Cara April/May 2015

CARA Magazine April/May 2015

April/May 2015

Actor Aidan Turner New York Irish The Greenway

Wheels of fortune Cycling the Northwest

European Spa Towns

Testing the waters European spa towns

NEssW section

Busine ch hub e t ’s n li b u D ing hotels k r o w d r a H s Travel app

Red hot

Paris

Paris spotlight

Washington DC

Staying power Our guide to Washington DC

7 Best Walks Palma Bordeaux Lanzarote Silicon Docks Dublin

Turner prize IRISH ACTOR AIDAN TURNER IS POLDARK AND HANDSOME

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BIG IN NEW YORK WE HEART IRISH EXPATS COMPLIMENTARY COPY

WELCOME TO IRELAND FROM AIB CORPORATE BANKING

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

Ireland’s No.1 Bank for Inward Investment.

AIB International Corporate Banking can help you build a powerful presence in Ireland. As the leading Inward Investment bank, we land more international business than any other, and we’ve helped some of the world’s most recognisable brands thrive. To see how our dedicated team can work with you, contact Simon or Mick.

Source: AIB has the largest market share of day to day banking relationships amongst foreign direct investment companies, Ipsos MRBI AIB Foreign Direct Investment Research, February 2014.

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

Contents APRIL/MAY 2015

Check in 04 ARRIVALS First-timers and regulars are welcomed to Dublin’s T2 07

CHECK IN The seasonal musts for clued-in fliers

20 ON MY TRAVELS Jamie Heaslip opens his travelogue

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22 SCENTSATIONAL Ruth Anna Coss discovers some intriguing aromas 24 MY TRAVEL NOTEBOOK Dancer and choreographer Liz Roche’s top destinations 26 WEEKENDER Niamh Wade takes a stretch 28 SHELF LIFE Bridget Hourican traverses Kerry and chats to Róisín Fitzpatrick

Dublin’s Silicon Docks

54

Cycling the Greenway

30 A HOMEGROWN SUCCESS Aoife Carrigy takes a stroll through the Ballymaloe Litfest 32

FAME OF THRONES Nathalie Marquez Courtney goes on location

Features 34 MASTER TURNER Actor Aidan Turner takes the lead with Tony Clayton-Lea

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40 BIG APPLES Quentin Fottrell talks to New York City’s mighty Irish

DC classics

54 THE OPEN ROAD Frances Power cycles the Greenway 66 BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY Karl Whitney visits the spa towns of the Czech Republic and Austria 80 THE LIFE OF SO-PI Jake Cigainero reports on the creative reincarnation of Paris’s Pigalle

112 BARE NECESSITIES Lucy White takes a life drawing class

Business

114 4 8 HOURS IN BORDEAUX Conor Power explores the Unesco-listed French city

123 BUSINESS & LIFE Things to make business a pleasure

117 AN INSIDER’S GUIDE TO LANZAROTE Carolyn Curtis takes us around the island

92 RAISING CAPITAL Simon Carswell walks the corridors of power in Washington DC 104 7 BEST WALKS Wonderful walks with Catherine Murphy

Regulars

120 SPOTLIGHT Palma is perfect for Mr & Mrs Ross

22 Scents appeal

126 BUSINESS HOTEL The stunning Soho House Chicago reviewed 128 SMART TRAVELLER Stephen Rae loves Chicago

139 AER LINGUS INFLIGHT Your in-flight news and entertainment

130 QUAY TO SUCCESS Pamela Newenham on Dublin’s Silicon Docks

168 TRIP OF A LIFETIME Charlene Stubbs cycles from the UK to Spain – with two dogs

136 SIX THINGS I’VE LEARNT L’Oréal’s Galvea Kelly and her work/life secrets

Contributors EDITORIAL Acting Editor Lucy White Commissioning Editor Frances Power Assistant Editor Niamh Wade Sub-editor Sheila Wayman Contributors Eoin Higgins, Nathalie Marquez Courtney, Laura George, Ruth Anna Coss, Bridget Hourican and Lisa Hughes

With 30 years of experience in magazines in the UK and Ireland, Frances Power was appointed editor of Cara in 2011. Under her editorship, the magazine has doubled in size and has featured some excellent Irish writing and photography with features from Joseph O’Connor, Emma Donoghue and Belinda McKeon and shoots from Rich Gilligan, Trevor Hart and Linda Brownlee. “It’s been such a joy,” she says, “but wanderlust has finally got the better of me.”

From this issue onwards, she swaps the editor’s chair for, among other things, the freewheeling life of a food and travel writer. You can read about her trip to Mayo’s Greenway on page 54.

Editorial Director Laura George ART Art Director Clare Meredith Acting Art Director Fred Murray Creative Director Bill O’Sullivan ADVERTISING Advertising Director Noëlle O’Reilly +353 (0)1 271 9621, noelle.oreilly@image.ie Senior Advertising Executive 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 Elizabeth O’Connor, +353 (0)1 271 9653, elizabeth.oconnor@image.ie Financial Controller Olga Gordeychuk Credit Controller Lisa Dickenson Accounts Assistant Angela Bennett Chief Executive Officer Clodagh Edwards

Simon Carswell has been Washington

Correspondent of The Irish Times since January 2013. Dublin-born to Belfast parents, Simon grew up in Virginia, Co Cavan and Limerick. A graduate of Trinity College Dublin and Dublin Institute of Technology, he has previously written for The Sunday Business Post and is the author of Anglo Republic: Inside The Bank That Broke Ireland (Penguin Ireland, 2011) and Something Rotten: Irish Banking Scandals (Gill & Macmillan, 2006).

He was named National Journalist of the Year in 2011 by the National Newspapers of Ireland. He lives on Capitol Hill with his wife and two young daughters.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Chairman Laura George Directors Patrick Dillon Malone, Laura George Richard Power, Robert Power, Ann Reihill, Gina Traynor PRINTING Boylan Print Group ORIGINATION Typeform

Jake Cigainero is a freelance journalist based in Paris. Originally from Texas, he recently received a master’s degree in international affairs from the Paris Institute of Political Studies. As a writer and documentarian, his interests are politics, science, art and culture, and all their intersections. If he’s not at home in France or back on the ranch, Italy is a safe bet. On the gentrifying Pigalle neighborhood, Jake says, “A lot of people complain about the area’s hipsters, expensive coffee and cocktails, but what I see are passionate, creative people that really care about making their community better for everyone.”

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 TO ADVERTISE PLEASE CALL NOËLLE O’REILLY ON +353 (0)1 271 9621 OR EMAIL NOELLE.OREILLY@IMAGE.IE

ON THE COVER

Aidan Turner photographed on location at Sandycove, Dublin, by Rich Gilligan, assisted by Andrew Nuding and make-up/ grooming by Sarah Jane Lanagan.

Welcome to our new issue! We are all take yours. Feel free to ay for this magazine aw ey. your onward journ e your We would also lov l feedback and trave r photos via Twitte . @CARAMagazine

WELCOME

TO THE HOME OF THE WORLD’S LEADING LUXURY BRANDS

Alexander McQueen • Céline • Chloé • Christian Dior • Dolce & Gabbana Gucci • Hérmes • Louis Vuitton • Saint Laurent Paris • Stella McCartney Valentino • Victoria Beckham

DUBLIN • CORK • LIMERICK • GALWAY

WHO? From left, Tis Xavier and Ally Paul FLYING IN FROM ... Orlando TIS SAYS ...

“We’ve flown in to study engineering at DIT Bolton Street for five months. We really want to visit the Cliffs of Moher and kiss the Blarney Stone while here too.”

WHO? Tim Kelly and April Bowman FLYING IN FROM ... Geneva TIM SAYS ... “We were skiing in Meribel so we’re on a brief stopover in Dublin before it’s back to work in Scotland (me) and Las Vegas (her).”

WHO? Ashley and Andrew Fagan FLYING IN FROM ... Frankfurt ASHLEY SAYS ... “We’re taking a four-day break from work. We’d like to see the Cliffs of Moher, and also hopefully find our Irish cousins.”

Arrivals

Suitcases packed for study, work and a bit of play – Cara magazine was at Dublin Airport’s T2 to meet these jetsetters.

WHO? Niamh Maher and Jamie Duggan FLYING IN FROM ... Geneva JAMIE SAYS ... “We were visiting CERN with the UCD Physics Society to see the 27 kilometre-long Large Hadron Collider.

It was amazing!”

WORDS BY NIAMH WADE / PHOTOGRAPHS BY ANTHONY WOODS

WHO? Skaiste Klaniute FLYING IN FROM ...

Aberdeen SKAISTE SAYS ... “I’m on a short study break from my art and printmaking course to see my family.”

WHO? From left, Greg Maloney and Andrew Towe FLYING IN FROM ...

Manchester GREG SAYS ...

“We’re just back from having some boys’ madness in Manchester. It’s a shame we have to go back to work now.”

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WHO? Dimitri Lischetzki and Sarah Boo FLYING IN FROM ...

Brussels SARAH SAYS ... “We’re over for five days to film So You Think You Can Dance – and hopefully meet Bono.”

WHO? Joshua Nwokike FLYING IN FROM ... London Heathrow JOSHUA SAYS ... “I’m here to study civil engineering at the Dublin International Foundation College for six months.”

“It wasn’t the screaming that put our customers off.

It was the hair...”

...which was a little surprising, our customers having been a strikingly fashionable lot for 170 odd years. When Beatlemania hit Dublin, the four gentlemen concerned made their only appearance in Ireland in a cinema that is now part of the Arnotts building.

To say that you could probably have heard the screaming in the street at cruising altitude is only a slight exaggeration. Then, in the following weeks and months, we started seeing women bringing their men in for a little wardrobe overhaul. Tighter trousers. Sharper shoes. Shorter jackets. Skinny ties. But the hair remained more Dublin than Liverpool.

Ours not to reason why. Ours simply to offer whatever’s next, since 1843.

Photo courtesy of Independent Newspapers

B E A U T Y

H E N R Y S T.

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FA S H I O N

DUBLIN

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J E W E L L E R Y

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H O M E

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T E C H N O L O G Y

W W W. A R N O T T S . I E

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 ■

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Cliffhangers

PHOTOGRAPH BY CEDAR WRIGHT

Ever thought about surfing the Arctic Circle? Or what about hauling 300kg of supplies across a desert? A variety of mad men/ambitious adventurers have and they filmed their exhilarating trips while doing so.

See them all at the 2015 UK and Ireland Banff Film Festival World Tour running until June 6 at more than 55 venues, including four Irish screenings this May. You’ll be at the edge of your seat watching these extreme outdoors enthusiasts dangling from some of the world’s most death-defying ridges – like this one in California, pictured, climbed by Alex Honnold and Cedar Wright in their film Sufferfest 2, and just one of 45 desert towers that they summited. banff-uk.com

Find out what’s on, where and when in April/May 2015

Check in Compiled by Lucy White, Niamh Wade, Eoin Higgins and Patricia Demery.

STAY

4 April showers?

Our favourite hotel bathrooms, from sea views to giant, free-standing bathtubs ...

Jumeirah Port Soller Hotel & Spa, Mallorca

Suites at this country pile in Cong are bigger than most Dublin apartments. Their bathrooms, in particular, the pièce de résistance for anyone hankering after a long soak in a free-standing bathtub – a perfect end to an afternoon loafing around Lough Corrib or messing about on Lisloughrey Quay. Rooms from €153. ashfordcastle.com

Transparent shower cubicles positioned flush to glass balconies mean exquisite, unlimited views of the ocean as far as the eye can see. Having a bath during moonlight – or taking a leak in the middle of the night – has never looked so good, while Bulgari toiletries only up the luxe ante. Rooms from €340. jumeirah.com

Mandarin Oriental, New York

As if brushing one’s teeth against a backdrop of Central Park isn’t splendid enough, in the Oriental Suite guests get a bathtub’s-eye view of the urban oasis, along with Italian blood orange bath salts provided by local organic brand Red Flower.

This is what American dreams are made of. Rooms from $795. mandarinoriental.com

STYLE

EXHIBITION

Four seasons in one day?

No problem …

Digital dealings 3

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1 Giant Leopard Scarf, €22.56 at oliverbonas.com 2 Cath Kidston Clouds Cotton Backpack, €39.95 at cathkidston.com 3 Vintage World Map Umbrella, £14.95 at dotcomgiftshop. com 4 KROME Patent Fringe Loafer at topshop.com 5 Abbott Lyon Matte Black Watch, €174.91 at abbottlyon. com 6 Lemon Rain Mac, €38 at Next stores nationwide

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Buddha-Bar Hotel, Paris

Just off the prestigious Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré resides the Eastern promise of awardwinning relaxation: late last year it won Best Bathroom in Europe (hotels with less than 80 rooms category) by Prix Villegiature for its extra large red and gold tubs, rain showers and electronic loos with heated seats. Rooms from €357. buddhabarhotelparis.com

Looking to spring clean your home décor? Check out Pick Me Up at London’s Somerset House this April 23 to May 4, the sixth annual graphic arts festival, where, in addition to visiting the twelve artists’ interactive workspaces, debates, demos, presentations and film screenings, punters can buy limited editions prints ranging from £5 to £200. Or, give it a go themselves – learning paper craft, animation, screen and risograph printing techniques. somersethouse.org.uk KEVIN MEREDITH

Ashford Castle, Co Mayo

THE PERFECT TREAT Treat yourself to more than 60 luxury boutiques with tax-free shopping, just 50 minutes away from Dublin Airport.

Anya Hindmarch · Brooks Brothers · Cath Kidston · Furla · Joules Louise Kennedy · Lulu Guinness · Molton Brown · Pandora and many more

KILDARE VILL AGE.COM

© Kildare Village 2015 03/15

Check in

FAMILY

Easter treats SLEEP

AWAY GOALS Sleep, dine and go to soccer heaven at Hotel Football in Manchester. Heaven being a rooftop, five-a-side football pitch complete with views of Old Trafford and the city. Get match-ready in Café Football Old Trafford, and, for postgame banter, there’s specially brewed beer and signature cocktails. With a full Sky package in all 133 bedrooms, you won’t even need tickets to the game. Rooms from £95. hotelfootball.com

Little chicks and bounding bunnies aren’t the only cute creatures about this Easter – koala bears are too. Vobara and Nur-Nuru-Bin have arrived at The Budapest Zoo (zoobudapest.com). And don’t forget to visit Ikinya, the new baby giraffe for a truly cute day out. Looking for family fun in Ireland? All your dreams could come true by exploring the magical grounds of Blarney Castle (blarneycastle.ie), right, Co Cork. For panoramic views, climb the castle’s steps and, while there, receive the gift of eloquence by kissing the Blarney Stone. Whatever your childhood computer game of choice, it’s bound to be

OUTDOORS

Making waves For wetsuit-wearing adrenaline junkies in Dublin there’s the Battle For the Bay, pictured, at Dollymount Strand this May 23-24 (battleforthebay.com). It’s a kitesurfing, wake boarding and SUP boarding extravaganza with plenty of food and entertainment for landlubbers. If the waves haven’t defeated you, prepare for nighttime shenanigans with post-competition parties hosted by Pure Magic. Or – boot-up for the Mitchelstown Walking Festival on May 23-24 (mitchelstownwalkingfestival.net). Choose from three walks, the most strenuous ascending to 1,400 metres through the stunning Galty and Knockmealdown Mountains, Co Tipperary. If riding horses is more your thing, then Tattersalls International Horse Trials and Country Fair, Co Meath, should be in your diary on May 27-31 (tattshorsetrials.ie). If the whole gang isn’t into dressage, showjumping or cross-country, they can saunter about the Shopping Village or chill in the Gilbert & Wright café while little ones try the fairground. For running enthusiasts who appreciate architecture, the Bordeaux Métropole Marathon (marathondebordeauxmetropole.com) lines up on April 18. Perhaps it’s a good thing it’s at night – the stunningly scenic, historical route may distract from your focused breathing.

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on display at the National Videogame Arcade Museum (gamecity.org), Nottingham.

With highlights from more than 20,000 pieces collected by the city’s Science Museum and Trent University available to reminisce over and play, it’s a worthwhile trip down memory lane. If you’re in

Toronto, take a short drive to this year’s Maple Syrup Festival (until April 6; maplesyrupfestival.com).

Wagon rides and samplings are just a taste of the familyfriendly activities on offer – not to mention delicious pancakes to eat. It’s definitely one to get stuck into.

www.newbridgesilverware.com/guinness

The GUINNESS® word and HARP device are trademarks and are used under license. Please remember to drink GUINNESS® responsibly. © Guinness & Co 2015

Check in

OPERA

Court in the act

KARIN JOBST

A philandering duke, a doomed beauty, a hunchbacked patriarch, mistaken identity and a bit of crossdressing … It’s all in a day’s work for Ireland’s Opera Theatre Company, who present Verdi’s tragic romp, Rigoletto, this May. The yarn of a control-freak-jester’s daughter who falls in love with a dastardly aristocrat has been reimagined by playwright Marina Carr and director Selina Cartmell. A threeact production, it warbles its way across Ireland, opening at Wexford’s National Opera House on May 15 and closing at Limerick’s Lime Tree Theatre on May 30. opera.ie

The write direction

ART

CHOPS AND CHANGE The attractions of the Meatpacking district in Manhattan’s West Village are well documented, and, from May 1, it boasts the new home of The Whitney Museum of American Art. The building, designed by Renzo Piano – architect of the Pompidou Centre and London’s Shard – strikes an impressive pose. Its inaugural exhibition, America is Hard to See, takes a look at the permanent collection’s 20th and 21st century works. With an exciting programme of events – and Untitled, the restaurant/café overseen by celebrated chef Michael Anthony – the all-new Whitney is a feast for the eyes and the soul. whitney.org 12 |

APRIL/MAY 2015

Formerly known as the Dublin Writers Festival, the International Literature Festival Dublin will be tapping into the zeitgeist this May 16-24. Newly appointed programme director Martin Colthorpe is looking, in particular, at “geopolitical issues and how writers tell these stories”. Writers from all over the globe – and genres – will be giving talks, launches, workshops and book signings, including the Pulitzer-Prize-winning historian Anne Applebaum, and Turkish writer Elif Shafak, right, addressing perceived freedoms of expression. Other highlights include defence attorney Nancy Hollander speaking about Mohamedou Ould Slahi’s Guantánamo Diary; writer/documentary maker Jon

ZEYNEL ABIDIN

FESTIVAL

Ronson reading from his new book, So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed, and Irish Laureate for Fiction, Anne Enright. ilfdublin.com

Check in

DIASPORA

PHOTOGRAPH BY AL HIGGINS

Ideas man Sean Lynch, the industrious powerhouse of creatively conceptual art in Ireland, is to represent the country at the 56th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia – this year, with a new body of work entitled Adventure: Capital. It traces a journey from myth to minimalism around Ireland and Britain, where he divides his time, and is one of Lynch’s most ambitious projects to date. As Lynch himself explains, “I’ve been travelling a great deal around Ireland and the UK in the last year, distilling a narrative around the built environment, how it’s made, how we pass through it, how its accumulation of forms burdens us as individuals and positions us within historically determined frameworks.” So far, so fascinating. Born in Kerry in 1978, Lynch has, historically, been an avid attendee of the Biennale: “I have visited Venice many times, primarily for the Biennale.

