Cara September 2015

CARA Magazine September 2015

September 2015

Irish Rugby Dublin Fringe Festival Sonoma County Frankfurt Milan South London

Wine & Shine

California’s Sonoma County

City Cycling Tours

The Munch Bunch Galway’s Food Trail

Boldly Beautiful

Downtime in Frankfurt

Doncaster Veneto Dusseldorf

Match Fit

IRISH RUGBY IS IN FIGHTING FORM

Style & Substance Milan’s Renaissance

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FRINGE BENEFITS DUBLIN’S FESTIVAL HOTSHOTS COMPLIMENTARY COPY

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Mick Murray Head of AIB International Corporate Banking mick.j.murray@aib.ie or +353 (1) 641 4248

Simon Scroope Head of AIB Corporate Banking simon.p.scroope@aib.ie or +353 (1) 641 4219

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Allied Irish Bank, p.l.c. is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.

Contents

22 Back to Class

SEPTEMBER 2015

Check in 05 ARRIVALS We welcome newcomers and homecomers to Dublin’s Terminal 2 07

CHECK IN Where’s hot to trot this season

20 ON MY TRAVELS Boxer Andy Lee’s favourite jaunts 22 NEW SKOOL Classroom and playground kit by Ruth Anna Coss 24 MY TRAVEL NOTEBOOK Wendy Duggan’s work, rest and play breaks 26 WEEKENDER Laura George raises a malt to Ashford Castle 28 SHELF LIFE Bridget Hourican chats to Belinda McKeon and reviews the latest travel reads

92 Milanese Magic

80

30 LIFE AS THEATRE Eoin Higgins spotlights Dublin Theatre Festival 32

PET PROJECT Roisin Agnew sniffs out a Dublin dog fest

Frankfurt Time

Features 34 THE NEXT STAGE David Robbins meets the great hopes of Irish Rugby 40 BLOOM OF YOUTH Daragh Reddin introduces Dublin Fringe Festival faves 52

GOURMET GALWAY Aoife Carrigy cherry-picks the city’s finest morsels

40

64 THE GRAPE ESCAPE Manchán Magan visits pioneer country in California

Fringe Festival

80 LET’S BE FRANKFURT Eoin Higgins reports from between the skyscrapers

Regulars

Business

92 MAGIC MILANO Where to rest, play – and shop, by Jo Linehan

114 48 HOURS IN VENETO Tony Clayton-Lea’s Italian fancies

123 BUSINESS & LIFE Georgia Lewis investigates Clapham and Battersea, London

104 5 BEST CITY CYCLING TOURS Fionn Davenport saddles up

117 AN INSIDER’S GUIDE TO DÜSSELDORF Eddie Goodwin’s on-the-ground edit

112 MASTERCLASS Lucy White tries her hips at Tahitian dancing

112 Flower Power

130 SMART TRAVELLER Finola McDonnell on Paris

120 SPOTLIGHT Racing around South Yorkshire’s Doncaster

132 TRAVEL HOT LIST Carry-on clobber, hotels, expos and apps

139 AER LINGUS INFLIGHT Your on-board news and entertainment

134 SLEEPS & EATS Lucy White unearths a gem on a Viennese whirlwind trip

168 TRIP OF A LIFETIME Cameraman Johnny Rogers catches some (manta) rays

136 SIX THINGS I’VE LEARNT Paul Reid of Pfizer’s pearls of working wisdom

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Contributors Manchán Magan is always searching for that line where traditional cultures engage with the modern world. He has written books and made documentaries for TG4 and the Travel Channel on China, India, South America, Greenland, Africa and the Middle East. For his feature on Northern California (page 64) he sought to “... track down remnants of gold rush settlers and modern eco-pioneers amidst California’s affluent vineyards.” Magan lives in a self-built hovel in an oak forest in the Irish Midlands. manchan.com

EDITORIAL Editor Jessie Collins Acting Editor Lucy White Acting Deputy Editor Eoin Higgins Assistant Editors Eleanor Costello and Zoë Coleman Sub-editor Sheila Wayman Contributors Ruth Anna Coss, Laura George, Bridget Hourican and Roisin Agnew Editorial Director Laura George ART Art Director Clare Meredith Acting Art Director Fred Murray Creative Director Bill O’Sullivan ADVERTISING Sales & Partnership Director Rhona McAuliffe +353 (0)1 271 9634; rhona.mcauliffe@image.ie Advertising Manager Corinné Vaughan, +353 (0)1 271 9622; corinne.vaughan@image.ie Advertising Copy Contact Derek Skehan +353 (0)1 855 3855; dereks@typeform.ie ADMINISTRATION Events & Communications Manager Niamh Wade, +353 (0)1 271 9653; niamh.wade@image.ie Financial Controller Olga Gordeychuk Credit Controller Lisa Dickenson Accounts Assistant Angela Bennett

Having spent almost a decade as features editor with belated Dublin freesheet Metro Herald, Daragh Reddin now works in book publishing and moonlights as a features writer with an interest in travel, culture and contemporary fiction. As an occasional Cara contributor he’s had a number of memorable commissions, not least of which was a dream trip to Amsterdam in 2013 to coincide with the reopening of the Rijksmuseum. A keen theatregoer, he was thrilled to catch up with some of the movers and shakers at this year’s Tiger Dublin Fringe (page 40).

Chief Executive Officer Clodagh Edwards

Cork native Jo Linehan has held the helm as junior editor at IMAGE Magazine for four years. Now a freelance journalist and stylist, her work has graced the cover of the Independent Weekend Magazine and seen her collaborate with brands including L’Oréal, YSL and ROADS. This month sees her side project, Ireland At The Movies: Costume in Irish Cinema 1987-2015, launch at The Little Museum of Dublin – and taking a sabbatical in New York, where she’ll style, write and Instagram her way around the Big Apple. Here, she reveals Milan’s stylish appeal on page 92.

AL HIGGIN S

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Chairman Laura George Directors Patrick Dillon Malone, Laura George, Robert Power, Ann Reihill, Gina Traynor PRINTING Boylan Print Group ORIGINATION Typeform Cara magazine is published on behalf of Aer Lingus by Image Publications, Unit 3, Block 3 Harbour Square, Crofton Road, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin, Ireland, +353 (0)1 280 8415; advertising sales, +353 (0)1 271 9625; fax +353 (0)1 280 8309; image.ie, email info@image.ie.

Company registration number 56663 © Image Publications Ltd. All rights reserved. Editorial material and opinions expressed in Cara magazine do not necessarily reflect the views of Aer Lingus or IMAGE Publications Ltd. Aer Lingus and IMAGE Publications Ltd do not accept responsibility for the advertising content. Please note that unsolicited manuscripts or submissions will not be returned. All material is strictly copyright and all rights are reserved. Production in whole or part is prohibited without prior permission from IMAGE Publications Ltd.

Cara magazine is a member of Magazines Ireland.

IMAGE Publications Ltd is a member of the Press Council of Ireland and supports the Office of the Press Ombudsman. To contact the Press Ombudsman, visit pressombudsman.ie or presscouncil.ie IMAGE Publications Ltd – PUBLISHING COMPANY OF THE YEAR 2013 AND 2014 TO ADVERTISE PLEASE CALL CORINNÉ VAUGHAN ON +353 (0)1 271 9622 OR EMAIL CORINNE.VAUGHAN@IMAGE.IE

ON THE COVER

Members of the Irish rugby team, photographed by Anthony Woods at Ardmore Studios, exclusively for Cara magazine.

Welcome to our new issue! We are to all yours. Feel free ay aw e zin ga ma s thi take ey. rn jou rd wa on for your e your We would also lov l feedback and trave r photos via Twitte . @CARAMagazine

WHO? Katrin, Svenja, Ina, Carolin FLYING IN FROM ... Düsseldorf KATRIN SAYS … “This is our first time in Ireland. We can’t wait to try the real Guinness, see all the sights – and we’re planning to walk the Wicklow Mountains.”

WHO? William and Jennifer Jones FLYING IN FROM ... Arizona via Chicago WILLIAM SAYS … “Dublin will be our home for a few days before we rent a car and travel around. We can’t wait to see Kerry and go horseback riding on the beach.”

WHO? Sarka Antos FLYING IN FROM ... San Francisco SARKA SAYS… “I’m from Czech Republic and on my way back from America. My flight to Belgium leaves in three hours but I’m heading into Dublin for a very short hour. I used to live here so I know it well.”

Arrivals

Cara welcomed newcomers – and a few homecomers – to Dublin Airport’s Terminal 2.

WHO? Bernard and Veronica Hughes FLYING IN FROM ... Düsseldorf VERONICA SAYS … “We’re visiting my mother in Armagh, Northern Ireland. He has just come along for the golf – actually, we both play!”

WORDS BY ELEANOR COSTELLO / PHOTOGRAPHS BY ANTHONY WOODS

WHO? Chris, Katrin and Susan FLYING IN FROM ... Düsseldorf SUSAN SAYS … “We came all this way just to see The Who live.

We’re only here for one night, but we were in Dublin last November and we love it.”

WHO? Blake and Siobhain FLYING IN FROM ... Nashville via Chicago BLAKE SAYS … “I’m over to be with her for two months.

It’s great to get out of the Nashville heat and away from the country music – I hate it ...”

WHO? Kendra Nol and Kerri Terpstra FLYING IN FROM ... Michigan, via Chicago KERRI SAYS… “We’re sisters, not twins! We are over in Ireland for the first time, and so excited to explore Dublin, Galway and, of course, my namesake: Kerry, with a ‘y’!”

WHO? Chris Carey FLYING IN FROM ...

Heathrow CHRIS SAYS … “I’m finally home after 20 months travelling the world – my favourite place was probably Nepal. I’m back in Dublin for a few weeks and we’ll see how long it lasts before I want to get back travelling again.”

SEPTEMBER 2015

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Blarney Castle & Gardens Renowned for bestowing the gift of eloquence

See and feel Ireland’s heritage, built nearly six hundred years ago by one of Ireland’s greatest chieftains.

Spend the day exploring the extensive grounds and gardens.

Open all year round 5 miles from Cork Open Monday - Sunday 9-6 www.blarneycastle.ie info@blarneycastle.ie n

n

n

Check in Flights of Fancy What have Christopher Nolan’s A-lister thriller Inception and the River Shannon got in common? Not much, you might think – until you’ve seen the sumptuous natural history documentary Ireland’s Wild River: The Mighty Shannon. Created by small Irish film company Crossing the Line over a two-year period, the documentary, fronted by Emmyaward winning wildlife presenter Colin Stafford-Johnson, employed technology previously used by Nolan in which kingfishers, pictured, and dragonflies were filmed at 1,000 frames per second, making for a remarkable and groundbreaking insight into animal behaviour. (It was originally screened as a two-parter on RTÉ before wowing BBC2 viewers in July.) Crossing the Line’s next wildlife project is the six-part Shutterbugs series returning to RTÉJr this autumn, while you can watch Ireland’s Wild River on all Aer Lingus transatlantic flights until the end of this month (see On a River in Ireland, page 151). ctlfilms.com

Find out what’s on, where and when in September 2015

Check in Compiled by Zoë Coleman, Eleanor Costello, Eoin Higgins and Lucy White.

STAY

4 Best Hotels with Self-Catering Take good care of yourself at one of these discreet retreats ...

Castlemartyr, Co Cork This “resort hotel” dates from 1210 but its services are distinctly 21st Century. The self-catering lodges are all located on the Estate: a beautiful setting for an early morning pony and trap tour of the grounds, an experience that will take you back in time – but without compromsing on mod-cons in your contemporary crashpad. Lodges from €109. castlemartyrresort.ie

AKA White House, Washington DC Pretend

you’re rubbing shoulders with Obama and Michelle at this sleek and swanky address, which is just a few blocks away fom the president’s actual crib. However you like your eggs in the morning, you will feel like a royal (or diplomat) while staying in large, luxurious serviced suites. Rates from $195. stayaka.com

Inchydoney, West Cork

Make yourself at home in one of Inchydoney Island Lodge and Spa’s spacious serviced apartments with private balconies and beach views.

Housekeeping comes twice weekly and guests can enjoy full access to the picturesque resort’s thalassotherapy facilities.

Feeling really lazy? Avail of grocery delivery. Prices start at €108. inchydoneyisland.com

Stay Hotel, Copenhagen

Previously an artists’ hub, this building was transformed into ultra-modern apartments, a pop-up restaurant and a rooftop terrace. Bright, minimalist interiors allow for a zen-like getaway in the capital.

Gorge on Danish pastries from the hotel’s own bakery in the comfort of your own kitchen.

Prices start at DKK 1700. staycopenhagen.dk

FITNESS

Stretch Appeal York Vinyl Kettlebells Set, €27 at littlewoodsireland.ie

Adidas Originals Low Trainer €55, at Life Style Sports, nationwide

HOLISTIC

Fitbit Charge, €149 at Arnotts, Henry Street, Dublin 1

Chi Party If you’re at an age where music festivals have become as attractive as a soggy tent, then Wellfest could be for you. The event on September 19 is aimed at both the super-fit and the want-to-be-fit. Offering everything from mindfulness sessions to weight training, experts in the different WellZones include Icelandic trainer-to-the-stars Svava Sigbertsdottir and My1000Hours founder Niall “Bressie” Breslin. Cookery demos from The Happy Pear too.

Tickets €37.45 including all activities. wellfest.ie 8|

SEPTEMBER 2015

Eva Solo Thermo Flask, £40 at amara.com

Adidas Originals Men’s Hoodie, €65 at Life Style Sports, nationwide

More Mile Run Brite Hat & Glove Set, €11.11 at getthelabel.com

Sports Bra, €16.99 at TK Maxx, nationwide

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EXPLORE

FREELY FASCINATING Have you ever yearned for a nosy around Áras an Uachtaráin – the President’s house? Or wanted to know more about Dublin’s textile history? Now’s your chance: Culture Night returns to Ireland with a portly programme of guided tours, special talks, performances, late-night gallery and museum admissions – all for free (September 18; culturenight.ie).

More than 900 cultural institutions in towns, cities and villages across the country will be throwing opening their doors and, with gratis transport laid on in many areas, there’s no excuse not to get involved.

New to the capital is St Patrick’s Cathedral’s new Discovery Space (stpatrickscathedral.ie), right, which combines 21st-century technology with a heritage that

dates back to the 12th century; interactive touch screen tables, an audio-visual unit and a cathedral app on iPads. Oldschool kids will also love the brass-rubbing workshops and a mega jigsaw.

And to engage with some natural history, head southeastwards to Waterford’s Comeraghs Wild festival (September 17-20, general inquiries 058 21169; visitwaterford.com). There’s something for all the family, from walks and talks, to storytelling and al fresco live performances – including a specially commissioned drama, Crotty the Robber, about an 18th-century highwayman, played out on Coumshingaun Lake, and a Mary Black concert in the courtyard of the historic Curraghmore House.

ar’s New York ll up, roll up for this ye Ro ON TI MO IN S EL WHE sts will cycle from ere one-wheel enthusia Unicycle Festival, wh ney Island, and Brooklyn Bridge to Co rk, Pa al ntr Ce to rk Pa Battery hops, shows and d. There are also works across Governors Islan nifest.com . September 3-6; nycu mo su er, d, an ey ck ho unicycle

DESIGN

DAY-OUT

Giants of Comic Art

Wood-u-Like

Kapow! The sixth Comics Festival descends on Brussels this September 4-6 for a riot of workshops, auctions, symposia, water shows, outdoor cinema, a giant balloon parade, right, vintage car rally and book signings by more than 100 authors. Last year some 10,000 cartoon lovers of all ages got in on the cartoon action, with Brussels Park and the Victor Horta-designed Comics Art Museum at the heart of it all – and the 2015 edition promises to be twice the size. comicsfestival.be

Europe’s largest wooden rollercoaster – and the first with an inversion – is now open. Tayto Park’s Cú Chulainn Coaster in Ashbourne, Co Meath, hurtles adrenaline junkies across 1,082 metres of track at speeds up to 100 km/h. Go on – we dare you ... taytopark.ie

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SEPTEMBER 2015

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LITERATURE

SOUNDING OFF

Berlin Bookworms

Ireland’s east coast is alive with the sound of music this month. Now in its tenth year the New Ross Piano Festival in Co Wexford continues to bring the freshest international talent to our shores (newrosspianofestival.com).

From September 24-27 the historic coastal town plays host to the classical world’s rld’s best performers including Olga Scheps (Germany) y) and Cedric Tiberghien (France).

In Co Cork, the Clonakilty International Guitar Festival launches its 11th edition from September 17-20 (clonguitarfest.com). com). Music fans will recognise Tennessee native Valerie June from her appearances on Later... with Jools Holland, this being her only Irish show this year.

Austin-based electronic quartet The Octopus Project are also not to be missed.

For something more traditional, Hebridean singer Kathleen MacInnes embarks on an 11date nationwide tour, bringing

It’s back to the books this month – specifically, to the 15th Berlin International Literature Festival from September 9-19. This year’s guests at Germany’s hippest city include the Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Cunningham, former Charlie Hebdo cartoonist Luz, academic Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, and our very own Roddy Doyle.

Tickets for individual events start from €4. literaturfestival.com

returns for its third year at the REEL IMPRESSIVE Fingal Film Festival lin. This niche festival champions Swords Pavilions Centre in north Co Dub ramme of international homegrown talent alongside a diverse prog fest.com screenings on September 25-27. fingalfilm

ART

WATCH THIS SPACE Rediscover Dublin during the Dublin Gallery Weekend by way of a comprehensive new digital and print map. Over the weekend of September 11-13, visitors are granted exclusive entry to some of Dublin’s finest art studios and galleries with 60 events taking place in 30 venues, including Green on Red gallery, right. There’ll be something for every art enthusiast, including guided tours, practical workshops and artist talks. A highlight for those sweet of tooth is afternoon tea in Dublin’s historic Monto district, after a tour of the ’hood’s galleries. Most events are free but may require prior booking. dublingallerymap.ie

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SEPTEMBER 2015

20. And at Dublin’s National Concert Hall, Blood and the Moon: A Provocation on Yeats, offers startling new interpretations of Yeats’ poetry performed by celebrated contemporary performers, including Mercury Prize nominee Anna Calvi and NYC cabaret icon Justin Vivian Bond, above, this September 13-14 (nch.ie).

ALI GHANDTSCH

together togeth for the first fir time musicians music Dermot Byrne, Byrne left, Mike Vass Va and Brian Finnegan Fi (musicnetwork.ie). The tour opens at Dublin’s The Sugar Club on September 8 and concludes at Inishowen's McGrory’s of Culdaff Hotel in Co Donegal on September

I

LIZ LIGOURI

MUSIC

DIASPORA

YOHANNE LAMOULÈRE/IRISH INDEPENDENT

Home Comforts

“There have been a few narrow escapes over the years, so when things are tough, it’s always nice to head home”

“What I enjoy most about Marseille is its diversity.

Its history is one of waves of immigrants, from the Phoenicians to the Algerians, the Corsicans, the Armenians and the Comorians. It has one of France’s largest Muslim populations and one of its largest Jewish communities.” Originally from Fermoy, Co Cork, Mary Fitzgerald’s work – as a journalist and analyst, specialising in the Euro-Mediterranean region with a particular focus on Libya – has often taken her to regions where coexistence and tolerance are not always as strong as they might be in her adopted city.

And while Marseille has a large North African population, giving the journalist a sense of having a foot in both continents, there are other reasons for choosing the city as a base: “Locals boast of Marseille’s ability to foster liberalism but, in recent years, there is a real buzz about town too, with many creatives moving here from Paris and other European cities. Some now call it a ‘new Berlin by the Med’. Lapped by the Mediterranean and surrounded by mountains, the city’s geography is also a pretty big draw.” A self-described “Libyaphile”, having reported from the country since 2011 and lived there throughout 2014, Fitzgerald’s career began on the streets of Belfast, covering a post-conflict Northern Ireland.

Since those formative years she has reported from more than 40 countries, for a range of Irish and international media. Yet, an affinity with Ireland has never left the reporter, “When I’m on assignment in the Middle East, the hospitality I encounter always reminds me of Ireland. In Libya, for instance, the civil war means people there are stretched to their limits but their generosity always shines through. There have been a few narrow escapes over the years, so when things are tough, it’s always nice to head home to be reminded of what really matters. Enjoying good food with great company, whether it’s in Dublin, Marseille or Tripoli, is something of an antidote.” And what about coming back to Ireland, in particular? “I love the intimacy of returning; the memories around every corner ... coming back always feels like being wrapped up in a comfort blanket for a week.”

SEPTEMBER 2015

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SPORT

Game Changer Howth Castle has seen much activity this year. In addition to its well-established cookery school, Deer Park Golf Club and also FootGolf, this summer it hosted its first literary festival and an open-air production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The latest string to its bow is a Poc Fada Golf course, a world first. Combining hurling with golf, this new sport was developed by castle custodian Julian Gaisford-St Lawrence, in cahoots with David Caulfield of Beann Eadair GAA and Humphrey Kelleher, chairman of the National Poc Fada Committee. The rules are similar to golf – each hole carries a par, and the aim is to hit a sliotar into holes in as few shots as possible. deerparkgolf.ie

STYLE

Fashion Passion RACING

BETS & HEDGES Racing enthusiasts will be bolting to Leopardstown and the Curragh’s Longines Irish Champions Weekend on September 1213. This year’s prize fund is a whopping €4.03 million and visitors don’t even need to know their

EXHIBITION

SCENE STEALERS “Costume is a visual medium and absolutely vital in telling the story,” Consolata Boyle told Cara back in June. Boyle is just one of the many Irish designers, along with Joan Bergin and Sandy Powell, represented at Ireland at the Movies: Costumes in Irish Cinema 1987-2015 at The Little Museum of Dublin. Key clothing from Irish movies are on display, including Jimmy’s Hall, right, Michael Fassbender’s Frank head, far right, plus Cillian Murphy’s The Wind That Shakes the Barley uniform – and his diaphanous blue frock from Breakfast on Pluto. As well as the pieces themselves, the continuity Polaroids of Daniel Day-Lewis (My Left Foot), Meryl Streep (Dancing at Lughnasa), Julie Roberts (Michael Collins) et al, are also well worth a visit. Until September 28. littlemuseum.ie

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SEPTEMBER 2015

Trixies from their Yankees – dedicated followers of fashion are encouraged to use the #PrizeForElegance hashtag to document their style on Instagram for the chance to win a slice of the weekend’s €25,000 prize fund.

irishchampionsweekend.ie

With every new season comes new excuses to update our wardrobe, especially now that autumn and winter staples and fripperies are already on the shop floor. Find out what key trends are especially hot to trot at the sixth Dublin Fashion Festival, where more than 250 retailers, bars and restaurants will join forces for sartorial supremacy. Cue fashion shows, in-store promotions, makeovers exhibitions – and, naturally, an army of Irish fashion bloggers Instagramming every swatch and swathe. September 7-13; dff.ie

WHERE

HANDBAGS STEAL HEARTS

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More than 60 luxury boutiques to discover, with savings of up to 60%*.

This autumn, there is more to adore.

Fall for a new favourite.

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FOOD

4 Best Oyster Bars

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Co-owner of Kelly Oysters, Co Galway, Diarmuid Kelly shares his top shellfish haunts ahead of the Galway International Oyster and Seafood festival this September 24-27 (galwayoysterfestival.com).

OG OT PAU L DW Y E R P H

Belga Queen Brussels Housed in a building that used to be a bank, the surroundings at Belga Queen are truly lavish, resulting in a very high-end oyster bar and restaurant experience.

The kitchen proudly uses the finest of Belgian produce and they have a vast selection of shellfish on the menu. Get stuck into ... Scallops in a Duvel beer reduction and Ardennes butter. belgaqueen.be

Bentley’s Oyster Bar & Grill London Take the Tube to Piccadilly Circus and ramble down to charming Swallow Street where you’ll find Richard Corrigan’s handsome restaurant.

In their own words “Oysters are something of a passion” and I couldn’t agree more. They serve delicious rock and native oysters from around the UK and Ireland.

Get stuck into ... The royal fish pie is a favourite. bentleys.org

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Hog Island Oyster Bar San Francisco You won’t find better in the city (and there’s a second branch in Napa) than the oysters grown in Tomales Bay, on the coast of Northern California. At Hog Island the menu is always changing, making the most of seasonal ingredients and the location is great for watching the world go by. Get stuck into ...

The clam chowder – it’s superb. hogislandoysters.com

COFFEE

FARM FRESH

Coffee Breaks

Goat Getter

AL HIGGINS

Do you have a beard? Sailor-ish tattoos? Thick, dark-framed glasses? A large ear plug, perhaps?

If you’ve answered “no” to all of these questions, fret not, you can still attend the Dublin Coffee & Tea Festival in the Industries Hall of the RDS (September 11-13) without being snorted at, derisively, by the cofferati ... inclusivity is all the rage around espresso machines these days.

Caffeinated subcultural motif joshing aside, this year’s fest is looking like it’s going to be a fine cuppa. Covering all ends of the coffee spectrum, from aero-pressed to cold-brewed, the event will be a Wonka factory of hot beverage intrigue.

Added to that, the fact that Dublin is hosting the 2016 World Barista Championships next year, this is a near essential intro for anyone with even a passing interest in coffee into the Irish strand of the fascinatingly geeky universe of knockboxes, hoppers and tampers. dublincoffeefestival.com

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SEPTEMBER 2015

Morans Oyster Cottage, Galway My list wouldn’t be complete without a local favourite, Morans in Kilcolgan has been in business for more than 250 years. They serve beautiful oysters all year round but a favourite, the native flat oyster is only available from September to April, each year – when they’re at their best.

Get stuck into ... The seafood platter. moransoystercottage.com

Hungry for a unique food experience? A visit to Cape Clear Island, West Cork and a drop in to Cléire Goats Farm should sate your appetite. Learn about goat husbandry and taste for yourself the unique goats ice cream made fresh on this marvellous ecofriendly holding. 087 797 3056; goat@iol.ie

(September 4, 6.30pm) GO WEST! Get on your bike for the Bike Buffet (September 4-6). a highlight of this year’s Westport Food Festival main & dessert, each Tickets are €20 per person and include a starter, odfestival.ie eaten at a different biked-to location. westportfo

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Wish you were here

John Dyer from Scotland’s Motherwell took this shot through the kitchen window of his sister’s house near Carrickfinn Airport in Donegal. “It shows Mount Errigal and a paraglider landing at the airport. It’s a stunning part of the country, and the Strand there has to be seen to be believed. All this just an hour away on a flight from Glasgow ... heaven.”

