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Countries, Europe, Ireland

Holiday Snaps: Easter Ireland

12th April 202012th April 2020 funtime65

Thoughts of Ireland are never far from my mind but never more so than at Easter.

Easter was our time, my Mum and me.

When she would drive us over to see her Mum and Dad and sister in Co. Donegal in the north-west of the country.

We would have some adventures on the way.

Such as the time when we ended up on the Scottish island of Arran. Because she was too busy talking.

And did not listen to the steward, and went into the wrong queue.

I’d keep up the tradition of going to Donegal http://www.govisitdonegal.com at Easter when I relocated to Ireland and County Wicklow http://www.visitwicklow.ie.

And we would always stay in the town of Ballybofey near to her home hamlet of Brockagh.

Mum, having been brought up in the only hotel in the hamlet, was always a stickler for standards.

But she was always treated as a returning heroine by Jackson’s http://www.jacksonshotel.ie manager Barry.

I never had the heart to tell her that Irish hoteliers treat every guest the same way.

Of course neither of us are able to visit Donegal just now.

Where Dad is seeing out eternity with the rest of her family.

But it is reassuring to know that Donegal hasn’t forgotten us.

Donegal’s delights

With my friends at Harvey’s Point https://www.harveyspoint.com sending on their Easter greetings.

*Tranquil: Harveys Point.* http://www.booking.com

And Niall and the team are naturally showing that Donegal optimism.

With an offer for when we get back travelling again.

The award-wining Harvey’s Point is offering 10% off gift vouchers which can be redeemed in full against future stays.

We’ll maybe not tell her though that it was another Ulster county Monaghan which laid out the red carpet for us.

When the Scary One only brought us there a weekend early.

Visit https://monaghantourism.com/plan-your-visit/ and https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/monaghans-country-roads/

And Easter elsewhere

There’s a meme going around just now.

Where Maria Von Trapp is being carted away from the hills (black humour will help us through this crisis).

Drink it all in

The Austrian hills are, of course a shifting landscape and beautiful either in the snow https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/dresdens-renaissance-martin-luther/europe/soll-mates/ or when the glades are verdant.

I was all over Austria last year walking with Top Flight for Schools https://topflightforschools.ie… and drinking https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/2020/03/26/hungry-and-thursday-the-off-sales/!

This being rural Austrian Tyrol https://www.tyrol.com it’s all about the eggs.

There are two kinds – the decorative ones and the chocolate ones. The decorative ones are blown beforehand so they are a hollow shell.

No yolk

The locals then use ferns and small flowers.

They are attached to the egg, before it is coloured or stained and then removed to leave a pattern.

The best bit though is that they are then used in an adaptation of a favourite childhood game.

Eierpecken is an Austrian pastime where the eggs are knocked together, just like conkers?

Visit www.blog.tirol/en/2018/03/diy-naturally-dyed-easter-eggs/ and here: www.pinterest.ch/pin/554998354055595995/
Austrian Tirol: www.visittirol.co.uk

Swiss roll

I like the way the Swiss roll.

And if you thought it was schnapps, schnapps and more schnapps you would only be half right.

Heaven with Hell

The beer, they go in for a brew called Hell, ain’t half bad.

While they also serve whisky at the top of the Jungfraujoch railway https://www.jungfrau.ch/en-gb/jungfraujoch-top-of-europe/ and https://www.myswitzerland.com/en-gb/.

And https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/dresdens-renaissance-martin-luther/europe/swhisskey/.

And delivery of Easter wine is very much part of their seasonal rituals.

The big cheese

It was started as a religious, social and calming offering back in 1575 in Verbier and has continued ever since.

*Let t*he train take the strain: In Switzerland

In the past the parishes or the bourgeoises bequests in kind and in money.

In return for being the ones to offer the distribution of wine, cheese or even bread during Easter.

Nowadays, it encourages families and friends to get together for a feast.

So channel your inner Swiss today when you feast on wine, cheese or even bread during Easter.

These are the Swiss wines to look out for https://swisswine.ch/en/news/amazing-swiss-wine-regions-discover
Verbier: www.verbier.ch/en/index.htm

America, Countries, Europe, Ireland, UK

Women’s Day – my own heroines

8th March 20208th March 2020 funtime65

And by order of the management my heroines are – The Scary One, Daddy’s Little Girl and my Dear Old Mum.

All of whom have been wonderful (and challenging) fellow travellers on life’s unpredictable journey. Never my fault, of course.

Where do I start? I give her one thing to do, remember my dates for our weekend away in Monaghan Monaghan’s country roads.

While we almost ended up by taking the wrong bus from Hamburg, to east Germany rather than Kiel.