Highlights of my previous visits include Bonami’s 2003 exhibition – his embracing of fragmentary approaches through the Arsenale opened up a real possibility of the joy of incoherence – I also enjoyed the infamous Belfast artists Paddy Bloomer and Nicholas Keogh appearance in 2005, with their homemade gondola constructed out of reclaimed bathtubs, floating down the Grand Canal with great aplomb!” Ireland at Venice 2015 is located in the Arsenale section of the Biennale, however, perhaps unsurprisingly, it’s not just the physical exhibits that draw Lynch’s attention; the artist is equally interested in concepts that might have been: “Aside from looking at all the art at the Biennale, I always like to go to the back of the British pavilion, to a space that spans across the canal over to the Greek Pavilion. There, in the 1950s, it was proposed to build an Irish Pavilion, stretching over the water ... The Irish government refused the idea, and so this potentially beautiful gesture and structure floats like a ghost there now”.

Ireland at Venice 2015 will be open to the public for the duration of the Biennale, from May 9 to November 22; labiennale.org

APRIL/MAY 2015

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EXHIBIT

Watch out

SHOP

Perfectly formed BUY

ALL THE TRIMMINGS For the ultimate designer bags and bling-buying spree, visit the new luxury accessories hall in Brown Thomas, Dublin. Browse pieces by Givenchy, Tom Ford, Victoria Beckham and more than 40 lust-

after labels in this ergonomic groundfloor space. With sunglasses primed in their own section, it’s perfect for popping in for that pre-holiday purchase – that’s if “popping in” is possible in such a tempting store.

Self-gifting isn’t a crime, is it ...? brownthomas.ie

They say that the best things come in small packages, and The Makers & Brothers Shed in Soho House Berlin, Germany, doesn’t disappoint. This tin-huttransplant is the latest venture of Dublin-born-and-based brothers Jonathan and Mark Legge, and houses Irish-designed craft alongside locally-sourced pieces. Residing in The Store (created by Alex Eagle) on the ground floor of the hotel, it shares the same space as the likes of Simone Rocha and Balenciaga – quality over quantity. makersandbrothers.com

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RINA JEB B , 1939 © KATE SCINTILL ANTE

From milliner in 1885 to perfumer in 1927 and haute couture designer throughout, Jeanne Lanvin died in 1946, but remains a firm fashion favourite. More than 100 of her stunning couturière crafts can be swooned at in the Palais Galliera, Paris, until August 23. Inspired by travel diaries, ethnic fabrics and art books – not to mention the quattrocento blue in Fra Angelico frescoes – her work ranges from children’s clothing to marvellous male attire. Slender-busted, ample-skirted French classics inspired by the 18thcentury, to the more tubular Art Deco pieces, complete with ribbons beads and tassels, can all be admired in this elegant exhibition. palaisgalliera.paris.fr

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Make time for the Watch Art Patek Philippe Grand Exhibition London 2015 at the Saatchi Gallery from May 27 to June 7 (patek. com). Celebrating 175 years of horology, twelve individual rooms showcase more than 400 pieces of wrist-wearing wonder, with some dating back to 1839 in the Temple to Watchmaking. Enjoy live craft demonstrations accompanied by film and visual trivia on this Geneva-based, family-owned company. Complicated timepieces, such as chronographs and the Sky Moon Tourbillon, are also on view, alongside wish-list worthy watches designed especially for the anniversary. Want your own wrist candy? Visit keanes.ie.

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FOOD

4 Tea players …

Clement & Pekoe is a specialty tea and coffee store on Dublin’s South William Street.

Here, part-owner, Dairine Keogh, shares her favourite tea hotspots from around the globe.

ERIC LA

Laois Ballyfin Demesne This lavish, regency five-star hotel is like no other. The spectacular driveway to the house is worth the visit alone. At Clement & Pekoe, we perfected a blend for Ballyfin. Afternoon tea is served in the dining room and every effort has been made to perfect the tea experience, including the blue porcelain china.

Sup on ... Ballyfin Breakfast blend. ballyfin.com

Amsterdam Bazar Situated in the market area of Albert Cuypstraat in the De Pijp neighbourhood, Bazar is a vast converted church that is an exotic feast for the eyes with its colourful hand-painted tiles and authentic (and massive) chandeliers hanging from a high ceiling. The cuisine hails from Morocco to Turkey.

Sup on ... Freshly-brewed mint tea. bazaramsterdam.nl

IGN

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Paris Kusmi Tea Established in St Petersburg, Russia, in 1867 Kusmi moved to Paris on the eve of the revolution. The brand is imbued with French style, but still specialises in its Russian origins. Head to the flagship boutique on the Champs Élysées for the colourful tea caddies, or enjoy some borscht in Café Kousmichoff upstairs.

Sup on ... ‘Samovar’, a lightlysmoked black tea. kusmitea.com

San Francisco Samovar This Mission District store is the fourth of owner Jesse Jacobs’ empire. Not a typical teahouse – a minimalist, white space that houses a magnificent tea bar – teas are prepared in a stately row of linear glass brewers at the counter; refreshing to see tea presented in such modern surroundings. Sup on ... Masala Chai, stewed in copper pots. samovartea.com

in Acton’s -Ireland Chowder Cook-Off CHOWDAAH! Visit the fifth All -4pm. Sample the entrants’ Hotel, Kinsale on April 19, 2pm Services, e. Tickets are €10 from Finishing concoctions and cast your vot kinsale.ie k, 021 477 3571 or at the door.

71 Main Street, Kinsale, Co Cor TREND

Kebabylon A rotating meat spindle has not traditionally been a promising food beacon. Yet, the humble kebab and flatbreads are having a moment, not exclusively – check out the “hanging kebabs” in Manchester’s Oast House (theoasthouse.uk.com) – but especially, in London. From Dom’s Place in Hackney (doms-place.com), where you can have a whitebait kebab delivered to your front door (what a time to be alive!), to the more traditional Likya in NW11 (likya.co.uk), Turkish and Levantine grub is moving the masses. Yet, possibly the surest sign that we are experiencing a fully-fledged trend is the opening of Babaji, left, on Shaftesbury Avenue by Alan Yau, of Wagamama and Hakkasan fame (babaji.com.tr). There, punchy, distinctive Turkish flavours have London folks thronging the place from morning to nearly midnight most days.

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FESTIVAL

WEST FEST The West Waterford Festival of Food (April 9-12) is held in the pretty coastal town of Dungarvan. The programme is a mix of workshops, seminars, high-end gastronomy, and all-round foodie fun, hosted by local food heroes like The Tannery’s Paul Flynn, above. Taste adventures for the entire family. westwaterfordfestivaloffood.com

You can drink Guinness the world over.

The GUINNESS and GUINNESS STOREHOUSE words and associated logos are trademarks. (c) Guinness & Co. 2014

But you can only experience it here.

The Storehouse is the home of the story of Guinness, and Ireland’s number one visitor attraction. Behind these gates you can explore seven floors of the intertwining history of Guinness, Dublin and Ireland. Then top off your visit in the top floor Gravity Bar, where Dublin, quite literally, spreads out beneath your feet, and the perfect pint awaits.

Book online and get 10% off www.guinness-storehouse.com Guinness Storehouse®, St James’s Gate, Dublin 8.

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Wish you were here Ba Based in Bray, Co Wicklow, Ian Thuillier, left, is a selftaught photographer and ta do documentary maker (Ghost Bl Blues, Ladies & Gentlemen: Ga Gavin Friday, Darkroom).

He took this shot entitled “Carnival” in the seaside town of Bray, Co Wicklow, where every July the funfair arrives. “Sometimes there’s not enough room on the large grass section,” he explains, “so this carnival ride was banished to the other side of the promenade to spend its July alone on the beach. The evening was setting, the clouds were rolling in and as the light became magical and low, I found myself walking the promenade and being presented with this beautiful vision.”

So beautiful, in fact, that “Carnival” was shortlisted in the Low Light category of the Open Competition at the 2015 Sony World Photography Awards, the winners of which will be announced on March 31 and the overall winner on April 22. The shot will also be included in the Sony World Photography Awards exhibition at London’s Somerset House from April 24 to May 10. worldphoto.org / somersethouse.org.uk

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 June issue.

The technicals Photographs must be a 300-dpi high resolution file and accompanied by a portrait of yourself and 100 words about the story behind the shot.

The editor’s decision is final.

APRIL/MAY 2015

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On my travels

As an Irish rugby star, Jamie Heaslip is always on the move. Niamh Wade finds out where Ireland’s vice-captain is off to next.

He’s worn his number eight jersey in places such as Hong Kong, Queenstown and Cape Town, and earned 70 caps for Ireland while doing so. Heaslip’s Leinster-playing days kicked off in 2005, with h is first full debut for Ireland coming in 2008, in the Six Nations. Having assisted in the first Grand Slam for Ireland in 61 years in 2009, it wasn’t a surprise when he succeeded Brian O’Driscoll as captain for the 2012/2013 season. He also does charity work for GOAL, ISPCC, the Umbrella Foundation and Movember. No wonder he needs his holidays … y favourite travel gadgets are …

An Aeropress, a hand grinder, a mini scales and 3fe coffee – I need that fresh brew every morning. Myself and Cian Healy are like the unofficial baristas of 3fe! Then, I’ve got to have my MacBook Pro, iPad and iPhone 6 with me. I team them up with my Beats Pill and no matter where I am, it feels like home. On the plane I listen to music and podcasts with my Bose headphones or Yurbuds, depending on how long the flight is. And I always have a physical book with me as it’s a great way to relax the mind. I pack them all into my new Mulberry bag, which I got as a present at Christmas, and I’m good to go.

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My dream training destination …

Is anywhere hot, to be honest.

I’d love to train in one of the many high-performance facilities in America. Miami stands out as not a bad place to get some work done. I trained in the New York Athletic Club while visiting during the summer. It was an amazing place to be; I wish we had something like that here in Dublin.

When I’m away, I have a weakness for … Moving. I can’t stay put in one place for more than a day. I struggle to go on holidays where you just lie in the sun. I’m always getting around a city on bikes, trying to get off the traditional tourist road and get recommendations from locals via social media – they’re always the best.

When I’m not playing rugby I …

Catch up on affairs away from the “day job”. I check in on The Bridge 1859, a pub I part-own [Ballsbridge, Dublin 4], also with my team in my restaurant Bear [South William Street, Dublin 2], and another [sports science] investment company Kitman Labs that just opened an office in Palo Alto, San Francisco. I also like to bumble around town with my bulldog JayZ. If I could design the ideal tour it would be … To Las Vegas.

The USA Sevens Rugby there always seems to be great fun.

If I didn’t live in Ireland I would live in … America.

Three months in New York, six months in California and three months in Florida.

3 best sports-based holidays ...

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Marvel at the Burren by bike. With West Coast Cycle Tours, left, you’ll burn off local treats while whizzing from the Cliffs of Moher to the Aillwee Caves and more, resting your bones at night in a modern cottage. Enjoy an Irish coffee, or three – there’s a support car on hand to drive you back. westcoastcycletours.ie

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2

Club La Santa’s Total Body Conditioning Week in Lanzarote this May 8-14 will set pulses racing, if not literally take your breath way. Activities at this multifaceted sport and fitness-focused resort range from muscle-sculpting and toning techniques to salsa dancing classes and running sessions. clublasanta.co.uk

You probably didn’t know …

I was born in Tiberias, Israel.

My favourite place to go to relax is … Monart Spa, Co Wexford, or Ballyfin, Co Laois.

I try to disappear there a few times a year. Besides that, I love time in Skerries, Co Dublin.

My favourite holiday was …

Staying at Soho House in New York, and chilling in Laguna, California, for a week on Thousand Steps Beach.

This year I’m planning … On going away for the full four weeks I get off. Coming into a World Cup pre-season means a lot of training and very little free time. I haven’t decided where, but I’m thinking of splitting it between travelling Europe for ten days and then maybe the United States for the rest.

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If golf clubs are your preferred travelling companion, the two-day David Leadbetter golf package at the Omni Orlando Resort in Florida will make you grab your bag. Tee-up for six hours of tuition and a round on the national or international course designed by Greg Norman at ChampionsGate. championsgategolf.com

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My travel notebook MUS EUM , LON DON

Dancer and choreographer LIZ ROCHE is artistic director of her very own Liz Roche Company. She has performed and taught her unique blend of contemporary dance on the global stage, and as part of the 2015 Dublin Dance Festival (dublindancefestival.ie) presents Bastard Amber, a major new dance production, at the Abbey Theatre from May 25-27. She chats to Catherine Holly.

VICTORIA AND ALB ERT

Sunglasses, €24 at marksandspencer.ie Marl Cashmere Hooded Sweater, €245 at lucynagle.com

Top by Lennon Courtney, €120 at kilkennyshop.com

Skirt, €58 at omdivaboutique.com

Dublin Bay Silk Scarf, €180 at brendanjoseph.ie

“Ravenna, Italy. This is where WB Yeats saw the mosaics made during the Byzantine rule of the city, and later wrote about them in his poem, ‘Sailing to Byzantium’.”

BEST RESTAURANT IN THE WORLD? Mother

India’s Café (3-5 Infirmary Street, Old Town, Edinburgh; motherindia.co.uk).

I had a great meal there after a show I was doing during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Fantastic food, left, and great value too.”

Jeans by Tommy Hilfiger, €139 at eu.tommy.com

MOST DARING TRAVEL EXPERIENCE? “Getting a very ramshackle ski-lift up to the Great Wall of China. There was no floor, just a bar, and we were very high up. I screamed inwardly until we got to the top and the only way down was a toboggan. We all laugh about that now, but the thought of it still makes me tense ...”

BEST HOTEL IN THE WORLD?

“The Jane in NYC (113 Jane Street, New York; thejanenyc.com), right.

It’s like going back in time. Also it’s right beside the Hudson River and just a two-minute walk from the High Line.”

Liz’s carry-on essentials ...

1 Barry’s Tea, €3.49 at barrysteashop.ie and supermarkets nationwide 2 Bandana Print Rucksack by Converse, €48 at cloggs.co.uk 3 Natural Hexagonal Ballpoint Pen, €6 at muji.eu 4 Autoseal Water Bottle by Contigo, €15.99 at elverys.ie 5 Vichy Aqualia Moisturiser, €21.99 at boots.ie 6 Ridley’s Games Room Playing Card Set by Wild and Wolf, £14 at liberty.co.uk

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“London – I went to college there. It’s fun to be in the city now as a grown-up and not a poor student! I always try to go to the V&A (left; vam.ac.uk) and I usually find myself at Sadler’s Wells (sadlerswells.com), as I’ve good friends there.”

IF I COULD FLY ANYWHERE TOMORROW IT WOULD BE TO ...

Palladium Baggy Boot, £60 at schuh.co.uk

Seam Free Workout Vest, €6 at Penneys

FAVOURITE PLACE FOR A WEEKEND BREAK?

6

2 1 4 5

3

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Stretch appeal

Niamh Wade takes time out at the Burren Yoga Centre.

could almost be either. It’s a house and caters for up sunbathing in Sicily, to 15 retreaters across a mixture of lying on a mat in dorm-style, single and double rooms.

40-degree heat with The two chill-out areas, kitchen my eyes closed. and yoga studio also boast beautiful Except I’m in Co Clare and have hand-carved furnishings. just spent the past 90 minutes It’s a meat-free zone, with meals bending, stretching and sweating cooked to restaurant standard by in a Hot Yoga class. My body feels Paddi, former owner of Seventh way better than at this morning’s Heaven in Galway. Rising both Vinyasa Flow session, where mornings at 8am for two-hour heels refused to touch the mat in classes before breakfast, we Downward Dog pose. greedily devour her With only views of the Burren freshly baked breads for company, this dedicated centre (some wheat and dairy is just over 200 kilometres from free). Carnivores and Dublin, with the nearest village pescatarians meanwhile of Kinvara just ten minutes away. can satisfy their urges What you’ll notice on arrival, at Linnane’s Bar along with large, tomb-like rock (linnanesbar.com) in formations outside and scattered nearby Newquay, whose Buddhist statues inside, is the seafood is hauled in only immediate sense of calm. Having steps away. My baked practised meditation since 1978 crab was incredible. and yoga since 1988, owner Dave Niamh Jones, a visiting Brocklebank gave up his instructor here for a career in IT to set up a number of years, retreat in 1999. He expertly demonstrates lives on site with everything despite GREAT ESCAPE his wife and two being heavily Weekend retreats cost small children. pregnant. €300 (week-long summer It’s no fiveNiamh trained sessions at €690) and star hotel, but in Ashtanga include all yoga equipment, with underfloor and Bikram towels, vegetarian meals and heating, Egyptian in Los Angeles excursions. Shannon Airport cotton bedding and, when not is only 45 minutes away. and fresh towels teaching yoga burrenyoga.com provided, it’s no hostel and meditation

I

Top, Niamh Jones corrects Niamh Wade’s Trikonasana pose during Vinyasa Flow yoga and, above, the beautiful Burren Geopark.

