Dublin and the U2 Joshua Tree Tour 2017 (part 2)

We arrived in Dublin after a bit of a nightmareish Ryanair departure from Manchester. They announced over the tannoy that it was the last boarding call for the Dublin flight. When we got to the gate everyone was waiting, and waiting and waiting for at least an hour, no one told us that the plane had been delayed in Dublin and was not even in Manchester yet (we found out later!) Eventually we boarded and before we knew it we were back in Dublin on a pleasant evening. We caught a taxi to our accommodation, which was lovely and larger than it looked from the photos and a good location. As usual on our arrival evening we got the shopping in from a nearby Tescos, ate in and had some wine. 

July 20th

We were woken far too early by building work going on beside our apartment. We had an easy day and then later Debbi and I split up, she went to meet a friend and I went to Dun Laoghiare to see friends Ken and Elizabeth. As I travelled south on the DART Dublin Bay looked beautiful. calm and blue on this lovely summer evening. I had good night with my friends, as usual Elizabeth had laid on a good spread, which unfortunately, due to my stomach problems, I couldn't eat as much of as I would have liked to.  

July 21stWe went to Bewley's Cafe Theatre (which is still being held in the Powerscourt Townhouse while Bewley's is being renovated) to see To Hell in a Handbag. A very funny play about the secret lives of a rector and a governess inspired by Oscar Wilde. We had delicious mushroom soup and the best soda bread in Dublin as we watched the play. This was going to be our lazy day, we always have one when we are way, we just drift from pub to pub and chilling out. We first went to The Octagan Bar in the Clarence Hotel to sample their Joshua Tree cocktail, specially created for this U2 tour, it was delicious. Next stop was O'Neill's pub, a large place over three floors with lots of nooks and crannies. We ordered some chips (the best in Dublin) and some onion rings, strange combination but it was what we fancied! We had a long wait but it was worth it, the chips were proper chips, big and tasty and the onion rings huge and crispy, very yummy. Our next stop was The Brazen Head pub, the oldest pub in Dublin, but it was heaving so we left and walked the short distance back to our apartment.

July 22nd

Showtime! First we stopped off at The Study at The Clarence Hotel and had coffee, and I ordered a scone. First off we had to ask at reception to be served, then waited ages for the simple order. Then I had to ask for sugar for the coffee and also pointed out that I should have had whipped cream with my scone as per the menu. The waiter left then came back and said said they had no cream (??!!) and would I like something else like honey - yuck not with a scone thank you! I said that wasn't very good and could I have a discount, again the server left and came back and said no, the price is for the scone and the jam and cream are extras! I was dumbfounded, how ridiculous was that? The server was very nice, it wasn't his fault, but it was terrible service for a simple order. Finally we again had to go to reception for them to call someone so we could pay, the Clarence isn't what it once was.

We got a taxi which dropped us off as near to Croke Park where the U2 gig was going to be. It was already quite busy and we bumped into our friends Declan, Jane and Sharon. Declan was actually on holiday in Portugal and had come back to Ireland and was flying back to Portugal the next morning, that's dedication for you!

Our seats were really good, and shortly before U2 were due to be on we were joined by our friend Paddy. This show had a lot of energy from the band and the audience. The set list was simlar to London, Bono added a it of America on the end of Bad instead of Bowie's Heroes which I felt did not work as well, Heroes was perfect. As the band started playing the Joshua Tree songs with Where the Streets Have No Name, the Irish Flying Corps flew over the stadium trailing smoke in the colours of the Irish flag, very impressive! Only U2 could pull that off. Half way through the Joshua Tree Bono said, "Welcome to side two of the Joshua Tree Cassette," Which made me smile, some of the younger people there wouldn't even know what a cassette was! The show was amazing, once again Exit was the highlight for me. I was sad when it finished as this was to be our last show of this tour.

Paddy, Debbi and  Me in our Seats

After the show we met up briefly with Declan, Jane and Sharon again, then Paddy went off to have a drink with a few friends and was coming to our place later, whilst Debbi and I went off looking for a taxi home. There was absolutely no chance of getting a taxi and we ended up almost home by time we found one. We were exhausted when we got into our apartment and almost kissed the floor with relief! I'd barely put the pizza on when Paddy arrived, he'd left after an hour with his friends and got a taxi easily!

We had a lovely night putting the world to rights, discussing  an eclectic mix of Trump (Paddy lives in America), genealogy, art, and guns to name a few subjects. Paddy left at 6.30am and we crashed at 7am, we are real rock chicks lol!


July 23rd
Got up in the afternoon and later we went to the Octagon bar to meet our friends Jane and Sharon, we were sad that our friend Dianne hadn't been able to come due to travel problems, but I'm sure she was with us in spirit. Another friend Patty joined us for a while too, it was good to catch up with everyone. Debbi and I had another Joshua Tree cocktail but this one was totally different to the one we had the other day! Afterwards we had an early night as we were off home the next day.

Restaurant Review - The Tea Room, Dublin

Location
In the Clarence Hotel, Wellington Quay, Dublin.

Cuisine
European.

Ambiance
The restaurant is situated in what was the ballroom in this hotel (where they maybe used to hold tea dances?)  It is a spacious room with high ceilings and large windows, and has a raised seating area at one end.  The tables are spread well apart so you have lots of privacy and due to the size room too much noise when it is isn't an issue here.  The decor is modern with muted colours.  It has a very relaxed atmosphere.

General
We always buy from the Market Menu which doesn't have a huge choice (which of course is usual with set menus), but what there is on it is excellent.  I had salmon fishcake with a wonderful mayo dressing.  The fishcake was large, moist and just melted in your mouth.  For my main course I had ribeye steak with horseradish sauce and chunky chips.  The steak was very tender and had some kind of marinade on it that was very tasty.  The chunky chips were light and slightly crispy, just as they should be.  My friend and I shared a portion of creamed spinach which was delicious.  For dessert I had chocolate fondant with banana ice cream with toffee sauce, very rich and very gorgeous!

