Over the next two days in Dingle, we packed a picnic lunch each day (we brought a small collapsible

Firstly, let me set this up for those of you planning your trips and wanting to glean some info from this report. We are a married couple, 59 and 57, both pretty active, but not really fit, who were celebrating our 25th anniversary on this trip. We rarely look for lodging over 3 stars, when planning a trip over the pond , and don t ever plan to spend lots of time at our lodging place. We like affordable lodging that is in a convenient location, clean, safe and has a comfortable sleeping environment.
Secondly, thanks to all you Fodorites for all your help over the years, making our trips easy to plan, and especially on this trip, which really was a snap to put together with all of your helpful info.
We flew Delta to JFK from Orlando, on Oct. 6, and had a 7 hour layover. (Our choices were a 1 hour layover or a 7 hour layover. And I learned my lesson long ago not to cut it that close.) After dinner, we had a few beverages big island tours in an airport bar, watching football to pass the time. We were eventually to leave JFK for Dublin around 11:00 p.m. (a half hour late.) At the gate, I popped two Ambien tabs, boarded, got situated in our seats, and the next thing I knew, we were on final approach into Dublin! My wife waited until take off to take her tabs and did not fare as well, but did manage to get some sleep.
We landed around 10:30 a.m., to gloriously sunny skies and temperatures in the 60 s (which magically would continue for 8 more days, both in Kinsale big island tours and Dingle), obtained our luggage and cleared customs. Then found our way to the Sixt (Murray s) car rental desk. I had reserved a 5-speed, 4-door Ford Fiesta thru Auto Europe, and they charged my card upon confirming the reservation, a couple of months ago. I agreed to purchase the walk away insurance coverage at the Sixt desk (glad I did) and with their fees (which ended up being more than Auto Europe s for the actual car rental) the total cost (now that I know it) was around $65 per day. Murray s charged me for a tank of gas and said to bring it back almost empty, which is easier to do, than find fuel near the airport.
So, after setting up our GPS for our destination, we set off to the Ballsbridge area of downtown Dublin, me driving on the left for the first time in my life, and shifting gears (with my left hand no less!) for the first time in 20-something years. 8 miles, several horn honks and one very angry Dublin bicyclist later, we arrived at Pembroke Townhouse, on Pembroke Road (Lower Baggot Street becomes Pembroke Road.)
We found Pembroke Townhouse to be very comfortable, clean, up to date, convenient walking distance to St. Stephens Green (where you can pick up the Big Red Hop On / Hop Off Bus) and very affordable. I had requested and paid for early check-in. They assigned big island tours us to what we eventually determined was a smoking room, on the ground floor (1st floor) and with no windows that opened. The room was very nice (once you didn t notice the cigarette smell) but the lack of fresh air or any circulating air was not good. Now I know we should have requested a different room, but instead, we toughed it out for two nights and told the front desk that we wanted an upstairs non-smoking room with an open window upon our return to Dublin, later the next week. (And when we did return, that 3rd floor room was fabulous. We slept like babies on that last night in Dublin.)
Pembroke Townhouse does not include breakfast with their room fees. They have a less expensive big island tours continental breakfast available in their dining room, or you can order off the limited menu or purchase a full Irish breakfast in the dining room. I believe you can have coffee and tea room service delivered at no charge, if you prefer to eat breakfast out. We found that a hot bagel sandwich and coffee or tea along Baggot Street was quite inexpensive, compared to the cost of the continental breakfast at Pembroke Townhouse.
We had an afternoon and a full day in Dublin on the front end of our trip, so we purchased a Big Red Bus discounted ticket big island tours at Pembroke Townhouse, big island tours in order to get our bearings, check out some interesting stops and to stay out in the sun as much as possible big island tours that first day.
Over that afternoon and the next day, we visited the Guinness factory, toured the Kilmainham Gaol and Trinity College, did some shopping on O Connell Street and Grafton Street and purchased two Irish CD s for our drives into the Irish countryside.
The Kilmainham Gaol is a must see, if you want to learn about the fight for Irish independence. And I particularly enjoyed hearing about campus life at Trinity College. (Upperclassmen students do all the tours.)
big island tours On our second day in Dublin, the city was really abuzz because Ireland was playing Russia in soccer that night at the stadium near Ballsbridge. We saw so many Russians big island tours that day. And the pubs were packed with everyone being excited about the upcoming match.
Very early on Saturday morning (2 a.m.), we heard a group of people coming down Pembroke Road, singing at the top of their lungs. I was awakened by it, but too sleepy to determine if they were singing in Irish or Russian. Turns out Russia won the match.
