www.ryanair.com Archives - Page 5 of 6 - Jim Murty’s TravelTravelTravel

Surfing the seas in Barcelona

23rd August 201923rd August 2019 funtime65

Only one man walks on water in Barcelona. He’s everywhere – in every shop window, on the backs of every family of tourists.

Or parading his skills before 100,000 worshippers at the cathedral of football, the Camp Nou.

Only on the day I visited the Spanish city, he’s not.

The ubiquitous Lionel Messi is back in his native South America on international duty playing for Argentina rather than curling in free-kicks for his adopted Barca.

Barcelona has a vacancy for a sporting hero then… and I’m thinking that if I nail it I might just my name off the back of the football top that fluffy bear is wearing.

He’s sitting in a sports car in the shopping area of a cruise ship in port at the bottom of La Rambla. Such are the trappings of fame, and I want some of it.

And I have the chance.

To walk on water on Royal Caribbean International’s Oasis of the Seas’ surf simulator FlowRider.

And I only have the best in the business to get me up to speed, Irish surfing superstar Geared McDaid.

We’re lucky to have Geared here, his feet rarely touch the ground.

Geared is not long back from a couple of months surfing in Chile, was in Indonesia before that and is on his way to Portugal.

Geared is not what I expect though, no man bun, goatee beard, beard, tattoo sleeve.

Just a regular Sligo boy, although he is pals with Kia Egan!

Thankfully there is one Fifty-something who keeps up appearances with his bandana and windswept beard.

But boy can he surf. Gearoid, that is.

The simulator is on the 15th deck of the €1.4bn Oasis of the Seas cruise ship which is on it way to Majorca, France and then Italy with 6,300 passengers.

Each enjoying five pools and numerous bars, restaurants and shows. And a park. ‘Central Park’, you’ll forget you’re at sea.

*Keep your shorts on: With Kai, my instructor*

But alas without us who will have to get off kicking and screaming before sail time.

If they can’t find us hiding away down in the staff quarters.

The idea of the simulator which is 40ft long, is that a rush of water shoots out to build up the swell which you then surf against.

It’s all in the knees, back and arms – and the trick is to sway and not panic.

*I’m not the only one who is bushy: In Central Park on Oasis of the Seas*

Too late, the road went that way and the bandana and everything under it the other way.

It’s official. I don’t walk on water (but my family could tell you that!)

Maybe I’ll have better luck on my knees.

Eureka or ‘goooooal.’ as Lionel Messi might shout. I manage to master those waves in the prayer position on a boogie board with more than a little help from Mauritian teacher Kai.

*Zip slidin’ away: And I’m off zip lining*

Suddenly I feel indestructible. And here I was worried that I’d be caught with my shorts down, and quite literally I almost was at half mast.

I hadn’t pulled the cord tightly enough before the surfing class and the waves carried me away.

To be avoided – particularly if you’ve booked up for my next challenge, the 82ft zipline

No-obe nine deck below on the Boardwarl want to have Stars and Stripes board trunks land on them, believe me, when they’re out there shopping.

Or having an early-afternoon drink or are on their way to lunch.

Thankfully, I can’t do much damage in the Spanish restaurant, other than embarrass myself and my party by getting my maracas out (steady!).

Well, once in we weighted into the plats of tapas and a big jug of sangria (when in Spain).

Fuelled with patatas and shrimp al ajillo we swagger off the ship.

Only taking time to pas by an eight-year-old boy twisting and turning on the other simulator and onto Barcelona’s famous La Rambla shopping and market thoroughfare.

Christopher Columbus is still there where I remember him from the last time I visited Barcelona 15 years ago and drew back the curtains of my balcony cabin.

He is proudly guarding the city and pointing out to sea.

To be fair, the arm is right, though I’d maybe bend the elbow and those legs are way too straight.

Sorry, Chris, but you’d be no use on a surfboard either.

Travel facts

Oasis of the Seas: Sail the Western Mediterranean for seven nights on Oasis of the Seas from €1,049pp based on two sharing. Departing Barcelona. Visit Palma, Marseille, Florence/Pisa, Rome (Civitavecchia), Naples and arrive back at Barcelona. See http://www.royalcaribbean.ie. Flights not included.

