July 2-Dingle for the Weekend

Today was a shortened day of classes as about half of the summer program headed off to Dingle for the weekend. For those following at home, Dingle is a town located on the Dingle Peninsula, which is the southwestern tip of Ireland. It was a fairly long bus ride, but we got a break at Bunratty Castle for lunch and a little exploration ("Bye, bye, kids! Have fun storming the castle!"). Bunratty is a very well restored castle with furnishings and such inside so you can kind of see how people may have lived back then. The restored town surrounding the castle looks like the Disney corporation got hold of it, but the castle was pretty cool. I actually had been to Bunratty once before, but I'm happy to say that I enjoyed it much more when it wasn't pouring. There were certainly a lot of staircases, and it was especially cool to climb all the way to the top for the view. After we'd all gotten our fill of farm animals and thatched roofs, we headed back on the bus for the final leg of the journey. We actually broke that up as well with a stop at a gas station for the loos and snacks. I met a nice older gentleman in line when I accidentally threw a blueberry muffin at him (not exactly, but it sounds funnier without an explanation). He told me all about Dingle and the peninsula area and asked me about studying in Galway and such. It was a great way to pass the time while waiting in the huge line.
We got to Dingle around dinnertime and had the evening free to explore. First impressions of Dingle were that it was a rather quiet seaside town with an emphasis on the fishing industry--so many boats. It was a little touristy, but in small scale terms, so that was nice. We had a great time exploring the docks and taking pictures with the statue of Fungie, a dolphin who has made his home in Dingle Bay since the 80's. We found a small pub in town for dinner, and I had an incredible meal of gnocchi (shout out to my favorite gnocchi enthusiast). We also found a great ice cream place for dessert, where I got a combo of Bailey's and cheesecake ice cream--incredible.