What to pack ...

1 Donegal Wool Socks, €10 at makersandbrothers.com 2 Adidas Response Wind Jacket, €50 at lifestylesports.com 3 The Weekender Bag, €47 at Oasis 4 Bobble Sports Bottle, €14.95 at Arnotts 5 Tamara Splatter Print Sports Leggings, €18 at boohoo.com 6 Trina Turk Shelf Bra Tank Top, €68.23 at Brown Thomas 7 Yoga Sak, €44.99 at fitpluswell.ie

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bootcamps here in the Burren, is based in Galway. Over two days, she guides us in five 30-minute meditations and four 90-minute classes of Vinyasa Flow, Hot Yoga, Yogalates (mix of yoga and Pilates, focusing on the core muscles with resistance bands as aids) and Yin Yang (which targets ligaments and joints rarely exercised – hence much grimacing).

Her end-of-day guided meditation sessions are bliss and focus on the Hindu/Sanātanī concept of chakras – the body’s seven prime energy points. This, along with the peaceful studio, is the perfect stress remedy.

The weekend is not just about mindfulness or body contortions though. A photogenic jaunt up nearby hills is included, with other outdoor pursuits available on weeklong retreats.

Embarking on an alcohol-andmobile-phone-free weekend, sans high heels and hair straighteners, is very therapeutic. Cue a Zen-like state en route home to Dublin.

When can I go back?

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Shelf Life|

Bridget Hourican traverses Kerry in a new coffeetable book, and gets personal with Róisín Fitzpatrick.

Behind the lines Artist and author Róisín Fitzpatrick on losing the fear of death.

TRAVEL BUDDIES

Marco Polo has launched Handbooks and Spiral Guides.

The former has infographics, 3D cut-outs and bespoke tours, while the latter is itineraryfocused, for the timepressed traveller. marco-polo.com

THIS IS KERRY by Michael Diggin (Collins Press, €19.99) This is Kerry at its most picturesque: waves in Ballinskelligs, fishing tackle in St Finan’s Bay, the ruins of Minard Castle, above, waterfalls in Killarney, the round tower at Ballyduff, the cloisters of Muckross Abbey, vintage cars in Ballyfinnane, fishing boats on Lough Gill, Charlie Chaplin in bronze in Waterville, beehive huts on Skellig Michael, puffins on Skellig Beag … The images are timeless, with something of the appeal of John Hinde postcards, except they were taken recently by local photographer Michael Diggin. All the “kingdom” is here, from the world-famous sights – the Skelligs, Kenmare town – to the lesser known: the Tralee steam engine and the magnificent limestone Crag Cave in Castleisland.

WHAT IS TAKING HEAVEN LIGHTLY ABOUT? Every one of us is more powerful than we can begin to imagine. I learned this on the day after my 35th birthday, when I had a near-death experience during a brain haemorrhage. No longer having any fear of death has given me the freedom to truly live. In this book I encourage readers to ask the question: are you living your best life now? By looking at all aspects of our lives – health, career, family, finances – this book provides inspirational ways to recreate life anew.

WHERE DID YOU WRITE IT? At my home, overlooking the sea just south of Dublin.

I also travelled to the US to meet leading expert Dr Bruce Greyson, who validated my near-death experience and encouraged me to share the wisdom of Solas Siorai (Eternal Light) from my Irish heritage.

DO YOU TRAVEL FOR WORK? To the US, where I’ve had ten exhibitions, mostly in Manhattan and Washington DC. I’ve also exhibited in Australia and Singapore.

FAVOURITE PLACE TO HOLIDAY? Tuscany – my father was one of the owners of Fitzpatrick Shoes and then Thomas Patrick on Grafton Street, and he would bring our family on holidays to Italy before going to the shoe fairs in Milan.

Taking Heaven Lightly by Róisín Fitzpatrick is published by Hachette Ireland, €16.99.

3 books of verse …

ONE THOUSAND THINGS WORTH KNOWING by Paul Muldoon (Faber & Faber, £14.99) Muldoon Mu knows more than a thousand th things, including who invented in the Aga, the body temperature of a chicken, who wrote Ben Hur, and the many meanings of “thole” – and they all go into the poems. You may need an iPad and broadband to keep up – his concluding verse, “Dirty Data”, ends with a “wickiup call”.

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THE DAYS OF SURPRISE by Paul Durcan (Harvill Secker, £12) £1 Durcan, in his 70th year, is surprised by: surgery, car clampers, cl the “starry mystique” of a weather forecaster, birdwatching, stammering, stammeri art, Mayo, New York City, murder in Syria, the commemoration of 1916 and the voice of the late Seamus Heaney coming down the chimney: “Are you all right down there, Poet Durcan?”

THE BOYS OF BLUEHILL by Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin (Gallery Pr Press, €11.95) The title is taken fr from a hornpipe air, or melody – music mu is strong in this collection but bu has to vie with the sound of the sea, sea “slamming “slamm and roaring” round the Skelligs, hemming “an edging of sand” round Youghal, and “the wave at high tide, then/ Falling tide that follows” in a new translation of “Song of the Woman of Beare”.

Flagship Stores

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A homegrown success

Ballymaloe welcomes its Litfest for a third outing.

Aoife Carrigy feasts her eyes on this year’s highlights. he Kerrygold Ballymaloe Litfest is back. Now in its third year (May 15-17; litfest.ie), this starry celebration of food and wine writing has yet another extraordinary collection of national and international authors, chefs, foragers, educators, wine experts, gardeners, publishers, TV presenters, bloggers and journalists. Personal highlights will depend on your particular tastes but might include a seashore foraging tour with Roger Phillips, whose illustrated Wild Food handbook remains the bible of foraging; a guest-chef meal, talk or demo from Mark Hix, Sam Clark, April Bloomfield or Fuchsia Dunlop; or wine, craft cider or cocktail talks and tastings with the likes of Jancis Robinson MW or Nick Strangeway. There will be food stalls and workshops, late-night dancing and lively discussions on everything from global food politics and the state of our soil to food photography and food magazine publishing.

But for many, the hottest ticket is Alice Waters, who’s speaking twice over the weekend. One of the world’s most influential chefs,

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authors and activists – “the mother of American food” – Waters established California’s seminal Chez Panisse restaurant in the early 1970s and has since been a leading voice for the organic and farm-totable movements.

The appearance of Waters at Ballymaloe is particularly apt, it being synonymous with wholesome, locally sourced food, as championed

by Myrtle Allen, who transformed her husband’s family farm into the nation’s best-loved country house hotel (and established herself as the matriarch of modern Irish food).

It’s about the harnessing of emerging culinary talent, as nurtured by Darina Allen and her brother Rory O’Connell at the eponymous cookery school. Decades of honestto-goodness hard work, to build a sustainable family business, promote Slow Food principles and acknowledge food as an integral element of our national culture. And cookbooks. Generations of essential cookbooks that redefined how we thought about our nation’s food heritage.

In the words of Saveur

Food coma – Ballymaloe Litfest punters digest their feast, above.

Below, chef April Bloomfield sharpens up for this year’s event.

3 more food festivals …

BOYD CHALLENGER

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Galway Food Festival, April 2-6 Galway has become a bona fide food destination, and this family-friendly festival celebrates that culinary reinvigoration with tasting trails, demos, workshops, markets, left, and food-focused forays out to the Aran Islands, the Burren and along the Wild Atlantic Way. galwayfoodfestival.com

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Rolling Kitchens, Amsterdam, May 13-17 This gourmet food-truck festival supplants fine-dining pomp with finger-lickin’ food, filling Westergasfabriek Park with wheeled purveyors of everything from pickled herring and suckling pig to ethnic spices and US-style grills, plus kids’ rides and live music. rollendekeukens.nl

magazine’s Colman Andrews, Myrtle Allen has been “as important to her country’s cuisine as Alice Waters was to America’s”. It is fitting then that Myrtle should see the fruit of her remarkable legacy in what Alice Waters has described as “a really rare and special gathering” of “all the restaurateurs and food writers that influence me”.

What makes the Kerrygold Ballymaloe Litfest particularly important for Waters is that it takes place on a working farm, “in an environment that’s reaffirming the values we all need to uphold. I love that, as an international festival, the people who attend the talks get a sense of the whole global community.”

So if you want to be part of that conversation, you know where to be.

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Ninth Avenue International Food Festival, New York City, May 16-17 One of Manhattan’s longest-running street fairs returns to Hell’s Kitchen with its celebration of world cuisines, from Indian and South Korean to Polish and Greek. There’s also a children’s pavilion and market stalls selling crafts, clothing and more. ninthavenuefoodfestival.com

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Fame of thrones

You’ve binge-watched the show. Now go beyond the wall on a Game of Thrones-themed trip to Dubrovnik, says Nathalie Marquez Courtney. he tiny walled city that encompasses Dubrovnik’s Old Town doesn’t look like it’s changed much in the last six centuries, which really helps when you’re looking for a medieval-style setting for a hit TV show. This Unesco World Heritage site in Croatia has become an attractive destination for fans of HBO’s Game of Thrones, based on the popular books by George RR Martin.

In truth, Dubrovnik is much more laid back than its on-screen alter ego, King’s Landing, but just as picturesque. And, since the production crew first landed there in 2011, tours and hotel packages have centred squarely on the cult show.

Home to the Red Keep, Flea Bottom and the Iron Throne itself, filming here has been so extensive that you could simply wander the pretty cobbled streets in search of your favourite King’s Landing settings, and Dubrovnik’s tourist board provides a free map of key spots (tzdubrovnik.hr). However, there are some excellent tours offering insights into both the production of the show and the city’s

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history, with some even granting fans exclusive access to buildings not normally open to tourists.

The Gulliver Travel tour (€90; croatia-excursions.hr) is a highlight. After ascertaining how far into the show you’ve seen – no spoilers! – you’ll be started in the city with some of the best-known shooting locations and shown iconic moments from the second season. A short tour of the city walls and then it’s down onto a boat bound for the small wooded island of Lokrum.

Mostly used for Daenery’s (aka Khaleesi’s) storyline, the island has served as various locations within the city of Qarth, and you can easily picture yourself as a guest at one of the tropical garden parties (peacocks wandering around very much help with this fantasy).

A less pricey, but very interesting, tour is with Dubrovnik Walking Tours. Guide Ivan Vukovic leads you around with a flip book of stills from the show to give context to what might otherwise be an unremarkable street corner or car park – in no time you’ll be strolling

Above, the view from one of Dubrovnik’s ancient city walls.

Below, a scene from Game of Thrones set in the city of Qarth, which is shot on location on Lokrum island.

3 more TV tours …

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Visit the real Downton Abbey, left, with a tour of the chief filming location for the show, Hampshire’s Highclere Castle.

Occupied by the same family since 1679, the house is a masterpiece of Victorian architecture and boasts a history almost as exciting as the show. Fast-selling tours run Sunday to Thursday. highclerecastle.co.uk

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Belfast is home to some of the most jaw-droppingly elaborate Game of Thrones indoor sets, while the rest of Northern Ireland is a key outdoor location for much of Winterfell.

The Game of Thrones Tour takes in nine locations and two treks, with return coaches from Dublin costing €55. gameofthronestours.com

through the Purple Wedding or along the dock where Littlefinger first offered solace to Sansa Stark (€24; dubrovnik-tourist-guides.com).

Once you’ve taken in sunset over the ancient city walls, rest up at the Hotel Bellevue. For an experience worthy of the Lannisters (without the sinister schemes), go with their King’s Landing package.

This includes a replica of the King’s Landing “key to the city”, with an all-access Dubrovnik Card, as well as a sea-view room, breakfast and swanky airport transfers (around €224 per night; masonrose.com/ bellevue).

To get even closer to the action, head to the beautiful Villa Orsula, within walking distance of the Old Town.

Rooms at this boutique hotel come with balcony views that even Cersei Lannister would envy (from €540 per night; adriaticluxuryhotels.com).

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Are you Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte … or Tony? In New York, pick between a trip around the Jersey suburbs, stomping ground of Tony and Co, on the Sopranos Sites Tour, or tuck into cupcakes and sip cocktails on your way to Fifth Avenue, on the Sex and the City Hotspots Tour. onlocationtours.com

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INTERVIEW

Master Turner From playing a dwarf in the Hobbit trilogy to a new smouldering turn as the eponymous Poldark, Aidan Turner is now a leading man. Tony Clayton-Lea meets the star on the ascent. Photographs by Rich Gilligan.

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dmit it – you were familiar with the face, but the name wasn’t always on the tip of your tongue. It’s perfectly understandable. You had seen the Dublin man’s face (a striking and unfeasibly handsome one, you’ll surely agree) over the past several years in Irish and British television shows such as The Clinic, Being Human, The Tudors and Desperate Romantics; and you’ll have seen it in director Peter Jackson’s Hobbit trilogy.

But that name you couldn’t quite place?

Well, all that changed in March, when Aidan Turner became a household name.

That’s due to BBC One’s Sunday night primetime slot featuring the rebooted Poldark series, in which Turner plays the rather dashing title role. A massive success in its original incarnation in the mid-1970s (audience viewing figures amounted to over 15 million; its DVD sales are second only to the BBC’s classic 1995 series, Pride 34 |

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and Prejudice), Poldark joins other Beeb shows such as Wolf Hall and Banished as forerunners in the regeneration of an audience that values well-executed and intelligent costume drama. Poldark (which concerns the return of a soldier, Ross Poldark, to Cornwall from America, only to discover his family torn apart and his business in peril), points the way to a more aware television audience that sees the benefit of mixing history and politics with a kind of intense romance that could swiftly undo laces from heaving bodices, via smouldering glances from men in skin-tight breeches and precisely-shaped sideburns.

When Turner chats to Cara over lunch, it is late February, about a month before the eight-part series is due to broadcast, and so it’s not at all surprising that he can walk into a South Dublin restaurant and not cause conversations to stop and heads to swivel.

“It feels like a natural progression,”

Turner remarks on playing a lead role following his back-to-back work on the Hobbit movies, where, as the dwarf Kíli, he was part of an ensemble. “Coming back from The Hobbit to this feels right and to play a ‘real’ person is a thrill. For a start, you’re number one on the call sheet and you’re in every day of the shoot, pretty much. Doing Poldark was busy, very busy.

There is a vastness to the role. Stamina is the thing – it was a six-month shoot last year. That said, the limelight is shared with other lead actors.”

As his character exposure across the Hobbit trilogy increased from film to film, so did his public profile, but not so much that it caused concern about being out and about in public. Turner is in two minds about the inevitable increase in profile that Poldark will generate, not only in Europe but also America (in the US, Poldark will be shown on PBS Masterpiece, the same US network that broadcasts Wolf

INTERVIEW

Hall, Downtown Abbey, Upstairs Downstairs, et al).

“It’d be silly not to think about that,” he reasons. “Maybe it’s naive of me, but I don’t think that much will change. And yet every time I say that people give me a wry smile, which says I have no idea.

A lot of my time is spent in London, and I get recognised now and again; people are nice and respectful and generous, and so on, so for it to be something I’m uncomfortable with seems unlikely. I have been around people who are far more famous than me and have seen how they respond to the attention, so I think I’ll just take it in my stride. Then again, it could be mental! But I’m fairly low profile – I don’t do the social media thing, and you won’t catch me falling out of the Groucho Club any time soon.”

Born in 1983, and from the Dublin suburb of Clondalkin, Turner can’t say exactly why he chose acting as a career option.

In the lead up to his Leaving Certificate, in the late 1990s, he recalls filling out forms for thirdlevel education choices, but not feeling too thrilled at the prospects of how that might turn out.

“I felt a bit lost, to be honest.

I was walking past the Gaiety School of Acting in Temple Bar, in Dublin, one day, and I thought I’d give it a go. I don’t know what drew me to it; I mean, if I hadn’t walked past it that day, and if I hadn’t been in that particular frame of mind, my life might have been very different.

But I did, and so I signed up for one of their classes – acting for camera. It felt foreign to me, yet very creative, and I connected with it straight away. Getting up there and making a fool of yourself in front of people you hadn’t met before – that appealed to me.”

While some people feel they may have to grow into their job, Turner knew that he had chosen

instinctively, if not wisely. After formal training, in 2004 he embarked on a five-year trail of theatre work, performing in classics (Romeo and Juliet, Titus Andronicus, Cyrano), contemporary works such as Suddenly Last Summer (by Tennessee Williams), A Cry From Heaven (by Vincent Woods), DriveBy and The Yokohama Delegation (both by Tom Swift). And then, as if by creative or career osmosis, television started calling, initially with a small role in an early episode of historical drama The Tudors, and then a far more substantial presence in the final two seasons of RTÉ’s medical drama The Clinic.

Coming from the theatre-

Give the man an Oscar!

You’d never guess that the weather was freezing during Turner’s February photo shoot for Cara ...

“I felt a bit lost, to be honest. I was walking past the Gaiety School of Acting in Temple Bar, in Dublin, one day, and I thought I’d give it a go.”

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oriented Gaiety School of Acting – and despite his camera-acting course – Turner had never seriously considered working in TV or film.

As he dips his spoon into his bowl of soup, he says he didn’t leave drama school with the lights of Hollywood boring a hole into the back of his head, or anything close to it.

“I was happy plodding away.

