We arrived in Galway late in the afternoon and attempted to find our backpackers. Attempted is the key word here…we have discovered that while the Irish are good at a whole lot of things, they’re not so good with street signs. We did eventually find our hostel and as a reward, treated ourselves to pizza in the park.
The next morning we boarded a coach tour that took us to Connemara. Connemara is a national park in the West of the country that can be described as rugged, barren and tough. Our bus driver summed it up best by saying ‘there is nothing shiny out here’. With that said, it is one of the most spectacular and beautiful places we have ever seen. Mountains, lakes, sheep, ancient stone fences and cottages speckled throughout the countryside. Words and photos don’t really do the place justice.
The bus dropped us off in Connemara at a hostel pretty much in the middle of nowhere. It was so remote that we had to bring in our own food. The tour bus picked us up again the next day and we continued on for the second half of the trip. The overwhelming highlight of part 2 was Kylemore Abbey. The Abbey was built by some rich dude back in 1867 for his wife as a wedding present, all because she was ‘rather taken’ by the area whilst on their honeymoon. And as if a mansion/castle thing wasn’t enough, he then proceeded to craft a Victoria Walled Garden out of a bog where others could barely grown potatoes, and then built a mini-gothic Cathedral and Mausoleum in her memory after she passed away prematurely.
Daniel is now feeling some pressure, as Monique would quite like her very own castle and Victorian garden to be built in Collingwood upon our return!
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