Previous Day | Next Day

Day 1 Itinerary

View Larger Map

1. Arrive in Shannon
2. Cliffs of Moher
3. Explore the Gaeltacht
4. Kylemore Abbey
5. Westport

Day 1 Impressions

Arriving in Shannon - Reagan

We left Logan at 7pm and arrived in Shannon at 6am the next day, and by the time we'd collected our luggage and met the driver it was 7:30. The sun had been up for over an hour by that point, and it seemed like mid morning, but literally nothing was open yet. Our first stop was the Cliffs of Moher, and at 8:30 we were the only tourists there - even O'Brien's keep, a tower on the cliffs, wasn't open. The cliffs, though, are always open, and a little fog meant we could just make out Inismore, the largest of the Aran islands. The rest of the day was a drive through Connemara, with a stop by Galway Bay to marvel at locals going into the 45 degree water. By the time we reached Roundstone, where we were staying for the night, we'd been up for more than 30 hours and were just about the sorriest group you'd ever seen. A shower and bed was the only prescription for it, and so we ended our first day in Ireland.

Kylemore Abbey - Mike

It was late in the day when we finally arrived at Kylemore Abbey. The abbey sits on the side of a lake in Connemara. Today it houses a Benedictine Girls' School. It was originally built as a mansion and later given to the Benedictines.

The grounds are absolutely beautiful. I have visited there three times. The inside tour is not all that much, but the scenery and the majesty are worth the stop.

There is also a nice gift shop there. One thing about traveling in Ireland is that you are never far from gift shops!

St. Brigid's Well - Shayla

We made a quick stop here after the bus driver suggested it. We went into the little shelter to see what other visitors have left behind. Most of the things left behind were prayer cards for the deceased. The bus driver then suggested that we light some candles for Pappy. Some of the kids lit a candle and put it on a rack. Uncle Mike then said a short prayer for us. Then it was back to the bus to continue our journey. This was a very special stop because we got to take into consideration the reason we were all there. We were there to do something Pap would have wanted us to do

Kylemore Abbey - Shayla

The scenery around the abbey was beautiful. The abbey its self was amazing, although we only saw the outside. It reminded me of Hogwarts from Harry Potter. If you looked up on the hillside behind the abbey pretty far up there was a statue of Jesus. The statue, although not very visible was beautiful. This was a really cool stop for us.

Day 1 Photos

Day 1 Videos

© 2008