Thankfully, after a few too many days in Dublin, my sister came to the rescue and joined me in Ireland! My sister has lived in London for over a decade so every opportunity I get to see and spend time with her, even if it is a quick weekend road trip through the Irish countryside, most of which has been completely ruined by tacky, box like homes, still goes down in my books as the best of times!

We left Dublin bright and early and headed west to Dingle, stopping at some odd sights along the way, including the Beehive huts where an elderly man was fast asleep at the entry and was most miserable when we woke him to pay our fee. On our way into Dingle we drove up the Connor Pass and after checking in at the delightful Dingle Garden Townhouse we grabbed lunch at The Fish Box. After lunch we headed out on the road once more to drive around the most western edge of the Dingle Peninsula which is where we started to see the awful new homes that often ruined the otherwise spectacular landscape. After a tasty dinner at Out of the Blue Restaurant, we called it a night.

The following day we decided to drive the Ring of Kerry which really was quite spectacular. Somehow, along the way, we managed to find ourselves on a very snowy pass which was both beautiful and terrifying (as I was driving)!

After a very long day in the car, we decided to stretch our legs and enjoy a sunset stroll on Inch Beach before heading back to The Fish Box (definitely one of our favorite places in Dingle) for dinner. Later that evening we headed to a local bar for some live music and Guinness all the while laughing about how much this small town reminded us of the small town in South Africa where my sister lived for a year while doing her community service and of how our parents memories must be failing as their recollection of Ireland from their trip back in the early 80s was nothing like our experience.

Unfortunately, the following day we had to head back to Dublin and say our goodbyes (both of us almost missing our flights due to the traffic). Although I have no plans to return to Dingle, or Ireland for that matter, I do have the fondest memories of my time there with my sister!