Europe Archives - Page 25 of 100 - Jim Murty’s TravelTravelTravel

Countries, Deals, Europe, Sport

Tennis is a smash in the Algarve

9th March 202414th March 2024 funtime65

Ya dancer… Portugal is courting us again and proving once more that tennis is a smash in the Algarve.

We first crossed racquets with the tennis set in Quinta do Lago when Judy Murray put me through my paces.

Of course despite her peerless coaching qualities it was clear that my tennis was as good as my dancing.

Which as many have found out around the world gives Dancing Dads a bad name.

Thing is though that tennis players, as Judy showed, are naturals on the dancefloor… all that moving from foot to foot.

Croft original

Another hotfooting it out to the Algarve is the charming Annabel Croft who also wowed us on Strictly Come Dancing.

Annabel, of course, has her own Tennis Academy at the Pine Cliffs Resort, a luxury collection resort in the Algarve.

And it hosted the 13th edition of their annual tennis competition the Winners’ Cup with Annabel dropping in to see the action.

Annabel, who came fourth on Strictly and will be dancing again with her former Strictly partner Johannes Radebe during his live tour played a few rallies.

The first day of the cup was full of free activities for competition participants and their guests, where Annabel led the Tennis Clinic.

Go for a padel

Meanwhile, Diogo Schaefer, Portuguese national padel player and professional coach, headed the Padel Clinic…

Padel was explained to me as the child that squash and tennis would bear.

The Winners’ Cup 2024 golf grand final took place on the second day with an 18-hole tournament, while the tennis semi-final and grand final took place shortly after.

Posting on her Instagram, Annabel wrote: “A wonderful weekend at my Tennis Academy at @pinecliffs Resort 🎾. It felt so amazing to be back wearing my tennis shoes and in Portugal, one of my favourite places in the world 😎.

Congratulations to all the players who competed in the Winners’ Cup – I so loved watching you all 👏🏼🥳 xxx”.

Every day is an education

The Annabel Croft Tennis Academy at Pine Cliffs has been running since 2013, and offers a huge variety of coaching activities as well as tennis camps over five days with 10 hours of coaching focusing.

There are camps for all ages, including a Junior Tennis Camp (4-13 years) and Teenage Tennis Camp (13-17 years), which start from €280/£254 per person. Meanwhile, an Adult Tennis Holiday starts from €340/£314 per person.

Private lessons can also be booked from €70/£64 per hour or shared lessons from €33/£38 per hour per person.

The resort won ‘The Best Family Resort’ in Europe by the World Luxury Hotel Awards.

And it boasts the Porto Pirata children’s club with life size pirate ships, MIMO Algarve – a cooking school with family classes.

For adults there is also a 9-hole golf course and Serenity Spa – The Art of Wellbeing with a myriad of treatments and its indoor Thermal Oasis with a herbal sauna, hydrotherapy pool, jacuzzi, steam room and a salt sauna.

The resort offers hotel accommodation as well as luxury suites, apartments, and private villas, for self-catering.

There are eight swimming pools at the resort, as well as 11 restaurants and bars, which offer a wide variety of cuisines and dishes to cater to every taste.

And all major airlines fly out to Faro.

Countries, Deals, Europe, UK

Where women are in the driving seat

8th March 20248th March 2024 funtime65

And on International Women’s Day a celebration of where women are in the driving seat.

Here, obviously where The Scary One tells me that ‘when she wants my opinion she’ll give it to me.‘

And she insists on doing all the driving.

But looking back too, to ancient and glorious civilisation where women rule the roost.

Not where you might first imagine but when you realise its where the ‘First Women’ was found it makes sense.

Queens of Africa

One more cuppa: With my Ethiopian friends

International Women’s Day brings back memories of an invitation extended to me back in the day in Ireland.

From our friends at Ethiopian Airlines who asked us out to Addis Ababa for their take on the day.

When the pilot and whole crew were female.

Following the lead of their female-led government.

With a president, since 2018, Sahle-Work Zewde, and

And their matriarch Lucy, the oldest woman in the world, whose relics the great and good of the world come to pay homage.

And the Queen of Sheba, whom we know from the Bible, and who I have a version of here at home.

Wonderful for women

Smiles better: My Ethiopian friend Meseret

On the occasion of my invite out to Ethiopia for International Women’s Day I passed on the invite to a woman which I hope raised my status in the eyes of my female friends.

