(L) I don't know when Debra finds time to write up the blog each day but all I can say is I'm so glad she does as it means I only have to put in a quick few paragraphs - lazy much??

 We were both extremely tired this morning although thankfully not hung over - thanks to the 3 large jugs of water we had polished off along with a bottle of wine (or maybe 2), some Amaretto, Benedictine, Drambuie, Guiness, Liqueur Coffee, Baileys... I think that was all!

We went up to breakfast at around 8.30 and were the first guests in the restaurant so managed to get a seat at the window so we could enjoy that gorgeous view all through breakfast. The buffet there is the best I've ever seen with things like dried and fresh fruits, nuts and yummy breads that you don't normally see on a buffet.... well not the kind we normally go to! They also, of course, have the cooked selection including things like smoked salmon and all other things exotic - we did take a few photos but not enough to show all the spread. 

We managed to get ourselves organised and checked out by 9.30 ish, lugging our bags up flights of stairs to reception; I guess we could have called reception for the porter but our Princess Tiaras had fallen off and we were back to doing it all for ourselves! Outside into a bracing morning to find the car completely covered with ice - it's been a long time since I've faced this particular problem so was completely clueless but we turned the demisters on and Deb managed to (eventually) get it all off. She did comment at one point that "surely someone should be doing this for the Princesses of the castle"!!

The drive from Ballynahinch to Kylemore Abbey only took us just over half an hour although we did have a few photo stops along the way. Kylemore Abbey entry was €13 each and was stunningly beautiful but as Deb said probably had more to do with the still water and reflections. We took the shuttle bus up to the Walled Garden, which was pretty but would but even more so in full bloom, and then walked back to the entrance which took about 20 minutes. 

When we arrived in Westport we found our accommodation "Westport View Apartments" without any problems, I had google street viewed it so knew exactly where to go. It is located right in town and cost us €300 for 4 nights + electricity. There was no answer when we rang the doorbell and for some reason I hadn't organised the getting the key routine. We tried to ring Mary but our sims won't let us ring out, only text and thank goodness we have data! We ended up having to go off and find a public phone and in no time Jerry arrived to let us in and show us how everything worked. 

Can't wait to go exploring tomorrow but for now I'm finding it hard to keep my eyes open!

(D) Thank goodness today was a travel day with not too many side excursions as our night of being princesses kind of wore us out! We basically woke up (after WAY too little sleep – we don’t recover from late nights the way we used to these days for sure!), packed up, had breakfast and then fare-welled our castle forever as we headed up the coast to Westport.

One of our two planned stops was to be Kylemore Abbey and my goodness it was spectacular! We were lucky to hit it on just the right kind of day at just the right time we think….. there was barely anyone there when we first arrived and though a coach with a French tour group came not too long afterwards we managed to avoid them mainly, so our photos are tourist free!

In terms of just the right kind of day, it was completely and utterly still on the lake/lough so the reflections really had to be seen, to be believed. I don’t think the photos even begin to do justice to the jaw dropping beauty of the place. You couldn’t tell that a reflection wasn’t real – it just looked like a valley going down, instead of the mountain going up. With the autumn colours in the bushes and the shapes and colours of the grass, trees and mountains etc mirrored in the flat shiny water it was an awesome sight. 

I remarked to Liane that it was so beautiful that it was actually quiet painful – it was like having a brain overload. We kept shaking our heads at each other and gasping “no, really more!” at each corner we turned and angle we spotted. Both of us KEPT going back to the lake and taking reflection shots over and over and over again….. even though we’d already taken them countless times already. It was magnificent!

A quick takeaway hot chocolate picked up from the café there on site and we got back in the car to head for our next planned stop, Doolough Pass. This a particular scenic drive and a beautiful spot at which there is a monument on the side of the road commemorating a tragic event that happened during the Great Irish Famine in 1849, when a number of poor and destitute people died trying to get to where they had to register to continue to receive “outdoor relief”. They had apparently actually gathered where they were supposed to be but then were told the location had changed, to one some 19kms away, and only had limited time, in poor weather, already in dire straits and with no transport of course to get themselves there. People died on route – such a sad tale and it sounds like a bureaucratic bungle that had devastating effect on people who were already desperate.

That sobering reminder of how lucky we are to have been born in easier times experienced, we travelled on to Louisberg. We stopped there for lunch and then made our way to Westport. This looks like a bustling town and I think we’re going to thoroughly enjoy our time here though on arrival we were both too tired to revel anymore….. still as Scarlett O’Hara would say “tomorrow is another day!”