Though there was a time on board the MSC Preziosa when it was particularly slippy because of the Norwegian rain.
Photo album
And she looked as if she might fall overboard. I very nearly caught her too!
So opening up the album here are my Frostie’s Favourites and some of her creativity has even rubbed off on me. See if you can spot which are hers and which are mine?
The fjords
Which one’s the troll?
And She was up every morning bright and early to capture Norway’s waterfalls, inlets and try to spot trolls.
There was one still sleeping off the previous night’s wine, in our MSC Preziosa cabin room.
Bitesize Hamburg
Walking on air in Copenhagen
And when She wasn’t putting her feet up in the beach bar in tbe Rieperbahn she was snapping life around the port.
Amsterdam by George
Can I be trusted on a bike? In Amsterdam
And sometimes we make a rod for our own back because after staying at the Dylan Amsterdam where George and Amal stay then everywhere else is a disappointment.
Heart and Soll
White delight: In Soll
I fell for you Heart and Soll as Cole Porter sang. And while I was falling down the slopes She was getting the ski boots off and capturing the SkiWelt Wilder Kaiser.
The power of Powerscourt
Towering talent… one of mine
And the two things that She loves more than anything in life and neither of them are me are in Wicklow that’s gardening and shopping.
Powerscourt has them both... and don’t my credit cards know it?
One of Hers
And one of Jose’s
And lastly here we are the picture of happiness as taken by our Portuguese guide, photography fan and pal Jose.
And Sadie, you’re going to be the one that saves me.
Oasis (maybe)
Oasis are belting out their pub standard and I’m putting my own spin on it.
Of course, it’s not the actual Gallagher brothers themselves, but three hipsters who make up the house band, and one of them is on a banjo!
And it’s not a mega stadium, but just off the Liffey.
‘Cause after all, this is Temple Bar.’
And it’s Valentine’s Night so every tune is a rousing anthem.
I’ll have my usual
While you and your loved one may have been gazing adoringly into each other’s eyes in your favourite Italian restaurant last week, and maybe even in a restaurant in Italy, I had taken my beloved to Dublin’s party hub
Obviously hoping to spend it in a sports bar… Celtic were playing that night.
Rush hour
And they’ve even got the Scotland flag out
Now before I have the massed regiments of womenkind taking up arms against me, we did do the romantic dinner bit.
With an eight-course tasting menu at the Morgan Hotel before we went out on the town.
I had arrived from the office with seconds to spare for our sitting, after working up to the wire.
All overheated from a lower walk from my work in Ballsbridge, three and a half kilometres away.
Herself? She was as fresh as a daisy.
The refurbished Morgan is sat plumb on Fleet Street, next to the Hard Rock Cafe, but is a haven from the throb of humanity that populates Temple Bar, day and night.
Like much of Temple Bar itself it’s multi-national and its staff are bursting with life.
All the world is here
Busting a move: With Oliver St John Gogarty
I joke with Spaniard Sonya at reception when she tells me that my wife is upstairs and I ask if she is alone.
And then there’s our waitress Anastasia who smiles patiently as we dither over cocktails…
A special Valentine’s frothy concoction just whets our appetite for another with ‘Mother Gin’ Herself trying out a Ruby made from Ha’Penny Rhubarb Gin, apple, lime and lemon juice with a basil leaf.
All on medicinal grounds you understand… as she was quick to point out that it had said on the drinks menu.
Now, clearly we don’t go in for tasting menus at home… because somebody’s specified chores are dish-washing.
Catch of the day
Melt in the mourh
But there is something particularly civilised about taking small portions, and your breath, between dishes.
The dishes at the Morgan restaurant, 10 Fleet Street, are beautifully created and almost too good to eat.
But eat we did, mackerel, salmon, duck, roast pork cheek, and king scallops and bream, and even the Baby Beet Salad they slipped in there when they didn’t think I was looking.
Glowing from our cocktails… and with some credit in the bank from giving Herself my uninterrupted attention for once at dinner time I went in search of my football match.
Surprisingly though, for all that Temple Bar is Party Central my attempts at finding a pub with the game on were proving fruitless.
The Temple Bar hostelry was jumping, but not with rowdy football supporters but good-natured music-lovers, cooing couples and young people just there for a good night out.
The best bar none
Every hour is cocktail hour
And while I half-expected the playlist to be all diddly-aye music, the band’s set was rockier.
They are an eclectic bunch in the Temple Bar tonight…
We share holiday reminisces with Amsterdammer Sandor until he either tires of my attempts at engaging with him on the Ajax game the previous night.
Or because he is diverted by a pair of brown eyes.
Now Temple Bar isn’t cheap and it is wise to pace you drinking with a pub crawl perhaps the best idea.
It also helps you clear your head.
Buskers, our next stop, strikes me as a little too modern for our lining… and what do you know, the singer is only playing Wonderwall.
Hat’s not fair
Something for the palate
The Oliver St John Gogarty is perhaps the best-known pub in Temple Bar and for research purposes we end our night there…
Probably because to go on would have meant having to sell a vital organ to afford another drink.
It’s busy, yes, and loud, ditto.
But the Temple Bar revellers are mostly good-natured, although if a fatter ‘Phil Mitchell’ tries to meet your vacant gaze by the side of the stage then it might be best to find another place to stand.
That, or be prepared for a delicate spot of diplomacy to get your hat back.
Perhaps feeling guilty at the prices of their drinks they did hand out little bowls of chips and a sausage roll.
Because eight courses back in the Morgan was never going to be enough.
