We started off the morning with breakfast at the hotel and then headed towards Galway. As we drove we headed closer to the coast and in Ireland the Mountains are closest to the coast so the scenery was spectacular.
Bay along the way
The flowers are in bloom everywhere – the wild Rhododendron are our favorite so far.
Wild Rhododendron
Our first stop was a place called Kylemore Abbey which had once been an Irish estate but was then turned into an abbey. We were driving through some very rigged landscape and came through a clearing and were met with this site, it was quite a surprise –
Kylemore Abbey
Kylemore Abbey
Kylemore Abbey
After touring the abbey we went up to the Japanese garden and walked around. There were lots of flowers and herbs and it was very nicely laid out.
Japanese Garden at Kylemore Abbey
After touring the gardens we walked back along a quiet road to the area where the bus was picking us up. It was peaceful and pretty and the weather has been spectacular. Conrad found some fun along the way playing these chimes along the side of the road.
We got back on the bus headed for Galway and our hotel but we did stop at a Marble factory for a little while. The family owned business quarries the marble, designs jewelry and other things and sells it. The patriarch of the family gave is a demonstration of how they polish and cut the marble.
Connemara Marble
We checked into our hotel – The Raddison Blu is Galway, which is very nice, and we get to stay here for 2 nights which is great, it gives us a chance to catch our breath and not have to pack up early in the morning. We quickly got to our room and headed back out for a dinner at Dunguaire Castle. It was a fun evening with entertainment of traditional Irish food, songs and poetry. The site was also very pretty. We had a traditional wine called Mead which is given to newlyweds which is fermented apple and honey. It was very good and didn’t taste at all like alcohol so we didn’t take too much. Here’s the outside of the castle and the view.
Dunguaire Castle
Dunguaire Castle
The view behind Dunguaire Castle
After dinner we headed back to the hotel and to bed because we take a ferry to the Aran islands tomorrow and it will be a full day. It’s hard to get used to the time differences here because it’s light out well after 10:00 PM which seems odd to us. More tomorrow.