Of course, the female of the species oft-times prefers their own company and that applies particularly to travel and solo female travel.

And these are the countries our friends at Solo Female Travelers Club recommend as the best places to travel for a female.

Your own country
Spain
Australia
Thailand
UK
Italy
Japan
Singapore
Indonesia
Europe’s Nordic countries
New Zealand

Now SFTC flags up all the areas you would for all travellers, safety, communications, accommodation, food and drink and value.

All of which the above score highly on although we do notice that the friendliest country on Earth, Ireland, doesn’t appear.

Now we’ll let you explore SFTC’s touchpoints yourself where they’ll dispel some myths about safety in Thailand and that you get pestered in Italy.

And let you look at the all-women t0urs they recommend where women are in the driving seat.

America, Countries, Europe, UK

Our books bedroom in Portugal

7th March 2024 funtime65

The Tidy One despairs at the contestants in Stacey Solomon’s Sort Your Life Out, preferring to leave her own pageturners neatly on the cabinet… so I was surprised she went for the clutter in our Books Bedroom in Obidos in Portugal.

The Literary Man comes to mind today especially when we all channel our inner reader on World Book Day.

When we got to lie back on the mattresses on the floor surrounded by books and think of whatever imaginary world grabbed our fancy then.

Of course, this being Portugal we had dined and wined on the best fish and Vinho Verde.

Now there is something tiimeless about book festivals and the towns which live off them.

The Folio

For Obidos, it’s Folio (Festival Literario Internacional De Obidos and see what they’ve done there) an 11-day literary event from October 10.

Divided into five chapters (we like it) – Authors, Folia, Educa, Ilustra and Bohemia – the festival provides many hours of programming.

Including a diversity of activities such as writers’ tables, concerts and exhibitions, involving a large number of direct participants, including authors, thinkers, artists and creatives.

Book your festival

Now for every Obidos there’s an Edinburgh International Book Festival, a Hay Festival in Hay-on-Wye in Wales.

The Jaipur Literature Festival in India (the biggest in the world) and the Brooklyn in New York to name just a few.

Of course we don’t need a book festival to stimulate our interest in reading… book shops, stalls and libraries abound around the world.

And reading is still, despite our obsession with our phones, one of life’s great pleasures.

And for many one of the joys of being on holiday as we relax away from our normal routine and enjoy a latest blockbuster or book we’ve been waiting to read.

Books too are a wonderful sharing experience.

Now admit it, and I’m the first to put my hand up tot taking a book away from me from hotels around the world.

Reading is sharing

The most recent on a skiing expedition in Val D’Isere after a night of the apres-ski.

Mind you I have left my fair share of books, and thinking here of leaving Leon Uris’s Trinity in Malta and Boy George’s autobiography in the Maldives.

If you picked them up then you’re welcome.

Wherever you’re reading today, enjoy.

Me, I’m letting my mind wander to our books bedroom in Portugal.

While the Tidy One cusses at the contestants on the BBC show Stacey Solomon’s Sort Your Life Out.

Countries, Deals, Europe, Ireland, UK

Riviera trail around Europe

6th March 20246th March 2024 funtime65

We all know about the French Riviera but here we are across the Riviera trail around Europe… all for you.

We have, of course, Rivieras on this island of ours.

The Scottish Riviera (Dumfries and Galloway in the south-west, and that includes my childhood haunt of Castle Douglas, if I’m allowed back!)

The English version, south-west again, around Torbay in Devon, the Welsh one, around the Italianate Portmeirion in the north.

Hit the coast

Ireland’s on the Sunny South Coast, the Athens Riviera in Greece, Portugal’s to the west of Lisbon.

And Riviera being an Italian word obviously the Italian one between France and Tuscany.

Of course if you want to you can blag it yourself, better though leaving it to experts which is where Riviera Travel come in.

Fresh to our schedule is RT’s European 2025 programme.

With seven new tours for Irish guests, departing from April to October 2025.

And a lower maximum group size of 36 people on its Classic tours.

Tours go on sale on March 13, with a pre-sale open today, March 6.

Forza Italia

Sicily – eight days, with a guided tour of Greek ruins in the Valley of the Temples, and visits to Taormina and Mount Etna. Prices from €1929pp.

