Take me to Dingle anytime

When planning our trip to Ireland I was torn between the Ring of Kerry and the Dingle Peninsula. But based on all my reading many travelers preferred Dingle since it's smaller and not as touristy and I'm all about avoiding the crowds. It rained almost the entire way to Dingle which wasn't too bad although I would have loved to stop & play at Inch Beach. Maybe next time.

Around noon I contacted the B&B we reserved to let the owner know approximately what time we'd arrive. When I reached her she wasn't exactly pleasant and she told me there was a fire in her garage and she lost everything. She ended the conversation by reminding me that I couldn't check in before 2pm. As soon as I hung up I told S about the fire and I said, "I don't want to stay there!" I was already getting a "Nightmare B&B" vibe. So I started calling some B&B's in my travel book and luckily a few looked familiar and had received good rating on Tripadvisor. I called about 3 of them and the last B&B owner I spoke with was so friendly on the phone that I booked it right on the spot. I got a good vibe about him. Staying at a B&B with a great host is so important and makes a world of a difference. When I contacted the B&B we reserved to cancel I explained that we had a change of plans and as nicely as I could I explained that I just didn't feel comfortable staying in a place where there had been a fire especially since I had a little boy.  How could I possibly sleep well knowing there had just been a fire the previous night. And what about the smell. Well, the woman wasn't too happy but in the end it turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

The view from our B&B.

The B&B we did stay in was absolutely grand! The view was exactly what I was hoping for while in Dingle. We had our own patio with a great view of the Dingle Bay along with a big field of sheep. It was right out of a tourist photo book. And John, the owner was fabulous. He greeted us with homemade (right out of oven) scones, fresh jams, tea, coffee, and hot chocolate. John even included a cup full of mini marshmallows for Lil' C. Too sweet.

Immediately, Lil' C fell in love with John's dog, Roi. The two of them got along wonderfully. Lil' C never got tired of throwing the ball and Roi enjoyed fetching the ball for at least an hour or more.

Dingle itself is very a charming intimate town which I love. In 2005, Dingle officially became known by its Gaelic version, An Daingean (pronounced awn-DANG-in), which means The Fortress. All of the road signs are now in Gaelic. I even saw a few signs with the English word sprayed painted so only the Gaelic word was displayed. Apparently, this change was met with quite a bit of resistance from the locals who were concerned the change would effect tourism. The government refused to change and basically said that "patriotism came at a high cost". I actually think it's great that Ireland is trying to preserve its original language and is making it mandatory for future generation to learn.

Local Dingle Pub

One thing John told us that I found extremely interesting was that the original pubs were actually stores converted to pubs without changing anything inside. One of the pubs we passed truly looked like a hardware store from the outside. I love how these pubs never changed a thing so the way you see it now is how it was hundreds of years ago. So cool. Definitely a very different look from what I originally thought a traditional pub would look like.

After chatting with John, the weather improved so we took full advantage and drove around the Dingle Peninsula. Poor Lil' C was exhausted so he missed the entire drive. The scenery was just spectacular.

The Peninsula was just so beautiful I couldn't help taking dozens of photos.

As the sun played hide & seek the lighting changed making everything look so different.

Take a look at these huge waves. S was captivated with these waves.

The following morning I couldn't help feel sad that we only planned to stay one night. It was just so beautiful I didn't want to leave. Plus there were so many sites in Dingle we didn't get to see due to weather & time restraints.

Roi didn't want Lil' C to leave either. He couldn't wait for Lil' C to finish his breakfast so they could play one last time.