Foxmount Country House in Waterford was just what I needed. Margaret and her family were amazingly welcoming and hospitable. The house and property were gorgeous. Indeed, the entire experience was my exact vision of what staying at a country house should be. I felt very privileged, indeed.

I was greeted by Margaret, who immediately offered me a lovely tea with cakes in the sun room. The house was amazingly beautiful. Every detail was perfect from the room, which was spacious and well-appointed with a shower and also a lovely bathtub, to the furniture to the linens. The breakfast likewise was amazing, featuring rhubarb from their own garden, house made bread and preserves, lovely tea, and fresh eggs.

One day, after the other guests rushed off, I lingered after breakfast to enjoy the grounds, gardens, and the farm pets—especially my new best friends, a Jack Russell and a pair of Beagle pups. Later, I walked down the country lane to Jack Meade's pub for a late lunch. Although the other patrons were almost all local, they were very friendly and helpful when it was time to call a cab. (Everyone in Waterford has a cab driver they swear by. And, truly, they were all very nice.)

In the afternoons, tea is served around 1:30 or 2:00 p.m., and a fire is lit in the drawing room in the early evening. The pace of life was exactly what I was looking for at that point in my stay, and I was happily transported back to a more genteel time in a very beautiful place. I think it was a shame none of the other guests thought to stick around longer. They don't know what they missed.

One thing everyone should be aware of is the Internet connection while broadband is only Ethernet and not wireless. The walls of the house are three feet of solid brick or rock so the engineering of a wireless system has been difficult. Margaret tells me she is still looking for the best way to get reliable wireless to all of the rooms, but until then, the wire is all that is available.

The broadband is in the sunroom. I traveled only with my iPhone, but also purchased a travel wireless router that I programmed to work with my phone before leaving the States. When I arrived, I just plugged the Ethernet connection into the wireless router and everything worked well—as long as I stayed in the sunroom. Crossing through the thick walled archway to the drawing room killed every bit of signal. Nonetheless, I was able to very comfortably accomplish what I needed to do.

In final analysis, I look forward to the day when I can return to Foxmount. It was truly a most welcome retreat from the all-to-often frantic pace of travel.