Service
The staff are very friendly and attentive.  We have been regulars in The Tea Room and The Clarence Hotel for many years and when we had this meal we were given a complimentary bottle of wine in recognition of our patronage.  We were both surprised and delighted, that's what I call good customer service!

Price
A la carte is moderately expensive.  The Market Menu is 20 Euro for two courses, 25 for three, excellent value for this standard of food.  They also do reasonably priced lunches and brunches.

Northern Star Rating   *****


(Photo from Clarence Hotel website)

New Year 2011 in Dublin

December 30th 2010

Happy New Year to you all.  I was in Dublin to see 2011 come in, no better place to be!  You can read about our short trip below.

Debbi and I met up in Manchester -  we were so lucky that the wintry weather had abated just days previously and we had no problems getting from our homes to Manchester.  Unfortunately though fog proved to be a problem, delaying the incoming flights from Dublin, including our plane.  However, we were only delayed about 40 minutes which wasn't too bad. 

We were chatting away as we were descending into Dublin when suddenly the plane made a very sudden, steep climb, I could hear the screech of the engines as they powered the sudden ascent.  Everyone went strangely quiet, knowing there was some kind of problem.  Shortly afterwards the pilot announced that the piece of machinery that aides an automatic landing in fog was not working and that's why they aborted the landing and that they had to do "a bit of work to do" on the flight deck.  The plane remained very quiet, I don't particularly like flying and this didn't help my now well controlled fear of flying!  But, 20 minutes later we landed safely - phew!

We got a bus to South Great Georges Street near Dublin Castle.  We were met there by Sean, the owner of the cottage we were renting for our few days in Dublin.  It took us ten minutes to get to the cottage off John Dillon Street in The Liberties.  The cottage was one of those small, one story homes that you see all over the city, this one was set in a small square of six cottages, with the old Dublin city wall running along one side.  Our cottage was so cute, with fabulous original window panes on the frontage.  It had a sitting room, two  bedrooms, a bathroom and kitchen - all small but well designed and it had everything we needed.  There was even a little yard with a seat at the back.  It was cosy and had a lovely feel about it, it was very homely - we loved our little cottage from the word go.

Our first job after unpacking was to go to the nearby shops for some provisions.  The area was mainly residential terrace houses set inbetween Dublin's two main cathedrals Christchurch and St Patricks. The area is known as The Liberties because being outside the city walls the areas had been self ruling to a point.

That evening we had been due to go to Dun Laoghaire for dinner with friends.  However, a family illness meant that had to be cancelled.  So, instead Debbi and I stayed in and had pizza and wine - lots of wine and talked for six hours solid!  You certainly know when you are with a good friend when you can just chill and chat like that.

31st December 2010



I had a bit of a bad head today!  LOL.  I went out for a walk around the local area to clear my head and took a few photos along the way.  This area is a stones throw from Temple Bar, yet is very quiet.  Near our square was the back entrance to a grand, derelict building called The Iveagh Market, that fronts onto nearby Francis Street.  It was built in 1902 to house market traders who previously sold their wares on the local streets.  

Also nearby was Mother Redcaps Tavern, built 1760, once one of Dublin's premier live entertainment pubs, now closed.  Both these building were earmarked for demolition to make way for apartments, offices, hotels, but since the recession has hit Ireland these buildings may actually be saved from destruction and the area will keep it's strong sense of history.  Too much of Dublin has been turned into characterless concrete, steel and glass.



Graffiti near our cottage

We took it easy that afternoon (this was to be a very taking it easy type of holiday ), then got ourselves spruced up and got a taxi to the Town Bar and Grill in Kildare Street for our evening meal. 

We always enjoy our meals there and this night was no exception.  We both chose the same courses.  Goats cheese and beetroot starter, ribeye steak main, and an assiette of desserts (small portions of all the desserts on offer) all of which were delicious.  We washed it down with a delicious Valpolicella, c'est la vie!  The serving staff pour your wine for you, but I wanted Deb to have more than me as, due to my hiatus hernia, I have to be careful about how much I drink (and I can only drink good red wine lol). So I tried to sneak more wine into her glass only to get caught by our waiter who said to Deb.  "I wish I had a friend who poured wine like that!"

We got a taxi home but, as is often the case in Dublin, the driver had no idea where our cottage was, or even the quite big street that the square led off from, and not being very familiar with that area we couldn't direct him.  "I'm not trying to cheat you" he kept saying, he seemed genuine and had no sat nav, so we asked him to drop us at Jury's Hotel at Christchurch as we could easily walk from there, otherwise we could have been going round The Liberties getting nowhere forever!  He took five Euro off the meter price too which was very fair.  Those Dublin taxi drivers should have to pass The Knowledge like London cabbies do!

We relaxed in our cosy cottage for a while before leaving at 11.40pm for the short walk to Christchurch Cathedral, the traditional place for Dubliners to gather to see in the New Year.  The cathedral looked beautiful all lit up in the night, the bells were ringing out as if calling the people and I was very aware of being part of something that had probably gone on for hundreds of years.  The bells stopped at around ten to twelve, by now there were hundreds of people there and the gardai had closed the road.  Then at twelve the bells chimed in 2011 and people cheered, hugged, drank champagne, set off sparklers and sky lanterns started appearing in the sky, it was a lovely atmosphere, happy and very good humoured.  

Soon the people started dispersing and we headed home. St Patricks, Dublin's other major cathedral, further down Nicholas Street also looked beautiful, its floodlit spire all lit up, it's bells ringing out too.  In five minutes we were home and we opened a bottle of Prosecco, we couldn't find a bottle of our usual celebration tipple, Veuve Clicquot, in the local shops so this was our second choice, and it was lovely.
We had kept our Christmas presents to open, strangely we bought each other similar presents!  We stayed up until 3am enjoying our Prosecco and chatting.