Florence & Tuscany – eight days, with sightseeing tours of Florence and Siena, reserved timed visit to the Uffizi art gallery, visits to Lucca and Pisa, and tour of the Tuscan countryside. Prices from €1839pp

Classical Italy – eight days, with guided tours of Rome, Siena and Florence, and a guided walking tour of Arezzo. Prices from €1819pp.

* Krakow – four days, with a guided walking tour of Krakow, and Wawel Royal Castle District, and optional tours of Auschwitz-Birkenau and salt mines. Prices from €839pp.

Further afield

Classic Greece – eight days, with walking tours of the Parthenon and the Acropolis Museum, as well as Olympia, Delphi, and visits to Athens and Nafplion. Prices from €2129pp.

Austrian Tyrol & Innsbruck – eight days, with a sightseeing tour of Innsbruck, the Achensee Cog Railway, and a choice of a guided walking tour of Bolzano or visit to see Oetzi at the Museum of Archaeology. Prices from €2109pp.

Dubrovnik & the Dalmatian Coast – eight days, with a guided tour of Dubrovnik, a visit to Krka National Park, a tour of Split, and a visit to Trogir and the Dalmatian Coast. Prices from €1979pp.

And ones we prepared before

A series of existing tours are also on sale for 2025:

Puglia, Lecce & Vieste – Undiscovered Italy

Lake Como, St Moritz & the Bernina Express

Classical Spain

Pompeii, Capri & the Bay of Naples

Lake Maggiore, Orta & the Matterhorn

Lake Garda, Venice & Verona

Spain’s Basque Country, La Rioja & Burgos

Deal us in

Guests who book by 30 April can save €100 on all 2025 Classic tours of six nights or longer.

All departures include return flights and transfers, accommodation, tours and visits, select meals and an expert tour manager throughout.

America, Countries, Europe

Turk holidays in Turkiye

5th March 20245th March 2024 funtime65

Sorry senor but Brits now prefer to Turk holidays in Turkiye than Spain.

Bizarre right? Well, no, it’s a Costa living thing and our friends at the crossroads of Europe and Asia have got the jump on everyone else there.

Leading online travel agency Superescapes.co.uk have boiled down the figures and found Turkey is our fave so far this year.

Now, every tourist country has its attractions and for Brits sunseekers well it’s the big yellow ball in the sky that’s at the top of our lists.

And to be fair, all of them on the top ten from Superescapes boasts a hot experience.

While, and it may be just us, but we’ve found a friendly welcome in each of the countries picked out.

With particularly fond memories of Bodrum.

Where our son Ally would be feted over by market stallholders on account of his name sounding the same as Turkish favourite Ali.

Price is right

But it’s on price that Turkey scores highest.

With Jason Waldron spokesperson for Superescapes.co.uk commenting: ‘Turkey offers exceptional value and its prime position in Southern Europe creates an incredibly appealing climate for those wishing to escape the dreary UK weather.

‘We’re finding, this year, whilst consumers won’t give up their annual break, they are more price conscious than ever before.

‘With prices for Turkey and Istanbul starting from as little as £129pp for three nights it’s not surprising that bookings are booming’.

Hot list

Please Miss: Miss America meets Mr Scotland in Vegas

‘Spain remains popular at position two but that’s being driven by growth in the Balearic Islands, with both market share and booking volume on the rise.’

Corfu and Rhodes are also performing very well for Greece, according to Waldron.

Long-haul tourists continue to favour the United States and again ranks within the top 5 countries booked, surpassing traditional mainstream winter destinations.

With Las Vegas is the most popular US destination, accounting for over 30% of the total US bookings.

‘Las Vegas is hugely popular with Brits, with the tourism board stating Britain is one of its biggest feeder markets,’ he added.

“Sin City” is like an adult playground with a huge allure for those looking for fine dining, glitz, glam and a bit of fun.

The first XV

Among the areas that have shown remarkable growth in terms of booking volumes and market share are Morocco.

Particularly driven by Marrakech, Croatia, and the United Arab Emirates.

Our habits

Waldron goes on to discuss how Brits are booking their breaks post-Covid.

‘Prior to the pandemic, there were distinct booking peaks particularly in January and June,’ he said.

‘Since the outbreak of Covid, these significant trading periods have ceased to exist.’

And holidaymaker booking patterns have become less predictable.

