One of the restaurants which we had been wanting to visit since we have moved to Dublin was the restaurant was Patrick Guilbaud. We finally were able to experience this place last evening. On a last whim, I called to see if there were reservations and we were able to get in for a Saturday evening.

After an unexpected day of packers at the house all day, having an evening out was a nice respite from the insanity.  we started the evening with drinks at the newly refurbished Shelborne Hotel which was closed for a couple years for a total redo. The No. 27 Bar is a lovely cozy and elegant place and quite busy, which we were lucky to get to stools strategically placed for people watching. 

The Shelborne No. 27 Bar

After an hour of cocktails and conversation we headed to the Merrion Hotel which houses the restaurant Patrick Guilbaud, only about a block away.  We were the first seated in the dining room, although we had the opportunity to have a cocktail in their antechamber - we passed since "we" had been drinking already for the past hour.  :)

The dining room has been recently redone and we had a nice table against the wall looking out toward the dining room and the courtyard.  For an upscale place, they had an extensive menu and Reeves choose the West Cork King Scallop -
Roast King Scallops, Light Garlic Emulsion, Parsley Cubes, Pine Kernels, Xeres Reduction and I chose the Lobster Ravioli - Clogher Head Lobster coated in a Coconut Scented Lobster Cream,  Handmade Free Range Egg Pasta, Toasted Almonds, Arbequina Oliva Virgen Extra Flavoured with "Kari" paired with a delicious glass of Pinot Blanc "Vieilles Vignes" (Meyer Fonnë) 2005. All was divine with a wonderfully delicate yet complex series of flavours. 

For Reeves entree he had Black Sole - Butter Roast Troncôn of Black Sole, Ratte Potato, Leek and Hazelnut, Xeres and Cockles Jus and I had the Wicklow Venison - Venison Fillet in Spiced Mulled Wine, Apple Polenta, Crisp Muesli, Balsamic and Cacao Grue Reduction.  I have to say my venison was perfectly prepared - rare but not raw and warm all the way through, which is difficult without overcooking.  I also had another great glass of wine with my entree - Chateau Clarke Bordeaux 2001.  I hope I can find both of these wines again as they were the perfect parings. 

We finished off with a vanilla Creme Brule and Red Wine Figs - Roast Figs with Red Wined Fromage Blanc, Star Anis, Almond Praline. I quite enjoyed mine but by this time we were both so full we both left about half our desert. 

It was a great evening and the service was top notch, what you would expect from a two star Michelin, but don't always get - a very memorable experience all around.  

The "removers", as they are called here, have begun our pack.  They are very good and have gotten through the kitchen, front room with all my 1300 books, the bathroom (which has some store cabinets for other things) the back hall & under stairs storage and have just started on my office - it is about 4pm on Friday and they are going to be here tomorrow, Monday and Tuesday.  They are here so many days because we do have quite a bit of stuff, but also because the place is so small, there is no room to put the boxes after they are packed, so they need to remove them after the pack them to be able to do the rest. 

It is such a luxury to have people pack for you, especially after you see how hard they are working!

..and this New Year's that is ever so true!  Only 11 days and we will have a whole new life in the greater Seattle area! We just got back on Friday morning from a really nice trip to the states for the holiday and have been recovering the past couple days from jet lag and Reeves from a cold. We took a little time out of the craziness of our "to do" list to see the movie I am Legend  yesterday (good movie, but a little scary and depressing) as well as picking up our rental car to use for the final few days. 

Looking back on 2007 it is hard to imagine how much we were able to fit in and how luck we were to have so many great adventures.  We are now about to embark on another great life adventure to a whole new part of the country - let the fun begin!

It is Christmas evening and we are in Goshen, NY having a wonderful time with the family.  We have enjoyed good food, good fun and above all, good family.  We are very lucky to have a warm and wonderful Christmas and wish everyone as nice of holiday as we are having!!

Merry Christmas to all!!!!

