West Coast — September 2009
Lori and Joe (age 16)
Sunday 9/20
The family dropped us off at LAX before going on to church. Our flight was delayed 2 ½ hours, but we still had time to catch our connecting flight in Philadelphia. I had never flown from the Philadelphia airport—I think it’s a very pleasant and well laid-out place. Joe and I found a sandwich shop and had a very tasty—what else? —Philly Cheesesteak. The first leg of the flight (to Philly) was not quite full, so we moved to better seats (exit row) after take-off. We had three seats for the two of us—very nice! The flight to Shannon was a bit more cramped, but I slept part of the time. We arrived in Shannon around 9:00 a.m.
Monday 9/21
We picked up our rental car at Dan Dooley and drove about 3 ½ hours to Dingle. I, of course, was jet-lagged and it took a few minutes to get used to the narrow roads, to driving on the left, and to the round-abouts, but I caught on pretty quickly. Joe (age 16) was a fabulous navigator; he had the map in his lap the whole time and told me which exit to take at each round-about. He also has an instinctive sense of direction, which I lack!
We arrived at the Lighthouse B & B in Dingle around 1:30 p.m. We rested a while, then walked into town (an easy 10-minute walk). Explored in town a bit and ate an early dinner at The Old Smokehouse (fresh fish chowder and fish and chips: both very good!). We had our first taste of Irish Brown Bread here, and it was fabulous. Obviously freshly baked. We ordered dessert—apple crumble with cream and fresh berries—but as we were both starting to fall asleep (we’d been awake almost 24 hours), we asked the waitress to wrap it for us, and we took it back to our room. It was delectable, too. The bill came to around US$45.
We really enjoyed the walk to and from town, and the weather was just what we were hoping for—cool, misty and windy! (We live in southern California, where it’s warm, dry and sunny ten months of the year!) The air smelled so good: a mixture of sweet grass and salt water, and sometimes a whiff of smoke. We were in bed by 8:30. This B & B is very clean and pleasant, and Mary is a lovely hostess. The view is incredible: we look out over a meadow and onto the bay from my bedroom window. It’s quiet and beautiful.
Tuesday 9/22
We slept in and missed breakfast; had the rest of our trail mix and a few Cheez-its to start us off (but we did make tea in our room). We took off walking around 11:00, and enjoyed just browsing the shops (lots—Irish tweed, knitted wear, bookshops, etc.) We spent some time in the little Dingle library…had lunch at John Benny Moriarty’s pub (delicious sandwiches on toasted Irish brown bread), and got dark chocolate ice cream at Murphy’s Ice Cream shop. (We had samples of Chocolate Whiskey, Irish Coffee, Bailey’s Coffee, too—ice cream, that is).
Then, we took a boat ride out on the bay to see Fungie, the resident Dingle Bay dolphin. He’s been here since 1983 and seems to LOVE to play with the boats and ham it up for the people. It was a delightful time—we enjoyed chatting with our skipper (he’s from Scotland) and Joe took lots of great pictures of the dolphin and the bay. The weather was perfect (for Joe and me): cloudy, breezy and misty, with the sun peeking out now and then. The sun came out late this afternoon as we were walking ‘home’, around 5:00, and it was gorgeous.
Wednesday 9/23
Today we took the Slea Head drive around the peninsula. Breathtaking! Just a bit nerve-wracking on those extremely narrow roads when a tour bus came by from the opposite direction (!), but no mishaps. We stopped often to explore on foot. We walked through some of the abandoned “famine cottages” (sobering) and explored the ancient Gallarus Oratory, so quiet and worshipful, and still water-tight after 1300 years! From the Oratory we followed the “Way of the Pilgrim” trail for about two miles on foot for an invigorating photo op. Joe brought along a nice camera and enjoyed shooting close-ups of individual flowers and other gifts of nature. The rain blew in and drenched us for about 20 minutes (we’d left the umbrella back at the B & B!), but that was all part of the adventure.
We continued on in the car, stopping to inspect a dolmen—an ancient burial place dating from Neolithic times—, ring fort ruins and finally Kilmarkedar Church and cemetery.Upon arriving back in town around 3:00, we were famished! We found a little tea shop and stopped for a bite. Not quite Joe’s cup of tea (pardon the pun) but I loved it! My lunch was a very fresh salad, brown bread, locally-made cheeses and a pot of Earl Grey, with milk, of course. We sat outside on a lovely little balcony overlooking the bustle of…Green Street, was it? I went back to our B & B to rest, and Joe took off with his camera on a trail leading from the Dingle Skellig Hotel up to the lighthouse. He spent a couple of hours traipsing around on his own taking pictures.
Dinner and music session at Murphy’s tonight—very fun! We later noted as we were driving along the west coast that virtually every single town has a Murphy’s pub. That would have been a cool photo montage!
I used my Visa whenever I could; for everything else, I had cash from the local ATM. I found that in Dingle there was no problem running Visa through with Euros only; the further north we went, the more difficult it was to get proprietors to do that. Perhaps it’s that Dingle is used to tourists? But no, so is Westport, and the shopkeepers and restaurant workers there absolutely refused to do that, or perhaps they didn’t know how? I’m not sure.
