High quality and amazing design are key factors in La Pierre Ronde, which is the first property financed by Swiss investors and designed by the Danish property developer Bjorn Stiedl.

This amazing property has after a thorough but tactful renovation now been put up for sale, ready for the quality-conscious proprietor.

In the middle of the town centre of the picturesque Provencal village of Eygalieres in the centre of the Alpilles mountains, Bjorn Stiedl has converted a 330 m2 traditional townhouse to a unique living experience for the large family with the possibility of housing a number of guests who are accustomed to and are expecting to be welcomed in an inviting and sumptuous environment.

You will find La Pierre Ronde directly across from the village church and on the border of the medieval part of the city. A gentle incline leads from the village centre and up to the property, giving it a scenic view from the entrance and down towards the village. A courtyard framing the entire property ensures peace and quiet from the bustling village outside.

The house has 5 bedrooms, most of them with en-suite bathrooms, large living and dining areas, sumptuous furnishings, a fully equipped bespoke kitchen and a number of terraces that naturally link the garden outside with the cosy atmosphere indoors. Glass doors bring the light into the house, and make the beautifully appointed garden an extension of the interior of the house. The local Provencal style has been naturally combined with modern European standards and design, and all materials are of the best quality wood, stone and glass.
The garden has been beautifully landscaped, and there is a tastefully designed sundeck in the private garden area behind the house.

The Provencal village of Eygalieres in Les Alpilles is the place to buy property in France after Cote d’Azur has been run over by the “new money” from Russia and China. The city has an authentic charm, and there is an extraordinary blend of the sun, light and the scent of lavender and herbs that is entirely unique.

The area has been attracting distinguished proprietors such as the royal family of Monaco, celebrities such as Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt and others who seek the reclusive charm far away from prying eyes and the hustle and bustle that Cote d’Azur regrettably has become in the past five years.

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Totally Wired

A man walks down the street, waving his arms and talking to himself. No problem, he’s dictating an email. A woman sits on a park bench, stabbing at a pocket computer with a plastic stylus. Is she selling shares or checking the contents of her fridge?

A boy slumps on the bus, eyes concealed by dark glasses. He looks half asleep, but his busy studying for his college finals. Hands free computing, online fridges, glasses that double as video screens… the future is wired, but not in the way you’ve become accustomed to. Before long, you’ll be online in a dozen different ways, as and when you need to be.

You’ll connect to the appliances in your kitchen as easily as you do to computers on the other side of the world, and you’ll control them as if you were on the spot.

Wired Homes

The traditional double storey house, with two power sockets in every room and a single phone point, is due for an update. What’s interesting about the internet home is not so much the technology involved, but the fact that it isn’t a one off showcase. By the time you read this, wired homes will be the norm all over the UK and the USA.

From the outside, the internet home is just another five bedroom house. It doesn’t look that different from the inside either, unless you’re the sort of geek who goes around counting power sockets, data points, routers, PCs’, webcams, ADSL lines, and ordinary phone lines. Altogether it contains $1 000 of network gear, most of which is standard off the shelf equipment.

Future homes will have the ports, cables and switches built in. The extra wiring will add value. It’ll be a selling point when you move. If you want to make the most of your wired home, you’ll have to add the computers and other goodies. Probably you won’t do this yourself, because setting up a router isn’t as simple as plugging in a toaster. You’ll call an expert.

There will be companies that specialize. It is pretty straight forward to set it all up, and a lot of the boxes will arrive pre-configured, ready to be personalized for an individual family. Another key feature is the Hometronic Home Controller, a wireless system that controls the central heating and switches appliances on or off. It can be hooked up to the net for remote access, enabling you to log on to your house as you leave the office and turn up the heat. It isn’t on the market yet, but should be available sometime soon.

Being able to control your house from anywhere has its attractions, but you wouldn’t want some ne’er-do-well hacker switching on the lights at 3:00am, or turning on the aircon in the heart of winter. How secure is the internet home?

