Jane and Dave Do Dublin

I wrote the majority of this post the day my parents left but just haven't posted it yet.  Sorry!

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My parents finally got to come to Dublin!  Yay!

They left today and part of me is still an 8 year old girl who doesn't like saying goodbye when her mom and dad leave.  Sigh.  I'm emotionally and physically exhausted but so grateful for the truly wonderful and hilarious time we had here in ol' Ireland!

Cheers!  Drinks at Slattery's before dinner at our fave place, Paulie's, the night before Blakely and PK left.

My parents wanted to see some authentic Irish countryside scenes and Drew and I had been wanting to visit the Dingle Peninsula (yes, Dingle - Drew took this word and ran with it all weekend) on the southwest coast of Ireland, we decided to rent a car for 2 days and check it out together!

Happy hour by the fire at the Tower View B&B!

Seafood Chowder at lunch at...Chowder Cafe.  SO GOOD.  Just what the Irish doctor ordered.

The B&B had a little farm out back with lots of goats, sheep, chickens, and 2 friendly sheepdogs that ran all over the city!  Dave is just getting acquainted with one here.

The Dingle Peninsula has a famous drive, the Slea Head Drive, which is like a smaller and more manageable Ring of Kerry (just south of Dingle).  We drove the half-day trek and saw some reallllllllly beautiful stuff.  And the weather couldn't have been better, which was shocking and wonderful!  (Don't worry, it poured rain on the way there and back.)

Look at the color of that water!  If I wasn't freezing cold then I'd swear I was in the Bahamas.

Postcard pic.

There are several islands off the coast (the Blasket Islands), and this was is called the "Sleeping Giant".  Can you see why?  Cool!

The Louis Mulcahy Pottery Shop, where we bought a lovely sea green wine holder.

Drew getting to know a horse.

This is the Gallarus Oratory, a suupppeerrrr early Christian church here on the peninsula.

Kilmalkedar Cemetery and Church - a sssuupppeerrr old Norman church dating back to the 12th century!

So outside the church there's a stone cross, and this old Ogden stone with engravings from the 3rd-7th centuries!
Evidently if you touching thumbs would signify a vow among friends OR a way of renewing marriage vows.

So we did!
Me: Ok, promise to love me forever?
Drew: Yes I do.  You promise to love me forever?
Me: Yes I do.
It was special.

We tried to get my parents to but my mom couldn't stop laughing.  Silly Jane.
(They also just celebrated their 35th anniversary so this seems appropriate!)

We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around the harbor and watching sea otters and enjoying the sun!

They have several cool bars in Dingle that are old school hardware stores + pubs in one!
This one was Foxy John's.

And this was J. Currans - Drew has to drink heavily to handle my parents  :)

Me and my Pops at Dick Mack's.

And Drew and his favorite mother-in-law!

Deep thoughts by Jane on the way outta town.

Rainbow over the beach.  I can't make this stuff up, people.

We had a lovely weekend in Dingle.  The rest of the week was spent seeing the touristy sights and eating and making some delicious food.  (It didn't help that Jane brought American style peanut butter, Reese's, and a recipe for the best peanut butter cookies you've ever eaten.)  Ahhh!

Daddio at the Guinness Storehouse.

Another Guinness ad!

View from the top - Jane ordered a Diet Coke but I made her hold my Guinness anyway.

Cute couple in Temple Bar!

So despite a rocky and hilarious start involving my dad, an inflamed sciatic nerve, a heating pad that nearly took out the electricity in the apartment, and some medicine with a very questionable name, the week went swimmingly and we had a really fun time with those kooks I call my parents.

Thanks for everything Mom and Dad, miss you already!