Travel Diary - Ireland

travellifestyle

Apr 15

We took a family trip to Ireland for spring break this year and fell in love with both the country and the people. The end of March turned out to be a wonderful time to visit, minimal tourists and signs of spring coming to life everywhere you looked. Wild flowers and daffodils dotting the landscape while sheep and their baby lambs grazed in the fields, crackling fireplaces in every hotel and cozy pub, rosy cheeked walks followed by warm cider. We hiked, biked, boated and relaxed. We appreciated and attempted to capture the stunning scenery, the rolling countryside and ancient stone walls, we enjoyed delicious meals, dunking buttery brown bread into warm bowls of potato soup, drinking a pint with some fish and chips, and after dinner petit fours with tea poured from pretty hotel silver tea pots. We explored charming towns, admired painting like views of the rugged coastline, gulping the fresh sea air. We delighted in making new family memories - Andrew and I getting lost, not once, but twice on our bikes, trying falconry for the first time, taking a chilly, golden hour boat ride on Lough Corrib and spending an evening clapping along to Irish music in the pubs of Galway. Here are some details and highlights of our trip in case you are planning one of your own…

We arrived early on a sunny, Saturday morning and headed straight to Ballyfin, a secluded country estate and former boarding school, tucked away in County Laois. We made it in time for breakfast in the beautiful dining room with its blue gingham skirted tables and Spode china. Ballyfin was love at first sight for me - the stunning antique Delft collection on display in the Whispering Room, the sumptuous down filled sofas in the parlors and library, fresh flowers and roaring fireplaces - scenting the air with woodsmoke and florals, and rooms drenched in classic Colefax textiles and wallpapers. All right up my alley. The staff was warm and gracious and we felt so well taken care of from start to finish. Since there are only 20 rooms, we often felt like we had the estate all to ourselves We took advantage of the gorgeous weather, spending the whole day outside. We climbed to the top of the Guiness Tower to find hot chocolate and incredible views, we took the row boat out for fishing and walked along the hidden paths through the walled gardens. Andrew and Charlie went off to do archery and clay pigeon shooting, while Jimmy headed to the spa for a massage and I relaxed over a cappuccino in the garden and napped in the library. For dinner, we all showered and got dressed up for their Michelin starred restaurant, which was a long, multi course affair, beautifully presented and so delicious (my favorite meal of the trip). We all slept VERY WELL that evening.

We had a nice and slow Sunday morning, coffee in bed and time for a walk before breakfast. Then we packed up and headed west to our next location. One full day at Ballyfin was the perfect way to ease into our Ireland vacation and break up the drive from Dublin to Ashford Castle (our next stop). Two nights at Ballyfin would have been ideal if it were just Jimmy and I, but the boys felt they were able to take it all in, in one. This would not be a place I would take young children, I’m actually not even sure they allow children under a certain age. We stopped along the way at Sean’s Pub, the oldest bar in Ireland. It was good to stretch our legs and take a break from the drive, but I found it very touristy and would rather something less well known. We went to so many other, more charming, pubs throughout the week.

We arrived at Ashford Castle in time for an afternoon tea reservation. Some of us (ahem, my boys) might have grabbed something at Supermac’s (you can take the Americans out of America…haha) on the drive over, so they didn’t have huge appetites, but Jimmy and I were starving and the tea was very well done. Ashford had a very different aesthetic than Ballyfin. Think a lot of red and stained wood. It is more family oriented (would be great with kids of all ages) and felt a bit Disney-esque at times to me. The staff was excellent, the rooms were spacious and well appointed, the food was good but not exceptional, including the overly pricey George V Dining Room (wouldn’t recommend.) It was Andrew and Charlie’s favorite place we stayed in Ireland, but I personally prefer something a little more understated. The grounds are beautiful and there are tons of activities, it’s also a great location to explore that part of Ireland and you can walk into the nearby small village of Cong if you want a change of scenery.

Andrew with “Inca” our Harris Hawk for the Falconry Experience

We spent 4 days at Ashford, taking day trip excursions to explore the Connemara and County Mayo region from there. We enjoyed a sheep dog experience, a visit to Kylemore Abbey (the garden was my favorite part, don’t skip it. The little cafe is also a great lunch spot) and an afternoon and evening in Galway (we loved this pub for dinner and excellent live music. And this bookstore was wonderful and worth a visit.). We also spent a full day at Ashford taking advantage of some of their unique activities - falconry (amazing), a sunset boat tour on the lake (chilly), golf, biking, exploring the grounds and walking with their Irish wolf hounds.

Next we went back to Dublin for the last leg of our trip. There we stayed at the delightfully elegant Merrion Hotel for our last 3 nights, with the most beautiful flower arrangements in every room, an art collection to rival a small museum and the coziest gathering spaces for tea or a bite to eat. I adored this hotel and the location was perfect for walking all over Dublin. We began our visit with a guided tour of the city, giving us a little history while also highlighting the best shopping areas and spots to eat and finally visiting the Book of Kells at Trinity College. Dublin has wonderful pedestrian only streets, lots of amazing restaurants and great shops. I finally found an authentic Irish hand knit sweater, surprisingly harder to come by than I expected (don’t let all the sweater shops fool you, most are machine knit) at this wonderful shop , where they knit toggle buttons on a cardigan for me the same day because that is what I had my heart set on (this shop was lovely too). The boys found lots of souvenirs and Jimmy played a round of golf at Royal Dublin. We had INCREDIBLE dinners here and here, highly recommend both. Andrew and I visited the National Gallery of Ireland Art Museum and it was full of stunning Irish and European artwork. We had 1.5 full days in Dublin which I felt was perfect, half with a guide and a full day to bop around on our own. For our last day we headed to Howth for my favorite day of the trip. Howth is a little town 45 minutes outside of Dublin with stunning cliffs and coastal views. We rented e-bikes and loved our guided experience which allowed us to really see the whole island. Our guide was amazing. The weather was windy but with bright blue skies, truly picture perfect. We stayed for lunch at a pub in town and then walked around a bit on foot before returning to Dublin for our last evening.

I’m always so immensely grateful for the opportunity to travel, to see new corners of the world and create these memories with my family. I love recapping the details, so I can relive the trips again and again and I’m thankful for those of you that tag along with us and share your recommendations and own memories. There is a lot of Ireland we didn’t get to see but it was a conscious decision to limit our time in the car as much as possible. It is not a big country but many things are still 2- 4 hours apart, often with lots of narrow and winding roads between, so if you are spending a week there it can quickly add up. It gives us a reason to go back, which I really hope we get the chance to do. We worked with Patty Ehinger to plan this trip - we LOVE a Patty trip! We chose to have a private traveling chauffeur rather than rent a car based on Patty’s advice, and it was absolutely the right move. It made travel between places seamless, we didn’t have to worry about navigating the winding roads while driving on the left side of the street or dealing with spotty cell coverage in the more remote areas and our driver shared so much Irish history with us along the way. We stayed 8 full days and nights in Ireland which was plenty of time to get a variety of experiences. It was such a good week, I would do it all over again!

PS. Packing for this trip was a challenge because you have to be prepared for all sorts of weather, I promise to share a packing list (what I was glad I brought and what I could have left at home) on Instagram soon because it would have greatly helped me.

Tessa Foley

Travel Diary - Ireland

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