‘For instance, we have observed strong bookings for holidays departing between March and June this year.

‘But our summer holiday bookings are down.

‘This could be attributed to fewer individuals taking summer breaks.’Or people holding off on booking their summer holiday until nearer the time.’

Book early

Historically, Brits would book their holidays 7 to 9 months in advance.

But Superescapes.co.uk has found that 38% of the sales so far this year have been late bookings.

Departing within two months of the booking being made.

Waldron advises travellers ‘Whilst Brits may be booking late in a bid to secure the best prices it’s generally better to book well in advance.’

As airline costs tend to be lower and there’s generally better choices available.’

All good advice… and here’s even better. Turk holidays in Turkiye.

Countries, Europe, Food

A tale of deux sittings London and Paris

28th February 2024 funtime65

It’s the best of times… well, you know the rest, it’s a tale of deux sittings London and Paris.

But what Le Dickens, the French will be choking on their consomme as les rosbifs have only pipped them in a poll of top European foodie cities.

Dutch lifestyle magazine Dailybase analysed Tripadvisor data to uncover the number of 5-star reviews for eateries in 193 European cities.

And the Big Smoke came out on top with 2,906 5-star reviews for restaurants, cafes, bars and pubs.

Paris has 2,898, ahead of Barcelona 1,475, Rome 1,407 and Athens 1,403.

London calling

Dailybase flags up London’s traditional pub culture where you’ll find homemade pies and roast dinners.

As well as a host of Michelin Star restaurants to tantalise your tastebuds, making it the perfect destination for your next city break.

And I still get drawn back to Punch and Judy in Covent Garden where we got my post-university American odyssey underway with a long-gone pal.

Seine choice

Foodies are obviously drawn to French pavement cafes and to their specialities in Paris.

Such as escargot and entrecôte, a premium cut of steak to relish with chips in top-rated French bistros.

Although maybe stay away from the expensive Left Bank.

Ramblas rambler

Barcelona boasts terrific tapas, and those moreish patatas bravas, cubes of potato in a spicy tomato sauce.

And as well as the classic rice dish, paella.

And a shout-out here to My Fucking Restaurant, an Aussie high-end eaterie on Las Ramblas.

Eternal sitting

Rome ranks fourth, with 1,407 reviews awarding the Italian capital city 5-stars for its food and drink joints.

Dailybase recommends traditional pasta carbonara and cacio e pepe, two simple yet flavourful spaghetti dishes.

While we’ve got our own fave trattoria by the Pantheon.

Greece is the word

Just behind in fifth is Athens where you have to dig into the savoury souvlaki.

Which are skewers of flavourful meat grilled over an open fire, alongside the minced lamb dish moussaka.

We’ll pass over the Athens bistro where we got stuck in a lift for half an hour and had to get hoiked out by firemen.

And instead point you in the direction of the Athens Riviera for the last word in veggie and salad.

So, really it’s more than a tale of deux sittings London and Paris.

Because central to a city’s delights is its food.

Countries, Deals, Europe

All on the one team in Tallinn

24th February 202424th February 2024 funtime65

They’ll always be remembered for the shortest football game in history but today we’re all on the one team in Tallinn.

Back in 1996 Estonia were very much our foe, not turning up for our World Cup qualifier.

Because the late Scotland boss Craig Brown had managed to get the game switched from the evening to the afternoon.

Which meant that Scotland only had to kick off and three seconds later the ref blew the whistle.

By rights Scotland should have been awarded the match 3-0 but had to replay the game in Monaco.

That game ended in a 0-0 draw but all was well in the end.

Scotland qualified for the World Cup and the players and fans had got a fancy trip to Monte Carlo.

Independence Day

Forward fast to 2024 and we’re all on the one team in Tallinn.

Defending (not something Scotland are traditionally good at) Estonia as Russia prowl next door.

Today Estonians park that fear to celebrate their national day.

There’s never any danger of the Estonians turning up today, their national day when they declared their independence in 1918.

Reigning the parade

There have been various events over the day with the parade the centrepiece to the backdrop of choral music.

And cafes and restaurants putting on traditional Estonian fare.

Less expected is the penguin parade at the Estonian Museum of Natural History.

With the whole thing coming to a climax with the night-time Independence Rave with rapper nublu the big draw.

