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Show TRAVEL Explore the with Your By AMY VAWDERBILT Ocean from a height of as much as 700 feet. We watched the Arctic terns that have been coming there for hundreds of years to nest and raise their young. We hiked along the well-worn paths that on our day were covered with the heavy mists that overhung the draniatic spot. That night, after still another medieval banYoungsters love Old World castles. This one is Kilkea Castle in Ireland. UPPOSEYOU had three teen-agers and S wanted to plan their first trip out of the country. What country would you choose? As all Americans (including the American In- dians) have roots in some other country, however far back, you would probably choose a country related to your family bloodlines. That is what I did when my ownchildren were very young (the tw6 youngest were six and nine), and that is what my husband and I did last summer when we took my ihree teen-age step-children on an an exciting trip to Ireland. 1 have always been grateful for myIrish greatgrandmotherand father from whom I must have inherited my leavening good humor. Mylarge amount of Dutchblood is sound, but the Irish is what gives me the bounce. My husband, Curtis B. Kellar, is just about the same mixture of Irish blood, but he can claimlateral descent from Dan’! O'Connell, a great Irish liberator. He also has Duggans in his family tree. Most American children are so English-language oriented, so conditioned to a diet of hot dogs and hamburgers, that it is not always a the joy out of it for everyone involved. Our chil- dren fortunately took a lively interest in tennis. horseback riding, biking, and they certainly liked good food. Ireland wasthe place (especially withall those lovely castles thrown in—the one on our cover is Birr Castle, in County Offaly), with a delicate blend of homeyness, foreignness, and fantasy. The next thing to be sure of when you are traveling with children is that the schedule isn’t killing. As I am all for savoring a country, and my husband feels the same way, we saw to that immediately. Also if you are flying at night, letting children get too hungryis bad business. So before our departure for the airport, I gave them roast-beef sandwiches and fruit. If you take your childrento Ireland, try, as we did, to let them have their veryfirst night in a real castle. Ours was the elegant Dromoland Castle, a short drive from Shannon Airport. It makes a wonderful transition becauseit flies the U.S. flag, as it is American owned After a night flight, of course, the best thing is to go right to bed. This weall did after the children’s first quick, excited tour of our Dromoland Castle. We went to neighboring Bunratty good idea to take them abroadfor the first time Castle next and attended the Bunratty banquet— to a country where the food is strange and the language completely different—not unless they are wildly adventurou a reenactment of medieval dining complete with the fine Bunratty singers and interesting medieval food (no Irish potatoes then!). The children were delighted at having to eat with their fingers, as the only implement provided was a nice sharp knife and, later, for the Our three—Betsy, 16, Martha, 14, and Bill, 18 (and not quite all these ages at the time)— agreed with us that Ireland was the place to go. I knew the countryso well myself that I was sure they would be happy. Our flying trip via Irish In- ternational for ten days was oneof the best pos- Strangeflowers growright up from the rocks on its moon surface. The fauna take on the protective coloration of the rock masses. Our destination was the region of Galway and eventually the ancient city on Galway Bay, where you can still hear the Gaelic language spoken on the street. The city itself, which has been there since the earliest times (and was even mentioned by Egyptian historian Ptolemy), shows a strong Spanish influence because it traded for centuries with Spain. You can note this in the architecture and even evening. My husband graciously granted amnesty to the “prisoner” in the dungeon afterfirst getdown) when the “poor wretch” was dragged before him. Family Weekly, April 20, 1969 station wagon and took off via a strange part of Treland—the Burren (pronounced “burn”)—a lunarlike “desert” that extends for many miles. served as “Lord and Ladyof the Castle” for the 29th. The weather is its most reliable then. But for us, it outdid itself. It was the warmest, sunniest Irish summer in 50 years. We didn’t see a terests because bored children traveling take all on bones and hacking off brown bread with sharp table knives, The next day, bright and early, wepiled ourselves and our luggageinto our rented Vauxhall syllabub (dessert), a spoon. My husband and I sible times to be in Ireland—July 19 through the drop of rain. In traveling abroad for the first time with your children, you must, of course, consider their in- quet (this time with a pageant of Irish history thrown in at the newly restored Knappogue Castle), we were once again “Lord and Lady” with the children sitting with us, delightedly gnawing ting the consensus of the guests (thumbs up or We included a wonderful experience I had not had myself, well as I know the country. We went sight-seeing to the Cliffs of Moher, those dramatic rocks that overlook the turbulent Atlantic Amy Vanderbilt, husband Curtis B. Kellar, and her stepchildren at Ireland's Dromoland Castle |