Mirror, Mirror on the wall - you know the drill!

Do mirrors like this really exist and if so, where can I get one? Ha ha ha.

P.S. Thanks Suz -x-

Alive, alive o'...

I had a three day visit to Dublin, Ireland last week and as I live on the west coast of Ireland I decided that the best way to get to our sub-office was to drive. Silly me! There is a good intercity train system in place in Ireland, however once you get to Hueston Station, the main train station in Dublin, it will take you another hour (minimum) and approximately €30 in cab fare to get to the location of our sub-office. Bear in mind that the reason I would need to get a cab in the first place is because the divinely inspired engineering team that designed the Luas system in Dublin city (effectively the subway - only all above ground), did so without ever connecting the two trains that run the parameter of Dublin. Genius!

I left home at 6.30am for what should have been a 3 hour drive (door-to-door). I was very impressed by the fact that it only took me 2 hours to reach the Naas/Citywest roundabout – rotary for my American chums. Unfortunately the remaining 10+ miles to the sub-office took a further two and a half hours. Apparently there had been an accident earlier that morning that caused the delay. A huge note of thanks goes to the organisers of the Ryder Cup who progressed the completion of road works on the main road in to Dublin to facilitate the huge crowds travelling to and from the K Club for the event. Without their perseverance with the Irish Roads Authority my trip would have taken another hour on top of everything else. When there’s revenue generating events held in Ireland, things get done!

The hotel that I stayed in is the Radisson SAS St. Helen's Hotel in Booterstown on the Stillorgan Road. From the main road this former historic house which has been restored and adapted into a five star hotel is a magnificent sight. I was very excited at the thought of seeing the interior and spending 2 nights there. When I had parked my car I immediately had the services of a very helpful gentleman complete with top hat and tails to carry my suitcase and show me to the reception area. I already felt like royalty! The staff is very helpful and courteous and assisted me in every way during my check-in. The interior was impressive although a little bland. I expected more grandeur than what greeted me when entering the main building. This was more than compensated by a visit to the rear gardens, restaurant areas and banquet halls. LePanto is very tastefully decorated in period style with tapestry like curtains, crystal chandeliers and dark furniture with heavy upholstery. This contrasts well with the tile and glass conservatory area called St. Helen’s Pavilion which plays host to large events. Of course there are the usual meeting rooms and banquet halls, which are decorated in accordance with neutral hotel standards – boring but what would you expect for a meeting/conference room? A friend of mine recently attended a wedding reception at this hotel and said that although the service and setting were very high standard, the food was as you would expect at any large event, i.e. not overly impressive. Having said that, this is a hotel that only the rich and/or famous would be able to afford for a wedding reception (the bride wore Vera Wang….. need I say more?). All of my awe and enthusiasm for this hotel vanished upon entering my ‘standard’ room. Ok, so I did get an extremely good rate for the two nights (€100 cheaper than some of the three star hotels in the area). I certainly expected more than what I got. The room was clean and comfortable and suited my needs but certainly was not what I anticipated a five start hotel room to look like. Picture any hotel room you’ve stayed in when travelling to an ordinary Radisson, Starwoods, Mariott, etc. and hey presto… my room. The phrase ‘You get what you pay for.’, comes to mind. I skipped the *pay extra* breakfast and opted for a bagel and coffee from a Starbucks look-a-like on the way in to the office each morning. Trust me when I tell you that the traffic in Dublin is phenomenal at the normal congestion times. Makes you wonder why they didn’t rethink the Luas layout?!?!?

On the first night I went for an informal dinner with some friends to the newly refurbished Stillorgan Orchard. This is a contemporary bar/café with a very typical menu of standard European offerings – steak, chicken, fish, pasta, etc. The ambiance is warm and inviting and they have large outdoor seating areas with heat lamps to facilitate smokers. I had cod goujons with fried potatoes and tartare sauce washed down with a glass of crisp, medium-dry French Chardonnay. It is a great place to go for a bite to eat and a few drinks with friends.

The second night I ventured further in towards the city centre with a different set of friends to a restaurant called the Canal Bank Café. This is a very upmarket and trendy restaurant with a great menu, wonderful atmosphere and superb wine list all for very reasonable prices. On this occasion my two friends and I shared starters of buffalo wings (in the words of Jessica Simpson “How do they fly with such small wings?”), with celery and blue cheese dressing and a massive plate of calamari with lemon. For my main course I indulged in the char grilled prime beef burger with grilled bacon, fontia cheese and tomato relish. Not forgetting the rather nice couple of bottles of Di Lenardo Pinot Grigio, Vendemmia 2004 (Italy) – well there were three of us!!! There is a lot to be said for a really good restaurant that has reasonable prices in Dublin as it can be one of the more expensive European cities to go out and eat in.

It has to be said that the company I was in on both nights made them even more enjoyable. Good friends, good food and good wine make for the perfect evening.

