Kylemore Abbey and Victorian Walled Garden

Kylemore Abbey

Kylemore Abbey

Neo-Gothic Church from afar

Neo-Gothic Church

The Scenery Surrounding Kylemore Abbey

The Scenery Surrounding Kylemore Abbey

A Photo for my Gram!

Victorian Walled Garden

Victorian Walled Garden

Victorian Walled Garden

Kylemore Abbey from afar

Connemara, Co. Galway

Galway Bay

Amanda in
Galway Bay

Connemara Landscape

Irish Cottage

Connemara Landscape

Screeb Waterfall

Killary Fjord

Killary Fjord

Amanda in front of Killary Fjord

Connemara Landscape

Connemara Landscape

First Week of Semester Two and Traveling

Hi Everyone!

Boy have I been busy! I finished my first week of classes and I am still alive. This semester I am taking Strategic Finance, Empirical Finance, and Corporate Finance. All three classes involve a lot of reading and each class is 50% individual work and 50% final. Needless to say I will be very busy this semester trying to keep up with the work load.

For those of you wondering, yes, I am getting out more this semester. Now that I know how the college system works in Ireland I am trying not stress as much as I did last semester. This past weekend I even went sightseeing to the west of Ireland in Connemara. For all the geologist out there (Hi Dad!) this is definitely a place to see. For all of the photographers out there this is a sight not to miss. Everyone who knows me really well knows how I LOVE to take pictures. This past Saturday I took over 197 pictures... on a five hour tour. My theory is that you can never have enough pictures to capture a moment of beauty. I would rather have way too many pictures with a few duds thrown in then not enough pictures of what I see in Ireland and anywhere else I might travel.

The tour I went on took me to the Galway Bay area and then to Connemara. The highlight of the tour was Kylemore Abbey and the Victorian Walled Gardens. For many many years I have always wanted to visit Kylemore Abbey and the gardens. I have always been teased with pictures and I was finally able to see it in person this weekend. Words cannot describe the beauty surrounding the abbey and gardens. For me, seeing the castle/abbey was like going back in time and the gardens reminded me of the book The Secret Garden. My only regret was that I did not have enough time to really explore the land surrounding the abbey. I will be back though. Since it is January, the flowers were not all in bloom, but when Spring comes I can guarantee everything will look completely different and I will have to take even more pictures.

Since I have so many pictures to show you I have decided to put them in separate blogs. Hope you enjoy them!

Love Always,
Amanda

P.S. Click on the links below for more information about Connemara and Kylemore Abbey.

http://www.kylemoreabbey.com/

http://www.connemara.ie/en/

Bog of the Frogs Loop Hike

Hi Everyone!

I have made it back to Dublin, Ireland safely and I am now preparing myself for another semester of study.  I arrived back Saturday morning and then spent the day sleeping and going grocery shopping. Sunday, I must say, was another story.  My friend Victoria and I like to explore the farmer's markets around the Dublin area on Sunday mornings.   This past Sunday we decided to take the DART (train) to Howth, a small fishing village north of Dublin, and explore their market.  Once in Howth we realized there was much more to see then just the markets.  We ventured to Howth Harbour were we saw seals and then found the tourist center where we learned there were trails along the cliffs of the village.  Thank goodness we had our running gear on.  Originally we had planned on running along the harbour, but when we learned there were hikes we could take, our plans changed.  Being the explorers we are though, we did not choose just any hike.  Oh no!  We chose the longest and hardest hike and we had a blast.  The hike we took was named Bog of the Frogs Loop and it took us up mountains, over cliffs, and through bogs.  It was a 10km or 6.2 mile hike that lasted roughly 3 hours.  Since we were still getting over our jet lag we did not even arrive in Howth until after 12pm.  This put us starting the hike around 2:30pm.  By the time the hike was finished it was pitch black outside and we were using the moon to help us find our way, along with the purple arrows pointing in the direction we should walk.  Victoria and I have decided that the next time we decide to go for a hike we will have a survival pack with us which includes a flashlight and snacks.  All in all we had a great afternoon and were able to take some great photos along the way.

Love Always,
Amanda

Seals!

Howth Harbour

W.B. Yeats's House

Haha!  I love this one!

Amanda and Victoria