cece and gus go to ireland: A Change of Plans

September 15-16, Westport to Dingle. First off, let us note that we changed plans: wanting more time on the Dingle Peninsula, we decided to stay in Westport only one night and drive to Dingle Town today for three nights.

The drive from Leenane north through the mountains and along Lake Doo to Louisburgh was as spectacular as the guidebooks say, as was the walk on the beach at the foot of magestic Croagh Patrick. This is the southern side of Clew Bay.

Westport is a gem--a planned city commissioned by the Marquess of Sligo, John Browne, in the 1780s. The town was originally a place for his workers and servants, many of whom were engaged on his estate, Westport House. Today, Westport has been voted Ireland's number one place to live.

All of this is particularly important because Gus' maternal grandmother was St. Clare Browne, of Ulster heritage. Gus is now claiming and reporting widely of his Irish roots, including the possibility that he is a descendant of Lord Browne himself.

Our driver did a masterful job--her usual--in getting us from Westport to Dingle today. With skillful navigation by our co-pilot, we skirted around Galway and Limerick, only once did we end up by mistake in the parking lot of a Hewlett-Packard plant. We took the lovely coast road out the peninsula. Until we got to the peninsula, we saw a lot of the "postcard" Ireland--the Emerald Isle with gently rolling hills, trees for hedgerows (rather than stones), country estates, and historic spots, including Adare, where we sensed a lot of money. We also saw some towns that looked run-down and passed over.

The south coast drive into Dingle brought back the arrestingly beautiful landscapes and scenery--lordy, we took lots of photos. It is greener here than up north, more gentle and inviting, a bit less dramatic, but as beautiful. Cece kept predicting if we drove to the "sunny south," we could put on our flipflops but it is still hovering in the mid-50s.

Coming in, we were pushed to the margins by 20 tour buses heading away from Dingle. So tonight most tourists were gone and Dingle Town was peaceful and quite charming. We had crab and duck dishes this evening, and planned our austere diets for our return.