The way theatre works is that when you get a job it might last for some weeks or months, and during that you might bag another gig, and so that went on for the best part of five years. I was very lucky that I wasn’t really out of work for too long at any given point, and if I was I usually had something lined up. I didn’t have anywhere close to six months off, tearing my hair out looking for work, trying to secondguess whether I should be doing this or not.”

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New York for a few months, just because I can – I can still take meetings, still put myself on audition films.”

Clearly, Turner’s lauded work on The Hobbit movies (he nabbed the Jameson Empire Film Award for Best Male Newcomer last year) has afforded him such levels of freedom.

It has, he nods, and Poldark, no matter how it’s going to be received, will be out there in people’s homes, Sunday night, primetime television, with, no doubt, Aidan Turner ably channelling something akin to a bodice-bothering Heathcliff.

“Yes, there’s a lot more freedom now, whereas years ago you’d need to stick around Dublin, keep hustling, keep making things happen. Life can pass you by a bit that way if you’re waiting for the next gig to happen. I’m kind of over that now, and so it’s more about me, enjoying myself.”

Pass the smelling salts – Heida Reed as Elizabeth and Aidan Turner as Ross Poldark in the BBC’s titular period drama.

Poldark (BBC One) runs every Sunday at 9pm until April 26.

DUCTIONS

that the crew and everyone else is working for them – and working fast.

There isn’t a lot of time to second-guess.

You’re hoping it all works out.

That said, when Peter Jackson calls ‘Action!’, you’re still just doing your thing. I didn’t feel any different – I’m still reciting the lines, playing the part, investing in the character.”

Soup mopped up, hunger pangs salved and, with Turner waiting for a taxi to bring him home, we talk about how the random nature of working within the film and television industries can either suit or perplex a person’s character. He’s definitely for the former. Behold a man whose instincts are in line with whatever life throws his way.

“It’s getting to the stage now when not working, when having time off – regardless of whether there’s a job ahead or not – is quite thrilling. I like the idea of not knowing what I’m doing month-tomonth. I’m thinking of moving to

The likes of Aidan Turner …

MUSIC “I’ve been listening to the Irish singer-songwriter Gavin James – I was introduced to him recently by a friend of mine, the actor Laurence Kinlan.

I’m also a big fan of The Frames and Glen Hansard – I’ll always go back to them, I reckon, as I went to see them so many times when I was a teenager.

Other Irish acts I like include Hozier and New Jackson (David Kitt in a different guise). Non-

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Irish? Nick Drake, Nick Cave, Tom Waits, Lou Reed … New stuff? Klangkarussell, The Acid, and Kwabs.”

BOOKS “I like thriller and crime books. I recently finished A Small Death in Lisbon, by Robert Wilson, first published in the late 1990s – it’s very well plotted and delivers a terrific final twist.

There’s an English writer, Tom Rob Smith, whose books The Farm and Child 44 are brilliant.

And I love Scandinavian crime writing – Jo Nesbø, Stieg Larsson,

whose Millennium Series [The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, et al] featured Rooney Mara on screen, who I worked with earlier this year whilst filming The Secret Scripture.”

MOVIES “The Theory Of Everything was just fantastic, and Eddie Redmayne, who won the Best Actor Oscar for his role as Stephen Hawking, is superb, as was Felicity Jones, who played his wife Jane. I also really enjoyed Foxcatcher, but I think my favourite movie of last year was Nightcrawler – Jake

© BBC/CO MPANY PRO

co-starred in such British shows as Desperate Romantics (playing 19th-century English painter/poet Dante Gabriel Rossetti) and Being Human (playing a vampire trying to live a normal life in contemporary England). And, then – before you could say with reasonable competence, “This is a story of how a Baggins had an adventure, and found himself doing and saying things altogether unexpected”, Turner found himself, knee-deep and very much unexpectedly, in Middle Earth.

His experiences throughout the Hobbit trilogy were, he remembers, as good as he could have wished.

Yet the differences from previous work (which could justifiably be termed low budget) to something as cinematically and commercially gargantuan as The Hobbit weren’t as different as you might think. The only difference on a day-to-day basis, reveals Turner, is the level of budget.

“On a bigger movie with a bigger budget the work is more measured, you have the freedom to rehearse a bit more, you can talk to the director more before scenes, and so on. With television, you’re shooting to complete the scene, the director is trusting that the actors have it together, and the actors are trusting

SCREEN/MIKE HOG

AN

INTERVIEW

Gyllenhaal’s performance is wonderful.”

TELEVISION “I loved the Fargo remake, and I liked Wolf Hall, which co-stars Mark Rylance, above, and Damien Lewis. The best recent comedy is Toast of London, co-written by Arthur ‘Father Ted’ Mathews.”

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APRIL/MAY 2015

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PEOPLE

BIG APPLES

New York has always embraced Irish émigrés, and vice versa.

Quentin Fottrell talks to the movers and shakers lured by its bright lights. Photographs by Rich Gilligan.

N

ew York may be one of the most expensive cities in the world but it still attracts artists seeking to make their fortune or – at the very least – land a five-star review in the New York Times. For those looking for a big break, there’s no better place to be than Manhattan.

“In New York there are several dozen things on any given night,” says Nik Quaife, director of communications and external affairs at the Irish Arts Center in Hell’s Kitchen (irishartscenter.org), which will be moving to a bigger, swankier building next year. “Not only are you presenting to a home audience, you are presenting to visitors and residents from all over the world.”

Musician Declan O’Rourke and drag artist Panti Bliss recently performed there. And, Quaife says, glowing reviews from New York-based newspapers and magazines can mean the difference between one gig this year and ten gigs the next.

In the decade between April 2004-2014, nearly 124,000 more people left Ireland than arrived, with many headed to the United States, according to the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office, chief among them young college leavers

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seeking new adventures (and work) in a major metropolis such as New York. There was an estimated net migration of 21,400 people in 2014 versus 33,000 the year before, and 2,500 of them left for the US. In fact, around 10,000 more people left for the US than arrived between 2009 and 2014, the CSO found.

While many Irish emigrants come seeking employment, some are looking for a larger canvas (and bigger audience) for their work.

Some emigrants specialise in helping other artists achieve their dreams. In 1996, Limerick native George Heslin met Irish playwright Mark O’Rowe at an art opening in Dublin, a chance meeting that led him to produce O’Rowe’s first play, Rundown, at the International Bar in Dublin, and also helped change the course of his life. After a stint working as an actor in London’s West End, Heslin moved to New York 20 years ago – producing the American premiere of another O’Rowe play, Crestfall, too. He produced Enda Walsh’s debut play in North America, Misterman, in 2001, and set up the Origin Theatre Company the following year to premiere work

by European playwrights. Origin’s 1st Irish Theatre Festival

(1stIrish.org) showcases new Irish work every September with support from the Irish-American community. So far, he has produced more than 100 plays in New York

by Irish playwrights, marking the US premiere for most. “While Ireland was going through a boom so was New York,” he says. “It was rebuilding its cultural institutions.”

Others have followed Heslin’s path in recent years. With so much going on, New York is a place where you never have to stay home. It’s one of the most expensive cities in the world in which to live, especially for artists, but the most talented can still make it work. Here are six creative Irish transplants making their way in New York …

Ivor Noyek

Graphic designer Cork native Ivor Noyek says emigrating to New York in May 2013 would never have been possible without the training he received in Ireland. He arrived with a bachelor’s degree from Limerick School of Art and Design in visual communications, and a masters in advertising at Dublin Institute of Technology, and a five-year stint at the Language design studio in Temple Bar, Dublin. “There’s a great culture of design in Ireland that resonates all over the world,” he says. “I put a lot of my success over here to the education and experience I got back home.”

Noyek, 31, found work just a couple of months after arriving at Roar, a new advertising agency, and, separately, worked on a Lady Gaga campaign for Verizon Wireless when she played the last gig at the Roseland Ballroom on West 52nd Street before it closed in 2014. With his co-director Shane O’Driscoll, he also curated “For The Love Of,” an artists’ collective at the Bottleneck Gallery in Brooklyn, his home borough. “Brooklyn almost feels like real New York as the rest of the city can be quite touristy,” he says. “It’s what Chelsea would have been like 15 years ago.” He recommends Then She Fell, an Alice in Wonderland-inspired immersive theatre on Grand Street in Brooklyn (Sleep No More in the McKittrick Hotel on West 27th Street is a similar, Macbeth-themed haunted house affair). “For drinks, I prefer dive bars,” he says. Lucky Dog on Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn has shuffleboard, he says, and patrons can even bring their dogs.

PEOPLE

Petria Lenehan Clothing designer

After studying at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York from 2002 to 2004, clothing designer Petria Lenehan opened Doll’s boutique in Dublin 8. But the economic downturn hurt business. “A lot of my customers left,” she says. Lenehan and her photographer husband Richard Gilligan – who shot this feature – moved back to Brooklyn permanently in February 2015. With their daughter Robin, who is nearly two, they found an apartment (without paying a broker) in Fort Greene. “We wanted somewhere that was kid-friendly but still felt like we were connected to the city,” she says. And she found it. For a low-key brunch, she goes to Fort Defiance on Van Brunt Street in Brooklyn and Five Leaves in Greenpoint for organic fare. And for quirky fashion, she goes to Warm boutique on Mott Street in Nolita (North of Little Italy). “You’ll find designers there you’ve never heard of before,” she says, “and in the summer they have a little garden in the back.”

Lenehan, 33, hopes to find a US market for coats made of Donegal tweed and Scottish cashmere in her designs. She likes the optimism of New Yorkers, the blue skies and four distinct seasons. “People here are really interested if you’re doing something different,” she says.

“We both felt we needed a bigger market and, maybe, a more creative market.” Currently, she sells her wares in Scout on Smock Alley in Dublin, and is looking for outlets in the US. Her advice to visitors: “Bring loads of money and explore outside Manhattan – there’s a lot going on.”

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Oliver Jeffers

Artist/illustrator/writer When artist and illustrator Oliver Jeffers was ten years old, he went to a summer camp in upstate New York, Camp Dudley, on a scholarship that sponsored one Protestant child and one Catholic child from Northern Ireland.

(Jeffers was the Catholic kid.) That summer led to friendships that last to this day and eventually had a role in him moving to New York from Belfast in 2007. “Through that, I kept making friends and stayed in touch with one of those friends, Marc Premo, a sculptor and a filmmaker, who became a longtime collaborator,” Jeffers says. On his time off, Jeffers likes to explore all the free things to do in New York. He walks the promenade underneath Brooklyn Bridge, plays ping-pong in Bryant Park, and takes the Staten Island Ferry for fun (a must for any fans of the movie Working Girl). “I do that frequently,” he says. “I have a beer and a hot dog, and get a pretty incredible view of the city.” He adds: “One of the greatest things about living here is the sense of community between the artists.

We’re constantly the source of fuel for each other.” And Jeffers, 37, likes the way New Yorkers tell it like it is. “If people here think something, they say it,” he says.

That said, “people will be the first to compliment you because they like your shoes”. He has just finished working on The Day the Crayons Came Home, a sequel to The Day the Crayons Quit, a New York Times bestseller co-written with Eoin Colfer, which will be published by HarperCollins in October.

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PEOPLE

Laragh McCann Model/actress

Born in Paris, Laragh McCann moved to Ireland when she was four and, from the age of 16, modelled throughout Europe and Asia. In 2013, she made the Big Apple home. “This is one of the safest cities to walk around in,” she says. “There’s always someone eating a fro-yo, walking their dog or jogging. London and Paris can often feel scary.” She’s still with Morgan modelling agency in Dublin. “I’m very much focused on the next stage,” she says. That includes photography – McCann did the cover shot for Irish rock band Kodaline’s debut album, In a Perfect World – and acting. She likes to mix it up when shopping for clothes, hitting everywhere from American Apparel’s outlet store on Lafayette Street in Soho to Patricia Field NYC boutique (the costume designer for Sex and the City) in the Bowery between Houston and Bleecker Streets, and Beacon’s Closet thrift store on West 13th Street. The latter, she says, “is a little treasure trove.”

Shopping aside, New York is tailormade for twenty-somethings like McCann. She spends her summers at McLaren Park, roof-terrace parties and outdoor concerts. “If you want to do gymnastics you can go to Chelsea Piers, or take art or acting or dance lessons,” she says. McCann, 24, first lived in Williamsburg, a neighbourhood popular with hipsters and now tourists looking for locations featured in HBO’s Girls, so she decamped to Greenpoint, which is not on the L line and, therefore, not so easily accessible from Manhattan. “This neighbourhood still feels real,” she says.

PEOPLE

Belinda McKeon Author

Writer Belinda McKeon left Ireland during the height of the Celtic Tiger. Ten years ago this summer, she moved to Brooklyn with her writer-husband Aengus Woods to do a masters of fine arts at Columbia University, leaving behind a full-time career in journalism. “It’s so hard to believe that it was so long ago,” she says.

“It was a huge life change but it didn’t really feel like it at the time.” New York felt like home very quickly and she immediately knew she was here to stay: “We were on holidays here in 2004 for two weeks and I completely fell in love with the place.” McKeon spends her downtime in the city, browsing McNally Jackson bookstore on Prince Street in Soho. “The selection is terrific and it has excellent panel discussions and a really nice café,” she says.

Housing Works thrift stores are littered around the city and sell used books. And the hot pot at Famous Sichuan on Pell Street in Chinatown, she adds, is hard to beat. Her second book, Tender, will be published by Picador in June 2015 (its predecessor, Solace, won the Faber Prize in 2011). It’s a story set in Dublin in the 1990s about a series of complicated friendships and at least some of it is set in New York. “I’m only now starting to set my fiction in New York,” McKeon, 35, says. “It often takes fiction years to catch up on your real life.”

Although she lives on the border of Williamsburg and Greenpoint in Brooklyn, those New York scenes are actually set on Randall’s Island in the East River. “You’ll have to read the book to find out why …”

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PEOPLE

Ken Griffin Musician

Singer and guitarist Ken Griffin, 44, left Dublin for New York 18 years ago and, in 2005, upped sticks from the East Village, once a low-rent neighbourhood that attracted struggling artists, to Williamsburg – also once a lowrent neighborhood that attracted struggling artists. “I’ve been here half my life,” he says. “I can’t see myself leaving unless I get priced out. It used to be the place to come for cheap rent and now when real estate agents advertise an apartment in Manhattan I expect them to say, ‘It’s only two stops away from Williamsburg’.” When he’s not at home, Griffin spends time at the Museum of Modern Art on West 53rd Street and the Metropolitan Museum of Art on 82nd Street, and likes to wander into smaller art openings in Soho (usually on Thursday evenings).

The Abbey, a dive bar on Driggs Avenue in Brooklyn, is a favourite.

“It shows old movies, jazz and blues videos,” he says, “and has a great happy hour.” During his time in the US, he has toured through 47 states and made four albums in New York. Griffin now plays with August Wells, a five-piece chamber-orchestra-style band. He also tends bar at Daddy’s Bar in Williamsburg and, over the last two decades, has played everywhere from Union Pool, the local venue in Williamsburg that houses a couple of hundred people, to the Radio City Music Hall. New York effortlessly inspires poetry in his writing, Griffin says, “but you have to be careful that everything doesn’t end up sounding like a Lou Reed song”.

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CYCLING | GREENWAY

THE OPEN

road

A disused railway that has been converted into the Great Western Greenway cycle trail is working its magic in Mayo. Frances Power and family give it a spin. Photographs by Anthony Wood.

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Breathing space – there’s plenty of it on the wild Greenway, where the mind, too, is left to wander far and wide.

APRIL/MAY 2015

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CYCLING | GREENWAY

ive minutes into cycling the Greenway from Achill to Westport, we come to a graveyard. There, three men from the Midlands are resting on their handlebars, catching a breath. “Won’t be long ’til we’re back here,” says one, nodding towards the gravestones.

We laugh and pedal on past them, my husband with our nine-year-old daughter on a tag-along, and myself.

Half a kilometre on, they speed past us, and from then on we’re playing tag, my daughter shouting, “New leader, new leader!” every time we manage to puff past them. It’s the sort of banter you get a lot of on the Greenway. Walkers open gates for you; car drivers beep their horns and shout encouragement; even the sheep seem to eye you in, well, a kindly way.

The Midland Great Western Railway Line was built in the 1890s to bring prosperity and employment to the area, transporting turf and passengers to and from the cities and

F

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Pot of gold, anyone? Frances Power, above, finds many a natural treasure on the Achill-toWestport trail.

sparking a surge in early tourism.

It fell into disuse in the 1930s when the car began to take over.

In 2010, it re-opened as the Great Western Greenway. Just five years on, it’s buzzing.

“We see about 1,000 people a day in high season,” says John O’Donnell, who looks after the route for Mayo County Council.

There’s even talk of extending the cycle way onto Achill Island, and south from Westport along Clew Bay to Louisburgh. The Greenway’s surprise success has created a microboom and local businesses, from hotels to artisan food producers, are feeling the benefit. The railway that was built to bring jobs into the area is working its economic magic again.

We are staying at the Mulranny Park Hotel, a former Great Western hotel whose fortunes echoed those of the railway line, on the strength

of which it was constructed. It was state-of-the-art in the 1890s with electricity, its own water pump, even a causeway built out to the sea so Victorian tourists could reach the beach beyond the salt marshes and tidal flats.

But in the 1990s Mulranny Park fell into disrepair; the Mulranny Loop, a Victorian walk, became overgrown and the old station house crumbled. Then, in 2005, the village’s fortunes at last began to turn around. The hotel was bought, renovated and reopened with a leisure centre, hotel and comfortable self-catering houses.

We planned to cycle the Greenway in one day – at 42 kilometres and mostly on the flat, we reckoned it would take about three hours at a gentle pace. That meant we could explore some of the hiking routes and trails

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CYCLING | GREENWAY

Take away …

The Gourmet Greenway, devised by Mulranny Park Hotel, maps artisan producers along or near the route that you can visit (usually by appointment) to watch cheese making, beer brewing, shop for picnic fodder or just get a bite to eat. Pick up a map at Westport Tourist Office. (Bridge Street, Westport, 098 25711; westporttourism.com).

