Our trip to the Dingle Peninsula, Ireland
Nov 4-14, 2010
Prep and Travel to London
Barb on the dunes at the end of Inch Strand:
Press here for 2009 Dingle travelogue (a new window will open)
Press here for 2008 Dingle travelogue (a new window will open)
Press here for 2007 Dingle travelogue (a new window will open)
This year we were travelling alone.
This was our fourth vacation in Dingle so I
will focus on those things which are unique to this trip.
Amazingly, we have not yet run out of things to do! Every year
is different (and seemingly better than the last) so please read all our
travelogues on this wonderful area to see the many interesting things it has to offer.
You will get much more out of them if you read them from earliest to latest since I don't repeat repeats.
Press here for 2009 Dingle travelogue (a new window will open)
Press here for 2008 Dingle travelogue (a new window will open)
Press here for 2007 Dingle travelogue (a new window will open)
Disclaimer
I apologize for the minutia that most people will find irrelevant; but, because we use these logs to plan our future trips, I record everything that might come in handy later. We came home with 848 pictures of which 409 were contenders and from which 354 were finally chosen (the 2009 log has 246, 2008 has 196, and 2007 log has only 122 so this year's is the longest yet!).
A NOTE ON THE MAPS
Most of the maps I posted here were created using screen caps from MapQuest and Adobe Photoshop. I found that MapQuest had more detail, especially in the shoreline, than Google. But, neither MapQuest nor Google was detailed enough for our nature hikes so those maps I created by scanning the Ordnance Survey maps we use when we were hiking and then photoshopping the scanned images together. Please do not rely solely on my maps if you travel to this area -- buy your own Discovery Series Ordnance Survey Maps they are invaluable.
Because I put these travelogues up in record time I'm SURE there are grammatical and spelling errors all over the place! I correct them as I find them but it YOU find any, please let me know! If you find any broken links, please let me know that, too.
I have received many notes from strangers who have read our logs and used them to plan their own trips. If you are one of these people, please know that we really love hearing from you and are gratified that you enjoy these as much as we do. Please keep your comments and suggestions coming!
Prep and Travel to London
Thursday, November 4
We had hoped to go in April, but when our friends invited us to join them at their time share on Grand Cayman in May, we postponed our Dingle trip until November. We actually wanted to go in October but all flights were full so we decided to see what the Irish winter' was like.
KC didn't make Executive Platinum this year so we used miles to book our seats. For some reason, AA changed the type of aircraft they fly to Ireland and the business class cabin on these planes had not been upgraded. We didn't think the old configuration was worth 200 miles per person (yes, 200!) so we decided to fly in and out of London and spend a day there on our return.
Inbound, we chose to stay at the Heathrow Airport Hilton because it is walking distance from the terminal. For our return, KC used his Marriott points to book a room at the Marriott County Hall in the centre of town. What an ENORMOUS difference in quality between those two hotels, as you will soon see
.
We decided to fly Aer Lingus in and out of Shannon, rather than the cheaper Ryan Air, because we didn't want to travel to another airport. Aer Lingus also offered a FREE flight from Shannon to London at the crack-of-dawn on Saturday (we assume they need to get the plane back to London) and, although the airport taxes and other fees drive the final price up to around $40, we got a kick out of flying free.
Dingle in relation to Shannon:
Close-up of Dingle Peninsula:
Since we were travelling alone we took three bags, instead of our normal two, partially because we weren't sure what the weather would be like and partially because I didn't know how much organic food would be available so I brought a lot with me, all in glass containers (I no longer use plastic). We also brought both pair of walking sticks. This caused me to get only one hour of sleep the night before we left because I had to distribute the weight evenly amongst my two bags yet keep all irreplaceable things in my carry-on. I also had to restore a semblance of order to the house.
We left the house about 15 minutes late but there was no traffic and no one in line at either check-in or security. Thursday morning is definitely the easiest time to fly! Our flight was only half full and left on time at 10:05 am. We had the two middle seats and checked out the movie offerings as soon as they were available. Avatar was on the menu so, inspite of my severe sleep deprivation, I settled in, watched it twice, and wished the flight was long enough to have watched it a third time.
I eschewed all the meals they served (I didn't want a migraine and didn't get one). KC had the omelet with bean salad for brunch, a ham-and-cheese croissant with grilled veggies for dinner. We both ate the nuts. KC listened to music and then fell asleep.
Passing the time on the plane on the way over:
We landed on time, we breezed through customs, and then we made our way to the hotel, the Heathrow Airport Hilton . Although it was late, 10:00pm, the airport was crowded and Heathrow is a large convoluted place so we did not make our way very gracefully three suitcases plus three carry-ons were unwieldy and we had a LONG way to go through winding passages, up and down stairs and elevators, and even on the subway so we got to the hotel close to midnight tired and bedraggled. They gave us room 410 on the forth floor as far away from the lobby as possible and through at least 6 sets of double doors that required two people to hold them open. Remember, we were dragging six pieces of luggage. When we finally got there we discovered that the door had no handle. NO DOOR HANDLE AND THEY STILL SHOW IT AS A BOOKABLE ROOM?!?!?
KC went back to reception and returned to tell me that they had now given us room 170 on the ground floor, 30 feet from the lobby, so we had to make our way back through those 6 double doors. I hated this hotel more and more every minute I was in it.
The second room must have been their very last room: The bathroom had rails everywhere and only a curtain (no tub) between the shower and the rest of the room. The entire room was tiled in white and there was no shelf over the sink or any other place to put our toiletries. It also had an anteseptic smell. If you are handicapped please don't misunderstand these comments. We recognize that wheelchair-friendly rooms are necessary; but this one was not what you would expect in a Hilton. It felt like a hospital, not a hotel.
It was after midnight now so I had a quick snack while KC checked his email. Unfortunately, this was a bad week for him to be away work-wise: he had two important projects with critical due-dates smack-dab in the middle of the week and he would spend much of the vacation working. We checked the bed for bedbugs, and fell into it, thankful that we'd only be here a few hours. Remembering the bad experience we had here on our trip to Russia I can now say that this is truly a horrible hotel and I hope we will never be back.
Press here for 2009 Dingle travelogue (a new window will open)
Press here for 2008 Dingle travelogue (a new window will open)
Press here for 2007 Dingle travelogue (a new window will open)
A NOTE ON THE MAPS
Most of the maps I posted here were created using screen caps from MapQuest and Adobe Photoshop. I found that MapQuest had more detail, especially in the shoreline, than Google. But, neither MapQuest nor Google was detailed enough for our nature hikes so those maps I created by scanning the Ordnance Survey maps we use when we were hiking and then photoshopping the scanned images together. Please do not rely solely on my maps if you travel to this area -- buy your own Discovery Series Ordnance Survey Maps they are invaluable.
OOAKFolk, Inc., and artist Barbara Healy are not affiliated in any way with the original manufacturers of
the dolls pictured in this site. No photograph, text or graphic on this site may be copied without written
permission from Barbara Healy. Copyright © 2004 OOAKFolk, Inc.
Last Revised: January 14, 2011
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