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SEPTEMBER 2015

Have you a stunning photograph of your trip to an Aer Lingus destination to share? Send it to us at cara.wishyouwerehere@image.ie and we’ll publish our favourite shot in the October/November issue. The technicals: Photographs must be a 300-dpi high resolution file and please include 100 words about you and the story behind the shot. The editor’s decision is final.

SEPTEMBER 2015

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On My Travels

Irish professional boxing champion Andy Lee shares his travel memories and downtime trips with Eleanor Costello.

DARA MUNNIS

Andy Lee has represented Ireland at the European, World and Olympic Games. He has fought all over the world in countries such as Cuba, Thailand, Russia and America. In 2014 he beat Matt Korobov in Las Vegas to become the WBO world middleweight champion. He currently splits his time between Limerick and the south of France, where he’s in training for the upcoming defence of his title against UK challenger Billy Joe Saunders, at Manchester Arena on October 10.

f I could fly anywhere tomorrow, I would go …

To Shannon, Ireland. Home.

My childhood holidays … Were spent in Limerick and Dublin.

I grew up in London, so most of our holidays were to visit family in Ireland.

The first thing I do when I get to a hotel room is … Put my bag down, take off my shoes and dive on to the bed!

Nowhere else lives up to the experience of … Fighting at Madison Square Garden in New York. I’ve fought all over the world but no place compares. Just the history of the place, the great fights that have happened there … it’s an honour to be a part of that.

My fantasy travelling companion is … The chef,

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writer and presenter, Anthony Bourdain. I love to eat and try new things, so he’d bring me to the best and unknown places all over the world.

As an Irish person … No matter where you are in the world, no matter what you’re doing, there’s always a longing to return home. And I get that “home” feeling as soon as I step on an Aer Lingus flight. I love coming home.

When I’m away from home I miss … The people. The common decency among Irish people, the familiarity. Just the small things, like how people will help with directions if you’re lost or just a stranger wishing you good morning as you pass each other on the street. You don’t get that often in other parts of the world.

My idea of holiday heaven is … Somewhere sunny and

warm, where there’s a lot to see and do. I like to travel with friends and share the experiences with them.

The most exotic holiday I’ve been on was … To Costa Rica a few years back, travelling along the Caribbean coast.

It’s a beautiful country and the people are very friendly.

It’s a very relaxing place; the beaches are beautiful. I also did a lot of adventure sports while there, off-roading, ziplining through the jungle and white-water rafting.

To pass the time when travelling … I like to listen to podcasts. They’re a great resource and very infomative. You can find a podcast on nearly any topic.

A few of my favourites are the LearnOutLoud series, Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History and for fun, the Cracked podcast.

The first thing to go into my suitcase is … My equipment, if I’m fighting, which I keep in my carry-on. Other than that, probably my tablet and a good set of headphones.

After a fight … It can take some time to unwind. When you’re boxing, you live in a very intense environment, training and competing. So to relax I usually go home to Limerick to see my family and just be myself for a while.

Where in the world is my favourite place to train?

I currently train in the south of France. I enjoy my training here but as a boxer, I can train anywhere, really. All that is required is a boxing ring, punch bags and some floor space.

Training here on the French Riviera, waking up to the sunshine and the ocean ... it does make it a little easier.

3 Best Martial Arts Workshops ...

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Western Martial Arts Workshop, Lake Michigan This year’s event takes place in the beautiful DeKoven Retreat Centre, just outside Chicago.

If none of the classes take your fancy – from the history of medieval fighting, left, to nutrition advice – join in for the celebratory medieval themed pig-roast.

September 17-20; wmaw.us

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Aikido of London Taught by two of the world’s most senior teachers, Ismail Hasan and Yahe Solomon, both of whom studied under TK Chiba, a direct student of the founder of Aikido. Classes include weapons work with iaido, a traditional Japanese swordbased martial art. September 4-6; aikidooflondon.com

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Amber Healing Centre, Co Galway For a more holistic approach, this oneday workshop in Ballinderreen combines Tai Chi, Qi Gong and Taoist meditation. Just 15 minutes from the Burren, it’s the ideal setting for a walk through the limestone landscape or a trip to the majestic Cliffs of Moher.

September 6; qigongwest.com

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Carrera Blast Boys Mountain Bike 20”, €249.99 at Halfords nationwide

s new Netflix serie ne for a brand gli ta e th e, is ” nc ol cie w co S.T.E .A .M . (S “Smar t is the ne ite baddies with G IRL POWER tween spies sm ur fo 2 ich m wh co in Project Mc d Maths). netflix. gineering, Ar t an Technology, En Cloud Bookmark Cover Pocket Notebook by Noodoll, £4.50 at notonthehighstreet.com

New Skool

Brighten up the new term with cute stationery and accessories, compiled by Ruth Anna Coss.

Ice Cream Keyring, €4 at Paperchase

All Star High Top Trainers by Converse, from €32.50 at brownthomas.com Fiskars Ladybird Kids Scissors, £2.60 at johnlewis.com

Hooded Duffle Coat by Mayoral, €50 at alexandalexa.com

Changeable Strap Shoes by Lelli Kelly, £63.50 at brownthomas.com

Ladybirds Water Bottle

by Camelbak, €20 at brownthomas.com

Monster Mash Up Triple Pencil Case, €8.50 at Paperchase

Alister Lunchbag

by Beatrix New York, €36.50 at alexandalexa.com Reusable Sandwich Bag by Keep Leaf, £6 at boobalou.co.uk

Retro Bicycle Bell

by Rex, €5.95 at woodenheart.ie

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SEPTEMBER 2015

Checkerboard Old Skool II Backpack by Vans, €36 at alexandalexa.com

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My Travel Notebook Dublin-based WENDY DUGGAN is head of fashion PR (US and new markets) for the Irish retail favourite Penneys/Primark, which makes its US debut in Boston this month. Working for the shopping giant takes her across the globe – here she tells Eleanor Costello where she also rests and plays.

BEST BAR? “I celebrated my 30th birthday in Las Vegas last year and it has some of the best bars in the world. Parasol Down at the Wynn (wynnlasvegas. com) was my favourite. The views, the setup, the music and atmosphere make it a hands-down winner for me.”

BARBAR A KR AF

LAST TRIP? “I’m just back from viewing the Boston store site, making final plans in the lead up to our launch. It’s such a fun and friendly city, with amazing Irish connections.”

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CARINA OKU LA

FAVOURITE PLACE FOR A WEEKEND BREAK? “Paris.

Since working with Primark I’ve visited our press office there quite a lot and have fallen in love with the relaxed culture, the people and the city itself.”

FAVOURITE RESTAURANT? “Keeping it in my hometown, Taco Taco (tacotacodublin.com) is a new personal favourite of mine. Their infamous brunch menu is great, partnered with one of their amazing cocktails.”

BEST HOTEL YOU’VE EVER STAYED IN? “Only You boutique hotel in Madrid (onlyyouhotels.com) is my number one home-away-fromhome, with its central location it’s surrounded by great restaurants, and the staff are very friendly.”

DREAM DESTINATION? “Tulum in Mexico. I’ve heard so many amazing things, and the idea of a beautiful, tranquil beach always appeals. Being able to relax with loved ones, catch up on the latest novels and chill by a beach is my idea of bliss.”

Wendy’s Carry-on Items ...

1 Ballet Slippers, €3.50 at Penneys nationwide 2 Fringed Cape, €18 at Penneys nationwide 3 Turandot Notebook, £8.95 at liberty.co.uk 4 MAC Lip Conditioner, €12.30 at Brown Thomas 5 Apple iPad Mini, from €309 at apple.com/ie

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SEPTEMBER 2015

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Estate of Mind

Laura George finds history, heritage and all things comfy in a sniff at Ashford Castle in Co Mayo.

ith the clouds immediately apparent that you have closing in and the definitely not given the burning days already visibly question of blended vs single shorter, a good malt enough consideration over fire becomes the the course of your lifetime. (And single most important thing to my naturally, in the interests of personal physical wellbeing. It has to be built improvement, you deal with this high and actually roar, hand-cut shortcoming head on.) turf and wood infusing the whole The whole point of this weekend room and whatever jumper I have break was to catch up with a on with a smell that is so much daughter who more than the sum of its parts. It’s had recently left history and heritage and all things home to make comfy in a sniff. her life in the big As far as fireplaces go, the neocity so, besides the Gothic number that anchors The fireside chats, being Prince of Wales Bar at the iconic outdoors was a high Ashford Castle – recent recipient of priority – even if this Virtuoso’s Hotel of the Year award meant getting pretty – is pretty hard to beat. Context wet. We stopped is key: what’s not to like about a shy of a ride-out on cosy, mahogany-panelled room in one of the stunning a proper castle with 13th-century estate mounts, given foundations once populated the howling by the Guinness family gales, but and their pals? The managed BE KIND, most pressing order a good few muddy UNWIND of the day becomes tramps around Ashford Castle hosts a whether you should Lough Corrib, the yoga retreat with master Ata order a pint in 140-hectare estate Baechler, November 19-22. Three their honour or and into nearby practices a day, healthy meals have a go at a Cong village and meditation sessions cost comprehensive Irish (there’s a cinema from €1,525 per person. whiskey degustation. room if you’re ashfordcastle.com After a chat with the feeling spectacularly barman, it becomes lazy). They put colour

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in our cheeks and made us feel we’d earned a good roast and some spuds, never mind another sojourn at the bar and a long wallow abed. Of the 82 guest rooms, the ones to plump for are the newly decorated suites overlooking the garden and lake.

John Hinde would no doubt have agreed. The views are unparalleled.

All the boxes ticked, we returned home to much lesser thread counts, well nourished in every sense.

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What to Pack ...

1 Le Chameau Vierzon Boot, €209 at matchesfashion.com 2 Uniqlo Ultra Light Down Vest, £39.90 at uniqlo.com 3 The Fishermen by Chigozie Obioma (Pushkin Press), hardback €23.70 at Eason 4 Patchwork Aran Jumper, €245 at and-daughter.com 5 Étoile Isabel Marant Dress, €350 at net-a-porter.com

Lording it up in Co Mayo – Ashford Castle reopened earlier this year after a reported €67million refurbishment.

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Shelf Life|

Bridget Hourican views the best press photos, chats to Belinda McKeon, and vicariously takes a US road trip.

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WORLD PRESS PHOTO 15 edited by Kari Lundelin (Thames & Hudson, £27) Since 1955, the Amsterdam-based NGO dedicated to integrity in photojournalism has held the world’s largest, most prestigious press photography competition. For the 2015 contest, 97,912 images were submitted – this book showcases the 41 international winners in eight categories: contemporary issues, general news, spot news, daily life, sports, nature, portraits and long-term projects. Here are gritty, troubling images of war, poverty and natural disasters, but also inspiring images of sport, close-ups of nature and remarkable visual storytelling projects, such as Side Effects by Kacper Kowalski, above, his images shot from paragliders and gyroplanes around Gdynia, Poland, showing the complex relationship between man and nature.

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Novelist Belinda McKeon on the impact of distance.

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Behind the Lines

WHAT’S THE IDEA BEHIND A KIND OF COMPASS, WHICH YOU EDITED? I’m fascinated by the idea of distance. I wanted to see how writers would engage and to see what farawayness would look like for them.

The title comes from A Field Guide to Getting Lost

by Rebecca Solnit – a book about wandering, change, transformation. Making our way across great distances is how we live, after all.

HOW DID YOU SELECT THE AUTHORS? I approached writers I admire, who I’d come across in anthologies and magazines – or at festivals, or on Twitter. They’re writers from around the world and at different stages in their careers.

DID COMMON THEMES EMERGE? Loneliness and independence emerged as the two sides of the coin which distance creates. They’re all stories about the restlessness and curiosity that both drive people and cause them to want to hide.

DID READING THESE STORIES MAKE YOU WANT TO VISIT A PARTICULAR PLACE? I found myself Googling Holy Island in Northumberland, where Ross Raisin’s story is set. Outer space is off the bucket list, as readers will understand when they read Elske Rahill and Maria Takolander!

OTHER FAVOURITE BOOKS ABOUT DISTANCE? Peter Cameron’s Andorra and Elizabeth Bishop’s Questions of Travel.

WHERE DO YOU PREFER TO WRITE? Aptly enough, I love to write on long flights. The altitude seems to loosen something up.

A Kind of Compass (Tramp Press, €15) is out on September 17.

McKeon’s latest novel is Tender (Penguin, £14.99).

3 US Travel Reads …

DEEP SOUTH: FOUR SEASONS ON BACK ROADS

by Paul Theroux (Hamish Hamilton, £16.59) Fifty years after the Civil Rights summer of 1964, the veteran travel writer drives the back roads from Arkansas through South Carolina, eschewing museums, stadiums and antebellum mansions for churches, motels, diners and gun shows – chronicling living history.

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THE UNITED STATES OF WIND, A JOURNEY BY CHANCE INTO AMERICA

by Daniel Canty (Talon Books, £10.86) The French-Canadian writer takes an old Ford Ranger, crested with a weathervane and a windsock, and surrenders himself to air currents, which blow him to Chicago, through the Rust Belt, into the forests of Pennsylvania. A meditation on travel, landscape and memory.

ROUTE 66, ICONOGRAPHY OF THE AMERICAN HIGHWAY by Arthur Krim (George F Thompson, £22.40) Commemorative issue of this prizewinning study of America’s most famous highway. Krim looks at Route 66 from its beginnings as an American Indian hunting trail through to it central positioning in 20th-century popular culture. With 100 maps, photos and postcards.

Let’s Talk Coffee We are passionate about coffee from crop to cup. Our team’s expertise, passion and conscientiousness go into every pack. Our coffee is slow hand roasted in the world’s first carbon neutral Roastery, here in Dublin, Ireland by our dedicated and expert roasters.

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Check in

Life as Theatre

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Top, Friel's Dancing at Lughnasa.

Above, Corps Diplomatique.

3 Great Dublin Theatres …

ROS KAVANAGH

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The Abbey Theatre Also known as the National Theatre of Ireland, the Abbey, left, opened its curtains in December 1904. The first state-subsidised theatre in the English-speaking world, its early years saw it closely entwined in the Irish Literary Revival, serving as a nursery for many leading 20th-century Irish playwrights and actors, including William Butler Yeats, Lady Gregory, Sean O’Casey. abbeytheatre.ie

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Meanwhile, Wayne Jordan directs his take on Oedipus at the Abbey Theatre and the Gate Theatre hosts Joe Dowling’s A View from the Bridge, by Arthur Miller.

Festival artistic director Willie White is excited about the palpable dramatic potential evident in the capital this month, “[Dublin] is now more confident, more global and more diverse, but there is still a sense that the city is not everything it can be. We’re emerging from the worst of times and now we have an opportunity to think about what will make Dublin thrive into the future.”

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acclaimed productions appearing on the Dublin programme as part of international tours.

Considering homespun confections, the Irish premiere of Conor McPherson’s award-winning, The Night Alive has been highly anticipated. A festival highlight, coinciding with McPherson’s debut, is an in-depth, live audience interview with the playwright to be conducted at Project Arts Centre (September 26, 1pm) and broadcast later, on RTÉ Radio 1’s weekly arts programme, Arts Tonight.

Elsewhere, Hibernian theatrical titans Brian Friel (Dancing at Lughnasa) and Enda Walsh (The Last Hotel) hold a torch for native creatives. Friel’s Dancing at Lughnasa celebrates 25 years since its premiere and this iteration is directed by leading Irish director Annabelle Comyn.

Further left of field, a slightly edgier theme imbues THEATREClub’s The Game, a new play about the sex industry devised with Rachel Moran and other women who have exited prostitution.

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sense of the literary and the dramatic is hard to avoid in discussions around culture in Dublin, the birthplace of many famous playwrights and writers.

As a result, the Dublin Theatre Festival (September 24 to October 11, dublintheatrefestival.com) has become an annual hotspot on the maps of the city’s culturati.

Established in 1957, Europe’s oldest theatre festival began life with a controversial run (for the censorious, clerically influenced Ireland of its time) of Tennessee Williams’ The Rose Tattoo. Festival organisers have since striven to provide a thought-provoking programme of International and Irish productions.

This year sees no difference, featuring a diverse array of international and homegrown pieces.

Chekov’s The Cherry Orchard (tg STAN, Belgium), Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (The National Theatre of Great Britain, UK), and the cerebral, and funny, Corps Diplomatique by French artist Halory Goerger are but a smidgeon of the almost 30 critically

CHRIS HEANEY

Europe's oldest theatre festival opens this month.

Eoin Higgins takes a peak behind the curtain of a Dublin institution.

Smock Alley Catch a play from Europe’s oldest theatre festival at Dublin’s oldest theatre ... In 2012, after a €3.5 million investment, a new theatre opened on the original 17th-century foundations of Smock Alley. This site comprises four spaces: Smock Alley Theatre (178 seats), The Boy’s School (100 seats), Black Box (80 seats) and The Banquet Hall (300 seats). smockalley.com

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Gate Theatre Established as a theatre company in 1928 by Hilton Edwards and Micheál MacLiammóir, the Gate set out its stall by offering European plays that juxtaposed what was available at the Abbey, thus producing Irish premières of Ibsen and other such modern dramatists to the Irish theatre-goer. This statement of intent is still very much in effect today. gatetheatre.ie

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Pet Project

A parade of pooches is the highlight of the inaugural Doggie Do. Roisin Agnew wags the tail of Dublin’s newest, and furriest, festival. very dog has its day, as the saying goes, and that just may be in Dublin this month, when the city hosts its first festival to celebrate all things canine. A gang ng of dog-loving friends embarked on a successful crowd-funding campaign to organise this poochloving event.

The Doggie Do takes place on September 12, in the leafy loveliness of Merrion Square, where ere it’ll be all about “celebrating the enduring bond that exists between homo sapiens and canis familiaris,” as one of its creators, Conor Stevens, explains.

The event was inspired by the annual Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade in New York, which Conor and his wife Siobhan have attended. And, as dog lovers, they wanted to bring the idea of an annual celebration of man’s best friend across the pond.

The Doggie Do fills a gap in the Dublin social diary, giving doggy-lovers the chance to come together to indulge in a family day of pet adoration. There will be Q&As with vets, a “Doggie and Soul” area, talks from groomers

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and trainers, and trials of agility and scent tracking. All are invited to take part in the “Appetite for Destruction” talk where punters can swap anecdotes about “their little treasure’s accidental acts of carnage”.

Calling all Staffies, Frenchies, Scotties, schnauzers and dachshunds to don their finest and take to the dog-walk, the highlight of the Doggie Do is to be the dressup parade for dogs and humans.

It culminates in the inaugural crowning of the “Dog of Dublin”.

Doggie Do is the result of a collaboration between design agency Mr & Mrs Stevens, event guide LeCool and open-air cinema hosts extraordinaire Happenings, whose

All fur love – poochie postcards, above, from the New York event, Tompkins Square Halloween Parade, that inspired Dublin’s Doggie Do.

MATTHEW WILLIAMS

3 Pooch-Friendly Hotels ...

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Wythe Hotel, New York Andrew Tarlow is one of the forces behind Williamsburg’s transformation from alt.minded Brooklyn ’hood to pulse-defining hip-landia, and his Wythe, left, is the last word in cool. The vibe is friendly and communal, and it hosts movie screenings in its cinema. Doggies are welcome guests, with one per room at $50 a pop. wythehotel.com

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No 41, London Opposite Buckingham Palace, No 41 boasts 24-hour valet service and two staff members per guest.

This attentiveness extends to a dog concierge and a pet package that includes treats, clean-up pack, pet spa, and dog-sitting/walking. On check-out, receive a photo of your dog in the hotel complete with “stay certificate”. 41hotel.com

combined efforts are sure to turn the bash into a barking mad addition to Ireland’s growing dog-loving community. Among the businesses taking part are some local favourites such as Cheeky Dog Bakery, Eco Mutt, Mutt Ugly, Metro Vets, dog trainer Sinead Hughes and Positive Dog Training Ireland.

The inaugural Doggie Do, which supports the Dogs’ Trust, coincides with the rise of dog-friendly bars and cafés across the metropolis, such as MVP, The Fumbally, Cake Café and Anseo (see muttugly.com).

Another re-hounding success every year is the Great Irish Dog Walk, that sees man and 5,000 dogs come together for this charity event at the DSPCA campus in Rathfarnham on September 26, in aid of Dublin’s main pooch shelter. doggiedo.ie; dspca.ie

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Gregans Castle Hotel, Co Clare The dramatic Burren landscape, which is said to have inspired former guest JRR Tolkien as he wrote The Lord of the Rings, surrounds Gregans Castle. Its owners offer ground-floor “doggy rooms” with access to gardens for guests who want to bring fido with them, and there are also enclosed pens for use in inclement weather. gregans.ie

THE NEXT STAGE There’s quiet optimism about Ireland’s prospects as the Rugby World Cup kicks off this month. David Robbins hears from players how the team are determined to take it one match at a time.

Photographs by Anthony Woods.

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t is a memory that won’t go away.

It comes back, sometimes at night, and is all the more harrowing for being so familiar. It is 1999, and I am sitting in a café in deepest France, watching Ireland play against Argentina in the Rugby World Cup. The match is being played nearby, in the city of Lens. The game is almost over. Argentina are leading and Ireland have one last chance to score. A win would put them in the quarter-final. Lose and they’re out of the competition. They try their trademark tactic of putting 13 men in the lineout.

They drive for the line and the try that will bring redemption. Argentina keep them out and the referee blows the whistle for the end of the match.

Much has changed since that game, regarded by fans as the darkest day of Irish rugby. Warren Gatland, who coached Ireland back then, now coaches Wales. The players have retired. Rugby is a different, more professional sport.

Yet much remains the same. Ireland have still never made it to the semi-final of the competition. They have under-performed in one World Cup after another. Watching them play against second-rank teams such as Namibia and Romania has become a kind of torture.

But this time, as they prepare for the 2015 Rugby World Cup – to be played between September 18 and October 31 at venues around England and Wales – there is a different feeling about Ireland.

At the time of writing, they have risen to number two in the world rankings, thanks to successive Six Nations titles and a convincing victory over Wales in a World Cup warm-up match. They have always been capable of one-off Smart Flies big performances but now they are Aer Lingus more consistent. Their coach, Joe Schmidt, is regarded as one of the Irish rugby fans can make the best in the world, and they have a smart choice and fly with strong squad. They have also been Aer Lingus, the official airline of the drawn in a relatively easy pool of teams. They must play Canada, Irish rugby team. Supporters can find Romania and Italy, matches they out more at aerlingus.com and are expected to win, before facing by following the #GreenSpirit France in a pool decider. If they win against France, it is likely they will hashtag on social media. face Argentina in the quarter-finals, England in the semi-finals and defending champions New Zealand in the final.

Hypothetically, of course.

But nobody in the Ireland camp will admit to thinking that far ahead. “I’ve long

Aer Lingus – A Proud Partner of Irish Rugby Aer Lingus has increased services to accommodate fans travelling to the UK for the following upcoming matches.

Saturday, September 19 – vs Canada, 2.30pm, Millennium Stadium, Cardiff.

• 12 additional flights between Dublin and Cardiff; plus 1,500 additional seats.

• Availability on flights from Dublin and Cork to nearby Bristol.

Sunday, September 27 – vs Romania, 4.45pm, Wembley Stadium, London.

• 31 scheduled flights per day from Dublin/Cork/Shannon/ Knock/Belfast to London Heathrow and London Gatwick.

• 5,500 seats available per day in each direction.

since given up trying to predict how pools or tournaments will work out,” says Ireland and Leinster fullback Rob Kearney. “As a group we are very much next-challenge focused, so the Guinness Series of [pre-World Cup warm-up] Tests is our prime focus at present and looking to gel together and develop some form on the run in to the tournament.

“Beyond that, the only focus we will have will be delivering a good performance against Canada. We have shown in the past that if we get our performance right we can be competitive at the highest level and the challenge for us is to reach a 36 |

september 2015

high level of performance and then replicate it week on week,” he says.

Robbie Henshaw, one of the younger squad members, agrees.

“France will be the main challenge but Italy will be difficult too. And Canada in the first match. There are no easy games.”

Henshaw, who plays in mid-field for Connacht, performed well for Ireland in the 2015 Six Nations, scoring a memorable try against England. He is expected to feature strongly in the tournament. “I’m looking forward to coming up against France,” he says. “I’ve always enjoyed playing against them, even

Sunday, October 4 – vs Italy, 4.45pm, Olympic Stadium, London.

• 31 scheduled flights per day from Dublin/Cork/Shannon/ Knock/Belfast to London Heathrow and London Gatwick.

• 5,500 seats available per day in each direction.

Clockwise from top-left, Aer Lingus Brand Ambassadors Rob Kearney, Robbie Henshaw, Conor Murray, and Tommy Bowe.

Sunday, October 11 – vs France, 4.45pm, Millennium Stadium, Cardiff.

• 20 additional flights between Dublin and Cardiff • 2,600 additional seats Quarter-finals will be played over the weekend of October 17, two each in Twickenham, London; and Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. Semifinals take place on October 24 and 25 in Twickenham, with the final on Saturday, October 31, also in Twickenham.

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interview

Robbie Henshaw’s Match-day Preparation

at under-age level. This time round, it might be a more open game. The last one [when Ireland beat France 18-11 in the 2015 Six Nations], I suppose it wasn’t a great game to watch, but it was intense down on the pitch. In that match, there was only one try, and they got it. But we kicked all our penalties.

There will hopefully be some more tries involved this time.”

Much of the optimism about Ireland’s chances in the competition is based on the reputation of Schmidt. His honesty and selfdeprecation have endeared him to the Irish public. He was a hugely successful head coach at Leinster before taking the job as Ireland coach. He is famous for his attention to detail and his liking for honest, hard-working players.

“Yes, attention to detail is a key thing for Joe,” says Ulster and Ireland winger Tommy Bowe, “but as a group everyone has really bought into how things are approached in the Ireland camp. For players it’s about having confidence to go out and perform to the best of your ability and by being well prepared yourself and knowing 38 |

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“I always eat the same thing before the game. We all do. It’s usually spaghetti bolognese, some sweet potato mash and then pancakes with natural yoghurt and honey. Oh, and tons of water.

I put the headphones on early, before boarding the bus. I like to listen to something upbeat. As soon as I get off the bus, I get into the zone.