1

Sean Kelly of Kelly’s Butchers in Newport produces award-winning sausages, black pudding and the almighty putóg, a footballsized pud made to a traditional recipe – bag some. And: his daughter runs a fine teashop next door. (098 41149; kellysbutchers.com)

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4

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Marlene’s Chocolate Haven – handmade little spots of heaven. Strongly recommended. Stop into the tiny café for a hot chocolate and a little on the side.

(Call for visiting times to see chocolate-making.

Limecourt, James Street, Westport, 098 24564) You can buy a chunk of Carrowholly, a gouda-style cheese, at Café Rua in Castlebar, a lovely deli-cum-café which showcases many local producers, or see Andrew Pellam Burn at work in Carrowholly, or book into his cheese-making courses.

(Visits by appointment; 087 237 3536; carrowhollycheese.ie)

Local brewers Iain and Caroline Price set up West Mayo Brewery in 2013, and now produce three beers to traditional recipes – I heart their porter with bog myrtle.

(Visits by appointment, May to September; Islandeady, 086 043 1053; westmayobrewery.com)

If you can lay your hands on some Murrevagh Honey, snap it up – produced

by James McDermott (or to be more accurate, his bees), it is gathered from heather, fuchsia and blackberry bushes around Murrevagh and found in the aforementioned Kelly’s Butchers.

on foot the next day. A short by the Canadian dynamo Travis drive away is Ballycroy National Zeray, which has five shops on the Park (Visitor centre, 098 49888; route and also rents electric bikes ballycroynationalpark.ie) – 11,000 and all the trimmings. (They also hectares of blanket bog and lead kayak trips round Clew Bay, grassland that take in the beautiful with a stop ashore to barbecue freshNephin Beg mountain range. It’s caught fish for lunch.) a protected habitat for many rare It is a crisp no-nonsense October species of bird, animal and plant. morning when we set off, the sort of I had visited before with Cameron sunlit day that sharpens the shades Clotworthy, one of the park’s of purple and orange heather on the conservation officers, a man who hillsides. Our sherpa James dropped would leave Bear Grylls in the shade us off at Achill Sound, where a and I was keen to go back. bridge joins the country’s largest He had showed me areas of island to the Mayo mainland. The quaking bog where the Greenland island is all looming mountain, white-fronted geese fed on bog heathery bog and lake. On the cotton over winter. “You see that southern side, a steep road drops tree?” he asked, braking to point down to a tiny pearl of a beach at to a mountain ash with its bark Keem (check your brakes before peeling. “That means a deer has even thinking about stripped it to get food over winter. this one, bikers) If the top branches were broken while further off, you’d know it was a stag along are FUN FAIR scratching his antlers before Food, music, craft and rutting, or marking his museum mash it up at Féile territory.” We drove on. His na Tuaithe in the Museum of jeep screeched to a halt.

Country Life, Turlough Park, “Did you see that?” Er, no, Castlebar, 12-5pm, May this Dublin jackeen didn’t.

23-24. Admission free.

A bird of prey – “probably a museum.ie sparrow hawk” – had glided into a stand of trees to hunt.

Ballycroy is also home to the 25-kilometre Bangor Trail, an old drover’s route through the mountains that ends at Bangor village. A mountain refuge along the route means you can break your hike overnight to star gaze and hone your bonfire skills. Each one has a visitor’s notebook full of poems, drawings and pleas to the midges to desist.

One boy scout writes hopefully, “I think I saw a bear”.

Back at Mulranny Park, we put away the last slice of bacon and turn our thoughts to serious matters. Bikes. The hotel organises hire and a lift to the start point with Mulranny Cycles (€15, Opposite – Debbie adults; €10 kids; pick-up charge Boland and her €10; 087 258 7840) run by local mighty dogs man James Grealis (who doubled Fionn and Luke. as a Good Samaritan and mechanic Top right, master butcher Sean when our car got a puncture the Kelly, where onnext day). But there are plenty of the-road morsels rental companies to choose from, await. Right, catch including Clew Bay Bike Hire a breath on the (098 24818; clewbaybikehire.ie), run riverside.

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Refuel at …

FINE DINING Owner-chef Frankie Mallon learned his art at Roscoff in Belfast, and Michelin-starred Guy Savoy in Paris before opening An Port Mór in Westport. It’s all local here, with great seafood (try the gravlax of trout, Clew Bay crab or langoustine), though his speciality is pot-roasted pig cheek. A mellow vibe, it’s the place to lose an evening very happily. Beware Frankie’s home-made limoncello …

(1 Brewery Place, Westport, 098 26730; anportmor.com) CHARMING All floral prints and pretty, vintage china, The Blue Bicycle Tearooms in Newport is a tempting carrot to power you up and over the hills to Westport. Owner Phil Chambers trained at Ballymaloe so, as you’d expect, sources many of her ingredients from local producers and offers good sambos, imaginative salads, tarts and a luscious orange cake. Al fresco tables front and back are perfect for summer cyclists. Open May to November.

(Main Street, Newport, 098 41145; bluebicycletearooms.com) PUB GRUB A few kilometres past Mulranny, a sign on the Greenway for Nevins Newfield Inn leads you on a detour to some of the best pub grub in the area. Fill up your hollow legs here with mussels, oysters, steak and vast plates of chips. And if your legs still wobble, rest here in one of their four ensuite bedrooms. (Mulranny, 098 36959; nevinsinn.com)

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Above, Westport House’s Browne family hark back to pirate queen Grace O’Malley.

Below, stop for a sugar rush at The Blue Bicycle Tearooms, run

by Ballymaloetrained owner Phil Chambers.

the Wild Atlantic Way drive and a seascape made for kite-surfing.

“You need to go to the end of the rainbow to see the pot of gold,” he says, “and there is a pot of gold here.” The lodge has recently added guided tours around the island on paddleboards to the menu. “You can explore the coastline, get out of the main road and go round the back of Dugort and FRILLS & into the sea caves – it’s SPILLS truly magical.”

Westport House & But we are Pirate Adventure Park is a headed in the must. Tour the beautiful 18th opposite direction, century property, or thrill the an 18-kilometre kids with the rides, slides the gentler shores stretch from Achill to and swan pedaloes. of the wide sandy Mulranny along the westporthouse.ie bay at Keel, a shoreline with, across paradise for surfers. the bay, Inishbiggle and That surfer’s idyll Annagh islands and the brought Frenchman Francois mountains of the Nephin range.

Colussi here in 2011 to set up a kiteThe Greenway runs around the edge surfing lodge called Pure Magic of the bay into an old forest, then (March to November; puremagic.ie). climbs a little to Mulranny where “People ask me, ‘Why are you here the views leave us breathless. This is in the middle of nowhere?’ I say, ‘It’s a high point (no pun intended) of not in the middle of nowhere, it’s the route – in front of you stretches right in the middle of everything’.”

Clew Bay dotted with 365 drowned By “everything” Francois means drumlin islands, the scree-topped

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CYCLING | GREENWAY

holy mountain of Croagh Patrick poking skywards. It’s little wonder the place won the European Destination of Excellence (EDEN).

The Greenway also crosses the Mulranny Loop walk here – we can see it snake steeply up into the hills towards Lookout Hill and Cru-carragh. It’s a strenuous, six-and-a-half-kilometre hike but you might just be rewarded with a glimpse of an endangered species, the Old Irish Goat. Local man Seán Carolan and a group of volunteers have been working hard to preserve the goat and a small herd are now stabled at Westport House. “How will I know one if I see one?” I ask Seán. “The male has a long coat, sideburns, a big beard and a mantle of hair,” he says, “he looks just like a medieval Irish king.”

On we pedal, swooping down and steeply up above Mulranny village. “Turbo charge!” says the husband, and my daughter’s legs fire like pistons. We coast along the shoulder of a mountain, bordered by the original Victorian stonewalls of the railway, under bridges and through sheep-speckled open fields. We’ve been cycling for about three hours now and the chocolate supply is running low. But the wind is with us and we aim to make Newport, a good 18 kilometres on from Mulranny, for a late lunch.

As we fly into Newport, the Midland men overtake us one last time and sail on to Westport. I go over a bump and jog my brake block

ped pilgrim’s mountain Peak fitness Tackle Croagh Patrick, the rough-top acular views, but the to the south of Westport. It’s a fair climb with spect ims climb barefoot, but peak tends to get shrouded in cloud. I’ve seen pilgr f gear.

I’d recommend sturdy boots, a stick and waterproo Cycle off the calories consumed at Café Rua, above. Left, Zak and Felix, the intrepid sons of Travis Zeray, who runs Clew Bay Bike Hire. Right, an Old Irish Goat – an endangered species safely ensconsed at Westport House.

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Recharge at …

ELEGANT The four-star Knockranny House Hotel on the outskirts of Westport is large, plush and comfortable. It has an excellent spa, but the real star is the man behind the swing doors at La Fougère restaurant, chef Seamus Commons, who serves up waves of elegant courses with locally caught sea trout and crab, or Mayo-reared lamb, veal, duck or venison.

Rooms from €59pps B&B. (Castlebar, Westport, 098 28600; knockrannyhousehotel.ie)

MODERN REVIVAL The former railway stop of Mulranny Park Hotel has a knockout view. The Greenway passes through the back of the hotel car park so it makes an ideal base for cyclists (the hotel can organise bike rental and packed lunch), or as a stop-off for lunch at the bar. A relaxed, four-star spot with modern self-catering houses available for larger groups. Kids will love the leisure centre. Rooms from €99pps for B&B and dinner.

(Mulranny, 098 36000; mulrannyparkhotel.ie)

CENTRAL Hotel Westport is a modern spot with comfortable rooms that delivers four-star standards at budget prices. Spa junkies, don’t miss this one – especially if you could do with a massage to ease those muscles – the therapists are excellent. The centre of town is just a leafy ten-minute stroll away along the Carrowbeg river. Rooms from €39pps B&B. (Newport Road, Westport, 098 25122; hotelwestport.ie)

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ILLUSTRATION BY ELLY WALTON

out of alignment. It begins to rub against the wheel rim, slowing me down and I screech into town.

Outside the Blue Bicycle Tearoom, two lads from Northern Ireland are enjoying the sunshine.

They cycled from Westport to Achill this morning and are cycling back to Westport for the night. An 85-kilometre round trip and they haven’t even broken a sweat. They eye my sticky wheel, produce a spanner – and problem sorted. The spirit of the Greenway strikes again.

The little town of Newport has plenty to make you back pedal – just off the main street in St Patrick’s Church is Harry Clarke’s last piece of work – a beautiful, three-light window depicting The Last Judgment. If you look closely at the right-hand window, you’ll see an upside-down figure in green amid the demons and the damned heading to Hell. It’s a self-portrait, so it’s said, of Clarke himself.

Much of the route from Newport runs parallel to the N59, the main road to Westport, making this a less enjoyable section, but there are pretty stretches through forest and under stone-arched railway bridges Window dressing – Harry Clarke’s stained glass, left, at St Patrick’s Church in Newport town.

to reward you for your efforts, even a faux station with a satisfying bell to pull as you crest a killer hill.

From there on it’s a downhill whizz into the busy market town of Westport. We dismount – one day on the trail and I have the wide-legged walk of a saddlehardened cowboy. We call into Matt Molloy’s pub on Bridge Street. The place is heaving. Matt Molloy himself is a legend among trad musicians, being the flute player with The Chieftains, and his bar is always good for a session.

But we find a snug and savour the moment as we wait for our lift back to Mulranny. My husband drains his pint, stretches and says, “How about we cycle back?”

Follow Fran @francespower For more on the Great Western Greenway, visit greenway.ie.

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A watercolour painting by Róisín O’Shea © 2012

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Curve appeal – the splendid ornamental interiors of the Kolonáda in Karlovy Vary.

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BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY In the footsteps of kaisers and kings ‌ Karl Whitney tours spa towns built along a geological fault line of thermal springs, from Austria to the Czech Republic, and finds modern, health-giving comforts that echo the resorts’ glory days. Photographs by Al Higgins.

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I

n the basement of the Hotel Hvězda, in the Czech spa town of Mariánské Lázně (also known as Marienbad), there’s a corridor that links it to six other buildings – most of them also hotels, and one, the town’s casino. Along the walls of this corridor are historical pictures showing Mariánské Lázně’s illustrious past: crowds strolling along the ornate colonnades in the park outside. Images of kings and kaisers are displayed alongside a brief account of the history of the town; a small, porcelain drinking vessel – shaped like a watering can – sits in a glass case. As you walk along the corridor, this past seems to meld with the present, so that when you reach the cavernous concert halls of the casino, or the inviting warmth of the “Roman” baths, it becomes difficult to tell what century you’re in.

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Top, low cloud lingers over Karlovy Vary town. Above, Karl Whitney pauses for thought in between sampling curative mineral waters.

The bleeding of past into pres undoubtedly lends the present town and its hotels much charm – you can walk past the building where wh Franz Kafka stayed, or follow foll the footsteps of Mark Twain, Tw who visited in the late 19th 19 century. Mariánské Lázně is not alone in being proud of its heritage he – it forms one of a triumvirate of towns in Bohemia that are known as the spa triangle, the others being Karlovy Vary (Carlsbad) and Františkovy Lázně (Franzenbad). Each town became famous for its natural mineral water springs, renowned for their healthgiving properties. People drank the waters but also bathed in them and, in the 19th century, the towns were fashionable resorts that attracted royalty from around Europe.

Central to the spa towns’ popularity was the royal house of Habsburg, which produced kings and emperors who ruled

throughout Europe from the eleventh century onwards; after the First World War, the line was abolished. Charles IV, the Holy Roman Emperor and King of Bohemia, gave Karlovy Vary city privileges in 1370; subsequently the town was named after him. The Austrian royal family made Baden bei Wien their summer residence.

Mariánské Lázně drew Franz Joseph I, the Emperor of Austria and the King of Hungary and (non-Habsburg) King Edward VII of England.

When you wander around these spa towns, what you see in the present almost always lulls you towards the past – one that for the most part ends before 1914. There’s a shadow history, however. The towns’ golden era came to an end with the First World War, and the Czech spa triangle formed part of the largely German-speaking Sudetenland that was occupied by

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Clockwise from left and right, the imposing Kolonáda; Jirí Bouríl of the Resort Nove Lazne, in Bad Marienbad; decorative tiling in Mariánské Lázne; Kathryn B’s warm welcome at the Grandhotel Pupp’s Wellness Centre.

FULL MARX

Germany as a prelude to the Second World War. Mariánské Lázně’s synagogue was burned to the ground on Kristallnacht, on November 10, 1938 – and the site still lies empty.

The past isn’t always as comfortable as a hot bath in a warm room followed by an early night.

My trip around the spa towns had begun a few hundred kilometres south, across the border in Austria, where, not far from Vienna, Baden bei Wien sits surrounded by vineyards, the wines from which are served in its bars and hotels. The town reputedly dates back to the Roman era, when it was known as Thermae Pannonicae, but its glory years came later.

I was going to Baden bei Wien with travel companions Al and Megh. We planned to drive between a number of spa towns in Austria and the Czech Republic, in the process retracing the steps taken by royals, musicians and writers during the golden years of these places, when a desire to improve one’s own health – through relaxation, and bathing in and drinking the towns’ mineral-rich spring waters – was combined with socialising, resulting in high-end resorts that continue to draw huge numbers of visitors.

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Karl Marx visited Karlovy Vary three times in his later years, taking the waters at 6am each morning. A bronze statue dedicated to the philosopher stands opposite the Russian consulate.

In the first half of the 19th century, Baden bei Wien was the summer residence of Francis I, the Emperor of Austria. After a fire destroyed the town in 1812, it was rebuilt in the splendid, chocolate-box prettiness that can still be seen today. (There’s another, more recent, history too: between 1916 and 1918 Baden was the home of the Austro-Hungarian Army High Command and, between 1945 and 1955, was the headquarters of the Soviet occupation of the country.) Baden forms part of the Thermenlinie, or “thermal line” – a succession of spa towns running north to south that follow the geological fault line of thermal springs.

Baden’s picturesque Kurpark stretches from the town up into the wooded hills. As we walked lked through the park, past its bandstands and grottos commemorating Mozart and Beethoven, a woodpecker tapped out a martial beat on a tree branch above. In the town’s Hauptplatz, we visited the central monument, the Dreifaltigkeitssäule,

Stay at …

OASIS A short walk from the centre of Baden bei Wien, the Hotel Schloss Weikersdorf is a suitably relaxed base – it has a swimming pool and spa facilities – from which to explore this laidback town. Set in parkland, it’s perfectly placed for a walk to the shopping area or a drive to the surrounding hills. Double rooms from €199. (Schlossgasse 9-11, Baden, +43 225 248 301; hotelschlossweikersdorf.at)

GRAND A stay at the Grandhotel Pupp puts you right next to the river Teplá, and a short stroll from the hot springs, colonnades and restaurants. Pupp feels like a genuine throwback to a bygone era – its grand dining rooms, broad hallways and bright stairways make the building itself worth exploring. Double rooms from €207. (Mírové námestí 2, Karlovy Vary, +420 353 109 111; pupp.cz)

UNIQUE In Mariánské Lázne, the Hotel Hvezda-Imperial forms part of a chain of hotels – literally, as they’re linked by an underground corridor – that borders the main park and colonnade. Guests can access the swimming pool and the beautiful Roman baths, or sign up for one of the many spa treatments available.

Double rooms from €126. (Goethovo namesti 7, +420 354 631 111; danubiushotels.cz)

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which is a surreal dollop of white plaster and gold paint planted in a zone of largely restrained architecture. Perhaps the biggest surprise is that the monument dates back to 1714 – it was built to honour the Virgin Mary in thanksgiving for the ending of a plague. A spout of clean water pours into a pool at its base. I filled a bottle, although, judging by its taste, it was more likely to be from the public system than one of the local springs.

