Wednesday was another nice weather day. We took separate walks in the morning. Then it was a quiet day. We stopped at SuperValu to the night’s dinner at home. And we visited the library and both took out some books. Lunch was at a fairly new Dingle restaurant: Flannery’s Fish Box. Another local fisherman family-owned place that catches what they sell, it’s very small. You order at the counter and either do take out or eat at one of the five or six tables. We ate our fish (haddock today) and chips in. It was perfectly prepared! The other food we saw also looked good. Later in the day I drove into town for a Guinness at the Dingle Pub. Dinner was homemade Indian Chicken Rogan Josh. (I call it Josh Groban chicken.) And it was early to bed.

Thursday was a rain day from morning until dinner time. We essentially did nothing. We’re allowed! Reading, tv, naps. For dinner we went to Dingle’s newest restaurant: Land to Sea. It opened just about a month ago. Nice addition to Dingle’s reputation as Ireland’s top foodie town. And we enjoyed our first desserts of the trip.

A Dingle History Lesson

At the top of hill just a short walk from the house is the old Dingle Hospital. In 1850 it opened as a Workhouse, Fever Hospital, School, and Dispensary, The workhouse closed in 1922 and the building became known as St. Elizabeth’s Hospital. It closed for good in 2010 when the new, much smaller West Kerry Community Hospital opened. Since then it has been deserted and has become derelict. I always thought it just begged to be redeveloped as a hotel.

Little did I know that it is a listed building and is unlikely to ever be commercially developed. Locals consider it an important part of the town’s history. And I discovered yesterday that in a field behind the hospital, there is a mass grave site. So it really is a sacred local site inappropriate as a hotel development. We learn something every day.

“The graveyard, once known as the Pauper’s Graveyard, overlooks Dingle town and estimates suggest that anywhere between 7,000 and 10,000 people are buried there.

Those laid to rest in the graveyard include many thousands who died of hunger during the Famine. Its proximity to the old Dingle hospital, which was a workhouse in penal times, means the remains of many who passed away there, are also laid to rest on the hillside. Diseases such as cholera and tuberculous claimed the lives of many more and a number of infants are believed to have been buried there also.

The graveyard, which has been named Reilig Cnoc a’Cairn, has been of great interest to locals and Kerry emigrants as many families have ancestors buried there. However, up until now, it was practically inaccessible.

A long-running local effort, started over 30 years ago by Monsignor Padraig Ó Fiannachta and led in recent years by Fr Jim Sheehy, culminated with the official unveiling on Monday of the improvement works. These include a parking area, an access road leading from Chapel Lane to the site and a small chapel beside the graveyard which has been freed from the covering of furze bushes under which it was hidden for many years.”

Since it was raining, we didn’t visit the grave site, but we will, probably tomorrow.

I’ll be back Saturday night. On Sunday we go to Limerick for the day and night to have a look about and to pick up Bob & Barbara early Monday morning. We have another overnight trip coming up later in the stay.

Oh, and one of my phones died suddenly. Glad we have two. My UK number will be out of service until my replacement arrives from Amazon on Tuesday.

Weather improved on Monday. Some sun, lots of clouds. Rain through the night. Tuesday broke cloudy, but we saw lots of sun. The temperatures are still cool although it has warmed to the mid fifties with the sun.

OK. It’s well known that I am an Irish citizen. Above and beyond that, we now have Redi Rewards cards at Garvey’s SuperValue. And we have library cards at the Dingle Library. And I have received my first package delivery from Amazon. All we have to do now is move here.

Monday was quiet. A little shopping. Lunch at John Benny’s Pub (no relation to Jack). A nap in the afternoon. Unlike our previous apartments, this house has full cable and we get our favorite shows from the UK: Four in a Bed, the Chase, and Come Dine with Me. After cocktails, we had sandwiches and chips for dinner. Then it was off to the St Jame’s Church for a folk concert. Riona Maoagain sang; Matt Griffin played a brilliant guitar; and Eoin Duignan was fantastic on the Uilleann Pipes (Irish bagpipes) and Low Whistle.

Click on the galleries below to bring up scrollable windows with full size pictures – the gallery previews show just thumbnails of the pictures

When the sun came out early Tuesday morning, we decided on a walk about. We drove into Dingle town and parked. Then we walked along the coast of Dingle Harbor past the Dingle Skellig Hotel and through fields of cows to the Tower at the narrow entrance to Dingle Bay proper. Fungie, the dolphin, was out there somewhere, but we didn’t spot him.