En route to our MSC cruise www.msccruises.co.uk up the Norwegian cruises where we almost missed our ship in Bergen. Moi???

It was always going to be a challenge on the slopes with Topflight www.topflight.ie to Soll Soll Mates.

But we stayed out of trouble in Central Portugal, Secret Portugal all down to our perfect host Jose https://www.madomistours.pt.

While we were on the same wavelength this time in Amsterdam Pictures of Amsterdam and George Clooney and Amal’s Amsterdam hotel.

Because the previous time, 23 years earlier, when there was a fork in the cycling route and we ended up going 10kms out of the way.

Then there was the adventure of 13 and a half years in Ireland with The InterCon… what a Ledge! a particular highlight.

Mum Champagne

My first holiday companion… I was in her belly en route to her homestead, Co. Donegal https://visitdonegal.net and we’ve been back countless times.

Latterly when I would take her up from my home in Co. Wicklow.

On one occasion I was tasked to drive her and my Auntie Ronnie who was grieving her husband, my Uncle Tom, up from Dublin… in Ronnie’s automatic sports car!!!

Then when I accompanied her to New York https://www.nycvb.com/about/ for my cousin’s wedding… and suddenly I was back to 12 years old again.

While she wimped out of the Red Hot Chill Pipers concert when we were VIPs in my home town of Glasgow https://peoplemakeglasgow.com at the World Pipe Band Championships https://www.theworlds.co.uk.

Daddy’s Little Drinking Girl

Now there are only good memories… from the time in England’s Lake District https://www.golakes.co.uk when she asked me to find a friend for her.

To a family camping trip in Co. Wicklow https://visitwicklow.ie… when she was nine and she swigged from my whisky flask and claimed that she thought it was tea!

There was no pretence when we attended a cocktail night at the Dylan https://www.dylan.ie…

Well, she is her Grannie’s grand-daughter… and don’t even get me started on the other Grandma, the storied Bamba.

*And now I’ve got started I’ll move onto my heroines from my own personal Travels.

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Down on the Wicklow farm

19th August 201919th August 2019 funtime65

Chris’s mum made the best lunch spread of sandwiches and home-made cakes.. voles not included.

They were freely available though scuttling around the farmyard.

Which is where Sean found a dead one and slipped it into Wee Jon’s doorstep sandwich.

Conscience got the better of him though and he called a halt before Jon caught rabies.

We were down on the Aberdeenshire farm, seven students with hefty overdrafts but summer time on our hands.

And a farmer who needed his hay brought in.

So English Chris and Big Finlay, the Hebridean, were out in the fields bringing in the hay.

Andy and myself (sometimes Toothy but never on a Sunday, he liked those off and Chris never sussed and still paid him) put them through the chute.

*Andy, far left, Wee Jon middle, and Finlay, right*

Pyscho bagged them when they came out of the machine and Sean sealed them before giving them to Wee Jon.

Who stacked them at the back of the shed.

Trouble was that he should have made a pyramid because the bags swell.

And put weight on the back of the wall.

So that one day Chris phoned to tell me that the shed had come down and he’d lost his harvest.

And us our jobs!

I wish Sean hadn’t stopped Jon eating the vole sandwich.

And I told Jon and his too good for him partner, Rachel, as much when he came to visit this year.

Stuff and nonsense of which brings me to an Agricultural Heritage Week in my adopted county of Wicklow.

*We’ve been here a while now: Co. Wicklow*

Coolakay, Enniskerry, is offering guided tours on Friday, August 23, 4pm, 5pm, 6pm with owner and agri historian Robert Roe, main pic.

Robert, a sheep farmer and master of the plough, will show off his tractors, Jeeps and farm machinery.

And give talks about Ireland’s rich agri heritage.

Coolakay House & Agricultural Heritage Centre is on Powerscourt Waterfall Road www.coolakayhouse.ie.

And read my love letter to Powerscourt Flowerscourt.

There is reduced entry of €2. No children without accompanying adults.

Also www.visitwicklow.ie.

And after you’ve finished reading Flowerscourt here’s my letter to my first love, Aberdeen A light in the north.

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This Sporting Weekend – Gaelic

17th August 201918th August 2019 funtime65

‘Come on and I’ll take you to the football’ always got the Son and Heir out of bed.

Nothing will probably compare to the time we were in Edinburgh and I told him to get his coat as we were off to see his beloved Liverpool.

Understandably he thought we were off to the pub until we got on the road to Sunderland.

I teased him too when we relocated to Co. Wicklow in Ireland and I tempted him again with football.

