Galway.. Breathtaking

Two weekends ago,  a few friends and I went to Galway City.  It was about hour and half bus ride for 15 euros.  As we arrived in the city, already we knew that even though we were still in Ireland, this place was very different then Limerick and Dublin.  We walked through the city centre with our bags and maps, searching for our hostel.  We walked for about 10 mins before we saw this cute, little place down the hill.  Once we were settled, we went into town for dinner and ate at this cute restaurant in the city square.  Afterwards, we went to King's Head, a local pub.  At ten, a live band started playing.  They played some great oldies and we all had a total blast, of course being the Americans hogging the dance floor.

 The next morning, we hopped on a bus for a day tour around Galway.  The sights we saw were magnificant; everything I imagined Ireland would be.  At one of our stops, we could see off of the coast and the many islands the lay before us, beautiful and magical, absolutely breathtaking.  As we continued to travel higher and higher on a winding road up a hill, the fields of all shades of green spread in front of us, speckled with tiny white dots; grazing sheep, roaming higher up the hills in search of food.  Once we came to another stop, what lay before us was magnificent.  It was called 'Lough NaFooey'- Connemara's hidden valley that exposed a beautiful moutain, lake and valley scenery that could not completely be explained in a captured snap-shot, but the experience was so real and so incredible.  After the bus driver had to drag all of us out of that gorgeous sight, we headed onto Kylemore Abbey; Ireland's most romantic building, both Abbey and Castle, built in the late 19th century.  'The story behind this building started with Mitchell Henry, a doctor, Politcian and Pioneer, and his wife Margaret Henry.  They vistied Connemara while on honeymoon in 1850. Margaret fell in love with Connemara and as a gift for her, Mitchell bought the 15,000 acre estate and created one of Ireland's most iconic castles.  After having nine children and living a wonderful life, Margaret fell ill with the Nile Fever while visiting Egypt and died within 16 days, she was 45.  Mitchell had her body lay to rest in a mausoleum on the Kylemore grounds.  In 1920, the castle was bought by the Nuns of the Order of St. Benedict.'  The history and memories still surround the castle and strengthened its beauty from within.  Galway is a city that holds so many memories and also so much of Ireland's beauty.  Visitng here, has painted an even more beautiful picture of Ireland in my mind that I will never be able to forget.
Once we returned back to our hostel, it was an early night to bed, exhausted by all of the breathtaking moments in Galway city.