New for Old

You might not want to move house just to Netrify your life. However, the network infrastructure could be retrofitted to existing homes, just as people add central heating. High speed wireless networks will save you from ripping up the floor.

Why would you network your home? The benefits aren’t that great. You can play quake with your kids. Several people can share a printer and the internet connection. You can check on your new baby using a webcam. Wired homes will become the norm when companies start selling Internet-enabled appliances. Electrolux is working on a screenfridge that brings the Net into your kitchen. A web browser gives you access to online recipes, a video camera lets you record messages and a scanner keeps track of your food. When you run out of beer, it prompts you to visit an online superstore.

All these appliances could be built today, using current technology. They’d be expensive, but that’s not the sticking point. The reason they aren’t in your local furniture and hi-fi store is because there isn’t the infrastructure to support them. For the screenfridge to work, barcodes need to be replaced by radio tags that can be read from any angle. You aren’t going to pass your tub of butter over a scanner each time you put it away, so the fridge needs to be able to track it automatically. That means Electrolux has to work with supermarkets and food companies to change the way products are labeled.

Even then, how does the fridge know whether you’re putting back a nearly full tub or an empty one that need to be replaced? And supposing it decides to order a new tub, who’s going to take delivery of it and put it into the fridge? You are. Real life is full of real things that can’t be converted into ones and zeros.

Clothes, furniture… computers. If you’re going to be the brawn that moves everything around, you might as well supply some of the brains. And speaking of brainpower, wired life will involve more planning ahead. There’s no point in turning on the coffee machine from your bedroom if it doesn’t already contain water and coffee. Turning on the oven from the pub might save you a few minutes, but you won’t be able to check if it’s empty. Sure, your smart oven will sound the alarm when its contents catch fire, but you’ll end up making tea for the fire brigade instead of cooking pizza for yourself.

Wherever you Go

Once your house is totally wired, you could just stay in it and have all those real things delivered. You could even change your name to DotComGuy. More probably, you’re going to want to go out and take the internet with you.

If you’re the least bit interested in cell phones, you’ll have noticed a lot of fuss about WAP, the Wireless Access Protocol, which enables you to access the internet. It isn’t the internet as you know it. Instead, you get selected bits of selected sites, trimmed to suit tiny screens and the 9.6Kbps data transfer rate of GSM networks. (GSM, or Global System for Mobile, is the technology used by digital mobile phone networks in the UK and South Africa). More interesting services are being developed all the time and WAP will soon become full multimedia rich.

Bandwidth is now less of an issue since the inception of GPRS (General Packet Radio Service), a much faster data transfer service.

Everything, Everywhere

Ultimately, you’ll need to know whatever you need to know, no matter where you are. Remembering things will be less of an issue, because your technology will tell you where you’ve been, who you’ve seen and what you’re supposed to be doing next. Being in the right place at the right time won’t matter as much either, although there’ll still be times when your physical presence is required.

Don’t imagine that you’ll be able to give up thinking, because you’ll still have to make the hard decisions. Do you want to be a firefighter or a brain surgeon? Should you wait for him/her to call? Should we invade Iraq and Iran and get blown to pieces by suicide bombers? Will your kids end up in therapy if you make them eat all their vegetables, including the Brussels sprouts? Technology will bring you information, but it doesn’t have all the answers.

Some of you will say – well if so many countries are going downhill economically what about the Republic of Panama? Well this is a good point. Panama is actually not dependent on any one country to any appreciable extent. In Panama 15%-20% of the economy is dependent on banking. Panama has about 150 banks that are from many different countries around the world which due to Panama’s Neutral Status and Bank Privacy Laws has turned Panama into the Switzerland of Latin America. Panama is not in any tax treaties is one reason this goes on. Income tax evasion is still a civil offense in Panama. Panama is the Switzerland of Latin America but in reality the protections and privacy laws in banking and in general are better here than in Switzerland, check it out for yourself. What this means is that it is unlikely for Panamas banking system which is a vital part of their economy to ever get hurt since it is spread out into so much of the world.

