Day Five - Ireland

We were sad to leave the B&B in Bunratty but it was time to move on down the road.  We decided to stop at what is best described as Medeival Colonial Williamsburg on the way out.  Bunratty Castle and Folk Park was an absolute delight.  We toured the fully restored castle and found it very interesting.  Audrey asked a great question about the dungeon: how long would someone stay there.  The short answer is most stayed for the duration of their life.  The longer, more involved answer is the lords could have someone tossed into the dungeon for just about any reason they wanted.  After the 15 foot drop to the floor of the pit, most people didn’t live that long.  So, almost every sentence was a sentence of death.  Seeing all the different chambers, murder holes, and peep holes was a cool peek into history.  The castles in Ireland are different than the castles in France, so I was told by a guide.  The Irish castles were mainly about defense and were not much more than a fortified stone cube.  It was still something we had never seen before.

The village was a walk though time.  It started with dwellings that farmers of medieval times would have occupied and progressed through homes and farms of the 19th century.  The kids now really want pigs and goats.  

After a couple hours at the castle, we started the drive down to the Dingle Peninsula.  It might be crazy, insert snarky remark, but I think I am getting the hang of these roads.  I was able to meet the speed limit challenge for the majority of the trip.  I didn’t even hit anything with the car.  We checked into our next B&B, The Inch Beach House.  It is more like a small motel than the previous places we stayed.  The rooms were lovely and no sofa beds!  We then went in search for Fungie (fun-ghee) the dolphin.  Apparently he moved into the Dingle Harbor 30 years ago and has just kind of hung around.  We opted for the 1 hour tour, with a guarantee we would find Fungie.  We were not disappointed.  Fungie seems to like people and basically appeared on command, just like all wild animals should.  He played in the wake of the boats and performed quite a nice show.  I would bet the tour company has never had to refund any money for not finding the dolphin.

We had a lovely dinner at Doyle’s Seafood House in Dingle.  Elizabeth had requested we try somewhere other than a pub for dinner.  Not that the pubs we have visited aren’t lovely, they are.  I just think we might have consumed our weight in fish and chips.  The fish and chips are better over here, by the way.  For dessert we found Murphy’s Ice Cream Shop.  I had the black currant sorbet.  It might have been the best sorbet I have ever had.  All of the other ice creams were equally as delicous.  I think this blog could be called ‘Eating our way across Ireland.’  

The evening wrapped up with the short drive back and a good night’s sleep.