How to get there: Aer Lingus http://www.aerlingus.com. and Ryanair http://www.ryanair.com both fly to Barcelona.

Where to stay in Barcelona: Hotel Concordia http://www.hotelconcordiabarcelona.com is a central hub and has a rooftop pool that will tempt you to linger. Pride was on when we visited and the neighbourhood was jumping. €135 per night.

You want more cruise fun… what about these adventures https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/im-a-celebrity-get-me-out-to-here/ https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/the-call-of-the-fjords/ https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/a-royal-party/

This article was first published in the Irish Daily Star

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Flyday Friday – Ryanair

23rd August 201923rd August 2019 funtime65

‘If only I’d known being nice would be good for business I’d have done it earlier.’

Michael O’Leary’s much-vaunted volte-face (remember the picture with the golden labrador) was either just for our benefit…

Or it failed.

Ryanair has come last of 100 brands for customer service in a Which? survey.

Now it is unapologetically no-frills, and why should it be?

So is the onus back on us to get it right, read the small (and even larger) print before you book.

And you may have to swallow it if you get hit by a surcharge at the airport.

Yes, that’s easy to say if you’re not the one with squealing kids.

But to bring a little light relief to proceedings…

A story.

Lining up in Barcelona Airport, a little girl asked their mother if they were priority…

And if not why were they standing in that queue.

Out of the mouths of babes.

This survey, of course, comes at a rotten time for Ryanair, what with the pilots’ 48-hour strike.

Check www.ryanair.com for the latest developments and latest low-frills and low-price deals.

When September comes

Sorry for dropping in a random Green Day song… it’s just they’re The Scary One’s favourite band.

And I’ll tell you what else she likes… getting away.

So I’ve been a bit sheepish as I’m scuttling around the house, and she knows I’m off to the Canaries next month.

You can too courtesy of Aer Lingus www.aerlingus.com.

It’s offering 20% off a 5* Gran Canaria getaway, staying at the Radisson Blu Resort & Spa Morgan, as part of their September sale.

The cost of the holiday is €654pp and that includes return fares from Dublin.

Use the promo code SUNHOLIDAY.

Homage to Christ

Rio by the sea-o: Christ the Redeemer in Rio

Some things confuse me (heck, most things do). I mean the New World is supposed to be new and the Old World old.

But this threw me. In Lisbon there stands a statue of Christ with his arms outstretched, just like in Rio.

The Rio statue, one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, all 98ft of it on a 26ft pedestal with 28ft outstretched arms was put up in 1931.

The Lisbon story

Lisbon followed suit in 1959 in gratitude for being spared the worst effects of the Second World War.

They were neutral.

The Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon, we are told, had been so moved by his visit to Rio as to suggest a statue in Lisbon.

The Portuguese one is a lot more pedestal in truth, 269ft, with Christ 92ft.

All stuff of which brings me to TAP Air Portugal’s new connection from Dublin to Rio, via Lisbon from €767.

With the option of a five-day stop-off in Lisbon at no extra cost. ww.flytap.com.

And here’s a taster of Portugal Secret Portugal.

MEET YOU IN THE SKIES

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Time flies – Ryanair’s €9.99 UK sale

21st August 201921st August 2019 funtime65

That’s the thing. If you sit still then you miss out on the big Ryanair sale.

Ryanair has a seat sale on for the UK with flights from €9.99.

Now bear in mind that a single coach trip from Aberdeen was twice that 30 years ago and it gives you an idea of what great value this is.

Heck, you don’t need a reference point. It just is.

He’s waiting for us. Photo by Samuel Wölfl on Pexels.com

The thing is you have to be quick. Because the sale runs out at midnight tonight, Wednesday August 28, or when the seats have been sold out.

I’d bank on it being the former.

Yes, London, obviously is in the destinations in the deal. http://www.visitlondon.com.

And I know a bit about it although you know me by now… I come at it from my own particular angle… https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/2019/06/23/carole-king-youre-beautiful/ And https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/the-london-life/

But Ryanair flies to Liverpool too, the friendliest city in England. Heck, the most welcoming city anywhere. http://www.visitliverpool.com.

I’ll gather my thoughts and my old photos and put together a Day in the Life on Liverpool. Hold me to it.