Christchurch Cathedral when the people were just starting to gather for the New Year bells

January 1st 2011

We had a very lazy morning, in fact we never saw the morning lol!  We find as we get older we can't just bounce back from late nights drinking a pleasant wine - we need time to recover.  Once up, dressed and awake I had another walk around the local area and bought a few things at the shop.

We had intended to walk to Grafton Street to see the lovely chandelier shaped Christmas lights we'd glimpsed from the taxi on the way to the Town Bar and Grill and to look at Brown Thomas's famous Christmas windows.  But it started raining really hard, and our little cottage was so snug and warm that we didn't need a lot of persuasion to stay in.  We have visited Dublin many, many times and seen all the sights so don't feel that we have missed out if we do this.

At 8pm we walked to The Tea Room Restaurant at The Clarence Hotel, just a ten minute stroll from our cottage, the rain had eased off by now.  We were given our usual table in the corner and ordered from the Market Menu which at E25 for three courses is very reasonable.  The waiter came to take our order then he said that a bottle of wine with our meal would be complimentary.  We thought we had heard wrong, but he repeated the same thing and asked if we had chosen a wine, we had and, still mystified, ordered a bottle of Chianti.

I had the salmon fishcake with a lovely mayo dressing for starters, then ribeye steak again for the main.  It was just as good as the one at the Town Bar and Grill, but different, as it had a delicous marinade on it.  It came with the most fabulous, crispy chunky chips.  For dessert I had chocolate fondant, with banana ice cream and toffee sauce.  Oddly, before we'd left our cottage I'd said I fancied fishcake for starters and chocolate fondant for dessert, how lucky was I?  The free wine was lovely, and we still don't know why we got it.  All I can think of is because we have stayed at the Clarence Hotel, including the penthouse, a few times and are regulars at The Tea Room.  It was a very nice gesture from the hotel and much appreciated.

After the meal we went through to The Study for cocktails and sat there for a while.  There was a pretty Christmas tree in the corner and it was very pleasant and relaxing in there.

We left the hotel at midnight and were soon home.  We didn't stay up too long as we had to be up early the next day as our short trip to Dublin was now over - though we did consider squatting in our little cottage as we loved it so much and didn't want to leave it!

Websites, Another Job, No U2 in Ireland and a Short Trip to Dublin

I've been neglecting my blog these last few weeks, I will update it more regularly from now on, this hiatus has just been a blip.   

I've been really busy with various things, one being working on a Cumbrian genealogy website that hopefully will see light of day soon.  I'm very much into genealogy, it can lead you on a fantastic and surprising journey as, like a detective, you delve into your past as you follow the clues and twists and turns of your family history.

I've got another job!  Not in place of my present little job, but in addition to it - after all it is only ten hours a week.  On Thursdays I've been working as a volunteer with Age Concern at one of their day groups for the elderly.  I really enjoy it and now am going to go on the organisation's paid staff as a bank carer - I'll fill in when regular caring staff are unavailable.

U2.com finally laid rest to all the speculation about Dublin shows by saying all the European shows for 2010 have now been announced.  I have a feeling that the band may finish the 360 Tour in Dublin next year, no one is saying the Rome show is the last gig of the tour, just of Europe in 2010.  Maybe they will get to Australasia and south America in 2011 too.  I've decided I'll just go to the two German shows I've got tickets for this year, then see what happens next year.

My friend Debbi and I have been on a short trip to Dublin recently.  I got the train to Manchester Airport and as I walked into the station I saw wallpaper on walls, armchairs, settees, lots of lights, laminate flooring.... then I remembered that I'd heard they were making an ad for Homebase at the railway station.  It really cheered the Victorian station up, they should have it like that all the time, easy chairs would be nice to relax in as you wait for your train.  The ad must be getting screened in the summer as the extras were in light clothing, some of the women were shivering in their short sleeves as they waited and waited for the next take on this icy February morning. 

I met up with Deb in Manchester and soon were were on our way to our hotel in Dublin, Bewley's.  After settling in we went out to the nearby shops and bought some wine and nibbles.  Wine is generally horrendously expensive in Ireland and there was one on special offer we fancied but it had a cork and we had no corkscrew.  The helpful shop manager offered to open it for us and I walked back with an opened bottle of red wine in a brown paper bag LOL!

We got our gladrags on and got a taxi to The Clarence Hotel where we were having a meal in the Tea Room.  Prices in that restaurant have tumbled dramatically and it is now really good value for money.  Our meal was fabulous, the chocolate fondant was to die for!  After the meal we had a cocktail in The Study (now open to anyone, not just residents) and chatted for ages.  We wanted to have one more Cosmo cocktail to share and the very helpful waiter made us two glasses topped up with the cranberry juice to make it go further.  Seems the hotel has now got a longer drinking licence letting people drink later as we left at 12.30am and usually the place is closed to non-residents from not long after 11pm. 

On the Friday we checked out Hanover Quay, but there was no sign of U2, I was quite glad we could move on as the wind was piercingly cold.   I love the name of this road close to U2's studios (photo above).  I thought it was just a weird name, but  when I Googled it I found out it was named after Bindon Blood Stoney (1828 – 1909) a civil engineer during the late 19th century. Bindon Blood Stoney was the main engineer working on Dublin Port and Docks in the second half of the 19th century.

Every time we go away now we treat ourselves to a bottle of Veuve Cliquot champagne (our tastes have got expensive as we've got older).  We meant to get a bottle at Manchester airport but, because we were flying Ryanair carrying only one piece of hand luggage to save money, we had no room for it.  It took us a while to find it, but eventually there it was, in the Eurospar in Barrow St.  So this time when I returned to Bewley's I was carrying champagne in a purple paper bag!

The Meteor Awards, in which U2 were nominated for three awards, were taking place that night at the RDS Simmonscourt, which was minutes from our hotel and we could see the building from our room.  Seeing U2 were nominated we thought that if they were in town they might go so we decided to wander round.  Unlike The Brits last year there was nowhere that fans could stand to watch stars arrive and we just wandered aimlessly for a while.  The ticketholders were arriving and they were very young, so much so that I felt very out of place!  After a short while we decided to go back to Bewley's and have a meal and then opened our champagne. 

