Where Sasha Went

Marina Inn – Dingle Ireland

Our dinner in Dingle was at the Marina Inn, which was suggested to us by a number of people. It did not disappoint. I had to have the fish and chips, not a lot of places along the peninsula had them and I was pretty excited to try them. They too did not disappoint.

We thought the South Pole Inn was crowded the night before, but we be wrong. The Marina Inn was CROWDED! And for good reason, their food was amazing, they had music and sporting events playing. The service was quick and that is actually saying something considering how crowded not only the Marina Inn was but just how crowded Dingle was. There were so many more tourists here compared to the other towns we had stayed in and as such the restaurants and pubs were all packed. We took our time, but did not linger for long given just how many people were trying to eat here.

Naturally I had to take pictures of the bar, though given how crowded it was I mostly got pictures of rear ends. Sorry everyone! They will never know anyway, I doubt they read Where Sasha Went. I also had to snap a shot of the decor above our table. Growing up the way I did I have a special place in my heart for all things nautical, and these were just too sweet. I might need to make one someday for the house.

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Coastline House B&B – Dingle, Ireland

Our hotel in Dingle was the Coastline House B&B. It is an incredibly nice hotel at the end of town overlooking the water. The rooms were the largest we had for the trip, the bathrooms were updated and the house clean, bright and terribly comfortable. Wi-fi was available as well as tv’s and the what was now becoming a typical in room tea and coffee service.

After the group returned and we were all properly cleaned up and dried off, we set about trying to dry out everyone’s essential wear for the next day. Socks, shoes, everything was set up on the radiators to dry out and when we returned from dinner and they still weren’t done we set about attacking things with hair dryers.

The dining room was downstairs next to the front lounge area, like the rest of the hotel it was bright and clean. The food was amazing. A large buffet of breads and cereals were set up for us. And then made to order hot food was brought out for everyone as well. Once again we left feeling full, offered a packed lunch and off everyone went the next day.

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Goat Street Social – Dingle, Ireland

Being alone, without any means of finding things to do and in terrible weather can be a horribly defeating feeling while on vacation. I was certainly in danger of getting down on myself and feeling like I had wasted a lot of money for nothing on the first day of having had sat out on hiking.

But when the jewelry shop worker at Jon Weldon  suggested I take shelter in a cafe up the street my whole day turned out. Goat Street Social is a rather small establishment that serves coffee, brunch, and lunch though I was only in it for the hot drinks and cake. I was lucky to find a table as it was entirely packed but I wedged my way in. After having removing as many wet layers as socially acceptable I set my things up to dry and enjoyed a nice pot of tea and some almond orange cake. I grabbed the only novel off the high shelf above my head and started reading about Ewan McGregor’s motorcycle trip from Scotland to South Africa.
I didn’t finish the book, though it was a decent read. The place started to get really busy and I didn’t feel right holding up the table any longer given I had finished what I came in for. I gave up my small table to a couple. I could tell the waitress wanted to make sure I was actually ready to leave and not feeling pressured but was immensely grateful to not have to turn another customer away.

I went back the next day as I once again chose to sit out the hike. The terrain was not going to be great for my more comfortable but also significantly less water proof shoes. So while I waited for my ride again I headed straight back up. This time choosing a cappuccino and the sticky toffee pudding. Which was to die for.

In researching information about the establishment it appears that there used to be a place called The Goat Street Cafe in its place which has since closed. The new cafe, Goat Street Social is however open, obviously since I went there…twice. They must be new given how little information is on the internet. The cafe can be found at Grove, Dingle, Co. Kerry, Ireland and is open 10:30 to 3pm seven days a week though it does close for bank holidays.

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Dingle Ireland

After being picked up in Annascaul for my day off I was dropped off at the marina in Dingle where my group was hiking to for the day. I was still feeling pretty defeated having chosen not to hike that day and given the condition of my feet woried that I was out for the rest of the trip. I had only brought two pairs of shoes, my hiking boots, which were unwearable at this point and my sandels which I was wearing. The second I was dropped off it started pouring. Step one I had to solve the shoes issue, and fast as even walking from the marina to the city center (all of two blocks) I was entirly drenched.