I make a point of taking a walk on my own out onto the pitch, just to see where the wind is coming from, to see whether the grass is wet or whether it’s bone dry. I always say a small prayer before running out.

I always look to get ‘a settler’ early in the game. I try to do something positive for the team, whether it’s a tackle, a kick or a turnover.”

Robbie Henshaw scores a try, despite the best efforts of England’s Alex Goode, during the RBS Six Nations match on March 1, 2015.

that the guys either side of you have also prepared really well.”

Normally, Schmidt gets limited time with his squad because they are playing with their club teams.

But in a World Cup year, he gets to have them in camp for several weeks. “We’re together much longer than in the Six Nations,” says Henshaw. “We’ve had six weeks of pure training. Lots of fitness work. It’s very different for a World Cup; we’ve lots more time on our hands. We do lots of gym sessions – sometimes two per day.

It’s quite intense.

“Joe has more time to go into detail,” he adds. “We’re seeing more of that. He has time to be more specific about what he wants players to do. He can go into the finer details. He tells us what he wants us to be more accurate at.”

Conor Murray, the Munster and Ireland scrumhalf, was a surprise selection for the 2011 World Cup. He’s now an established member of the squad. “You always want to improve as a player,” he says, “and Joe and the coaching staff are great in guiding you in the right direction – very often it is small

little things. We all want to be in the squad and we work really hard for each other regardless of who gets selected.”

The 2015 version of the World Cup is of a completely different order to the first staging of the event in 1987. Back then, the game was amateur and the competition was a quaint, invitation-only affair.

Now, the organisers claim it’s the third biggest global sporting event, with 20 teams divided into four pools of five. Some 48 matches will be played in 13 stadiums and it’s expected that 2.5 million match tickets will be sold.

The numbers are impressive, but for Irish supporters, there is only one statistic of real importance: the digits on the electronic scoreboard in the Millennium Stadium at about 6pm on Sunday, October 11 at the end of Ireland’s match against France. If those numbers are right, everything becomes possible.

Match tickets are available at tickets.rugbyworldcup.com.

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The 2015 Tiger Dublin Fringe festival celebrates 21 years of pushing theatrical boundaries. Daragh Reddin profiles some of the artists ready to party at this month’s event. Photographs by Sean Breithaupt and Yvette Monahan.

I

t may be enjoying its 21st birthday but one thing the Tiger Dublin Fringe festival won’t be doing this year – or any other for that matter – is acting its age. As the city’s foremost celebration of experimental arts and culture, the two-week long event remains a decidedly raucous showcase for the brashest new offerings in the world of performance art, both local and international.

For artistic director Kris Nelson, there are plenty of reasons to celebrate. “After 21 years, the Fringe remains the place where audiences get their adventurous arts fix; however, we’re more committed than ever to pushing the envelope, uncovering new talent and electrifying the city with soaring circus, experimental theatre, great stand-up comedy, monumental music and dance.”

Despite receiving only about half the funding of the Dublin Theatre Festival – its straitlaced older brother; see page 30 – the Fringe has consistently punched above its weight in terms of the quality of its productions and the calibre of its programme. Internationally recognised Irish playwrights Enda Walsh, Mark O’Rowe and Conor McPherson are all Fringe alumni, and countless productions that started life in the Dublin Fringe have

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gone on to wow audiences at its venerated namesake in Edinburgh, the crucible for acts hoping to break the UK. This year’s programme is as tantalisingly diverse and vigorous as ever with almost 50 world premieres and, after a six-year absence, the return of the much-loved Spiegeltent. Once again it’s heartening to see a programme with homegrown talent very much to the fore.

Dublin-based theatre collective Brokentalkers, feted for socially-engaged compositions including Silver Stars and The Blue Boy, hook up with dance theatre company and fellow Fringe stalwarts Junk Ensemble for It Folds, a tragicomic tale concerning the trials and tribulations of life in the modern metropolis. For black comedy and gallows humour, take a punt on Beckett in the City by Company SJ, which features five of the playwright’s shorter works performed by an all-female cast; Not I, in which a disembodied female voice recalls her troubled personal history at breakneck speed, should prove a highlight, particularly for the chinstroking, beret-sporting contingent.

Acts to watch out for from overseas include US Tony-nominated “transgenre” artist Justin Vivian Bond and England’s Kim Noble, whose confessional

one-man show, You’re Not Alone, an uncompromising exploration of the male psyche, has already been receiving admiring notices following a UK run.

If that all sounds a tad serious, rest assured that this year’s programme is also awash with enough bright and breezy productions to keep the blues well and truly at bay. Gloriously agile Aussie circus outfit Scotch and Soda, whose work fuses bawdy acts of derring-do with upbeat brass-and-bluegrass music, will take up residency in the Spiegeltent (located at Wolfe Tone Square) and delight audiences with their diverting, cleverly stylised circus antics. In Al Porter Swings the titular comedian will join forces with The Swing Cats for an evening of old-school belly laughs and feelgood 1950s tunes.

Of course, it wouldn’t be much of a 21st without some good buddies popping by, so watch out for appearances from a number of Fringe favourites – Casio keyboardtoting comedian David O’Doherty and jazz maven Susannah de Wrixon among them. Here we catch up with a few of the other performers and artists who’ll be reaching for the party poppers and making a joyous din at the Fringe this month.

Tiger Dublin Fringe, September 7-20; fringefest.com

Louise White Louise White is a director renowned for site-specific works that have been performed in such unlikely venues as a derelict Georgian mansion (From The Heart) and the annexe of a psychiatric hospital (Nurse Me).

While recent commissions, including 2013’s Spirit of the Fringe-winning Way Back Home at the Project Arts Centre, have seen her fetching up in traditional theatre spaces, it’s fair to say that as an artist she’s more at home in unorthodox surroundings. “I’ve always been intrigued by some of the less tourist-friendly buildings dotted about the city,” she says of new work Mother You, which will deploy one such building for its Fringe run. “Much of my work has been a direct reaction to all the empty buildings on our landscape, be they ghost estates or big unused commercial buildings that were constructed during the boom and really symbolise the economic failures of the last few years.” Mother You is a multimedia piece, incorporating firstperson testimonies of school children and the voices of a choir for the over55s that will, White explains, “explore ideas of coming together, community and hope in one of these cold concrete structures.” Staging shows in such unforgiving spaces is not without its drawbacks; White cites “collapsing floors and the absence of a toilet or green room” as some of the obstacles of working in abandoned buildings, but the rewards, she explains, certainly compensate. “The feeling of taking someone on a strange journey – especially during the Fringe where audiences expect the unconventional – and sharing in their sense of wonder is impossible to beat.” At the time of our interview White had just discovered that the owners of the building mooted for Mother You have pulled out but, in true Fringe spirit, she was feeling sanguine. “Such is life,” she says of the setback. “I know we’ll find a solution between now and the festival. It’s not the first time this has happened, but when you believe in what you do as an artist you just have to put your head down and keep on trucking.”

PEOPLE

Joe Vanek “It’s one of the most visceral and poetic scripts I’ve ever read,” says costume and set designer Joe Vanek of George Brant’s Grounded, an arresting monologue that receives its Irish premiere at this year’s Fringe with acclaimed director Selina Cartmell at the helm. “In terms of design, my idea for this play was to get the audience as close to the action as possible.

So we’ve created a traverse format, which means the audience are seated on both sides of the stage – because it’s a play about surveillance I liked the idea of having one half of the audience viewing the drama as viewed by those on the other side. They’re sharing the experience between them, which makes sense towards the end when there’s a shocking revelation that implicates the viewer.” Vanek has worked from a base in Dublin since the mid-1980s, designing some of the most accomplished sets to have ever graced the Irish and, indeed, international stage. Having been shortlisted for two Tony awards thanks to his work on an acclaimed production of Brian Friel’s Dancing at Lughnasa in 1992, it’s perhaps unsurprising that the Donegal playwright holds a special place in his heart. “Brian’s writing encompasses a simplicity, honesty and gentleness that is recognisable by all audiences.

He writes with a generous humanity that resonates wherever his work is performed.” He also namechecks sets he’s created for work by Sean O’Casey and Tom Kilroy as having a particular personal significance, but it's perhaps the staging of a play by George Farquhar that has proved one of his most influential. “Back in the 1980s we turned the auditorium of the Gate Theatre upside down for The Recruiting Officer, transforming it into the town of Shrewsbury in Shropshire, with the audience sitting on benches as the action happened around them. It was very novel for the time to put on such an immersive production.” Audiences at this year’s Fringe should expect to be equally immersed in Grounded.

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Dan Colley As a dramaturg, workshop facilitator and adviser Dan Colley has shared his talents with institutions as diverse as the National Theatre and the LA Gay and Lesbian Center. As the director of Dublin-based Collapsing Horse Theatre Company he has helmed some of the most inventive and playful works to appear on the Irish stage in the last five years. But few entries on an already colourful CV can match his contribution to this year’s Fringe.

“Kris Nelson [Fringe director] put a call out for anybody who, like the Fringe, was turning 21 to get in touch so we could pool our resources and have a joint celebration.” But forget candles and bunting because visitors to the Twenty First project are in for a very different kind of birthday bash.

“I came onboard as coordinator and started doing workshops back in January to test out ideas with anyone who wanted to take part. What emerged from these interactions was the idea of the participants as lab rats in a benign experiment. That’s where the idea emerged to build a life-sized cage for the Fringe; participants will live in the cage for seven days during the festival. By asking people to give up technology, embrace connectivity and communal living we’re hoping to create a mini utopia.” By Colley’s reckoning there are few festivals that match the Fringe for quality when it comes to left-of-centre arts and drama. “It’s simply a brilliant platform,” he says. “Unlike other Fringe festivals where performers show up, find a venue and pay a fee to be a part of the programme, this is a thoughtfully curated event, meaning the standard tends to be high.”

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Emily Aoibheann “Come train with us!” Emily Aoibheann says brightly when I ask what advice she would give to any would-be circus performer hoping to channel their inner aerialist. “I run a school called Creation Aerial, based in Clontarf. It’s a fantastic space, we have a brilliant bunch of tutors and we love sharing our passion with new people. Humans are made for physical robustness and have an amazing physical capacity. I think we are way too polite and inhibited in how we move and where we move.” A founding member of Fringe veterans PaperDolls, Aoibheann is going it alone for this year’s festival with Object Piggy, another airborne offering from her new aerial and “dynamic sculpture” company Dying Breeds. “The work I’m creating now feels very personal,” she explains. “If PaperDolls were spontaneous and haphazard, this has clarity of intention and is more refined. Object Piggy is a sculptural, visual and sensual take on aerial dance, featuring an eclectic original score and beautiful, strange costumes and scenography. You have never seen circus done quite like this.”

However, as Aoibheann cautions, visitors shouldn’t be so wowed by the overhead spectacle that they fail to watch their footing. “I plan to use a lot of marbles in Object Piggy. I have this image of thousands of marbles spilling into the room, bringing an intense form of kinetic energy to the performance space. I am really excited to share this kind of experience with audiences.” In tandem with Object Piggy, Aoibheann is hosting a special interactive event, Laser Play, in which audience members are invited, from the safety of solid ground, “to interact with laser beams, creating geometric and transient light sculptures, working and playing together in collaboration.”

PEOPLE

Foil, Arms and Hog “The show’s called SkiddlyWup and it’s definitely our most mental Fringe show to date,” says Conor “Arms” McKenna of zany comedy trio Foil, Arms and Hog. The Dublin outfit, renowned for their zesty, highlycaffeinated sketch shows that blend inspired skits, slapstick, oddball musical numbers and improvisation, are stalwarts of the Dublin Fringe and this year they’re taking no prisoners.

“We’re pulling out all the stops,” McKenna explains. “There’ll be more characters, more props and more audience participation than ever before.” What can fans expect? “Well,” he says, “it’s a mixed bag to say the least. We have a routine about two bouncers going on a date who stamp each other’s hands by way of greeting; a parody of Scandinavian crime drama involving Danish-sounding gibberish and a sketch about an Irish operative who’s been sent undercover in the Congo.” For Sean “Foil” Finnegan, the Fringe marks a welcome return to Irish soil after an unexpectedly heady US tour during which he realised that, thanks to the untold powers of the internet, they were already well known to American audiences. “Social media has been phenomenal for us,” he explains. “When we were in LA we were treated like mini-celebrities by people who’d come across us online. I remember an army medical doctor turned up to one of our shows and started quoting lines from our sketches back up at us. The number of people, from Chicago to Hong Kong, who have seen our stuff on YouTube is just incredible.” Sean “Hog” Flanagan has modest expectation from this year’s Fringe. “Well, it’s always nice if you don’t die on your feet,” he jokes.

“We’re feeling confident that we can keep the standard high and the good thing about comedy like this is you only have to look into the auditorium to tell whether the audience is enjoying what you do.”

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Alison Spittle You may or may not recognise the name, but you’ll probably recognise the face. London-born, Co Westmeath-raised comedian Alison Spittle has rocked up on several TV shows in the last few years, tickling funny bones on the likes of Republic of Telly, Choose or Lose and the New Comedy Awards. But the Fringe is without doubt the place where this loveable quipster is most at home. “There’s nothing like the buzz of standing in front of a crowd of strangers without a safety net and making them giggle,” she says. The title of this inveterate homebird’s new show, Alison Spittle Discovers Hawaii, is something of a misnomer. Far from being a paean to the Polynesian island, her Fringe offering is a personal meditation on life, loss and mental health. “It’s about the biggest regret in my life – which you’ll have to come to the show to discover ...” She pauses before guffawing: “That sounds terribly serious when you say it aloud but believe me when I say it’ll be very funny.” Anyone who’s seen Spittle perform will take her at her word; her debut at last year’s Fringe, Alison Spittle Needs An Agent, was a hoot.

Although nominally concerned with her attempts to secure a promoter, it was merely a pretext for the performer to regale the audience with delightfully silly stories about life in the Irish midlands. Although Spittle never had any illusions about standup being a lucrative option – “I always thought comedy was as viable a career choice as abseiling” – her recent success suggests her salad days will soon be behind her. “I did an advert at the beginning of the year and it was probably the largest amount of money I’ve ever had in my entire life.”

Did she make any rash purchases?

“Well, I bought my mum a Nissan Micra.” She pauses, before adding sheepishly: “Admittedly it cost €250.

But whatever happens in my career, at least I’ll always be able to say I bought my mum a car …”

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Aoife Carrigy heads to Galway city and beyond to discover a food scene full of good taste and local character.

Photographs by Steve Ryan.

Vilma Conneelly of Tig Congaile, Inishmaan, where she cooks up lobster and pollock caught by her fisherman husband.

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Bottom, island life on Inishmaan.

Below, gastro gal, Aoife Carrigy.

ANTHONY WOODS

ichael Browne looks like a cross between an ageing punk boy-racer and a rainwashed fisherman. He talks like a circus ringmaster turned snake-oil purveyor. But boy does he know how to handle his oysters.

In years of feasting on oysters I’d never screwed up the courage to shuck one. Michael Browne makes it as easy as popping a lid – and demonstrates how to slice under the muscle that hinges the bivalve together, so that the textured bite of this “nut” elevates the feasting experience. A stalwart of the Galway Market, Michael is an oyster-eater’s whisperer, magicking novices into converts and converts into evangelists.

“Ever wondered why stout and oysters pair so well?” he asks, eyebrow raised, as I down another quivering Clarenbridge

beauty. “As filter fish, oysters are the best palate cleansers you’d want. Everything tastes better after oysters!”

Maybe that explains why everything tastes so darn good in Galway that day – and the next.

Or maybe there’s more to it. After all, visitors to Galway’s cobbled streets and outlying wilds have been feasting on oysters and stout for generations. But lately something fresh in the sea-flecked air has caught the nation’s attention and brought the food fans flocking.

Today we want our sustenance infused with a sense of place, informed by worldly nous and served with pride and integrity. If it looks well and comes with a good

backstory, all the better.

This tribal, student city of theatre-players and music-makers, of fishermen and turf-traders, of writers and readers and revellers and travelers, has never been shy of a good story or fine spectacle. Nor is it short of that local pride born of a wanderer’s appreciation for home.

In recent years, as the hipster beards replaced hippie dreads, that creative and independent Galwegian intelligence has been channelled towards the fine food produce of its hinterland and coastal fringes. From the wild renderings of local foraging at the Michelinstarred Aniar (aniarrestaurant.ie) to the three-day fermented bases and judicious toppings

This tribal city has never been shy of a good story or fine spectacle

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Don’t Miss…

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Dive headfirst into one of several food festivals over the next months, from Clarenbridge Oyster Festival, September 11-13 (clarenbridge.com), to the Galway International Oyster & Seafood Festival, September 24-27, (galwayoysterfestival.com) to Food on the Edge Symposium, October 19-20, for serious foodies (foodontheedge.ie)

2

Brush up on your wine knowledge at The Twelve Hotel, Barna, on the edge of Connemara with their autumn Wine Tasting Package. An unpretentious, easy to access and novel way to learn about new wines featuring a learned tutorial with Wine Spectator-celebrated sommelier Fergus

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O’Halloran, followed by a five-course, wine-paired dinner. (Barna Village, 091 597 000; thetwelvehotel.ie)

3

Re-caffeinate at one of Galway’s diverse coffee outposts: choose from Urban Grind’s light-touch percolations on William Street (the Westender’s choice), Coffeewerks + Press’s fully caffeinated designer-haven on Quay Street or – close to the bus and train stations – the cool calm of Badger & Dodo on Fairgreen Road or the Jungle Café’s Brazilian oasis on Forster Street.

4

Picnic-hunt in Sheridan’s Cheesemongers on Church Yard Street for local cheese, brown bread crackers

and Italian wines; McCambridge’s of Shop Street for local honeycomb, handmade dark chocolate and McGeogh’s air-dried lamb; Ernie’s on Sea Road for Almond I Great raw almond milk, dried Aran dillisk or Uncle Matt’s edible flowers; and Mortons of Salthill for Ron Wise’s bread.

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Feast your eyes and taste buds on the new Wild Atlantic Way seafood trail: Taste the Atlantic – a Seafood Journey. A downloadable map (bim.ie/ tastetheatlantic) features seafood producers such as Connemara Smokehouse at The Pier, Ballyconneely (worth a pit-stop, especially on Wednesdays for the smokehouse tour) and dozens of restaurants serving their catch.

Opposite page, lobstering and fishing from a currach. This page, clockwise from left, West Coast crab and Goatsbridge caviar at Kai; Aniar head chef, JP McMahon; sticky wings from Biteclub; Aoibheann MacNamara from Ard Bia.

of Dough Bros pizzeria (thedoughbros.ie) to the fish tacos with orange pico and chipotle creme of “streetfood discotheque” Biteclub (electricgalway.com/ biteclub), Galway’s food scene has never been more vibrant.

To get the lay of the land, Sheena Dignam’s Around the Market Place food tour (086 733 2885) is a whistle-stop introduction to the character – and characters – of that scene. There’s Yoshimi Hayakawa of Wa Cafe with her “Galway-style” sushi rolls, much of it vegetablebased (cooked separately but in the same broth “to make harmony in your mouth”) and served wrap-like for on-the-hoof grazing. There’s Flo of The Gourmet Offensive with his organic chickpea falafel. “See now, isn’t that the best falafel you’ve ever tasted?” winks his oyster-hawking neighbour, but I credit Flo’s homegrown salads and homemade salsas as much as Michael’s palate cleansing bivalves.

Then there’s the sprawling food family that revolves around brothers

Seamus and Kevin Sheridan, whose seminal cheesemongers began as a market stall before morphing into the food emporium and wine bar that keeps this corner of EAT AT Galway well-fed seven days Inis Meáin Restaurant a week. takes a handful of nonBeyond the market resident guests for dinner itself, we take in a couple most nights for their daily of bakeries (including the changing set menu. Food with sixth-generation Griffins integrity in an incomparable where Jimmy’s countertopsetting. 086 826 6026; length Conger Sourdough inismeain.com Bread is so-named after the eel that once took a chunk off his cheek) and several watering holes (from the snug Tigh Neachtain, for a few tall tales over a hoppy Galway Hooker, to An Cupán Tae “Original Irish Tea Shop” for a marvel at their collections of tea blends, bone china and frilly lace).

We finish on Sea Road at Kai (kaicaferestaurant.com), one of Galway’s hottest restaurants and cafés. Its Kiwi chef-proprietor, Jess Murphy, was just re-named Best Connaught Chef by Food&Wine magazine. Her approach to SEPTEMBER 2015

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Sleep at …

Above, cosy suites at The House Hotel. Below, pizza maestros, The Dough Bros, get into the zone.

ingredients, sourced from within a two-hour flight zone but mostly ultra-local, typifies the refined earthiness of Galway’s contemporary food.

Whether you’re lunching on buttermilk hake fish fingers with sriracha mayo and minted red cabbage salad, or dining on delicate ceviche of local dayboat fish with tiger milk and fennel pollen, this is food that knows where it’s from but isn’t afraid to borrow influences from wherever it fancies.

Indeed many Galway restaurateurs are unusually proactive in their pursuit of farflung influences. Down at Spanish Arch, the one-time custom house, which oversaw exotic imports, is today home to the idiosyncratic Ard Bia (ardbia.com) run by Aoibheann MacNamara, whose heat-seeking curiosity sees her pop-up at Copenhagen’s MAD food symposium one year and moonlighting at a community kitchen café in Beirut the next.

This year JP McMahon – the ambitious and academic-minded

BOUTIQUE Slap-bang in the heart of the Latin Quarter, The House Hotel is a blingtastic, boutique four-star with a lively cocktail bar (complete with hands-on lessons), decent breakfast buffet and nice touches such as Orla Kiely bathroom products and a EAT AT room key card that doubles Pairing rustic whimsy up as a mini-guide to local and industrial chic, attractions. Rooms from €119.

Noma-influenced chef (Spanish Parade, 091 538 Enda McEvoy’s Loam is part 900; thehousehotel.ie) ambitious restaurant, part casual wine bar. Fairgreen BUDGET It’s not Road, 091 569 727; everywhere you’ll be served loamgalway.com edible flowers with your Full Irish. But then The Stop is not everywhere. With a name for their eye for detail and creative use of space, and a quiet west-side location within an easy amble of Galway’s action, this makes an affordable but stylish base.

Rooms from €40pp. (38 Father Griffin Road, 091 586 736; thestopbandb.com) GOURMET Overlooking the birdand boat-life of the Claddagh Basin and the bay beyond, The Long Walk is pure Galway. But even without this magic location, Sorcha Molloy’s breakfast menu alone would make The Herons Rest a gourmet gem (think crab risotto cakes, homemade granola, mini muffins and local cheeses). Rooms from €150. (16a The Long Walk, 091 539 574; theheronsrest.com)

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chef-proprietor of Aniar, Cava Bodega and EatGalway gastropub – is spearheading Galway’s first Food on the Edge symposium (foodontheedge.ie), which will see top international chefs such as Albert Adria and Elena Arzak coming together in Galway on October 19 and 20 to exchange ideas. While here, these worldclass chefs will visit exemplary east Galway suppliers such as The Friendly Farmer, Galway Goat Farm and Brady’s third-generation abattoir, whose free-range poultry, goat’s milk and beef respectively appear on the best menus in town.

Most visitors to Galway, however, will want to head west, to the call of Connemara or the ancient island outposts. And there is plenty of fine food to be found on these wildest edges of this western world too.

Connemara is dotted with deliciousness: chowder and a seafood platter in the timeless bar at Ballynahinch Castle (ballynahinch-castle.com); Connemara lamb pizza from Pizza

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Clockwise from far left, mussels and caviar at Aniar; Simon Kennedy, Killary Fjord Shellfish; tins of tea at Griffin’s Bakery; purveyor of fine foods, Ernie Deacy; mussels from Killary Fjord Shellfish; Alison McArdle, Cupan Tae; glossy treats from Griffin’s Bakery; Jessica and David Murphy from Kai; brown oysters from Galway Markets; free trad at The Crane Bar; texture and taste at Kai; Sheena Dignam from Galway Food Tours; cute cupcakes from Cupan Tae; Seamus Sheridan, Sheridans Cheesemongers; the vegetable garden at Inis Meáin.

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ILLUSTRATION BY GRAHAM CORCORAN

Dozzina’s Vesuvius-stone oven in Barna (thetwelvehotel.ie); or Killary Fjord Shellfish and Delphi Mountain Resort (see “Sleep at”on page 58) either side of Leenane’s aching beauty. But it doesn’t get EAT AT edgier than The Chef’s Table at the three Delphi Mountain Resort is Aran Islands, an unlikely setting for Stefan each full of Matz’s ode to local fare, but character and his cooking remains a class characters. act. Leenane, 095 42208; On Inis delphiadventureresort.com Mór, the seaweeds and seafood. where the wonderful GuatemalanAbove left, Joanna Jankowska day-trippers’ The charming Teach born Vilma Conneely cooks up and Fiona Connolly favourite, deep-sea an Tae (cafearan.ie) offers lobster and pollock caught by at Cupan Tae. fisherman turned goat delicious tea-room treats her fisherman husband. But keep cheese producer Gabriel home-baked by American “blowroom for a memorable meal at Flaherty (biaarann@gmail.com) in” Alissa Donoghue and homethe neighbouring Inis Meáin can arrange food tours, taking in grown by her islander husband Restaurant, where magnificent his herd of happy goats, a shoreside Michael (they met on a fateful mealtime views stretch from seaweed forage and lunch at his jaunt when she was a day-tripper Connemara’s Twelve Pins and mother-in-law’s thatched teahouse and he a jarvey).

Mayo beyond to the Cliffs of next to the majestic Dun Aengus The least-visited and littleMoher in Co Clare. And if that’s cliffs. Mainistir House hostel’s changed Inis Meáin is best not characterful food on the edge “vaguely vegetarian buffet”, served accessed by an exhilarating of the western world, we don’t with panache by Joel d’Anjou, eight-minute flight and warrants know what is. makes a convivial if rustic dinner at least two nights. Stay at Tig and accommodation option Congaile B&B (inismeainbb.com) Follow Aoife at @Holymackers (aranislandshostel.com).

Over on the teensy Inis Oírr, fish experience ...