Dinner Tuesday night was at the Chart House, our favorite Dingle restaurant. As I’ve said before, it has no connection to the US restaurant chain. It was delicious as always. I didn’t take my camera, so no food pictures.

Pictures Outside the House

By Saturday morning the storm had mostly passed, but it was still windy and chilly (upper 40’s) with occasional rain showers. Saturday was taken up with grocery shopping at Dingle’s SuperValu and with arranging the house: unpacking and setting up the requisite computer and charging stations.

Then it was Elaine’s treat for lunch at Sheehy’s Anchor Down restaurant. We know one of the Sheehy’s, fishermen all who sell at the restaurant what they catch from their boat. Elaine had monk fish medallions and I had mackerel and calamari salad. It was all good! Next it was also a stop at the Dingle Pub to say hello to Tom Geaney and enjoy that first (for this trip) pint of Guinness. Dinner was at home – delicious fresh caught monk fish (double monk fish day for Elaine!) and sauteed spinach. My gimlet was with double distilled Dingle Vodka. Yum on the food and drink. After dinner we went into town for some dessert beverages and traditional Irish music at O’Flaherty’s.

Click on the galleries below to bring up scrollable windows with full size pictures – the gallery previews show just thumbnails of the pictures

“Ride Dingle” was on Sunday. Postponed from Saturday because of Friday night’s storm, it’s a bicycle ride from Dingle around Slea Head Drive, then back through Dingle to cross over Conor Pass and eventually return to Dingle again for the finish. We watched and chatted with Dingle Garda officers Hurley and Murphy.

While in town I made reservations for tonight (Sunday) at Out of the Blue, a Dingle mainstay that we have never visited before. Seafood only – meat lovers not welcome. And I bought tickets for a concert Monday night at the little St. Jame’s Church (Church of Ireland – Episcopal).

Dinner was grand as you can tell from the pictures. I had oysters followed by char grilled plaice and sea bass while Elaine enjoyed flash fried squid with chillies and garlic followed by pollock in a potato crust.

After dinner it was off to the Dingle Pub to listen to Richie O’Brien & Dreams of Freedom and to see David Geaney dancing. And we chatted with a nice couple that we had met in the afternoon in the bookstore while I was buying the concert tickets.

Catch up time. Short and sweet. Mostly.

Thursday

We got our car Thursday morning, delivered to us as the hotel at 9:30 AM.  It’s a black 2019 Peugeot 3008.  Picture forthcoming in the next day or so.  Her name is Winnie.  That’s Winnie the Peugeot.  If you don’t get the joke, then you don’t.

The drive from Heathrow to Bangor in North Wales took a little over four hours.  It rained off and on the whole way.  Poor Winnie is dirty already.  She’ll get a wash in Dingle. There were no plans for Bangor other than over-nighting. But we were in the hotel by 3 PM. So we went for a short drive and a walk. Bangor is most famous for its Menai Suspension Bridge. Down below it we walked the Belgian Promenade to Church Island with its cemetery. And at the end we had a beer at the Angelsey Arms Pub. It was a pleasant visit to nice town.

Click on the galleries below to bring up scrollable windows with full size pictures – the gallery previews show just thumbnails of the pictures

Friday

Up early on Friday and on to Dingle. Quick 30 minute ride to Holyhead and onto Irish Ferries for the 3½ hour crossing. A bit bumpy but but not bad.
Arrived in Dublin at 11:45 AM on time. Then a 4½ drive to Dingle. 30 minute dead stop near Limerick for an accident. Then we arrived in Dingle at 5:45 just in time to hunker down for Storm Hannah. 60 mph winds with gusts to 100 and lashing ran. We were tucked into our house and survived the storm with wine and food. The house is GORGEOUS!

So, . . . a far more adventurous and fun day in Las Vegas on Tuesday than we expected and an eventful (in a good way) flight from LAS to LHR. All in all, it was quite a Tuesday.

We had breakfast at the hotel buffet – usual Residence Inn stuff. And I checked in for our Virgin Atlantic flight which leaves at 7:30 tonight. They offered an upgrade from Premium Economy to Upper Class for $1,400 each. We seriously considered it but decided against it. That’s a lot of money for a lie flat bed and a better meal.

