Ireland Day 3 - Tralee to Dingle
We fell asleep late the night before, but we got up in time to grab breakfast in A CASTLE. On the menu, are pancakes, Eggs Benedict, and these incredible scrambled eggs. If there are two things not to miss here, it’s the butter (with bread) and the coffee. The food has been splendid everywhere we have been, but the butter is from outer space. The first experience here is very close to Downton Abbey, I feel like I am on a set and none of this is real – also I now only want to stay in castles from here on out.
After breakfast the family wanted to rest so I did what I do often on trips…explore the area. Walking the grounds you get the sense of how old the place is and it is groomed by a fleet of robot mowers which was fascinating to watch. That said, as I was walking down the driveway to the road a pack of dogs is coming up the drive to the castle as if they were heading to work. It might be the most surreal thing I have seen on this trip. But if you know me a land of castles and dogs might be the ideal place for me to live forever.
After introducing myself to the hounds of the grounds, I can honestly say I stayed in a castle in Ireland with an Irish Wolfhound named…Zelda. Which feels like a highlight. Soon after the kids bounded down the stairs, we set off towards Dingle which is this quaint town that doubles as a perfect fishing village. The ocean was angry that day my friends…so we couldn’t take any of the tours but did hit up the aquarium called OceanWorld, which is the largest in the country and had these two stunning Sand Tiger Sharks and an intense piranha exhibit. While we were there, they had a butterfly exhibit and they were about to feed the Asian short-claw otters and I had no idea they were so terrifying. Did you know the Amazonian cousins to these otters are pack animals whose bite can fracture a black caiman’s skull…that skull is bulletproof by the way. Perhaps I am easily entertained but the incredible ways that nature adapts to its surroundings never ceases to amaze me.
After the aquarium we had lunch at The Diner…yeah needs some work with the name but the food was very good. Calamari along the water with some goat cheese bruschetta, and my son decided on just garlic bread (the pediatrician keeps telling me one good meal a day) What I find delightful is that every meal we order comes with some version of a side salad and this spot did some fun mix with microgreens that balanced out the fried squid. There was a moment towards the end of the meal where I am looking out the window at the wharf and at my family and thinking I might do about anything to travel like this for the rest of my life.
We stopped by the tourism office, and they gave me a very cool seaside route to take but honestly, it is a lot of driving for the kids, instead, we opted to spend afternoon tea at the castle and more time with the hounds. The children think 7-Up is medicine which made me laugh, instead of tea we opted for Irish coffee + Guinness. While we sat the server gave us some great tips to getting to Galway and a dinner recommendation for tonight in Tralee. Meanwhile, the kids were feeding full slices of ham to the dogs so there might be extra guests in our room tonight looking for more smoked meats.
We drove to Tralee which was the first time I thought “I am not sure about this place” it is like Vegas if it was a medieval European town. Online betting billboards, vape shops, + pubs. I am sure there is more to Tralee but based on the restaurant we were given as a suggestion I am not sure at all about Tralee.
After dinner, I took the kids back to the castle and decided to take the 2-hour drive back to Dingle. Let that sink in, two days ago I had no idea what to do on the road, now I am taking a 5-hour side quest to see more of the oceanside of Ireland. I am also racing to see if I can catch a sunset. I did a bit of the Wild Atlantic Way which is 2500km in total and would be an incredible trip if you just drove that route. I drove along the coast through the winding roads up through Shanacill to Brandon’s Creek which is this distant pier surrounded by cliffs, absolutely worth the drive. The clouds came in off the ocean and it got too cloudy so I got back in the car to see if I could get any other interesting shots. I am so excited to see these film shots and if any of them are any good.
Back at the hotel, there were no wolfhounds to be seen so I sat with my wife and had a nightcap before heading to bed.