Journal 6

Note the name of the B&B

Journal

This morning we left Maura and Phillip, our hosts in Spiddle, and headed around the Connemara Loop enjoying the views of Galway Bay until we headed inland to see Kylemore Abbey. The Abbey had been converted to a private school for the very wealthy, but has now closed down and is only a tourist site. It's beautiful set as this Neo-Gothic style set up against a huge mountain at the edge of a lough.

We ventured to Westport, a little out of our way, to eat a late lunch and found the restaurant recommended was not open until 6PM, much later than we wanted as it was now 4 and we were a little behind. So we forged on to Cong, our destination for the day, had dinner in another pub (pub grub is pretty good here) and then walked around Cong Abbey ruins and wandered through Cong Wood. Both breathtaking in their own right. I have always believed that in the dark, dampness of the moss filled woods is where you will find the faeires and leprechauns of Ireland hiding. These woods could have been any dark forest in a Disney movie.

Our B&B for the night was Ryan's Riverlodge. For some strange reason around town a lot of things are named Ryan's. ;) Ryan's Hotel, Ryan's Pub, and our place. It might come from the fact that the Quiet Man film was made here and John Wayne might have played a character named Ryan. Not sure we'll visit the exhibit for that this morning before we head out.

Today we will backtrack a little to the Connemara Marble factory for a look at the marble and maybe a little jewelry. Then on to Sligo and Yeats country. More later.

As I post this tonight, it's 9pm here and the sky is still bright blue with a few scattered gray clouds. Tom, my taxi driver firiend called just as we arrived here checking in to see if we were okay. He's such a charmer and said he missed me! We're thinking about arranging to have drinks with him the night before we leave. Guess I'll be reporting on that too.

We leave Sligo in the morning and head into Northern Ireland for a few days.
Too be continued...