...etc., etc., etc., That song sums it all up!

We have now been in town two full days plus a dinner and we are having a wonderful time.  I have now been to NYC enough times that I feel like it is my second home in many ways, especially since I "know" the upper West side from visiting Amy frequently.  This trip we are staying at a hotel which is right across the street from the Natural History Museum and the view from the hotel is looking that direction  - needless to say the view is great!

We started our stay with a trip to a sushi restaurant with Amy as soon as we arrived which is always our first inclination, especially here in NYC with all the great sushi restaurants.  It was amazing and after we were ready to fall into bed, considering the time difference.

Friday we got up and went to the Met to see their show, The Age of Rembrandt: Dutch Paintings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art - what a great show, the paintings being displayed together as they were originally collected in NY.  After the museum we met Leo for some lunch and catching up - he needed to get back to his work, so we walked back up 5th avenue, saw Rockefeller center and back to the upper West side to get Amy for dinner. 

We started at Bemelmans bar and had our celebrity citing thanks to Amy - she is always great at spotting people and this time it was the author, Tom Wolfe (The Right Stuff, Bonfire of the Vanities & The Pained Word) in full regalia of fedora & white pants.  This is the best NY classic bar, complete with crooner-piano player and fabulous cocktails.

We then went to another NY institution, Parma, which serves the most amazing Italian food, including my gnocchi! We had a lovely dinner and where home in bed by 10 pm - divine!

Today, Reeves & I met Amy for breakfast at Lenny's and then we left him for a day of shopping.  While Reeves went and had a massage, Amy and I did the city.  We met up later in the day for some drinks and a very yummy dinner at  Paris Commune. 

We have had such a lovely visit and more is still to come!!

... and I say that since we just sold our car!  We put it up on the Internet about 2 weeks ago, but this is the worst season to sell anything big like houses and cars, so we really were worried.  It is our only real asset here and we needed to get it sold since we are off to NYC in a couple hours and after that we only have 12 days here.

Anyway, back to the story, the cosmic wonders of how things work for us always seems to amaze - we say it very often that we lead a charmed life and this is just a very small example...we put our car up to sell, we had ONE person call us about it, they are a very nice couple with a 6 month old boy, we arranged for them to drive it and that evening they called and said they would like to purchase it - for the asking price! (well, it was about 1500 euro under "blue book" since we HAD to sell it)

It is one of those transactions you just feel good about - they got a really great car for a really good price and we got it sold at just the right time to a very nice family who will take care of it for us!!

I have to say I am in a bit of denial about moving, but in the mean time we are off to New York on Thursday.  I am very excited about our trip - x-mas in NYC is always magical and I highly recommend doing it at least one in your life if you haven't experienced the city at this time of the year.

We are visiting with our friends Amy and having lunch with Leo which makes experiencing the city ever more special when you can experience it with a local.  We are staying in the city for 4 days days to do a little sightseeing and shopping then heading upstate to Goshen to stay with Reeves's sister and family for the holidays.  Reeves's parents will also be joining us, so it will be a full house.

For anyone who might read this, I wish you a very wonderful holidays and hope it is a relaxing, joyous and above all, fun time!

We just got home last evening after a final little adventure in the southwest of Ireland, specifically in a place called Dingle. [actually, this was partially written a week ago but after my computer crashing and losing the majority of the post, I just couldn't bear re-writing the whole thing again til now] Claimed as one of the most picturesque spots in all of Ireland, we weren't quiet sure of this as when we arrived on Saturday night as a huge storm was rolling in and the wind and rain shook the rafters. 

We had a nice drive down, with intermittent bursts of sun and showers, creating dramatic vistas along the way.  We stopped in Limerick for lunch and did a quick driving loop around the town.  Once into Dingle, we checked into Heaton's Guesthouse, run by the Heaton family.  The son, David, was holding down the fort while the rest of the family was in the States.