In Panama there are still Bearer Share corporations which are owned by no one on record anywhere but by the person who has the papers for the corporation. Thus corporations can be transferred in a few seconds with no recording of anything. It is very common to have a bearer share corporation own real estate in Panama thus making the real estate ownership untraceable and most inconvenient for an entity that goes around confiscating assets which governments and lawyers are so fond of doing. This has given Panama a healthy business regarding corporation registration and formation which again is another aspect of the economy of Panama likely to not be threatened. Similar to this is the maritime ships registration business which also brings in a lot of money to Panama and again is most unlikely to be at risk.

Any sort of property can be owned by a bearer share corporation in Panama – a store, real estate, artwork, collectibles, jewelry. It is a way of owning and controlling things that are impossible to trace back to you thus protecting the asset from litigation etc.

To further assist people with privacy and protection Panama has foundations which no one really ever owns and one can have the bearer share corporation owned by a foundation. If you could ever penetrate the corporation far enough to see who owned it the circumstances would be most confusing so it is a commonly employed asset protection tactic used by people worldwide. Any sort of property can be owned by a bearer share corporation in Panama – a store, real estate, artwork, collectibles, jewelry. It is a way of owning and controlling things that are impossible to trace back to you thus protecting the asset from litigation etc. A bearer share corporation can not have a bank account without providing the bank with what is called the beneficiary owner of the account which sort of reduces the privacy value of this vehicle when it comes to banking. Could one have a bearer share company own the house they live in and pay rent to the corporation in cash getting receipts from the corporation, sure why not.

Panama does not import or export that much to the USA. Panama trades a lot with many other countries. I can not ever once remember seeing an advertisement of any sort in the USA for tourism to Panama. Panama has a nice and flourishing tourism industry but it is not all that America dependent. Lots of tourists come from Central and South America. Mostly American go to the Caribbean. Prices are good enough and the travel times are somewhat less. Panama tourism involves tourists from many different countries not being dependent on any one of them. Let’s not forget the Panama Canal which generates one billion dollars a year in revenue which is a lot for a country of only 3 million people. They are considering expanding the capacity of the canal to handle super ships but in any event this revenue is most unlikely to go away, thus it is another ingredient adding to the stability of Panama. Panama is just beginning to exploit ecotourism another fantastic source of revenue. After this medical tourism will be pursued as another source of bringing revenue into the country. Panama grows things and manufactures very inexpensively – two vital ingredients for stability and economic growth. If this is not enough Panama uses the dollar as currency so you can have all the stability of the dollar and since oil is priced in dollars demand for dollars will be high especially with rising oil prices so you avoid any currency conversion costs and have stability. My bottom line is that Panama may very well be more stable and economically secure than your home country plus offer you a better lifestyle! Think about it!

Now there is a migration of people who want to live here which is just starting a real estate boom which you can still get in on at close to the ground floor. Remember such booms in the USA and how easy it was to make money. Remember buying a house and selling it at a profit before the construction was finished. Here is your second chance because this is happening in Panama right now. What is my point- sell your house while you can still realize some gains and come enjoy the good life in Panama while real estate is still a steal and what the heck buy a couple of spec houses or lots if you have the money – opportunities like this don’t come around that often.

Housing in Panama

Housing costs are not what they used to be. Housing prices are shooting up in recent years as more and more Expats discover the advantages of life in Panama. The peak in housing prices will be at the very end of 2007 or in 2008 (my guesstimate) then prices will stagnate for a while and probably fix there. A price decline would require a shortage of incoming Expats which is something I do not see happening any time in the near future. Most Expats are probably buying homes/apts for an average price of $160,000 taking into account many live in many different rural areas of Panama (see our real estate advertising section for details). As long as the Expat can sell their current home for more than the cost of their Panama home they will keep coming. Many Expats are getting $300,000+ for theircurrent homes trying to cash out before the bottom falls out due to rising unemployment, rising interest rates, rising bankruptcies, energy costs affecting commuters and home heating oil costs soaring too. Many Europeans are coming here to take advantage of the high Euro. Since Panama real estate is priced in dollars it is like getting a 20% discount for the Euro buyer. Now when the Euro falls they sell their real estate which in Panama is priced in US dollars thus when they convert back to Euros post sale, they will buy more Euros with their dollars which would rise in value if the Euro fell. Sort of a fail safe for the European speculators which there are plentiful of these days.