FJORD-TO-FORK Catch the Killary Fjord Shell an overnight stay at South Aran s and Killary mussels, while the House (southaran.com) reveals “hot mixed shells” includes Galway Bay clam Mussel Farm Tour (advance a tranquil side to island life and oysters hail from Ballinakil Bay. Ask about the rewards with Enda Conneely’s 7542; killaryfjordshellfish.com required). Killary Harbour, Leenane, 087 622 knowledgable handling of island booking 62 |

SEPTEMBER 2015

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ROAD TRIP | SAN FRANCISCO & SONOMA

THE GRAPE ESCAPE Before the creation of chic, manicured wineries, northern California was the land of beatniks and eco-homesteaders.

Manchán Magan follows the pioneers’ tracks.

Photographs by Doug Baxter.

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SEPTEMBER 2015

Northern California, a glorious haven of rustic farms, lush vineyards and soaring forests.

SEPTEMBER 2015

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ROAD TRIP | SAN FRANCISCO & SONOMA

he 1,000-plus wineries scattered across the valley slopes of Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino in northern California are glorious havens; intricately constructed Fabergé eggs producing some of the finest Cabernets and Pinot Noirs in the world. But what of the pioneers, beatniks and ecohomesteaders who came before?

Can one still find their remnants, or enjoy authentic wild experiences in this meticulously manicured landscape?

Hell, yeah. Even in Napa Valley, the epitome of elite wineries, where every vineyard looks like a photoshopped image from a glossy magazine, there are still rustic farms and swathes of soaring century-old forests to be found. Head far enough up into the hills and you’ll find small organic producers growing vegetables, baking sourdough bread and making cheese, olive oil and balsamic vinegar that are on sale in the farmers’ markets in Yountville, Oakville and St Helena along the St Helena Highway.

For a glimpse of pure pioneer California in Napa Valley, head north of St Helena to the BotheNapa Valley State Park where 800 hectares of oak, Douglas fir and soaring redwoods evoke the landscape before the loggers arrived in the 1850s. The sense of stumbling upon pre-conquest America is heady. As you follow an old track through dense scrubland to the massive Bale Grist wooden waterwheel and mill built in 1846, you find yourself leaving markers so you won’t get lost. The waterwheel, a vast creaking monument to the pioneers’ ingenuity, is still in use grinding corn at weekends. Nearby, the stubby little gravestones in

T

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Top, big wheel keep on turning, the Bale Grist waterwheel, Bothe-Napa Valley State Park.

Above, Manchán surveying the trail.

the pioneer cemetery speak volumes: Emma Deery, wife, died 25, 1872. Rebecca Jane Kellogg, died 14, 1859 and beside her lies another Rebecca Jane Kellogg (her mother?) who died aged 40, two years later.

A network of old wagon tracks extends in all directions through the hills, used long ago to reach the silver, gold and cinnabar mines that eked wealth from the mountainsides. They now provide perfect hiking routes through a blissful idyll of forest, chaparral

scrub and wildflower hills. It is hard to imagine that the phalanxes of strictly tended vines and golf-buggy trails are right nearby.

Sonoma Valley, which runs just west of Napa Valley, has even more wilderness, as well as an inspirational vineyard called Benziger Family Winery that is coaxing others into a wilder form of vine-growing.

This was originally the site of the famous Glen Ellen Estate used later as a brand name to market Californian wines in Europe. The Benziger Family sold the name

The waterwheel, a vast creaking monument to the pioneers’ ingenuity, is still in use

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Highly recommended. (16248 Main Street, Guerneville, Sonoma; eatatboon.com) CASUAL Café Aquatica is a delightfully ramshackle pirate’s shack serving wholesome soups, organic local sandwiches and great coffee perched above Goat Rock beach. (10439 Highway 1, Jenner, Sonoma; +1 707 865 2251) VEGAN Swanky and plush, The Raven Restaurant surprises by being entirely vegan, with most of the food grown on its organic farm or foraged from the sea or woodland. The cook, the gardener, the nutritionist and the forager will all have conspired to make your meal. Only in California! (Stanford Inn Eco-Resort, 44850 Comptche Ukiah Road, Mendocino, +1 707 937 5615; ravensrestaurant.com) PICNIC The Oxbow Market in Napa town offers a culinary immersion in everything that is best about the region. The ultimate picnic can be sourced here with local cheese, charcuterie, organic fruit, fresh oysters, sourdough and the choicest selection of local wines and olive oils. (644 First Street, Napa, +1 707 226 6529; oxbowpublicmarket.com)

Grape expectations – a turn toward a more eco-friendly mode of viniculture has proven a prescient and fruitful decision at Benziger Winery.

A watercolour painting by Róisín O’Shea © 2012

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ROAD TRIP | SAN FRANCISCO & SONOMA

and used the income to convert to biodynamic wine-making after realising that chemical fertilisers and pesticides were turning their beautiful land into a dead-zone, devoid of birds or insects. They brought in hens and highland cattle for manure and replanted new vines which weren’t dependent on irrigation, but instead buried their roots deep in the soil to tap into underground water pockets and to buried minerals and trace elements that add character to the grapes.

Tourists who arrive for yet another swanky wine tour and tasting at Benziger Winery find themselves immersed in biodynamic agriculture, a deeply holistic form of sustainable farming, involving working with lunar cycles, spraying fermented herb teas on the land and burying cow horns filled with minerals to empower the earth.

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“I am rebuilding worn-out

hillside lands that were worked out biodynamic certification farm ranch towards and destroyed by our wasteful California in 2000, the owners were a high mountain pioneer farmers. I believe the soil is our one sneered at; now they are lake on Sonoma indestructible asset, and by green manures, envied, as their neighbours Mountain. This nitrogen-gathering cover crops, animal face the challenge of sourcing park is a poignant manure, rotation of crops, proper tillage enough water during what haven that epitomises and draining, I am getting results which has become California’s worst everything that is the Chinese have demonstrated drought in 1,200 years. The best about California. for 40 centuries.” chamomile, valerian, yarrow, London, the author Jack London, 1915. dandelion and stinging nettles and adventurer who did grown to attract insects now seem so much to open our minds to be as much glimpses of a more to ecology with his novels Call enlightened future, as a quainter of the Wild (1903) and White Fang past. While the 30 owl boxes and (1906) lived here from 1911 until two pairs of nesting red-tailed kites his death in 1916. The barns, silos that keep vine predators at bay make and pig palace where he developed one question why other vineyards his pioneering methods of humane, are still using chemicals to do the sustainable farming are all visible same thing. a century later, and his humble Right next door to Benziger is wooden cottage where he wrote the Jack London State Historical his beautiful books is as evocative Above, the way to Park where 42 kilometres of hiking as Karen Blixen’s in Kenya. It is pioneer country, trails weave through the oak and a captivating memorial to a man San Francisco’s redwood forest that extends up who was as idealistic and proactive Golden Gate from the Jack London’s former as Tolstoy and Shaw. The fact Bridge.

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6 Must-sees ...

1

Benziger Family Winery Open 10-5pm.

Tours from $25, tastings from $15.

(1883 London Ranch Road, Glen Ellen, +1 707 935 3000; benziger.com)

2

Bothe-Napa Valley State Park Eight kilometres north of St Helena, on Highway 29. (parks.ca.gov)

3

Jack London State Historic Park Allow three hours to experience the wonderful trails, the Beauty Ranch, Cottage, House of Happy Walls Museum and Wolf House ruins. Open 9.30-5pm; $10. (2400 London Ranch Road, Glen Ellen, +1 707 938 5216; jacklondonpark.com)

4

Fort Ross State Historic Park A former Russian fur-trading outpost from the early 19th century in Jenner. (fortross.org)

5

Unbeaten Path Hiking Tours A great insight into the unique architecture and ecological concepts behind the Sea Ranch community. Also a great tour of the Stornetta Lands wetlands, cypress groves, meadows and sand dunes. (+1 707 888 6121; unbeatenpathtours.com)

6

Real Goods Store & Solar Living Center An eco-enthusiast’s wonderland of compost loos, electricity-generating bicycles and other inspirational goodies. (13771 US-101, Hopland, +1 707 472 2403; solarliving.org)

Paddle time at the Russian River.

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ROAD TRIP | SAN FRANCISCO & SONOMA

that it is now run by volunteers, since the Parks Department had to surrender management of it due to budgetary constraints, speaks volumes about the current challenges facing American government. To really appreciate the museums here and the walking trails to a 2,000-year-old tree, an 80-acre historical orchard and 19th-century winery, you will want to linger as long as possible.

For some real, dense, redwood groves, head north deeper into Sonoma to the lush, forested slopes around Russian River. Guerneville is an ideal base, as just beyond it is Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve, 325 hectares of majestic Coast Redwoods – a sacred forest where the monster trees, some more than 1,300 years old, will both inspire and humble you.

Head on west then to the Sonoma coastline for some invigorating sea-kayaking at Jenner with the seals, sea lions and, possibly, whales too. From here, head north along the legendary Highway 1. First stop is Fort Ross State Historic Park, an eerilyaccurate reconstruction of a trading station founded by Tsarist Russian adventurers in 1812 – long before 74 |

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the American pioneers got here.

Sadly, again now because of state cut-backs (in the richest state on Earth!) the wooden compound is only open at weekends. Stop here even if the fort is closed, as the sea views and coastal trees are spectacular.

Continue north on Highway 1 to Mendocino County which, if anything, is even wilder and more untrammelled than Sonoma.

First stop should be at Sea Ranch Lodge inn, an entry point to a unique enclave of 16 kilometres of Californian coastline cordoned off in the 1960s as a protected nature haven, called Sea Ranch. All buildings in this area are restricted to simple, barn-like structures clad in wooden siding or shingles. There are no street lights, no perimeter fences and no non-indigenous plants. Sheep are used to mow the meadows. It’s a unique architectural and environmental experiment that has preserved the wild Sonoma coastline in a pure, uncontaminated state. The cliff-top trails along windravaged Douglas firs are spectacular.

Overall this visionary, utopian community is a heady experience.

The quaint town of Mendocino is straight north along the coast,

Stay at…

Above, nature finds a way ...

Inset, Sea Ranch Lodge, a visionary community.

RELAXED The simple wooden building of Sea Ranch Lodge, based on vernacular shed architecture, exerts a relaxing influence on the body. Views of endless Pacific Ocean and occasional passing whales are transfixing. Rooms $300. (60 Sea Walk Drive, The Sea Ranch, +1 707 785 2371; searanchlodge.com) ELEGANT Applewood Inn, Restaurant and Spa in Guerneville, at the heart of the Russian River Valley Pinot-growing region, is based in a Mediterranean-type villa. It is part of a network of Sonoma Wine Country inns that offer free and discounted wine tastings at participating wineries. Rooms $225 (13555 CA-116, Guerneville, +1 707 869 9093; applewoodinn.com) COSY Measuring just eight square metres, Tumbleweed Tiny House might be the tiniest guesthouse on Earth. Room $80. (Solar Living Center, 13771 US-101, Hopland, +1 707 472 2403; airbnb.ie/rooms/2086712)

Molly Malone Statue opposite O’Neill’s The Head Chef Dave carving from a selection of freshly roasted meats at the Carvery

Our fully-refurbished Roof-Top Beer Garden & Smoking Area

Conveniently set in the heart of the city, around the corner fromTrinity College, Grafton Street and across the road from the Molly Malone Statue, O’Neill’s is one of Dublin’s most famous and historic pubs.Trade has flourished here uninterrupted for over 300 years.

When you pay us a visit you will receive a warm welcome and you can enjoy its ageless character, numerous alcoves, snugs, nooks and crannies.

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Extensive Irish Food Menu and Famous Carvery serving only the finest Irish Meat, Fish and Vegetables. In fact, Lonely Planet rate us as one of the Top 5 Places to find ´Real Irish food in Dublin´

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ROAD TRIP | SAN FRANCISCO & SONOMA

Rare old time – the past and present collide in Sonoma County.

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ROAD TRIP | SAN FRANCISCO & SONOMA

ILLUSTRATION BY ELLY WALTON

but make sure to head east inland too on any of the winding forest roads through the great redwood-covered hills. The towns of Boonville, Cloverdale, Healdsburg are all worth stopping for a coffee or a gift-shop browse, but since we’re focusing on environmental California, there’s no escaping a visit to the Real Goods Store and Solar Living Institute on Highway 101, south of Hopland.

This noble venture has been the primary source for tools and knowledge about renewable energy and sustainable living since they sold the first domestic solar panel in 1978. The store (made of straw bales) stocks everything you need to begin homesteading in a frontier wilderness – from weaving tools to bee hives. The surrounding, fivehectare permaculture gardens have examples of aquaponics, geodesic domes and sustainable solutions to energy production, sanitation and agriculture. You can even stay overnight in a tiny, eight-metressquare, self-contained building on wheels. A revelatory example of Left, cooling down and sweetening up at the home of the Guerneville Bank Club collective.

how little living space you actually need, with a miniscule kitchen and an even smaller shower, but with a full-size bed in the loft. A night here helps fund their mission to change the world, one solar panel at a time.

Without doubt, this whole area north of San Francisco was changed irrevocably by that moment in 1976 when a Californian Cabernet Sauvignon and a Chardonnay beat the best wines of Bordeaux and Burgundy at a blind tasting in Paris. It sent the moneyed investors flooding in, with all their chic swagger, but there is still plenty of the old Quixotic, flower-powered essence of northern California to be savoured if you choose to see beyond the wine-tasting trails.

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EXPLORE | FRANKFURT

LET’S BE FRANKFURT Famed for skyscrapers and boardrooms, Frankfurt is just as engrossing as a city of leisure. Eoin Higgins reveals its charm through words and photographs.

Skyscraping – Frankfurt local, Louis Waldmann, catching air at Osthafen, overlooked by the gleaming new European Central Bank.

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EXPLORE | FRANKFURT

or seasoned city breakers, there are few things more intriguing than having your preconceived notions about a destination upturned within minutes of arrival. My moment of “This is not how it’s supposed to be ...” came in the form of a very late train. No big deal in other countries, (Ciao Italia!) where interpretations of timetables are sometimes, uhm ... a bit vague, but in Germany? Or, more specifically, Frankfurt, the crucible of German business efficiency, the home of the European Central Bank, the Bundesbank and the location of the world’s largest annual book and motor fairs? Mein Gott im Himmel!

Perhaps more surprising, though, was the fact that no one seemed fazed. Commuters gently paced the platform as announcements (in

F

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German and English) kept us up-to-date on the whereabouts of the train that wasn’t there.

Aside from the Gallic shrug of a fellow traveller, life simply went on.

And that sense of nonchalance is something that imbues the city’s streets, as long as you play by its rules ... eg do not cross the road when the red Ampelmännchen is clearly visible – lest you become the target for rolling eyes and Teutonic tut-tutting ... and avoid the bike lanes, unless you’re on a bike, or feeling invincible; scant mercy is shown to the pedestrian who strays ... I still have a badly

Top, elegant utility at Frankfurt’s central station.

Above, Eoin Higgins, urban explorer.

bruised pride to show for my br own ow careless missteps.

Meanwhile, transit (€4.55, one-way, on the S8/S9 train) on to the city centre from Europe’s third busiest airport Eu is an otherwise seamless voyage that does, eventually, vo live li up to the clichés typically trotted out about German public transport, and that went especially for my destination.

Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof is an impressive architectural triumph of style and utility where highspeed, Intercity-Express (ICE), and commuter, trains glide quietly in and out of spotless platforms

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Clockwise from left, selfie-conscious atop the Main Tower; New York City vibes in Bahnhofsviertel; charcoal-grilled fillet of beef at Stanley Diamond; carved details at Frankfurt Cathedral.

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Eat at ...

equipped with eminently readable displays (denoting arrivals and departures) and precise analogue clocks with red second hands that tick in hypnotic synchronicity. This is how it’s supposed to be!

The lullaby precision went out the window again, however, as soon as I stepped outside the vast steel carcass of the Hauptbahnhof and ventured into Bahnhofsviertel, the aptly named train station quarter. Home to an edgy, red-light district, which is probably best avoided if you’re not into urban grit, the rest of the area is a joyous farrago of multiculturalism and hipster gentrification. Turkish barber shops and Asian grocers hawk their respective services and wares, while twentysomethings in Beats by Dre and shoes by Tom flit from one cool joint to the next.

The vibe is somewhat reminiscent of certain parts of New York, reinforcing Frankfurt’s nickname, “Main-hattan”, a moniker which, traditionally, has had more to do with the city’s handsome skyline than what’s happening on street level. Staying true to the theme, Maxie Eisen is a New York delistyle cafeteria – or buvette, to give it their own classification – that offers a killer pastrami sandwich, creative

CASUAL Keep it kosher at Maxie Eisen, where Reuben sandwiches, rosemary fries and homemade lemonades compete with a hip clientele and an even hipper staff, for centre stage. A teeny-tiny interior means that evening reservations should be made; however, a drink in the bar next door while waiting is certainly no endurance test. An interesting menu sporting further amusing things such as soused SLICK herring with horseradish and salted FLICKS butter, accompanied by a shot of Cinephiles & foodies vodka, makes this a fun eatery. should check out Orfeo’s (Münchener Straße 18, +49 69 Erben, a cinema/supper 7675 8362; maxieeisen.com) club with tasty dishes, a top-

mixed drinks and (accessed through a mysterious notch wine list, and 24 1970s HEALTHY A dhal to die for curtain) a moodily lit bar Lufthansa First Class plane … vegan and vegetarian valhalla that serves as an after-hours seats from which to Suppengrün is a relatively recent haunt for night-time counter watch. orfeos.de add-on to fruit and veg shop, Main crawlers seeking their chosen Gemuse. Soups, crisp salads, moreish poisons. (For more bars, see page 89). quiches, cakes and other specialties are Edging out of Bahnhofsviertel, all made in-house from select, seasonal cutting across a section of the horseAbove, Las Mary Douglas ingredients resulting in an ever-changing shoe of green space that encloses a cools down at selection on offer. Opening hours are compact city centre, past the old Maxie Eisen.

11.30am to 4pm, Monday-Friday and European Central Bank with its Top right, one noon to 4pm on Saturdays. As with many huge blue and yellow Euro symbol of Doug Aitken’s glimmering Frankfurt businesses, Sunday is a day of out front, to Neue Mainzer Straße, mirror/text rest. (Berger Straße 26, +49 69 442 098; where the city’s only remaining pieces at Schirn suppengruen-frankfurt.de) publicly-accessible viewing platform Kunsthalle. perches atop the Main Tower FANCY SCHMANCY Named after (maintower.de). Entry is €6.50 for the American-Jewish mobster (rather adults and the platform is accessed than the poet and ethnographer), via a 200-metre elevator ride. The Stanley Diamond is as captivating as panoramic views are impressive; its colourful namesake. Opened by DJ from the neighbouring skyscrapers Oskar Melzer and social entrepreneurs to the superb vista down the Main (and brothers) James and David river – there is much to feel selfieArdinast, the fine-dining den has wowed conscious about. interiors and gastronomic critics alike Back on street level, a short with its original takes on the classics.

U-bahn trip (a €6.60 daily, or Seriously good-looking interpretations €24.70 weekly ticket is a smart buy of ossobuco, bouillabaise, rum baba and best procured through the DB and other stalwarts mean Stanley’s offices at the airport or Frankfurt word-of-mouth popularity has grown Hauptbahnhof) to the Altstadt, exponentially, ergo book well ahead. or old town (Dom/Römer stop) (Ottostraße 16-18, +49 69 2694 2892; brings you into the main tourist stanleydiamond.com) quarter. Reconstructed historical SEPTEMBER 2015

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EXPLORE | FRANKFURT

Stay St at ...

CHEAP If you’re prepared to turn a blind eye to the grit of the redlight district, reasonable budget accommodation awaits at Five Elements Hostel. Not ideal for families but would suit groups of young friends looking for somewhere to lay their heads after a night on the town. Private double rooms from €55 per night.

(Moselstraße 40, +49 69 2400 5885; 5elementshostel.de) MODERN The Pure is ideal for city breakers looking for a centrallylocated, stylish bolthole. Cool design flourishes abound – the Marshall bluetooth speakers are a nice addition to sparse yet comfortable rooms, and the eat breakfast buffet is a great ng. start to a day of exploring.

Double rooms from €1533 per night. (Niddastraße 86, +49 69 710 4570; the-pure.de) LUXURIOUS The grand and dame of Frankfurt hotels, The Westin Grand is centrally located and provides all of the plush extras onee would expect from a five-star behemoth. rvice and Professional, friendly service nice spacious areas in which to relax.

83 per night.

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bu buildings (ye olde Frankfurt wa was destroyed in WWII) give a slight surreal air to the ma main square, but Frankfurt Ca Cathedral, its exterior still mo mostly original (thank God, I guess) is the real deal.

Re Religious or not, attending a choral mass here on a Su Sunday morning is a heavenly ex experience; the acoustics are resolutely magnificent (dom-frankfurt.de).

Afterwards, a heavenly countenance is not the worst bearing for a visit to the Schirn Kunsthalle (schirn.de) next door.

Frankfurt’s premier modern and contemporary art space is rightly renowned for its big-ticke big-ticket shows. The current one, running until September 27, features artworks by Californian multimedia artist Doug Aitken, and is a mindblowing trip through video and physical installations, including glimmering mirror/text pieces, as well as memorable video works featuring Chloë Sevigny and Tilda Swinton, to name just a couple of his luminous collaborators. Well worth the €10 entry.

Left, stylish bolthole, The Pure. Below, engaging telephonic sheep at the Museum of Communications.

A hop, skip and a jump, then, brings you to Zeil, the main shopping strip, which is not very exciting unless you feel the need to visit the kind of shops you’ll find in almost every other European city. For me, not so much ... a better bet is to go subterranean again and take the U-bahn to one of the three stops on the lengthy, yet pleasantly walkable, Berger Straße. Here, you’ll find more independent, and to my mind, far more interesting shops in which to browse. Get off at Bornheim Mitte and stroll south. The first port of call for kids, or the young at heart, should be Meder Spielwaren (meder-frankfurt.de), a toy shop that will set young imaginations alight. Model enthusiasts of all ages should find something to ogle, from handmade toys to high-end, die-cast cars and smile-making railway sets. Rambling further down Berger Straße, back towards the city centre, Reining & Werth (reiningwerth.de) is a trove of local foods, interesting ingredients, homewares and crafts, while a healthy lunch in Suppengrün (see ‘Eat at’ on previous page) comes highly recommended. One might

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EXPLORE | FRANKFURT

High-rise or lowkey, you’ll find your own groove in the city.

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Sip at …

DUSKY It seems that dark bars are a bit of a thing in Frankfurt, currently, and Walon, Rosetti & Cie doesn’t veer far from the script. The vibe is friendly, however, and the food is rather good – try the tuna tartare, or their take on the ubiquitous, albeit excellent in this instance, pulled pork sandwich. Music is unobtrusive, verging on generic, and drinks are well made – martinis a specialty. (Moselstraße 15, +49 176 8065 7367 SMS only; walon-rosetti.com)

CHI-CHI The Roomers Bar is where affluent start-up geeks meet social-climbing supermodels ... perhaps. Expect an eclectic and thoroughly global cocktail list – the “Salty Cancun” with mezcal, salt caramel, mango and chilli is worth the visit alone. The interior is all discreet alcoves, sensuous lighting and seductive imagery.

There’s also smoke ... very fine cigars are available at the bar.

(Gutleutstraße 85, +49 69 271 342 815; roomers.eu/bar)

AMERICANA “Beer, drinks & an awesome time” – it’s hard to argue with the mission statement from the city’s easygoing Bristol Bar. It’s equally difficult to disagree with the matter-of-factness of their cuisine description: “American Grandma style”. Think beer and ribs, in a chilled-out, yet interesting red room. Plenty of contemporary hipster tropes to enjoy – ironically, of course.

(Ludwigstraße 15, +49 69 2423 9807; bristol-bar.com)

SPEAKEASY Named after the custom Gibson Les Paul played by ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons, Pearly Gates is a classic NYC cocktail bar, bringing a touch of louche Manhattan to buttoned-up “Mainhattan”. The interior is inspired by the speakeasies of prohibition-era New York and the menu is big on their in-house cocktails, such as the tantalising “Frankfurt Spice Trade”. (Kleine Hochstraße 20, +49 69 9686 9683; pg-bar.de)

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also take a gander in the local charity shops where often pristine and unusual curios, clothes and books go for a song. At the bottom of Berger Straße, Bethmannpark is a beautiful, compact green that features a very chilled Chinese garden, fantastic flora and oversized chess. It’s a good spot to sit and recharge before crossing the river to Sachsenhausen.

Cruise along Schaumainkai, which runs along the south side of the Main, and you’ll find an assortment of museums. Visit on a Saturday morning and you might also find a sprawling flea market with a motley assemblage of tchotchkes for the sorting. You can be lucky, sometimes treasures can be unearthed from in amongst the tat, but if your haul isn’t much to speak of the museums close by have more than enough to ogle/behold.

The Museum für Kommunikation (Communications Museum; mfkfrankfurt.de) with its engaging telephony sheep sculpture (“It’s for ewe ...” sorry) and four floors of exhibits covering the history of media and communications from tablets to, well, tablets, is a worthy visit. Another recommendation is stopping off for Kaffe und Kuchen (coffee and cake) in the serene courtyard of the Liebieghaus

ILLUSTRATION BY KATHI BURKE

EXPLORE | FRANKFURT

Something to read while enjoying Kaffe und Kunchen at the Liebieghaus.

(liebieghaus.de), a late 19th-century villa that also houses the city’s sculpture museum. Sit back and relax while people watching the grand burghers of this affluent neighbourhood. One other note on people-watching though ... you may be lucky, or unlucky enough (depending on how recently you’ve had breakfast) to spot a middleaged man roaming its streets wearing nothing but a Walkman, and sandals, if it’s winter. Don’t panic, Nackte Jörg (Naked George) is the area’s resident nudist and most locals turn a blind eye to his birthday suit shenanigans, which is not at all surprising, in fairness.

Heading further downriver, take in the view of the sparkling skyline from either of the Alte or

ing, Markt Im Hof, FOOD TRUCKIN’ Saturday streetfood offer 15 stalls selling everything from (11 Wallstraße, Sachsenhausen) has up to dly spot for foodie finds and tequeños to unique local delicacies – a frien rs, Hoppenworth & Ploch. excellent coffee from local micro-roaste 90 |

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Ignatz-Bubis bridges. The city’s toothy grin is most impressive by night, but it can sparkle during daytime hours too, especially around noon, when sunlight glints brilliantly off its shiny façades.

