Connemara & Kong

Beautiful Kylemore Abbey

What a day! From 10-5, we were on a bus travelling the northern hills of Galway and Ireland. It was one of the coolest (and longest) days in Ireland. Get this, I took over 200 pictures today. My camera apparently wasn't prepared for this many, and died toward the end of our tour. The scenery and landscape was absolutely amazing. I've never seen anything like it. The trip was more than just a tour, it was an experience: one that I wouldn't have enjoyed without the help of our tour guid, Michael O'Malley. Yes. His name is Mike O'Malley. Incredibly knowledgeable with a keen sense of corny humor, he made the trip incredibly entertaining while also being a truly educational experience.

The picture you see first is Kylemore Abbey. This was the highlight of the trip, and as such, we spent two hours exploring it. This castle was originally built in the late 1800s by Mitchell Henry, a very wealthy doctor, at the request of his wife. They had spent their honeymoon in these hills and she asked if they could settle down in the hills. 150 million pounds sterling later, and you have this massive estate. There was a massive garden to the West as well as a mausoleum originally for his wife (who died at the age of 45) and a Neo-Gothic Church (miniature) to the East. Gambling eventually bankrupt the family and they were forced to put the castle up for auction. After no one was willing to put a bid on this beautiful estate, they bequest it to Benedictine nuns. Yes, everywhere we've gone we have been surrounded by Benedictines in some form. It has been weird and awesome at the same time. For a fraction of the cost, the nuns moved into the castle and converted it into a convent and a girls' boarding school. The school closed last year, but the nuns are still very much active within the walls.

Meet Michael.

Continuing on, we passed killer sheep, more stunning landscape, embarrassing group singing, and more ruins than you could ever imagine. This was a once in a lifetime experience and I finally feel like I'm actually in Europe. I can't imagine how to top this excellent tour, but we're going to try. We'll be visiting the Cliffs of Moher tomorrow with the same tour company. I'm sure it'll be just as awesome with just as many pictures. Nathan and I am currently sitting in hostel number 2, Kinlay House, recuperating and planning not only for tomorrow, but for our weekend in Dublin. The further East we go, the more my fascination increases. I can honestly say that I will keep a piece of Ireland with me for the rest of my life. A simply amazing country with some of the kindest and most intriguing people I have ever had the pleasure to meet.

Since I took so many pictures today, I will put up a few more. I hope you guys enjoy them. Until next time, God bless!

Inside the Ross Errily Friary

I saw landscaping like this all day. Legendary.

A Connemara Pony. We were able to touch this one.

There is a perfect reflection of the mountains in the water if you look closely.

This was a river by the Cong Abbey.

Galway

Our last meal with Father Christopher.
Hopefully I will see him again sometime soon.

We finally said goodbye to Glenstal Abbey. It was a great experience, but I will miss Father Christopher and the great memories I had there. We boarded a bus from Limerick City and spent an hour travelling to Galway.

It was mind-blowing how much things change from one side of the country to the other. The sun decided to show itself -- at least for about a half hour -- and then quickly hid behind a veil of grey. Currently I'm laying in my bed at Galway City Hostel, the first hostel experience for me, and it really is not as bad as I thought it would be. Well... that's only partly true. We got in around noon and were told that our room wasn't ready yet. By itself that was mind-blowing since they knew when we were going to be arriving. So we waited for an hour in the lounge area and still it was not ready. Tired of wasting time in the hostel, Nathan and I embarked upon the city. Finally a town that we could easily get lost in; rest assured, we did.

It took us a while to get used to the bigger city since we'd mostly spent our time in small towns sprinkled across Western Ireland. We ended up going to the local museum as our first stop. There's one thing I know for sure -- Galway has an unhealthy obsession with former President John F. Kennedy. I'm pretty sure I saw at least four memorials for him, not counting the display in the museum itself. I don't think that any city in America has that many commemorative displays for any president. Here's the kicker, JFK was only in Galway for an hour. We wandered about the city spotting a €2 Store. Let me give you a look into my brilliance: I left the country for studying abroad and forget to pack notebooks. So guess what I just bought at the €2 Store? Two brand new notebooks. Yay me!

If you don't know what this is, you should probably start reading my blog instead of just looking at all the pretty pictures.

But that's enough of my genius for one day, methinks. On our way back from the museum we decided to book our bus tour tomorrow (all 8 hours of it) to Connemara & Cong. It looks awesome. I know you are all wondering why I'm not going to the Cliffs. You can keep wondering, because I'm not going to tell you until tomorrow. On our way back from the tour agent, we stopped at a massive Cathedral in town which is pictured above. It is simply one of the biggest churches I have ever stepped foot. After more walking and Thai Rings (think Funyuns with an Asian kick) we decided to head back home to get all of our stuff moved to our actual room.


Here's the best part of the coming night. You know that hostel I'm staying in? Guess what is directly below it. Go ahead. Guess. Give up? O well, I guess I'll tell you. Beneath my bed is an Irish Pub. It really doesn't get much better than this. So I'm sure Nathan and I will head down there for drinks and some grub before hitting the hay and getting up again for some more travels. 


On a completely different note, I'm considering uploading all the pictures I've taken onto the internet in the form of a Picasa album or something similar. If you'd like to see this leave your suggestion/vote in my comments. Ok. I think that's it.

A candle.

God bless! Speaking of which... I lit a candle in the Cathedral for all of you. It's the one in the bottom left corner, for those of you wondering. But I digress. Dia linn!

Bunratty Castle and Limerick City

Bunratty Castle

Hello again, from Limerick, Ireland! It has been a very relaxed day for both Nathan and myself. We started our day around 7 this morning with breakfast and whatnot. Father Christoper offered to take us down to the Castle after his 9 o'clock class, so we gladly accepted. The history of this place was incredible. It started off as a small fort but was then expanded to the castle as you see it now. One of the guides within the castle itself gave us a great history of how the castle became what it is and where it once was. Apparently, during the late 1600s the last owner of the castle had to flee in order to save their lives. They had to leave everything behind. Consequently, none of the furniture or artwork within the castle (except for a small chest on the third floor) are actually from the original castle. After it was renovated, the family that eventually owned the castle filled it with works of art and furniture from their other collections. That was a major disappointment learning that all of this history didn't even belong. After exploring the small village surrounding the castle, Nathan and I hopped on the bus and headed into Limerick City for some lunch.

Our amazing lunch at Costello's.

Getting off the bus station (and after nearly getting hit by crazy European drivers) Nathan and I found Costello's Tavern and decided it looked like a good place to eat. Beef sirloin, peas, carrots, and three different entrées potato-based. This was also my first opportunity to have Guinness in Ireland off tap. It was all absolutely delicious, especially for the price that we paid. We spent the next half hour roaming around the seemingly dead town before hailing a taxi and returning back home to Glenstal Abbey. This will be my last night in Limerick. This both saddens and excites me as we approach the final two legs of our journey before Italy.

Dominic St.
 Legen - wait for it - dary!

Tomorrow morning, Nathan and I will head back to the bus station to go north into Galway for two nights. We will then be in Dublin on the 28th. Before I close, I'd like to say that I miss all of you guys and wish you could experience this amazing journey with me (that is, if anyone is actually reading this). I can't wait to tell you all about my trip to Ireland. Hope you guys are enjoying my blog. If you have any ideas for what I should write about, how I should write it, or just fun things for me to do, please don't hesitate to leave me a comment! God bless!