Later that evening the Meteors finished and it seemed the VIP cars left on a road right outside our window.  We sat there having a great laugh (whilst supping our Veuve), at some very boisterous young girls hanging onto and running after various cars!  We later found out that Adam had been at the event to present the Industry Award to Lord Henry Mount Charles.  U2 won none of the awards they were up for though they were hotly tipped to take home all three!  Is Ireland's secret love affair with U2 over?

On our last full day Debbi and I did our own thing for a few hours during the day.  I went through to Dun Laoghaire to visit friends Ken and Elizabeth and had a lovely visit and it was nice to catch up on their news.

That evening we went to The Town Bar and Grill in central Dublin for our meal.  We've been there a few times now and it is always fabulous, it is expensive, but we save money every month for our trips and so it doesn't hit the pocket as hard as it could!  I decided to be adventurous and had a starter I'd never had before, wood pidgeon and chestnut lasagne.  The wood pigeon was lovely, but I now know I don't care for chestnuts!  I had tiramisu for dessert and it was the nicest I've ever had, absolutely delicious. 

It was a great way to end our short trip to Dublin.  Over the years we've seen all the sights etc, so a big part of our trips now is to eat really well and wash it down with lovely wine, something we both love doing.  Along with the company of a good friend it's a great way to spend time in Dublin!

The Clarence Hotel Penthouse - Luxury and Leaks....

My friend Debbi and I had a three day break in Dublin just a week after I had returned from Florida (globetrotter that I am!) We were staying two nights at the Tara Towers Hotel (where we had a room that had a fabulous view over Dublin Bay) and one night in the penthouse at The Clarence Hotel. We had started saving to stay in the penthouse once more immediately after our last stay there in May 2007. By the end of November this year we had enough money to spoil ourselves once more.

We got all dressed up to look the part and took a taxi to the Clarence Hotel where we were greeted warmly by the staff and asked to sit in The Study (the lounge for hotel guests) and our complimentary Cosmopolitan cocktails were brought in for us.

After a short while the General Manager of the hotel, Oliver Silvestre, came in to see us. We were wondering what was up as normally someone like him would not come to see guests. He was extremely apologetic and said there was a problem with the penthouse. During the night a pipe above the master bedroom had sprung a leak and they had been unable to mend it in time for our stay so that room was not usable. He offered us the use of a two bedroom suite two floors below as well as the rest of the penthouse, then he left us for a while to discuss it.

We did not want to spend time in separate places, especially when one was two floors below so we decided we would ask for the other penthouse bedroom's king bed to be made into twins and not use the two bedroom suite at all. Oliver came back and said that there was no problem making up twins. I thought I'd ask if we would get a discount as we were not getting what we are paying for. He said that of course there would be a discount - which turned out to be very generous and we were very happy with that.

Welcome to the Clarence Hotel Penthouse!

He took us up to the fifth floor and into the penthouse and showed us the master bedroom which had a big hole in the ceiling and a bucket on the floor catching drips that were coming down. When we were in the loft area we noticed that the hot tub on the back balcony had no towels or gowns beside it, so we asked if we could use it. For a second Oliver looked surprised, then said yes, no problem there either and he would get that sorted. Despite the icy weather we were determined to go in the hot tub - I think Oliver thought we were mad! But it was also clear that he was very relieved that we took it all so well.

A battalion of staff appeared out of nowhere and discreetly sorted out the bedroom and the hot tub, and then quietly left and we were finally alone in the penthouse. It was lovely to be back, the first thing we did was change out of our posh clothes into lounging gear. Then we opened the bottle of complimentary pink champagne and ordered some sandwiches.

The penthouse was just the same as when we had been there last, luxurious and spotlessly clean, you could see your reflection in the wood of the piano! The fittings and furnishings were all the best, beautiful oak floors and doors, an elegant spiral staircase linking the ground floor and the loft area, muted colours, fantastic floral creations, Guggi paintings throughout. A well stocked bar groaned under the weight of spirits, wines, champagne and beers, complete with lots of ice and a tray of cut lemon. From the balcony running along the front there were fabulous views of the River Liffey and it's bridges and the city.

We were brave and went into the hot tub which was lovely and warm once you got under the water. But boy was it cold when you got out, the lovely thick dressing gowns were a blessing then! Afterwards we relaxed on the large beige velvet sofas in the fabulous loft area of the penthouse hardly believing we were back there again.

Later we got all dressed up again to go for dinner in The Tea Room. The restaurant manager greeted us and said "Just out of the hot tub ladies?" I smiled to myself, the fact that we wanted the hot tub working had obviously filtered through the hotel staff, the phrase "Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun" came to mind!

The Tea Room was busy, and we had a table near the door which I was pleased about as I was tottering in my high heels and the less to walk the better! We had a delicious meal, one of the best I've had there, it is always of a high standard and if you buy off the Market Menu not too expensive either. Afterwards we went to sit in The Study for a while before returning to the penthouse.

We found a CD that had Christmas 2007 on it so we put it in the player to see what was on it, it was old Christmas songs, Bing Crosby, Perry Como, Nat King Cole and the such-like. It was very Christmassy and I'll never forget Debbi dancing along to It's Beginning To Look A Lot like Christmas!

We chilled and drank more champagne and watched DVDs of U2, Ab Fab and Father Ted that we had brought with us. The life of luxury really suits me! We sat on the balcony (well wrapped up there was an icy wind blowing) and watched the Dublin nightlife below us. At 4am we got back into the hot tub.....mad dogs and Englishwomen go in the hot tub in the icy night! But this day and night was all about doing different things and living a different life for a while and we weren't going to miss out on anything! But by 5am even we were flagging a bit and reluctantly went to bed.

Slainte!

Next morning we had a delicious breakfast in our very own dining room in the penthouse, savouring our last couple of hours there. Then sadly packed as the time had come to go back to normal life.