Love this

If that’s whetted your appetite then Loveholidays is offering seven nights at the City Hotel for 13 March down from £316pp to £209.

All you have to do is turn up and you’ll be made to feel very welcome.

Because we’re all on the one team in Tallinn.

And stay posted as we’ll give you the rundown on Tartu, European Capital of Culture for 2024.

Countries, Culture, Europe, Food & Wine

Drink in vintage Firenze

18th February 202418th February 2024 funtime65

Si, we like this type of culture which puts the emphasis on wine and like which is why we agree, we should drink in vintage Firenze.

The experts at Titan Travel have analysed which major cities host the most “things to do,” from tourist landmarks to art galleries to music tours.

And here is where Fizzy Frosty gets interested… in which destinations have the most five-star restaurants and wine-tasting tours.

Of course, we should credit palace city Granada in Andalucia, Spain, with its Alhambra for taking No.1 spot.

But it’s Firenze which has been concentrating Her mind since we had to cancel our trip there last September when her much-storied Dad, oul’ Casey Jones sadly passed on.

Firenze frenzy

A great Italianophile he would, no doubt, have furnished us with books and maps on the city before we left… and somewhere in his legendary library we’ll find the very thing.

Florence, to give it its English name, as we found out when we were doing our homework, offers some of the world’s best wine tours (60.06 per 100,000 people).

And there’s even a Florence dinner and “Three Tenors” concert, where you can soak up Florentine food and culture and drink in vintage Firenze during a traditional dinner and concert experience.

Czech out the culture

Touch of class: On the King Charles Bridge in Prague

Now it might come as a surprise to those who only associate it with stag and hen parties that Prague comes in third on the list.

But not to Prahaphiles like us who have sampled the tastes above and underground.

Up the Castle and the climbing baby TV tower and in the beer cellars, Anthropoid crypt and nuclear bunker.

Prague, we’re told has 63.4 sights per 100,000 people to see in the Czechia capital by the Vlatva.

True Peru

For the cultural capital with the most things to do you do need to head to the Inca Empire.

It has the most excursions with 579.72 things to do per 100,000 people.

So for those of you know little more about Peru than Paddington and Machu Picchu then read on.

Architecturally-spectacular Lima does boast a statue of Paddy on Lima’s Miraflores Boardwalk, clad in his famous floppy hat and duffle coat, emblazoned with the British Union Jack.

We all know, of course, that Pad is a bespectacled bear and you can see his rellies, and maybe even Aunt Lucy, in the Chaparri Conservation Area.A community-owned and managed reserve, it covers a pristine area of grassy hills and vertical rock walls and studded with trees and cacti.

A 90-minute drive from Chiclayo, it boasts a wild population of threatened species including the spectacled bear.

And you can stay there at the Chaparri Lodge.

Whether Paddington, bespectacled bears and marmalade sandwiches are your cup of tea is your call.

Africa, Caribbean, Countries, Deals, Europe

My Valentine’s Day proposal

13th February 202413th February 2024 funtime65

Alas, it’s gone, the restaurant where I got down on one knee for My Valentine’s Day proposal. But the love lives on.

Of course, I had merely gone to tie up my laces when the eager Miss F screamed ‘yes’ and that was it.

And yes, as my old mucker and travel blogger par excellence Tom Sweeney has since advised ‘slip-ons old boy, slip-ons.’

While Malta, the jewel of the Med, was an idyllic location in truth I had my eyes on another gem.

Istanbul, the crossroads of Europe and Asia, had long been my aspiration.

And I have visited since and laid back on a booze boat on the Bosphorus singing Abba.

As I would have 31 years ago… and want to with The Scary One soon.

Now for Istanbul, you can also read Venice and a number of other go-to destinations to consider.

So we’ve put together a triple helping of romantic destinations for you to pop the question.

House of Mara

Masai Mara, Kenya | JW Marriott Masai Mara Lodge

Future is orange: The sunsets in Kenya, ah!

And I get a tingle when I think back on Siobhan Byrne, of Adams & Butler, who found love in Africa with a Masai warrior.

Sprawling 580sq miles, the expansive reserve is home to an abundance of wildlife, with over 100 mammals species.

And travellers can share the thrill of spotting one of the legendary Big Five as we started doing in South Africa.

JW Marriott Masai Mara Lodge is the first luxury safari lodge to sit within the Masai Mara National Reserve.