I would speculate that Panama City houses run about $1000 a square meter (a sq. meter is slightly over 10 square feet). So a 200 square meter apartment (approx 2100 sq. ft.) would be $200,000. Now this would be the starting price and you could surely negotiate this down somewhat. Prices in other outlying areas will vary so do check our real estate section for current prices and offering with pictures so you can see what you’d be getting.

Rentals in Panama city come in two flavors – furnished and unfurnished. Furnished units are hard to come by. Most furnished units will not have really nice furniture, got it? The furnished apartments will usually have furniture that shows wear and may not be so clean, even if you spend $1900 a month. So what we learned was this. Furniture in Panama is very nice and cheap, real cheap. Like a king size bed, no headboard with frame for $210. The mattresses are great, not cheap foam but hand built and firm. We bought a nice sofa, love seat, plush chair with an Italian fabric we picked out, custom built for us in five days, delivered $595. The furniture here is not upholstery over fiber fill but solid foam, it is hand built and really solid. You can easily nicely furnish a 2 bedroom apt for $2000-$3000 assuming there are appliances which it probably will have. A nice brand new with warranty washer, dryer, stove, refrigerator will run about $1600 – $1700 delivered and set up. To really put the dog on and go first class for a 2 bedroom figure $5000 for furniture (not including appliances) and we are talking really nice stuff – rosewood, plush sofas with big pillows, solid wood all the way. If you spent $8000 on a four bedroom house it would look like $35,000 of furniture stateside but would wear better and be more comfortable. Dishes, lamps and stuff like that are really cheap. Consider not bringing your furniture down. Sell it and buy new stuff here with the proceeds, you can really do it. Anyway if you rent unfurnished there will be many more places to look at in the city or in the outlaying areas. Unfurnished rents are cheaper and you can take the savings and invest in your own furniture.

If you spent $8000 on furnishing a four bedroom house it would look like $35,000 of furniture stateside but would wear better and be more comfortable.

Okay in Panama City you can get a nice two bedroom apt in a decent neighborhood where you will be happy for about $900. If you want to live in a high end neighborhood by the water it can get up to $1800 which would be top drawer. Three bedrooms would start at about $1000 for a nice apt unfurnished up to $2500 for top drawer in modern buildings on the water on a high floor with an unobstructed view. We saw nice furnished apartments with views, three bedrooms for $1100 a month. Most all of these building will have some view – city or water. There will usually be a balcony. There will usually be a swimming pool and a gym but do not expect much with the gym typically too under equipped to be of any value. There will be enclosed parking (2 spots usually) and very adequate security. Nice comfortable apartments that do have closets. In the outlaying areas rents are less and the amount of available rentals is also less with furnished rentals being especially hard to find. If the project of building the extra canal goes through it is expected to result in an apartment shortage due to extra workers being sent here by their companies which of course means you could buy an investment unit furnish it and rent it out for big bucks for many years while the new canal is being built, not kidding about this. As a Pensionado, if you buy or build a new house, you won’t pay property taxes for 20 years, nor will you pay taxes on foreign-earned income. Make sure you check out our real estate section to get up to date prices on rentals and purchases.

Most apartments and houses have maids quarters. They are usually the size of a large walk-in closet with a full toilet attached and not air conditioned. This is the way things are down here. A maid will run about $200-$250 a month, her benefits will be about $27 a month. The maid is on 6 days a week, off Sunday (is this why so many people eat out on Sundays). The maid will cook, clean, do laundry and even shop for groceries. She may or may not iron – this is a sore spot with maids????? Maids will also serve as babysitters but many have an additional nanny. You can also hire a driver for about same money if you let him live in. Some may elect to have a live in driver and have a day maid. Most dwellings only have accommodations for one servant to live in. A driver drives you to restaurants and then when ready to leave you call him on cell phone and he comes to pick you up in front, same for going to mall, movies, bank etc. He will also help with errands and around the house.

