A Month in Ireland

October 2015 was a very quiet month in Ireland. Some of the places that I might have stayed at were closed already. However, I found several wonderful new places to recommend to my readers. The weather was mixed but not half bad. Many days were overcast and there were a few days of rain and some lovely days with blue skies. The gardens were a little past their prime but I still enjoyed them. Autumn colors intensified toward the end of the month.

Car rental: In the planning stages I had a difficult time with the car rental. Doesn’t that happen to us all? After many weeks of checking rates I finally rented from Fox Rent a Car who provided me a car through Dan Dooley. Evidently Dooley is an affiliate and it even says Fox Rent a Car on the sign at the Dooley depot in Shannon. I saved several hundred dollars doing it that way. Everything went perfectly but you do have to return the car empty of petrol. We were on fumes.

Because I had never heard of Fox before I called Dooley’s NJ office to be sure they were legit. I mentioned I would have booked directly with Dooley if they matched Fox’s rates. No matching rates were forthcoming from that conversation.

Finding the Dooley depot in Shannon: For those returning the car at Shannon – just before entering the airport (when you see the sign saying “Welcome to Shannon Airport”) – swing all the way around the roundabout to the right and take the last exit. The Dooley depot is in a small warehouse area off that roundabout.

CDW insurance: A new development was that my Chase Visa Freedom credit card covered CDW insurance in Ireland. Plus there were no exclusions. It covered everything including tires, glass, mirrors and undercarriage. They emailed me a letter of coverage, which I printed and brought with me. I did not have to show the letter to Dooley but had it with me just in case it was needed.

Highlights: Fairy garden & walled gardens at Belvedere House, Sheelin Lace Museum, UAFP, seeing old friends, strolling through Irish gardens, Kathleen Browne’s banoffee (www.headleycourt.net), Café Merlot in Enniskillen, finding new items like toffee Kit Kats.

Lowlights:

Dynamic currency conversion. Unfortunately it is still alive and well but I will gladly attend its funeral if that day ever comes.

A few places that I stayed but cannot recommend. That’s my job. I stay, thoroughly check accommodations out and decide if they are good or not. Since I am extremely particular I only recommend the best to my readers. Interesting to note that two of the places I did not like got great reviews on Trip Advisor. One was very dirty. The other was surface clean but grubby around the edges.