I decided to try the local spring water in each place we visited. The spring water varies in temperature from cold to extremely hot – sometimes it’s salty and often it has a sulphuric aftertaste that lingers on your taste buds. The hot spring water at Karlovy Vary is

generally quite salty, while other water, such as the cold spring water at Mariánské Lázně, is naturally fizzy. The difference in taste is an indicator of mineral content – signs listing mineral levels can often be found next to the springs.

In Karlovy Vary, a winding road brought us into a tree-lined valley.

Above the tree tops, perched on the steep slopes, are gigantic hotel buildings painted powdery shades of pink or yellow. A funicular railway climbs the side of one hill and the statue of a mountain goat stands on a rocky outcrop overlooking the town. If this setting sounds familiar, it’s because Wes Anderson’s film, The Grand Budapest Hotel, is located in a place uncannily similar to Karlovy Vary.

Anderson’s eponymous hotel is

“Nowhere was I so spellbound as by the poetry of beautiful nature as here in Mariánské Lázne,” said King Edward VII of the picturesque spa town.

sion to the throne CROWNING GLORIES Prior to Edward VII’s acces al visits to in 1901, the eldest son of Queen Victoria made annu six times – and died in 1910.

Mariánské Lázně. After he became king, he returned

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reputedly based on the Grandhotel Pupp, a vast, 19th-century building overlooking the river Teplá, which at certain points is bathed in steam from its hot springs.

I took a morning stroll down the river, calling in at the colonnades in which the springs are housed – beginning with the glass and concrete, Communistera Vřídelní kolonáda, built in 1975 to replace an earlier structure that had been melted down by the Nazis. In one room, a giant geyser shoots water straight up into the air, while in another water of varying temperatures trickles from the pump-like taps. I tried some – the 72 degree celsius water from the Vřídlo ‘A’ tap, which tumbled into my plastic water bottle, crumpling its sides.

I walked through the more traditional colonnades – built from iron, wood or stone – drank the salty water and watched as people sipped from their becher cups – the souvenir, porcelain drinking

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Stairway to heaven?

Spa life in Mariánské Lázne, pictured here and opposite.

Right, Anton Morbitzer has the smarts at Café Central.

Eat at…

BADEN BEI WIEN Refuel after a walk in the Kurpark at the Café Central (Hauptplatz 19, +43 225 248 454), which serves a selection of coffees and liqueurs as well as desserts and snacks. Stop off at the Vinothek Weinkult (Pfarrgasse 7, +43 699 1280 6546; weinkult.at) to sample the local wines. For more substantial fare there’s El Gaucho (Josefplatz 2, Baden bei Wien, +43 225 280 399; elgaucho.at), a steakhouse with a couple of other branches in Munich, Vienna and Graz.

KARLOVY VARY Restaurants here have a reputation for being expensive but Café Azyl (Vrídelní 41, +420 353 220 593; cafeazyl.cz), with its river terrace, provides a good variety of dishes at decent prices. If you feel like pizza or pasta, try the Pizzeria Capri (Stara Louka 42, +420 353 236 090; pizzeriacapri.cz), a short distance from the Grandhotel Pupp.

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Alternatively, you can go for luxury and head instead to Le Marché (Mariánskolázenská 4, +420 730 133 695; lemarche.cz). It specialises in French cuisine made with local ingredients and has a menu that changes daily.

MARIÁNSKÉ LÁZNE Doma (Anglická 116/23, +420 354 402 005; restaurantdoma. cz) serves Czech contemporary cuisine in the surroundings of a recently refurbished sleek and modern interior. For Spanish and Italian food and a selection of tapas, drop in to Medité (Hlavni 279/7, +420 354 422 018; medite.cz). Or, for a cheap and cheerful option, try the very good Filip (Postovni 96, +420 354 626 161), which serves both traditional Czech and more general fare and, surprisingly, a significant selection of vegetarian dishes.

Five highlights ...

1

The Trails Walking has always been an essential part of the spa “cure”, so it’s no surprise that spa towns are typically surrounded by alpine paths that extend far into forested, rolling hills, making them ideal bases for a walking holiday. You’ll see maps on notice boards dotted around each town. Alternatively you can pick up a map from your hotel or the local tourist office and hit the trail.

2

The Funicular and Diana tower In Karlovy Vary, behind the Grandhotel Pupp, is a funicular railway that brings you up the steep hill to the Diana tower, a lighthouse-like viewing platform that allows you a view of the surrounding landscape and of the town itself. A return ticket on the funicular costs Kc80 (approx €2.90), but why not take the

train up, then hike down the trails back to the town, calling off at the Jelení skok (Deer Leap) monument, a statue of a mountain goat on a rocky outcrop overlooking the town.

(Dopravní Podnik Karlovy Vary; dpkv.cz/cz/tarify-lanovky-diana)

annually, with more than 200 films showing this year from July 3-11. Indulge in a bit of celebrity spotting or drop in to one of a number of free events held over the course of the festival. (Film Servis Festival Karlovy Vary; +420 221 411 011; kviff.com)

3

5

Kurpark Baden bei Wien’s Kurpark is well worth exploring – it stretches north from the main shopping streets into the surrounding hills. Small, ornamental grottos contain memorials to Mozart and Beethoven – two notable visitors to the town in its heyday.

The park is also home to a bandstand, outdoor café and theatre. (Tourist Information Baden; +43 2252 22600 600; baden.at)

4

Karlovy Vary International Film Festival One of the oldest film festivals in the world (it began in 1946), this event is held

The Roman Baths In the Nové Lázne building at Mariánské Lázne, the water in the main pool of the pristine, tiled, “Roman” baths was kept at 32 degrees Celsius when we visited. The baths consist of three pools, a whirlpool, two saunas, a sanarium and a steam bath.

Access to the facilities, which were constructed in 1896 during an extensive refurbishment of the building, is free to guests of the hotels. (Marienbad Kur & Spa Hotels, +420 354 655 5019; marienbad.danubiushotels.com)

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vessels that I would see in the glass display cases at Mariánské Lázně. The spout diverts the water away from your teeth, which can discolour as a result of the minerals in the water. The springs attract a variety of people: casually dressed locals seeking cures for ailments, holidaying Russians clad in tracksuits. The overall atmosphere is one of leisure, yet the focus on health can at times feel a little oppressive – so taking to the many walking trails in the hills around the city, or exploring the labyrinthine streets beside the river, often feels like the more attractive option.

The third town in the spa triangle, Františkovy Lázně, doesn’t have Karlovy Vary’s dramatic location, but its rolling parkland dotted with buildings that house the town’s springs make it worth a short visit. The town itself is tightly organised in a grid system and the buildings are pristine.

German visitors sat outside its many cafés – the town is a mere ten minutes from the border by car.

I sat in the reception of the Hotel Hvězda in Mariánské Lázně talking to Márta Bucsai, of Danubius Hotels Group, which owns and runs a large number of the hotels and spas in the town.

The hotels continue to provide a spa-type experience, and Márta told us about the different forms of treatment available at the resort: steam baths, peat baths, Roman baths, gas pools and even gas injections. She told us that the latter, consisting of CO2 from the springs injected into the skin, was good for loosening up muscles.

Then she led us to a room that was lit in blue light. This was the gas pool. The pool itself was dry – instead you sit on a wooden chair while you’re bathed in CO2 gas, and you inhale oxygen through a plastic tube in your nose while videos are projected onto a screen and soothing music is pumped through speakers.

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ILLUSTRATION BY GRAHAM CORCORAN

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as “the brightest and newest looking town on the Continent, and as pretty as anybody could require”. Over a hundred years later it seemed to me that many of its large buildings have been restored to something that resembled the good old days. One morning I took a walk through the well-kept park and drank some of the cold spring water from a tap under a whitepainted colonnade. Gardeners were busy tending the park’s flowerbeds.

Reproduced on the shutters of an ice cream stall in the park was a blown-up monochrome photo of crowds flocking around the grand colonnade. This colonnade still stands – it’s an imposing iron structure that resembles the façade of a 19th-century railway station.

The walk through the underground corridor between buildings brought us back through Mariánské Lázně’s history. We arrived at the Royal Cabin – King

Edward VII’s bathing room in the Nové Lázně spa. A few steps away was the Imperial Cabin – the bathing room used by the Emperor of Austria, Franz Josef I. The room’s patterned tiles and marble bath spoke of opulence. A clean towel and a fresh set of slippers sat on a couch adjacent to the bath, as if the emperor would be along at any moment. I had to remind myself that the emperor and the king were long gone, and that not even their beloved spa towns could escape the dark shadows of the 20th century.

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Jason Smyth is not one to let anything get in his way. Despite having just five per cent vision, he has achieved incredible success in both Paralympic and able-bodied events. This work ethic and can-do spirit is indicative of the Irish mentality, he says.

reland performs very well internationally, not just in sport but in everything, including business,” says Jason Smyth. “Ireland without a doubt punches above its weight. You see it all the time – Ireland as a nation is very successful.”

Diagnosed with Stargardt’s disease at the age of eight, Derryborn Smyth has worked hard to become the best in class in the 100m and 200m sprint. Throughout his unbeaten nine years as a Paralympic athlete, he has won every gold medal there is to win.

He has a total of 13 European, World and Paralympic gold medals,

I

as well as being the current world record holder in both of his events.

In a nutshell, he is the fastest Paralympian on the planet.

“It’s not all about the hours put in on the track or in the gym. It’s very much a lifestyle choice. It becomes what you do 24/7. Every choice you make has to reflect ‘is this going to help me perform at the highest level?’”

His commitment to his craft is evident in his goal of becoming the first visually-impaired athlete to compete in both the Paralympics and Olympics. He narrowly missed out on a place at London 2012 by just 0.04 seconds. So, instead, he set records in both the 100m and 200m sprint at

the Paralympics to signal his intent.

Watch out Rio 2016 ...

“I was so close to making the Olympics but lots of small changes will help me get to where I want to be.”

The Irish people can adopt a similar attitude, he believes.

“It’s the same with Ireland, small changes. People can register with ConnectIreland and help.

The concept is a great one.

ConnectIreland connects Ireland to the rest of the world.”

And reaching out to people around the globe is an easy ask for the Irish, he says: “The Irish are probably one of the friendliest, most welcoming, warm and fun nations.

There is a real sense of community

and sense of support among the Irish abroad. Other nations regard the Irish very highly and have a lot of respect and good thoughts and feelings towards Ireland.”

As he continues to work towards his goal of competing in Rio 2016, Smyth took time out from his hectic regime to encourage people to make connections.

“We need to focus on the big picture,” he says. “Ireland is a great country for supporting their own.”

Jason Smyth is a ConnectIreland ambassador, encouraging the people of Ireland, at home and abroad, to introduce internationally expanding companies to Ireland.

WHO DO YOU KNOW? Do you have family or friends working abroad?

Have you ever asked them about their job? If they work in a company considering expansion, introduce them to ConnectIreland and you could earn a sizeable financial reward as well as helping to create jobs.

ConnectIreland is the company responsible for delivering the Government’s Succeed in Ireland initiative, in partnership with IDA Ireland.

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By asking one simple question – is your company expanding? – you could be the catalyst for creating jobs and changing lives.

Every year, more and more international companies are choosing Ireland as the place to do business. Ireland’s Investment Promotion Agency, IDA Ireland, has partnered with over 1,150 companies who have established operations here.

To date, the Succeed in Ireland initiative has helped

Connector Jason Keogh introduced 1E, a global leader in IT efficiency software, to ConnectIreland and has helped created 40 jobs in Dublin

37 companies co to locate in Ireland, Ir creating over 1,000 jobs in the next three-to-five thre years. A large larg number of these jobs jo are on the ground already, al changing the lives live of the people employed em in these companies. co Deemed De the best place in the world to do business

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STREET LIFE | PARIS

LIFE OF SO-PI As the birthplace of the Moulin Rouge, Pigalle has been one of Paris’s most notorious neighbourhoods. Jake Cigainero finds an arrondissement in the grip of a hipster renaissance. Photographs by Carina Okula.

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From the can-can to chien-chien – Nathalie Tochon, opposite, with her pooch Hugoline des près de l’Eden aka Line, on the Rue des Martyrs. Here, a tempting display at Sept Cinq concept store.

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t the foot of the sleepy hillside village of Montmartre, Paris’s infamous red light district is known historically for its debauched cabarets and “ladies of the night”.

Love is still for sale in Pigalle but is mostly confined to the cold neon glow of Boulevard de Clichy, which hosts the storied Moulin Rouge – still a titillating can-can show but mostly a sanitised tourist attraction. After years of taking a backseat to the literary haunts and glam mythos of Paris’s Left Bank, the city of light’s central, Right Bank neighbourhood is pulling in a hipper clientele after cleaning up its act the last few years. “Pig Alley,” as Second World War Allied troops called it, has mostly bid adieu to its raunchy, knicker-waving past and polished up into a certifiable hipster haven dubbed “South Pigalle” or “SoPi” by the BoBos (bourgeois bohemians) – its newest natives and local champions.

Under the watchful eye of the wedding cake that is the Sacré Cœur – peeking over apartment buildings from the top of Montmartre – young pretty things roam the winding streets in a parade of high-low, casual street style with a mix of designer labels such as Acne and APC. All that’s needed to pass as a local are a pair of Nike trainers or smart derby shoes, tight black skinny jeans rolled up at the cuff revealing bare ankles, and a beard or your hair tied up in a top-knot (yes, guys – work that man-bun).

Before its baptism by beard balm and cocktail tonics, the 9th arrondissement between metro stations Pigalle, Blanche and Rue Saint Lazare was traditionally known as Saint-Georges, named after the Roman soldier and Christian martyr Georges de Lydda. Writer Dureau de la Malle dubbed it “La Nouvelle Athènes” (New Athens) in an 1823 edition of the Journal des débats, a nickname referring to its Greco-Roman influenced,

A

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neoclassical architecture.

The sole, titular café on the picturesque roundabout at Place Saint-Georges, where the eponymous street and Rue Notre-Damede-Lorette meet, has the perfect terrace to take in the classic architecture and sleek inhabitants who channel more old Paris charm than the modish street style now taking over the area. Before the statue of 19thcentury French illustrator Paul Gavarni presided over the plaza, the centrepiece was a water fountain for horses, until the metro replaced the carriage.

SoPi is a convergence of the upscale and the salacious, resulting in an area bustling with trendy restaurants, bars and shops frequented by the cool and the creative. And it was always so: painter Auguste Renoir had his

Red is dead?

The Moulin Rouge, top, has seen racier days. Above, our American in Paris, Jake Cigainero.

studio on Rue Saint-Georges; Eugène Delacroix was just one street over on Rue Notre-Damede-Lorette and Paul Gaugin lived next door.

The main artery into South Pigalle, off the Boulevard de Clichy, is the steep (in elevation and price) market street Rue des Martyrs, where you will find award-winning baguettes at the boulangerie Arnaud Delmontel (39 Rue des Martyrs, +33 148 782 933; arnaud-delmontel.com), as well as the standard butchers, rotisseries, fishmongers, and shop shelves stacked high with every mild and smelly French cheese imaginable. The sweetest treat on the street, however, is stepping inside the ethereal, teal and sky blue patisserie Sébastien Gaudard (22 Rue des Martyrs, +33 171 182 470; sebastiengaudard.com).

White-gloved attendants place

STREET LIFE | PARIS

Don’t miss …

PARTY Festival Pigalle celebrates the seductive spirit of the neighbourhood on April 4-5 at nightclub Le Pigallion. The third annual event’s two nights of parties include a line-up of electro-rock sets from DJs including Anoraak, plus steamy, his-and-her performances by Camille Mutel and Eli El Sultan that promise to be “between arty and sexy”.

(11 Place Pigalle; festival-pigalle.com)

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ARTY Skip the lines at the overcrowded museums and see what’s happening on the local contemporary art scene at L’œil du Huit. Starting May 5, a group exhibition will show images from French photographers Isabelle Gressier, Eve Le Roy and Pierre Lesage, followed by bright abstract paintings by Laurent Garcin beginning May 25. (8 Rue Milton, +33 140 230 292; oeilduhuit.com).

JAM Catch the young French rock guitar prodigy Adam Vadel (currently on tour with Carlos Santana) on May 23 at the legendary Bus Palladium. If you fancy yourself as a Pigalle rock star, try to win over the crowd by singing with the live, inhouse band at the club’s monthly karaoke party on the first Saturday of the month.

(6 Rue Pierre Fontaine, +33 145 268 035; lebuspalladium.com)

Dome patrol – the hilltop Sacré Cœur provides an ideal landmark for orientation. And it’s pretty, too.

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your selection of exquisite, to too-pretty-to-eat pastries on a silver tray before neatly tying si them th up in a box.

Before heading downhill into the centre of South in Pigalle, stop and order a Pi flat white from one of the baristas leading the coffee revolution in Paris. If a coffee shop is the hipster’s natural habitat, then KB Cafeshop (53 Avenue

Eat at …

ADVENTUROUS If it’s not in season, you won’t find it on your plate at Les Canailles. The chef uses only fresh produce from the market in the weekly changing menu, which features guinea fowl with foie gras. More adventurous foodies will delight in the lamb kidneys and the chef’s special of beef tongue carpaccio. Dishes start at €19; €26 for two courses. (25 Rue La Bruyère, +33 148 741 048; restaurantlescanailles.fr) MODERN Celebrated chef Franck Baranger’s two-course lunch menu at Le Pantruche, one of the newly termed néobistrots, costs just €19 and is one of the best deals in Paris (dinner starting at €35). Baranger elevates simple French fare to sublime dishes. Best to book ahead and, like many of today’s notable popular restaurants in Paris, Le Pantruche is closed at weekends.