We met with Oliver again as we were leaving, he thanked us once more for being so understanding and told us the good news that The Clarence would not be closing in February 2009 as we'd thought, but in about two years time. So, us mad Englishwomen, have immediately started saving for another stay in the penthouse - 2010!

A Night of Surprises!

September 20th, my birthday and official retirement day, and I was in my favourite city Dublin. I was there with my three friends Debbi, Dianne and Julie for this celebration and also for a week's holiday.

A lot of subterfuge had been going on since our arrival in Dublin, whisperings behind my back, conversations stopping when I went into the room. My friends had told me that they were treating me to a night out and to dress nicely for the evening, I could even wear high heels as we would only be walking from a taxi to the building. I did not know what they had lined up for me, though I had an idea of where we may be going.

In the evening we all got dressed up to go out and I must say we looked really lovely - we are getting good at this dressing up lark nowadays! I came through to the living room and there were my presents and cards along with an "enthusiastic" rendition of Happy Birthday. I got fantastic presents, a silver necklace with a key on it (the key to a new life), a lovely handbag, a purple stone necklace and a beautiful bracelet which had a charm on it that symbolised nursing. Their cards were special too - and they even had a huge card made from the photo of Bono and me from when we met him last year! What great, thoughtful friends I have.

The taxi drew up outside our accommodation in Dublin and Debbi ran out to tell the driver where to go without me hearing. We piled in and drove into the city centre and headed for the place I thought we might go - The Clarence Hotel. We went in and Debbi got a bit furtive and hung back and told us to go down the corridor, Dianne, Julie and I moved on and kind of hovered, then Debbi called us back and we were ushered into The Study. On the table there were four Cosmopolitan cocktails and nibbles. That was such a big surprise, only residents are normally allowed to go into that room, so we were really honoured to be able to go in, Debbi had arranged that with a member of staff from the hotel.

The bar manager, a pleasant young man called Jordan, came in to see if everything was ok. He said he'd mixed the drinks himself, we said they were perfect, (as they were) just the way we like them.

We sat in The Study for about an hour chatting and drinking our cocktails which went straight to our heads as we had eaten very little that day! We tottered through to The Tea Room Restaurant at 8pm (not an easy task when you are tipsy, unused to high heels and are walking on slippy wooden floors!) We got there without any undignified stumbles or trips and were seated at the same table we had last year when we dined there when we stayed in the Clarence Penthouse (when got champagne and drinks from Bono!) we all sat in the same seats as well.

We all had the tuna starter which was rather salty but ok. I had the duck for the main course and it was delicious, so tender. After a break we got the menus to order our desserts, I chose mine but the others were taking their time. I asked if everyone was ready to order but they weren't, they seemed a bit distracted, but I said nothing, after all we weren't in a rush. Then the head waiter came across to Debbi and she said something to him quietly. Big mouth me asked, "What did you say to him?" and she said that it was that we'd just like to wait another ten minutes before ordering. I then noticed Debbi and Dianne take out their cameras and realised something was up!

Sure enough shortly afterwards the waiter brought across a gorgeous cake and put it in front of me. It was chocolate and had Happy Birthday Sue and Enjoy Your Retirement written onto a scroll of white chocolate on the top. They kindly only put three candles on it so it wasn't too many to blow out! Also mercifully the girls didn't sing Happy Birthday for a second time either! (Sorry girls!)

The cake was such a work of art it seemed a shame to eat it! But that didn't stop us for long and we were soon tucking into it. It was as delicious to eat as it was beautiful to look at. It was a chocolate mousse on a base of thin pastry. There was an occasional crunchy bit in the mousse and the cream around the base was violet flavoured - all the tastes and textures went together so well!

We couldn't have eaten another thing after the cake, and just sat and relaxed and chatted. It was quite late when we decided to leave (along with the rest of the cake) and as we passed The Study to order a taxi from reception Debbi and I saw Edge in there with some other people. It was only a fleeting glance but we were both pretty sure it was him. There were two large security types hovering at the door so thought that Edge probably was with some VIP in there as I doubt the security would be there for him. Pity he hadn't come in there earlier!

It had been a wonderful evening. I can honestly say that it was the best Birthday I've had, no one has ever gone to such lengths to make it such a special occasion for me before, I loved it and felt so special. I couldn't ask for more wonderful friends and thank you girls for helping me start my retirement in style and for the most brilliant Birthday ever!

Me, Debbi, Dianne and Julie in The Tea Room Restaurant at the Clarence Hotel in Dublin

Shopping!!

I went shopping for a jacket today. I knew what I had in mind, a light-coloured, long line linen jacket that wasn't too expensive. And what have I come home with? Two summer skirts and no jacket!

I've turned into a clothes shopaholic over the last year or so and this all started last year when my friends and I stayed at the luxury penthouse in the Clarence Hotel in Dublin last year(maybe you've already read about that in my blog, if not here's link to the story: http://the-crystal-gazer.blogspot.com/2007/11/dublin-champagne-and-penthouse.html ).

Staying at the penthouse was a big deal to us, it was very expensive and we had all saved for over two years for it, so we could do everything in style. Prior to doing this, I was never a girly girl, never fussed over clothes, hair make-up and I thought people who did this were wasting their money. For our trip to the penthouse we decided to have completely new outfits, perfect hair and make-up, we wanted to look the part! Surprisingly, I enjoyed doing all this, it was fun looking for the right clothes, bags and jewellery. Then, when I saw that I actually looked really good all dressed up it was a kind of revelation. I know this might sound strange, (and maybe this is wrapped up in me being overweight for most of my life) but until then I had never realised that I could look good! I also discovered I had a cleavage and am now not afraid to flash it and I would never have done that not so long ago!

And that was it really, a special experience that has permanently changed the way i look at myself. Funny how things turn out isn't it? Now, if only I can find the right jacket ......

