Kinsale

It's not even 100 miles from Dingle (which I loved) to Kinsale, but what a difference. There's the weather, for starters, which is just the luck of the Irish. Though we arrived in mist, rain and fog, we've had a glorious day here, all sunshine and 70s. The water has been dancing in Kinsale Harbor and we've been peeling off layers as we walk.

A walk around town, then a hike out to Charles Fort, a British garrison for more than 300 years. Kinsale is a town quite essential to Irish history, where a decisive battle was lost in 1601 that eventually led to a divided Ireland and what the Irish call "the Troubles."

But it is also a place that's embraced modernity more than some of the others we visited. Just voted the best foodie town in Ireland, it's a sophisticated melange of pubs and wine bars. 

Most of all, like all of Ireland, it's drop-dead gorgeous.