There was an Easter Egg Scavenger hunt going on, but we were content to chase walk around with our fantastic one year old who fancied this place his own personal playground.
The estate is popular in the entertainment industry- The Tudors, My Left Foot and Angela’s Ashes are just a few things that have been filmed here. I can understand the appeal- it feels a lot like a secret garden.
Killruddery is home to the Brabazon Family (the Earls of Meath) since 1618. This lovely house and Orangery was built in the 1820s and is (according to the brochure) one of the most successful Elizabethan-Revival mansions in Ireland.
The gardens date from the 17th century and were designed to entertain a large number of people- most of them today are children who are having way too much fun climbing up the hills and searching through the landscaping for Easter Egg clues.
This little man, if we had let him, would have swum the length of the reflecting pools several times over if we had let him.
We watched bigger kids fishing for Easter Eggs in a wooded area- this was the first year the estate was opened up for Easter, and it was a huge hit.
I told my Irish friends about the cherry blossoms we get in DC during this time of the year, but these trees had their own beauty as Ireland is definitely in the midst of a post-winter shake off. I hope to have Olivia and Carole over on my side of the pond soon so I can show them around in kind.
With the adults tuckered out but the little one wanting to stay (I think it had something to do with the massive chocolate egg he acquired), we made our way out in order to make our date for an Easter dinner.
With the Wicklow Mountains just in the background and the ocean located just minutes away, how could you not want to live here? I’m sure that the rent and upkeep is quite reasonable…
Olivia demonstrates for me her best self-portrait skills as we queue for the bathroom. I am quite impressed.
This house was neither strange nor did I feel like an unfamiliar guest. You can chalk it up to Irish hospitality, or maybe it’s just that I have really fabulous friends (I’m saying that it’s both)- but as I arrived I was handed a glass of wine and brought to the dining room table. “This Easter Egg is yours,” my friend’s mom said as she pointed to a massive Lindt chocolate egg. Wine and chocolate? How incredibly thoughtful! I’m so never leaving…
Dinner on all accounts was fantastic, and I was so happy to be sharing a Sunday table with great people and great conversation. Here you find us at the end of the meal with a well-earned desert of meringue roulade. It was light and absolutely delicious. How I miss fresh raspberries while living in Dakar.
Chocolate and exercise quota more than sufficiently fulfilled, we were all a bit tuckered out from our big day.