That evening we ate some extremely yummy dinner at the Half Door, a seafood restaurant which was in this charming old building with low ceilings and chock-a-block with Christmas decorations. We had some of the best scallops ever which just melted in your mouth with barely chewing.  After a big dinner and the blustery evening we retired to our lovely little room overlooking Dingle Harbor.  Our room had a gorgeous Jacuzzi tub so I took a lovely long bubble-bath before a great night sleep.

The wind blew beyond belief that evening and we were happy to be snug in bed, waking to some dramatic sky, still overcast with heavy gray clouds.  After a yummy breakfast, also cooked by David, we were off to Killarney and Muckross House.  On our drive along the south coast of the Dingle Peninsula, we were able to witness the gigantic waves and swells in Dingle Bay, just before Inch Point, from the progressing storm. 

We took some snaps of the impressive show, but all the shades gray do not turn out so well on film, which is a  bit disappointing.

Muckross House, our destination for the day, is just south of Killarney. First built in the in 1840s as a hunting "lodge", this residence is a mansion by any standards, yet electricity did not come to the entire area till the 1960s! We took a guided tour of the house, had lunch at their cafe and purchased a pretty vase made at their traditional pottery workshop. 

We proceeded south on a scenic drive called the "Ring of Kerry" and really enjoyed the passing bursts of sun which moved quickly across the vistas.  Stopping frequently to dash off a few pictures, we didn't make it very far till we had to turn around at Sneem (isn't that a great name!) and start back through the valley with the striking Macgillycuddy's Reeks on our left.

   A view from the Upper Lakes of Lough Leane

A view of the Upper Lakes near Moll's Gap

The weather for the day was actually not too bad with only a few passing showers, but the wind still continued to blow quite strongly. On our drive home, however, it took a turn for the worse and we actually went through a bout of hail and surges of pouring rain.  The drive, along these tiny Irish road, in the dark, with a vast cliff on your left, was quite the adventure!

That evening we relaxed at the Chart House for dinner (no relation to the American chain).  This was another delightful restaurant and just a wee bit more elegant than the previous evening with a very charming French host.  He was the only one working in the dining room that evening, but he was ever so efficient.  It was also very cute, when Reeves responded to him in French a couple times, he was so flustered he didn't know how to respond - guess the locals and the various American tourists don't usually know much French! [as a side note in regards to travelling Americans, we giggled a bit at another couple who, having breakfast at the hotel, the wife asked what "porridge" and "kippers" were - now I know I am not the most sophisticated traveller out there, but how sheltered of a life do you lead to not know these foods, at least on a general category level?]I dined that evening on the most amazing lamb which had a wonderfully wild flavor and Reeves plaice was incredibly delicate and crumbly.

Our last day we woke to filtered sunshine with the sunrise streaking through the clouds just over hills on Dingle Harbor.  Our itinerary for the day was to drive the Dingle Peninsula and the weather didn't disappoint.  With the storm now having passed through, it was a glorious day - mild, sunny and a perfect backdrop to see this picturesque country. 

Near Fahan on the Dingle Pen.

Someone looking for a handout

A view toward Garraun Pt from near Slea Head

We drove clockwise around the Peninsula, taking a multitude of pictures (gotta love digital) and also stopped by the Gallarus Oratory, an 8th or 9th Century stone chapel, one of the oldest existing of its kind. 

The Gallarus Oratory

Out here on the edge of the world it seems, was also a retail experience, the pottery studio of the famous Louis Mulcahy.  They have a shop in Dublin, but I prefer to purchase things from "the source" so we bought four of the most lovely mugs and a small milk pot from their Clogher workshop.  I would love to have one of their 2-3 foot high vases, but it is a little too big without know where it is going to go.

Our drive took us back trough Dingle again and then an uneventful drive home, which is always good.  It was quite a bit of driving for three days, but we really saw a goodly portion of the Southwest of Ireland and will miss this gorgeous country!