Home Sweet Home

We boarded our ferry yesterday morning from Inis Mor destined for a day of driving along the western coast. We made our way back through Galway and down to the cliffs of Moher. I don't really know what all the hype is about...I mean seriously, 600ft cliffs dropping down to the atlantic stretching for several miles in either direction is nothing to write home about. But I guess I am. Honestly it was gorgeous, and something I'm glad we got to see (at least once) in our lifetimes.

We made our way through Limerick (the murder capital of Europe, an honor we heard about on talk radio) and continued along beautiful winding coastal roads. Now let me just say that driving here elicits terror at various moments. We're starting to understand why no credit card 'collision waiver' programs will cover driving rental cars here (Ireland and Northern Ireland account for 2 of the 4 countries in the world where the insurance is not offered). Again, one of those 'things that don't fly in America' - A posted speed limit of 100km/h on incredibly narrow, winding, and often steep roads. For reference, consider this: 100km/h is about 65mph - the speed limit of most freeways in WI. I don't think I ever touched more than 40mph for most of those stretches of road. I guess they figure, Hey, you can go that fast if you want to, but you're an idiot if you do!

So on to the title of this blog...Many of you know that a secret dream of ours is to run a B&B someday...well, we've found the place we'd like to live out that dream. So went ahead and put some money down on a 6-bedroom home for sale right here on the Dingle Peninsula. OK OK OK you got me...that's a total lie. But we did just peruse the current listings at a real estate agency to see what's out there :) Anybody want to help us out with ooohhh, about 400,000 Euro? We'll give you the "friends and family" discount if you come visit us!

In all seriousness, this place is heaven and we're wishing we had planned to stay for more than one night. So it is offically on our list of places to come back to. Yesterday when we arrived we were greeted by our fantastic B&B host, Maggie, who brought us to our beautiful room with the most gorgeous view of Dingle Harbor in the whole town. We then set out on the "Slea Head" Drive which takes you around the peninsula for stunning views of dramatic cliffs, 2500-3000 year-old ruins of forts and holy sites, churchs built by some of Europe's first Christians, and lots and lots of sheep. At one point we got out of the car to explore an old church ruin surrounded by an ancient cemetery, and all you could hear around you were the waves crashing below and sheep baah-ing all around and up the cliff side. It was breathtaking...a true taste of Ireland.

When we finished our drive we headed to a local pub for a good ol' craic (the Irish word for a night of "good conversation and music"). The three musicians played traditional Irish music, including Joel's favorite, "Black Velvet Band." Ask him to sing it for you when we get home :) We met an American couple there from NYC who were here for a week taking a similar whirlwind road trip through the country. But the difference was...they are planning to find their new home, as they are moving here for at least a year. Can we say, jealous?! (just kidding, moms! - for the moment anyway)