Ireland in Retrospect: Slea Head Loop and Killarney
Slea Head Loop and Killarney September 23
We met Pat's wife, Ann this morning. She's the kind of older woman who you just know was a knockout when she was younger. She was really sweet too. We had breakfast in the conservatory with some of the other guests. Everyone seemed relaxed, and there was some bits of conversation shared among us. The atmosphere was light and peaceful, even though the weather was not. For breakfast, I opted for smoked salmon and poached eggs. I wanted to get something that I wouldn't normally get back home. And I wasn't disappointed.
We packed up our things, paid our bill, and headed toward Dingle town, so we could drive the Dingle peninsula, also known as Slea Head Loop. I had read some reviews to make sure it was still worth doing in the rain. It seemed that it would be. We followed the signs that took us west of Dingle. Since Slea Head Drive is barely more than a single lane, it is recommended that you drive the loop clockwise. That way, you are less likely to need to make room for other vehicles.
Because it was very rainy and windy, we didn't stop as often as we could have, but the times we did stop were amazing. And I don't use that word lightly. First, I'm going to show you the pics and videos I took, and then I'm going to attempt to explain my feelings about this morning's drive.
At this first stop, there were other people parked and taking in the scenery and snapping pictures. It was awesome, but the next stop was even better.
This time, Justin stayed in the car. I noticed a small, unassuming set of stairs built into the stone wall, and decided to climb down them to get a little closer to the ocean. No one else was down there, and I really felt like I could appreciate the wildness of the Atlantic coast. The wind and the rain made the ocean feel that much more ferocious. It was wildly beautiful and intensely emotional in a way that I struggle to convey. I only stood in that spot for a few minutes, but the impact was profound...dare I say magical?
At one point, Justin said, it would be perfect if there was a cafe out here. Literally, like seconds later, we came upon one. We pulled into the parking lot and asked for tea for two. No other customers were there but us for most of the time. After our relaxing cups of tea, we briefly perused the attached gift shop, and then made a dash for the car.
Oh, in case you doubt the weather, here's a pic of us! Well, you can't tell by looking at Justin. Kinda hard to make a bald head blow in the wind. Haha!
We then finished the loop, drove back through Dingle, and on to Killarney, which was slightly more than an hour east. I can't remember for certain, but I'm pretty sure it was during this brief drive that Justin misread a sign that ended up giving us lots of laughs (and still does). Instead of "severe bend ahead" he read "swerve bend ahead," and he was like, what the heck is swerve bend?! Yeah, it's definitely one of those "you had to be there" things. Another kinda funny part about our time driving in Ireland is that I had a hard time not verbalizing every time I saw the word "slow." I really wanted to make sure Justin saw it and went the appropriate (slower!) speed. Haha. I guess I need to work on trust!
Anyway, we got to Killarney around lunchtime. Like Dingle, we passed our lodging on the way into town. We parked our car and decided to get some fish and chips at Quinlans Seafood Bar. Now *that* was a delicious fish fry!
After lunch, we walked around, doing some shopping. Killarney is really a great little town. There's actually only less than 15,000 people who live there! It feels more bustling than that, perhaps because everything seems to be more centralized. We thought a little about where we might go for dinner tonight.
In the afternoon, we drove back to Killaran House, where we were staying that night, and met one of the employees. (I only know she's an employee, because she mentioned that her boss wouldn't be back in tonight.) I liked that place a lot. The room was very tastefully decorated, and they had a nice sitting room near the front of the house. This wasn't technically a bed and breakfast, but a guesthouse. They did offer breakfast for an additional cost. Another thing I liked was how helpful the woman who checked us in was. When I'd asked her about a place to do some laundry, she offered to do it for me! Normally they have a service that costs €10 a load, and she did it for free!
She warned us about finding parking in town since it gets very busy. Thankfully, downtown Killarney was only a 10 minute walk (at most) from the guesthouse. After a couple hours of relaxing, we walked into town. The first two restaurants we stopped at were booked until 8 or later. It was Justin who made the decision to check out a little wine and tapas bar called The Curious Cat.
When we walked in, it was very quiet. We could've picked any table in the place, but we chose to sit at the bar. What a great decision that was! We had such a wonderful night talking with Richard, the owner, and Moira, the waitress/bartender. I don't remember the country Richard was originally from... I want to say somewhere in Eastern Europe. He told us how he moved to New York City just three weeks before the September 11 attacks! At some point in the last so many years he moved to Ireland, met his wife, and became a dad. Plus he started a wine bar! Moira was originally from England, but moved with her mom to rural Ireland 20 years ago. Oh my, she was so much fun to talk to! She was real and unrefined without being crude. And hilarious. We had such great conversation.
And I haven't even started talking about the food. Literally, every single bite was delicious. Justin and I shared the meat platter and the seafood platter. Delicious! We also shared one of the specials, the fried Manchego cheese. Then Justin got goat cheese stuffed mushrooms, which he said were excellent, and I had jamon croquetas, which were really really good! And then dessert. Oh my. Probably one of the best tasting desserts I've ever had, no exaggeration. It was a chocolate almond cake, which was gooey inside, similar to a lava cake, with a scoop of sweet cream on the side. It was perfection!!
After dinner, we walked back to Killaran House. What an awesome day!
