What an eventful day yesterday! I’ll share a few pictures at some point, but I need to tell you about my night last night first.

After a great deal of stress, I finally managed to make it to Pax House in Dingle. What a place! The view is absolutely amazing. John, the owner, is a lovely and caring man and the staff are just beautiful people. Because my day had been very stressful (stay tuned for that story), John offered to drive me back into town so I didn’t have to walk. It’s only 15 minutes, but I was beat.

I ate dinner at “Out of the Blue”, a lovely place where the menu is on a chalkboard and set on a chair in front of you. It was cute and I had an incredible delicious fresh seafood meal. Do yourself a favour and make a reservation for Out of the Blue when in Dingle.

After eating I set out to find some craic* (sounds like crack, so the first time someone asked me if I was out for some, I nearly shite myself.). Come ‘ere, I had the craic back in Kilarney and figured Dingle would be hard pressed to beat it, but she came close!

I walked in to Dick Mack’s; just a tiny little hole in the wall with a snug in the front. If you’re like me and the term is new, a snug is an EXTREMELY small room/space wherein the ladies patiently waited for their lads to finish their pints. Naturally this is from years back when ladies were not permitted in the bar; thankfully before MY time!

Pint in hand, I hear a ruckus toward the back. Being the “knowers of all” that they are, I turn to the bartender, “I hear a ruckus”.

“Yes. That is a ruckus I suppose.”

“I like a ruckus.” He grins, jabs his thumb toward the back and tells me to have a look.

I strolled through a small door and was surprised to see another smallish room with just one table full of people. Full of boy people. Making a ruckus. Now I don’t profess to know all things in life, but anytime I’ve seen a room full of boys only, they’re usually up to no good…or on a stag party. They cheered a hello and invited me to join them. The guy to my left said, “What are two interesting things about yourself?”

“Interesting thing number 1” I say over the din, “I’m riding around Ireland…” I don’t even have a chance to finish my sentence because the laughter was thunderous! I couldn’t even hear my own chuckle as I joined them. When things settled down I asked what the hell was so funny about riding around Ireland?

AGAIN with the deafening laughter. Apparently, in Ireland, riding is having sex. Well then I was really laughing! One of their crew had just returned from a year in Australia so when I said interesting thing number 2 was riding around Ireland to find roots, the crowd roared again. In Australia, looking for a root is looking for someone to have sex with.

Needless to say, they were happy to have the likes of me join their crew.

They all left shortly thereafter and I wandered back through the front to finish my pint. I joined an elderly couple from Germany and asked about their trip. They’d come from the direction I am headed and it sounds like there is much for me to look forward to on my next leg!

I left and moved on down the road stopping at different places along the way.I sat up at the bar in Foxy John’s and chatted with Gareth for a bit. I shared my map of pubs with him and heard about his travels. I came across Gareth again a few stops later and joined him and his new friends “Pat and Pat’s Daughter from the States”.

We were at the Yellow Pub where step dancers swung, stomped and whirled through a crazy, high-speed dance while musicians kept time with accordions and a guitar. Amazing! Eventually getting too crowded for my comfort, I set off again.

A speaker set outside the next pub cut through the night with a fella singing “Don’t Look Back in Anger”. I love Oasis so I skipped across the street and, in true Deanna fashion, crashed through the door (I never know how heavy those suckers are going to be!). The singer stopped. He just stopped. The entire establishment stopped. They just stopped.

“Hey!” I say to the ENTIRE BAR  NOW LOOKING AT ME EXPECTANTLY!

The musician asks where I’m from and when I say Canada, there is still that feeling of something further is expected. So I wave and say hello and they all laugh. He asks me a few more questions as I move toward the bar, I keep answering and people keep laughing. He asks where all my friends are, “Right here!” I say and open my arms to the room. They all bust a gut. I was on fire! By the time I reach the centre of the room they’re all still looking at me, but no one is speaking. Or singing. So I say, “Well, now that I have the floor, have you heard the one about the guy from Limerick?”

The room erupts and he resumes playing. Good thing, too because I had no punchline for that one! I finally got myself a drink and held up the wall next to Samantha and Paul. Great people; Sam is gorgeous, energetic, enthusiastic and so much fun to hang out with! Paul is a quiet guy who clearly adores Sam. I really enjoyed chatting with them both!!

From there I went back to Foxy Johns, retracing my steps back home. Foxy John’s is a hardware store by day, and a bar at night. I didn’t realize this when I was there earlier, but what a blast it turned out to be! I made sure to take a picture vowing to return in the morning for the hardware store shot too!

If you ever find yourself in Dingle, be sure to check out the nightlife – some of the best craic I’ve ever had!

*craic is the Irish word for fun, by the way. Seriously nearly shite my pants when I walked in to a bar early in my travels and had the door man ask if I was there for some good craic.