european sojourn...ireland

the first stop we made along our european journey was ireland. we went to clifden, county galway, on the west coast. it was gorgeous. it rained most of our trip...but due to the rain, the flowers were in full bloom. we stayed in ireland for a week touring the countryside and visiting with patty's family.

hydrangeas were everywhere...one of my favorites.

patty feeling naval on the coast...

connemara, the region where clifden is located is known for their ponies. they were everywhere...

this is the old coast guard station, patty's cousin has refurbished it and it is a self-catering accommodation now. we're staying here next time...look at the views!!

the clifden castle...ruins now, but patty's ancestors were tenants so her cousins own some of the land around it...

more ponies near the castle...

patty's cousin's house...where we stayed...

the road to patty's cousin's house...i would walk it to the bay, sometimes running into girls and their horses...but never any cars...

a rainy day...we drove through the country with patty's cousin...this area was called dog's bay.

lovely houses in dog's bay...

patty's cousin has a boat like this one...it's so beautiful...the weather was too rough to go out on the water...i was really disappointed!

dog friends where ever we go...

views from my walk on the sunny days...this is along the sky road, the main road in clifden...breathtaking views...

view of the castle and sheep tenants now from the sky road.

view of the castle from our walk...

the fuschia were everywhere growing wild!

next stop: dumfries, scotland...