We left midday for a 3pm flight to Shannon which is about an hour south of Galway. We picked up our rental car and drove to our B&B, Petra house. After settling in we made our way to find some dinner. We found a pub that had an excellent dish of the day, lamb stew with mash, fabulous! It washed down well with a few pints of Guinness and the night was under way. We spent the next hours wandering from pub to pub soaking up as much traditional Irish music as possible. In the wee hours of the morning we made our way back to our B&B, stopping for a big meaty lamb kebab on the way home.
The next morning we were up by nine for breakfast and then off for our tour of the Connemara and County Mayo. Our first stop was in Cong, passing the beautiful Ashford Castle that looks like a story book castle with amazing grounds. It is now a working hotel and has hosted President Reagan as well as Pierce Brosnan’s wedding reception. Once in the little town of Cong we were able to tour the remains of Cong Abbey which was built in the 12th century. The remains are still very well preserved and the grounds are beautiful. I especially enjoyed walking out to the little fishing hut, set like a mini island out in the large stream that flows through the grounds. The monks made their quiet living here, surviving on the abundant salmon population.
We continued our journey through the towns of Neale and Westport, passing by Croagh Patrick (Patrick Mountain), named in honor of Saint Patrick banishing the ‘snakes’ from the mountain in the fifth century. Today, faithful followers remember Saint Patrick ‘banishing’ the pagans from Ireland by making the three hour trek to the top, sometimes barefoot. We continued on through the Doo Lough Valley until we arrived at Aasleagh Falls. The falls were flowing strong and we hiked the wet ground along the river until we came to the falls and were able to make our way up to the top. From there we drove to bog country. We stopped on the side of the road and had a hop on the bog which was fun because you could feel the shock wave of the other person jumping a few feet away. We continued to Kylemore Abbey which is the closest thing I’ve ever seen to a real life Hogwarts. It is a beautiful Castle set on the water in the midst of rugged Irish country side; it’s also actually a school for girls.
We got back to the B&B in the early evening and relaxed for a while before finding some food and starting our evening all over again. The music was fantastic once again. The instruments are so diverse and sometimes random but it all works so well together, including the great singers. We didn’t stay out quite as late as the previous night, but this time stopped and had fish and chips on the way home.
The next morning we were up early again for breakfast and then off mid-morning to drive to the airport, well with a few detours along the way. We drove through the Burren and County Clare seeing an ancient tomb along the desolate land as well as some other ruins and hollow castles. We stopped by the Cliffs of Moher, which Susan and I had seen before from land and sea before finishing our drive to the airport. It was a great weekend full of fun and lots of sightseeing.
1 comment:
Looks pretty awesome. Wish I had been there with you guys, except I probably would've just lost my wallet.
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