*Evertoians, don’t shoot me. Photo by Tembela Bohle on Pexels.com*

And, of course, Scotland is still part of the UK. At least until after Brexit.

So that means Glasgow and Edinburgh. http://www.peoplemakeglasgow.com. And http://www.edinburgh.org.

Now you all know about Edinburgh although that won’t stop me sharing some random thoughts from time to time.

But you might not know as much about my native city, Glasgow. Here’s a good starting point http://I belong to Glasgow.

Ryanair http://www.ryanair.com knows that those of us who call Ireland home don’t all live in Dublin.

And so they have deals out of Cork, Kerry, Shannon and Knock too.

So what are you waiting for? Check in and get over to the UK.

And when you do, just mention my name.

They’ll either ask when am I coming back or plead with you on their knees to keep me here.

And because it’s good to share then read my fellow blogger’s culinary post on London gracethoroughgoodbeauty.

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Give us this day -Padova

11th August 201912th August 2019 funtime65

As calling cards go it does the job – simple, functional and just what is needed if your stock painting will be halos.

With a swish and a brush of red paint Giotto di Bondone had announced himself to the Papal envoy with his freehand circle.

And within a few years he would announce himself to the world with his magnum opus.

His fresco in 1305 in the Scrovegni Chapel in Padova would in turn inspire Michelangelo when he came to adorn the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

For all of us who have attempted a still life and ended up with an egg in a basket of fruit instead of an orange you will know how difficult it is to draw the perfect circle.

But only perfect circles would do as Giotto’s patron Enrico Scrovegni had let his halo slip and needed a grand gesture.

To gain absolution and enter through the gates of heaven.

Enrico’s crime was usury – charging excessive interest on loans.

A crime so serious that it resulted in the banker being damned the fires of Hell.

Worth a shot in Ireland.

Rather than appealing straight to Our Lord, though, Scrovegni had the bright idea of asking Jesus’s mother to intercede on his behalf.

And then dedicated the chapel and the frescoes to her life with a celebration of her role in human salvation.

And just to leave nobody in any doubt of his devotion he had Giotto paint him into the main scene.

Presenting a model of the chapel to her in the fresco The Last Judgment.

The Scrovegni Chapel is Padova’s calling card but it is only a hint of a more expansive canvas.

I am in Padova (Padua), 38km west of Venice in the Veneto region and 209kms from Milan.

As well as looking upwards – Padova is the City of Frescoes – it looks outwards.

It has been home to the Venetians, French and Austro-Hungarians over the last millennium and embraced all their influences.

Today it is looking westwards which is where we Irish probably come in.

But more immediately to Milan’s Expo 2015, a showcase for feeding the planet and energy for life.

Padova has a rich history of doing both.

The Brenta River which leads right down to the Grand Canal teems with life.

While the Venetian Plain attracted the mariners of that great city to avail of its rich agriculture.

And build grand villas and palaces to entertain dignitaries.

It is also home to the oldest botanical gardens in the world.

On this trip, we will get to witness all of this.

But today it’s Sunday so Church and a visit to the Basilica of St Anthony of Padova.

Yes, that St Anthony, the one who helps you – for some coins in his charity box – to find your keys,

St Anthony we are told has a wider reach than just those objects that fall out of your rucksacks and handbags.

He is also the patron saint of people who have lost their way in life or lost or fear losing something or someone close to them.

St Anthony’s bones are kept in an altar tomb in the basilica and people pass it in veneration, touching the side.

Which is adorned with photos of their loved ones.

A little bit more of St Anthony

The image of a young man, his head bowed and his hand placed on the side in silent invocation was truly moving.

I have to confess that this simple devotion touched me more than the veneration to St Anthony’s tongue and the bottom of his teeth in elaborate gold reliquaries further up the church.

The story goes that when St Anthony’s body was exhumed his tongue was still moist in recognition of his great preaching prowess.

So the Padovans decided to place it on show for veneration.

St Anthony hailed from Lisbon, but had he been Italian then you’d have to think his hands would have been on display.

They are a famously expressive people, the Italians.

And while in the big cities there is less of a willingness to indulge those who wish to try out their Italian.