Dublin - A Room With A View and Beautiful Days

Wednesday 14th November 2007

It’s been nearly twenty years since I first visited Dublin, and I immediately felt at home there, I have some Irish ancestry maybe that's why. Or maybe it's a case of "It’s not where you’re born, it’s where you belong” lyrics written by Bono which ring true to me. Since that first trip I’ve visited Dublin at least once a year – I’m lucky, living in the UK makes it very easy to pop across to Ireland even for just a day. I still feel as at home as ever there and never tire of visiting, and, as I sat on the Newcastle to Dublin flight as it was descending into the city, I felt that familiar anticipation. This was to be a short visit, just three nights with my friend Debbi, but we were going to make the most of every minute.

Debbi and I met up at Dublin airport, it was great to see each other again and as usual we just picked up from where we left off the last time we met up. We went to pick up the hire car, a sign in the office window of the car hire firm caught our attention “Please leave rubbish in the car, thank you”!!!

We drove into the city and first went into Jury’s Custom House for brunch and had delicious fish and chips. Then we headed to Bewley’s Hotel in Ballsbridge to check in. We dropped our cases in room 211 and then headed straight back into town and Hanover Quay. By now the weather was miserable, raining and cool. There was nowhere to park along the street, so we parked in the nearby new Grand Canal Quay car park and walked the short distance to the studio.

We soon realised that the band were probably recording there as Adam’s car went in the garage and we saw Sam and Dallas. We waited a short while and then decided we would go, it was very wet and cold, enough is enough, the warmth and comfort called out to us! We decided we would come back and try our luck again on Friday.

We left the city behind and drove to Tesco’s to get our supplies for the next few days. Most importantly, we found some Moet champagne on offer so we got that for our night at the Clarence!

We went back to Bewley’s and settled for the night. We just took it easy, ate our snacks, watched TV, drank wine and chatted for hours before settling down for the night.


Thursday 15th November 2007

We got up at 9am and had breakfast then started getting ready for going to our next hotel The Clarence. We left the room at Bewleys at 12 noon, sat for a while in lounge, booked the restaurant for tomorrow night and then left. We’d decided to leave our car where we had left it last time we went to the Clarence, Lea Road, beside the apartment we stayed at last May, to save paying a fortune on car parking fees at Bewley’s Hotel. Once there, we rang for a taxi and it was there in ten minutes. The driver was a bit bemused when we piled out of the car with our luggage,

“What’s it like living in a car?” he joked.

It didn’t take long to get to the Clarence, the staff were very pleasant, our suite just needed checked to see if it was all ready so we were offered complimentary tea or coffee while we waited in the Study. Before the drinks arrived the suite was ready so we were taken up to the 5th floor and shown around the suite – our drinks were delivered to the room.

The Garden Terrace Suite was open plan with twin beds, and a raised area where there was a leather armchair and chaise lounge and table. There was a TV, and another leather armchair, plus a desk and chair. The bathroom was very nice but small, the furnishings were all of excellent quality. And the best part of the suite of course was the large terrace which had great views of Dublin in almost all directions. It is familiar to all U2 fans as being where they filmed the rooftop video for "Beautiful Day", it looked smaller in real life than on the video. There was a large wooden table, chairs and steamers there and along each side of the terrace were shrubs in large pots.

It was a world away from the penthouse, but still a lovely suite and we were detrmined to enjoy every minute . We settled in and enjoyed our complimentary cocktails as we tucked into delicious sandwiches that we had ordered from room service.

We started getting ready to go down for our meal in The Tea Room, and I must say we scrubbed up pretty well! When we arrived we were the first in, but later a few more people arrived to eat, though the restaurant was far from full by time we left. That’s a shame because the food is excellent and if you choose the Market Menu at 39 Euros, it is very good value. I had pumpkin and hazelnut risotto with a truffle froth to start. For the main course the beef which was absolutely delicious and very tender. For dessert I had the combination of 4 of the restaurants desserts which were all wonderful. We washed it all down with a very light South African Steenburg Merlot. Debbi enjoyed her meal as much as I did, and all through the service was first class.

We took the remains of the wine through to The Study and enjoyed a relaxing time in there with Andy Williams crooning in the background. We amused ourselves by watching one of the staff replacing the night lights by bringing them one by one on a tray.

Around 10pm we went back up to our suite and opened our bottle of Moet champagne, which was wonderful, we’re really getting a taste for it! We watched DVDs and chatted, and often went out onto the terrace to look out over the lights of the city, it was lovely sitting out there far above the hustle and bustle of the city. After the champagne was finished Debbi started on the wine, I decided to keep off it as because of my delicate stomach- I didn’t want to mix it with the cocktail and champagne. Before we knew it the time was 4am so we thought we'd better go to bed!


Friday 16th November 2007

Debbi did not feel too good this morning, she left her breakfast which is almost unheard of! I enjoyed my breakfast which we had in our room. As we were going back to Bewley's today, we decided that we would leave our cases at the Clarence and then get a taxi down to near Hanover Quay and later return to the Clarence for the cases and get a taxi to Bewley's. But the best laid plans are often thwarted, and so was ours - by efficiency. When our taxi arrived at the Clarence the staff came into the Study to tell us and off we went. When we got to our drop off point the driver popped the boot and there were our cases! After Debbi and I stared at them in disbelief for a few seconds we realised that the Clarence staff had been really efficient, they'd put our cases in the boot before telling us our taxi was there! I realised we'd have to change our plans quickly, thinking on my feet, I asked the driver if he could take us on to Sandymount, all we could do now was pick up our car and check in at Bewley's - either that or trundle down to HQ with our cases! The latter was obviously a no-go, so off we headed to Sandymount, loaded our cases into our car, and drove the short distance back to Bewley's. Luckily we were able to check in early so we dumped our bags in our room (212 opposite the room we had the previous day) and headed back into the city and HQ.

Luck smiled on us for the second time and we managed to get a parking spot on the roadside of Hanover Quay which saved us hefty car park fees as well as being handy. There were another couple of girls and two young men waiting at the studio.

