So this is how the other half lives!

Eric and I are just packing up to check out of the best place we've ever been. Staying in the castle has been the best part of our whole trip so far. The castle and grounds are beautiful. Yesterday when we arrived, we were greeted by no less than 5 people who wanted to make sure we were satisfied. When we checked in, we were given a personal guided tour of the castle and shown to our room. There are 350 acres here so we went for a vigorous stroll to see how much we could cover. It was like our own private property because there were very few people out on the trails or in the gardens. (If you haven't picked up on this theme yet, my favourite parts of vacation are when we can be away from other tourists.) Although the gardens are not as extravagant as Vaux-le-Vicomte, they were still interesting to explore.

We decided to pull out all the stops and made a reservation for 9 p.m. in the George V Restaurant here. We were treated to a 7 course tasting menu with a different wine for each course. (I've posted the pictures of each course. Each picture with wine, is a different kind of wine. Needless to say, I was having trouble focusing by the end of the 3 hr meal! It was definitely worth the splurge!)

The menu consisted of:

*Chef's compliments - Savoury smoothie with apple foam and smoked tuna

*Fillet of local turbot, Potato dressing and salad bernard (Albert Pic Chablis Saint Pierre, 2007)

*Char grilled scallop, minted green peas (Omaka Springs, Marlborough, Sauvignon Blanc, 2007)

*Confit of Organic salmon with Killary Harbour Prawn, Fresh basil & Lime (St. Andrews, Wakefield, Clare Valley Chardonnay, 2001)

*Sorbet of Poached Nectarines & Vinegar of lemon grass

*Local Spring Lamb, gently roasted rack and seared leg of New Season Lamb (Chateau La Bertrande, Premiers Cotes de Bordeaux, 2005)

*Irish Farmhouse Cheese served from the Cheese Trolley -they wheeled out a whole cart filled with more than a dozen different kinds of Irish cheese and we got to pick what kinds we wanted to try!!! talk about a tough decision after that many glasses of wine! (Elysium, California Black Muscat, 2006)

*Dessert of Rhubarb (Essensia, California Orange Muscat, 2006)

Of course, I can only be classy for so long because I instantly passed out on the bed when we got back to the room - fully clothed, contacts still in, on top the covers. At 3:13 when I awoke, I had to pry the contacts off my eyeballs, wash my face and crawl into bed. I was none too happy when the sun started coming up at 4 a.m.

I went for a long walk again this morning and then we were treated to a full Irish breakfast. Eric was happy to have a plate full of black and white pudding!

After we check out, we are welcome to stay on the grounds for the rest of the day, so we are doing a cruise of the islands at 2:30 before leaving for Killaloe. We will be in Killaloe for the next 3 nights.

I think I will start playing the lottery regularly when I get home because I would love to come back to Ashford Castle again. There is so much to do that we haven't even had a glimpse at all the activities available and we certainly haven't covered the 350 acres yet either!

The rain has stopped again and the sun is out, so rather than taking the time to upload the rest of the pictures, we are going to go enjoy this luxurious castle!