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<\/a>Some of the early minglers. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n
And this time was no different. It was held at the two-year-old British-owned Maybourne Hotel in Beverly Hills, which I\u2019ve wanted to check-out since the pandemic lessened and it’s become a bit safer to venture out. The hotel recently hosted a few special afternoon teas which, very sadly for me, I missed. So I’m glad that Tourism Ireland chose this location for their return to Los Angeles.<\/p>\n
And it was perhaps the classiest event they’ve ever thrown! The guest list was exclusive, the venue beautiful, the food divine, and the\u00a0Irish music, provided by the\u00a0trio Mairtin Music,\u00a0was\u00a0lively and perfect. The\u00a0presentations were delightful, to boot.<\/p>\n
<\/a>The Mairtin Music trio. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n
And the entire event moved right along. We guests got to mingle, learn about so much on offer in the Emerald Isle, be entertained, and partake of a delectable meal all, in the space of just two hours! And it never felt rushed.<\/p>\n
For the first hour, we had the opportunity to network with the various Irish Travel Ambassadors. They were uber-informative about hotels, towns, tours, and attractions. We even received tiny mini flasks from Teeling Distillery. My co-writer Laura and I want to see every place they told us about! And absolutely\u00a0everyone<\/em>\u00a0was lovely. If the entire country is like that, sign us up for a trip to Ireland right now!<\/p>\n Just part of Karen Salkin’s Best of Ireland greenery. Photo by Karen Salkin…’s left hand!<\/p><\/div>\n After all that, it was time to sit down to the luncheon. The group at our table was an interesting mix of journalists and Ireland representatives. Laura bonded with Martin Mangan, the General Manager of Ireland\u2019s Carton House, over their love of travel. Laura told me that when he took the stage a bit later on to address the assemblage, Martin\u2019s presentation \u201cdazzled us with pictures of his beautiful hotel; it looks stunning!,\u201d and added, \u201c I’m not much of a drinker, but I would love to have a drink at\u00a0that\u00a0<\/em>hotel bar.\u201d\u00a0I<\/em>\u00a0enjoyed comparing notes with a fellow writer because the two of us were donned in more green (to match the occasion) than the rest of the guests combined!<\/p>\n Tourism Ireland’s events often feature a buffet for the meal, which I also love, but this time it was a sit-down luncheon. After my\u00a0hectic past few weeks, I was more than happy to take a seat and be served, especially by the hotel’s very accommodating staff.<\/p>\n We began with a lovely salad of arugula, apples, goat cheese, and pistachios, which was delish. Then most guests moved on to seared salmon in an Irish butter sauce, (and we all know how excellent that country’s butter is!,) while vegetarians, (and picky eaters like\u00a0moi<\/em>,) went with a wild mushroom ravioli, in truffle sauce for most, and bare for me.<\/p>\n The salads. (And there are two-piece boxes of chocolates hiding under the napkins!) Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n The repast ended with a spot-on dessert for the occasion\u2014a cheesecake flavored with…Bailey\u2019s Irish Creme! How apropos!<\/p>\n The Bailey’s cheesecake. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n One thing I noted while we were dining\u2014I was glad the entree wasn\u2019t corned beef, since I recently found-out, (from the Irish stars of\u00a0Belfast<\/em>, on a talk show,) that not only is that\u00a0not<\/em>\u00a0Ireland’s \u201cnational dish\u201d after all, (as all Americans have believed forever,) but the Irish barely even know what it is!!!<\/p>\n In between courses, there were\u00a0perfect-length speeches and presentations. After greetings from several people in the organization including Minister for Tourism, Catherine Martin;\u00a0Chair of Tourism, Christopher Brook; and Head of North America and Australia, Alison Metcalfe, we got to hear from very informative and charming reps in three groups.\u00a0 (I\u2019m sure you all know how much they had me at \u201cluxury,\u201d so the other two categories went by the wayside for me a bit as I took down every word about being pampered.) And they made it all brief enough to keep our attention the entire time. The leader of the production\u00a0kept it going the whole while with tons of energy and excitement. It was a pleasure to listen to.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a>