For more information, please visit:

http://www.panamaexpertos.com

http://www.panamaexpertos.com/info.php?page=content/real_estate_overview&pagenumber=2

http://www.panamaexpertos.com/info.php?page=content/real_estate_overview

Do you want to know about new home interior trends for 2009? Quite possibly you’re getting your house ready for sale, relocating to a new office complex, building a custom property, or just requiring a scenery change. There are a lot of tastes, styles, and themes when it comes to interior design. There are some definite trends coming into being today where builders are letting their clients have so many more customizable options than in the past. Teaming efficiency in energy, and prudence tastefully, this year, open floor plans will most likely continue to be just as popular.

During the 1800s to early 1900s, houses were special. Large family homes were divided up inside to create distinct zones and areas. For example, the bedrooms of the family were located upstairs, while practical servant’s quarters were found near the kitchen on the lower level floors. On the first floor there was usually a powder room and on the second floor there was usually a private bathroom connected to the parents’ master bedroom. So parents could have some relief and privacy, the children were located down a hallway in a quarter of the home that was separate. There might have been a carriage house for guests or in-laws. This home interior trend is popular again for 2009, with two or three bedroom suites and extra bathrooms being more popular. Wanting a quiet place in the home, purchasers are requesting the children’s bedrooms on one side of the house, and the in-laws or parents on the other side. These suites are normally in an isolated part of the house with 300 to 400 square feet with a full bath and maybe a sitting room.

Family spaces should continue to be popular through 2009, according to home interior experts. Today having the family room and kitchen to the back of the house, referred to as rear living, is becoming the norm, so that mom can cook and watch the kids playing in the family room or she can keep an eye on the kitchen but still entertain guests in the living room. A lot of modern designs have less walls in common rooms with an “open concept” feel. Half walls that join dining rooms, dens, and kitchens are popular. Moreover, the European idea of backyard living rooms has finally arrived in America, bringing with it such amenities as full outdoor kitchens, brick ovens for pizza and bread, fire pits, chandeliers, even artwork and comfortable furniture all beneath a covered overhang.

Home interior designers usually look to create a sense of timelessness. Blue and greens are popular in rooms like bedrooms because they offer a calming feeling. Many times designers employ bright hues in their kitchen interior designs, such as startling splashes of yellow, red, and orange, as they are often centers that are very busy. There is a lot of versatility with living rooms from white and modern to elegant and dark. Bathrooms are designed to feel like a spa with light coming through crystal blocks, rich browns with accents in pastels, and peaceful hues on the floor tiles. A custom design will pull all of the rooms together for a unified feeling.

An executive feels peaceful and relaxed when he/she enters home after 16hours of hectic work, if kept tidy, serene and airy with fragrance. The teenager gets the atmosphere to study and concentrate if his/her room is in order and well kept. The home maker will have a sigh of relief when she enters the clean, dry, odourless kitchen early in the morning.

All these positive vibrations at home are possible only when the entire house is kept spotlessly clean.. The prerequisites for maintaining the house well are optimum usage of moving space as well as an intelligent arrangement of utility articles. There has to be a system of piling up disposable articles like mineral water bottles, plastic bags, newspaper/magazines etc., Today’s modern flat living culture , garbage and kitchen waste are also to be tackled on a day to day basis.

Let us go segment by segment. If we take the Hall, that is, drawing room or living room, the floor to be broomed and mopped every day. Sofa sets, carpets, electronic items like TV, music system etc be vacuum cleaned once in a week. The upholstery and curtains are to be changed once a month, by having another set washed or dry cleaned ready. The ceiling fans, glass windows, mirrors, and glass doors are to be cleaned every week.

