IRELAND PART IV: GALWAY CITY and CONNEMARA & CONG TOUR

Day 5: Monday April 26, 2010

Monday was the last full day my friends were in Ireland, I had four more days left. They wanted to see some of Galway City and do some shopping for family and friends. We met up at about 10:00am and began walking towards the bay. It was cloudy and just a little bit chilly Monday morning but it looked as though the sun was trying to peek out of the clouds. The tide was out as well. It is really interesting to see the tide out because boats are touching the harbor bed and rocks and stones are exposed. That being said the beach was now about 100yrds wider. Of course this beach isn't a sandy beach, although there is sand. It's just a stony beach with lots of sea weed and oysters that grow and live along the shore.

We walked along the shore for a while taking it all in. Though, I thought that these weren't "perfect" conditions it was still very impressive to see, especially since the five of us had been living in a city for the past two and half months. There is also a light house that isn't too far from the city. It sits on a little island about a kilometer away from shore and one has to take the causeway to get out to it. We walked out towards the light house only to discover that it was a private facility and the public wasn't allowed in.

A little disappointed, we walked back to the shore. The sun was acting like it wanted to come out, but couldn't exactly make up its mind. Walking through a more residential area we found our way back into the city. Galway City isn't a city like you or I would think of a city, with big apartment buildings, tall sky scrapers, and tons of people and cars. Its population is only 70,000 and the tallest building might be six stories. However, it is the largest population centers of Galway Co. and for a while in the 1990s and early 2000s, it was the fastest growing city in Europe.

Before too long we found ourselves at the Cathedral which was built in the 1960s. It's a very nice cathedral as far as cathedrals go. Of course it's no Notre Dame; it wasn't intended to be; it just Irish. The Cathedral sits on an island in the middle of a river that flows through the town. However one fork of the river I think used to be a canal because there are locks just downstream from the Cathedral. We went inside only to discover they were having Monday Mass. Feeling a little awkward we then promptly left and went outside to sit in the sun which had just recently showed itself.



Lunch was a find along the way type of lunch. But once we all had what we wanted, we went and ate our lunch in the square which is more of a village green. It's very nice for a lot of people go and eat there or just hang out. Since the sun was out a couple of people had their dogs running back and forth.

After lunch we wandered here and there. Mostly through the shops that were conveniently placed in our way between the square and the beach. On the way we got some coffee and Irish soda bread. When we got to the beach the sun was completely out lighting up the whole world. It was absolutely amazing to see. The tide was mostly and in and continuing to rise making for some very pretty pictures. The clouds were few and so the harbor had taken on a bluish tint. More people had come out; some walking their dogs, others feeding the numerous swans. Everyone seemed eager to enjoy our wonderful weather.

The beach wasn't very wide with the tide coming in but we walked out onto some rocks where the soda bread was divided up. We all had some; eating along the shore line watching these great big clouds roll in over the other side of the bay. As far as I'm concerned, these were perfect conditions for taking pictures, which we all took advantage of. We spent maybe 20 or 30 minutes on the rocks before the tide forced us off. We were just chilling along the beach wall when out of nowhere a big black Labrador showed up without any collar or owner. He was very tame and only wanted to play. He had a torn up tennis ball with him. We took turns throwing it into the water for him to fetch. Of course, it had to be me who threw the ball into the water farther than the dog could fetch. Feeling horrible I waded into the rising tide to search. However, the cold water and rising tide drove me back empty handed. This minor set didn't stop our new found friend; he found a bottle filled with stones. I added some to give it some more weight. Using this new toy, he was entertained for a couple hours. He played me out and I had to retire to the beach wall. However, the girls were happy to take over for me. This is how we spent our afternoon, just lounging on the beach playing with a dog.

For dinner we found a bar that served some good traditional Irish food. After dinner we headed out to the harbor to join everyone else who wanted to enjoy the beautiful sun set. When it got to chilly to stay out went back into town where we went to a bar that was playing some traditional Irish music. It was packed! The Irish sure do love their music. They were all having a great time. We after a couple drinks some of the group headed back to their hostel. I and one of my friends wanted to stay out some more so we went to another bar that was playing music as well. We got some really good seats. The music was more contemporary but just as good and just as fun. We just chilled for awhile. Finally calling it quits about mid-night.

It was a very nice day. We all had a good time I think. It was a low key day that I think everyone needed and enjoyed.

Day 6: Tuesday April 27, 2010

If Monday was the beautiful day of the trip then Tuesday was the exact opposite. However, at the same time, I got to experience some traditional Irish weather. This meant that it basically rained all day. Not that that was too much of a problem for me. I can enjoy rainy days just as long as it rains all day and doesn't rain off and on with random sun; in other words Paris weather. I can't stand that kind of weather. Anyway today was my last full day in Galway so I decided to take another bus tour out to the Connemara part of Galway Co. this time. The Connemara is to the north of Galway city and is more of a barren landscape with very few trees, yet very pretty. The tour left at the same time as the Sunday tour so I quickly made my way to the bus station where I ran into my friends who were all waiting to grab their bus to the airport.

