Ireland Picture Post #7: Dingle and Slea Head Drive

These pictures are from Day 9 Part 1 and Part 2, where we gathered up some picnicking supplies at the behest of our B&B hosts, and then set off on the scenic drive along the Slea Head peninsula.

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Peeking into the back of a bakery in Dingle town

Ireland Day 9, Part 2: Slea head drive

The view along Slea head

We polished off our cheese, bread, and coffee, then headed back to the car for the latter half of the Slea head drive.

I gazed out the passenger window as the low rock wall sped by, looking out to the cliffs.  Bits of land jutted out into the water beyond, tops tufted with grasses so richly colored that they were vibrant, even from afar.  Farther beyond these, in the hazy distance, islands rose up from sea.  One of them, known as the "Sleeping Giant", is true to its name - it looked exactly like a giant on his back, his hands on top of his stomach, napping peacefully amongst the waves.  To our right, the green patchwork of the mountain sloped upward, dotted with the occasional cottage or ruin.  It was hard to know which way to look when surrounded by so much beauty.  

Ireland Picture Post #4: The Burren

These photos are from Day 6, Galway to Doolin via the Burren, Part 1 and Part 2.  The Burren was, much like Connemara, absolutely beautiful.  It was also a stark contrast - barren where Connemara was lush.

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Dunguaire Castle, located just south of Galway

Ireland Picture Post #1: Clonmacnoise, Birr, and Galway

I'll be switching gears for a little bit to editing and posting photos before I pick up the story again.  First up are the photos from Day 3, Dublin to Galway via Clonmacnoise.  Click any image to view it in the photo gallery. Enjoy!

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Clonmacnoise Monastery

Ireland Day 7, Part 2: Inisheer

Inisheer's idyllic pastures and happy cows

As Inisheer came into sight, we spotted on its leftmost tip a lighthouse and, even more excitingly, a hulking rusted wreck of a ship.  There was plenty of opportunity to get out the zoom lens for shots of both the lighthouse and shipwreck, but we quickly decided it was a goal to get out there in person for more pictures.

A few remaining clouds scuttled across the sky as we disembarked, but they were white and soft – promising clearer skies than the storminess of before.  No sooner had we gotten our bearings on the quay than we found ourselves propositioned from all sides by dozens of men of varying ages, arrayed all along the pier in sun- and wind-bleached clothes.  

Ireland Day 7, Part 1: Doolin to Inisheer via ferry

Not gonna lie, even Seattleites don't call this "clear weather".

We have new neighbors, and they moo.  

Considering that I’m a city girl at heart, I surprisingly have a sense that I could get used to this.  The greenness of the hills out the window is simply amazing.  There’s also something pretty funny about having a conversation be punctuated from time to time by a lowing moooo in the background.  Who knows, it might get old after a while, and I might also feel differently if we were downwind.  As it is, I can’t smell the cows, just see and hear them.  All the romanticized benefits without any of the olfactory downsides!

First breakfast at the restaurant downstairs was lovely: muesli (cue immense excitement), homemade brown bread with golden Irish butter (yes, the butter is better here), creamed oatmeal with honey, and melt-in-your-mouth locally smoked salmon with a fluffy mound of scrambled eggs.

Ireland Day 6, Part 1: Galway to Doolin via the Burren

Phew – the car is fine.  Jason got it repaired this morning – it took no more than 30 minutes and only cost 30 Euro.  The rim was bent, not cracked as I’d originally worried, so it just needed to be hammered back into place.  There was a puncture in the back left tire, so the mechanic patched that up, too.  (Bless his heart, he answered my panicked call to his all-hours number at close to midnight the previous night, which, while posted on his website, he apparently doesn’t get many calls at – it sounded like it was his home phone.)  Now that we're paying more attention, there are a lot of signs for "tyre repair" and safety checks alongside the roads here.  Looks like issues with potholes and bushes are pretty common.

We had another amazing breakfast at the B&B and consulted with our hosts on the best path to take.  They gave us some great tips for restaurants and sights to see along the way, and we were off.

Ireland Day 3, Part 1: Dublin to Galway via Clonmacnoise

Up early at 7 am to pack the bags up and shuttle to the airport to pick up the rental car.  Sleeping went fairly well, except when I woke up at 2 am feeling extremely hungry (that’s 6 pm Seattle time; I guess my body was expecting dinner.)  Breakfast was yogurt we picked up at Tesco the day before, and granola we snagged in Chicago (before realizing the need for a mad rush to the international terminal).

After Jason did a few loops around the parking lot to get a feel for the car (Fiat Punto!), we hit the road, heading out along the M6 toward Galway.  I think Irish roads are somewhat given a bad rap, so I’d like to clear the air just a bit.  The highways (prefixed with “M” or “N”) are a completely reasonable width.  

M- and N- routes in Ireland -- not unlike any other highway.