*The Morgan Hotel http://www.themorgan.com/http://(00353) 1 643 7000. The Morgan is running a spring offer of 30% off room-only rates on bookings until March 31 (valid on stays until December 31) from €150 per room.
This article was first published in the Irish Daily Mail in 2019.
The Menu
Rose petal: Absolut raspberry vodka. Chambord, rose syrup, lime jice pineapple foam.
And I did get offered a chance this week to talk to VIPs who were wired to the moon this famous day 50 years ago.
And the special event is being held at the very minute too 50 years ago when President Nixon made his historic phone call to Neil Armstrong.
Just follow me: NASA astronaut Commander Jon McBride
Unfortunately I couldn’t hotfoot it over to the Richard Nixon Library in California for the exclusive event this evening with such short notice.
But we are friends from our meeting at IPW, the American Travel Fair in Anaheim, and I’ll get there next time.
Amid the great outpouring of national joy at America beating the Soviets to the moon some thought that Richard Nixon was being rewarded for what was John F. Kennedy’s great vision.
But that’s where the Nixon Library will put you right… the Nixons and the Kennedys despite standing against each other in the 1960 election became great friends.
North Alabama tourism project
Dick and John were both Cold War warriors, genuinely liked each other and Pat invited Jackie and the kids back to the White House when they moved in.
It is a myth that America is short on history – well, I would say that being an American History graduate.
And the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda, 37 miles south-east of Downtown LA is where to go. Visit http://www.nixonfoundation.org to learn everything you need to know about the only Californian-born President.
And http://www.visitnasa.com for everything NASA related… there are 14 Visitor Center and space shuttle locations to complete your passport.
Guten Morgan
The final straw: After five cocktails
No, I’m not going all German on you though there would be no harm in that.
It’s just that the Morgan Hotel celebrated its first birthday since its reopening with a gala night and I awoke giddy of head and ready to share with all I met.
Alas this time breakfast wasn’t in the hotel, as it was back in February, but back home here in Greystones where The Scary One was scaring up some poached eggs on toast to soak up the FIVE cocktails from the previous evening.
If you want a reviving breakfast after a night on the town then The Morgan is ideal. It is a positive oasis from Temple Bar.
You’ll sleep like Rip Van Winkle with nary a sound from outside and the staff are super-friendly even remembering us from our visit in February.
The Morgan is continuing in real birthday mood with a sale with rooms for €149 per night. Book by July 31. Visit http://www.themorgan.com.
And watch out too for my review from earlier this year of The Morgan Hotel which I’ll get to work on soon. Well, it is the weekend!
The Travel Bible
It’s the definitive Book of Irish Travel.
Travelbiz.ie and its The Irish Travel Directory & Diary 2019.
If you’re not in it you’re not in Irish Travel and there I am – and I swear it was the first page I opened to.
Close your eyes and pick
Reach for the sky: Photo by Lukas Kloeppel on Pexels.com
Do you do the same?
Close your eyes in the departure lounge in the airport and when you open them fix them on the first destination you see on the board and decide to go there.
I’ll tell you what… I cheat too and look for the American destinations.
American Holidays has bumper family holidays for next Easter.
You’ll build memories that last a lifetime and myself and Daddy’s Little Girl will always have our ice skating experience at the Rockefeller Centre in New York.
American Holidays has New York Family Easter Break from €909pp with flights from Dublin to New York, five nights at the Sheraton New York Times Square, travelling April 2020. Based on two adults and two children sharing.
I dare say La-La went to a good home but the Son and Heir was beside himself in Donegal when he was a toddler and the Yellow One went walkabouts.
As dutiful parents we did, of course, return to where we thought he’d dropped it but it was late and so it was a case of Good Night Teletubby.
It has seemed like it’s been Good Night Teletubbies too for today’s toddlers with Peppa Pig moving in on their manor.
But that’s probably premature. The Teletubbies ARE alive and kicking at Alton Towers Resort and CBeebies Land just two and a half hours from Holyhead, and Irish Ferries will get you there and give you this great offer.
So that’s a return car ferry, two-day park passes to Alton Towers Resort & CBeebies Land and a three-night stay in the Tillington Hall Hotel. From €595 for a family of 4.
You’ve got 12 themed areas that contain 40 different rides of attractions. CBeebies Land is located within Alton Towers and has 14 rides and attractions including the Teletubbies Big Band Live Show and the Peter Rabbit Hippity Hop ride.
Jump in, Majorca’s lovely: Photo by Mariia Kamenska on Pexels.com
Well, if Majorca’s good enough for Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones.
Don’t be put off by the Magaluf of this world, Majorca is a varied and beautiful island, full of unspoiled beaches, great culinary delights, olde world towns and stunning mountains.
TUI has seven nights Dublin to Majorca, staying at the 3* Protur Bahia Azul Apartments in Cala Bona from €489pps for August 27. To book visit http://www.tuiholidays.ie or call 1850 45 35 45.
And the Champion Golfer is…
I’m up in Royal Portrush for the weekend for The Open. And staying in the Clayton Hotel in Belfast tonight ahead of tomorrow’s final round.
With bumper crowds over these four days of competition it will be a reminder to those of us who already love the north and an introduction to those who don’t of all it has to offer.
Portrush itself is a gorgeous town and it’s worth going even when the golf isn’t on so that you can get a chance to check out Portrush Whiterocks Beach, Barry’s Amusements, Dunluce Castle and the Causeway Coastal Route.
I’ll share with you the tips I give to the winner when I return.
