Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Ireland: From Dublin to Dingle

Our previous two nights in Scotland really tired us out and it finally caught up with us. When we arrived in Dublin, we both felt like we were getting sick. We only had one day to spend there, but neither one of us wanted to get out of bed. It was raining anyway, so we justified spending most of the morning in. When we did venture out, we took it easy. We walked around a little, read in a park, went to a museum, and had a great dinner. And that is "taking it easy" for us in cities!

Little tidbit: If you ever go to Ireland or the UK, remember to "Look Right" instead of left when crossing the road. I almost got hit the first time I stepped out into the street.
Trinity College
Shopping street jam packed with people...
The National Museum of IrelandWe weren't allowed to take pictures, but I found this image on the internet. This is a bog mummy that we saw. We had never seen anything like this. Most of the bodies have been preserved in the bog for over 2,000 years and were just discovered around the 19th century. It is unbelievable how well the skin is preserved!
Dublin pub street in the evening. The famous Temple Bar is the first on the left.

Hard Rock Cafe for dinner. It was SO yummy!
The next morning, we drove to the Dingle Peninsula, which is the southeast tip of Ireland. By this time, Nate was an old pro at driving on the left side of the road, but nothing could prepare us for this...
The road was really narrow and to make it worse, we were in a cloud! I had to laugh at this sign... it says, "Turn Back Now," but it only applies to buses and big trucks.
The clouds broke for a bit, so we stopped for a break. It was a gorgeous spot.
Downtown Dingle

We had a late lunch on the road and we weren't too hunger for dinner, so we just bought some popcorn at a festival that was going on and found a nice place to sit on the water... so peaceful.