Category Archives: Travel

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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Lambay Island

Flashback:Foraging Retreat Lambay Island

I grew up in Rush so Lambay Island was right in front of my eyes my entire childhood. At one point during an obsessive Famous Five phase I was convinced Lambay was in fact Kirrin Island.  I was devastated to find out the truth.  I would never row a little boat to the island, discover treasure, drink lashings of ginger beer and foil a plan by some ruthless thieves to steal the aforementioned treasure. Continue reading

Jameos del Agua

Jameos del Agua Lanzarote

“Jameos del Agua is a place on earth where nature and mankind decided to come together”. That is the first line of text on the attractions official website. Quite a bold statement to make, but Is it true? Continue reading

Bodegas El Grifo

Travel: Bodegas El Grifo Lanzarote

Recently I wrote about the village of El Golfo in the south of Lanzarote. A stunning village that’s home to the green lagoon. My next snippet about Lanzarote is all about a trip to Bodegas El Grifo. One of the largest wineries on the island they have been in operation since 1755. Having recently passed my WSET Level 2 Wines and Spirits, there was no way I was going to miss out on discovering a bit about the history of wine in Lanzarote. Continue reading

El Golfo

(Travel) El Golfo Lanzarote

Lanzarote is probably best known for being a cheap holiday destination with almost guaranteed sunshine all year round.  There is however a whole lot more to the island.  In terms of size it comes in at just over 325 square miles.  With little effort you can certainly drive around it in a day.  You are however likely to miss some of the spectacular scenery the island has to offer. One such place is the small village of El Golfo.  Its located towards the south of the island close to the Timanfaya National Park (more next week on that. I’ve a few short photo led posts, like this one, about the sights in Lanzarote coming up). Continue reading

Snapshot of Bruges

Snapshot of Bruges

Bruges is magical. A fairy tale village with beautiful architecture, cobbled streets, large squares and a series of canals which crisscross it. While in Brussels with work earlier this year I decided to take a day trip to Bruges. It’s just over an hour away on the train and well worth the trip.  In this snapshot of Bruges I’ll tell you where to eat, drink, run (if your that way inclined) and some fun things to do. Continue reading