There is something so beautiful about Kylemore Abbey! When Ryan and I first saw it 16 years ago, I was awed by the pastoral setting, the gorgeous architecture, and the glassy lake reflecting the whole thing perfectly. I knew I wanted to come back someday and show this beauty to my daughters.

Today, Kylemore does not simply rise from the woodlands as a vision across the lake, it is preceded by a restaurant, shop, cafe, and craft store. Plus the ticket booth. So, it was not quite the pristine beauty I had remembered.

But the restaurant does serve some seriously good dishes for travelers who have narrowly survived single track roads that curve and bump their way through the back roads of the Connemara region. So, we appreciated the quiches & scones (pronounced “skahns”). And we especially appreciated the toilets after the long road trip morning.

And I appreciated the awe in my daughter’s voices as they got a clear view of Kylemore Abbey across the lake. They thought it looked like a castle. Hope would consider attending the girls boarding school there if it meant living in said “castle.” (No deal. No boarding school for my girls. They will grow and leave me soon enough, but not before college.)

Until then, we will wonder and delight together in Irish backroad road tripping, listening to Harry Potter (book 1), and the joy of beautiful buildings set in lovely places.