Kylemore Abbey

...is nestled among the mountains of Connemara. It overlooks a lake, and above it there is a statue of Jesus high on the mountain. Nearby is a gothic-style chapel with beautiful columns of green, red, and blue marble. Further down the path is a mausaleum, and even further down the path is a gate and barbed wire fence. Kristen opted to climb up the hill a bit and go around the fence, then I decided up and over was easist for me. We walked along the road, but needed to get back to abbey. If we continued to follow the road it would've taken us along the wrong side of the lake (probably a 1/2 mile walk). So instead we took the short but tough path along the soggy, marshy lakefront that the abbey sat on. Eventually the clear ground disappeared so we ploughed our way through the underbrush of vines and dead rhododendrons until we arrived back at the gothic chapel. Muddy and worn out, we drove on to the high-class, five-star hotel, Ashford Castle. Great.