My drive home took less time although at that point the tail end of a hurricane was sweeping in across the east coast of Ireland leaving the Ryder Cup golfers safely tucked up at the 19th hole, unable to practice. I’m sure they didn’t mind ;-)
I, on the other hand, felt as though I was piloting an aircraft for most of the journey!!! Very scary indeed.

I’m off to London again later in the week and back there again the following week for three more days. Needless to say…………………. I’ll be back.

Taxi...........??

On my last business trip to London, England, my colleague and I had the opportunity to stay at the Sherlock Holmes Hotel and dine at Jamie Oliver’s restaurant, Fifteen.

Overall we had a very enjoyable stay despite the humidity, heavy rain, thunder & lightening and severe transport difficulties with both the London Underground and Paddington Express to London’s Heathrow Airport. On a couple of occasions and when all else failed, we resorted to taking taxis. This is where I will point out that ‘The Knowledge’ that London taxi drivers are alleged to have was most definitely a myth - on at least two encounters. I will also add, in case the question arises, that ‘yes’, on both occasions the drivers were London natives. Both of the elderly drivers needed to resort to the London A to Z in order to locate two of London’s more popular (you would think) destinations. One being Fifteen and the other being Heathrow Airport.

At this stage, I will revert to the more pleasurable parts of our stay.

The Sherlock Holmes Hotel is a ‘boutique’ hotel with real charm. The entrance takes you through a very trendy yet cosy bar area overlooking Baker Street. I was upgraded to a Superior Studio room upon our arrival – for no apparent reason, although I’m not going to complain about that! My colleague was given a standard room but discovered, to his joy, that the slippers, assorted combs and two bottles of wine lying across his bed were compliments of the hotel. My room was, in the words of Austin Powers, “Yeah, baby. Yeah!”.

The room is made up of an entrance hall with luggage storage and a wardrobe area, two steps up into the studio area to the bed, couches and writing desk, with enough of the solid wood floor left to hold a disco. Off of the studio, separated by glass doors, is a rather cramped but functional bathroom complete with a floor drain, which was very useful, even necessary, considering the amount of water that splashed out during my shower.
The hotel restaurant looked very impressive even though we neglected to indulge in the Europeanesque menu as we had already made dinner reservations for Fifteen London, and breakfast the following morning was being provided by conference hosts. The hotel is also very conveniently located near the Baker Street tube station but I would warn that you should know in advance which exit to take out of the station and which direction to walk in as you find yourself faced with an intersection of two major streets.

For dinner at Fifteen we opted for the tasting menu in the basement restaurant. The meal, which turned out to be seven courses, was delicious.

The portions were very satisfying and such that you didn’t leave the restaurant feeling as though you would need a wheelbarrow to get you back to the hotel. Mint seemed to be the herb of choice that night as it played the starring role in at least three of the courses. I opted for halibut as my main course (the other option being a rather uninspiring shoulder of beef) and although the accompanying spicy lentils, sliced potatoes and roasted tomatoes served as an excellent compliment in flavours, the fish was slightly undercooked for my taste. I overlooked this as I felt this was a minor criticism when the meal and superior service where taken as a whole.
The only part of the Fifteen experience that I was not over enamoured with was the décor. Even though it is modern, clean and upbeat, the pink and white basement area with graffiti art and uncomfortable plastic chairs coupled with leather bench couches and mosaic tiling in some areas give the impression of a rather confused interior designer. In summary, this was a very amiable dining experience and I would recommend that you give it a try the next time you visit London. Just remember to make reservations well in advance and don’t ask a London taxi-driver to take you there!!! The staff graciously ordered us a taxi to take us back to the hotel. However, after waiting patiently in the inclement weather for twenty minutes, we eventually walked to the nearest busy road to flag one down. Luckily, this one knew how to get to our destination without difficulty.

My next business trip was to Dublin, Ireland. Come back and visit for the details….!

Alive and Kicking.

Yes, it has been a while!
My friends and family seem to think that I have fallen off the face of the planet. Well, perhaps I have. Between managing a career in Law with Acme Low Carb Tongue Depressors, Inc. (which involves a significant amount of travelling), Children (1 x 14yr old and 1 x “I can’t wait to be a teenager so I can get away with all the stuff my sister does” 8yr old), a Husband (who really counts as another teenager) and my 84 year old Mother (all living under my roof – I might add!!!), I haven’t had much time to blog or remember exactly which planet I live on.
My inspiration to return to the world of blogging is taken from my colleague who writes consistently wonderful articles that make me laugh out loud. He swears that putting your random thoughts on a url is therapy for the bewildered. Or maybe he was just referring to me as ‘bewildered’? Maybe he didn’t even say that? Am I paranoid? Who me???
So, now I am faced with the difficult task of finding something entertaining, nay interesting, to write about. I have stopped the Fatty Piggy Club blog as it became a bit of a chore writing all those articles by myself – and let’s be honest; there are far more exciting things to talk about other than dieting. Besides, there are plenty of sites out there already dedicated to that sort of thing.
So, while I consider topics - you watch this space……………………!
PS - all thoughts and or ideas are graciously requested :-)