Further on still, the recently redeveloped Hafenpark is home to a gnarly skate and BMX park, basketball courts, outdoor gym and green areas, marking this area out as being created with the recreation of the citizenry very much in mind. And it’s here too, with the arresting new European Central Bank as backdrop, that the essence of Frankfurt comes most clearly into view. Whichever path you choose – whether it’s business or pleasure – you’ll find your groove, with ease, on its chilled out streets.

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FASHION | MILAN

This page, a crystal palace – the Galleria Vittoria Emanuele II. Opposite, outside Il Duomo, Milan, one of the world’s largest and most magnificent cathedrals.

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Magic Milano Milan’s recent regeneration has breathed a whole new kind of cool into its streets. Jo Linehan discovers the design capital just in time for Fashion Week.

Photographs by JP Keating.

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FASHION | MILAN

T

AL HIGG INS

here’s an Italian saying, “El milanês el ga el cör in man,” which roughly translated means “the Milanese wears his heart on his sleeve”. I’m not quite sure how true the phrase is but you can be certain his sleeve is impeccably tailored.

Milan’s reputation as the most stylish city in Italy, and arguably the world, is no myth. The northern capital exudes trendiness and, unlike Paris, New York or London, Milano is where the fashion industry comes to play, as well as get ahead of the curve. With visions of Milan Fashion Week and echoes of La Dolce Vita ringing in my ears, I touch down in Milan Linate Airport on a scorching summer morning and feel as though I’ve arrived at my spiritual home: hungry for pasta, thirsty for aperitivo and desperate to get shopping.

There’s no question that Il Duomo, the second largest cathedral in Italy and the veritable beating heart of the city, is the place to begin a Milanese adventure. Across the plaza lies the famous Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, a fittingly fabulous destination for luxury shopping indulgence. ce.

The 18th-century shopping mall is simply beautiful; a fairytale glassvaulted dome connecting Piazza del Duomo to Piazza della Scala where Louis Vuitton, Prada and Rizzoli bookstore take centre stage along with a handful of traditional Italian cafés.

Eternally thronged with tourists, braving the crowds here is duly rewarded with artful mosaic floors, ostentatious boutiques and a buzzy atmosphere. Suitably impressed, it’s on to the nearby triangle of Via 94 |

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Top, the decadent interior of Dolce & Gabbana’s Bar Martini. Above, style maven, Jo Linehan.

Montenapoleone, Via della Mo Spiga and Via Manzoni, an Sp exclusive neighbourhood for the exclus label-hungry. It’s not dubbed “the golden triangle” for nothing – the crème de la crème of designer boutiques line the streets here and, even though I don’t quite have an haute couture budget to blow at Fendi, admiring the exquisite shop fronts and elaborate window displays is enough to set the tone for the trip. And did I mention the street style? Everyone here oozes Italian elegance. I’m in heaven.

I’ve been recommended to savour my first aperitivo in

Signorvino (signorvino.com) by fashion blogger and veteran traveller Lorna Weightman, who promises it’s the perfect place to indulge in the Milanese tradition.

Locals enjoy the ritual twice daily – before lunch and dinner – in the form of a Campari or Aperol spritz accompanied by a small plate of Italian delicacies.

Back on my shopping buzz, I make a beeline for Antonia (antonia.it). The boutique’s namesake and owner, Antonia Giacinti, is the head buyer at Excelsior, one of Milan’s mosttreasured department stores and

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FASHION | MILAN

Don’t Miss …

Shopping here isn’t all high end; Milan is also a destination for the best on a budget. Fidenza Village (fidenzavillage.com), a mall just an hour outside the city, offers big discounts on brands from Marni and Missoni, Lacoste to Ralph Lauren.

In the city, visit Il Salvagente (salvagentemilano. it) a Milanese institution with three floors of discounted designer labels, while vintage foragers will love Cavalli E Nastri (cavallienastri.com), La Brera’s numero uno pre-loved boutique.

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Until October 31, Milan plays host to the World Expo. Spanning nearly three kilometres of exhibition space, submissions from around the world explore the theme of Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life through food, culture and history.

Have a beer in Deutschland’s forest, experience Japan’s hospitality or simply indulge in the vast array of international cuisine. It’s an awe-inspiring day out for the whole family, not to to be missed. expo2015.org

Street style – strolling by the Moschino store on Corso Como.

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FASHION | MILAN

3 Stylish Eateries ... this boutique acts as her personal edit of the season’s must-haves.

Inside, I salivate over a covetable selection of Versace iPhone cases, Neil Barrett sweaters and Valentino sneakers, while beside me a sassy young bride-to-be picks out a pair of Charlotte Olympia stilettos to die for and I feel as though I’ve found a real Milanese hotspot.

Following along Via Manzoni and its pretty side streets, where classic Italian leather goods, shoes and custom-made rugs are all on offer, I arrive at the Armani block – yes, block – where the flagship store and hotel are situated. Georgio is The Emperor around these parts and, although the designer only moved to Milan in his twenties, he has become a patron of arts, heritage and charity in his adopted home. Stepping inside the hotel (milan.armanihotels.com) is like being in an Armani suit, or so I’m told. The sleek, minimalist space is thick with the aroma of Armani’s own personal scent – an incense-

FLASHY Italian designer Roberto Cavalli’s Cavalli Club Milano L’OPERA restaurant and bar, above, is a Sink into luxe infused fragrance – that hotspot during Milan’s fashion surroundings and enjoy one fills the mirrored floors and design weeks, drawing an of the country’s most beloved and slate-grey walls über-cool crowd. Situated in the pastimes – a night at La Scala is of the hotel, where an city’s park, the cuisine here is as Italian as you’ll get. The 200 impeccably chic clientele an ode to the cuisine of Tuscany year-old theatre offers operas hold court. Downstairs, (Cavalli’s home) and they even and concerts year-round; the Armani Libra and café stock his own wine, produced on teatroallascala.org. offer an equally authentic his vineyard. (Via Luigi Camoens taste of Armani’s lifestyle, c/o Torre Branca, +39 02 311 817; and are just a stone’s throw away milano.cavalliclub.com)

from the Valentino, Sergio Rossi, Giuseppe Zanotti and Céline boutiques.

Luxury shopping is one thing but Milan’s rich artisanal history is quite another. I discover Bella Milano Tours (bellamilanotours. com), a walking tour run by the inspirational and highly informed Mirella Maestri and Valeria Andreoli. They have been helping tourists and day-trippers uncover Milan’s ancient treasures for years, and their insider knowledge and longstanding relationships with local shopkeepers mean you gain rare access inside the ateliers and workspaces of Milan’s most

Style magnets – Saint Laurent boutique at Piazza Duomo and, right, designer hotspot Cavalli Club Milano.

Luxury shopping is one thing but milan’s rich artisanal history is quite another 98 |

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STYLISH A perfect example of life and fashion combined is the Fondazione Prada, designer Muccia Prada’s museum showcasing her extensive art collection. The gallery’s newly opened Bar Luce is a quirky spot designed by film director Wes Anderson and comes complete with movie-themed pinball machines and mid-century furniture. Indulge in the café’s fresh pastries, delectable cakes and aperitivo in a sublime setting.

(Largo Isarco 2, +39 02 5666 2611; fondazioneprada.com) CLASSIC Bar Basso is a legendary meeting place for Milanese and visitors alike. The wine and cocktail bar serves top quality Italian small plates, bruschetta and the classic Italian panini in a small but perfectly formed setting.

(Via Plinio 39, +39 02 2940 0580; barbasso.com)

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FASHION | MILAN

Stay at …

SOPHISTICATED A former parfumerie, Hotel Magna Pars Suites Milano is a five-star super pad.

Everything here from the evergreen garden, in-house perfume shop and scent-themed areas of the hotel, to the designer furniture, fashion-book library and serene sophistication of this destination, make it a truly exceptional experience. My top pick for a luxury retreat. Double rooms from €342.

(Via Vincenzo Forcella 6, +39 02 833 8371; magnapars-suitesmilano.it) DESIGNER The Bulgari Hotel is everything you’d expect from the diamond aficionados. Hidden away on a private street, the hotel embraces its celebrity following with aplomb. Vintage

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photographs of Bulgari’s jewels mix seamlessly with million euro pieces on display around the space. This is a stay for those who enjoy more than a little bling. Double rooms from €730.

(Via Privata Fratelli Gabba, +39 02 805 8051; bulgarihotels.com) AFFORDABLE LUXURY The NH Hotel Grand Verdi has everything you need for a stay in the city. Located just a few minutes from Eataly and 10 Corso Como, the central station, tram and metro are on your doorstep too. Rooms come with ample wardrobe space, so you can afford to pack suitably for the occasion. Double rooms from €170.

(Via Melchiorre Gioia 6 +39 02 62371; nh-hotels.it)

Clockwise from left, sweet treats at Pasticceria Giovanni Galli; ham solo at Parma & Co; spectacles to behold at Foto Veneta Ottica; a nose for good wine at Navigli Food Market.

revered creatives. I decide to take their Vecchia Milano tour which begins at Pasticceria Giovanni Galli (giovannigalli.com) a fourthgeneration sweet and chocolate shop on Via Victor Hugo. Frederico offers us a taste of his speciality, candied chocolate chestnuts, and tells us about his great grandfather’s sweet tooth. It’s a deliciously preserved taste of old Italy, where locals still come to purchase sweets made with almond paste and the classic Italian Panettoni.

Around the corner, we visit the legendary luxury grocery store Peck (peck.it), where friendly staff advise on premium olive oils, cheeses and fresh fruit while, upstairs, the Peck café is bustling with foodies eager to sample the best of Italian produce.

It’s here, too, where Mirella takes a moment out of our trail to show me the church of Santa Maria Presso

San Satiro. The inconspicuous temple is an astoundingly decorated refuge and a breathtaking sample of another side of Milan, one which remains largely undiscovered.

We take a short stroll to Via dei Piatti to visit Daniele De Marchi’s boutique (danielademarchi.it).

The jewellery studio and shop is a veritable treasure trove of unique, handmade bijoux and, while I happily peruse gobstopper cocktail rings, her pet songbirds fly freely overhead. Our tour highlight comes in the form of Lorenzo Borghi, a milliner whose bonnets and fascinators have graced the heads of everyone from Italian opera singers to Queen Elizabeth. His smokefilled boutique and workshop is a step back in time to 1950s Italy and, as only one of two such milliners working in Italy today, the privilege of witnessing him in action is

Above, Milanese form inside the atelier of Lorenzo Borghi.

nothing short of humbling.

Last on the artisan trail is Foto Veneta Ottica (fotovenetaottica. com). Owned by three generations of the same family, the collection of vintage sunglasses and eyewear here is the greatest in Italy (and quite possibly the world). My eagle eye spots a pair of Christian Dior prototypes from the 1940s, amongst countless other spectacles. We raise a toast to the day’s discoveries at La Coloniale (lacoloniale.com) in Corso Genova.

The exquisite wine menu and oldworld atmosphere – complete with locals playing cards and discussing politics over champagne – is a surreal escape.

Under Milan’s beloved mayor, Giuliano Pisapia, the city has blossomed. Long considered the Cinderella of Italy, Milan is finally having its fairy godmother moment, as formally unloved areas are experiencing a rebirth.

One such is the Navigli district, known, lovingly, as Milan’s miniature Amsterdam. What was once a run-down section of bridges and small streets is now a very much in-demand hipster destination, brimming with quirky boutiques, excellent record stores and bookshops and an enormous outdoor food market where the best of Italian fare is served up daily. I stop by Le Scimmie (scimmie.it), a jazz club with its own bar boat moored in the Naviglio Pavese canal and drop in to Sadler Ristorante (sadler.it), a small twoMichelin-starred restaurant just off Naviglio Pavese, to soak up the area’s bohemian atmosphere. It’s a student hotspot at nighttime but maintains its cool with an endless array of bars and clubs to suit all tastes.

Back in the city, the Brera quarter is also having a moment.

The area has become an interior design haven, offering dozens of stores and studios stuffed with home inspiration and futuristic furnishings. Spazio Rossana Orlandi (rossanaorlandi.com) a favourite interiors haunt of John Rocha, and Robertaebasta SEPTEMBER 2015

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(robertaebasta.com) a vibrant boutique offering a mixture of antique, fine art and contemporary furniture, are just two of the renowned spaces that draw an enormous crowd during Milan’s acclaimed Design Week each April.

A stroll across the cobbled streets, where fortune tellers and buskers entertain, is a welcome break from the city’s hustle and bustle; the restaurants here specialise in the olden” quintessential Milanese “golden” eesy saffron risotto, a classic cheesy dish that is pure Italian comfort food.

From Brera, it’s on to my most anticipated destination, just north of the city centre.

Strolling Via Delio Tessa past Pinko and MSGM I stop off at Parma & Co (parmaeco.it) a café brimming with personalityy and excellent Italian afternoon noon bites, for olives and wine. I save room for a gelato at Panarello (panarello.com) next door and finish it before arriving at the Piazza XXV Aprile, where Eataly (eataly.net) is located, an epicurean megastore stocking everything from premium wines to chocolates and cheeses.

I browse cookbooks before hitting up 10 Corso Como (10corsocomo. com). From designer clothing, unique jewellery, fashion tomes, perfumes and hard-to-find beauty brands, this is the epitome of Milan’s shopping experience. Every fashionista worth their Manolo Blahniks comes here during the 102 |

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ILLUSTRATION BY BETH WALROND

FASHION | MILAN

Top left, a splash of local character.

Above, butterfly eyes, striking designs by Fornasetti.

bi biannual fashion weeks to stock up on the exclusive “It” pieces and, between Moschino T-shirts and Saint Laurent leather jackets, it’s a fashion-lover’s dream. I resist a brocade Chloé sundress and treat myself my instead to a Fornasetti plate, plat a perfect reminder of my decorative decora trip.

My Milanese adventure comes to a climax at San Bablia, where high street is the hero. Exploring the flagship Zara store, COS, H&M and beauty emporium Sephora makes for a deeply satisfying morning of retail therapy before I head southward towards Corso Venezia to relish my new purchases with a break at the Dolce & Gabbana Bar Martini (dolcegabbana.com/martini). The restaurant and bar is a beloved destination for those in the know.

Inside, the scene exudes Italian style: dapper staff zip around, dressed in D&G, of course, serving up the

most incredible food I have tasted on my trip so far. Sicilian sun-dried tomatoes, fresh fish and home-made pasta are the order of the day, while a glam clientele float discreetly in and out of its sun-trap courtyard.

Martini in hand, I admire the care and thought that’s been put into the interiors: 1960s Sicilian fixtures adorn the space in the form of lamps, unpolished mirrors, original marble floors and delicate vintage glassware. I feel as though I’ve been inserted into a living, breathing Dolce & Gabbana fashion campaign which, of course, is the intention.

The experience sums up the city perfectly: like any great masterpiece or impeccable outfit, the joy of Milan is truly in the detail.

Milan Fashion Week runs September 23-29.

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CITY CYCLING | BEING THERE

The best way to get a feel for a city is to explore it from ground level. Fionn Davenport picks five excellent options for guided pedal tours.

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Top Bike Rental & Tours, Rome Okay, so Roman traffic can be chaotic and some of its cobbled streets are decidedly bike-unfriendly but this excellent tour company makes it work – and gets you not only back to your hotel in one piece but far more clued-in to the city’s charm and secrets than you were four hours earlier.

Yes, four hours, and 16 kilometres of cycling:

it’s why Rome wasn’t built in a day. The experienced guides largely stick to roads that are closed off to traffic but you still get to see all the big attractions up close: the Colosseum, the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon and Piazza Navona. Then you cross the Tiber into beautiful Trastevere, full of cobbled alleyways (you were warned!)

and beautiful churches. If you’re feeling more adventurous, the 79-kilometre Appian Way tour takes you outside the city on the old Roman road as far as Castelgandolfo, the Pope’s summer retreat. (City tour, €45; all-day tour, €79; topbikerental.com) AER LINGUS FLIES FROM DUBLIN TO ROME TWICE DAILY.

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CITY CYCLING | BEING THERE

See Dublin By Bike Don the blue, high-vis bib and a helmet and get on board: for the next three hours you’ll get a Taste of Dublin that includes its main highlights and not-so-obvious sights.

From Trinity College to Dublin Castle, from O’Connell Street and the General Post Office, you’ll explore the city centre and beyond, as far west as the Guinness

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Storehouse. Along the way, there’s stories, anecdotes about Dubliners dead and very much alive and plenty of local lore – we never knew, for instance, that there’s a “hungry tree” in King’s Inns law school. If you’re looking for something a little more specific, how about the Literary Dublin tour, which will take you to all those sites

associated with the city’s most famous scribes, from Wilde to Joyce and Yeats to Beckett? They also run a U2’s Dublin jaunt, and a tour, dinner and show package (€55) where you get to restore yourself in a Georgian townhouse over dinner and traditional music. (From €25; Fade Street, seedublinbybike.ie)

CITY CYCLING | BEING THERE

Nice Cycle Tours First-timers expecting a smallish town by the sea are often surprised by just how big Nice actually is. But packed into France’s fourth-largest city is a wealth of stuff to see, especially if you want to go beyond the confines of the old city. This three-hour tour covers most of it, from the winding medieval alleyways of Vieux Nice to the top of the Colline du Château and its panoramic views. In between, you’ll cycle down the Promenade des Anglais, lined with Belle Époque palaces (the Hotel Negresco’s façade is worth the trip alone), explore the city’s famous squares (Massena, Garibaldi) and work your way down the old port, where traditional fishing boats bob up and down next to multi-millioneuro yachts. The guides are terrific and the tour is conducted at an easy pace, so it would suit virtually any fitness level. (€30; nicecycletours.com) AER LINGUS FLIES FROM DUBLIN TO NICE DAILY.

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Fat Tire Bike Tours, Berlin There’s no doubt about it: the best way to explore Berlin is on two wheels.

Whatever your interests – classic city tour, the Third Reich, Berlin and the Cold War – Fat Tire Bike Tours has you covered with a range of themed tours that are comprehensive and fun. If you’re familiar with the city, then how about a tour like Raw Berlin, where you get under the city’s subcultural skin, from “multikulti” neighbourhoods to the famous “creative space” squats that are slowly being bulldozed by gentrification. Fat

Tire Bike also runs an excellent E-bike tour (€49) of the city’s main highlights, which are limited to ten people, and a tour that goes beyond the city limits to explore the palaces of Potsdam (€46), 25 kilometres away. The company is so confident you’ll enjoy the tour that you don’t have to pay until the end of it ... and even if you pre-paid for a tour that you’re not happy with, they’ll refund you straight away. (From €26; fattirebiketours.com) AER LINGUS FLIES FROM DUBLIN TO BERLIN DAILY.

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CITY CYCLING | BEING THERE

Bike and Roll, Washington DC Washington, DC is flat and laid out with broad avenues lined with even broader footpaths, which makes it perfect for cyclists. On a pleasant day, there’s no better way to explore the monuments of the US capital than on a bike tour, and these guys really know what they’re doing. They offer a range of tours – the Monuments Tour is a popular one (you cycle around the Basin and visit all of the memorials – to Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson, FDR, Martin Luther King, Vietnam, Korea and WWII), as is the Capitol Sites tour, which takes you around the National Mall and the Capitol Building.

But for something a little special, spend the extra $5 and do the night tour of the monuments: the city never looks better than under lights and you’ll get a true sense of just how grand Washington can be.

(Adults/children $40/30; bikeandrolldc.com) AER LINGUS FLIES FROM DUBLIN TO WASHINGTONDULLES FOUR TIMES PER WEEK.

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MONAGHAN’S

CASHMERE STORE Established 1960

“Ireland’s Leading Cashmere Store” Frommers Travel Guide

Irelands Oldest Pub EST 1198

Mr. Tom Monaghan

A trip to Dublin would not be complete without visiting Tom Monaghan in his store in Dublin’s Royal Hibernian Way. Monaghan’s is famous for its cashmere and has been in business for over 55 years, selling a wide range of classic cashmere in the latest styles and colours for both men and women.

TRADITIONAL FOOD SERVED ALL DAY LIVE IRISH MUSIC NIGHTLY SUNDAY MUSIC SESSION 3.30-6.30pm

As we are celebrating our 55th year Tom would personally love to meet you in-store and offer you an extra 10% discount in addition to your tax free rebate on your horizon tax free card for all non EU residents ( terms ms and conditions apply)

M Monaghan’s Cashmere, Royal Hibernian Way, Dawson Street, Dublin 2, Phone: +353 (0)1 6794451

.monaghanscashmere.ie www.monaghanscashmere.ie

20 Bridge Street Lower, Dublin 8 10 minute walk from Guinness Store House 2 minute walk from Christchurch

Tel : +353 1 6795186 www.brazenhead.com

MASTERCLASS | TAHITIAN DANCE

Waltzing Tahitian

Lucy White maintains that summer feeling at a Tahitian dance class in Dublin. Grass skirts and garlands optional.

h dear. Shakira’s hips may not lie but mine are utterly betraying me, their supposed fast figure-of-eight gyrations are more thrusting Rocky Horror Picture Show Timewarp than undulating hula girl. This is disappointing. I’ve been a student of the Irish Burlesque School since 2011 and thought I had my pelvic rotations down pat.

Earlier I had made the mistake of Googling “Tahitian dance” and witnessed light-speed rolling hips, a sense of performance anxiety building in my belly. But while quick-fire circumvolutions are as quintessential to tāmūrē (Tahitian dance) as a mai tai is to tourists in French Polynesia, there are few frustrations in my 90-minute Tahitian dance class debut.

The rest is great fun. Our teacher Hinatea Vannes is half-Tahitian, half-French, and interest in her Pacific Ocean ancestry was further piqued in 2006 after a chance encounter with tāmūrē while in a shopping centre in her Bordeaux hometown. “There

O

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was a Tahitian dance group onstage; they WIGGLE IT invited me up to Classes run every Saturday dance with them, at Liffey Trust Studios in for a laugh,” she Dublin 1. Five sessions says. “I really are €50, drop-ins €15 per liked it and session. For more info visit ended up joining tamuredublin.weebly.com their group.” or call 087 160 7612.

Fast forward to 2010 and she was living in Ireland (“like many foreigners, it was love In bloom – Tahitian dance is alive and that brought me here. And this is the well in Dublin, fruit of our love!” she says, gesturing thanks to Hinatea, to their five-month-old, half-Tahitian, above right. half-Polish baby boy). “I wanted Below, best in class. to find some kind of Hawaiian or Tahitian dance class. I tried bellydance but it wasn’t really what I was looking for so, in 2011, I decided to start teaching classes myself.”

Traditional dancing is ingrained in Tahitian culture, “everyone dances with their families for weddings ddings and birthdays, just for fun, n, we laugh and scream,” she explains.

The emphasis is on soft knees and loose hips,

while the upper body is always still.

“Actually, that is something similar to Irish dancing. We just move the arms a little to tell stories,” most of which are rooted in myth and legend.

As a dance class it has more in common with zumba, in that you do what the teacher does before moving on to the next song for a new set of “monkey see, monkey do” choreography – apart from learning a few basic moves at the beginning, it’s like a back-to-back greatest hits of Tahitian song and dance. The slow numbers remind me of tai chi; each mindful arm movement segueing elegantly into the next. In contrast, the fast faster tracks send our dropwaiste waisted pareu (sarongs) into a frenzy.

We We’re a long way from the South Paci Pacific, Toto. I wonder who my fe fellow students are? Freda, too, is a newbie – but has a tiki bar in her ba back garden and a flower behind her ea ear, so is clued in. Natasha I know fr from Irish Burlesque School, her al alter ego Lady Black Pearl having graced many a stage. There are several regulars in our group but the atmosphere is welcoming and inclusive, which comes from the top; simply, Hinatea loves to share her heritage with others: “My grandfather was into the music, he had a studio and recorded Tahitian bands – we play some of those tracks in class.

I’m doing this for him. He passed away last year, but his legacy now feels even stronger.”

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Our 90-acre park and woodland resort is home to two hotels – Breaffy House Hotel with 106 rooms for relaxed leisure and We wou ld business breaks and Breaffy Woods Hotel with 128 rooms to host love your for family fun and holiday breaks – with only a few minutes wedding stroll between each.

The multi-award-winning Healy Mac’s Irish Bar and Restaurant now open at Breaffy House Breaffy Spa features 12 treatment rooms which includes 2 Dry Floatation Therapy beds, a Hydrotherapy Bath and our signature Rasul Mud Chamber

Breaffy House Resort is a registered civil wedding ceremony venue with banqueting facilities catering for up to 500 guests and conferences of up to 2,500 delegates Breaffy Buddies Kids Club with playground, astro turf pitch and indoor games room

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BEING THERE | VENETO

hours in

Veneto

Seen Venice and Verona?

There’s plenty more to see in Veneto, finds Tony Clayton-Lea.

Don’t Miss ...

LANDMARK Renowned throughout the Veneto region as the best preserved structure of the medieval era, Soave Castle dates from the 10th century. It was restored to its former glory (well, almost) in the early 19th century, and today serves as a wonderful visitor attraction. If you can manage it, walk up very narrow and winding steps to the turret section, from which you can enjoy 360-degree views of the surrounding countryside. (castellodisoave.it) LITERARY During the First World War, US writer Ernest Hemingway spent much time in Bassano del Grappa, and so the town’s Museo Hemingway is a must for fans of the writer’s terse, classic style. Make sure to see the renowned Hemingway Collection, which gathers extensive documentation about the man and his work. (Villa Cà Erizzo Luca, Via Cà Erizzo 35, +39 0424 529 035; villacaerizzoluca.it) WINERY Serego Alighieri Estate is a 120-hectare property in the heart of the Valpolicella region, this belongs to direct descendants of no less a renowned figure than Dante –

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but, no, you won’t experience the infernos of Hell if you sip some of its produce. Quite the 7, opposite, in fact. (Via Giare 277, Gargagnago, Sant’Ambrogio di Valpolicella, Verona, +39 045 770 3622; seregoalighieri.it)

Eat at …

Veneto cuisine is very varied, although th gh much of the diet is based on fresh seafood. From town to town, village to village, you’ll always find something that suits taste buds and budgets alike.