(3 Rue Victor Massé, +33 148 785 560; lepantruche.com) INTERNATIONAL Make room on your agenda to take a break from French gastronomy and have a beautiful bowl of ramen at Ito Chan. If la cuisine française gets to be a bit too heavy, a quick detour into this Japanese canteen with a market-inspired menu will refresh the palate. Ito Izakaya next-door serves up small plates, such as stuffed shiitake mushrooms, alongside warm saké.

(2-4 Rue Pierre Fontaine, +33 952 912 300; itoeats.fr)

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Anti-clockwise from left, KB Cafeshop, a hit with hipsters; mouth-watering morsels at Buvette, a NYC transplant; Gaspard Kaltenbach outside Le Victor loft studios; lifestyle storecum-coffee-shop Le Rocketship.

Trudaine, +33 156 921 241) at the top of the Rue des Martyrs is an appropriate figurative grande porte into South Pigalle. Formerly known as Kooka Boora and recently renovated, this small space is a flytrap for SoPi flâneurs looking for coffee made with a bit more care than the typical, acrid espressos served in Parisian cafés. The Aussieinspired coffee shop brews beans roasted locally in one of the city’s other happening ’hoods, Belleville.

The side streets off Rue des Martyrs lead to the hip heart of the area. Bright, freshly painted store fronts in cheery colours burst from the sophisticated elegance of cream and white residential buildings.

While strolling around, one might spot cool kids strutting their stuff in sweatshirts and baseball caps emblazoned with the Pigalle name.

These are not locally appointed ambassadors or tourists. It’s a logo; a street-style clothing line with basketball roots that made a formal foray into fashion earlier this year during menswear fashion week with a splashy show at the opulent Palais Garnier opera house. For €70, you too can proclaim to the world your Parisian street cred with a Pigallebranded pullover at its self-titled shop (7 Rue Henry Monnier, +33 148 785 974) – or perhaps a stylish h at produced at the same

STREET LIFE | PARIS

Oh là là!

Dapper Christian Boutteville. Top right, Carla Lopez at the Estampe Moderne et Sportive; right, super-cool concept store Sept Cinq and, below right, Christelle Caillot, who hand-makes guitars.

Shop at …

ECLECTIC Photography gallery? Paper boutique? Coffee shop? Le Rocketship is all three and more. The owner will make you a coffee – his first passion – while you shop the colourful stationery and notebooks from Paris designers Papier Tigre, gorgeous coffee table books, and clean Swedish art de la table. (13 bis Rue Henry Monnier, +33 148 782 366; lerocketship.com) CONCEPT A boutique that doubles as a tea room, Sept Cinq is a concept store from très adorable owners Audrey and Lorna. Dedicated

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exclusively to Parisian designers, their men’s and women’s shoes, jewellery, bags and accessories are the toast of South Pigalle. (54 rue Notre-Dame-deLorette, +33 983 550 595; sept-cinq.com) POSTER ART Estampe Moderne et Sportive/ Galerie AM stocks an extensive collection of largeformat vintage travel prints, classic cinema posters, fashion ads and just about any theme you can imagine. Take home a piece of French cool to hang on your wall. (7 & 10 Rue Milton, +33 142 800 103; masterposters.fr)

Left, one of Pigalle’s less ribald theatres.

Above, pops of colour at Hotel Monterosa.

Below, it’s happy hour on the Rue de Navarin.

south-of-France atelier that once manufactured luxury haberdashery for Hermès. (The store also stocks local label Monsieur D.) Naturally, not everyone welcomes these foreign transplants, with many long-timers mourning the fading of the district’s proverbial red glow. Local record storeowner Michel Guinand will tell you the area’s resurgence is driving real estate prices higher by the day. He shares the store Le Chat et la Souris (The Cat and the Mouse, 25 Rue Henry Monnier, +33 953 409 597) with his girlfriend, Isabelle Luce, who designs and makes funky jewellery with vintage baubles scoured from markets. Michel’s record archive of 45,000 titles ranges from 1980s new wave bands, such as Martha and the Muffins and Blondie, to classic rock staples Bruce Springsteen and

The Rolling Stones.

The true gems in his cache are old, cheesy French rock,, obscure Parisian jazz recordings and d oddball pieces such ch as “modern” Turkish h music from the 1970s. Spoken like a true music aficionado, Michel says, “I’m not selling music si – I’m selling a state of mind.”

Otherwise, the neighbourhood is dotted with music shops hocking guitars and sound equipment, but originality and craftsmanship still reign. You can pop into the atelier of Christelle Caillot (46 Rue de Rochefoucauld, +33 614 631 696; christellecaillot.com), where she builds by hand gypsy jazz guitars and funky electric guitars painted

by American artist Troy Henriksen.

Each guitar takes at least one

Sleep at …

BUDGET A rare find in the increasingly pricey city of Paris, Hotel Migny is basic without slumming or sacrificing style. Right in the centre of South Pigalle, the hotel is just steps away from the Rue des Martyrs market street. Rooms from €61. (13 Rue Victor Massé, +33 148 785 997; hotelmigny.com) FRESH Hotel Monterosa shows its FR Pigalle pride with bright red Knoll Risom lounge chairs in the salon. Vibrant and fresh, the rooms have a touch of 1960s funk fu in their simple retro furnishings. furnis Rooms from €129.

(30 Rue la Bruyère, +33 148 748 790; astotel.com/monterosa) HIP HOME Loft studios at Le Victor are charming with their Norwegian forest wall motifs.

No With Wit gourmet markets nearby, the residence hotel is perfect for picking residen up some snacks and enjoying a bottle of wine in your room. Rooms from €155.

(31bis Rue Victor Massé, +33 144 633 levictor-paris.com;) 698; le SEXY Just on the edge of South Pigalle, the four-star Hôtel R de Paris offers contemporary serenity in the city, though the slate interior of the lobby may make you feel like you have stepped on to the set of Fifty Shades of Grey.

Renovated just over a year ago, cool tones create calming spaces appointed with elegant marble fireplaces. Rooms from €185. (41 Rue de Clichy, +33 140 823 620; hotelrdeparis.com)

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month to make and so far she has made only 52 signed and numbered instruments.

Along with adopting New York nicknaming practices, SoPi has also welcomed NYC eatery Buvette (28 Rue Henry Monnier, +33 144 634 171; paris.ilovebuvette. com). This bar à vin import from American restaurateur Jody Williams (whose French bistro goes by the same name in Manhattan’s West Village) brings in the locals on their lunch hour. On the weekend, may the brunch gods be with you if you chance to try your luck at snagging a table. Whether you need to refuel midday or wind down after wandering around the sloping streets, the cosy joint and its friendly staff turn out smallplate takes on the classic French bistro menu, such as coq au vin and hearty tartines piled high with fresh ingredients, and, of course, wine.

Easygoing by day, the quartier comes alive at night once Parisians wake from their disco naps, and the bars and dance clubs start slinging drinks and cranking up their sound ENJOY THE systems. Around SCENERY midnight, partygoers Just north of Place Saintstart lining up at the Gaspard Kaltenbach Georges is the small, secluded velvet-rope of is happy to share his public garden Le Square AlexLe Carmen (34 Pigalle picks.

Biscarre. This green space is in itself Rue Duperré, Even with its hip unremarkable but the interior view +33 145 265 000; transformation and of the surrounding buildings’ prele-carmen.fr), a development over the Nouvelle Athènes architecture steadfast favourite last few years, Pigalle’s is simply stunning. where DJs spin familiar renaissance doesn’t look pop and R&B mashups, to be slowing down anytime and deep house, across soon. The tastemakers behind the two levels. Composer George popular Experimental Cocktail Bizet wrote his famous opera Club in the 2nd arrondissement Carmen in this converted baroque (37 Rue Saint-Sauveur, +33 145 088 mansion, though it’s doubtful he 809; experimentalcocktailclub.com) also decorated it with giant gold are opening a hotel, Grand Pigalle birdcages and velour banquettes.

(29 Rue Victor Massé; grandpigalle.

When you’re ready to crash, com), this spring. With its Wes Le Victor (31bis Rue Victor Massé, Anderson-universe vibes, the hotel +33 144 633 698; levictor-paris.com; is sure to be another see-and-berooms from €155) is the closest seen hangout. In keeping with the you can come to your own home neighbourhood’s classic spirit, the in Pigalle without investing in real hotel is billing itself as a “bed estate. The boutique hotel offers and beverage”. seven kitchen-equipped studio The sordid, good time bar à apartments with an updated, earthy hôtesses may no longer be a Pigalle retro style, and your dashing host staple, but you can still have a drink 90 |

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ILLUSTRATION BY FUCHSIA MACAREE

STREET LIFE | PARIS

in some of the old spaces that have been converted into cheeky watering holes. L’Orphée (7 Rue Pierre Fontaine, +33 142 802 438) is a somewhat secret cocktail bar, where partygoers ring the bell of an unmarked door guarded by a choosy bouncer.

Your call whether to hold your jacket or check it in: the old massage salon is now the cloakroom.

Although Pigalle’s hedonist roots have withered back to the main boulevard in its modern reincarnation, the area’s good-time reputation thankfully remains intact via echoes of its seamy past – and ironic nods to naughtier times.

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CULTURE | WASHINGTON

From stunning monuments and museums to food markets and an increasingly impressive restaurant scene, Washington will make your trip as busy as a presidential schedule.

Simon Carswell plans your itinerary. Photographs by Al Higgins.

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A view of the Washington Monument and Capitol Building from the pillars of the Lincoln Memorial.

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CULTURE | WASHINGTON

O

n a map Washington, DC looks almost like a diamond. The state of Virginia and the Potomac river chip away at its south-western edge but take nothing from its sheen. This city is a treasure chest full of gems.

Washington, as the nation’s capital, is a place that likes to show off. Whether it’s one of the grand memorials to a past president or the lanyard-wearing Capitol Hill staffer who thinks he will be president, this town has a swagger about it.

Driving up broad Pennsylvania Avenue to the majestic dome of the US Capitol, it’s hard not be swept up by the power of it all.

One of the great things about living in Washington is there is an abundance of things to do, so even repeat visitors could never be bored.

From the stunning monuments to the museums, from the city’s sports teams to the increasingly impressive restaurant scene, Washington will make your holiday as busy as a presidential schedule.

A good place to begin is the US Capitol (East Capitol Street NE & First Street SE, +1 202 226 8000; visitthecapitol.gov). It is the centre from which the city’s four quadrants are drawn. You will likely spend most time in North West where many attractions are, although the popular Capitol Hill in South East and the so-called “transitional neighbourhood” to the north, are erasing DC’s once crime-ridden reputation.

Walking around the corridors of the Capitol on a guided tour, from the Rotunda with its dramatic paintings of the Baptism of Pocahontas and the Declaration of Independence among others, to the Old Supreme Court Chamber, you’ll feel like an extra on House of Cards.

The National Arboretum (3501 New York Avenue NE, +1 202 245 2726; usna.usda.gov), a short taxi journey north-east of Capitol Hill, is worth visiting, if only to avoid the crowds showing up in late 94 |

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Top, the steps of the Capitol Building.

Above, new Washingtonian, Simon Carswell.

March/early April at the Tidal Basin, about a 15 minutedrive away, for the all-too-brief springtime explosion of colour that is the National Cherry Blossom Festival (until April 12; nationalcherryblossomfestival. org). The basin is like an Impressionist painting when the flowers on the Yoshino Cherry trees, gifts from Japan, burst into life. But peak bloom can bring peak stress when dealing with the crowds along the narrow paths around the basin. Visit early, at dawn, to avoid the gauntlet of camera tripods. The arboretum has cherry blossoms too and is quieter. It also remains in

bloom with the seasonal procession of magnolias and azaleas long after the basin’s blossoms turn to foliage.

From the Capitol, the best way to travel is on foot. Head west down the National Mall and pick from one of the Smithsonian museums and galleries (+1 202 633 1000; si.edu). You are spoiled for choice. There are 19 in all, along with the affiliated National Zoo (3001 Connecticut Avenue NW, +1 202 633 4888; nationalzoo.si.edu), enough to fill a long weekend and, remarkably, at no cost at all: the museums and galleries are free.

The National Air and Space Museum (600 Independence

CULTURE | WASHINGTON

150th anniversary of the CIVIL SERVICES April 15 marks the m Lincoln at Ford’s Theatre assassination of President Abraha 3; fordstheatre.org). Expect (511 10th Street NW, +1 202 347 483 over that period. plenty of commemorative events

Avenue SW, +1 202 633 2214; airandspace.si.edu) is a must-visit for families travelling with children.

This place will bring out your inner child and the adults are likely to outpace the children in the rush to see the Spirit of St Louis, Charles Lindberg’s aeroplane that transported him on the first solo transatlantic flight, or the Apollo 11 Command Module that brought Neil Armstrong to the moon. This museum is like a virtual game of Top Trumps. You can almost smell the jet fuel.

True aviation nuts should check out the National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F Udvar-Hazy Center near Dulles Airport out in Virginia (14390 Air and Space Museum Parkway, Chantilly, +1 703 572 4118; airandspace. si.edu). It’s about a 50-minute drive outside the city but walking under a Lockheed Blackbird, an Air France Concorde or the Space Shuttle Discovery will make the car journey worthwhile.

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visit to the National Museum of Natural History and Butterfly Pavilion (10th Street & Constitution Avenue NW, +1 202 633 1000; mnh.si.edu) for the latter experience. They charge here – $6 for adults, $5.50 for seniors and $5 for children – but it’s free on Tuesdays. Children will talk about a beautiful butterfly landing on them for ages.

Another museum that will stay in your memory long after you visit, but for very different reasons, is the nearby US Holocaust Memorial Museum (100 Raoul Wallenberg Place SW, +1 202 488 0400; ushmm.org). The extraordinary design of this museum delivers a powerful emotional punch. That’s the thing about Washington: the city’s sometimes bombastic monuments, to war heroes and commemorations of struggles, military or otherwise, may turn off some visitors but they can also be very affecting, none more so than the Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial (Memorial Park, 5 Henry Bacon Drive NW, +1 202 426 6841;

Far left, the entrance to the Smithsonian Natural History Museum. Clockwise, from top left, the White House; Mina Karimi selling art at the Eastern Market; the International Spy Museum on 8th Street; Sarah Beck, Brookland; Kramer Books, Dupont Circle; DC’s efficient Metro network; Mike Hill, H Street; Oyamel Cocina Mexicana; centre, the Museum of American Art.

Sleep at …

CLASSIC At the upper end of the market, if you have the budget of a visiting dignitary, you could stay at The Willard (1401 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, +1 202 628 9100; washington. intercontinental.com). At this old-world, fivestar hotel you can rub shoulders with senators and foreign leaders and sip a mint julep, the cocktail that was reputedly introduced to DC (by Senator Henry Clay) in the Round Robin Bar, a stone’s throw from the White House.

Double rooms start at $536 (€471) a night.

ON TREND The four-star W Hotel (515 15th Street NW, +1 202 661 2400; wwashingtondc. com) nearby is trendier and the 11th-floor rooftop terrace bar offers spectacular views of Washington’s monuments and landmarks.

Rooms from about $400 a night.

CENTRAL The four-star, Irish-owned Dupont Circle Hotel (1500 New Hampshire Avenue NW, +1 202 483 6000; doylecollection.com), has the benefit of being centrally located and the outside terrace is popular with the after-work and weekend crowd. Rooms from $249.

BOUTIQUE The three-star Capitol Hill Hotel (200 C Street SE, +1 202 543 6000; capitolhillhotel-dc.com) is an excellent location from which to walk to the Smithsonian museums and galleries, and to enjoy Capitol Hill’s tree-lined streets and multi-coloured townhouses. Comfortable and cool, rooms start from just over $200 a night.

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Eat at …

Hungry for power or just good food, Washington serves both appetites well.

BUZZY On Capitol Hill, Rose’s Luxury (717 8th Street SE, +1 202 580 8889; rosesluxury.com) tops the food polls after being named America’s best new restaurant by food magazine Bon Appétit last year. Unfortunately, you have to queue from late afternoon to get a table but the food makes up for the unusual no reservations policy.

Prices aren’t bad for the grub on offer – $130 (€115) for dinner for two with wine.

DOWNTOWN Zaytinya (701 9th Street NW, +1 202 638 0800; zaytinya. com) and Oyamel Cocina Mexicana (401 7th Street NW, +1 202 628 1005; oyamel.com), the restaurants owned by celebrity chef José Andrés, are hard to beat and both reasonably priced.

Zaytinya serves flavoursome, tapasstyle plates of Turkish, Lebanese and Greek cuisine. In Oyamel, the best Mexican restaurant in town, you can wash down a grasshopper taco with one of their “salt-air” margaritas.

MARKETS Washington has some great, fresh food, outdoor markets.

Dupont Circle’s market on Sundays and the Union Market “gourmet hall” (1309 5th Street NE, +1 301 652 7400; unionmarketdc.com) showcase excellent artisan food sellers. The weekend food stalls and flea market at Eastern Market on Capitol Hill (225 7th Street SE, +1 202 698 5253; easternmarket-dc.org) offer a nice slice of Washington life as locals mix with tourists and political types.