I found the Padovans and, in particular, our guide Mariaclaudia charmingly engaging.

Perhaps it is because this is a university city but not just any old university city, among the top ten oldest in the world.

And where Galileo taught.

Naturally the statue to him which is among 78 in the Isola Memmia in the Prato della Valle portrays him with his hands outstretched.

It is also where the first woman anywhere in the world graduated.

Piazza special

An inclusive place then and one where you can, if you don’t have two left feet like your writer, get up to dance the tango.

With dozens of other Padovans in the piazza at night.

Perhaps with another glass of Venetian Spritz – the local speciality of Aperol (think Campari), Prosecco and mineral water.

Well, next time.

My own personal foodie

A word on the food and drink.

I had the good fortune to have accomplished Travel writer, food expert and bon viveur Peter on our trip.

I’m insisting that he come on all my future expeditions with me.

To describe in erudite fashion how good the likes of regional favourite Risi e bisi is.

A merely English translation as rice and peas clearly doesn’t do it justice.

So it’s best left in Italian.

A work of art on a plate

I’m sure other restaurants do Risi e bisi just as well as Taverna degli Artisti but my dish came at the end of an enchanting visit to Cittadella.

It is a 13th Century walled city which stands 14-16ft high and 4,793ft around.

Taverna degli Artisti stands opposite the quaint old we entered behind a market stall.

And through what looked like a lock-up door.

A treasure more memorable because it feels hidden away.

There is nothing shy and retiring though about the baroque Villa Pisani in Stra on the banks of the Brenta.

Built by Alvise Pisani, the 114th Doge, or leader, of Venice in 1735, there would be 114 rooms.

Villa thriller

With frescoes of gods and men and women living and loving lustily.

With vino flowing as copiously as the water on the nearby Brenta.

And without the dams that that river employs to hold it back.

Pride of place in the villa is Napoleon Bonaparte’s bedroom – the little general bought it in 1806.

Bony’s bed

Bony’s bedroom is surrounded by empirical emblems and deliberately is the first the sun hits in the morning.

Not to be outdone, Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler met here in Villa Pisani for the first time.

One imagines there must have been a fight to get Bony’s bed.

The Villa Pisani comes with its very own maze, the Labyrinth of Love.

Where we are told a young cloaked woman would stand in the centre at the top of a spiral staircase.

Amazing maze

She was, of course, the prize for the man who managed to wend his way through the maze.

There is no historical record that Bony, Benito or Adolf burrowed their way manically through the maze.

But you would imagine that like us, they did.

We can only assume too that the young woman was on a day off when we visited!

But anyway it was time to get back on our burchiello – or boat.

As we skirted along the river at a gentle pace, gurgling wine and scoffing hors d’oeuvres we feel like those nobles of old.

Energy of the water

We are informed that many of the villas along the banks are also richly blessed but lie empty, still needing to be renovated.

It is a theme that keeps recurring: that the Italians, having finished what they had set out to build during the Renaissance packed up early.

And laid back and enjoyed the fruits of their labour.

So with dragonflies gently skimming along the water by our side I contemplate how the energy of life sometimes has to come in great rushes.

But it is often best captured in quiet moments and in water colours.

A gondola by the banks suggests Venice is drawing nearer but that is for another time.

And besides the Brenta boat voyage runs both ways and it was inland to Padova and its environs that the Venetians, after all, came for their pleasure and sustenance.

So, who am I to argue?

Travel facts

How to get there: Aer Lingus flies to Venice on Fridays, returning Sundays.

From €657.80 www.aerlingus.com. Or depart for Treviso www.ryanair.com, depart and return Thursdays. From €297.80.

Package: The Only Weekend Padova option offers a double room in the central Hotel Europa which offers a comfy night’s stay, a balcony and breakfast. For two nights at €155.

And some extras

Extras: Padova Terme Euganee Convention & Visitors Bureau offers the PadovaCard for free www.weekendpadova.it/en/hotel-europa.

The Padova Card is valid 48 hours (€16) or 72 hours (€21) and valid for one adult and child under 14 www.turismopadova.it/en/context/423.

Besides free admission the Padova Card www.padovacard.it also provides discounts on attractions and allows visitors to use urban transit buses for free.

