Fish Shack Malahide

Fish Shack Malahide

Despite its simplicity, it can be hard to get a decent, tasty and enjoyable fish and chips in this fair city of ours.  There is nothing worse than soggy greasy batter which leaves you feeling bloated and disappointed.  Fish Shack in Malahide I’m pleased to say is the remedy to this nauseous situation. Continue reading

Pi Pizza Rewind

Dubliners love pizza and there are enough take outs and restaurants scattered across the city to prove it.  Pi Pizza is the latest addition to the pizza scene. Apparently there have been queues down the road from eager pizza lovers ready to try it out.  So is it worth the queue? Continue reading

Runnin Apps

Running Apps – The Top Ten

Running is one of the few good ways to burn those extra calories. Not so long ago, you had to hook up special peripheral devices to track your pace, distance and heartbeat, but you can now measure all of these and do a lot more right from your smartphone.

Here we have ranked the BEST 10 RUNNING apps of 2018.

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Powerscourt Distillery

Powerscourt Distillery

‘Surrounded by the beautiful Wicklow Mountains, guarded by the mighty Sugarloaf, enjoying a temperate coastline climate and bathed by pure spring waters, Powerscourt provides the perfect stage for distilling Irish Whiskey’, a bold statement by the team at Powerscourt Distillery.

Powerscourt Distillery

The good news however is, they are telling the truth. Apart from the extremely well known Powerscourt House, Gardens and Waterfall, the estate now has a thriving Irish Whiskey distillery which opened on the 13th of June 2018.

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Kilkenny Castle

Kilkenny

Disclaimer: Kilkenny Tourism organised the full itinerary and covered the costs of this trip. I was a guest. All thoughts, opinons and photographs are mine, unless otherwise stated.

Hurricane Lorenzo was knocking on Ireland’s door but that wasn’t going to stop me. If Dorothy and Toto can survive a tornado and end up in the land of the yellow brick road, well by God I was going to make my trip to Kilkenny, the land of yellow and black. 

The bag was packed, as was the itinerary for the trip, all prepared by the Kilkenny Tourism team.  With the Taste The Island campaign in full swing, Ireland’s counties are showcasing their offerings like never before.  As a lover of all thing’s food, wine and exploring, I was delighted to get involved this year.   

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Saint Emilion

Saint Émilion

This piece was featured in the travel section of the Irish Daily Mail.

The Italians, the French, or any of those folks on ‘The Continent’ as my Dad used to call it, always just seem so effortlessly stylish. So, at a risk of being outdone and letting the entire of Ireland down, while packing my bag for a few days away in France, I made sure my beret was included.  Afterall, I would hate to turn up in France and look like a thick (without one) as my Ma would say. 

Saint Émilion
Saint Émilion

Now we all know Paris has long been considered the glittering grand dame of France.  The city of romance, fashion and intrigue.  The city of the Eiffel Tower, the Seine River and the Arc De Triomphe. I however was not going there. I was flying to Bordeaux, the bustling belle of a city on the Garonne River. The city of stunning architecture, luscious public parks and fabulous food. It is also the gateway to Saint Émilion, the land of vines and wines which was my ultimate destination. 

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Lanzarote Wine Run

Lanzarote Wine Run 2019

This piece was featured in the travel section of the Irish Daily Mail.

Running plus wine plus sunshine, sure what could go wrong.  With large scale running events like the Marathon du Médoc in September each year and the International Marathon of Beaujolais in November, its not surprising that smaller wine related runs are also being held.   I spotted the Lanzarote Wine Run in an inflight magazine. Running I like, wine I like, so it was hardly a stretch to combine the two.  On a whim, knowing little about it I signed up.

Now I’m no stranger to running.  My first marathon was in Venice, my second in Belfast and I’ve signed up to my third, the aforementioned Marathon du Médoc.  In between I’ve completed maybe ten half marathons. I’m no Action Man, but at 43 I’m essentially running to keep the midlife midriff spread at bay. 

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An Old Favourite – Argentinian Crios by Susana Balbo

Every now and then you find a bottle of wine which you just adore. The Crios from Argentina is such a wine. The wine is made by Susana Balbo at Dominio del Plata in the Mendoza region of Argentina. Continue reading