The furniture is to be cleaned with dry cloth or with solutions meant for cleaning wooden articles. There is an excellent view across the gardens to the rose parterre and down to the main lawn. The dinning room regularly used for dinner parties and receptions. This room is used for formal luncheons and dinners.

The Drawing Room is used for most official entertaining including important visitors, diplomatic callers and small receptions. The drawing room is one of the most used rooms in the house, hosting many receptions, pre-dinner drinks, and meetings. The Drawing Room is the venue for small receptions, presentations and investitures. It is the central stone hall of the original Residence and is the oldest known European structure in Darwin.

Due to paucity of space in flats, the study room and bedroom will be the same, or used with a two-in-one concept.. In such cases the study part should have more moving space with only furniture and book shelves. The bed covers and pillow covers are to be kept tidy for the sake of hygiene and good atmosphere. Just a wash through washing machine weekly is enough for this. But the entire room to be vacuum cleaned once a fortnight and dusted.

A typical study might contain a desk, chair, computer, and bookshelves. A spare bedroom is often utilized as a study, but many modern homes have a room specifically designated as a study. Such rooms are usually located in a convenient area on the main floor of the house and may be referred to as a den, home office, or library. A study is a room in a house which is used for paperwork, computer work, or reading. Historically, the study of a house was reserved for use as the private office and reading room of a family father as the formal head of a household, but today studies are generally either used to operate a home business or else open to the whole family.

We now move to the very sensitive area, the bathrooms. The toilet, floor and wash basins are to be cleaned on a daily basis. We get many brands of cleaning material and accessories to aid this. The sink and the toilet are to be kept infection free, hence quality disinfectants that do not harm the hands and feet are to be used at frequent intervals for a healthy living. The other general cleaning like dusting the ceiling, wiping the mirrors, window panels, the shoe racks etc are also to be done periodically. In the United States, “bathroom” commonly means “a room containing a toilet”. In other countries this is usually called the “toilet” or alternatively “water closet”

The kitchen, the homemaker’s place of dwelling for 60% of the day deserves special treatment as the healthy survival of the family depends on the quality food that is being prepared from here. The toughest task indeed is the closed cabinets, which will be the paradise for ants, cockroaches and lizards. Cleaning the cabinet with insecticides is a must to prevent them from entering. The cabinet with wooden doors to be cleaned with dry cloth or with solutions which give some additional glow. The counter top and floor to be degreased and wiped/moped every day. The stainless steel vessels and the sink to be washed everyday and wiped. The gas stove, mixie, wet grinder and micro oven to be serviced periodically. The glass doors and windows to be kept tidy by periodical dusting and wiping. The refrigerator/freezer to be cleaned/defrost periodically.

Ground floor flats or independent houses may have the fortune of having small garden/lawn. Upkeep of garden gives immense satisfaction to the owner/ dweller. Watering the plants on daily basis, removing the cobwebs , weeds etc gets one rich dividend.

Nowadays we get house cleaning materials of high quality in departmental stores and also through direct marketing people. There is a growing awareness among people to use these products and pay more attention on keeping the house sparklingly clean.

There are also professional home cleaning services available in the market. People who can afford can enter into a contract and utilize their services.

samehta is a Copywriter of http://www.allphaserenovations.com Houston home remodeling. She written many articles in various topics such as http://www.allphaserenovations.com Houston Home Repair, Home Remodeling in Houston. For more information visit: www.allphaserenovations.com. Contact her at allphase.articles@gmail.com

I spent a few most enjoyable days in County Tipperary in June (09). Tipperary is divided into Tipperary North (where the local car registration is TN) and Tipperary South (where the car registration is TS). It is in the province of Munster and has good road and rail connections from Dublin. (Approx under 2 hours drive from Dublin.

The county is in the midlands and bordered by the counties of Waterford in the south, Kilkenny, Laois and Offaly to the east, Galway to the north and Cork, Limerick and Clare to the west.