VIEWTASTIC Located in arguably the prettiest town in northern Italy, l’Enoteca di Arquà is a hilltop restaurant that not only provides tasty regional food but is also (debatably) the best wine bar in the Veneto region. Try to nab a table on the terrace at the rear of the restaurant – the views are terrific. (Via Castello 9, Arquà Petrarca, +39 0429 777 364; lenotecadiarqua.it) AGRITOURISM Al Pozzetto, located less than one hour from Venice and Verona, is attached to a

Top, sun catches the walls of Soave Castle. Inset, rustic charm at Al Pozzetto.

hilltop agritourism farm that overlooks a panoramic landscape. The farm produces asparagus, vegetables, cherries, wine, oil and corn, all of which are used in the preparation of the restaurant’s food. Never had nettle soup? Now’s your chance.

(Via Michelina 1, Molvena, +39 0424 419 051; agriturismoalpozzetto.it) ELEGANCE Located in the truly splendid Palladian Villa Godi, Ristorante Il Torchio Antico is a unique setting for a romantic dinner for two. The surroundings are not so much old-world as ancient, while the Venetian cuisine is almost as divine as the gods that inspired the architecture.

(Via Palladio 46, +39 0445 860 358; iltorchioantico.it)

Sleep at…

LUXURY Owned by the Allegrini family, Villa Della Torre, right, is located 15 kilometres from Verona and is not only synonymous with excellence in Italian wine production, but also acts as something of a luxury base from which to explore the region and town of Verona. Rooms from €250. (Via della Torre 25, Fumane di Valpolicella, Verona, +39 0456 832 060; villadellatorre.it)

FAMILY Situated high on hills close to the eastern region of Verona (and adjacent to the village of Illasi) Sporting Hotel San Felice is a three-star hotel (with indoor and outdoor swimming pools) that is perfect for families settling into and experiencing local tours, food and traditions.

Doubles from €70. (Localita San Giacometto, Illasi, +39 045 652 sportingsanfelice.com 0586; sportingsanfelice.com)

ARCHIVIO COM UNE DI

ARQ UÀ PETR ARCA

MODEST A very comfortable four-star hotel housed in an 18th-century villa, Hotel Ca’ Sette enjoys panoramic views of Bassano del Grappa – which is

a few minutes’ walk away – and surrounding areas. Free Wi-Fi. Doubles from €135. (Via Cunizza da Romano, Bassano del Grappa, +39 042 438 3350; ca-sette.it)

Walk Through ...

MEDIEVAL The wonderfully preserved, award-winning medieval town of Arquà Petrarca languishes on the slopes of Monte Ventolone and Monte Castello. Rightly noted for being one of the most beautiful small towns in Italy, you can stroll through and around it in less than a couple of hours, but such brevity doesn’t take away from how beautiful it is.

HAMLET Asolo is a small hilltop settlement known as the “hamlet with a hundred horizons” due to its levitated position that allows views over stunning landscape. Accessed via long and winding roads, Asolo also has a strong literary and avant-garde connection, with writers such as Henry James sharing space with contemporary artists such as Charlotte Moorman and Nam June

Top, cool rooms at Villa Della Torre.

Inset, stonewalling at Arquá Petrarca.

Above, the Ponte Vecchio bridge, Bassano del Grappa.

Paik and Al Benson (singer-songwriter Beck’s father).

HISTORIC Bassano del Grappa lies at the point where unvarying Veneto plains touch hills that lead towards the Alps. Connected by direct regional trains to both Venice and Padua, the lovely town is the starting point for further exploration.

The Ponte Vecchio (old bridge) is like

something you’ve never seen before – a remnant of much older times and much older architecture. Designed by the renowned Andrea Palladio in the mid-16th century, it has witnessed centuries of footfall and upheaval, yet it’s still a thrill to walk across it.

AER LINGUS FLIES FROM DUBLIN TO VENICE SIX TIMES PER WEEK AND FROM DUBLIN TO VERONA FOUR TIMES PER WEEK.

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A totally unique theatrical performance telling the story of the Irish from their very beginning to the present “Captivating and Hugely Entertaining”.

Experience 9,000 years of Irish cultural triumphs, feel their defiance as they fight against near annihilation and watch them rise up from their cultural ashes... “Deeply Moving”.

This innovative production allows the audience to walk through each scene with a mythical guide who tells the 10,000 year story. info@storyoftheirish.ie www.storyoftheirish.ie

Location: Smithfield, Dublin 7 Hop On/Off Bus - Jameson Distillery Stop

Show/Tours Start Every 15 Mins Duration 80 Mins

JOCHEN KEUTE

It may be Germany’s oldest jazz bar but EM PÖÖTZKE doesn’t take itself too seriously.

Dixie and Swing are the staples as is a fun crowd.

No cover charge – it’s pass the hat in here.

(Mertensgasse 6, +49 211 326 973; jazz-em-poetzke.de)

AN INSIDER’S GUIDE TO

Düsseldorf

TZ

Who needs the seaside when you can go to SONNENDECK LÖRICK ?

On the banks of the Rhine, complete with sand, deckchairs, restaurants, lounge bars and sports activities. A great view of the sunset in fine weather.

(Niederkasseler Deich 285; sonnendeck-loerick.de)

For a wild afternoon head to GRAFENBERGER WALD where more than 32 hectares of woodland is home to 100-plus breeds of wild animal, including deer and boar. Beats the zoo hands down and is open 365 days with no entrance fee. (Rennbahnstrasse 60, Düsseldorf, +49 211 651 903)

MARIA WIN

The oldest market in town is the central CARLSPLATZ MARKET dating from 1428. You can browse and buy food, flowers and delicacies under roofed alleyways. Good for a rainy day. Look out for Pure Freude in the vicinity for good coffee and cakes. carlsplatz.de

DÜSSELDORF MARKETING & TOURISMUS GMBH

From the oldest market and jazz bar in town to a walk on the wild side … Eddie Goodwin knows where the action is.

An Irish pub mightn’t normally be on the list for Irish tourists but MCLAUGHLIN’S really is the genuine article. Located in the heart of the Altstadt, the staff create a great atmosphere and it’s a firm favourite with expats and locals in the know.

(Kurzestrasse 11, +49 211 8632 1139; mclaughlins.de)

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US GM BH

RAIN ER KIEDROWSKI

MICHAEL

ROBINSO

N

Our regular office haunt DOLCINELLA is a little away from the centre, in Derendorf, but in an area worth visiting. It serves delicate lunches with a Middle Eastern slant and also specialises in acclaimed pastries and cakes.

(Tannenstrasse 35, +49 211 4685 0693; dolcinella.de)

Sample the freshly brewed local Altbier in the old town at ZUM UERIGE brewery. It is served in small glasses so you are guaranteed to have a second. In finer weather it’s a great spot to join the locals sitting on the outside steps and watch the world go by.

Don’t be put off by the slightly surly waiters, it’s all part of the charm.

(Bergerstrasse 1, +49 211 866 990; uerige.de)

Düsseldorf is host to a prestigious collection of art galleries and museums, of which K21 (ART COLLECTION 21) is one of the most intriguing. The gallery’s glass dome is lined with netting that you can walk across, as if floating over some of Europe’s most famous artists from the 20th and 21st centuries. (Ständehausstrasse 1, +49 211 838 1204; kunstsammlung.de)

RAINER KIEDROWSKI

& TOURISM MARKETING DÜSSELDORF

Located in the Unterbilk area, LORETTOSTRASSE is a street full of unique, individual and quirky shops, as well as interesting cafés and restaurants. None of the samey high street stores here. Check out Romantiklabor and Bernstein & Inbar in particular. (loretto360grad.de)

DÜS SELD ORF MARKET

More about Eddie Eddie Goodwin manages Enterprise Ireland’s Düsseldorf office. The Enterprise Ireland team works with Irish companies to develop business in Germany, Switzerland and Austria with the goal of increasing trade between the countries and growing Irish Exports. Eddie has lived in Düsseldorf on two occasions for five years, with a stint in the US in between. enterprise-ireland.com

A very pleasant couple of kilometres walk along the Rhine from the Altstadt will bring you to HAFEN with its Gehry architecture and interesting restaurants. Also nearby is the Fernsehturm (great view over Düsseldorf) and, if the weather is good, cross the bridge to the Paradiesstrand: a sandy beach along the Rhine. (duesseldorf.de)

ING & TOU RISM US GMB

H

g from knickPresenting everythin random knacks , vintage gear, ap new che to es iqu clutter, ant ET is well goods, a FLEA MARK rs. worth a couple of hou e place There are three that tak rf: regularly in Düsseldo Saturday; Aachenerplatz every ry Radschlägermarkt eve market: Sunday and a hip night with live Nachtkonsum (complete Advice for en. oft so ry eve ) sic mu re early. all of them is to get the

AER LINGUS FLIES FROM DUBLIN TO DÜSSELDORF DAILY.

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A Dublin Landmark…

Private function rooms available

One of Dublin’s oldest pubs, situated in the heart of Dublin City Centre.

Doheny & Nesbitts is a haunt for many of the country’s leading politicians, sports and media personalities with bars and function rooms over three levels. Why not sample the finest in Irish food and drink.

Come and enjoy the craic and the banter in Doheny & Nesbitts - A must for any trip to Dublin.

W: www.dohenyandnesbitts.ie T: 00353 (0) 1 6762945 E: info@themangangroup.ie

BEING THERE | DONCASTER

3 Must-dos …

SPOTLIGHT DONCASTER Compiled by Nancy Rockett

©ERIC COECKELBERGHS/VULCANTOTHESKY.ORG

AVIATION Plane buffs will be on cloud nin nine visiting hangar three at Robin Hood Ai Airport Doncaster Sheffield – because there dw dwells the last flying XH558 Arro Vulcan, a quintessential cold war-era aircraft. Due to airport security, places on The Vulcan Ex Experience tours must be booked at least 48 hours in advance. vulcantothesky.org CATRIN REES

TOP TABLES Located in the middle of one of the north of England’s busiest markets, in the south Yorkshire town of Doncaster, Med at the Market (+44 7877 112 715) offers no-frills seasonal produce, freshly-sourced from the surrounding stalls. Simple, effective and oh-so delicious, from homespun meatballs to prawn skewers to fish stew. You can even enjoy a cheeky craft beer or a vino. Also great house & Deli for artisan ingredients is the nearby Marketplace Alehouse (+44 7505 829 106), whose wall of bottled craft beer is both promotional and decorative as it sells different brews from across the globe. On balmy days, people-watch on the outdoor seating while tucking into grazing platters and sambos. Beer fans will also love Doncaster Brewery (doncasterbrewery.co.uk), above right, nominated for the Campaign for Real Ale’s Best Pub of the Season in spring. It also hosts the Green Oak Morris Men – yes, Morris Dancers – cult film screenings, a book club, spoken word events and craft sessions.

3 Hospitable Hotels …

IT

S

WILDLIFE There’s plenty for all ages to enjoy at Potteric Carr Nature Reserve, a protected habitat for a plethora of flora and fauna. Its wetland and woodland provide the home to many birds, amphibians, insects and small mammals – you might spot roe deer if you’re lucky. End a nature trail with a cuppa and cake at the Kingfisher Tearoom. ywt.org.uk

YO RKSHIRE P

TR OR

A

HISTORIC Set on a lush, 100-hectare estate, the 19th-century, grade two-listed Rossington Hall is – unsurprisingly – a magnet for brides and grooms; freestanding bathtubs take pride of place in luxe, open-plan bathrooms. This is a postcard-perfect, stately home, with seven guest rooms that can be booked as B&B or exclusively for groups. Rooms from £160. rossingtonhall.co.uk

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ELEGANT At the sedate, Georgian country house Best Western Premier Mount Pleasant Hotel, you’d be forgiven for thinking you were miles away from anywhere – however, Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield is less than a ten-minute drive away. Forty hectares of woodland, spa suites, self-catering cottages and “suspended” beds only add to the appeal. Rooms from £79. mountpleasant.co.uk

QUIRKY There may be more exotic places to visit than South Yorkshire’s Doncaster, but it does boast The Caribbean – hotel, that is. This 12-room bolthole (with Wurlitzer) is within a ten-minute walk of the racecourse and town centre. A variety of rooms are on offer here – singles, doubles, triples and family-size – and something of a bargain: doubles from £29.95. caribbean-hotel.co.uk

HORSERACING Established in 1776, the Ladbrokes St Leger Festival is the oldest of Britain’s five Classics. This year’s outing gallops out the blocks from September 9-12 at a race centre that dates back to the 18th century – so expect a huge, loyal crowd cheering on champion horses and jockeys. doncaster-racecourse.co.uk

Buying?

Selling?

Trading?

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stretch your budget stretch your legs Smart gets a lie flat bed at a great price

On Business

Making travel work for you

SOUTHERN SOUL Head south of the River Thames for the gentrified enclaves of Clapham and Battersea, where Georgia Lewis finds a green haven for businesses, night owls and foodies.

BUSINESS | LONDON

lapham and Battersea do not have the shiny towers full of financiers like Canary Wharf, or the wallto-wall tech startups of Old Street.

But these leafy neighbourhoods offer an alternative for a diverse range of enterprises, as well as business travellers who don’t want to be too far away from the thick of it but don’t care for soulless chain hotels.

Sitting side by side, these two increasingly affluent areas are popular with young professionals and attract an eclectic range of small and medium-sized businesses. The high streets of both neighbourhoods have quirky stores that sell nice-to-haves rather than need-to-haves, sitting alongside delis, bars, restaurants, architects and the ubiquitous estate agents.

Ed McGarry, co-owner of Clapham Books, says he enjoys being in such a vibrant area: “We have a lot of footfall, an interesting selection of customers, so we vary the stock – it’s unpredictable but it keeps us on our toes.”

Sympathetic developers have revived the fortunes of Clapham North Arts Centre (bca.uk.com/

C

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clapham-north-arts-centre) and Battersea’s Shakespeare House (shakespearehouse.co.uk), which now house a range of businesses.

Richard Tidmarsh, founder of Reach Fitness London, based in the Clapham North Arts Centre, says it was the “really vibrant community” as well as the opportunity to put his stamp on a unique, well-located space that attracted him to the neighbourhood.

The nighttime economy in the area is strong with bars, pubs and restaurants making Clapham and Battersea in-demand destinations for those seeking an après-office soirée. Being south of the river does not have to mean isolation.

Clapham’s high street is well served by three underground stops punctuating the Northern Line, which runs like a dark but functional vein through the British capital. From Clapham Common tube station, you can be at London Bridge in 12 minutes, Old Street in 18 minutes, or the mischief of Camden Town in 25 minutes. Battersea, meanwhile, has three National Rail stations, with Queenstown Road and Battersea Park stations offering similarly swift services into central London.

Relaxing …

Previous page, The Shard, London. Top, the unmistakable city skyline. Above right, row, row, row your boat at Battersea Park.

BATTERSEA BOATING Weather permitting, weekends in September are an opportunity to have an urban twitch (birdwatch) for herons, grebes and cormorants on the boating lake in Battersea Park. Blue Bird Boats (+44 207 262 1330) have a small fleet of rowing and pedal boats (each vessel holding up to five persons) that can be hired by the half- or full-hour. Tickets can be purchased at the reception in the Millennium Arena – adult prices, from £4; family tickets from £15.

COMMUNAL Be prepared to make new friends on the bench seats at The Pepper Tree, a canteen-style Thai restaurant. With delicious, keenly priced curries, cheerful staff and a leafy Clapham Common location, it is deservedly popular. (19 Clapham Common South Side, +44 207 622 1758; thepeppertree.co.uk)

FEASTIVAL

The St John’s Hill Festival will be held on September 13. It is a great chance to try the wares of bars, delis and restaurants in the Battersea-Clapham area, in between shopping for unique fashion, jewellery and homewares. stjohnshill.co.uk

Eat at …

STYLISH The Bolingbroke Pub and Dining Room opens at a civilised hour every day – no earlier than 10am, thank you very much – and then stays open late for drinks and dinner. The weekend brunch is a specialty – try the divine banana pancakes. (174 Northcote Road, Battersea, +44 207 228 4040; thebolingbroke.com) ROTISSERIE Eat-in deli Park Road Kitchen serves Norfolk chicken, cooked slowly on a spit roast, below.

The accompanying sea salt and lemon thyme potatoes prove simple foods

are often the best, and it’s a popular spot to grab a gourmet lunch deal.

Not your run-of-the-mill chicken shop.

(316-318 Battersea Park Road, +44 207 223 3925; parkroadkitchen.com) SEASONAL The menu changes on a daily basis at Soif, a French favourite on Battersea Rise, so fresh ingredients are guaranteed. Wine is a particular NIPPON TUCK Battersea’s pop passion, with Wednesday-night ular Sushi Café tasting sessions and vin shop on does a £14.99, all-you-can eat buffet, with a choice the premises. There is also a fine of more than 50 dishes. sushic afe.co.uk range of cheese and a well-stocked charcuterie. (27 Battersea Rise, +44 207 223 1112; soif.co)

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BUSINESS | LONDON

Stay at …

DELUXE Located on the south bank of the Thames, Rafayel on the Left Bank is a true, five-star hotel, with plush beds strategically placed to take advantage of brilliant London views through huge windows. It’s a luxurious, elegant option for business travellers, and the spa, The Banyan on the Thames restaurant, cigar lounge and classic cocktails of the Crystal Bar make Rafayel a destination in its own right. There are lovely, quiet library areas if you need to get some work done. Rooms from £124. (34 Lombard Road, +44 207 801 3600 hotelrafayel.com)

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BOUTIQUE Stylish without being soulless, The Windmill is a delightful hotel located right on Clapham Common. It is hard to believe the noise of London is a mere 15 minutes away in a black cab. While the free Wi-Fi and desks in every room are certainly important if you’re in London for business, the green views, hearty pub grub and extensive range of craft beers on offer will provide welcome distractions. Rooms from £109. (Clapham Common South Side, +44 208 673 4578; windmillclapham.co.uk)

SLICK Barely a frill to be seen but no-frills does not mean no style at the minimalist SO Park. The beds are big and comfortable, the Wi-Fi is free and the hotel is spotless. Breakfast is available for a surcharge, rooms are fitted with a kitchenette and there is express check-in, making it an easy choice for the no-nonsense business traveller. SO Park is in walking distance of two of Battersea’s three rail stations and has parking. Rooms from £87.

(140 Battersea Park Road, +44 207 627 0780; so-park-battersea.directhotel.co)

NEAT DRINKS

Play at ...

Opposite, the iconic towers of Battersea Power Station. Above, former public convenience WC Wine and Charcuterie.

Left, muraltastic at Southsider Cocktail Club, where happy hour offers cocktails for a fiver.

ema, an annual BIG SCREEN The Luna Cin ings, will be held series of open air film screen at Battersea Park from on the Pump House Lawn nema.com September 8-10. thelunaci

The dark and arty Southsider Cocktail Club on Battersea Rise has a three-hour happy hour from 5pm daily featuring £5 cocktails. thesouthsidercocktailclub. co.uk

UNDERGROUND A disused public loo underneath Clapham Common tube station has been reborn as WC Wine and Charcuterie. The original tiles have been restored to their former lavatorial glory, the wine list is diverse and ever-changing and the food is several notches above your average bar snack. The ploughman’s lunch with a blue cheese twist is a highlight and the charcuterie features such treats as rabbit and Armagnac salami, and herbed pork shoulder bresaola.

(Clapham Common South Side, +44 207 622 5502; wcclapham.co.uk) LANDMARK The Battersea Power Station is a much-loved London landmark. These days, it is being converted into luxury apartments as the gentrification of the area continues apace. Power Station Wine Bar and Restaurant is part of this process with a truly global wine list for those stopping by for a drink and delicious Greek food for those who want to linger longer. Most dishes are available for takeaway too. The downstairs bar is a popular after-

work haunt. (161 Battersea Park Road, +44 207 720 0632; powerstation-barrestaurant.co.uk)

ECCENTRIC Drinkers are drawn to The Holy Drinker in Clapham Junction for the appropriately catholic range of music on offer – soul, funk, dance and house have all found their way to the decks. (Its website, complete with wiggling rosary beads, is as wacky as the bar.) Classic cocktails are available all year round and original, seasonal cocktails are also on offer. (59 Northcote Road, +44 207 801 0544; holydrinker.co.uk) TRENDY Located equidistant to Clapham Common and Clapham North tube stations, Craft Beer Co has fast become a favourite pub in the neighbourhood. The beers on tap vary and are priced according to alcohol content. As a bonus, the beer garden is heated but you will still need to rug up for outdoor imbibing in winter. (128 Clapham Manor Street, +44 207 498 9633; thecraftbeerco. com/pubs/clapham) SEPTEMBER 2015

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BUSINESS | LONDON Battersea Arts Centre, opened in 1893. Below, the bandstand at Clapham Common.

Downtime at …

THEATRE Despite a devastating fire in March 2015, Battersea Arts Centre has not been defeated. This glorious slice of Victoriana houses a bar and café, and typically puts on engaging theatre. bac.org.uk READING At Clapham Books it’s easy to lose yourself in tomes you might not have seen on the high street (claphambooks.com).

Battersea Library is another haven for bookworms with a stunning space for reading under a glass dome (better.org.uk/libraries/ battersea-library).

FINE ART Art lovers might want to take a peek at Webbs Fine Art Gallery in Clapham. With three floors of exhibition space in a Victorian corner shop building, the gallery represents 65 artists and has

a stock of around 700 pieces at any given time. webbsfineartgallery.co.uk CINEMA Clapham Picturehouse serves up a nice mix of mainstream and indie films, as well as live screenings of theatre and opera.

And this cinema is easy to spot – it’s a gorgeous red-and-black building with a plush, purple interior. picturehouses.com SPA Kalyana Spa is a nice retreat, nestled among the bars and restaurants of Battersea Rise but, once you’re inside, it is all soothing neutrals and divine massages starting at £30 for 20 minutes. Men’s treatments also. kalyana-spa.com AER LINGUS FLIES FROM DUBLIN TO LONDON DAILY.

The Affordable Art Fair (affordableartfair. com) returns to Battersea from October 22-25 and again from March 10-13, 2016.

If you buy your tickets online in advance, they are just £10 for weekdays and £12 for weekends.

For a fun-filled freebie in Clapham, swing by the brilliantly stocked wine shop, Bottle Apostle (bottleapostle.com), on any given Friday for free wine tastings from 4pm-8pm. The tastings are informal, each one has a different vinicultural theme, and they are a great way to start your South London weekend.

And don’t forget that Battersea and Clapham are blessed with two of London’s best green spaces – Battersea Park and Clapham Common – where it is free to go for a run, a rollerblade or a bike ride or simply enjoy the fresh air.

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BUSINESS | TRAVEL

Smart Traveller PARIS

3

BEST BOUTIQUE BUSINESS STAYS IN PARIS

As VP of International Communications & Marketing with CNBC, Finola McDonnell travels regularly to company bases in London and Singapore. But her favourite city, she tells Lisa Hughes, is Paris.

Best memory … I was in Paris in summer 2008 when France took over the Presidency of the EU Council. The Eiffel Tower was illuminated in the blue colours and yellow stars of the EU flag. It was stunning.

Business lunch … There’s something for every budget in Paris once you veer away from the over-priced Champs Élysées. Visit a traditional Paris brasserie like Le Vaudeville (29 Rue Vivienne, +33 140 200 462; vaudevilleparis. com) near the Bourse.

It is very lively and a real classic. For dinner, Caius (6 Rue d'Armaillé, +33 142 271 920; caiusrestaurant.fr) near the Arc de Triomphe, is a great find. Exceptional food (try the chestnut soup), great service and a warm yet sleek environment. Don’t go for dinner before 8pm when locals emerge.

Best for business drinks …

The bars at the Hotel Costes (239-241 Rue SaintHonoré, +33 142 445 000; hotelcostes.com) and the Westin Vendome (3 Rue de Castiglione, +33 144 771 111; thewestinparis.com) are elegant and central. Hotel Costes also has a lovely outside courtyard and produces its own lounge music CDs. If you like the experience, you can take it home.

Getting around … CNBC uses the G7 taxi company in Paris (+33 141 276 699; taxisg7.fr). It off an excellent service and offers a dedicated English language boo booking line for those who Top, Paris is struggle with French. inspiring for Tipping … Service is included business and by law in French restaurant bills for pleasure but it’s still customary to leave a says Finola ten per cent tip for great service.

McDonnell, above.

You should also leave something for hotel staff in your room.

Wi-Fi … Throughout the Paris region, the authorities make free public Wi-Fi available in hundreds of locations. Look out for the “Zone Wi-Fi” signs in white and purple.

Downtime in Paris … Drop into the 200-year-old Deyrolle (46 Rue du Bac, +33 142 223 007; deyrolle.com) to see the legendary I can’t travel without … The Concur taxidermy. It’s not to travel app. CNBC personnel use it for everyone’s taste but planning travel, managing bookings it’s unforgettable. Visit and capturing expenses on the move. the Pantheon to see No need to hold on to a bundle of the impressive working receipts in different currencies. Free, replica of Foucault’s to download from concur.com pendulum. It will give you perspective.

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1

HOTEL BANKE This former financial depository is now a Baroque-influenced hotel in the Opera District and boasts plush suites with fireplaces and whirlpool tubs, free Wi-Fi, a business centre and town car service. There’s even a Turkish bath. Rooms from €360. (20 Rue la Fayette, +33 155 332 222; hotelbanke.com)

2

HOTEL VERNET Located in the city’s Golden Triangle, this handsome heritage property is a five-star design oasis with spacious suites, free Wi-Fi and original features (limestone façade, black iron balconies, glass-domed ceiling) that ooze Parisian charm. Rooms from €351. (25 Rue Vernet, +33 144 319 800; hotelvernet-paris.fr)

3

CASTILLE A splash of Italian chic, this luxury boutique hotel next to Maison Chanel is more romantic than your average business hotel.

Combining opulence with mod-cons, it has a business centre, free Wi-Fi and a courtyard that’s perfect for business drinks. Rooms from €330.

(33-37 Rue Cambon, +33 144 584458; castille.com)

A world of expertise The Irish law firm with a fresh global vision With scale comes innovation. Thinking without boundaries, we offer you a unique approach that controls time, cost and risk.

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To find out how we can serve your business, contact: Alan Murphy Managing Partner & Chairman, Eversheds International +353 1 6644 289 alanmurphy@eversheds.ie

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Business

DAN TAYLOR

1

APP Currently available in 16 US cities including San Francisco and Chicago, Localeur is a one-stop tip shop.

