Day 7
Well a good week draws to a close with another long driving day.
Out by about 10:30, destination the Dingle Peninsula. We had been torn about going there. It was at the top of our list, but after spending some time here we realized it was a lot further away, time-wise, than we had hoped.
Turned out to be about 2.5 - 3 hours to Dingle town. Then factor in the time to tour the peninsula and it was a 9 hour driving day. Way too much, but when will we be back in Ireland again?
Back over Moll's Gap, through Killarney National Park. A great day again today - about 75 and sunny.
Out by about 10:30, destination the Dingle Peninsula. We had been torn about going there. It was at the top of our list, but after spending some time here we realized it was a lot further away, time-wise, than we had hoped.
Turned out to be about 2.5 - 3 hours to Dingle town. Then factor in the time to tour the peninsula and it was a 9 hour driving day. Way too much, but when will we be back in Ireland again?
Back over Moll's Gap, through Killarney National Park. A great day again today - about 75 and sunny.
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Got onto the Dingle Peninsula and it was typical Irish driving again. Great views - right over that hedgerow. No pullouts. Poor signage. But blue skies, and the windows open. Can't beat that. We did eventually find some pullouts, past Dingle town.
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Dingle town was a crummy looking British tourist type town. It probably had some redeeming features but we only stopped for the girls to use the loo in a pub.
The countryside in Dingle was a little less mountainous and more rolling than the Ivergah (Kerry) peninsula. A little easier to drive too, but not much. |
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The highlight for me was the Galarus Oratory. A church built around 500 AD, it is still completely intact. We spent a while talking with an attractive on site tour guide who told us all about it. They can tell it was built as a Christian church because the (apse?) window faces east. There's also a grave with headstone that began life as a pagan item but was repurposed by the Christians when their time came along.
We waited several minutes for a couple of tour busses of Italians and Germans to return to their vehicles, then we pretty much had the place to ourselves for a few minutes (till the French tour bus arrived.) Some genius who owns the adjacent field put up an official looking visitors' center with slideshow and charges 3€ per person to access the Oratory. But those with the Rick Steves guide know that you can just walk up for free after a short drive up a lane! That paid for the guide right there! The guy with the field must be making a half million bucks a year from his ingenuity. |
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Back home after a long drive was made longer because we hit 5:00 traffic in Killarney and were delayed almost an hour. Beautiful views across Killarney National Park.
D. O'Shea's
Back in Sneem by 7, we again could not resist the pull of O'Shea's. A couple of Guinness, a couple of Chardonnay, Garlic Ciabatta for Kristen, great fried cod, chips & salad for Dave, and a salad with smoked chicken for Jill. back home by dark and a quick pack job before an early bed.
Day 8 >>>
Day 8 >>>