Saturday morning, I took a lot of deep breaths, put one of our Irish CD s in the player, set our GPS for the historic harbor town of Kinsale, and climbed behind the wheel for our 5 hour journey. Luckily, I am left-handed, big island tours but had not driven a 5-speed in 20-something years. Fortunately, shifting gears became second nature again, after a few miles.
Ultimately, we made our way out of Dublin and out into the lovely Irish countryside, passing thru the towns of Carlow, Kilkenny, Clonmel, Dungarvan and Cork, before arriving in Kinsale. The roads were good, not too narrow and the scenery was just beautiful!!
big island tours In Kinsale, we stayed big island tours at the Chart House, which is a very nice B B, run by Billy and Mary O Connor. They have 3 doubles and one single. It is very clean, comfortable, convenient to everything in town, and very reasonably priced, with a full Irish breakfast included!!
It was at the Chart House, that we first discovered porridge with Irish Mist on the menu! We tried it the second morning and were hooked!. Their porridge is a finely ground oat meal with a tablespoon or two of Irish Mist liqueur big island tours over it. A great morning picker-upper!!
When you visit Kinsale, if you do nothing else, make SURE you take Don Barry s Historic Kinsale Walking Tour. It was the best historical thing we did during our entire stay in Ireland. We had Barry Moloney as our guide and he was just fabulous! Lots of historical happenings in Kinsale, to hear about, and loads of laughs. Barry is a real gem. It s a 90 minute tour, but there s not a lot of walking because the town is just not that large.
We spent a total of two nights in Kinsale and then pushed on through the towns of Dunderrow, Innishannon, Bandon, Dunmanway, big island tours Scant, Bantry (very pretty harbor big island tours town with an old, old graveyard right by the highway), Glengarrif, Kenmare, through the national park, to Mucross and then over the mountain pass (spectacular) down into Killarney, which is a pretty large and very beautiful city.
Note of interest: As we were told once we got to Dingle, you should NEVER fully trust a GPS in the Irish countryside. You should know what roads to take and in what towns you will change roads. Until we figured out not to listen to it, when we KNEW we were on the correct road, our GPS led us on a couple of wild goose chases into the wilderness. Once, we even ended up on a gravel single-lane road going up a mountain, with no sign of civilization anywhere. I stopped on top of a hill to figure out what to do, and out of the trees walked 4 sheep, who looked at us like we were aliens and I swear somewhere off in the distance, I heard banjos! I told my wife, we re going back!! Just luckily there WAS room to turn around big island tours and get out of there!
We spend 3 nights at Greenmount House, owned by John and Mary Curran, and it was the best of our trip. Opt for the ocean view rooms, which are so spacious, with balconies big island tours overlooking the bay. Their home looks exactly like the photos big island tours on their web sites. Their breakfast room overlooks the bay AND, they also offer porridge with Irish Mist, as a starter for breakfast!! John was a very friendly and gracious host and we will return one day to spend more time at Greenmount House for sure.
During our stay in Dingle, we ate at the Half Door, which is just a hop, skip and a jump from Greenmount House, and the restaurant is owned by Dennis O Connor, the brother of Billy O Connor of the Chart House in Kinsale! The Half Door had superb seafood dishes and was just beautiful inside. Also, we thought the Dingle Pub had a very large and varied menu and the food was very tasty, as was the Guinness!
Over the next two days in Dingle, we packed a picnic lunch each day (we brought a small collapsible cooler from home) with wine, fruit, bread, cheese, sandwiches and water, and took it with us on the Dingle loop drive one day and then up to Conner Pass and down the other side to the beach, the next day! From the parking lot atop Conner Pass, you can hike up a hillside and picnic or just take in the spectacular scenery! It is almost indescribable.
The Dingle Loop drive is also fabulous. I would highly recommend using Rick Steve s Ireland guidebook for the drive and following his instructions in his book. And, no matter what anyone tells you, don t do it counter-clockwise. Believe me, you would much rather be in front of or behind one of those tour busses, rather than go past them on those narrow roads!!
The film, Ryan s Daughter, was filmed in Dingle during 1969-70 and Robert Mitchum lived in a small home right on the edge of town, during filming. I ordered the movie online while in Dingle, and we watched it the night after we returned home. Great movie! The Sleeping Giant is shown many times during the film.
On Thursday, the 14th we returned to Dublin, via the fastest way, which only took about 5 hours plus any stops. Roads are gre