It offers 20 private tents, each with their own terrace, to soak in the vistas’ spectacular sounds.

Room rates start from £1,278 per night. For more information, visit www.marriott.com

Bermuda short

Bermuda | Rosewood Bermuda

And anywhere that’s good enough for Sean and Micheline Connery should be good enough for the rest of us.

So knowing already that they like Jocks, then myself and by-now Tartanised other half would be made welcome.

On the pink sands at Horseshoe Bay Beach, one of the world’s most Instagrammed beaches or Astwood Cove Beach.

Or if you like an ancient natural cave then the Grotto Bay Beach Resort’s Natura Spa is where you want to go.

Room rates start from £253 per night. For more information, visit www.gotobermuda.com

Anyone for Venice

Venice | The Gritti Palace, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Venice

And si, we’ve stood on the Rialto Bridge a-gazing longingly… at the prices, but what price love Venice for us romantics?

Of course, one way of saving more for your Aperol Spritzes for my Valentine’s Day proposal is to sacrifice a gondola ride for a vaparetto (a water taxi).

Now, if money is no object and romance is always worth it then the The Gritti Palace, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Venice is steeped in Venetian history.

It was commissioned in 1525 as the residence of the Doge of Venice, Andrea Gritti and later used as the official residence of the Vatican’s ambassadors to Venice.

And it has been a favourite with top-tier travellers since the palazzo became a hotel in 1895.

For that oh-so-special moment, we would recommend guests embark on the Riva Yacht Experience, where they can follow Head Concierge Ivan Schultz on an exclusive cruise.

Room rates start from £1,003 per night. For more information, visit www.marriott.com

Of course, you may already have your romantic day set out but it’s just that this is my Valentine’s Day proposal.

Countries, Europe

Live like Cristiano Ronaldo in Madeira

9th February 20249th February 2024 funtime65

They put their greatest-ever son a pedestal on the island of his birth but you too can live like Cristiano Ronaldo in Madeira.

All of which I learned when the Madeirans rolled into town… that town being my old stomping ground of Dublin.

Where one of the highlights of the year, the Meet the Media networking event takes place at the central Radisson Blu on Golden Lane.

And where we billet down for the night after our meetings at the convenient Maldron Hotel on Kevin Street.

A familiar and friendly hotel it has decided for reasons best known to itself not to line its corridors with green fake grass.

Not that Dublin doesn’t have football heroes of its own in Johnny Giles, Liam Brady and Robbie Keane.

CR7 heaven

It’s just that Cristiano Ronaldo looms larger than anybody else even if our Madeiran mates accept his statue is not a very true likeness.

Cristiano, of course, has his own hotel with chain Pestana here we grew up in humble circumstances.

Next naturally to his museum and branded as is his way with the CR7 logo.

You might have seen too other CR7 hotels in Lisbon and Madrid, where he also played, and New York.

The Body Beautiful

Now, of course with the CR7 endorsed by the Great Man himself you won’t be surprised to know that he puts the Body Beautiful to the fore.

And so there’s a distinctive “pink-coloured pool” in his Madeiran haven on the rooftop to unwind.

And take, as they put it, the most epic photographs which you’ll want to share on your feed.

As well as hanging out in a sauna and open-air jacuzzi to enjoy some more.

CR7 also challenges us here to work out at the open-air gym with training sessions designed by thew footballer.

Best CR7 bar none

And as the day comes to an end, experience the best sunsets on the island at the Off-Side Rooftop Bar.

Where you can sample the best Portuguese wines although probably out of eyeshot of Cristiano, famous teetotalller that he is.

Like the Portuguese god I had to swear off the grape too when I won the prize at the event, three bottles of vintage wine.

Which, of course, I wouldn’t have been able to take through customs

But my hosts will be able to toast me in my absence.

Now Cristiano Ronaldo is, of course, a gateway into Portugal’s biggest island.

A lush haven where you’ll want to sharpen up hiking and cycling.

And also paying homage to CR7 at his museum next to the hotel where you can worship at his altar.

Which make no mistake they do, as we found out when we went to holy site Fatima on the mainland.

And found among the statues of Our Lady on the tables a beach towel to CR7.

So the best advice is to just give in and live like Cristiano Ronaldo in Madeira for €127 a night.