Hills of Connemara

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Today was amazing, to say the least. We left for Connemara this morning. It was the most beautiful landscape I have ever seen. Again, if you are on the west coast of Ireland, take a trip through Connemara. We went through the peaklands of the area, right through the mountains. It was so green and the tops of the mountains were covered with thick mist. The river valleys we drove through seemed endless and to be honest, I didn't want them to end.

The most exciting part of the day was seeing Kylemore Abbey come into view. I had looked at pictures of this place for years and it was a complete surprise when we came across it. It was even more gorgeous than the pictures, as is everything in this country. It had hit me, yet again, that I was making my dreams reality. I had thought about seeing this beautiful landscape for so long and it was finally in front of my eyes. No words can actually describe this feeling. If you've had it, you know it.

We stopped for just a little while to walk around the grounds but didn't go inside. We roamed around the tourist shop for a while. Riveting stuff, right? The boys on the trip all bought their hand-knit caps, very fashionable among the older gents in the countryside. We took a great USAC group picture out by the water and moved on.

We also stopped at a small monument to the Famine in the valley. This was probably the most beautiful place I've ever seen. We were completely surrounded by mountains and fields. It was so peaceful. I could appreciate the beauty of it all but I could also imagine the starving villagers who walked 10 miles for food and never received it. I could feel this terrible history all around me, which is a really rare but wonderful experience.

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Photos

Quiet Man Bridge sigh.
Yes, John Wayne was here.