This article was first published in the Irish Daily Mail.

And why not check out some other Italian adventures https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/small-roads-lead-to-rome/ And https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/2019/08/04/see-rome-on-e50/.

And I’m flagging up http://www.topflight.ie and their Italy sale in https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/2019/08/10/holiday-snaps-save-money-on-italy/.

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Flyday Friday – Madeira

9th August 201910th August 2019 funtime65

The mother-in-law has been asking where to holiday. I thought a single fare but I’m not that brave. And then changed my advice to Madeira.

The Bamba (the kids couldn’t say Grandma) has something of the green fingers about her.

So she’d love lush Madeira.

Madeira’s flora and fauna benefit from the volcanic ash on the island.

And the capital Funchal’s Botanic Gardens are renowned.

Its cake – no, it’s not the Madeira sponge cake as we know it.

It was given that name after Madeira wine which 18th Century British and Irish middle classes would drink with their cake.

Lush: Madeira. Photo by Valdemaras D. on Pexels.com

Their cake is called bolo de mel and is dark, spicy, honey cake.

Madeira’s favourite son would eat himself and his fellow islanders have honoured him with his own statue, the world’s worst.

You’ll arrive into Madeira International Airport Cristiano Ronaldo with TAP Air Portugal via Lisbon.

From €220 return via Lisbon. They offer a five-night optional stopover in Lisbon with no extra charge. Visit www.flytap.com.

Something for the weekend

What a picture: Lanzarote. Photo by Emils Plinte on Pexels.com

The weekends are when we usually book flights… now that’s not scientific. Just a hunch.

So use this weekend wisely and check out Aer Lingus’s 20% off flights to Europe. The offer ends at midnight on Monday. Visit www.ryanair.com.

Car for hire

I don’t do much for myself and let the coach driver take me where I want. Far better though if you take it in your own hands.

Hire a car and you can make your own time and have freedom to see the place you want, at the time you want. And not have to bother about itineraries.

Ryanair is offering up to 50% off car hire for the autumn. Visit www.ryanair.com.

Not all car journeys though end well. Look at what happened to me when I got behind the wheel of a classic Fiat 500 in Cannes. https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/the-boat-dazur/

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The other Lourdes… a castle, eagle and fish

6th August 201910th August 2019 funtime65

Up here in La Chateau fort de Lourdes, or Lourdes Castle, where eagles once flew, you’d be forgiven for forgetting about the pilgrims below.

But Lourdes Castle was here for 1100 years already when Bernadette Soubirous went digging around in the grotto.

Continuing my Castles around the world series, today it’s the turn of Lourdes Castle.

And Our Lady had already made her presence felt in 778AD to an emissary… Turpin (no, not that one), the bishop of Puy-en-Velay.

And more importantly a travelling companion of Charlemagne, the King of the Franks, and future Holy Roman Emperor.

Who just happened to be returning from fighting the Saracens and stopped off to try to recapture the castle of Mirambei from the Moorish chief Murat.

Still with me.

Murat though was a stubborn son of a Moor and wouldn’t give in to a mere mortal like Charley boy.

It was only when an eagle intervened and dropped a fish at Murat’s feet that things started moving at pace.

Murat hurled the fish down at Charley’s soldiers and mocked them by saying he had thousands in his cistern.

A bit Monty Python, methinks.

*This is one we made earlier: Lourdes Castle how it was*

Of course all it needed was for Turpin to suggest to Murat that if he wouldn’t surrender to Charley, a mere mortal, he should to Our Lady of Puys.

Which he did, agreeing to being baptised and taking the Christian name of Lorus.

All of this you can discover with a trip up to the chateau.

Spend a morning up here. You won’t regret it.

Swinging time

Swing on the drawbridge (you know you want to) before checking out the various different rooms where Medieval life is played out.

You’ll see pantries, drinking dens and vessels, a chapel and ramparts which are all staples of your everyday castle.

Bernie’s hiding

But good fun all the same,

But what makes Lourdes Lourdes is Bernadette (and Our Lady of course).

Bernie is up among the Botanic Gardens, not where I expected to see her, but I naturally jumped the rope (don’t, it’s interdit).