I walked up the street where I spotted a sign that read Garvey’s Sports and Leisure and across the street Okeeffes Pharmacy.  And then I hatched a plan. I poped in the sports store and tried on a bunch of sneakers, I found a pair of Sauconys that were cushy and didn’t rub my feet too much in the wrong places. Then I ran next door and stocked up on blister pads. Then without internet I had to try to find our guesthouse. Luckily I remembered the general direction and marched down to find it. I was clutching the soaked and tattered shoe bag by the time I got there and I don’t feel like it was that far of a walk. The weather was just that bad.
After I found the inn and was promptly turned away as it wasn’t check in time yet. I sat down to get my shoes on, and realized I didn’t have socks. So I put on the blister pads, put on the nylon socks that were meant only for trying on the shoes that I had forgotten to throw away and hit the very wet bricks once again.

I had only one more mission for the day but my group wasn’t set to get in for another 5 hours. After walking into an emberessingly large number of jewlery shops I finally found the one I was looking for and purchased the bracelete I knew I had wanted from the get go. The women that worked at Jon Weldon where I purchased the bracelete told me to go up the street to a cafe to grab some tea and wait out the storm. She also gave us a dinner recommendation.

At no point during the day did the storm let up. All these pictures were from the next day as it was too wet to even pull out my phone let alone try to use it. After my tea and cake break it was late enough to check into the hotel. I started wandering back, hoping into any open shop or church I could find to try to keep dry. Once I got back I set my clothes up to dry, took a hot bath and read some british gossip mags until my group came. They were even wetter than I was, and covered in sheep muck to boot. We did manage to get out for some food and music later in the evening but most of the day we spent drying clothes and hiking boots with hair dryers.

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South Pole Inn – Annascaul, Ireland

On our evening in Annascaul, after all the dust settled…or rather after we washed off all the dust from the day we chose to eat dinner at the South Pole Inn. There may have been other places to eat in town, honestly we didn’t even check. We just knew that this was the place we were going to eat.

Opened by Tom Crean and his wife Ellen around the 1920s. The pub is small and cozy, once again exactly what one would expect from an Irish Pub. Stone walls, big fire place, small wooden bar and a handful of tables. The interior is filled to the brim with information and memorbelia from Tom Crean’s life. While we were waiting for food I of course had to pick through the stack of books on the mantel.

The meal was exceptional as all of them were. We had a mix of food, curry, fish, pasta, chicken. It was all amazing. The service was quick, we lingered in the cozy atmosphere and never once felt like we were pressured to vacate even though people continued to stream in through the doors all night. Every one chatted merrily and enjoying their time. Including the baby on the floor by the fire and the toddler in the window box. It was clearly a neighbor hood place, and what a wonderful neighborhood to be in.

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Ireland

Annascaul Ireland

Annascaul Ireland is a very small village, it appears somewhere in the range of 300 individuals make the town their home. It has a church, two grocery stores a number of inns and pubs as well as a coffee shop and art gallery which I sadly didn’t make it in due to the hours we were in the village. 
Annascaul is however most known for its famous former resident Tom Crean. Tom Crean was a Antarctic explorer who was born near Annascaul in 1877. After his many expeditions around the world he returned to the small village to open The South Pole Inn with his wife in the 1920s.

Annascaul was also where the sculptor Jerome Connar was born, though he emigrated to the United States when he was quite young. Jerome Connar is known for a number of monuments in Washington DC, including Nuns of the Battlefield. He is also responsible for the memorial of Tom Crean in the Annascaul public park.

I was injured out for day three of hiking so I could to explore the whole of the village while I waited for my ride. Which didn’t take long. The main street is probably only a half a mile long and like most things in Europe the stores didn’t open until much later than I was there. But despite the size, it was one of my favorite stops. Small and quiet with of course the kindest people imaginable. While there isn’t a lot to do here, if you find yourself in the area it is worth a stop in.

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No4 On The Square – Tralee, Ireland

We only got the opportunity to sample one restaurant while in Tralee given we were only there for a single night and our guesthouse was providing breakfast. I am honesty not sure how we decided on No4 On The Square other than it looked cute and they had a nice menu.

They had a lovely outdoor space in front facing the main town square but it was full so we shuffled inside. The bar is at the front of the building and there are a few tables behind in a small alcove. As well as a couple of floors above that appeared to have tables but we never ventured up. After we had filled ourselves to the brim with food and beer I stumbled home in a jet lag stupor and a few of my friends bravely ventured out for a night-cap.
There are a ton of really cute looking places in Tralee to eat, I really do wish I had more time to explore. But I can say with certainty that this place will not disappoint so if you are in the area, and you aren’t sure of where to eat you can’t go wrong here.
 

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