April 11--Day tripping from Oughterard

After breakfast of eggs, local bacon and pudding, we set out for Kylemore Abbey.  As we were loading the car, Amelia popped out and we had a short chat. She wanted to be sure we were comfortable and that everything worked. When she learned of our plans for the day, she urged us to add a stop in Delphi.

John drove our sturdy Nissan about an hour northwest, directly to the Abbey. On route, we drove through the Lough Inagh valley, which, to me, was the most beautiful site in Ireland.

We arrived at the Abbey in time to join a "history talk" led by a young woman who reported on the building of the manor house.  A young couple, the Henrys, came to the area in 1867, on their honeymoon, and returned nine years later to purchase 15,000 acres of land on which they constructed the manor house. After birthing nine children, while she was in her mid-40's, on vacation in Egypt, she died. Her distraught husband had her body returned to the estate where he built a perfect miniature of a Gothic Chapel in her memory and a nearby mausoleum where she, and later he, were buried.

The house changed hands a number of times over the years. Currently, it is owned by the Benedictine order of nuns who, for decades, ran a girl's boarding school on the property. The Benedictines also restored the Abbey's walled gardens, which are the largest in Ireland. Before departing the Abbey, we lit candles for our Moms.

On our return, we drove to Delphi and out to a famous fishing location, the Delphi Lodge. There we discovered that lunch was not available, so we drove onto Leenane, where we had a delightful meal at the Blackberry Restaurant. John's lunch was mussels, farmed from the nearby lough. Mine was calamari from France.

We returned to Jasmine Cottage where John prepared a lovely dinner of lamb chops. John toasted "the Blackberry Restaurant" of Leenane and I toasted "the chef of our evening meal--meaning John." After our meal, we worked on gathering our things and getting ready to load the car in the morning.

Before bed, we watched an old Star Trek episode.