Following the Doctor's Orders - On a Tour in Ireland

First of all, I have to say that Spencer is recovering nicely and I have a meeting with the doctors tomorrow morning.  Hopefully, I will going home soon.

Spencer's doctor said that I needed to take care of myself so I could keep taking care of Spencer.  She said that I needed to go out and enjoy Ireland.  She said that I MUST go to Connemara.  It is one of the most beautiful places on earth!  So, I asked my B&B people - Nora and Joe, to book a tour for me and the tour bus picked me up in front of my B&B house!!!  Lally Tours  www.lallytours.com  for those wondering.  It was only 20 Euro and if you buy 2 tours it's another discount.  This is my first trip to Connemara and my second trip will be on Friday to the Cliffs of Moher.  (You pay in cash, so be prepared!)  Our Tour Guide was AMAZING!  He knew a lot of history, was subtly funny, and also had the traditional Irish kindness!

This is Kylemore Castle in the distance. I don't think you can see it, but there is a Statue of Christ on the mountain.  This used to be a private residence, then it was a school, now it is an Abbey.

Angelina Jolie went to school here. The school closed down in 2010.  Nuns used to be the teachers.

Check out the Apple symbol
in this cloud!

This is the small church on the
 grounds of Kylemore Abby.  

Is it weird that I loved

the doors and the window?

Inside the church at Kylemore Abby.

This is the anti-climatic mausoleum.  We were told that Mitchell Henry created this mausoleum for his beloved wife and it was as small as a tool shed and not very pretty - just sayin'.  

This is one of the many fun benches they had on the grounds. I had to take this picture because it has a butterfly and my friend Suzanne Tilton is the butterfly lady!  (She raises butterflies.)

This picture was taken on the way from
Kylemore Castle to the grounds.

Here is the beautiful, but somewhat anti-climatic gardens.
The really cool thing about them is that there were
cool shapes around where the plants were.

Another part of the garden at Kylemore. I wonder if I were here in spring instead of fall what it would look like.

Here is my new friend Korena I met on the tour reaching for the grapes. She's on a year-long trek around the world.
I would LOVE to do that!

I love the natural beauty that
was all around us!

This is my tour friend Kris
playing music for us!

This is a sign and a map of
Kylemore Abby and Gardens.

There are bogs all over Connemara. Our driver said that if you fall in, it's like a sponge and won't let you go, so your mates have to dig you out.  He said that he has been stuck in them 4 times.  They take your shoes and pants, so it's embarrassing  but at least you didn't die of hypothermia! 

There are people who speak Irish in these small towns. During the summer, some of these people house teens from 12 - 16 for a few weeks during the summer for an Irish immersion program.  In order for the locals to make their houses bigger they made the attic into a room and add skylights.

 

There is marble rock everywhere.
They can't move it because it's too heavy and too hard to move.
They try to build their roads so they can avoid this granite.
They also build their roads with the granite that is here.

Sheep are everywhere. They roam freely with everyone else's sheep and they are marked with colored paint to show who they belong to.  The land is all government land and sheep are welcome to roam where they please.  When the Shepard needs the sheep, they send the sheep dogs to go round them up. 

This is a beautiful country with water everywhere.

What should I do next?
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g186609-Activities-Galway_County_Galway.html