For a second day in a row, William greets us in the morning. Today however, he will be our driver-guide to explore Connemara National Park. He is very knowledgeable and also very witty. When we ask him if he can sing us a song, he answers…The only singer we had in our family was a singer sewing machine lol

Today, we see :

Bogs : basically wetlands that accumulate dead vegetation, harvested for fuel.

-Quaint villages like Oughterard

-A fjord, the only one in Ireland

-Kylemore Abbey, a mansion built in 1860 by Dr Mitchell Henry for his wife, it became home to Benedictine nuns in 1920.

-Its impressive gardens

-An aquafarm of mussel beds (the mussels take 2 years to get to maturity).

At William’s recommendation, we have lunch at Mitchell’s, a seafood restaurant in the town of Clifden. Needless to say, the food is excellent.

For dessert, Jeff goes into a bakery. Lucy says no. Jeff says YES!

The highlight of the day for Roger? We meet a dozen classic cars…Where are they off to? What are the odds?

The highlight for all of us? Tonight, we are staying in a 1200 century castle, The Ashford Castle. At one point, it was owned by the Guinness family. It is now owned by the Red Carnation Hotel Collection.

Is this heaven? For certain, once in a lifetime experience…