Thursday 9/24
Today we said goodbye to Dingle and headed north via the Shannon River car ferry to the Cliffs of Moher (aka “The Cliffs of Insanity” from The Princess Bride movie). They are spectacular! It was cold and windy, but the sun came out for a few minutes and, once again, Joe got some beautiful pictures. We spent a couple of hours here before driving on. Just before we reached our B & B in Ballyvaughan, we discovered a beautiful, lonely beach; we had to stop and explore. We climbed over boulders and through long, wind-swept grass to get down to the sand, which was a swirl of browns, grays and whites and littered with beautiful shells and rocks. It was overcast and breezy—perfect! It was great to stretch again after so much driving today.
We arrived at Cappabhaile House late in the afternoon. Rested a bit, then played a game of pool in the game room. This B & B is out in the middle of nowhere, but it is large and very nice. Our room was huge, and had a view of a very green meadow (surprise) and some friendly-looking cows. Actually, I’ve never seen a mean-looking cow! We drove a few minutes into town for dinner. The food at Logue’s Lodge was plentiful and excellent, but the service was poor. We were seated in a cold, damp room (at the only table in there!) and left alone for 30 minutes before anyone came to take our orders, then waited about another 40 minutes for food. We were also promised a fire in the fireplace, which never materialized. I think that would have made all the difference.
We loved our stay at Cappabhaile House, but next morning after a scrumptious and plentiful breakfast, we were on our way to explore the burren.
Friday 9/25
The burren is a stony, isolated region in the west of Ireland. We enjoyed its eerie beauty, and came upon the Poulnabrone dolmen (an ancient tomb made from three huge stone slabs) during our drive. We stopped to inspect it and marveled at the sheer age of it: excavations reveal that it was probably erected around 2500 BC!
We arrived in Westport in the late afternoon, but got lost trying to find our B & B. We pulled off to peruse a map posted at a bus stop, and a nice Irish gentleman came across the street to help us.
Saturday 9/26
Right after breakfast at the B & B (Plougastel House in Westport) we drove out to Achill Island for the morning. We. loved. it. There weren’t many people about, and it was a windy, misty day, just right for exploring this lonely and beautiful place. We drove around much of the island, stopping often to investigate the beaches, the ruined farm cottages and an ancient watchtower, thought by many to have been used by pirate queen Grace O’Malley. Some of the cottages still had farm implements, rusty from time and exposure.
We spent this afternoon walking around Westport, doing a little shopping and enjoying the street scene. We stopped for a few minutes to watch a dog show in the town square. We browsed the outdoor market, consisting mostly of local art and Wellies. Ate lunch at Cosy Joe’s: seafood chowder and brown bread once again! It was quite good, and it really was a warm, cozy place.
Sunday 9/27
We left Westport after breakfast and drove south to Galway, where we bought a smoothie for lunch and stopped to browse in Dunne’s, a popular department store. Joe bought a pea coat there, and is getting a lot of use out of it back home during this uncharacteristically cool California winter.
Although I love the countryside, I must admit that the modern wide lanes in and around Galway were a relief to me, after a week of driving narrow, winding, often muddy country roads.
Arriving at Shannon Airport in the afternoon, we turned in our rental car, and called for a shuttle to our hotel. I figured it would be easiest to turn the car in a day early, and not have to deal with that on the morning of our departure.
We really enjoyed the atmosphere at Bunratty Castle Hotel. The grounds are quiet and lovely, the service is friendly, and overall it was a great choice for our last night in Ireland. We settled into our room, then had a late lunch at the hotel pub, Kathleen’s Café. Once again, the seafood chowder was excellent. You really can’t go wrong ordering chowder or fish and chips in Ireland! These cooks know their seafood.
After making some tea and resting for a bit, we walked all around the grounds, stopping to shop at Blarney Woolen Mills, which is on the premises. It was a quiet, gray day outside, but inside the store it was warm and bustling. For dinner we walked to a nearby pub—Durty Nelly’s, where we discovered a small band (guitar, violin, and drums) playing just outside. A group of female athletes on tour (soccer, I think) was there; they were pulling each other up to the stage area to try dancing an Irish reel (or was it a jig?) and laughing their heads off. Delightful entertainment! Dinner was delicious, and the service was great.
Ironically, this modern hotel was the only lodging we used that did not have free wireless access. The little country B & Bs all offered it, but while Bunratty Castle Hotel does offer free internet, you need a cable to access it, which I didn’t have. They were very conciliatory when I called the front desk to ask about it and sent a guy up with a cable, but he couldn’t get it to work. He was only familiar with PCs, and I have a Mac. Not a big deal; it’s just that we’d gotten used to communicating with the folks back home. My Mac-genius husband could have fixed me up, but of course he was halfway around the world. (Well, maybe not quite halfway…)
As we had to be at the airport first thing in the morning, we turned in early, and had a very restful night’s sleep on excellent mattresses.
Monday 9/28
Our stay at this hotel included a full breakfast, and for a buffet, it was quite good! We shared a shuttle to the airport after breakfast, and without incident flew home, stopping again for a couple of hours in Philadelphia. Wish we’d had time to explore the city, but that would have cut things too short.
This trip was dream come true for me, and a fun adventure for both Joe and me. I’m glad we kept to the west coast and didn’t try to cover the whole island. There will be time for Dublin some other trip. We both prefer the quiet solitude and beauty of the rugged countryside, anyway.