roundabouts and tires

I had a very busy day today. I drove west along the coast and then went north through the connemera area. It is such a different landscape than the states. The hills are covered with grasses speckled with sheep and stone walls. Very pretty. I stopped in Ashford Castle which has been turned into a very impressive 5 star hotel situated on 345 acres right on Loch Corrib. They have some pretty nice gardens too. This may sound like and ad but it isnt...it was €5 to get in which wasnt really worth it...oh well. I continued on my loop and stopped at ross abbey. It was a very creepy place out in the middle of some cattle pastures. I drove down this one car road...fortunately i did not run into anyone coming the other direction. I was the only person at this old abbey. It was built in the 1300s and I guess the ruins are some of the oldest in Ireland. I went inside and poked around for just a second. The cows were giving me the evil eye so i didnt stay long.

I heade back towards Galway and decided to get to one more touristy spot. On the way I hit a rock...really bad and blew my tire. I was able to get to a good pull off place. I knocked on 2 doors but no one was home so I couldnt call roadside assistance. I had to chage the tire. The spare is a full size so I can drive on it for a while. It sucks though because i have to pay for a new tire. It isnt covered in my super coverage insuranse package. The next adventure will be to try to find a fix it place. I Will worry about that tomorrow...for now i am going to get a pint.