As my wife was participating in a four-day course in at the Tipperary Institute in Thurles in north Tipperary we needed to find accommodation that accepted dogs. There are several hotels in Ireland that are “pet friendly”, but from researching this on the Internet, the majority appear to be in the west of Ireland. We stayed at one of these last June at Renvyle in Connemara. In the end I found Ashleypark House, situated near Nenagh via a website that listed B & B accommodation that is pet friendly.

Although they have a very informative web site  full of information and great pictures, I used the old fashioned way of contacting them – telephone to sort out our booking. They have a small flat adjoining the property and a renovated gardeners cottage that can be rented for self catering or a mixture of self catering and eating in the main house.

We drove from Dublin on a hot sunny Thursday afternoon using the new toll system  on the M50 then via the N4, M4, and M6 and through Tullamore famous for Irish Whiskey Tullamore Dew. We found the house after asking a couple of locals, although it was well signposted on the N52 road and the AA route planner directions were good.

Ashleypark House is set in 76 acres of woodland, formal gardens and a lake and with two entrances, both with gate lodges it has a long drive of approximately 1 km.  It is an 18th century country house that has been restored by its present owners. It is full of character and apart from providing bed and breakfast accommodation there are excellent four course dinners with wine.

The first night we were in a back bedroom overlooking a grass covered courtyard that is home to peacocks and cockerels. As it does not get dark till nearly eleven at this time of the year and is getting light soon after 3, these birds don’t have much sleep and are calling out from just after 3.30 and they are noisy. Sean the exceptionally active 80+ resident owner of the house suggested we move to a room at the front of the house that has superb views over the lake and much quieter. This was the room that President Mary McAleese  stayed in a few years ago. What an honour for our Irish born dog to sleep in the same room that the president had slept in!

The house was very good value costing around €100 per person a day for bed (with en-suite), full Irish breakfast, a four-course dinner with coffee or tea and this included the wine. Prices of wine ranged from €22 to €30 a bottle on average (and we found a very good red at €25 a bottle).  

Each day I had to take my wife to Thurles (some 40 km + away) and return for a full Irish breakfast and then take in some touring with my mother in law who had come with us and Joss the dog. On the first day we decided to explore the local area – Tipperary Lakeside in Shannon’s Lough Derg District. Lough Derg is the largest lake on the River Shannon. Although there is not a lakeside ring road, you can drive up to the various villages situated around it. Taking in a visit to the newly built “Thatched Cottage” pub in Ballycommon plus a factory shop was a great day. The area was full of recently built houses, many large properties with electric gates illustrating Ireland’s wealth over the last few years.

On the second day we went shopping in Nenagh. Nenagh is a very prosperous looking Irish midlands town. There only appeared to be one shop that had closed down and the town has a centre for tracing your ancestry, a cinema, modern out of town shopping complex plus many traditional shops in the town. There are a couple of shops that years ago would have been described as “drapers”. These establishments are on 2/3 floors offering ladies and gentleman’s clothing, soft furnishing, furniture etc.  One was Gough O’Keefe and Naughton drapery store and each shop was well stocked and busy.

After the shopping trip we moved onto Limerick, driving into the city from the outskirts is now similar to any major Irish city where the out of town shopping centres are full of UK retailers. The city is not large and unfortunately has a reputation over the last few years for gangland activity. This appears to be family gang members of one gang attacking members of others. This should not put off visitors to the city that has many fine streets and great scenery.

We crossed over the Shannon again and moved into Co Clare and stopped at Bunratty Castle. This fine old castle that has a “folk village” adjoining it is well worth visiting. I had been then some twenty years earlier so on this occasion did not go around the village. They hold mediaeval banquets in the castle. Bunratty now has a bypass, but it has been well landscaped and you certainly don’t miss the turning off the main N18.  Limerick and Bunratty are just a short distance from Shannon Airport.

It is a very popular location for holiday makers with a large development of self catering holiday homes run by the “Dream Ireland” company who feature many of their properties on the jmlvillas.com website. We parked outside Durty Nelly’s which is one of Ireland’s most famous pubs.  

