced to evacuate the island in the 1950's.
evidently the majority of blasket island residents moved to springfield Ma.
we spent the entire day in a time warp, moving at our own pace
slow and curious, shrouded in a mysterious fog that made time stand still.
we stopped for a pint at a local pub along the way,
we found the most delightful and cozy restaurant overlooking a cliff that warmed the room by fire place.
as we headed back into dingle town, we were delighted at dinner by the delish food and friendly service (not to mention the amazing ambiance!)
if you are going to Dingle, you must eat at the Boar's Head restaurant!
and then finished the night with some authentic irish music at Benny's pub.
it just couldn't have been better:)
dingle will forever hold a special place in our hearts.
it was a page back in time, an emotion of being the only traveler in the entire place
the sense of truly exploring a rugged and beautiful terrain.
(of course there were other tourists, but it still felt wild and free!)
happy weekend!
i've literally cleared my ENTIRE schedule to watch the olympics! haha! i'm a die hard olympic fan!!!!
love Katie