The Connemara & Cong tour was a lot smaller than the Sunday tour. There were only twelve of us and we didn't even fill the bus given to us. No matter though, I think we all appreciated the extra room. There was an Italian couple, some French people, some Irish, and four Americans including myself. Our bus driver was born and raised Irish. Like the other bus driver this one gave us all sorts of interesting information as he drove us around the countryside.

Our first stop of the day was Ross Errily Abbey and like the abbey on Sunday's tour this one had seen much better days. However this abbey was also bigger and more intricate in its design. We had maybe 20 minutes to look around and see everything which was nearly impossible. I could have spent another 15 minutes there easily.

Our next stop was the village of Cong. Now Cong is the primary village that director John Ford used in his movie "The Quiet Man" which happens to be one of my favorite movies. The town isn't very big at all with one primary street that runs through the middle. The movie itself though wasn't shot entirely in Cong. Ford used Cong's Ashford Castle and some other locations around the Connemara country side for location shooting. There is a replica bar on the corner of one of the streets and right beside the bar is a bed and breakfast called White O'Morne; the name of the farm of John Wayne's family. The church in Cong along a bridge and another house were also used in production. The rest of the scenes were filmed all over Galway Co. Our bus driver took us on foot on a quick walking tour of the town pointing out all the film locations.

On the way to our principle stop of the day, Kylemore Abbey, we stopped for a quick photo opportunity at Killary Harbor. Our bus driver told us that during WWII Winston Churchill had wanted the harbor for the British Navy because of its great location and deep waters. However, Ireland said "no" and Churchill said "oh well, too bad." But before Churchill could do anything President Roosevelt called him up and told Churchill that he better not force the situation because all the Irish in the US would've been very unhappy. So Churchill not wanting to upset the U.S. who wasn't officially in the war yet didn't decided not to push the situation after all leaving Ireland officially "neutral". That didn't keep some 200,000 plus Irishmen serving in the British Army though.

We arrived at Kylemore Abbey at 1:30PM and we were given two hours again to do everything! We all had to eat which at first proved problematic for there was several buses of old people there and it was very expensive. I managed to quickly eat and then headed for the castle. Kylemore Abbey was originally a castle which has since been turned into the Monastic home of the Benedictine Nuns. The castle is one of the oldest Benedictine Abbeys in Ireland with the nun living there since 1920. They also run an international school and a day school for girls in the Abbey.

Kylemore was built by Mitchell and his wife Margaret Henry between the years of 1867-1871. Henry got all of this money from his father who he inherited it from. His father got it all from his cotton business. The estate includes the Castle, a neo-gothic church, a Victorian walled garden, and a mausoleum encompassing 13,000 acres. The Henry enjoyed a very nice life there with nine children. However, in 1874 Margaret passed away very unexpectedly. Mitchell was a very good landlord and family man and with this reputation he got won himself a seat on the House of Commons.

Then in 1903 he sold the estate to the Duke and Duchess of Manchester who lived very lavishly financed, this time, by the Duchess' rich father, Eugene Zimmerman. However, when Zimmerman died, Kylemore was taken charge of by Ernest Fawke, the London Banker. He installed a caretaker and a land agent. Then in 1920, the nuns bought the estate including some 10,000 acres for 45,000 pounds. This land was then bought by the Land Commission and divided up to the tenants. The Castle was then converted into an Abbey.

The Victorian Walled Gardens, though it was raining, were some of the most beautiful gardens I've seen. It's a mile from the Castle and encompasses an area of 8.5 acres with six of those acres enclosed by a wall. The garden was built along with the Castle by head gardener James Garnier with the glass houses designed by Cranstons of Birmingham. These gave the women someplace to garden on cold and rainy days. While the Henry family lived at Kylemore the garden provided all of their fruits and vegetables. However the garden went into decline under the Manchesters. It had a quick spurt of success with the nuns until money ran out and the garden was overtaken by weeds and grass. Finally, in 2000, the garden was restored with some parts still under restoration. Today though, Kylemore Abbey enjoys the distinction of being on the top 10 list of tourist stops in Ireland.

With the Abbey behind us we rode back towards Galway City. On the way, our bus driver stopped, and insisted we check out some "Irish Humor". This entire statue was just some pieces of Connemara Marble that had been carved into a figure. The sign read that said here on this spot in such and such a year, nothing happened. It was put together by the craft shop across the street to create some business since all of the tourists pass the area by on their way back to Galway. I was amused as were many of the others.

Our last stop was "The Quiet Man Bridge." This bridge can be seen in the opening of the movie when John Wayne's character is being driven to the town of Innisfree. It's a very nice stone bridge that sits just over a small little stream.



Thus with the arrival back in Galway; ended my last full day in Galway. Though it rained the entire day, very much like today in Paris, I thoroughly enjoyed the tour and my stay in Galway City and Galway Co.



More pictures in order of the tour: