Kylemore Abbey, Connemara, and some unplanned adventures

            The last post about this visit over is about Kylemore Abbey, Connemara and some unplanned adventures. One stop planned the others completely unplanned, one was even stumbled upon as we were driving to the airport to catch our flight.

Kinvarra where Dunguaire Castle and our B&B were located, the second big dot is Kylemore Abbey, and the last dot is Sky Road.

Matt and I were staying in Kinvarra which is a bit south of Galway. Matt chose this place solely because it was the only B&B around Galway open in November, so that made it easy to decide where to stay. Lucky for us, there was a castle and a great restaurant in the town and the people who hosted us were lovely. I highly recommend a stay in the town if you get a chance. Dunguaire Castle is not open for tours, but you can get right next to it and walk around the parameter which is pretty cool.

Dunguaire Castle on first view. Isn't it pretty?!?!

First shot of the super cute cottage on the sea. Cows and sheep happily munching in the background while the fog rolls off the sea nearby. God, I love this country!

Closer picture of the castle

This is what I think of when I think about Ireland. Cute cottage with livestock happily munching nearby

Love these gorgeous ruins, so much I needed to hug them... And this was the only passable photo of me Matt took during the whole trip

Not sure what this is, and we couldn't get there on this day, but maybe another day...

The trip up to Kylemore abbey is through some fun and interesting country where sheep are abundant. Kylemore abbey is absolutely stunning and if you come during the spring they have gorgeous Victorian gardens as well as the abbey. The gardens were not at their full glory in November so we decided to pass for on this occasion, but we will be back, I’m sure. There are guided tours available for the abbey and I recommend doing the tour if you have time because the history of the Abbey is so amazing, and a bit creepy. It was built by Mitchell Henry who was the son of a wealthy textile merchant in England. He fell in love and married a lovely woman named Margaret. Three years after the abbey was finished, Margret died unexpectedly and shortly afterwards one of their daughters. Here comes the romantic and the creepy part. The bereft Mitchell built his wife a beautiful miniature cathedral with angels instead of gargoyles.  But while the cathedral was being built it was said he would occasionally prop his wife up at the dinner table. And on that note, here are some pictures from the drive up and the lovely location itself!

This is what worried me driving up. Sheep on the road!

This one was less than amused as I tried to get close enough to pet it. I'm pretty sure that look says, "Bitch please!"

Traffic

Why yes, that is a sheep on top of a bridge gnawing on the ivy. Wanna see closer?

Hello sheep! This guy didn't mind me taking its photo a bit while we slowly drove by. I insisted Matt go slow because I had visions of the sheep freaking out and either jumping on the hood or better yet into my open window. Hmmm, maybe he should have gone faster, I could have taken home a sheep...

Yes, that is a mountain of rocks and sheep live here. Those little buggers can eat anything as demonstrated by our little buddy on the bridge.

AND NOW... THE ABBEY

Yep, Abbey like DOWNTON Abbey, not like where clergy live, although this was eventually bought by nuns and run as a private school. I'd go here and pretend I was at Hogwarts, just sayin'

Closer view of the Abbey. Stunning, isn't it?

Pretty waterfalls everywhere!

Matt posing by the lake. For those of you who don't know me well, this is the man who tries to kill me when he drives, more commonly known as my husband Matt.

One of the lovely rooms in the Abbey

I have an obsession with boxes, and this is no exception!

I think this would be a great setting for a Downton Abbey episode!

There was beautiful wood work everywhere!

More beautifully carved wood!

The entrance to the house. In a few images you'll see the entrance to the church, very similar.

That is a picture of poor Mitchell Henry's wife who died along with a description of the church. get out your magnifying glasses!

The church!!!! Men just don't build giant monuments to their wives anymore. I think this should be brought back, Matt???

The stonework is fantastic on this structure.

Looking up at the Cathedral from the walking path

The door to the cathedral. Looks pretty similar to the one at the house, huh? The man built her matching structures! I'm lucky if I get matching socks!

One of the angels

A descriptor of the church

Definitely worth taking some time to reflect in here. So pretty.

Sky Road is beautiful! I bet it would have been even more beautiful if we would have seen it during the daylight, but a nice sunset over the mountains is never remiss. Sadly on the way down it was dark which meant that I feared for the safety of all the adorable sheep on these roads. These roads are pretty narrow and if it came down to saving a sheep or driving off a mountain, we’re going to be having roast leg of lamb for dinner the next day. Ok, maybe 2-3 days later, you have to let meat hang for a bit so it becomes nice and tender, although if it’s road kill I’d say it may already be pre-tenderized with a slight rubber tang. So down these twisty narrow roads we go, in the dark, with thoughts of lamb shanks and lamb stew on our minds. Luckily I didn’t have to field dress a sheep on the way home but it was more than a bit iffy a couple of times. My advice? Try to drive up and down mountains during daylight so you get to see all that the landscape has to offer, but if you can’t do this, be sure you’re at the top during the sunset because that will make all the fear and nail biting worth it on the way back.

 

On the road again...

Pretty, but hey, it's getting a bit dark...

Oooohhhh Lakes!

That's no lake! That's the OCEAN! Forgive my midwestern-ness, I don't see these things very often!

To give you an idea of what the road looks like. Narrow

Even though it's getting dark fast, this was very pretty! Can't wait to do it again in the daylight!

Literally the last stop on this trip before the airport was Quinn Abbey. Why was this our last stop? Because we saw signs on our way to the airport and decided to go a bit out of the way and see what it was! I promised Matt I’d be in and out in 30 minutes and was able to do so. One of the magical things about Ireland is there are TONS of ruins everywhere. When I talk to the Irish about this they aren’t as impressed with them as I am, probably because they have grown up seeing these amazing feats of stone craftsmanship growing moss and ivy in their backyards and so for them it is normal. For me, these places fill me with wonder and awe. How were people able to build these huge structures without the mechanical devices we use today? How were the architects able to construct something that has lasted hundreds of years and still be beautiful? I often touch the stonework and think of the hands that chiseled those rocks into ornate pieces of structural adornment, who were they? Did they live to see the structure complete? Sadly many of the older churches and castles have been burnt or destroyed by war or Cromwell but you can still see their beauty in the ruins and imagine what they would have looked like whole. This was one of those places. No formal tour, I just wandered the grounds snapping pictures I hoped will convey my reverence for places like this.

Map showing the travel round from Kinvarra to Quin Abbey, to the Airport. Not too far out of the way and well worth the side trip. Now, no more captions so you can savor the beauty of the abbey

Next up… How to move across the country and then across an ocean... and a random picture of a man statue in a river.