Tag: www.gadventures.com

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Hungry and Thursday – Sri Lankan curry

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No, you’re not seeing things… that really is your Travel blogger (I get everybody, anybody else to cook for me) in an apron.

This week’s hosts on the oul’ Travel circuit, G Adventures, set us all a challenge… make our own lentil curry at home.

So they sent us of with this bag of lentils and spices and a recipe….

Something’s cookie’ in the kitchen

The enjoyment of which lasts longer than a selfie stick or battery pack which will give in on you by the time you get home.

This bag of goodies and the recipe enclosed is for a Sri Lankan Dhal Curry.

Community tourism

And it’s based on a spice mix developed by Sthree Cafe, a Planaterra project located in Kandy, Sri Lanka.

This collaboration with the communities they send us on holiday too is what G Adventures is all about.

Helping to give them a foot up… and I found this when I went to Jordan with them https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/petra-jordan-jesus-and-the-sands-of-time/.

Does mine look like this?

Now I know a thing or two about Sri Lankans too… unfortunately I haven’t been yet but I joined the staff on the Maldives to play cricket and football.

And became a bit of a hit, even if I did run out their opener. And they politely asked my group as they served them through the day if Mr Jim would be back.

This is a brief reminder of that Maldives adventure…. https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/2019/08/12/atoll-tale-the-maldives/

Stir it up

Now G Adventures are flagging up 12 destinations for 2020, among them Ireland.

They are particularly taken by our Leap Year tradition of reversing the traditional engagement proposal to women asking for a hand in marriage?

And are right on board with Galway as a European Capital of Culture for 2020.

G Adventures has a new National Geographic Journeys Iconic Ireland trip for those wanting to join the craic. Priced from €2,449pp for a nine-day trip from Dublin return. 

Now I’m looking through their list and I’m noticing that there’s only two destinations I’ve been to… Ireland, obvs, and South Africa… https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/home/whats-new-pussycat/

Let’s hear it for Sri Lanka

The last word though I’ll give to Sri Lanka…

Particularly after the troubles they had with terrorism and how this welcoming people have got back on their feet since.

To help support this return, the government is offering a free visa for travellers from 48 countries, including the UK and Ireland.

A 14-day Sri Lanka Encompassed trip is priced from €1,639pp travelling from Colombo to Mirissa. 

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Cruiseday Tuesday – Scotland is Arctic

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It can feel positively Arctic in Scotland so it should come as little surprise that Scotland is being billed as part of an Arctic cruise… with our old friends G Adventures.

G Adventures http://www.gadventures.com will be hosting us tonight in Dublin to reveal more of their wares as part of their G Stock Live road trip.

And I will be able to speak to them about their product with more authority (no comments, please) having been their guests in Jordan earlier this year…. https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/petra-jordan-jesus-and-the-sands-of-time/

Of course they cover the Seven Seas too and their Galapagos Islands and Cambodia packages from their current sale randomly jumped out at me.

My fjord escort: My own wee Troll

As did their 16-day Cruise the Norwegian Fjords with Scottish Highlands package for May 17.

Which is reduced from €4899 to €4164.

Starting in Tromso, the gateway to the Arctic you’ll travel as far north as Nordkopp where the Atlantic and the Arctic Seas meet before hopping your way down the fjords.

And believe me they are full of myth and majesty as we found out…. https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/the-call-of-the-fjords/

Light up, light up. Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

You’ll pop in Shetland Islands, the most northerly point in the UK, whose nearest train station is Bergen in Norway, before finishing off in Edinburgh.

Heck, the Shetland Islands used to be Norwegian before being given to Scotland in a dowry in 1472.

Every day’s a school day on Cruiseday Tuesday!

Tenerife… I’ll be back

The beautiful Garachico. On Tenerife

The sharp Norwegian winter air is bracing but if you prefer a winter warmer…

Then TUI has seven nights on January 17 in an inside cabin on the Marella Explorer from €879pps.

For more on the Canarian Flavours package visit https://www.tuiholidays.ie. Call 1850 45 35 45 or visit a TUI Store / travel agent.

A toast to the Canaries

Unless you’ve been hiding under a stone you’ll know that I’ve been in Tenerife this autumn.

Where I learned a whole lot of stuff… https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/tenerife-walk/

Just promise me you’ll drink some of the Shakespearean wine, the Malvasia.

And a stroll on the island

And eat some of their wrinkled potatoes with mojo mojo sauce!

Now if you like your TUI cruise, and why wouldn’t you, why not try Canaria Ways’ http://www.CanariaWays.com and read all about https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/tenerife-walk/

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Give us this day: Jesus, John & Jordan

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And the lesson today in Give us this day is from John 1:28 and tells the tale of Jesus, John and the Jordan.

These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptising.

John 1:28

Not here in Israel…

Lost in time: Al-Maghtas

But here in Jordan.

Like all things in the Middle East there is a history and a land dispute.