And got my photo taken,

And if and if all that’s not enough here’s a model village too.

And this is when I went to Lourdes looking for a miracle… https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/the-lourdes-prayer-pyrenees/

Visit www.en.lourdes.-infotourisme.com.

For Lourdes Castle €7.50 www.lourdes-visite.com

Ryanair flies to Lourdes twice a week from Dublin over the summer season. Return flights €120, but look out for offers. Visit http://www.ryanair.com.

Next week: Neuschwanstein (Disney inspiration).

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Rome on €50

4th August 201910th August 2019 funtime65

Rome wasn’t built in a day… if it was there wouldn’t be so much to enjoy.

But if you’ve only got one day and maybe the next morning then what to see and what to miss out?

An how to do it for less than €50 spending money.

Obviously you have to sleep somewhere, and I do recommend the welcoming and economical Hotel Trastevere although remember there’s a €4 a night city tax.

Walk the walk

It’s free and it’s fun to people watch, window shop, and you can take pictures at your leisure.

You’ll also come upon piazzas you wouldn’t if you were on a public or hop-on, hop-off bus.

Eat al fresco

*Step this way: The Spanish Steps in Rome*

You’ll pay for the privilege of eating and drinking near St Peter’s Square and the Trevi Fountain.

Instead grab a pezzo (a slice of pizza) on the go for about €3 andfill your water bottles from the ornate water taps that proliferate around the city.

Rather than buy it from the shops.

Or just go into a grocery, or supermarket, and buy a picnic of bread, cold meats and fruit for about a fiver.

You’ll get a decent bottle of wine for about the same (there’s also the Campo di Fiore food market for a more authentic experience).

The Pope is free

*What time is Mass? Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com*

Book an audience with the Pope. It’s Mass but he plays to the gallery and the backdrop of St Peter’s can’t be beaten.

It you can’t get an audience, you need to book in advance, then attend Mass in St Paul’s Basilica – you’ll be in there anyway.

Or any of the churches in the city. They double as art galleries.

Other frescoes

*Look up: The Pantheon in Rome. Photo by Kyle Killam on Pexels.com*

The Sistine Chapel is a true wonderful work of art but frescoes can only really be enjoyed if you’ve got time, space and quiet.

Besides every church in Rome has a stunning fresco.

The best fresco, of course, is in the Pantheon, the 7.8m diameter hole in the dome,.

Because God made the view.

It changes every day.

When it rains on Rome, stop whatever you’re doing and rush to the Pantheon.

Spend a penny at the Trevi Fountain

*Water, water everywhere: At the Trevi Fountain, Rome*

No, not that penny, although I can recommend the toilets in the oh-so English Barrington Tea Room, near to the Spanish Steps.

Byron, Keats and Shelley all lived around here.

More Babington Wee Room, if you like.

No, spend a penny by throwing one over your shoulder into the Trevi Fountain.

It’s a cliche and a superstition but it’s everything that people say it is.,

Of course, they know you’ll come back to Rome.. how could you stay away?

*This way: There’s no shortage of statues in Rome*

Skull and bones

When you’ve seen everything else – and definitely make time for the Castel Sant’Angelo (€10.50) next to St Peter’s Square where rich Papal history was played out.

And it also adorns the walls.

Before you head for the Capuchin Crypt (€8.50), Piazza Belerini, and join the monks at prayer.

I walked pas a real-live Capuchin monk on my way in before being reintroduce to some real dead ones.

You know, the 3,700 whose skulls and bones were used to build the Crypt’s four chapels.

There’s even a clock made out of a monk’s bones, although the twist is it doesn’t have hands.

Time stands still in here. But not for us.

They have left us a message: ‘What you are now, we used to be. What we are now, you will be.’

Que sera, sera!

Save your money

*King of the Castel: At the Castel Sant’Angelo*

€10.50: Castel Sant’Angelo.
€8.50: Capuchin Crypt.
€5: Picnic or pezzo (€3 and €2 for a Peroni beer).
€5: Bottle of wine.
€1: Souvenir fridge magnet (it’ll cost you much more at the airport).
€0.50: For the Trevi Fountain. Listen, it can be a one-set bit, but I’m just keeping it at a nice round number.
€7: For an al fresco spaghetti carbonara (it’s a local Roman specialty) deal with Peroni in Trastevere.
€2.50: For sweeties for the family/work… they’ll suss out though if it slips your mind and you try to bluff it and get Haribos back home.
€10: For the disfigured and displaced around St Peter’s Square…. they deserve it.
= €50.

