Tea in a Castle!

On Monday, we were all a little tired from our long and exciting day on Sunday, so we slept in a little and stayed close to home. We had lunch in town and showed them the quay.

On Tuesday, we went to Drumoland Castle for afternoon tea!

It was very elegant, and everything was delicious! The staff was great, and so kind to the children. One of the waiters told us that he had been working there for 30 years, since he was 13! No wonder the service was so good, he’s had lots of practice.

The children’s tea had nutella, ham and cheese, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and their choice of tea or hot chocolate with lots of marshmallows.

After tea, we investigated the castle inside and out.

Not one, but two coats of armor! So cool!

We toured the castle grounds and found a lovely flower garden on our way to the gift shop. There were lots of tulips blooming, a greenhouse, a fairy garden, and a pond.

The groundskeepers must have been working hard already this spring. The flower beds were beautiful!

Drumoland Castle’s logo says, “Distinction since 1543.” It is in Newcastle-on-Fergus, County Clare, and was begun in the 1500’s on the site of a prior tower. The current castle was completed in 1836 and is mainly used now as a hotel. They have lots of special things to offer hotel guests, such as falconry, archery, skeet shooting, horseback riding, golf and golf lessons, a spa, fishing, and horse-drawn carriage rides. We didn’t get to do any of those, but we sure can vouch for an excellent afternoon tea! We made some pretty amazing memories to last a lifetime.

Wednesday was the end of our visit with Aunt Jacquie and Aunt Carrie. We had a wonderful 4 days together and squeezed in all the love and laughter and hugs that we could. Thanks for coming all the way to Ireland to see us!