Did I mention that there are lots of palm trees in Dublin? It was a big surprise to see them here. We have been touring around the countryside and have been able to see quite a bit in the short time we are here. Ireland is best described as “tidy”. The homes and yards are quite tidy. Most homes are multiple dwelling units, the most common being what we would call duplexes or townhouses. Often they are two stories with both units facing the street. The yard is divided by a hedge four to six feet high, giving each unit privacy.

While Ron was in meetings on Saturday and Sunday I took two different country tours along the coast-one to the north and one to the south. In addition to seeing the beautiful Irish countryside I saw Malahide Castle the first day. It was built in the 1100’s and the same family resided there for 800 years. It was sold in 1976 when the owner died unexpectedly while traveling abroad. On the second day we went to Powercourt Gardens, the finest in Ireland, both for their design and their dramatic setting at the foot of the Sugarloaf Mountains. The house and grounds were commissioned in 1730s. The gardens fell into disrepair but in 1840 were restored to their original plan. New gates, urns, statues and ornamental gardens were added in 1858-75. The building was gutted by fire in 1974 but the ground floor and ballroom have been restored. About six of the partners went out there together and had delightful weather in which to roam around the gardens. My only regret was our limited time. There were numerous ponds with fountains, waterways throughout, beautiful statuary and enormous terraces.

We are staying at Clontarf Castle Hotel built in 1172 originally and it was demolished and rebuilt in 1837. It became the Clontarf Castle Hotel in 1998. It is a 4 star hotel and cost $330 a night for the cheap rooms. It has the poorest service we have ever encountered. For starters I had to bring our luggage in (it took four trips to the waiting car) because the desk clerk pointed to the concierge when I asked for assistance. He however was fully engaged with guests who needed help planning their day. After waiting five minutes I gave up and did it myself. There was no other staff in sight. At breakfast it took 25 minutes to being our order while those seated after us were served before us. This morning we were never given menus so Ron went back to the desk and picked some up. No one ever came by to take an order. The coffee that was served was undrinkable so I sent it back and asked for more. Today they told our friends they couldn’t serve scrambled eggs or omelets because the chef wasn’t here but they could order poached or fried eggs?????????????? I can’t imagine how you can fry an egg but not know how to scramble an egg….not my idea of four star.

On Tuesday ICMA took us on a tour to a Navan where the City Manager gave a brief overview of their economic development plan and then treated us to a tour of Newgrange (where we had gone last Friday, not knowing this was on the agenda) and to the Hill of Tara, a site of mythic importance and the political and spiritual center of Celtic Ireland and the seat of the high kings until the 11th century. We have been quite surprised at the quality of food that is served at the tourist spots like Newgrange and Powercourt. Not the usual junk food we have at such spots in the US but rather fine dining or something close to fine dining.

We ended the day with a banquet at Ye Olde Abbey Tavern in Howth, a small fishing village. We had a fabulous meal and ended with Irish dancing and music. It was a perfect ending to an absolutely delightful trip. We have Wednesday free to see whatever we missed and grab an early plane on Thursday to London, Chicago, and Boston where our son David will meet us and take us to Portland ME.