Day 7

We ate breakfast at a cute little café near our hotel. I've noticed that the menus in Ireland are a lot simpler than what I'm used to back home. I ordered eggs and bacon with toast. Luckily, the majority of places in Ireland have gluten-free bread, which has been wonderful! I've also noticed that most cafés don't serve brewed coffee, but only have espresso, so I've been drinking a lot of cappuccinos and americanos.

After breakfast, we packed up and headed out for Dingle, a tiny town on the west coast in County Kerry. We read online that the drive could take up to seven hours depending on traffic, so were relieved when it only took us about four and a half hours. This was my first time seeing the Irish countryside, and the view was stunning. It was just as I'd expected: bright green hills as far as the eye could see, sheep and cows grazing on endless fields, and perfect weather of blue skies and little white fluffy clouds. The scene was so picturesque it looked fake. Regardless, it was a long drive and I was restless by the end.

When we got to Dingle, we took advantage of the perfect weather by walking along the marina and through the town, taking pictures along the way. We ate dinner at Doyle's, then headed across the street to a little pub. Dingle is known for its traditional folk music and most of the pubs around town were "chock-o-block," meaning jammed packed. We finally found a table in one and ordered drinks. It felt a little strange to sit in a pub and drink a pint with my parents, but seemed like a classic Irish experience nonetheless.