Shortly after we got there Adam arrived and stopped to talk, both Debbi and I got good photos taken with him and were able to have a little chat. Debbi told him she wasn't too well and he asked why and she said about overdoing it the previous night, he asked where she'd been and she replied the Clarence. I then asked how the recording of the album was going, and after a short pause he said, with a hint of frustration, "Well, we haven't really started on it yet!" Not what we were wanting to hear. Debbi said she wasn't feeling too good, Adam asked why and where we'd been and smiled when Debbi told him. At this point a young man came and asked for an autograph and shortly afterwards Adam went into the studio.

Edge and Larry arrived shortly afterwards but didn't stop for us, three down one to go, Bono. It was dry and not cold so it wasn't unpleasant waiting and there is always something to watch at HQ. The area has changed beyond recognition, each time we come there are new blocks of offices or apartments, shops and restaurants. Misery Hill, Kilsaran Concrete, the garage with the German Shepherd guard dog all gone. And soon HQ will be gone too and it will be the end of an era for us, I feel a little sad about that.

A courier van drew up outside the studio and the driver asked us what we were waiting for and Debbi said "a bus", he laughed and said that this was a very "odd street". Around this time the two girls left, so now it was just Debbi and I left waiting.

I had my usually very reliable "feeling" that we'd meet Bono but time was passing and there was no sign of him. Then luck smiled on us for the third time - at about 3.30pm Bono arrived in a taxi, he waved to us as it pulled up outside the studio. He got out and after saying goodbye to someone who was in the taxi with him he came across to us. At this point I got that familiar, surreal feeling, as I watched him walking towards us. Unusually he wasn't wearing his glasses which was nice, he stopped in front of us and greeted us in his usual way,

"Hi how are you?"

We said we were ok and Debbi said,

"Fancy meeting you here",

Bono smiled and then he leaned forward and kissed Debbi and said he liked her hair (she's had part of it dyed dark pink), then he leaned over to me and kissed me. We both noticed he had no aftershave on. Before he had the chance to say anything Debbi spoke,

"Can we just say something to you," immediately she had his attention, he looked at her intently, waiting for what was coming next. She continued to thank him for what he did for us when we were in the penthouse in May. I added that it made our stay there just perfect.

"Did you stay up really late?" he asked.

"We stayed up all night!" I replied, Bono was very impressed with that and with a gesture said,

"YES, great stuff!"

He obviously approved! Debbi continued saying that we'd really enjoyed every minute there, going in the hot tub, drinking champagne..... Bono smiled as he listened. Then she said,

"Actually we were at the Clarence last night, but not in the penthouse".

"I should think not," he said emphatically, "what do you think you are, bleedin' rock stars?!"

We all laughed, he is so funny. Then Bono said he would have to go as he was an hour late, so we said our goodbyes and then he disappeared into the studio. It had been a very short but sweet meeting. We had so wanted to be able to thank him personally on behalf of ourselves and our friends Dianne and Julie, for his kindness in May, Debbi and I had agreed that if we met him that was our priority. So we were satisfied that we had been able to do that. It was great to have a kiss from him too! I'd like to say he looked well but he looked very tired and drawn. Later we found out that he had already been to a meeting of Irish Hunger Taskforce in Cork earlier that day. He really needs to slow down a bit.

We went to our car and were sitting getting ourselves sorted when four young and very beautiful Italian girls appeared from nowhere and came over to us. They asked if Bono was in the studio we told them he was and that he had arrived just a few minutes earlier. The girls were ecstatic, apparently Bono had told them yesterday that he would see them for autographs and photos at 6pm today. The girls were so excited shouting repeated thanks yous and blowing kisses to us over and over as they walked away. I'd have loved to have been there when they met Bono!

We drove back to Bewley's and relaxed for a while before getting ready for our meal in O'Connells restaurant in the hotel. The restaurant was very busy. Unfortunately Debbi had to send back her lamb shank because it was burnt! She quickly got another one which was ok. But the meal wasn't as good as in the past, the gravy was watery, the carrot and parsnip mash was sloppy, we were a little disappointed in it. This is the second time the meal has not been up to standard there, such a shame as for years we've eaten wonderful meals there.

After the meal we walked across the road and to the Four Seasons Hotel and went into their wonderful Ice Bar. It's an amazing place, done out to look like ice, white and cream, with atmospheric lighting. There was a lovely sculpture of a dancer hanging from a single cord in front of a mirror close to us, it was beautiful. The bar wasn't too busy and we were able to get a seat. I ordered a champagne cocktail called a tearjerker and Debbi ordered a non-alcoholic cocktail - which definitely is a first! She felt better now but didn't want to tempt fate. We enjoyed our drinks while we people watched before going back to Bewleys and our room.

Unfortunately I paid for the tearjerker that night as it gave me te rrible heartburn. It occurred to me that this was my fourth different bed in as many nights- home, Bewley's, the Clarence, Bewleys. We'd never been able to unpack properly due to moving from hotel to hotel so we lived out of our suitcases. The result was that we kept losing things which was very frustrating! One of our favourite phrases this trip was, "Where's my ......." followed by frantic searching in our suitcases.


Saturday 17th November 2007

We checked out of Bewley's at noon and drove through to Dalkey, we parked in the Church of the Assumption car park and went across the road to The Queens for brunch. The Queens has been re-decorated again, in a more traditional style, it's much better than the modern look it had, more in keeping with its age. They had coal fires burning and it was very snug and cosy in there. The food we had was delicious too and very reasonable and served quickly.

The weather was awful, wet and windy, we didn't really want to leave the warmth of the pub. Usually we would potter round the shops in Dalkey but due to the weather we didn't wander round the shops as we would normally do. We headed to the airport and dropped off our hire car, making sure we left our car parking tickets in the car - well the sign did say to leave rubbish in the car!

We had to wait a while before we could check in and I felt so tired as we sat, I think all the excitement, moving about and late nights were at last catching up with me! Eventually we both got checked in and went through security and found the Anna Livia Executive Lounge which we had booked into as a treat. It was small, but really nice, with lots of snacks and drinks to choose from, very peaceful and relaxing, I think we'll definitely book it again.

