The day had finally arrived, Mom was visiting Ireland.  This wasn’t her first trip overseas or even her first trip to Cork.  I think after three visits now, my Mom knows Cork better than me.

So, what could I do to make this one a little different?  A spa day in Fota, just a short train journey away from Cork City.  I visited the site for Fota Island Resort and Spa, it said it was only a short five kilometers from the train stop.  OK, we could handle that.

Mom made it safely and I surprised her with the spa day full of facials, massages, pedicures and rest.  We hopped on the train prepared for relaxation. Well, thank goodness we built in plenty of time…

The train took us swiftly to the stop in Fota, directly at the Fota Wildlife Park.  Sounds ok, right?  Except that the stop looked deserted and led directly to a gravel road.  A sign told us the Fota House & Gardens was just ahead so we had to be on the right track.  As we pounded the pavement, well in this case, gravel, I looked to the right and was sure my eyes had deceived me.  “Mom, is that a kangaroo on the side of that fence?”  We continued our walk and made it to the Fota House, gorgeous gardens and fresh our.  One problem - where the heck was the spa & resort?  Modern technology prevailed as I got out my phone, gave them a ring.  I told them we were at the house & gardens, how far were they from that location?  Oh, only a couple kilometers up the road but walking here wouldn’t be safe.  Well isn’t that great for my transportation limits. In the middle of gardens and wildlife, no taxi is to be found.  I started to get upset because all I wanted was to treat this lady to a day of luxury, not a walk in the wild.  Visibly frustrated at this point I look over at Mom, who was clearly in vacation-chill mode at this point, as she said “Brandi, it will be fine.  This is an adventure”.

Adventure it was.  We made it to the entrance for the home of the kangaroo, called the spa and they sent over a van to rescue us just in time for our appointment.  We delighted in spa time, complete with lunch and time to rest in the heated recliner chairs.