Israel claims that John baptised Jesus in this spot, modern-day Israel, in the River Jordan.

While the Jordanians claim that it was further in, deep in their country, modern-day Jordan.

In what is, to our tongue, Bethany.

It looked like a dry ditch when I visited Al-Maghtas, ‘immersion’ in Arabic, in the baking heat of an early Jordan summer.

Could it have been like this: John’s Baptism of Jesus

But the fact is, and not meaning to sit on the fence wherever that might be, you do get a very powerful sense that Jesus of Nazareth was here.

The Pope on John, Jesus and the Jordan

Pope Francis visited the Jordanian site on the east of the river back in 2014 after he became pontiff.

While further to the west a group of Russian Orthodox Christians took a dip in the waters.

A river runs through it: The River Jordan

Which means you don’t have to imagine hordes of pilgrims being reborn again with the water of life.

You just have to open your ears and eyes to the spectacle before you from the Jordanian side.

As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him.

Matthew 3:16-17

And sorry for mixing my evangelists which is a canonical crime on par with mixing metaphors.

Judge for yourself if I stay on the right path with my review of Jordan and we’ll visit Petra and go on a camel ride. https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/petra-jordan-jesus-and-the-sands-of-time/(opens in a new tab)

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FLYDAY FRIDAY

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Purple reigns, purple reigns… in Minneapolis, Barbados, LA. Everywhere.

You heard it here first… the twin cities are THE American cities to go to this year.

You can rock to Prince at his Paisley Park home just as I did with Di-Di, above, at Barbados Crop Over, visit great shopping malls, eat at top restaurants with delicious craft beer and go out into the Great Outdoors and enjoy more wonderful Park life.

I also partied with Natasha Bedingfield who gave a stirring version of Purple Rain to us in LA at the American Travel fair IPW. She picked me out in the crowd and stroked her chin in reference to my purple beard and we wound down afterwards at the after-party.

Icelandair flies to Minneapolis for €185, one-way based on a return fare and travel 26 August 2019 – 24 March 2020. And that includes a stopover in Reykjavik. Visit http://www.icelandair.com. http://www.minneapolisnorthwest.com.

Icelandair also has:

New York                €158*

Boston                      €193*

Chicago                    €198*

Seattle                      €210*

Vancouver               €210*

Book by midnight, Sunday 16th June 2019 23:59pm.

The Wonder of You…

… And you

She is my wonder of the world… and her above too. In fact The Wonder of You was our First Dance music at our wedding reception 25 years ago.

Petra, of course, is another wonder of the world, one of the Modern Wonders of the World and it is everything that they say as I found out on my recent G Adventures trip http://www.gadventures.com. And http://www.visitjordan.com.

Our friends at Ryanair have compiled a Seven Wonders of the World guide for us. I’d recommend my Jordan musings which I will compile for multiple media outlets soon and also in this blog over the coming weeks.

The other Wonders you’ll be wanting to tick off on your way… you can go by camel if you want too… are the Temple of Olympian Zeus, Athens, the Colosseum, Rome (tick), the Dead Sea (tick, tick), La Sagrada Familia Barcelona (tick, tick, tick), Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia (they’ve been onto me) and Lagoa do Fogo, the Azores (big fan of Portugal).

And yes, they all give me ‘strength to carry on.’

See http://www.ryanair.com for its guide, and also for other top deals.

A million love songs

Wheely great: Laura and Graham

Congratulations Laura McGrory and Graham Woods who won an upgrade to Business Class and two complimentary Aer Lingus flights from North America to a European City of their choice with Aer Lingus.

And what did they have to do? Only be the 1 millionth transatlantic guest to fly with the national airline carrier this year. The recently married couple from Dunleer in Co. Louth made the milestone trip travelling from Dublin to Seattle.

All of which begs the question. 1 millionth means one person. Ah, true love when two becomes one.

Enough song titles already?

Iamsterdam

Daddy’s Little Girl is just back from Amsterdam and absolutely loved it… it is one of my favourite short-hop city breaks too.

Sassy and classy, it has the perfect mix of high and low culture.

The food and drink are also great and I’m always won over by idiosyncratic ways of serving booze, with the Dutch custom of skimming the heads of beer with plastic knives always a winner. And mayo on chips? You should try it.

Aer Lingus likes a list too… as do I, unless of course it’s a shopping list.

Its top ten picks starts with Amsterdam, I guess it always will, and also picks out Barcelona, Birmingham, Berlin, Dusseldorf, London, Milan, Madrid, Manchester and Vienna.

See for yourself on http://www.aerlingus.com but it’s billing its autumn getaway as ‘fly from €25.99’. And here’s my recommendation https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/pictures-of-amsterdam/(opens in a new tab). https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/the-dylan-by-george/(opens in a new tab)

Fares are one-way including taxes and charges. Valid for travel from August 1 until September 30. Book by June 17.

Must fly, I’ve got to book.

MEET YOU IN THE SKIES