Written by … also known as incredible castles and a private boat ride, plus a fun stop in a small town!
As we left Galway this morning we learned all the locals are very busy getting prepared for the upcoming (horse) race week. Sounds like the streets are flooded with thousands of people (including many celebrities that come in to participate) and they even put barricades down the middle of the walkways to help with directing traffic each way. As much as I’m sure it fuels the local economy, the locals all seem quite aggravated by the chaos it causes. I also forgot to mention that we passed the original jewelry shop that the Claddah ring was made at last night (this was the picture of the Claddah hanging in the street from yesterday’s photos), but here’s a photo of the official store sign. Before heading out of town, we had to make a quick visit to Saint Nicholas church… My pseudo namesake (I was originally due on Saint Nicholas day, so my middle name is Nicole). Just as we hopped back in the car, we had some more sideways rain; but, it soon passed on our drive further north to Kylemore Abbey.
The beautiful mountains around us made for great views along the ride, but as we pulled into park we were even more impressed by the the abbey itself tucked into the hillside. It reminded me of something you’d expect to see in the Sound of Music. Although some renovation work is still being completed, the scaffolding was minimal and still provide quite the experience. It’s a Benedictine monastery founded in 1920 founded for Benedictine Nuns who fled Belgium in World War I. However, read the history of this place…it’s actually an incredible “love story” as the wife of the owner fell in love with the area during their honeymoon. Naturally, they purchased 15,000 acres and build a fabulous castle ☺️. I can’t imagine having the opportunity to entertain here (owners were known for constructing the entire place with entertaining in mind). It’s said that a king even came to consider purchasing this home …but, expressed it was too ornate and elaborate for even a king and more importantly too costly (estimated €40,000 to maintain annually). We strolled to the private Gothic chapel that was built as a memorial to Mitchell’s wife, Margaret). From here we walked the one mile to the gardens on the 15,000 acre property. They were pretty, and well kept. Before we hit the road we decide to grab a bite to eat in the Tea House overlooking the hillside. I had outstanding potato leek soup and we shared a chicken wrap, so Bryan could also save room for a mixed berry crumble including rhubarb, strawberry, and raspberry topped with custard! As we made our way for the car, rain popped back out for a short while, and we made our way to Ashford Castle.
(After all the sheep we’ve seen these little chocolates just cracked me up)
(This scene used to terrify us, but driving has gotten easier each day)
We loved the humble entrance down a secluded local drive as we approached Ashford Castle. It seemed as though we were pulling into a friend’s private drive with no signage. We were simply met by a very friendly man in a green top coat. He provided us directions to the boathouse, so we proceeded and enjoyed the views entering the castle grounds. This property was previously owned by the Guinness Family before becoming a luxury hotel. As we walked over to the dock, we were greeted by a bagpiper (yay, now we’ve seen a rainbow AND a bagpiper…just a couple things you expect to see in Ireland ☺️) and several guests boarding a larger boat for touring. We were told to wait right there, and at 4 PM sharp our private boat arrived. Frank (our Ghillie) was so very sweet, and the views on Lake Corrib (the second largest lake in Ireland at 69 square miles) were fantastic even with a light mist that started and ended within the first 5 minutes of our ride. The ripples across the water would normally not sit well with me, but we kept moving and the fresh air plus the view made it impossible to let any form of motion sickness impede. Frank educated us on the property, pointed out a new boat house recently constructed that has a private room with butler rented for approximately €3600 a night, and some other memorable sites surrounding what was formally the property (~28,000 acres) owned by the Guinness family. We were also fascinated to learn about the canal that the Guinness family attempted to build to connect them to other channels. It was intended to be a lock system, but due to some naturally occurring caves and poor stone, it could never fill properly. Overall, a phenomenal experience and would love the opportunity to return back to the Ashford Castle!
This evening we made our way back to Dublin to round out our trip. Hard to believe how fast our time here has passed. We made a dinner stop in a small town called Athlone and had a blast before getting back on the road to Dublin (didn’t expect this from this candid stop)! A pub called “Sean’s Bar” had a ton of glowing reviews, so we decided to stop in…but, learned they didn’t serve food. However, we were quickly educated on the history of this venue. Apparently, Sean’s Bar is the oldest pub in Ireland. It was a crossing point for the ancient Ford. King Trulough O’Connor built the first wooden castle there at this location in 1129. This bar has detailed record from the original innkeeper from 900AD! The Guinness Book of World Records has deemed it the “oldest pub in Ireland” and research to find the oldest pub in the world is still ongoing, but nothing has found to be older than it yet. After learning all this, we decided we had to grab a pint here before we moved on to find a dinner spot. As we did so, we ended up meeting some great locals that were fun to chat with, and before we knew it we spent almost two hours learning about each other’s cultures, politics, and recommended sights to see in each other’s hometowns (I think Cleveland might suddenly have an influx of Irish visitors 😉). We even shared a bag of Tayto’s (cheese and onion potato chips, which Bryan even seemed to like). In the midst of our discussion, we learned one of the contacts has family in Cleveland, and turns out his cousin’s fiancé happens to be the owner of Market Garden Brewery/McNulty’s…amazing what a small world it is! As we asked for a local dinner recommendation, we also learned that our new friend and his wife own a Thai restaurant in this little town (his wife is actually from Bangcok). We decided to give it ago since we’ve had a lot of traditional Irish food and a change of pace sounded like a good alternative. Wow!!… We enjoyed some of the best Thai food (including a “clear beef broth”/Lao curry with a serious kick and excellent pad Thai) ever had. So glad we had this experience and met more kind Irishmen! Although it ended up being a later night than planned, it worked out well for us to simply make the hour and twenty minute drive back to Dublin and call it a night…Time to wind down for tomorrow’s busy day throughout Dublin before we depart on Saturday!
Scenic Seitz 