Travel Facts:
Flights: Aer Lingus and Ryanair both fly to Rome. Visit http://www.aerlingus.com www.aerlingus.com.com and www.ryanair.com for best offers.
Where to stay: I found Hotel Trastevere, Via Luciano Manara 24A, Trastevere on www.booking.com with a 15% reduction, down from €121 to €103.
I spent the day and night at the end of a Via Francigena pilgrimage, 100kms from Viterbo into Rome with www.ViaFrancigena.com

And check out that walk into Rome… https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/small-roads-lead-to-rome/ And some tips in When in Rome… https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/2019/08/04/holidos-and-donts-when-in-rome/

And if you like Italy, why not check out My Anasa. https://my-anasa.com?

This article was first published in the Irish Daily Mail.

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Hungry and Thursday: The Munich Beerfest

1st August 20191st August 2019 funtime65

I’ve been lucky enough to eat and drink in some fabulous restaurants, in equally stunning locations.

Doing what I do, travelling the globe…. FOR YOU.

But I’ve also enjoyed the comfort food which is often seen as the poor cousin, often disowned altogether by the foodie family, that I’ve encountered along the way.

And the people who serve it and with whom I have got to break bread.

In this weekly series I’ll celebrate both haute cuisine and hot cuisine, Bolly and Buds and everything in between.

First off let’s clink glasses and say Prost… and remember to look into each others’ eyes!

Germany: And the greatest beerfest of them all, the Oktoberfest, where a sallow youth found himself in the company of a busload of Aussies and Kiwis.

Four of us had arranged to go but three dropped out because they couldn’t raise the money leaving this early version of Bandanaman on his own on a coach with said Antipodeans.

Above is breakfast.

Each of us had to make brekkie of a morning on the bus which had a kitchen and seats that turned into beds… and our Kiwi legend Rambo, far right (he usually wore a scarf around his head which immediately endeared himself to me) dispensed with bacon, sausage and eggs and went straight to the schnapps.

I’ll have the one of the left. Photo by ELEVATE on Pexels.com

Being raised on fizzy Scottish lager (Tennent’s hide your head in shame) I wasn’t ready for the real stuff, the Lowenbrau and the Hofbrau, the quantity of a stein, or their halls or their schnapps chasers. And it went straight to my head.

On your typical Oktoberfest day http://www.oktoberfest.de/en, and this year it runs from September 21-October 6, half a beerhall will chant Aussie and the other half Kiwi.

So being of the Scottish variety I wanted to redress the balance and climbed onto the bandstand past Gretchen and Greta who were carrying half a dozen beers on their breasts. Where I duly interrupted the oompah band to sing My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean.

My Bonnie might but my body soon lay over the front entrance of the Lowenbrau.

More time to look around the Beerfest and try their half chickens on a spit and their sauerkraut. Best not after a rollercoaster ride though.

Barred from that hall I tried the Hofbrau the following year after the football at Bayern Munich’s old ground and did what no man should do, sober or drunk, and tried to split up two women fighting.

I’m sticking to my story that it was her boyfriend who thumped me on the nose. I was outta there and half an hour later in the hospital.

You’ll compile a book of tales from your Oktoberfest and I will return to the glass boot game, Hexengeist burning flame schnapps and why you should never drink and sled and much, much more. And the Aussies who set up Earl’s Court in my Aberdeen student pad.

Top Deck went on to reinvent themselves as Flight Centre who have been a couple of years here now on Dawson Street in Dublin. Visit http://www.flightcentreireland.ie or call (01) 695 0365. Aer Lingus http://www.aerlingus.com, Ryanair http://www.ryanair.com and other major airlines fly to Munich.

But for now Prost… oh, bring back my Bonnie to me!

*I’ve only just got started here so watch out for specialist foreign dishes and restaurants and my Jocktails… bet you didn’t know that about me… or The Scary One?

