Hello from Dublin, Ireland

I am writing you this week from Dublin, Ireland. I am here to check out all the hotels and restaurants in advance of thousands of Husker football fans arriving this week for our football game on Saturday.

Here are eleven observations from my trip to Ireland so far:

1. August is the perfect month for weather in Ireland – I left 90-degree weather in Nebraska and arrived and found perfect 70-degree highs and 50-degree lows. What a great relief from the heat.
2. The flowers are big, bright, bold, and beautiful in Ireland – Lots of rain and cool weather do magic to flowers. Dublin must be the flower basket of the world.
3. Use your American Express card if you are renting a car in Ireland – They provide primary Insurance coverage for your rental that could save you up to $35 a day on insurance costs.
4. I was reminded on this trip everyone should sign up for National Car Rental’s Emerald Club – This lets you earn one free car rental day for every 5 rental days. I used one of my free rental days to rent a car in Dublin for a day trip and saved $135. Wow!
5. Use an ATM to get local money – Be careful of exchanging US dollars for Euros at the Dublin airport. I asked how many Euros I could get for $1000 and they said 873 Euros. The current exchange rate today is 1€ = $1. This means they are charging you $127 to exchange money. You should always use a bank ATM to exchange money in Ireland as they only charged me $11 to exchange the $1000 into 1000€ from the ATM.
6. The people of Ireland are the most hospitable people in the world – I travel the world and nobody makes you feel as warm and cared for as the Irish. They greet you with a smile and a homemade treat. You also can’t leave without a hot cup of coffee for the road.
7. Small business is Ireland – Many hotels and restaurants are owned by families and not large corporations like in other countries. It is not uncommon to meet the owner/manager during your dinner or stay. It is so much fun to see the pride on their faces when they proudly explained to you that their property has been in their family’s hands for 3-4 generations.
8. Ireland is moving rapidly to touch less (cashless) payment – COVID has expedited the move from paying with currency to a short tap of your credit card. Most places still accept Euros however I was surprised at how common cashless payment was used.
9.  Walking and driving can be hazardous to your health – In Ireland they drive on the wrong side of the road (left side). Many Americans are an accident waiting to happen when they rent a car in Ireland. And the most common accident is Americans crossing the street and looking the wrong way only to get clobbered by a car from the other direction. Please be careful and take the extra time to look both ways twice before crossing a street in Ireland.
10. Roundabouts are everywhere in Ireland – It seems like almost all traffic intersections have been converted to roundabouts in Ireland. You can get dizzy without drinking while driving in Ireland.
11. You have never had a milkshake taste as good as a pint of Guinness poured in a pub in Ireland – Why is it that Guinness in the USA tastes like axle grease while one poured in Ireland is as smooth as a milkshake? Some people say they have to put preservatives in it to ship it abroad. All I know is Guinness tastes completely different on this side of the pond.