We met Pat's wife, Ann this morning. She's the kind of older woman who you just know was a knockout when she was younger. She was really sweet too. We had breakfast in the conservatory with some of the other guests. Everyone seemed relaxed, and there was some bits of conversation shared among us. The atmosphere was light and peaceful, even though the weather was not. For breakfast, I opted for smoked salmon and poached eggs. I wanted to get something that I wouldn't normally get back home. And I wasn't disappointed.
We packed up our things, paid our bill, and headed toward Dingle town, so we could drive the Dingle peninsula, also known as Slea Head Loop. I had read some reviews to make sure it was still worth doing in the rain. It seemed that it would be. We followed the signs that took us west of Dingle. Since Slea Head Drive is barely more than a single lane, it is recommended that you drive the loop clockwise. That way, you are less likely to need to make room for other vehicles.
Because it was very rainy and windy, we didn't stop as often as we could have, but the times we did stop were amazing. And I don't use that word lightly. First, I'm going to show you the pics and videos I took, and then I'm going to attempt to explain my feelings about this morning's drive.
At this first stop, there were other people parked and taking in the scenery and snapping pictures. It was awesome, but the next stop was even better.
This time, Justin stayed in the car. I noticed a small, unassuming set of stairs built into the stone wall, and decided to climb down them to get a little closer to the ocean. No one else was down there, and I really felt like I could appreciate the wildness of the Atlantic coast. The wind and the rain made the ocean feel that much more ferocious. It was wildly beautiful and intensely emotional in a way that I struggle to convey. I only stood in that spot for a few minutes, but the impact was profound...dare I say magical?
 |
| This was taken while driving. Check out that surf though! |
At one point, Justin said, it would be perfect if there was a cafe out here. Literally, like seconds later, we came upon one. We pulled into the parking lot and asked for tea for two. No other customers were there but us for most of the time. After our relaxing cups of tea, we briefly perused the attached gift shop, and then made a dash for the car.
Oh, in case you doubt the weather, here's a pic of us! Well, you can't tell by looking at Justin. Kinda hard to make a bald head blow in the wind. Haha!
We then finished the loop, drove back through Dingle, and on to Killarney, which was slightly more than an hour east. I can't remember for certain, but I'm pretty sure it was during this brief drive that Justin misread a sign that ended up giving us lots of laughs (and still does). Instead of "severe bend ahead" he read "swerve bend ahead," and he was like, what the heck is swerve bend?! Yeah, it's definitely one of those "you had to be there" things. Another kinda funny part about our time driving in Ireland is that I had a hard time not verbalizing every time I saw the word "slow." I really wanted to make sure Justin saw it and went the appropriate (slower!) speed. Haha. I guess I need to work on trust!
Anyway, we got to Killarney around lunchtime. Like Dingle, we passed our lodging on the way into town. We parked our car and decided to get some fish and chips at Quinlans Seafood Bar. Now *that* was a delicious fish fry!
After lunch, we walked around, doing some shopping. Killarney is really a great little town. There's actually only less than 15,000 people who live there! It feels more bustling than that, perhaps because everything seems to be more centralized. We thought a little about where we might go for dinner tonight.
In the afternoon, we drove back to Killaran House, where we were staying that night, and met one of the employees. (I only know she's an employee, because she mentioned that her boss wouldn't be back in tonight.) I liked that place a lot. The room was very tastefully decorated, and they had a nice sitting room near the front of the house. This wasn't technically a bed and breakfast, but a guesthouse. They did offer breakfast for an additional cost. Another thing I liked was how helpful the woman who checked us in was. When I'd asked her about a place to do some laundry, she offered to do it for me! Normally they have a service that costs €10 a load, and she did it for free!
She warned us about finding parking in town since it gets very busy. Thankfully, downtown Killarney was only a 10 minute walk (at most) from the guesthouse. After a couple hours of relaxing, we walked into town. The first two restaurants we stopped at were booked until 8 or later. It was Justin who made the decision to check out a little wine and tapas bar called The Curious Cat.
When we walked in, it was very quiet. We could've picked any table in the place, but we chose to sit at the bar. What a great decision that was! We had such a wonderful night talking with Richard, the owner, and Moira, the waitress/bartender. I don't remember the country Richard was originally from... I want to say somewhere in Eastern Europe. He told us how he moved to New York City just three weeks before the September 11 attacks! At some point in the last so many years he moved to Ireland, met his wife, and became a dad. Plus he started a wine bar! Moira was originally from England, but moved with her mom to rural Ireland 20 years ago. Oh my, she was so much fun to talk to! She was real and unrefined without being crude. And hilarious. We had such great conversation.
And I haven't even started talking about the food. Literally, every single bite was delicious. Justin and I shared the meat platter and the seafood platter. Delicious! We also shared one of the specials, the fried Manchego cheese. Then Justin got goat cheese stuffed mushrooms, which he said were excellent, and I had jamon croquetas, which were really really good! And then dessert. Oh my. Probably one of the best tasting desserts I've ever had, no exaggeration. It was a chocolate almond cake, which was gooey inside, similar to a lava cake, with a scoop of sweet cream on the side. It was perfection!!
After dinner, we walked back to Killaran House. What an awesome day!
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