Hi folk!
Yesterday I woke up at 5 a.m. again!! the sun was shining in the sky and, after a great walk, at 6.40 I was in Suffolk street waiting for my bus to Connemara :).
The bus was full of young people and after 10 minutes we left Dublin.
We had a coffee stop on the road and 10 arrived in Galway. Such a lovely city!!! And it is candidate to be European Capital of Culture in 2020, that is to say an year after my town, Matera.
We had just an hour to go around so I had a walk through the city centre, explore a bit and made some pictures..
I discovered that this was the last place the famous explorer Christopher Columbus visited before taking off to the West Indies! 🙂
So jump on the bus and, after a photo stop on the bridge where some scenes of John Wayne’s “The Quiet Man” were filmed, we crossed Oughterard which is considered to be the “gateway” into Connemara!
Cathlel, our driver was really prepared and was explaining everything, even the flowers, on the beautiful road! And after Oughterard he said “Now we stopped in a place and I will show you what we are able to do just to attract tourists..” and he stopped near a lake, where there was a statue and a plate saying ” ON THIS SITE IN 1897 NOTHING HAPPENED”!!
Funny Irish people!! They are joking all the time!!
Connemara National Park is a great place! Full of life!!! Water water and water…lots of lakes all along the they..
In my opinion the best is Lough Inagh, the next stop…
It seemed a painting… a drawing…I took lots of shots..
I would have liked to stay more there, is a perfect place to eat a sandwich and chill out…but we had to move to the setting of “Kylemore Abbey” which was once a prestigious female boarding school but now hosts nuns on retreat as well as welcoming tourists visiting from around the world!
Breathtaking!
I thing it is one of the better kipped monuments in Ireland…and surely unforgettable!! One of the most romantic places in Ireland, the abbey is full of history, mystery and tragedy!
We spent an hour there, had lunch and made some shopping and I set in front of the Abbey for a while without stopping to look at it…I couldn’t…
After an hour and half Cathlel left us in Killary Harbour, we jumped on the boat and cruised for an hour and a half through the “Killary Fjord” which is the only fjord in all the country!
It is surrounded by Mweelrea, the highest mountain range on the west coast of Ireland!
In the water you can see lots of mussels and fish farms and sea-gulls , of course!
You can also eat something on the boat, have lunch with this famous mussels!
And so, after a day full of water and beauty, we started our way back to Dublin…driving on this incredible route!
The best of Ireland is just out of the capital!! 🙂
And with Irish Day Tours it is so easy to join it!
It was a great day with a fantastic warm weather, with sun all day long!! Simply perfect!
But the best things always finish soon…
Well, next week I will be around again! 🙂
See you then!
Delia
