Friday, December 31, 2010

Galway

Kylemore Abeey

Spent the day driving around the Galway area - yes, I am driving on the other side of the road....it was one of those gray cold Ireland days....but the good news is no snow anywhere to be found.

Started north and went to Oughterard to see the Aughnanure Castle but it was closed for the winter. Jumped a fence and walked around the castle for a bit before heading out to find Kirk Castle. I saw an image of Kirk Castle in the hallway at the hotel last night - only thing the photo did not let on was that the castle sat in the middle of a loch - no way to get close and with the fog impossible to see.

Heading further north to Leenane at the top of Killary Harbor which was the setting for the film The Field.

Then it was off to Kylemore Abbey located in the pass of Kylemore where the image above was capture.The abbey was founded for Benedictine Nuns who fled Belgium during the war. Prior to that is had been a private home.

On the way back it was a stop in Clifden near the ocean but the light was about gone, and, being New Years Eve, needed to get back to the hotel in Galway before dark. Hard enough driving on the other side but add night driving and it becomes a bit like a 'D' ticket at Disneyland.

The image below is my new friend met a a red light on Grafton Street in Dublin. It was captured with my IP4 and the Hipstamatic Camera.
Grafton Street, Dublin, IP4 Hipstamatic Capture

Tomorrow it is off to the Cliffs of Mohler and points south ending up in Limerick...

1 comment:

  1. Happy new year Harry - it strikes me as I read your travelogue that you are roaming around my teenage stomping ground. Your appreciative impressions of the history and culture there are an interesting contrast to the irreverent and oblivious perspective of this former carousing teen!..... but in retrospect (and that goes back just TOO far these days :) the colour and taste and personality of Ireland seeped into the fabric of who I came to be, regardless.
    Thanks for sharing and bringing me back to my roots and these memories and insights.
    Best to you in the new year. Jan.

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