This past Easter we spent a week in Ireland. Ireland happens to be my favorite place in the world, and we didn't want to leave Europe without getting there one more time. Plus, my sister Lindsay and her husband, had never been so we decided to meet in the gorgeous Dingle Peninsula for the holidays.
In an extremely unprecedented fashion, we had an entire week of warm weather, sunshine and not a drop of rain. Those of you that have visited the Emerald Isle know that this is unheard of. But, as is par for the course in Ireland, the people were friendly, the views spectacular, the sheep abundant, and the pints refreshing.
Too hard to put it all into words, so I will let the pictures do the talking:
Day #1: Arrived after a long day of traveling, but the house was perfectly welcoming and exactly what we wanted. Lindsay and Tim had a fire going.
A well-deserved first pint after a long drive.
There's nothing like the smell of a fire in Ireland. I can almost smell the peat.
Bedtime stories with Uncle Timmy.
Day #2: Exploring around our house and then a boat cruise in Dingle Harbor.
View from the backyard.
Our morning view.
The beach right by our house.
And the boat cruise...
Always safety first with Uncle Tim
We even got to see Fungi the dolphin, who calls Dingle home. He lives alone, which is very unusual for dolphins. The theory is he was released from captivity in the UK and that is why he is always alone and very comfortable around people.
Great view of Dingle from the harbor.
Anything goes in Ireland.
I have the same picture from 2001 when I was living in Ireland, I had to recreate it,
Lunch in our first Dingle Pub.
The kids had a few too many Guinness at lunch.
Another view from our backyard.
We think this should be an Irish ad.
The walk to our local pub.
Dinner at TP's, our neighborhood pub on the water.
Day #3 Easter Sunday: The Easter Bunny found us in Ireland, so we started the day with an egg hunt followed by a drive around the entire peninsula. We ended the day with a fantastic Easter dinner at the Chart House, which of course happens to be Rick Steves' favorite.
Love the blow up bunnies that Auntie Lindsay found. Reminds me of the purple one we used to have.
A fence in Ireland makes a great place for hiding eggs.
Don't think we will be able to top this egg hunt locale.
And pictures from our drive around the peninsula...
A beehive.
Can't you just picture Tom Cruise on this hill in "Far and Away"? We were able to see some of the places they filmed the beginning scenes. "Can't you just say you like my hat Shannon?"
Easter lunch at a pub!
Pint of a local brew and a good fire, a perfect day!
Uncle Timmy is a great teacher.
Every time Bria saw a sheep she would break into song. I think you can imagine how many times we heard this song that day.
Sibling Easter love.
None of us are looking at the same place, but still a cute picture.
Someone is excited about the fantastic food at The Chart House. Hands down, best Irish brown bread I have ever had.
Day #4: While Bill and Uncle Timmy played a round of golf, Linds and I took the kids to the aquarium and into town for a vegetarian lunch.
Day #5: Linds and Tim did some hiking in Dingle while the rest of us headed to Macroom to see where the Keleher family is from. The traditional spelling is Kelleher but when Bill's Irish (Catholic) Grandfather married his German (Protestant) Grandmother, he converted and dropped the "L."
Lunch at the Macroom Hotel.
Before he was a Principal. Ted Keleher, a man of many talents.
Inside the Macroom church.
Kelleher's on the stain glass window of the church.
I told Bill if he really wanted to see his heritage he should visit the cemetery. He thought I was joking, but low and behold we found lots of Kellehers. Sorry John, but there were quite a few John Joseph's resting there...
After dragging the kids around the cemetery we thought we would take them somewhere fun so we stopped at a farm on the way back to Dingle. It was basically a mix of petting zoo and playground as the animals were free to roam around.
Biggest. Pig. Ever.
Next stop was the Muckross House, a 65 room Tudor style mansion created by a Scottish architect in 1843 for Henry Arthur Herbert and his painter wife Mary Balfour Herbert. In 1932 the 11,000 acre estate was presented to Ireland and became the first National Park.
Meanwhile, Lindsay and Tim were hiking at Dingle....
Day #6: The last day was bittersweet, but the weather was perfect for a day at the beach. After lunch at a pub we visited Dingle's Inch Beach, a gorgeous beach that was the site of the 1970 movie "Ryan's Daughter." I still can't believe people were at the beach in April in Ireland, but there were lots of surfers and swimmers in the water.
Sláinte!
Every visit to Ireland leaves you feeling refreshed, and it's impossible to be unhappy when you are there. We were so glad to have the opportunity to show Lindsay and Tim a place that we love so much, and the kids enjoyed every minute with their Auntie and Uncle. Thank you Linds and Tim for making the trip and celebrating a memorable Easter with us. Those of you that have not had the chance to visit this beautiful part of the world, Bill is already planning his retirement in Dingle so you can come visit :)
