Ireland


      Kylemore Abbey
Above: My Mom and Dad stand in front of Kylemore Abbey.  This 19th-century neo-gothic
mansion was built for a wealthy English businessman after he spent his honeymoon in
Connemara and fell in love with the region.
Above: My sister, Mackenzie, and I strike a pose in front of the abbey. During WWI, a group of Benedictine
nuns left Ypres in Belgium and eventually set up in Kylemore, turning the former mansion into an abbey.  
Today, the nuns run an exclusive convent boarding school here.
Above: Kylemore Abbey has its own chapel on the grounds, as well as a mausoleum where the original
owners rest in peace.
Above: Kylemore Abbey is beautiful, but its setting overlooking Kylemore Lake is even more
impressive. Can you imagine going to boarding school here!?
Above: Kylemore Abbey is located on the western coast of Ireland in the region known as Connemara.  
This area of Ireland is a vivid patchwork of rusty bogs, lonely valleys, pale grey mountains and lakes.