How My Family Fell in Love With Ireland's Grand Hotels, Falconry, and the World's Best Bread and Butter

""I put myself in charge of booking our accommodations, and picked splurgy hotels... the person I imagined enjoying those thick mattresses, rainfall showerheads, and no-brakes breakfast buffets was me.""

""Caleb and I wanted to take Suzanne to Ireland, a country we had visited before and loved... Suzanne, being older, would be gratified by the comforts of these high-end properties.""

A couple in their mid-50s takes a family vacation to Ireland with a 79-year-old mother. The author experiences fatigue, contrasted with the mother's energy. High-end hotel accommodations are booked with the belief that they will please the elderly companion, but the author is the one who enjoys them. At the Merrion hotel in Dublin, a notable art collection and attentive staff add to the experience, resulting in a warm bond between the mother and hotel staff by the trip's end.

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