Eventually Debbi and I said our goodbyes and went our separate ways, hopefully it won't be too long before we meet up again, and I hope too that it won't be long before I visit my second home once more.

Dublin - Champagne and the Penthouse

All our trips to Dublin are special, but this week long 2007 trip was more special than usual, we were staying in a rented apartment – but for one night we were going to stay in the Penthouse at the Clarence Hotel – we’d saved for two and a half years for it! Debbi, Dianne, Julie and I were at last back in Dublin for this holiday of a lifetime. It was good to meet up with my friends again; we always just seem to pick up from where we left off when we get back together.

On Tuesday lunchtime we went down to U2’s studio in the docklands. How it is changing there, the gritty griminess and character being replaced by large, anonymous glass and steel buildings. Even the Kilsaran concrete yard was now closed and the famous bench gone. I’m not sure about all the changes in Dublin, so many wonderful old buildings have gone, I feel they should have done more renovation and so kept some of the city’s unique character.

We had no idea whether U2 were at the studio, but not long after we got there Adam arrived. We had a short chat and took photos; as usual he was a real gentleman. About an hour later Bono arrived and not long after parking his car in the garage appeared at the studio door. He made no attempt to come across the road and was clearly waiting for us to come to him so we did. He looked really well and suits the short hair; also its more natural colour is much better for his pale Irish complexion.

He was chatty and asked us various questions including what we had been doing so far on our holiday, we told him about our trip to Brittas Bay the previous day and he said he loved it there. We all got autographs and photos taken with him. We told him about our planned penthouse stay and he asked what we were celebrating and we told him it was a special birthday for Dianne. He was too much of a gentleman to ask how old she would be, I jokingly told him she was 30! He said we'd love it in the penthouse, and after wishing Dianne a happy birthday and saying goodbye he went back into the studio. It’s always so good to meet Bono, he has the ability to make everyone around him feel special and important and we were certainly full of smiles as we left Hanover Quay that day!

A couple of days later and it was our big day at penthouse at the Clarence Hotel; I was wide at 6.30am, very unusual for me! We spent the morning getting ready, we looked like different people in our lovely clothes, we felt like different people too!

The limo was a bit late, the chauffeur couldn’t find us! After I gave directions he was soon there. It was a white stretch limo, black leather seats, plastic glasses for the “champagne” which tasted more like Cava to me. It was all rather over the top for my liking, but still, it was special and that was what this day was all about. We sat inside watching a U2 DVD and drinking champagne as the driver took us on a tour of the city. I really just wanted to get to the Clarence!

When we did get to the hotel we were treated like royalty and shown road the ground floor before getting into the lift up to the penthouse. We were so excited it was hard to remain calm! The staff member showed us around the two floors of the duplex penthouse before leaving us on our own. It was then we could let go and just explore. The penthouse was much bigger than it appears on photos and everything was of the highest quality.

Our complimentary welcome Cosmopolitan cocktails were delivered and we sat down for the first time to drink them. We noticed a bottle of champagne on ice in a very expensive looking Alessi cooler. We didn’t want to open it just in case we had to pay for it so we rang reception and they told us it was complimentary – so we opened it

The penthouse was fantastic, much bigger than it looks on photos and everything of the highest quality. We had welcome cocktails waiting for us as arranged, but there was also a bottle of champagne on ice with 4 glasses which wasn't part of the deal. We checked with reception and were told it was complimentary, so we popped the cork, the champagne was wonderful!

We spent the after just enjoying the penthouse. On the lower level was a sitting room, dining room, two bathrooms, a kitchen and two bedrooms. Along the entire front of this was a balcony overlooking the River Liffey and Dublin. The upper level was reached by a stylish oak and stainless steel spiral staircase. This level was open plan at one end a seated area the other end had a baby grand piano and a very well stocked bar. There was a balcony at the back where the hot tub was. There was also a small balcony at the other end of the loft that gave you a lovely view onto the city.

We relaxed in the hot tub with our champagne, we chatted as we watched DVDs on the huge TV. We could hardly believe that after over two and a half years of saving we were finally in the penthouse.

In the early evening we started getting ready to go down to the Tea Room for our meal. We had bought special outfits and I must say we looked so glamourous – we barely recognised each other!

At 8pm we went down for dinner, we were greeted by a lady who said, “You are looking very beautiful tonight ladies” and we were shown to our table. There was an envelope on the table that the waiter handed to Debbi. She opened it and for a few seconds just stared at it. We all guessed what it was even before she read it out and then passed it round it said "Happy Birthday, love Bono”. Before we had a chance to say anything the wine waiter was there pouring champagne. Debbi asked if it was from Bono and we were told yes. We were so surprised and touched that he'd done
this we were nearly crying! For a while we were speechless and it was a while before we got ourselves together and were able to look at the menu and order.

The meal was wonderful, excellent quality and service. We'd planned to have a very special expensive bottle of wine with our meal so we still had that too. It turned out that we didn't have to pay for that either, all our drinks that night were on Bono. Even now I can hardly believe he did this for us, going to the penthouse was exciting enough, but for Bono to do this made it perfect. We were treated like royalty all night which was rather nice!

After finishing the wine in the Study we went back up to the penthouse. We stayed up all night chatting, drinking wine, having a laugh, making a video and watching DVDs. Sometimes we went out onto one of the balconies to look at the lovely view of the lights of Dublin at night. It felt like we were in another world high above those lights and, really, we were.

We watched dawn break over the city from the balcony and it signalled that our stay in the penthouse was nearly over. I felt sad that it was coming to an end, yet I also felt lucky. Lucky that I could afford to do something like this - even if it meant a lots of saving. Lucky to have three special friends in Debbi, Dianne and Julie to share this with. And lucky to be a fan of Bono, whose thoughtful kindness made our stay at the penthouse at the Clarence Hotel perfect.