travel log: dingle part 1

Wednesday, July 11

i have been dying to share with you our most favorite place from our trip. 
Dingle, Ireland. 
ok, ok, go ahead and laugh. 
but that's really the name. 

dingle. seriously magic. 
we had NO idea going in that this place was so unreal. 
surreal to be exact. 

touching down in Ireland, there was no doubt we were in the green, orange and white. 
everywhere we look, green rolling hills. UHmazing. 
i seriously danced a jig when we arrived at the Kerry airport. 
and then we rented a stick shift car and drove on the left side of the road. 
true story- we actually got in the car, freaked out and went back in and bought insurance.
my jig quickly turned to prayers. and lots of them. 
K-dawg was a champ, but that's not to say we almost died a few times. 
ie: backing up on a cliff, or stalling on a hill with a bus behind us. scary. 

as we came into Dingle town, every color imaginable danced off tightly packed buildings in a melodious song of color. gaelic was written on every street sign, and i was dead sure i saw a leprechaun steal a pot of gold. for. real. 

we stayed in the most wonderful, quaint and adorable B&B. 
FYI, if you are going to Ireland, B&B's are the way to go. absolutely. 
Camilla and John, and their sweet son Niall greeted us with hugs and coffee, and a chat in their living room. we felt like family. 

we explored the town that night, and were blown away at the freshness and tastiness of the food. 
we adored the nightlife with it's authentic music and lively atmosphere. 
my new ambition is to learn the fiddle or the banjo. 
the west coast of Ireland is known for being a place where true irish culture is preserved. in this small town, there were no tourist traps or tacky music shows. just real irish musicians playing together in centuries old pubs, tapping their feet like their father's before them. 

the next day we were greeted by one of the BEST breakfasts i've ever had, and then began to drive the peninsula. this was one of the most incredible things i've seen or done. IF you go to Ireland, you would be cheating yourself by skipping the Dingle peninsula. 
it.was.epic. 

we started out at a fort from 500 BC. that was hard to wrap my brain around. 
i'll let these pictures whet your appetite for part 2 which shows more of the peninsula! 
enjoy dear friends!!
and ps- this is the start of many many pictures of my purple head band. i know you'll get sick of it, but when I travel I go for comfort over fashion. so let the love affair with the headband begin, ha! 
love Katie 
{our sweet B&B}
{a few views around Dingle, courtesy of yours truly}



{fish and chips, dingle style!}
 {beginning the drive}
 {pretending to be the soldiers at the fort...pretty darn convincing, eh?}
 {adore ireland, and love my baby}

see Dingle part 2 here

17 comments :

  1. WOWWW!!! That looks seriously unbelievable!!! Like a fairytale!!! I'm so happy for y'all that you're getting to travel the world!!! What a blessing! I laughed when you said y'all went back to get insurance!!! Looks like such a magical trip and I can't wait to see more pictures!!

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  2. When did you go to Ireland? I toured Europe in the fall of 2009 and Ireland was the first stop :) I had such a phenomenal time. Looks like you did too!

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    1. Tiffany, we went to Ireland, Scotland and England last month. It was amazing!

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  3. I am so incredibly jealous!!!!!!!!!! I'm dying to travel...so much! I'm adding Dingle to the list of "places I need to go" ;). Btw -- do you know if that is where the film 'Leap Year' was shot? It looks practically identical!....but then again, it is Ireland... Thanks for visiting my blog btw! You have a new follower in me!

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    1. Hi, I am Lisa and I am going to butt in and tell you what I know.....its not much but well......Portions were filmed in Dingle but the scene where they sit after the wedding looking out of the lake/river was filmed in one of the most beautiful places I have been blessed to visit. It is called Glendalough (meaning "glen of two lakes") is a glacial valley in County Wicklow. It is breathtaking as most of Ireland is. But this place is almost holy!!

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  4. So weird looking at your photos and being able to actually put the places into context because I have been there.

    Time to count my blessings I think!!!

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  5. This place is so gorgeous!! What cute pictures :) looks like loads of fun!

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  6. You, your pictures, and your blog are all gorgeous!! So glad you commented on my blog yesterday so I could stop by. :) Exciting to keep reading!

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  7. Beautiful! You paint the best picture with your words – I feel like I was there! And I love B&Bs! They have some much quaint cuteness to offer.

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  8. So fun! I love the pictures of you guys being soldiers ;)

    So excited you stopped by my blog! I just think yours is so precious!

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  9. Oh the place looks so awesome!
    What a quaint little place!

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  10. Yay Dingle! Dingle Dingle Dingle. haha. love the name of this city

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  11. Just found your blog and already love it!
    Your travel photos look so exciting! :)

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  12. these pictures are beautiful!!! i just love ireland. got to visit when i was a teenager and stayed in county donegal for a couple weeks - isn't it just perfect? would love to go back someday, it's such a romantic place!

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  13. How amazing!!! Whoa. I'd die just to be around that kind of culture and history. Beautiful photos!

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  14. This post made me exceedingly happy and jealous ;) The UK is at the top of my list to travel to overseas. This post made me long for it all the more!

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  15. I didn't get to go to Dingle when I was in Ireland, but if/when I go back, I'd love to! It looks so amazing and I've only heard good things about it. I have friends who are church planters/missionaries and they were based in Dublin, so my sister and I explored Dublin and then hopped a bus and did the coast on that side of the country-- Howth, Malahide, Kilkenny, Greystones, etc. Beauuuutiful country! Loved it. :)

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