Click on the galleries below to bring up scrollable windows with full size pictures – the gallery previews show just thumbnails of the pictures.

At 8:30 we took the interstate from the hotel to the downtown Las Vegas area to visit the Neon Museum. It’s a graveyard of old Las Vegas neon signs. It was actually quite an interesting way to spend 45 minutes. That’s about all the time you spend there.

On leaving we headed a few blocks closer to downtown and visited the Mob Museum. Housed in the one time federal courthouse and post office, it’s four floors of memorabilia and history of the mob, prohibition, smuggling, murder, and the Kefauver Senate hearings into organized crime that all got rolling after the Valentine’s Day Massacre in 1929. (The actual brick wall where the mobsters were killed in that event has been moved and reinstalled in the museum.) It was good to see that our old Boston friend Whitey Bulger is well documented here in Las Vegas. We spent about three hours and enjoyed it a lot. Very well done.

Then we walked around Fremont Street and Binion’s Downtown Casino. This area is a magnet for street performers, con artists, sleaze balls, pan handlers, and other disreputable weirdos. It’s something that has to be seen with even zip lines overhead. But it was nice to get back to the car and out of the area. Not many pictures because I didn’t feel particularly safe with my camera out. One video though.

After lunch at Chipolte we still had a couple of hours to kill before heading to the airport. So we took a drive the full length of Las Vegas Boulevard. We drove past all the wedding chapels, gift shops, old casinos, new casinos, and the whole “Strip”. We continued on past the Airport, past South Point, an outlier casino where we used to stay, and past even the “M” Resort which in a beautiful place on the outskirts. We continued on on what was now just one lane in each direction. We passed a heliport and the Las Vegas Motor Speedway where you can drive a fancy sports car around a big track (at quite a cost, I expect). We demurred. We continued on and finally came to quite a site! The Seven Magic Mountains. All of a sudden it’s just there in the middle of nowhere. Pretty amazing. It’s probably best described as a psychedelic Stonehenge in the desert. Next time you’re in Vegas, drive out and see it. It’s probably 20 miles out Las Vegas Blvd from downtown. An unexpected find!

Finally to the Airport! We dropped the car and went to check in for our Virgin Atlantic flight to Heathrow. We had a great VA agent. I asked about upgrades and said $1,400 was a bit steep for us. She talked to her manager and offered us the upgrade for $1,100. We decided to splurge and do it! That got us into VA’s club room pre-boarding – nice! And we got to board first. The seats are wonderful with built in hassocks so you can sit with your feet up and fully extended for the whole ride. And at bed time, they recline into lie flat beds with a comfortable pillow. The bed was even long enough for me! I actually slept for four of the nine hours of the flight. The food and drink were excellent too. And, especially nice, they gave fast path immigration privileges, so we were through UK immigration in five minutes instead of ninety minutes minimum. As we exited immigration, our bags were just coming onto the carousal and we were out of Heathrow in like fifteen minutes total. That’s a world’s record.

Now we are at the London Heathrow Marriott enjoying the club lounge. Free food, free drinks, free breakfast tomorrow. At 9:30 tomorrow (Thursday), Peugeot will deliver our new 3008 SUV and we will be off. Thursday night will be in Bangor, North Wales. Early Friday morning we get the ferry from Holyhead (Wales) to Dublin and will immediately drive on to Dingle. Expected ETA: Friday at 5:00 PM. Next post: maybe from Bangor tomorrow night but most likely from Dingle on Saturday.

No pictures today. But the adventure has begun. I picked up a rental car at the airport this morning (two hour line!!) and we were off to Las Vegas just after noon. It was an uneventful drive with some rain showers thrown in. We were at the Marriott Residence Inn near the airport by 5:00. It’s a nice new property with friendly staff.

We brought cocktails with us and enjoyed them in the room. Then we went out to Town Square, a new shopping/dining/entertainment complex just a mile from the hotel. We had dinner at the Yard House. Great calamari starter followed by lamb burgers with fries, all with a bottle of Pinot Noir. Good first meal.

Then a good night’s sleep. On Tuesday we will poke around Las Vegas and then fly out non-stop to London Heathrow at 7:30 PM. More on the day in Vegas and the flight from London where we will stay overnight at the airport on Wednesday night. Stay tuned.