(Blog 6)
Tigh Giblin: This week my room mate and I decided to walk to Spiddal and have a girls date! There are only three main places to eat that are open right now. Supermacs, which is comparable to McDonalds, a small cafe that is only open until four, and a nicer sit down restaurant called Tigh Giblin. A few others have gone here before but this was our first experience. The prices aren't too bad but they are a little higher because the restaurant is a little classier. The sea food in Ireland is very fresh and I don't think I've eaten a meal here yet that hasn't been almost too hot to eat. It's wonderful. Tigh Giblin has a wonderful staff and the food was fantastic. We were told that they have specials which change every day and the deserts are different every day. We happened to go when the special desert was a White Chocolate Tartlet. I would absolutely recommend them as a staple place to try. After all it is our "hometown" restaurant!.
Connemara National Park: Over the weekend we took a group field trip to Westport. On the way we stopped at several landmarks. The National Park was extremely fun and also very challenging. There are three hiking trails that you can hike. They all vary in difficulty. We started off as a fairly large group. At the first stop a few people split off and headed back to the lodge. The same was the case as we hit the second rest stop. Although the weather was unfavorable, 5 of us decided to take our chances and brave the hardest train: Diamond Hill. The mist and rain had already been a challenge but the higher we climbed we realized that the wind was absolutely crazy. At several points we were nearly blown off the side until finally we had to turn back. I've never been in a place that is so windy you can literally sit on the wind! Although we were soaked and extremely windblown, I'm so happy we attempted to climb to the top! If you go, be brave! Give it a shot. It was definitely worth the effort, the only downfall was that because of the mist the view was a bit "cloudy."
Kylemore Abbey: Hands down, this was one of the coolest places I've had the pleasure of getting lost wandering through. The rich history and beautiful landscape never left your eyes bored. We walked through the small castle. There were 33 Bedrooms! Although we didn't get to go through each one. There was also a small church that the nuns who took over the Abbey built and still continue to worship at. As if that weren't enough to keep you engulfed we took a short tram ride down the road to see the gardens. In honor of his late wife, the man who built Kylemore Abbey planted a massive walled garden. I could have spent hours walking the paths of this place alone. If ever I find myself in Ireland I will definitely visit here again. I feel that the time we spent here was very rushed and not adequate so if you go take your time!
Ceidie Fields/Knock Shrine: The last two stops on our way back home were the Ceidie Fields and then the Knock Shrine. It was interesting to learn that the rock walls that cover the landscape have been around for over 5,000 years. They are in the process of searching for the ones that have been buried over the centuries but even primitive peoples had a tie to the land which I've noticed is very important here. We also stopped at the knock shrine which is an extremely popular pilgrimage sight. Seeing so many people that had traveled long distances just to see this site was a unique experience.