Despite Ireland being without a professional football league such is his love for the game that he would have gladly gone down to see Bray.

But we headed the other way to see Wicklow play Gaelic Football against I can’t remember who in Aughrim.

There had been a lot of noise around their new coach, Kerry and the game’s legend Micko O’Dwyer.

The whole community atmosphere of the day caught our imagination.

Parking on a muddy verge, creature comfort food and us standing up with the crowd for the national anthem Amrhán na bhFiann.

Or Soldier’s Song, an anthem I’d learned at my Donegal mum’s knee and on the terraces of Celtic Park in Glasgow.

And I loved too that fans of both Gaelic football teams milled around together where football teams don’t.

And against his better judgment the Son and Heir enjoyed himself.

Although I don’t think either of us remember who the opposition were.

Or whether we won.

The national games

The All-Ireland Gaelic football competition and Ireland’s other indigenous sport hurling are nearing their climax in September.

And whoever wins, and it’s usually Dublin and Kerry at Gaelic football, and Kilkenny at hurling, the cups will do a tour of the counties.

*And the other game of hurling.* http://www.gaa.ie

And I got a taste of it when I was told of the lengths that neighbouring town lands, or village outposts, in Monaghan would go to to gain an advantage.

Read my misadventures in Monaghan’s country roads.

And for all you want to know about Co. Monaghan see http://www.visitmonaghantourism.com and Co. Wicklow http://www.visitwicklow.ie

For everything you want to know about Ireland’s home sports visit http://www.gaa.ie and Ireland http://www.failteireland.ie.

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We will delight them on the beaches

16th August 201916th August 2019 funtime65

We’re all different and my elder brother would prefer to stay in the hotel in Ibiza rather than hit the beaches.

My parents loved the beach and my Mum, in particular, loved to sunbathe.

Me being the restless sort and never a strong swimmer I preferred a beach game.

And I spent a week in Menorca playing Boules with German boy Uwe at the age of 9.

We didn’t share a word but we shared a love of sand as do parasol supplier We Are Promotional http://www.wearepromotional.co.uk/printed-branded-parasols-pubs-breweries/.

Beach boys (and girls)

They have given us this survey of our habits.

Which I’ll pick through for you.

The most expensive beach on amenities including luxury huts and parking is Renaissance Island, Aruba at £302.54pp.

And the cheapest is Huiquan Bathing Beach, China at £8.94pp.

In among them is Bournemouth. If fate had taken a different turn I could have been working there. http://www.visitbournemouth.com.

Fourth in the table at £168pp I’d have been looking for that factored into my salary.

Which would have had to be good to save up for those beach huts.

Huiquan again is the place to go for families (of four) at £34.96.

Beach bummin’ it

But I picked out Bathsheba Beach on the east of Barbados… let me share https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/rihanna-in-barbados/. And check out http://www.visitbarbados.org.

There I ate a bucket of Bajan chicken, Banks beer in hand and waves crashing around my feet.

We Are Promotional costs Bathesba Beach at £108.03 including water sports, ice cream, lunch and beers.

*Get there early: For your sun loungers*

It’s always tempting if you’re up early and see an abandoned beach just to snuck up on a sunlounger and parasol and grab it.

I very nearly did it in Fort Lauderdale last December.

While I was intrigued to find the prices at Nazare in Portugal.

Portugeezers on the beach

Which is one of the best short-haul holiday countries for those living in Britain and Ireland (http://www.visitportugal.com).

At €18.89 it’s not as expensive as Waikiki in Hawaii, at £40.06.

But I’d still recommend the beaches of Portugal Centro between Oporto and Lisbon as a better alternative. https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/secret-portugal/.

I’ve never worked out water sports. I tend to inhale when I should be exhaling.

Water show

But the Cool Set in Biarritz know what they’re doing.

The French Riviera resort comes third on their list of price of water sports at £89.90pp.

And let me show Biarritz off to you. https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/the-boat-dazur/. And visit https://www.france.fr/en.

Behind the most expensive, Coney Island in the US at £216.32pp.

And lastly, and most importantly in many’s eyes, ice cream.

It’s more than a euro a lick at Railay Beach, Thailand at £22.19pp.

Brighton rocks

Compare that with the tenth, Brighton at £4. And they’re all top tens. Visit www.visitbrighton.com.

My 99 in the beautiful beach town of Greystones, Co. Wicklow where I live is just €2.50… and the pound and euro are virtual parity. http://www.visitwicklow.ie.

Watch out for my top beaches in a blog coming to you soon.

While I’ll also share with you the origins of the 99, my old Sandy stomping ground of Portobello, Edinburgh.

MEET YOU ON THE SAND