Early in the morning, we headed to Dingle, located on the west coast of Ireland.  As we drove along, I noticed Paula becoming more comfortable behind the wheel.  In fact, she was zipping around traffic so easily that I started calling her Mario Andretti. Even my poor navigating skills didn’t seem to bother her anymore.  Whenever I made a mistake with directions, she’d simply say, “That’s okay.  I’m used to it by now.”

We arrived at the Alpine Guesthouse that afternoon.  Thankfully, Paul, the owner, was nice enough to carry our luggage up to the third floor.  Then, we walked into town and had dinner and drinks at the Dingle Pub.  The Irish stew was delicious!   So far, the food had been good everywhere we went.  There was only one problem.  After almost a week of eating mainly meat and potatoes, Paula was beginning to worry about us getting scurvy.

The Dingle Pub

They’re hiring!

The next day, we set off for Slea Head Drive, a scenic route along the coast.  On the way, we stopped to see the Potato Famine Cottages.  The man in the admissions booth heard our American accents and instantly nicknamed us Thelma and Louise, which I thought was funny at the time.

Potato famine cottages

A glimpse of life from the inside

View of the coast

In addition to the cottages, there were a number of animals on the property.  Paula wanted to see them all.  Here she is with the sheep.

Baaa!

And a horse.  “If I could find a man like that, I’d be married,” she said (zoom into the photo, and you’ll see why).

Irish stallion

Every few kilometers along the way, Paula would stop so we could take pictures of the beautiful countryside …

Slea Drive

… and more animals.  Here she is with a seagull.

Paula and her feathered friend

At one point, we were driving up a steep hill when she was so excited by the scenic view that she quickly pulled over to take a picture.  “I’ll be right back,” she said as she jumped out of the car and walked to the other side of the road.  The next thing I knew, I could feel our Ford Fiesta begin rolling backward toward a cliff with me inside!  Paula began shouting frantically, “Put it in park!  Put it in park!”  Without thinking, I picked up my foot to hit the brake, forgetting that I was in the passenger seat until it touched the floorboard.  Paula was running alongside the driver’s door continuing to yell.  I looked for the gear shift and, thankfully, found it in time to stop the car. Another minute or two, and I would have been a real-life Thelma (or Louise).  Paula and I spent the rest of the afternoon taking turns saying, “Put it in park!” and laughing about the adventure.

We spent two lovely days in Dingle, an absolute must-see for anyone visiting Ireland!  Next stop … Galway.