Arrival at Adare Manor

   

      

 

    Hello lovely readers, I have landed in Ireland, once again. The man at immigration couldn't seem to figure out why someone would need so many Irish stamps in their passport but, oh well, he got over it. I can't believe I am here, again. The time has absolutely flown! Only two weeks ago this happened:

 

   

     Ahhh! Wait what?!  I was still recovering from the shock of graduation when, ten days later, I was on one of these:

                               

      Upon landing in Ireland I spent two days at the Shaughnessy's to recover from the jet lag and organize myself for the journey south to Adare Manor. The Shaughnessy family must be so sick of me at this point but the farm air, the home cooked meals, and the occasional craic on their trampoline with Claire set met straight. 

 

 

 

       

 

         The trampoline hasn't changed since we were young and neither has our maturity levels

     After two days on the Shaughnessy farm, Saturday arrived and so did the nerves surrounding my scheduled arrival to Adare Manor. However, upon arrival, the nerves instantly disappeared. After meeting Sarah, my main contact throughout application process, I knew that I would love it here. She is so genuine, peppy and constantly making sure that I am taken care of. Sarah immediately showed me to my new apartment before giving me a tour of the manor and the grounds. 

Ta Da! 

                   

 

    Isn't she great?! A bit damp, but nothing a few Yankee Candles and Febreze cant fix! 

   Ok, moving on...

 

                    

    

 

   This is my actual apartment. It is one of the many Golf Townhouses located right along side the golf course. The apartment is a two second walk from the manor, itself, and it is absolutely huge! It could easily fit six or eight people instead of little old me, but I am not complaining! 

    The apartment is two levels; a living room, kitchen, mud room with a washer and dryer, and two bedrooms and bathrooms on the upper level. Again, massive. Sarah informed me that I might be moved around a couple of times during my stay, depending on if the space is needed for hotel guests. Understandable, seeing that it is way too big for one person.  For now, though, it's home. 

                   

 

       A view of the townhouses from the gate.  My apartment is the third on the left

                      

  The entrance to the town houses, home sweet home!

 

   

The kitchen area

Sorry, the sunlight made the pictures a little fuzzy, but it is sun in Ireland so I will take it!

                   

  The Mud Room

                   Check out my sweet new pink ride on the right

 

     

                      Living room with attached outdoor patio 

 

                  

                                                                 The Front Hall

   

      

                              One of the two bedrooms 

       

   

   I landed in Adare on Saturday and I was told to take the the weekend to explore the village and the grounds and report to work on Monday. Fine by me! I needed to get my bearings and learn my way around town. After unpacking I walked the grounds and discovered how enormous they were. You could walk for days! Every corner of the grounds is gorgeous and unique, containing castle ruins, rivers, woodland paths, ponds, or hidden cottages. 

                     

 

                         

                      

        

 

    The Adare Golf Course is expansive and covers most of the grounds. Even if you are walking through any of the wooded areas you can still see golfers through the trees. Every five years Adare hosts the JP McManus golf tournament and closes the entire hotel to huge celebrities like Catherine Zeta Jones, Nicole Kidman, Tiger Woods, Robert De Niro, etc. I have been told it is an amazing weekend of events. The next tournament is in 2015 and I may just have to return. 

    The manor, itself, is incredible. It is ornate, grand, and feels like you have stepped back in time. I have only taken a few pictures of the outside of the manor but there will be indoor pictures to come once I start work, tomorrow. 

 

                                      

       

 

                          

    According to Sarah, the first major event I will be working to plan is a Garden Party at the end of June which will include historical gowns, suits, and antique china to match the appropriate 19th century time period. Ha! Sounds like a piece of cake, right?! With my luck I will break all of the antique china that they have most likely removed from a secret vault for the occasion. 

Below, is a snap shot about the event from the Manor's website:

           

   

      The garden party is an attempt to recreate a painting of a garden party at Adare Manor by John Sutton, which can been seen in the background of the website. Ironically, a copy of the painting hangs in the living room of my apartment, a constant reminder of the work ahead. Although the work sounds like it will be busy, I am really excited to begin tomorrow. In the morning, I will don the full black, formal attire, heels and pearls and all! It should be highly entertaining so stay tuned. 

More to come from the Manor!