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King of the castle: Edinburgh

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They’re on many a holiday itinerary and group activity and I’ve probably racked up more castles in my 53 years than Richard the Lionheart, and a fair few racks too! I’ll kick of this series where Robert the Bruce’s nephew Thomas Randolph kicked out the English.

Edinburgh Castle

*A couple of Scottish laddies: Early Bandanaman and his pal Peter*

It’s the castle I know best… we’d take every visitor through there from Glasgow when I was a child and as an adult I worked on the same street, the Royal Mile.

Hewn from volcanic rock , it has been inhabited since the Iron Age and was a royal residence of Scottish monarchs from the 12th to the 17th Century.

*A couple of Scottish soldiers: We’re actually well hard*

At the heart of many of the pivotal moments in Scottish history it was besieged 26 times in its 1100-year history, making it one of the most attacked garrisons in the world although today it’s mainly Americans and Asians wielding cameras.

Just in case there’s another siege, although it’s really for ceremonial reasons, at 1pm every day they fire a gun ‘The One O’Clock Gun’ from a cannon (don’t worry, it’s not live ammo).

Also home to the Edinburgh Military Tattoo. No, the battalions don’t show off their conquests on their arms, that’s what they call a massed display of miltary bands. If you like kilties and the swirl of the pipes this is for you. Starting Friday, it runs to August 24.

Visit http://www.edinburghcastle.scot. http://www.edintattoo.co.uk. http://www.visitscotland.com. Aer Lingus http://www.aerlingus.com and Ryanair http://www.ryanair.com both fly to Edinburgh.

MEET YOU ON THE RAMPARTS

Next week: Lourdes Castle.

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Flyday Friday – time travels

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You’d be mistaken for thinking that I’m always an accidental tourist. I do like to plan ahead particularly when it comes to our great annual festivals…. Christmas, New Year, Enkutatash.

My first Christmas and New Year invites came in this week. More about Christmas another time apart of course from using it as an excuse to reprise this picture…

But straight to Enkutatash, the Ethiopian New Year which I will be celebrating with my friends from Ethiopian Airlines in Dublin on September 12 as I have been doing these last two years.

And don’t you think I get younger (and better looking) each year?

*Smiler: Meseret Tekalign, Country Manager at Ethiopian Airlines Ireland*

That’s because the Ethiopians use an ancient Christian calendar and it is seven years behind our standard Gregorian calendar that we use in the West. So on September 12 it is the first day of 2012.

We reckoned you might want to be there in Addis on the day so we found you a return flight to Addis Abbaba on September 11 and returning on September 18 from £1692 (€1900). Visit http://www.ethiopianairlines.com.

Drop in on Boris

Taxi for May: Photo by Bruce Mars on Pexels.com

If you were looking at happenings in London on television through the gaps in your fingers then you wouldn’t be alone.

Truth is though that I wanted to be there… and not just to tell that eejit who was playing the glockenspiel through all the interviews where to stick his, er, stick.

Of course, we take London for granted because it is our back yard but we shouldn’t. It is one of the world’s great cities if not THE great city.

And it is so easy and cheap to get there. Ryanair flies one-way to London Southend for €12.99 one way among other cut-price flights across the continent. Visit http://www.ryanair.com.

And talking about Boris, did I ever tell you of how I spent the night listening to him playing jazz in London’s West End… or the nearest thing to him? Visit https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/the-london-life/(opens in a new tab)

It all points to Gatwick

If you’re a bit of an oul luvvies like me, are a big Carnival fan, or you’ve something in mind yourself then you’ll want to know that Aer Lingus has a great London offer just waiting for you to avail of.

Collect Double Avios points along the way on your flight to Gatwick for flights booked and flown between July 25 and August 31. Visit http://www.fly.aerlingus.com.

Happy 80th Shannon

And doesn’t Shannon look good on it.

Eighty years ago this month a Belgian tri-liner Sabena Daviola Marchetti S-73 landed on the old Rineanna airfield before its passengers were flown off via Foynes on a flying boat, while 500 excited locals watched the plane fly back to Belgium.

Shannnon goes from strength to strength and is a major economic driver while also carrying us to where we want to go and bringing friends, family and visitors here.

Visit http://www.shannon.airport.ie.