Our trip to Waterford, Killarney, Dublin
and the Dingle Peninsula, Ireland
October 1-12, 2009
Dingle, Car, and Birthday
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Dingle, Car, and Birthday
Friday, October 9
Yes! Another rainy day! That may sound odd, but Elke and I both love being inside, reading, when the weather outside is ‘frightful’ and we had not had an opportunity to do that yet. Unfortunately, today was the last day I would have to shop in Dingle so I wouldn’t be able to take advantage of the weather, but she was looking forward to it. It was the perfect way for her to spend her birthday!
Another rainy day!
KC and I were up shortly after 8:30. I reheated some leftover oatmeal while KC fried some sausages. It was raining heavily, the water was coming down sideways in great sheets, and I was NOT looking forward to shopping in it. Herb and KC had hoped to go sailing with Michael and it looked like that plan was shelved as well.
Around 9:45 the wind stopped blowing and the rain let up a bit so I jumped in the shower and KC drove me into Dingle. We stopped at Brian de Staic’s workshop where I finalized my custom order with Jerry and then KC dropped me off at Siopa Ceoil an Daingin with instructions to call when I was ready to be picked up. Right.
I had a WONDERFUL day – I ripped around the entire town 3 times, looking at everything, and then went back and bought the things I coveted the most: a hand-thrown mug, a ring from Lisbeth Mulcahey , a blouse from La Boheme, earrings from John Weldon Jewelrs , and a Kerry flag for KC. I had a piece of bread-and-butter pudding and a cappuccino in Dingle Crystal and caught up with Liz (Sean was in Waterford City) and then made my way back to Michael’s for my pick-up.
I had tried to call KC several times but never got through so I assumed he was digging in some ruin with Herb. I checked my messages and there was one from him, telling me that the car had gone in a ditch and that he was waiting for a tow, but I had no idea how long ago he had left the message, nor how long I would be waiting to be picked up.
I stumbled into Siopa Ceoil an Daingin and told Michael what had happened. I think Michael loves a damsel-in-distress because he fired up his computer and called KC using Skype. He tried several times before he got through but he did get through. We discovered that KC was not far from town and looking for a place to have a flat tire fixed. Michael directed him to Moran’s, the place where we bought our gas. Twenty minutes later, while I was paying for the rest of my CDs, KC burst through the door.
Rahanane Castle, Ventry, and Tralee:
Apparently, they had just finished exploring Rahanane castle and were looking for another fort when they realized the road they were on was not passable. KC backed up slowly and, without realizing that there was a CREEK along the side of the road, NOT BUSHES, he got too close to the edge of the pavement, the weight of the car dislodged the gravel, and the entire right side slid into the ditch!
Wisely, he stopped right there and called Hertz for instructions. They sent a tow, but he came all the way from TRALEE and KC had to cool his heels for over an hour! So, KC and Herb walked down to Ventry to guide him to the car. The man was good: he backed his rig to the wreck and winched the car out of the ditch without doing any damage to it! The front tire was flat, but there was a spare, which KC easily installed, and they drove back to Dingle.
Where the car went off the road
(MapQuest does not show a road there but the surveyor’s map they were using does):
Michael calling KC using Skype:
KC, collecting me (and his Guinness poster) at Michael’s and explaining what happened to the car:
There were no pictures of the mishap with the car – NONE – much to my dismay. But here are the pictures he took of Rahanane Castle. In the Parish of Ventry, it is one of several castles built in the area between 1440 and 1600. Primarily a fortress, it was also the ordinary residence of the Knight of Kerry who belonged to the Geraldine family (the royal family of England).
The castle was built on the site of an old ringfort. The ringfort was built up and a second added with walls of 6 meters (20 ft.), giving the appearance that there may have been a moat, although there never was one. The Knight of Kerry lived there until Cromwellian times (1628-1659). During the crushing blow to end the revolt, the castle was severely damaged but it still has its very tiny, narrow, stone stairs, from the first to second floors, which can be "carefully" climbed.
Rahinnane castle (pronounced RAH-heh-naan) Castle:
The moat? No, there never was a moat…
Rams:
KC and Herb had dropped the tire at Moran’s just before 6:00pm and had to leave it there overnight as the garage was closing. This would prevent an early departure the next day but we had no choice. When they then came to Michael’s to get me, Michael invited us to join him at a small bar down the road called Curran’s. Herb was anxious to get back to Elke, who had been alone all day, but I called to see how she was doing and she was happily reading so we nipped into Curran’s for a pint.
Curran’s bar:
The ‘room’ where marriages used to be arranged:
Michael and Olivia:
We didn’t stay long because Elke was waiting at the cottage and we wanted to have dinner at An Canteen. I should have used the loo before we left, but we were in a hurry, and by the time we got to the cottage I was about to burst! Elke, serene as usual, said she had had a wonderful stress-free day.
KC showered and we left shortly thereafter for our dinner at An Canteen. Elke and KC both had the 16-hour beef. Herb had the calamari and all three of them had the hamhock terrine as an appetizer. I had a beetroot soup followed by the Cajun chicken with garlic sauce and a rocket salad.
My Cajun chicken (I had already eaten most of the salad):
KC and Elke’s 16 hour beef cheeks:
Herb’s calamari:
Lemon tart with berry sauce for dessert:
Once again, the food was superb, and we were amazed at how low the prices were, compared to the other food we’d had in the area. I don’t know how he can do it, given that everything is made in the restaurant. After dinner Niall stopped by to say hello and regaled us with stories of how the dishes are prepared. The only one I can remember is that the 16-hour beef was made with beef cheek, not the brisket we’re used to cooking that way at home.
Phil’s daughter Sharon was working tables that night so we chatted with her for a while. She told us they have 3 other cottages , just up the road from the one we’re in. I have no idea how they are able to make us feel so special if they have three other tenants to tend to. What an amazing family.
Chef Niall (pronounced Neil):
We were stuffed to the gills when we left but Herb wanted to show Elke the bar we’d been in earlier. We called Michael, who said he’d meet us there in 5 minutes, but when he didn’t show (we were really tired) we left. We ran into him on our way to the car and nipped into another pub so we could have one last pint together. Olivia did most of the talking this time and what an interesting woman she is! I hope she’s still there the next time we visit.
The bar closed about 20 minutes after we got there so we said our goodbyes and came straight home. As usual, Herb and Elke went right to bed, KC read, and I updated my journal. We hit the hay at 1:00pm.
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Note to self: bring the following next time: boat shoes, knife sharpener, speakers for MP3 player, adaptor plug.
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Last Revised: October 20, 2009
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