Between the small coastal town of Belmullet and the much larger city of Galway, the scenery includes lots of treeless mountains, lots and lots of purple rhododendron, water in lakes (spelled lough and pronounced loch) and even a fjord of the Atlantic Ocean. And sheep. Sheep on the hillsides, sheep behind fences, and sheep on the roadside. Most have had red or blue paint swabbed on their sides and we don’t know why, but they all are placidly grazing away and even the free range ones don’t seem to wander onto the road. 

One other thing to see enroute is Kylemore Abbey, formerly known as Kylemore Castle. Built in 1868 by a wealthy British doctor whose family was in textile manufacturing. In 1920 it hbecame home to Irish Benedictine nuns who had lost their abbey in Ypres, France during WWI. The Abbey, grounds full of strange and beautiful trees and flowers, a Gothic church, a fairy garden, and a walled Victorian garden are open and made a terrific afternoon stop. 

Nothing particularly funny, weird, or exciting happened today, but it is definitely nice to be finally getting over jet lag and sleep deprivation.