Curated by an ‘in the know’ community, travel themes range from ‘Where to go When You’re Stuck at the Airport’ to ‘Where to go for a Local Beer’. localeur.com

2

BUSINESS LUNCH Choose between an oyster bar, cocktail bar and American steakhouse at the recently opened Pier A in New York – with to-die-for views of Lower Manhattan and Lady Liberty. piera.com

Business

Travel Hot List

4

Jet-powered accoutrements and destinations to excite. Lisa Hughes reveals September’s zeitgeistiest things.

INTERNET OF THINGS SUMMIT Covering one of the hottest topics in tech and design, Boston’s Internet of Things Summit will muse on everything from creating an IoT ecosystem to product design in smart devices. September 9-10; theinnovationenterprise.com.

5

BOOK If you want the high points of the world’s hottest cities, grab (in print or digital) Lonely Planet’s Make My Day. The guide covers activities for morning, afternoon and evening so you can pack in sightseeing between meetings. Print version from £5.99.

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3

SHIRTY Hidden in one silver cufflink from Ravi Ratan is a 2GB Flash Drive; in the other, a USB Wi-Fi Hotspot ... Very 007, you can even get them engraved with your initials if you can’t resist a monogram. $174.99 at cufflinks.com.

7

LISTEN Forget tangled wires with Danish design hero Bang & Olufsen’s BeoPlay H8 Headphones with in-built noise cancellation and up to 14 hours of play time. €499 at beoplay.com.

6

GADGET Wearable tech doesn’t get more fashionforward than the Withings Activité Pop Smartwatch with its sleek design. Like a personal trainer, the watch tracks how active you are and keeps tabs on your sleep patterns too.

From £119.95 at withings.com.

8

STAY Sleek minimalism meets 2001: A Space Odyssey at Barcelona’s Barcelo Sants, a four-star design hotel with a galactic theme seeping into every corner. Your inner sci-fi geek will love it. barcelosants.com

Business

HOTEL REVIEW

Hitting the High Notes Lucy White unearths a Viennese gem in a former music hall – the Ruby Sofie boutique hotel.

If you’ve stood in more hotel desk queues than you’ve had hot schnitzel, then the Ruby Sofie hotel is for you. Check-in is via tablets at the bar – tap in your details and out pops your key card.

Check-out is equally easy; without in-room minibars there’s no bill to settle, but a payment receipt via email. On the fourth floor, help yourself to tea and coffee, iron your threads, or buy multifarious items from the vending machine.

Staff are hip and happy to help, whether it’s to serve a fresh coffee, open the meditation room, or chill your Veuve Clicquot (well, we were heading out to a ball, darling). Guest rooms are bright, comfortable and minimalist, with walk-in showers, own-brand toiletries and free Wi-Fi, while hallways are backstage-black to echo the Secessionist’s building’s

former life as a concert hall. In-room Marshall amps are connected to tablets, and guitars and bikes can be hired gratis. The hotel group’s second Viennese hotel, Ruby Marie, opens in Neubau later this year.

Doubles from €159. (Marxergasse 17, +43 1 361 966 060; ruby-hotels.com)

3 Nearby noshes ...

Smart Travel

Mercado This slice of Latin America is just ten minutes away from the Ruby Sofie.

Yes, the ubiquitous burrito is on the menu – but much more besides, including Peruvian, Mexican and Spanish-inspired dishes. Lunches are €12.50 and €18 for two and three courses respectively. (Stubenring 18, +43 1 512 2505; mercado.at)

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Garage01 This unpretentious yet on-trend café and cocktail bar, under train-track arches, has an industrial decor that creates a pleasing frisson with inventive and locally sourced comfort food, such as roast chicken with honey and lavender, vegetarian tapas aplenty and gluten-free beer. (Radetzkypl, +43 1 308 4503; garage01.com)

Das Loft If you’re looking to impress a client, look no further than the imposing Sofitel Hotel, whose 18th-floor bar and restaurant boasts one of the city’s best views. Twenty minutes away from the Ruby Sofie, the five-star cuisine is equally impressive. (Sofitel Vienna Stephansdom, Praterstraße 1, +43 1 906 160; sofitel.com)

The Ruby Sofie hotel in Landstraße-Wien Mitte is a handy five minutes’ walk from the City Airport Train (CAT) station that connects to Vienna International Airport in just 16 minutes, non-stop. The entrance is within the Wien Mitte Mall, the service running seven days a week from 6.06am to 11.36pm (airport) and 05.36am to 11.06pm (city).

Swish double decker trains – complete with TV screens, showing international news – leave every 30 minutes each way. Clean, efficient, easy.

Tickets cost €17 return, or €11 single. cityairporttrain.com

XE UNLEASHED. NEW JAGUAR XE. THE SPORTS SALOON REDEFINED. New Jaguar XE is here. Our most advanced, efficient and refined sports saloon ever. Born from the DNA of the F-TYPE, across the range it delivers breathtaking performance and efficiency, with CO2 emissions of just 99g/km.

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THE ART OF PERFORMANCE Terms & Conditions: Finance Example: Model: XE 2.0 D SE Manual; On the Road Price†:€37,636.10; Customer Deposit/Part Exchange: €11,000; Finance Amount: €26,636.10; 36 Monthly Payments of €399; Term: 37 Months; GMFV †† (Optional Final Payment): €16,000; Total Cost of Credit: €3,791.39 which includes a documentation fee of €63.49; APR: 5.9% as at 1st July 2015. †Includes delivery & related charges. Model is shown for illustrative purposes only. ††The Guaranteed Minimum Future Value (GMFV) is payable if you renew or retain the vehicle at the end of the agreement. Further charges may be applied by your Jaguar Dealer subject to kilometre limits/condition of the vehicle. *Lending criteria and conditions apply. Offer available on all new Jaguar XE models registered from 1st July 2015 until 31st October 2015 at participating dealers. APR 5.9% is inclusive of a documentation fee of €63.49.

This is a Hire Purchase agreement provided by Bank of Ireland t/a Bank of Ireland Finance. To qualify for this finance offer a minimum deposit of 10% of the ‘On the Road Price’ and a maximum term of 37 months applies. Rate quoted is correct as at 1st July 2015 and is subject to change. Official fuel economy figures for the XE Range in l/100km: urban 4.4 – 10.2, extra urban 3.4 – 6.0, combined 3.8 – 7.5. CO2 emissions 99 – 179g/km.

Business

6 THINGS I’VE LEARNT PAUL REID, MANAGING DIRECTOR OF PFIZER HEALTHCARE IRELAND ... has more than

20 years’ pharmaceutical experience – 14 of which were at Pfizer. Before that he worked with Aventis Pharma, Nutricia Ireland and Rowa Pharmaceuticals. Paul is a member of the Strategy Board and a director of the industry representative association IPHA. Here, he shares his work/life lessons.

1

You’re only as good as your team. You are only as good as the people around you and the organisation you are in. This is key in a multinational, you will spend a lot of your career reporting to people from different countries and cultures, so you have to be able to establish a connection.

2

There’s no such thing as can’t. This is one of the best pieces of advice I’ve been given – and is what I now tell my kids!

Also, as a keen golfer, another favourite piece of advice is: Trust your swing …

3

You can work in pharmaceuticals without a background in science.

There’s a shortage of sufficiently skilled people with science, technology and engineering backgrounds in Ireland at the moment, so getting into healthcare and pharmaceuticals is a good move that greatly improves patients’ lives.

4

Be careful what you wish for. Getting to grips with a new role rarely turns out to be what you expected. In any new position you have to accept your lack of comfort and grapple with uncertainty – but that is good, it makes you think afresh. Our CEO Ian Read has a piece of advice in this regard – never take a job you think you are fully able for.

5

Stay positive. People take their cue from the ethos and behaviour they see in their manager. A cheery disposition helps keep people motivated and focused.

6

Maintain a work/life balance. We all need time away from work; we are better at our jobs when we do that. Living healthily is important – eating well and being active.

Every time I cross the bridge into Ardmore, Co Waterford, and can see the sea, I feel any tension lifting. The people are friendly … and a pint is cheaper.

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Building tomorrow’s infrastructure for our global clients Dornan is an Irish owned, International engineering and contracting company, specialising in the provision of; · Mechanical · Electrical · Instrumentation Services We have extensive experience across a wide range of construction sectors.

Our growth is primarily driven by repeat business from our clients, demonstrating their confidence in Dornan to deliver projects where Safety and Quality are the priority.

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Flying with Aer Lingus

Inflight Sit back, relax and let Aer Lingus look after your inflight comfort and entertainment. Enjoy delicious food, the latest movies, a wide range of shopping and news from Aer Lingus.

140 Welcome aboard 141 Your comfort and safety 144 Aer Lingus News 156 Flight Connections 160 Our Route Networks 164 Connecting to Wi-Fi Inflight Entertainment 146 Movies to North America 147 Movies from North America 148 Our Classic Movie Selection 151 Television On Demand 154 Radio On Demand 155 Music On Demand

Welcome aboard Flying with Aer Lingus means you will experience excellent customer service, comfort and, of course, safety. There’s plenty for you to enjoy on board and, on the following pages, you will discover how we’ll be taking care of you. After all, we’re here to help you make the most of your flight. If you have any special requests, be sure to let us know.

h words Useful Iris ses and phra e Welcom

Why not try speaking a few words e of the native languag while you are visiting

Ireland!

Fáilte ello Dia dhuit H ill Goodbye Slán go fó e is... o m My nam ...is a inm d you? tú? How are á t a s a n o C ood ma ith I’m g Tá mé go eers Sláinte! Ch hank you a ith agat T m h ib ra o G me céal Excuse s h it le o m Gabh

In touch with Aer Lingus If you are availing of Wi-Fi on your flight today, why not let us know what you’re up to on board and where you are going.

Share your photos if you’d like, because we would love to hear from you on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Take a photo and post it to our Facebook page.

Let us know how you’re enjoying your flight.

Passengers with wheelchair requirements

Inverness Aberdeen Glasgow

Donegal

Knock Shannon Kerry

Cork

Edinburgh Newcastle

Belfast Isle of Man Dublin

Liverpool Birmingham

Exeter

London (Gatwick)

Southampton

Jersey

Brussels

Paris Rennes Nantes

SEPTEMBER 2015

Amsterdam

What cities do Aer Lingus fly to and connect to?

London (Heathrow) Bristol

Cardiff Newquay

Leeds Bradford Doncaster Manchester East Midlands

View our videos of milestone events, festivals, sponsorships and campaigns.

A SS IS TA N CE

If you require a wheelchair to help you reach or depart from the plane, then we’re here to help you. Your comfort and safety are our priority, so please let us know at least 48 hours in advance and we will look after you.

When contacting us you will need your ur booking reference number.

Cara Friend

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Chat to us on Twitter where you’ll also find the latest flight information.

See page 160 for full route maps

ETA IL S CO N TA CT D

.com nce@aerlingus specialassista 365 011 Ireland (0818) on–Fri 09:00–17:00 M t & Sun 10:00–16:00 Sa nk Holidays 10:00–16:00 Ba 20 21 UK (0871) 718 886 8333 1 53 Europe +3 2 4222 USA (516) 62

Your comfort and safety When you fly with us, you want to know that we’re looking after your comfort and safety at all times.

We are. It is our number one priority and our crew are trained to ensure you reach your destination as relaxed as you need to be. In return, we ask for your attention when it comes to safety announcements and knowing when, and how, to turn on your mobile, smartphone or portable device.

You can use portable electronic equipment on flights but some devices can interfere with aircraft equipment, creating potential safety risks. Knowing how to set up your device for flight use and when to switch it on and off are therefore very important. Please note that certain devices may not be used.

Devices permitted at any time Devices powered by micro battery cells and/or by solar cells; hearing aids (including digital devices); pagers (receivers only); heart pacemakers.

Devices permitted in flight only* Laptops, portable CD-players, Mini-disk players, GPS handheld receivers, electric shavers and electronic toys. For the comfort of other passengers, audio devices should be used with a headset.

If using laptops inflight please select flight safe mode before takeoff. *Not permitted during taxi/take-off/ initial climb/approach/landing.

On A330 aircraft, to avail of our Wi-Fi and Mobile Network, devices must be switched off flight mode once advised that it is safe to do so by crew.

Devices prohibited at all times Devices transmitting radio frequency intentionally such as walkie-talkies, remote controlled toys; wireless computer equipment (eg mouse, keyboard); PC printers, DVD/CD writers and Mini-disk Recorders in the recording mode; digital camcorders when using CD write facility; portable stereo sets; pocket radios (AM/ FM); TV receivers; telemetric equipment; peripheral devices for handheld computer games (eg supplementary power packs connected by cable); wireless LAN (WLAN).** **Laptops with built-in WLAN (eg Centrino) may be used during flight, provided the WLAN option is turned off and subject to the restrictions associated with the use of laptops detailed above.

ARE YOU READY FOR TAKE-OFF AND LANDING? 

Is your mobile phone and/or other portable electronic device in 'flight mode'?



Is your seatback fully upright?



Is your armrest down?



Is your tabletop stowed?



Have you stored your bags in the overhead locker or under the seat in front of you?

ON Airplane

Mode

To use your mobile phone and all other portable electronic devices during taxi, take-off or landing, they must be switched to ‘flight mode’ or the ‘flight safe’ setting.

If you wish to use your phone during your flight, please make sure you select flight safe mode before your phone is powered off.

Please note, if your device does not have a flight safe mode it may not be used on your flight.

After landing and only when crew have advised that it is safe to do so, you are permitted to use your mobile phone, provided it is within easy reach.

You must remain seated with your seatbelt fastened and follow the instructions of the cabin crew.

SEPTEMBER 2015

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Your comfort and safety

Here are a few tips to make your journey more comfortable and to reduce jet lag.

KEEP MOVING

A safe flight for everyone It is worth repeating that your safety – and that of everyone on board – is our number one priority therefore we ask that you:



Please pay attention to instructions given to you by the cabin crew.



Do not consume any alcohol brought onto the aircraft by you or another passenger (including Duty Free alcohol purchased from Boutique). It is illegal to do so.



Do not interrupt cabin crew while they carry out their duties and do not interfere with aircraft equipment.

We also want to make it clear that Aer Lingus may refuse to allow a passenger on board if it is thought that too much alcohol has been consumed. Similarly, behaviour or language towards other passengers or crew members that is deemed to be threatening or abusive will not be tolerated.

Airbus 330-

200

For your Safety

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Airbus 319

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Please pay attention to the cabin crew while they demonstrate the use of safety equipment before take off, and we strongly recommend that you read the safety instruction card in the seat pocket in front of you.

ON Airplane Mode

ON Airplane Mode

ON Airplane

ON Airplane

Mode

Mode

In line with Irish Government regulations, Aer Lingus has a no smoking and no electronic cigarettes policy on board. These are not permitted in any part of the cabin.

On longer flights particularly, try to change your sitting position regularly and avoid crossing your legs. Take a walk in the cabin once the seat belt sign is off as this will get your circulation going and refresh your legs.

EAR CARE Cabin pressure changes can be painful particularly if you have a cold, sinusitis or existing ear problems.

If you experience these problems during the flight, have a chat to our cabin crew.

DRINK UP Keep yourself hydrated throughout the flight by drinking plenty of water.

EYE CARE If you are a regular contact lens wearer, it is a good idea to bring your glasses with you in case your eyes feel dryer than usual.

TIME ZONES Help beat jet lag by setting your watch to your destination’s time when you arrive on board. This will help you adjust to the new time zone more quickly.

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INFLIGHT

Aer Lingus News

ALL-NEW AERLINGUS.COM Aer Lingus has launched a brand new aerlingus.com that will transform the online booking experience making it much more personalised for all our smart travellers. The new website has been completely redesigned and there are lots of smart tools and features to help you search for flights and discover great new destinations. We’ve streamlined our booking process into six simple steps too, so managing your trips is now even easier.

Get inspired Our new Explore tool allows you to explore destinations and options to tailor-make your next trip. Whether your starting point is a place, a date or a budget, simple search functions make it easy to get inspired, find out facts and even see recommendations for places to visit and things to do in over 180 destinations.

Get the best price The Farefinder feature lets you see a full 30 days of

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SEPTEMBER 2015

prices in one go, so it’s easy to plan the smartest dates to travel on. There is also a Pricelock feature where you can freeze any quoted short-haul fare for 24 hours. No more feeling pressured into a decision when you’re not ready, instead get the time and space to know you’re making the right choice.

Book in just six steps The booking process has been simplified to six easy steps, where it’s easy to add and remove all those great travel extras. Your recent searches are saved and you can see all the benefits of each fare in one place.

Your trip summary basket provides a clear breakdown of your entire booking in one place, so you’re sure all your flights and extras are in order.

Easy to manage bookings Managing your booking couldn’t be simpler. You can change your details and add extra purchases like advanced car parking, travel insurance and pre-booked meals

Small world – booking your next holiday or business trip on Aer Lingus’ relaunched website has never been easier.

with just a tap. Of course, you could get even smarter and set up a “My AerLingus” profile. It only takes a couple of minutes and then you and your travel companions’ flight history and personal details are kept safely to hand, saving you even more time and effort the next time you book.

Check-in made simple Check in all of the passengers for all of your flights all at the same time up to 30 days in advance of travel. Hot on the heels of the new aerlingus.com a new mobile app is coming soon, boasting many of the smart features of the new website including creating your own personal profile, managing your bookings easily and, not forgetting, a simple and speedy check-in.

SPECIAL OLYMPICS HOMECOMING TO REMEMBER Team Ireland received a rapturous welcome from hundreds of family members, friends and supporters who gathered at Dublin Airport to applaud the athletes’ outstanding performances at the 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games held in Los Angeles.

As official airline, Aer Lingus were honoured to facilitate the journey of 88 Special Olympians who flew the flag for Ireland, bringing

home a grand total of 82 medals: 26 Gold, 28 Silver, 28 Bronze and 41 placement ribbons.

Upon touching down in Dublin airport, the team were led into the Arrivals Hall by a piper, followed by the Minster for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Paschal Donohue TD; Matt English, Special Olympics CEO; Stephen Kavanagh, Aer Lingus CEO; followed by Aer Lingus crew from the homecoming flight.

Homecoming kings and queens – left, Special Olympian Sean Coleman, from Youghal, Co Cork, flanked by Aer Lingus cabin crew Lisa Jane Doman and Claire Teehan. Above, back on home turf at Dublin Airport.

Left, the buzzy Hafen district in Düsseldorf boasts grand designs, as well as media firms and live events.

New Route: Cork-Düsseldorf Aer Lingus is delighted to announce a new Cork to Düsseldorf service for summer 2016, operating twice weekly on Wednesday and Sunday from May 2016.

Düsseldorf is located in the centre of the Rhine-Ruhr region, Germany’s largest metropolitan area, and will be Aer Lingus’ second German destination from Cork airport after Munich. Germany is the fourth largest market for Aer Lingus, which now operates eight direct routes from Ireland – last year we received more than 560,000 German passengers for business and pleasure.

Aerial Feats and Treats The Aer Lingus colours were proudly on display over Bray recently as one of its A319 aircraft took part in this year’s Bray Airshow. Over 90,000 spectators were in attendance to witness the Aer Lingus A319 lead a Patrouille Suisse formation over Bray, above, in what was the closing display to a

spectacular two-hour show.

The Aer Lingus Iolar aircraft was also there to ensure Aer Lingus was well represented throughout the day. Organised by Aer Lingus Captain Sé Pardy, Bray Airshow continues to grow each year and is now one of the biggest single-day air shows in Europe.

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Movies Flights to North America Aer Lingus presents a variety of recently released movies for your enjoyment on board your flight to North America. Welcome to the international multiplex cinema in the sky!

Action Avengers: Age of Ultron 141 mins

PG13

When Tony Stark tries to jumpstart a dormant peacekeeping program, things go awry and Earth‘s Mightiest Heroes, including Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, the Incredible Hulk, Black Widow and Hawkeye, are put to the ultimate test. It is up to the Avengers to stop the villainous Ultron enacting his terrible plans. Stars Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans.

EN FR DE IT ES

Comedy

Action

OURLM FI TOP O CE CH I

Documentary

Drama

The Longest Ride

119 mins Beatrice Prior must fight against a powerful alliance.

Stars Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort, Theo James

100 mins A millionaire gets prepped for life behind bars. Stars Will Ferrell, Kevin Hart, Alison Brie

87 mins An uptight cop and an outgoing widow join forces. Stars Reese Witherspoon, Sofía Vergara, Matthew Del Negro

Kurt Cobain: R Montage of Heck

Far From the Madding Crowd

132 mins A documentary on the late musician Kurt Cobain. Stars Aaron Burckhard, Don Cobain, Jenny Cobain

119 mins An independent woman attracts three different suitors. Stars Carey Mulligan, Matthias Schoenaerts

139 mins The lives of a young couple intertwine with an older man. Stars Scott Eastwood, Britt Robertson, Alan Alda

EN

EN

EN FR DE IT ES

EN

EN FR DE IT ES

EN FR DE IT ES

Insurgent

R

Get Hard

PG13

Hot Pursuit

R

Drama

R

Kids G

General

PG

Parental Guidance

PG13 Parental Guidance

Not suitable for children under 13.

R

The Water Diviner

PG

True Story

R

Woman In Gold

R

Home

PG

111 mins A man travels to Turkey to find his missing sons.

Stars Russell Crowe, Olga Kurylenko, Jai Courtney

99 mins A reporter plays a game of cat-and-mouse with a murderer. Stars James Franco, Jonah Hill, Felicity Jones

110 mins A woman tries to regain a painting stolen by the Nazis. Stars Helen Mirren, Ryan Reynolds, Daniel Brühl

96 mins An alien and an adventurous girl form a friendship. Stars Jim Parsons, Rihanna, Steve Martin

EN

EN

EN

EN FR DE IT ES

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Shaun the Sheep Movie

EN PG13

85 mins A sheep makes it all the way to the big city. Stars Justin Fletcher, John Sparkes, Omid Djalili EN

FR DE IT ES

Restricted Not suitable for children under 18.

Available in English Français Deutsch Italiano Español

R

Movies Flights from North America Aer Lingus presents a variety of recently released movies for your enjoyment on board your flight from North America. Welcome to the international multiplex cinema in the sky!

Action

Fast and Furious 7

OURLM FI TOP O CE CH I

Sci-Fi Tomorrowland 130 mins

PG

A former boy-genius Frank, jaded by disillusionment, and Casey, a bright, optimistic teen, embark on a danger-filled mission to unearth the secrets of an enigmatic place somewhere in time and space known only as ‘Tomorrowland‘. What they must do there changes the world and them forever. Stars George Clooney, Britt Robertson, Hugh Laurie.

EN FR DE IT ES

Comedy

PG13

Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2

Drama

PG

137 mins Deckard Shaw seeks revenge for his comatose brother.

Stars Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson

94 mins A mall cop finds danger even on vacation. Stars Kevin James, Raini Rodriguez, Eduardo Verástegui

EN FR DE IT ES

EN

The Cobbler

PG13

The Duff

PG13

99 mins A man gains the ability to step into the lives of others. Stars Elli, Adam Sandler, Adam B Shapiro

101 mins A student challenges the social order in school.

Stars Mae Whitman, Bella Thorne, Robbie Amell

EN

EN

Drama

While We‘re Young

R

Child 44

R

137 mins A military police officer investigates murders.

Stars Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Noomi Rapace

97 mins A middle-aged couple have their lifestyle shaken up. Stars Ben Stiller, Naomi Watts, Adam Driver EN

EN

Kids G

General

PG

Parental Guidance

PG13 Parental Guidance

Not suitable for children under 13.

R

Run All Night

R

The Age of Adaline

PG13

114 mins A criminal has to figure out where his loyalties lie. Stars Liam Neeson, Ed Harris, Joel Kinnaman

112 mins A young woman is rendered ageless after an accident. Stars Blake Lively, Michiel Huisman, Harrison Ford

EN FR DE IT ES

EN

The Gunman

R

115 mins A sniper kills the minister of mines of the Congo.

Stars Sean Penn, Idris Elba, Jasmine Trinca

EN

Tinker Bell and the Legend of the NeverBeast

G

76 mins A fairy must rally support to save her unlikely friend. Stars Ginnifer Goodwin, Mae Whitman EN

Song of the Sea

EN PG

FR DE

93 mins A magical little girl goes on an adventure. Stars David Rawle, Brendan Gleeson, Lisa Hannigan

IT SP

Restricted Not suitable for children under 18.

Available in English Français Deutsch Italiano Español

EN

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We also provide a selection of classic movies available on flights to and from North America.

Timeless favourites such as Ice Age and The Godfather are available as well as a selection of Irish short films and features.

Our Classic Movie Selection

All The President’s Men

R

138 mins Stars Robert Redford

Annie Hall

PG

93 mins Stars Woody Allen, Diane Keaton

EN

EN

Marvel’s PG13 The Avengers

Million Dollar Baby

Any Given Sunday

R

162 mins Stars Al Pacino, Dennis Quaid

Night at the Museum

EN

PG

Sherlock Holmes

143 mins Stars Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans

132 mins Stars Clint Eastwood, Hilary Swank

108 mins Stars Ben Stiller, Carla Gugino

128 mins Stars Robert Downey Jr, Jude Law

EN

EN

EN

EN FR DE IT ES

The Great Gatsby

PG13

143 mins Stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan

The Hangover

R

100 mins Stars Zach Galifianakis, Bradley Cooper

EN FR DE IT ES

The Secret Of Kells

PG

75 mins Stars Evan McGuire, Brendan Gleeson

EN FR DE IT ES

R

143 mins Stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Connelly

EN FR DE IT ES

PG13

Blood Diamond

EN

The Wedding Singer

Diary of a Wimpy Kid

PG

94 mins Stars Zachary Gordon, Robert Capron EN FR DE IT ES

PG13

PG13

The Descendants

Ice Age

EN FR DE IT ES

R

175 mins Stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino

EN

EN FR DE IT ES

R

95mins Stars Adam Sandler

131 mins Stars Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman

EN

EN FR DE IT ES

X-Men

104 mins Stars Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen

In America

PG13

105 mins Stars Paddy Considine, Samantha Morton EN FR DE IT ES

The Godfather

115 mins Stars George Clooney, Shailene Woodley

Unforgiven

PG

88 mins Stars Denis Leary, John Leguizamo

R

The Godfather: Part II

R

The Godfather: Part III

PG13

162 mins Al Pacino, Diane Keaton

EN

42

145 mins Stars Will Smith, Bill Pullman EN

200 mins Stars Al Pacino, Robert De Niro

PG13

Independence Day PG13

EN FR DE IT ES

PG13

128 mins Stars Chadwick Boseman, TR Knight,

(500) Days of Summer

PG13

95 mins Stars Zooey Deschanel

EN FR DE IT ES

EN FR DE IT ES

EN

Somewhere PG Down The Line

The Missing Scarf 7 mins Stars George Takei

12 mins Stars Matthew Burke, Matthew Dillon

EN

EN

Irish Shorts and Features

A Nightingale Falling

PG13

Cutting Grass

PG

110 mins Stars Tara Breathnach

13 mins Stars John Hannah, Karl Rice, Scott Graham

EN

EN

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Deadly

9 mins Stars Peter Coonan, Brenda Fricker EN

PG

Get Up and Go

R

Inside Lennon Davis

PG

90 mins Stars Peter Coonan, Killian Scott

6 mins Stars Hilary Bowen-Walsh, Lisa Keegan

10 mins Stars Michael McGrath, Kevin Mooney

EN

EN

EN

PG

The Swing

PG

Television On Demand On Demand TV allows you to select and view your favourite TV shows.

