Ok, firstly the question to which I have a certain answer, meaning the last one about the palantir.
As Tolkien wrote in The Road Goes Ever On:
Quote:
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After the fall of Elendil the High-Elves took back this Stone into their own care, and it was not destroyed, nor again used by Men.
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He also notes that the Elves who sing a hymn to Elbereth at Rivendell (FotR) use the term
palan-díriel, that means"gazing afar", showing as such that they were at that time returning from looking into the palantir.
And so they continued to do until the end of the Third Age, when the palantir was removed to the West with the ship that carried the Ringbearers.
Now as far as Lindon and the Grey Havens are concerned I doubt that much information besides what has already been mentioned exists.
I could add that the Blue Mountains had large forests on their slopes all the way towards the Sea, so the Elves clearly had plenty of wood there.
As far as other building materials as well as metals are concerned I believe that trade with Dwarves would have been important. We know for example that Thrain and Thorin II created halls in the Blue Mountains towards the end of the Third Age and also that Thorin laboured in the forge and gathered such wealth as he could, so perhaps also through trade with the Elves.
As far as how the Grey Havens looked... it really is hard to say, though personally if I were to guess, I would probably compare it to Brithombar or Eglarest, the great havens of Beleriand and probably (in my mind) the closest thing to Mithlond.
As such we learn, that the havens had been built to fair walled towns in F.A.65, with quays and piers of stone.
So since Noldor also lived in Lindon, especially Forlond, I could imagine these havens had a similar look.
After all the battlesin Beleriand I doubt the Elves would be happy to only build a few settlements and they most surely built fortifications, if not from the beginning then at least when they first encountered Sauron and after the loss of Hollin.
Lastly, about contacts with others... I doubt it. Cirdan of all would know best that Elves were no longer truly involved in the problems of M-e. Look for example at Arvedui's demise. Had the Elves been really so keen in somehow saving Arvedui they would have looked for him earlier and would not have sent a boat after so much time.
They were seemingly willing to help, but only if it was of the utmost importance. As such, I don't see them contacting Hobbits (anyway, very few Hobbits were said to have seen the Sea) and the only time they passed through or near the Shire was when they went to the Tower of Elostirion or to Rivendell.
Pretty much the same goes for Gondor also.