After coffee in the spacious craft shop complex we moved onto the smaller roads following signs for sixmilebridge. This is a picturesque little village and has a pub by a stream that has miniature version of the pub next to it called the “Duck Inn”. Following on from the recent UK Parliament’s expenses saga when an MP was claiming for costs involving his floating duck island house, I could not resist taking a couple of pictures of this floating “duck pub”. 

We then followed signs to Knappogue Castle. I remember going there one summer when visiting Ireland with relatives over thirty years ago for a Mediaeval banquet. The more popular even at Bunratty was booked out so we went to Knappogue, which is not so much on the tourist route. That Saturday in June it was deserted, the weather by that time had changed to rain, but the notices said they still hold these banquets and wedding receptions there.

The next objective was drive to Thurles via Limerick and not taking the road to Nenagh which would be out of the way. You needed a map with the villages you would pass through as the route was deliberately not signposted to Thurles until you were some 30km from it. Although it was raining it was a great drive through these picturesque villages, most of which has a shop, pub and church. Rather like the day before there has been a lot of new houses built over the last few years and property, old and new are in very good condition. No doubt the owners would be working in Limerick.

Wherever you went to be it in the remote countryside, a town or city there were hundreds of poster pictures  of candidates for the Irish local elections and the European Parliamentary elections that was held in Ireland on the Friday. Visiting Ireland again a  couple of weeks after the event, there was something missing with all the bare lampposts and telegraph poles where these posters had been. It was rather like when the Christmas decorations have to come down at twelfth night with just the odd poster slipping through the removal net.  

Before getting to the Tipperary institute we drove around Thurles itself, even though it was raining you got a very good idea of the town. This town is  a very prosperous looking place full of shops, pubs and restaurants.

Sunday was the final touring day and as we were in Tipperary could not miss the opportunity of visiting Tipperary itself. The day was warm and sunny again turning off the familiar Nenagh to Thurles route we drove down a very bumpy road that at one stage turned into a single track road with grass in the centre, rather similar in width to those country house properties like Ashleypark House. The worrying factor was that there were not many passing places and fortunately no other traffic was coming in the opposite direction.

The car was very low on petrol and none of the picturesque villages had filling stations. We arrived on the outskirts of Tipperary without incident and refreshed the car’s tank.

Tipperary was very similar to Thurles, Nenagh and the other local towns. After looking around, we moved onto Thurles again this time following the route via Cashel which is One of the most spectacular tourist attractions in Ireland and one of the most visited. It is  home to the iconic Rock of Cashel.

Monday was the day to leave Ashleypark House a place that was so tranquil. There is a rowing boat available for guests to use on the lake and plenty of walks and the bonus is that they accept dogs.

There are so many people travelling with dogs to Ireland that it seems very strange that there are not more establishments that are pet friendly. Maybe the economy has been so good for such a long time that they have had full occupancy without needing to encourage people with pets. Now that tourist levels are going to be lower and fewer visitors from Britain because of the high ferry costs on the Irish Sea routes (unlike going to France) and the weakness of sterling against the euro, hotels will have to look at their market and restrictions they impose.

Ashleypark House is listed with “The Hidden Ireland” here they 30 similar types of accommodation in locations around Ireland. Apart from Ashleypark House there was only one other house advertised that would allow pets and in that case, stating “Kennels and Stables available”. It is a great pity that others are not pet friendly, as we will be looking for another area to visit next year.

It looks like prices in general will have to be reviewed to attract more custom. I discovered in a hotel in Malahide, near Dublin the other day that a pint of Kilkenny beer was costing €4.90 and this is higher than the same brand in the south of France. A pint of real ale back in my local pub in England will set you back around £3.00 so they do need to look at costs to attract the important tourist industry.

On the subject of Dublin, we drove back via Roscrea and the N7 before negotiating the M50 toll again, paying the fee this time at the local Spar store instead of online.

After visiting Ireland for the past 35 years it was really great to go to Tipperary for the first time and managed to cover a lot of the county, be it Tipperary North! It is a very prosperous, place to visit and you get a great welcome and prices appear to be much, much better value than Dublin.