Aer Lingus is home to some of the most anticipated new shows on TV in this extensive choice of award-winning Comedy, Drama, Documentary, Lifestyle, Business, Sports and Kids programmes.

Business

Eye to Eye

This month, Bloomberg takes you behind the scenes of the world‘s biggest healthcare products company, Johnson & Johnson. We talk to the CEO about the company‘s strategy to expand in emerging markets. Also from Bloomberg are Eye to Eye, featuring footwear designer, Christian Louboutin and CSuite, looking at the marketing strategy of Domino‘s pizza. Meanwhile, EuroNews bring us Business Planet, Real Economy and Science – all of which cast a cold eye over economics, technology and scientific developments.

Documentary

On a River in Ireland

Tune into Super Senses to explore the extraordinary sense of smell that some animals possess. Also available are Bullit, featuring the life of legendary DJ, Steve Lawler, National Geographic‘s Megafactories and Cosmos: A Space Odyssey, hosted by astrophysicist, Neil DeGrasse Tyson. Tune into On a River in Ireland, which follows Colin Stafford-Johnson as he travels on the river Shannon, or Tracks and Trails featuring novelist and broadcaster Manchán Magan.

Drama Comedy

As we witness a golden age in TV drama, Aer Lingus offers engaging choices with boxsets of Fargo, The Walking Dead and Mad Men on offer, as well as multiple episodes from the highly acclaimed series, Game of Thrones and a return to fan favourites, The Sopranos and The Wire.

Lifestyle

Kitchen Hero

Enjoy highlights of the Big Apple as John Fitzpatrick, CEO of Fitzpatrick Hotels North America, invites us to explore his quintessentially Irish hotel and his version of New York in the TV short, Fitzpatrick Hotels New York.

For more on Irish culture, food and music, tune into Other Voices, Tracks and Trails, Kitchen Hero with Donal Skehan and Living the Wildlife, in which Colin Stafford-Johnson takes his journey to Wicklow, where he meets local birdwatcher Dick Coombs.

In this month‘s episode of Video Killed the Radio Star we meet Simple Minds frontman Jim Kerr. Also available are Pawn Stars, The Art Of Sushi, Project Runway All Stars and Jamie's Comfort Food.

Sport

Kids Togetherness

Modern Family first hit our screens in 2010, and has become somewhat of a culturally defining series. Now, with four consecutive Emmy Awards for Outstanding Comedy Series and a Golden Globe for Best Comedy TV Series, Modern Family returns with Season 6. Two episodes are available on board your Aer Lingus flight. Those with a more anarchic sense of humour might appreciate two new episodes of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

Also on board are multiple episodes of New Girl, The Big Bang Theory, Girls and Togetherness.

News & Events In addition to our extensive selection of TV shows, Aer Lingus brings you exclusive weekly news updates, as well as updates from the world of sport.

HSBC: Golfing World 2015

Marvel‘s Avengers Assemble

Kids will surely enjoy Learn To Draw – an educational drawing show, presented by cartoonist Øistein Kristiansen, that demonstrates new techniques and gives inspiration to get kids drawing! Kids may also enjoy the charming animated series Pip Ahoy! or an episode of Rocka-Bye Island. Teens may enjoy Austin and Ally, a sitcom about a young internet celebrity or Marvel‘s Avengers Assemble starring some much-loved comic characters.

Sports fans shouldn‘t miss World Wide Sports, which features a selection of interviews and highlights, focusing on the drama, passion and dedication of top-level sports professionals.

Also on board are Sporting Rivalries: South Africa vs New Zealand (a must-watch for rugby fans!), The Fast Lane for those with an interest in motorsport, and HSBC: Golfing World 2015.

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Television On Demand Drama Boxsets

Fargo SEASON 1 The announcement of Fargo, the series, caused consternation – why besmirch the legacy of a much-loved Coen brothers classic? And on the surface, it seems like a pointless exercise – same nebbishy lead, same supporting cast of criminal misfits, same frozen location.

Another bleakly comic, snow-sunk Midwestern gothic. But the antic morality at the centre of the Coens’ original film is more or less absent. Instead, we’re dealing with something closer to the

reigning spirit of today’s TV drama – violence, nihilism, and a whole lot of anti-heroic behaviour. This might be because the TV format provides fewer opportunities for the Coen’s trademark narrative non-sequiturs, as every seemingly superfluous detail is a possible lead for a future twist.

Since this is only Season 1, we don’t really have to worry about that stuff just yet. It’s enough to just sit back and marvel at the well-wrought drama of each episode.

The characters are compellingly drawn, on the thrilling border between verisimilitude and caricature, especially Billy Bob Thornton’s Lorne Malvo. (“There are no saints in the animal kingdom,” he says, “just breakfast and dinner.”) In fact, the most pertinent Coen comparison isn’t with Fargo – it’s with No Country For Old Men, their 2007 Cormac McCarthy adaptation. We wait on tenterhooks for a second season that’s set to rival Breaking Bad.

OU R TOP T V CHOICE

A crime drama television series with a twist of black comedy

The Walking Dead SEASON 5 That The Walking Dead even managed to stumble to a fifth season is a testament to the show’s quality. Since the very first episode, a sort of zombie apocalypse has been taking place behind the scenes. Cast and crew infighting, budgeting problems and a revolving door of show runners led to several near-cancellations – still the show remains, acclaim piling up faster than the bodies of the dispatched undead.

The Walking Dead follows a formula familiar to zombie

movie fans – cross-section of American society forms fragile peripatetic community while fleeing the victims of vicious zombifying plague, etc. In the model of films like 28 Days Later, the zombies (called ‘walkers’) can run, and fast.

Unlike most zombie movies, though, there’s little hope to sustain the journey – just peaks and troughs of despair.

If you’ve watched from the first season, you’ll notice how quickly the show turned from a subtle morality study into a

grave-dark drama of shifting power dynamics.

This shift is at its starkest in Season 5. The first episode presents us with a perfect example; when protagonist Rick meet a priest, Fr Gabriel, he is instantly suspicious when the man insists that he has never killed anyone, human or walker. Cynical pessimism is the only reasonable response to the world of The Walking Dead. The stakes can only rise as we lurch towards the show’s penultimate season.

A gritty drama portrays life in the weeks and months following a zombie apocalypse

Mad Men SEASON 7 In the first half of its final season, Mad Men’s future finally arrives. It’s been the show’s guiding tension since the very first episode – when will the 1960s hit? And not just the rock music, drugs and tie-dyes, the familiar counter cultural wallpaper of representations of that era; the 1960s was also the decade of One-Dimensional Man and ‘The Medium Is The Message,’ the birth pangs of both today’s corporate advertising culture and its discontents.

Thus, in Season 7, a computer finally arrives in the office.

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SEPTEMBER 2015

Copywriter Michael Ginsberg is threatened by its static, humming efficiency, and loses his marbles in the time-honoured white collar way. Peggy and Don are in competition for the position of alpha personality, a gender dynamic unimaginable in Season 1, and Dawn Chambers, the show’s first major black character, is promoted to personnel director.

Like Leopold Bloom, another ad man, Don Draper is privileged to be perched on a protagonist’s plateau,

watching the world below transform itself. But he lacks the crucial self-awareness to follow through, and his appetites degrade, rather than enrich, his experience.

By Season 7, even Draper’s mentor Roger Stirling has outstripped him, and the toxic comforts of fat has-beendom are beckoning. It’s up to the second half of Season 7 to show us whether or not he’ll catch up with the world.

A drama series about one of New York‘s most prestigious ad agencies in the 1960s

Radio On Demand

TOP R ADIO PICK

Fitzpatrick Hotels

On Demand Radio allows you to select and view your favourite radio shows.

CL ASSIC AL

Contemporary easy listening from both sides of the Atlantic brought to you compliments of The Fitzpatrick Hotel Group USA.

INDIE

IRISH

Marty in the Morning

Movies and Musicals

The Hamilton Scores

TXFM‘s Indie Hits

Ceol na nGael

Join Marty Whelan as he takes the chill out of your early mornings with music, news, weather and travel updates from 7–10am, weekday mornings on RTÉ lyric fm.

Movies and Musicals features a broad range of soundtracks from early classics, right through to contemporary scores.

Presented by Aedín Gormley.

The Hamilton Scores features George’s superb choice of music to accompany your flight!

Broadcast on Saturday mornings from 10am–1pm on RTÉ lyric fm.

TXFM bring us the best indie hits of the moment, featuring artists such as Blur and Mumford & Sons.

Curated especially for Aer Lingus by TXFM presenter, Claire Beck.

A traditional and folk music programme presented by Seán Ó hÉanaigh of RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta. Ceol traidisiúnta agus ceol tíre den scoth.

IRISH

KIDS

POETRY

POP

Irish Pulse

Happy Days

Irish Poetry Corner

Chart Hits

Top Ten

Irish Pulse brings you some of the most famous Irish songs in recent history. Listen out for Villagers, We Cut Corners and many more!

Join Emma O’Driscoll in this edition of Happy Days on RTÉjr Radio with songs about flying, exercising during the flight and some fun games that you can play on your journey!

Brian Munn selects and reads verses from renowned Irish Poets: WB Yeats, Oliver Goldsmith and Oscar Wilde amongst others.

Tune in as Chart Hits lifts the lid on the most up-tothe-minute pop hits from both sides of the Atlantic!

Weekday evenings you’ll catch ‘The Big Ride Home’ with Dara Quilty on Dublin’s 98FM from 4pm.

Dara’s on board right now to count down the top ten songs of the year!

POP

ROCK

Tubridy

Weekend On One

Ryan Tubridy, presents a daily radio programme on RTÉ 2fm. In this programme, especially recorded for Aer Lingus, he plays some of his favourite radio hits.

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SEPTEMBER 2015

The Weekend on One with Cathal Murray airs every Saturday and Sunday morning between 6–8am on RTÉ Radio 1.

It features an eclectic mix of music from all genres.

TA L K R A D I O

Nova Irish Classic Rock

Documentary on One

Best of Moncrieff

Celebrate some of our favourite albums, from AC/DC to Zeppelin, with Foo Fighters, Dylan, Bowie, and Oasis. Hosted

by Marty Miller from Nova 100FM.

Documentary on One brings you two documentaries. The story of Harry Callan, an Irishman held in captivity during WW2 and the story of Paddy Armstrong, one of the Guilford Four.

Moncrieff is a lively mix of funny, engaging and irreverent issues.

Tune in every weekday 1.30–4.30pm on Newstalk 106–108 FM.

Music On Demand Browse through our selection of music and create your own playlist from a collection of over 1,000 albums. Why not begin with some of our crew’s favourites below!

A L L T I M E FAVO U R I T E S

Al Green

Al Green I‘m Still In Love With You Amy Winehouse Back to Black Billy Joel An Innocent Man Fleetwood Mac Rumours Oasis (What‘s The Story) Morning Glory?

A LT E R N AT I V E

Father John Misty

Father John Misty I Love You, Honeybear Johnny Marr Playland Karen O Crush Songs Morrissey World Peace is None of your Business

E L EC T R O

IRISH

Hot Chip

Hozier

Aphex Twin Syro Basement Jaxx Scars Depeche Mode Sounds of the Universe Hot Chip Why Make Sense (Deluxe Edition) Röyksopp The Inevitable End OPER A

Ensemble Musique Oblique

Andrea Bocelli Aria – The Opera Album Ensemble Musique Oblique Schoenberg Pierrot Lunaire Katherine Jenkins Believe Theatre of Voices & Paul Hillier Lang: The Little Match Girl Passion

Damien Rice My Favourite Faded Fantasy Hozier Hozier (Deluxe Version) Jape This Chemical Sea Sinéad O’Connor I’m not Bossy, I’m the Boss The Coronas The Long Way POP

Passion Pit

Kelly Clarkson Piece By Piece (Deluxe Version) Passion Pit Kindred One Direction Four (Deluxe Version) Sam Smith In the Lonely Hour Taylor Swift 1989 (Deluxe)

CL ASSIC AL

Alice Sara Ott

Alexandre Tharaud Chopin: Journal Alice Sara Ott Chopin Waltzes Benjamin Grosvenor Dances Piotr Anderszewski JS Bach: English Suites Nos 1, 3 & 5 JA Z Z

Charles Mingus

Bill Laurance Flint Charles Mingus The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady GoGo Penguin V2.0 Joe Jackson The Duke Hypnotic Brass Ensemble Fly: The Customs Prelude RNB

Snoop Dog

Action Bronson Mr Wonderful Drake If You’re Reading This it’s Too Late FKA Twigs LP1 Nicki Minaj The Pinkprint (Deluxe) Snoop Dogg Bush

COUNTRY

Dierks Bentley

Angaleena Presley American Middle Class Brantley Gilbert Just as I am Dierks Bentley Riser Ray Price Beauty is... The Final Sessions M E TA L

Slayer

Eluveitie Origins Judas Priest Redeemer of Souls Megadeth Th1rt3en Metallica Death Magnetic Motörhead The Wörld is Yours Slayer South of Heaven ROCK

And So I Watch You From Afar

And So I Watch You From Afar Heirs Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds Chasing Yesterday (Deluxe) Robert Plant Lullaby and...

The Ceaseless Roar U2 Songs of Innocence SEPTEMBER 2015

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Flight Connections at Dublin Airport WELCOME TO DUBLIN AIRPORT

DUBLIN

Where are you flying to?

Are your bags checked through to your final destination?

YES Follow signs for Flight Connections

NO Follow the signs for ‘Baggage Reclaim’. After clearing passport control, your baggage belt will be displayed on the screens. Collect your bags, exit through Customs and proceed to Aer Lingus Check-in Terminal 2.

USA

ALL OTHER DESTINATIONS

GATES 401– 426 15 minutes walk to gate

GATES 401–426 15 minutes walk to gate GATES 101–335 20 minutes walk to gate

Follow signs for US Preclearance

Have all your required forms filled out.

Aer Lingus Flight Connections Desk Our staff are on hand for any queries you might have. Here you can: – Collect your onwards boarding pass – Check your next boarding gate and flight status

Gate Information Screens

Dublin Airport provides FREE Wi-Fi throughout the Terminal

Passport Control and Security Screening

Hand Baggage search

Duty free purchases containing liquids over 100ml must be in a sealed and tamper-proof bag with the receipt inside.

Follow signs for Flight Connections

Enjoy refreshments in one of the restaurants or cafés.

Our Gold Circle Members and Business Class guests are welcome to visit the Gold Circle Lounge. You can work, eat, drink or even grab a shower between flights.

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DEPARTURE GATE

DUBLIN

Flight Connections at T2 Heathrow Airport On arrival at Terminal 2, Heathrow, please follow the purple signs for Flight Connections

Which Terminal are you flying from?

Terminal 1 is connected by a pedestrian link from Terminal 2.

For Terminals 3, 4 and 5, a dedicated bus will transfer you.

Buses are free and depart every six to ten minutes. If you are flying from Terminal 2, proceed to security screening and enter the departures lounge.

Security screening

You will pass through security screening at this point. Your hand baggage will be checked to ensure it conforms to UK and EU regulations. Liquids in containers over 100ml are not allowed through security.

Departure Lounge

Check the screens in the departure lounge for when your gate opens and when your flight is ready for boarding.

Flight Connections for North American destinations If you have any queries about your connecting flight at any of our North American destinations please ask us.

We will do everything we can to get you to where you need to be.

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Our European and North American Route Network Aer Lingus fly direct to and from over 100 destinations across Ireland, the UK, Continental Europe, Canada and the US. Our vast network and partners will also connect you to dozens of other cities in North America. Visit aerlingus.com for more information.

Edmonton Saskatoon

Calgary

Regina Winnipeg

Vancouver Victoria Seattle

Fargo

Milwaukee Madison

Sioux Falls

Cedar Rapids

Salt Lake City Omaha Denver

Reno

Grand Rapids

Fort Wayne

Des Moines

Dayton Indianapolis

St Louis

Oakland

San Francisco

Wichita

Las Vegas

Springfield

Oklahoma City

Little Rock

Burbank

Phoenix

Buffalo

Columbus

Boston Martha’s Vineyard

New York

Washington (National)

Hyannis Nantucket

Harrisburg Philadelphia

Washington (Dulles)

Greensboro Richmond

Raleigh–Durham Knoxville

Charlotte Greenville

Memphis Atlanta

Dallas (Fort Worth)

Baltimore

Burlington Portland ME

Rochester

Pittsburgh

Cleveland

Cincinnati Lexington

Nashville

Tulsa Los Angeles Santa Ana Orange County San Diego

Louisville

Syracuse

Toronto

Detroit

Chicago

Sacramento

Long Beach

Traverse

Minneapolis Boise

Montreal

Ottawa

Portland OR

San Jose

St. John’s

Quebec Duluth

Columbia

Charleston Savannah

Austin

Houston

New Orleans

Jacksonville

Orlando

San Antonio

Tampa

Aer Lingus European and North American Network

Fort Myers

West Palm Beach Fort Lauderdale Miami

Aer Lingus Regional routes (Operated by Stobart Air)

Aer Lingus Regional and mainline routes Aer Lingus partner destinations (Operated by Flybe)

Aer Lingus partner destinations (JetBlue, United Airlines, Air Canada) With US Customs and Border Protection Pre-Clearance at Dublin and Shannon airports, you will save time and avoid queues in the US. Arrive in the US before you depart Ireland.

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San Juan Aguadilla Ponce

We are the best choice for connecting Europe to North America.

You can travel from Dublin direct to five US destinations, or to Canada, and benefit from up to 100 onward connections with our partner airlines.

Halifax

Connect with ease from any of our European destinations to our Northern American network via Dublin or Shannon.

Inverness Aberdeen Glasgow

Donegal

Isle of Man Liverpool

Dublin

Shannon

Copenhagen

Newcastle

Belfast

Knock

Kerry

Edinburgh

Birmingham

Cork

Leeds Bradford Doncaster Manchester East Midlands

London (Gatwick)

Southampton

Exeter

Newquay

Berlin

Warsaw

London (Heathrow) Bristol

Cardiff

Hamburg Amsterdam

Dusseldorf Brussels Prague

Frankfurt Jersey

Paris

Stuttgart Vienna

Munich

Rennes

Budapest

Zurich

Nantes Geneva

Venice Milan Verona (Malpensa) Milan (Linate) Pula Marseille Nice Bologna

Lyon Bordeaux

Toulouse

Santiago de Compostela

Bilbao

Perpignan

Bourgas

Dubrovnik Rome

Barcelona

Naples

Madrid Corfu

Palma

Lisbon Alicante

Ibiza

Athens Catania

Malaga Faro

Agadir

Tenerife Gran Canaria

Lanzarote Fuerteventura

Try our new online route map You can view our destinations and book your flight directly from our route map. Perfect for viewing from your ipad, it is built using Google maps so no need to install any software, just browse and book!

Izmir

Our Middle East and Australasia Route Network You can now book flights between Dublin and Abu Dhabi, and have full access to flights across the network beyond Abu Dhabi, to points including Australia, Asia-Pacific, the Indian Subcontinent and the Middle East. Visit aerlingus.com for more information.

Dublin

Bahrain Abu Dhabi Muscat

Kuala Lumpur Singapore

Aer Lingus routes from Dublin (Operated by our codeshare partner Etihad Airways) Aer Lingus routes via Abu Dhabi (Operated by our codeshare partner Etihad Airways)

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Perth Sydney

Melbourne

Staying connected on board* Mobile Network on board

*A330 aircraft only.

Wi-Fi on board On our A330 aircraft you can stay in touch with everything that matters, even when you’re in the air. Here’s how to connect your Wi-Fi enabled devices.

1 Switch on

With our on board mobile network, AeroMobile, you can use your phone for text, email and internet browsing, just like you would on the ground**. Stay connected even as you cross the Atlantic.

Once the safety belt sign has been switched off, turn on your device and connect to the Telekom HotSpot Network. SSID: Aer_Lingus_WiFi

2 Connect

Launch or refresh the browser to connect to the Aer Lingus portal. You can browse aerlingus.com for free along with some of our partners’ sites.

1 Switch on

Switch on your mobile when it is safe to do so, keeping it on silent or vibrate mode. Ensure you switch off flight safe mode.

3 Purchase Internet Access

2 Aeromobile

Click the ‘Buy Internet Access’ button and choose a tariff that offers either one hour of browsing or a full flight pass.

Wait for the AeroMobile network signal to appear. If your device does not connect automatically, manually select the AeroMobile network through network settings.

4 Payment

Select your payment method which is processed via a secure connection. Credit card, roaming, iPass, PayPal or Deutsche Telekom accounts are accepted.

3 Welcome SMS

Once connected you will receive a welcome SMS from AeroMobile.

You may also receive a pricing message from your mobile operator.

International roaming rates apply.

5 Username and Password

Enter a username and password.

You need to remember these if you wish to change device.

4 Connected You can now use your phone for SMS, MMS, email and browsing the internet.

6 Connected

** Voice calls are disabled and are not permitted during flight. Remember to manage your settings to avoid automatic data download and roaming charges.

International roaming rates apply from your mobile phone operator 164 |

SEPTEMBER 2015

You can now browse, email and surf the internet… enjoy!

W ER NE W ES O L R IC P

One hour pass €7.95 | $9.95 Full flight pass €14.95 | $18.95

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6 Boutique

BOUTIQUE | SHOPPING

Reasons to Watch

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Isn't it time you bought yourself something special?

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The only rule for wearing a watch? If you choose wisely and style it right, any watch can look right at any time.

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FOSSIL RILEY MULTI-FUNCTIONAL STAINLESS STEEL WATCH, ¤95 (RRP ¤139, SAVE ¤44) Wear this multi-functional timepiece out for dinner with friends (and watch the compliments roll in), or to a meeting (to show them you mean business). Fossil’s signature Riley style features a 45-stone top ring, a rose gold-tone finish and a textured rose dial. It also has a multi-function movement and is water-resistant up to 100 metres.

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SEKONDA TAN LEATHER WATCH, ¤49 (RRP ¤80, SAVE ¤31) This handsome watch has a durable tan leather strap that’s complimented by a black mesh-effect face. It's water-resistant to 50 metres and comes with a two-year guarantee, making it suitable for the office or adventurous outdoor pursuits.

SEPTEMBER 2015

| 167

TRIP OF A LIFETIME | LIFE AQUATIC

Playing with Sharks

Wildlife cameraman Johnny Rogers looks majestic marine creatures in the eye off the coast of Mexico. grew up in Northern Ireland in the 1970s, where my brother, twin sister and I spent school holidays running around the beaches, fields and caves near our Co Down home. I didn’t know what I wanted to do when I grew up and it was my brother Naithan who suggested media production. He said all you have to do is watch films and TV all day ... I was sold.

A love of both photography and wildlife led me to become a natural history cameraman. I’ve now been to 88 countries, from the Arctic to the Antarctic, and one of my latest adventures was for the BBC series Shark.

We were looking for the giant manta rays (effectively flat sharks) and so, with 50 cases of dive gear and camera equipment, we were off to Mexico – Socorro in fact, a protected collection of islands rich in marine life, where the deep ocean currents force an upwelling of nutrients on which some of the oceanic greats feed.

Our plane was the first to touch down in Cabo San Lucas after hurricane Odile, which had devastated the area. We were welcomed with water cannons and a mariachi band and handed cans of ice-cold Corona beer and handwoven hats.

It was a 24-hour steam to Socorro on The Sandman, a 60-foot, live-aboard boat. But knowing what awaited us, it was hard not to grind

I

our teeth with excitement. Oceanic Manta Rays are truly majestic creatures, with a wing span of up to seven metres and weighing in excess of two tonnes. However, there was no sign of our target animal on our first few dives. On the plus side, there were plenty of dolphins, taking great pleasure in “photo bombing” our shots. On our second day of diving we saw our first manta but it was deep, at around 45 metres, and we were using open-circuit dive equipment, which made it tricky to get to those depths for any length of time.

We decided to change tactics and use our rebreathers to give us an advantage of time, depth and the absence of bubbles so as not to spook the mantas. Our team included Dr Andrea Marshall, one of the world’s top manta ray experts, and she was to be the key to our success.

Oceanic manta rays have a wing span of up to seven metres and weigh in excess of two tonnes 168 |

SEPTEMBER 2015

Johnny Rogers, right, catches some rays in Mexico, left.

Do you have a Trip of a Lifetime story about an Aer Lingus destination?

Please send it to tripofalifetime@ image.ie at not more than 600 words with a portrait shot of yourself.

The editor’s decision is final.

Mantas can be very inquisitive and we hoped Andrea’s interaction with them would encourage them up from the depths. As we reached 40 metres, three mantas came out from the darkness and started to circle us.

Andrea tantalised them with bubbles from her side-slung, bail-out gas, luring them from the depths to the shallows. Finally we could film our sequence.

We found them to be quite playful, in fact they loved the bubbles. They would slow down and hover over them – a bit like a manta spa bath. Some of these manta ray had travelled extraordinary distances and may never have seen humans but there were clear signs of intelligence in their social interaction. It’s truly bizarre to look such a phenomenal creature in the eye, each of you wondering what the other’s thinking.

Who is studying who? During two weeks and more than 30 hours underwater, we were able to capture some amazing manta ray behaviour.

When you’re in their company, you really do feel insignificant. Not only are you, quite literally, out of your depth – you are suddenly and dramatically put in your place.

Follow more of Johnny Rogers’ under-the-sea adventures at johnnyrogers.co.uk.

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Even champions need heroes

No matter how far away from home I may be, I take great heart from knowing that the whole of Ireland is cheering me on.

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