Ireland

Ashford Castle near Cong Village and Abbey

This was our second castle sighting while in Ireland.  However, it was much more impressive than the first one.  It was truly beautiful and something you cannot see in the US.  Plus we found it by accident.  I turned up a long road and their it was.  It is currently in use as a fancy hotel.

 There was a little town next to the hotel/castle called Cong.  They had a little Abbey you could tour and Gretchen and I took a few minutes to pose for silly pictures.  I think I am "singing in the rain" in the one below.

 There was a little woods off of the Abbey and I enjoyed acting like a monkey.

 We held up a family taking a walk while we were taking this picture.

 We were driving to our next destination when we encountered this road.  FYI it is for two way traffic.  Luckily, I never encountered another car while I was driving on it.

 This is a typical example of what the countryside looks like in Ireland.  I felt that the look and feel of their countryside was so different than any other place I have visited.  It was natural and rural but not backwards.  It just had its own vibe.

 We stopped at this little deserted pub for lunch.  We were the only guests but they served me a delicious beef stew with brown bread.  Plus the owner got bonus points for giving me three chocolate digestives (fyi chocolate cookies).  Gretchen wanted to come back to this pub on Saturday night for a authentic local pub experience but it just wasn't practical.  It was to far from our final destination.

 Our next stop was the Kylemore Abbey.  Our first view of it was breathtaking.  The castle was originally built by man for his wife who died suddenly after it was completed.  It was eventually taken over by a Benedictine Order of Nuns who still live there today.  It used to be a school but the nuns have gotten to old to run it.  BTW...I asked a few questions of the nun sitting in the lobby and she was quite sassy.  She asked me where I was from and I replied the US.  She said, "Duh, I knew you were from the US as soon as you opened your mouth."  She was sassy and I loved it.  We got to tour several rooms inside the castle as well as the grounds.

 This was a waterfall on the Abbey grounds.

 Gretchen took some time to smell the flowers.

 The Gardens!  I have never seen anything like it.  They were restored to the original Victorian design.  I loved the precise geometry and the placement of each flower bed.

 After we left the Abbey we stopped by the Connemara National Park.  It was just a few KM from the Abbey and worth the stop.  There was three paths to choose from, red, yellow and something else;)  The yellow was 1.5km long and since we were both tired at this point we chose the shorter option.  Except...I was leading us and I refused to look at the map.  And I didn't see any signs so I forged ahead.  After we completed the large circle we found the sign...going the other direction.  I accidentally took us on the right path, just in the wrong direction. 

As a side note we stopped by the cafe before the walk and had a small snack.  When we started the walk I forgot a very important item in the cafe.  My purse.  Gasp.  I would have been royally screwed without it.  However, I am forever grateful to the employee who came chasing us down the path to return it.  Wow!  What great luck.

 I really don't know why I am a diva in all of these photos.

 Gretchen was revolting.  I guess there was too much activity for one day.  She was ready for a break.

 I loved the little sheep.  We were driving back to our B&B when we saw several of them loose on the road.  I decided this was the perfect time to try and pet one.  I parked the car and took off down the road with a reluctant Gretchen in tow.  Every time I would get close to the baby sheep they would run away.  It was quite humorous to see me trying to chase them with Gretchen taking photos.  They eluded me this time.

Finally, the day was about to end.  I had Gretchen take this photo because every time I saw it I cracked up.  I know it means watch for children crossing the road but every time I saw it I kept thinking "watch for stupid children".  I don't know why...but this picture makes me think the children are dumb.