Tea Gardens

Today had been a lovely misty day. Exactly the kind I'd hope to experience while I was in Ireland. Just a few days into my trip and here it was! We drove down to Hook Point in Waterford Co this day to see Hook Light House, one of the worlds oldest, still in operation, light houses. Ocean beating against the black rock sending sprays of white into the air. The black rock rising up from the water to meet up with emerald green grass. All of this set around a fantastic black-and-white striped light house spearing up toward the misty grey sky.

We had taken time to explore an old ruin on the way in, amazed as always that along the side of the road, with nary a sign or notice, was this amazingly old ruin. The only information of the building was in a small plaque giving a small piece of history and the year it was built. It was amazing to wander around these extremely old ruins and not wonder if I was breaking the rules any.

Now we were heading back from these spots to catch the ferry back to Waterford City when we spotted a sign for Kilmokea Tea Gardens. I looked at mom and asked "Shall we?"  She simply responded "Yes, let's do it!!!!" So off we went another adventure. The tea garden was beautiful right from the start. Large trees and plants bordered the white sandy parking lot. We went inside the gate to be greeted with a corridor leading left and right and a sprawling garden straight ahead. We'd noted a sign that stated the garden was closing in five minutes, so a little bummed plans changed and we just decided to see if we could use the restroom before heading back out.

We stepped inside the tea house and stepped into a beautiful world. Glass walls and ceiling made up half the structure, the tea house, designed to look like a green house. Small garden tables were scattered on one half, a gift shop on the other. An aged wooden counter ran along one end of the building and behind the counter was a man who was counting down the till for closing the shop. This man was so friendly. He insisted we stay, he served us tea and lemon cake, and sat down to chat with us. I'll never forget the bright green bushes, trees, and grass. The pops of red and orange flowers that we could see from the tea house. We thanked the man for his hospitality and mentioned how beautiful the garden was. It was an amazing tea experience for us. Then the man said to us, I'm closing shop but you are welcome to wander the gardens as long as you are out before dark. He explained he didn't want to have to search for us if we got lost once it got dark. Make no mistake, those gardens were HUGE!!!

Satisfied by a late afternoon tea and desert, mom armed with her trusty camera, we thanked the man and set out to explore the garden. We saw hedge mazes, bamboo forests, all kinds of flowers. We passed a lake surrounded by plants with leaves so big, I felt like a shrunk down version of Alice exploring Wonderland. Other similar plants were much smaller held dead leaves in their cups. I was so enchanted I was almost certain if I moved the dead leaves I'd find a fairy curled up asleep in the cup of the leaf. We wandered for a couple hours, feeling happy and thoroughly enchanted headed out to the car. It was getting dark and it was time to head back to the b&b. The greens and the bright colors of this experience isn't one I'm likely to forget. This was one of those cherished memories, one put in a special place in the mind, protected; relived just by closing the eyes and imaging.