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FAST FOOD It doesn’t come better than at the Good Stuff Eatery on Capitol Hill (303 Pennsylvania Avenue SE, +1 202 543 8222; goodstuffeatery. com) and in Georgetown (3291 M Street NW, +1 202 337 4663). Try the “Prez Obama Burger,” named after a visit by POTUS himself. Also, at the fast end, Ben’s Chili Bowl (1213 U Street OPEN NW, +1 202 667 0909; HOUSE benschilibowl.com), On May 9, the Washington opened in 1958, is embassies of European Union famous for its halfcountries throw open their doors smoke hotdogs to visitors seeking history, culture and is something and cuisine. Some of of a Washington the mansions are well institution. worth checking out. euopenhouse.org REFINED Minibar (855 East Street NW, +1 202 393 0812; Power lunches – minibarbyjoseandres.com), another above left, ceviche José Andrés restaurant, will cost prep at Oyamel you, but the food comes highly Cocina Mexicana, recommended. They only accept off 8th Street, and reservations once a quarter, so right, hot-spot Ben’s Chili Bowl you have to plan well ahead. It is on U street. much easier to reserve a table at Restaurant Eve in Alexandria, Virginia, a suburb of Washington (110 South Pitt Street, +1 703 706 0450; restauranteve.com). Owned by Dublin-born chef Cathal Armstrong, it serves some the best food in the area. The sleepy charm of the lowlylit 1789 Restaurant in Georgetown (1226 36th Street NW, +1 202 965 1789; 1789restaurant.com) feels like a throwback to older times. Wait, is that Bill and Hillary in the corner?

nps.gov/vive). It’s hard not to be moved by this monument, near the most westerly end of the National Mall. As you walk the pathway down this large gash in the earth, the names of more than 58,000 killed in the conflict grow in number and eventually tower above you on a black marble wall.

Seeing relatives trace the name of a loved one on paper from the wall brings home how fresh the wounds are from this dreadful conflict.

Equally haunting at night is the Korean War Veterans Memorial (900 Ohio Drive SW; nps.gov/kowa) and the ghostly faces of 19 steel soldiers on a patrol.

For an aerial view of the city, you can go to the top of the Washington Monument (in the middle of the National Mall), now that the cracks in the 170-metrehigh marble obelisk created by a 2011 earthquake have been repaired (for tickets, visit nps.gov/wamo).

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CULTURE | WASHINGTON

Pennsylvania Avenue, looking towards the reconstruction works to the dome of the Capitol building.

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Don’t miss …

1

My favourite spot is the Lincoln Memorial (2 Lincoln Memorial Circle NW; nps.gov/linc). The monument to the 16th US president offers a great vantage point over the Reflecting Pool and the view that Martin Luther King Jr had when he delivered his famous “I Have A Dream” speech in 1963. It’s hard to get bored with this view. Inside, the marble Lincoln sitting on a throne, with the words of his two most famous speeches carved into the walls either side of him, is as close as Washington gets to political deification. You may find yourself putting off the next item on your list to sit here a little longer.

2

The International Spy Museum (800 F Street NW, +1 202 393 7798; spymuseum.org) is one of the most fun museums in town. Here you can assume the identity of a spy at the start of your tour and learn about espionage and tradecraft skills. The exhibits are fascinating, including real-life James Bond-style gadgets such as an umbrella gun used by the KGB to kill a dissident in London, and an Enigma machine, the cipher machine used by the Germans in the Second World War to send secret messages. Be warned, spying is not cheap: at $21.95 for adults and $14.95 for

children aged seven-to-eleven, this is one of Washington’s more expensive tourist attractions.

3

An essential stop on the Washington trail is the Newseum (555 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, +1 202 292 6100; newseum.org), the monument to the First Amendment right to freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Here you can see the door that the Watergate burglars tapped open the night they were caught trying to bug the Democratic National Committee headquarters, as well as part of the wreckage from the Twin Towers in New York City.

4

For a fresh-air option, Dumbarton Oaks House and Gardens (1703 32nd Street NW, +1 202 339 640; doaks.org) on a hill above Washington is listed sixth in National Geographic’s Top Ten Gardens of the World. While it’s tempting to spend a whole day wandering down Lover’s Lane or investigating the kitchen gardens, the museum’s preColumbian collection is housed in a Philip Johnson-designed annex, which takes your breath away and then restores it with a Zen-like calm. It’ll leave you ready to cope with political-scandal-level stress.

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From here you’ll have the best view in town of the White House (1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, +1 202 456 1111; whitehouse.gov).

Two things seem to surprise firsttime visitors about the president’s home: the house is so small and it is right in the middle of the city. The presidential mansion, designed by Irish-born architect James Hoban, offers tours but overseas visitors must apply through the Embassy of Ireland (2234 Massachusetts Avenue NW, +1 202 462 3939; embassyofireland.org) so advance planning is essential if you’ve any chance of seeing where Barack Obama calls home. Requests must be made 21 days in advance by emailing washingtonembassy@dfa.ie.

There are also tours of the White House’s grounds, including the famous Rose Garden (whitehouse.gov). Other great views of the city can be seen from the Iwo Jima Memorial (Arlington, Virginia), the Marine Corps War Memorial and the site of John F Kennedy’s grave in Arlington Cemetery (Arlington, Virginia, +1 877 907 8585; arlingtoncemetery. mil), both across the river.

While much of Washington is accessible on foot, the weather can be suffocatingly hot or oppressively cold. July and August can be swamp-like humid, while the January and February wind chills barrelling down DC’s streets make them the coldest months. You may not want to spend too much time outdoors at these times of year.

Luckily, the Metro underground is mostly reliable and easy to navigate.

The temperate days of May-June and September-October make these the best times to visit.

One place not accessible on the Metro is upmarket Georgetown, where political movers-and-shakers, wealthy shoppers and trust-fund university kids mix. The shops and restaurants make this a popular neighbourhood to be seen in. The hippest nightspot right now is not Georgetown but the 14th Street corridor where a new restaurant seems to open every week. Nearby, U Street has the liveliest bars, while Capitol Hill’s 8th Street 102 |

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ILLUSTRATION BY KATHI BURKE

CULTURE | WASHINGTON

and H Street, north of the Hill, are challenging the Dupont Circle area for decent places to eat out and drink in. Washington was once a place where world-changing deals were done by day and important papers were stored at night as the city emptied with the evening rush-hour. Thankfully, this has changed and the city’s heart is beating harder and faster. It is not New York or Chicago but neither can it be regarded as a place only populated by people seeing out terms of office.

This new-found vibrancy, invigorating the hours after the museums and galleries close, gives this near-diamond even more of a sparkle.

Have a rendezvous with the ApolloSoyuz replica at the National Air and Space Museum.

Follow Simon @SiCarswell

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RANDO LAC HAUTE DÉF © JEAN-CHARLES POIROT

WALKING HOLIDAYS | BEING THERE

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These boots are made for walkin' …

Catherine Murphy maps the ways.

Chamonix, France

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the golden age of alpinism in Chamonix and we can’t think of a better time to explore its impressive network of hiking trails. In 1865, Victorian alpinism peaked with 65 first ascents across the Alps, including seven of the Mont Blanc Massif. To this day, Chamonix remains a base camp for pioneering sportspeople but it has something for walkers of all levels. As the hardcore prepares for the Marathon du Mont Blanc (montblancmarathon.net) in June or the Mont Blanc Ultra Trail (ultratrailmb.com) in August, you can opt for easier treks such as the Grand Balcon Sud walk, a lakes trail that takes two-and-a-half hours and offers magnificent mountain views. Or, combine hiking with music and culture: between late June and November 2015, Chamonix will showcase the 19thcentury treasures of the Alpine Club with events, exhibitions and heritage tours. Drop into the Majestic conference centre to admire the imposing paintings of Gabriel Loppe, who painted during expeditions and was part of that golden age of alpinism. For hiking with a twist, the annual Cosmo Jazz Festival (cosmojazzfestival.com) runs from July 25 to August 2, and features concerts at high altitude (up to 2,800 metres) with natural stages next to the glacier. Hike for up to two hours to concert sites – or cheat a little and take the lift. For more info, visit chamonix.com.

Stay at ... The five-star Hameau Albert 1er, a fiveminute walk from the centre of Chamonix and home to the very lovely La Maison Carrier restaurant, which boasts an impressive chimney for smoking meat and a dessert buffet deserved only by those who have hiked all day. The hotel’s one-night Granite Package costs €680 for two, including dinner and spa entry. (38 route du Bouchet, Chamonix, Mont Blanc, +33 450 530 509; hameaualbert.fr)

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Rock Creek Park, Washington DC, USA

TURISMO DO ALENTEJO

WALKING HOLIDAYS | BEING THERE

Walking the National Mall is just a threekilometre hike through parkland and green areas, and tours such as DC By Foot (freetoursbyfoot.com) or Cultural Tourism DC (culturaltourismdc.org) will help keep you on your toes. But if you want to get out for a day’s hiking or trail running close to the capital, head for Rock Creek Park (nps.gov/rocr), a national park with a long history. Native Americans once quarried rock to make tools, fished the creeks and hunted here. These days the park is still home to wild coyotes, and red and grey foxes. A nearby highlight is the C&O Canal Trail, a 297-kilometre canal-side walk that connects to Rock Creek Park from Georgetown.

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Rota Vicentina, Alentejo, Portugal Think stunning, unspoilt routes along the wild south-west coast of Portugal and you’ll have some idea of this 350-kilometre route between Santiago do Cacém and the Cape of St Vincent in the western Algarve and Alentejo regions. There are two routes, both set in natural parkland. There’s the Historical Way, a classic route that’s accessible to mountain bikers as well as hikers and takes visitors through cork tree forests, valleys, over mountain ranges and along rivers and creeks in a journey through time.

And then there’s the Fisherman’s Trail, a single track along cliffs that can only be done on foot and exposes walkers to stunning scenery, lovely fishing villages and, at times, wild and powerful ocean winds. One of the best things about the Rota Vicentina is the sense that you are away from it all – accommodation is in simple but welcoming Portuguese guesthouses.

Then there are the beaches. After a few hours hiking, stop for a dip in the ocean at the mesmerising Cabo Sardao. It’s also one of the world’s most favoured areas to observe storks’ nests in a maritime environment. For more info, visit visitalentejo.pt.

Stay at ... Herdade do Touril, a traditional, tranquil, country home with just twelve bedrooms and a saltwater swimming pool. Close to the fishing village of Zambujeira do Mar, it’s a farm by the seaside, with private terraces and great views in a home-from-home atmosphere.

Double rooms from €90 per night.

(Zambujeira do Mar, Odemira, +351 937811627; touril.pt)

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Stay at ... Loews Madison, a four-star heritage hotel that’s said to be almost as good an address as 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and has hosted every US president since 1963. Situated in the heart of downtown DC, it has a historic soul and modern style with celebrity chef Jose Garces at the helm in its restaurant Rural Society. The hotel’s Washington Experience break during May costs from $299 per night. (1177 15th Street NW, +1 202 862 1600; loewshotels.com)

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WALKING HOLIDAYS | BEING THERE

The Eagle Walk, Tyrol, Austria

So-called because of its shape on the map and because it crosses mountain ranges “as the eagle flies”, the 320-kilometre Eagle Walk takes hikers through 24 stages. With a mix of terrain that varies from gentle to steep, it offers something for both novice and expert walkers. Starting at the Wilder Kaiser range in St Johann, which is around 120 kilometres from Munich and set in the Kitzbüheler Alpen, it goes all the way to the Arlberg, via Kufstein, and hikers can choose day-long or multi-week hikes.

Whichever you choose, stop to visualise the early summiteers and appreciate the passion of people who cut trails and built shelters along the way. Highlights along the Eagle Walk include the Schleier waterfall, which, despite having a 60-metre drop, can be climbed because the water falls well away from the rock. Another stop on the route is the Klamml Gorge, which offers stunning views of the pinnacles, spires, ledges and buttresses of the surrounding peaks and also has a high level Via Ferrata for experienced climbers. Die-hards will also find a shorter Eagle Walk in east Tyrol with 93 kilometres of trails set beneath the Grossglockner, Austria’s highest peak. For more info, visit tyrol.com.

Stay at ... Hotel Kaiserhof, Ellmau. The Tyrol’s smallest five-star hotel has 36 bedrooms, alpine decor, five restaurants, a 300-square-metre terrace, spa and outdoor bathing lake. One week’s half-board for two people in summer costs €1,750. (Harmstätt 8, Ellmau, +43 5358 2022; kaiserhof-ellmau.at)

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Via Francigena, Italy This medieval pilgrims’ route spans 1,900 kilometres, taking walkers through some of the most stunning regions of Europe, including Italy’s history-soaked Aosta Valley and the rolling hills of Tuscany. The Way to Rome follows in the footsteps of tenth-century Archbishop of Canterbury, Sigeric the Serious, who kept detailed written descriptions of his journey. Today, the route is broken up into 16 week-long stages and, although the Via Francigena doesn’t have the same number of walkers as the Camino de Santiago (which has its obvious benefits), Lucca to Sienna (in section 14) and the final stage to Rome are amongst the most popular sections.

Tuscan highlights include two Unesco-listed sites, San Gimignano with its 14 imposing medieval towers and Siena, famed for its

cuisine, art, museums and the Palio medieval horse race, held each July and August. Section 14 – San Miniato to Siena – costs €648pp halfboard, including luggage transfers, hotels, and a holiday pack, with caminoways.com.

Stay at ... The four-star Miravalle Palace Hotel, San Miniato. A former medieval palace, it overlooks the Piazza del Duomo and Tuscan countryside. (Piazza del Castello, San Miniato, +39 0571 418075; albergomiravalle.com)

to Oviedo but section three – from elegant Santander to Ribadesella – stands out. This section takes walkers along the Atlantic coast, through rolling green hills, deep valleys and into the medieval villages of Cantabria – with

the Picos de Europa mountain range visible in the distance. Another constant is the allure of excellent, reasonably priced, local cuisine in family-run restaurants throughout the region. Stop in villages such as Santillana del Mar, Cóbreces or the little seaside village of Suances, where many Cantabrian families have holiday homes. Walkers then move on to Asturias, famous for its sidrerias (cider bars), the seaside town of Llanes and, again, excellent indigenous cuisine at great prices.

One must-see along the way is El Capricho de Gaudí (elcaprichodegaudi.com) in the Cantabrian village of Comillas. One of only three Gaudí buildings outside Catalunya, it’s also one of his earliest buildings and proved to be a marker for his subsequent work. Gaudí is said to have walked the route to Santiago de Compostela incognito, passing by Comillas on the way. Six-night half-board packages with followthecamino.com cost from €542pp including luggage transfers.

Camino del Norte, Spain The roads of the Northern Way are less travelled than the French Way to Santiago de Compostela – all the better for those who recognise the beauty of “Green Spain”. This pilgrims’ route stretches from San Sebastián

Stay at ... The four-star Hotel Mar Comillas, a modern hotel with beautiful views, which features in Follow the Camino’s Northern Way programme. (Paseo del Jarón s/n Urbanización Rovacías, Comillas, Cantabria, +34 942 720 490; hotelmarcomillas.net)

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WALKING HOLIDAYS | BEING THERE

Bluestack and Slí Cholmcille, Co Donegal, Ireland

This walking trail combines the Bluestack Mountain Way, St Colmcille Coastal Way and the Slieve League Pilgrim Way in Co Donegal. If one of your main aims is to capture fantastic images while hiking, this corner of the country certainly won’t disappoint. Along with spectacular coastal views and mountain passes, hikers are treated to a rich cultural and archaeological heritage, with numerous historic monuments, including the Glencolumbcille Cross Pillar – a three-metre high Christian monument dating back to 700-800 AD and named after one of the three patron saints of Ireland – and the Napoleonic signal tower at Glen Head. The Slieve League sea cliffs are a literal high point of the route. Towering 600 metres above the sea, they’re the tallest in Ireland, three times higher than the Cliffs of Moher and some of the highest in Europe. Half board walking tours cost €659pp including luggage transfers and holiday pack.

For more info, visit irelandways.com.

Stay at ... Lough Eske Castle, right, hotel and spa.

Reward yourself after a day’s hiking at Donegal’s only five-star hotel. An award-winning, Tudorbaronial castle that dates back to the 14th century, Lough Eske Castle was lovingly restored in 2007, and is set amid 17 hectares of forest woodland, with the Bluestack mountains as a backdrop. (Lough Eske, Co Donegal, 074 972 5100; solishotels.com)

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MASTERCLASS | LIFE DRAWING

Once the preserve of art schools, life drawing has firmly left the classroom.

Lucy White puts charcoal to paper. hirty seconds left!” calls a disembodied voice beyond the easel that I’m quite sure belongs to artist Alan Clarke. In between us is a perfectly still, naked man, who is the focal point for eight pairs of eyes, each one trying to convert his skin and sinew into a work of art before our allotted two minutes expire.

I am at I Sing the Body Electric, a new life drawing series in Dublin’s Back Loft Studios, hosted by Clarke, whose versatile illustrations include the Ross O’Carroll Kelly series and poster artwork for the Body and Soul festival and events. In Dublin’s Back Loft Studios, we start on twominute poses, then five then ten. The last hour is spent on two 25-minute poses, which seems a lifetime after the earlier sketches – but in a good way. There’s nothing more wonderfully escapist than putting pen/pencil/pastel/paint to paper.

Once upon a time, artists such as Monet, Degas and Schiele visited brothels to find female studies (well, that was their excuse …). These days, life drawing classes have been fully democratised and are popping up in the unlikeliest of places: Dr

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PHOTOGRAPHS BY PAUL MAHON.

Bare necessities ELECTRIC EASELS Alan Clarke’s 90-minute life drawing sessions run weekly at the Back Loft Studios from 7pm, €12.

Advance booking essential. mralanclarke.com/blog

Sketchy’s burlesque-inspired sessions have been propping up bars and festivals at home and away (drsketchy. com), while Cork microbrewery Franciscan Well hosts Drink and Draw nights every Thursday (franciscanwellbrewery.com).

The last time I did life drawing was on a hen party in Galway last year – genius! – but before that, these classes were on the curriculum at my art school. Problem is, that was in Britain during the 1990s, when the “classic” arts of drawing and painting were considered unfashionable; it was all formaldehyde sharks and Tracey Emin’s knickers. As such I see zero progress from the doodle before me to the ones I made in 1995.

But that would be missing the point. While life drawing can be formally taught – and Clarke will

Quick off the draw – above and below, the artists get to work, while model Thomas McDermott strikes a pose.

be teaching such sessions this summer – “anyone can draw”, insists Christian Hayden, of A4art supplies, who support the sessions.

Certainly, it’s the ultimate stress buster; you think of nothing else but the lines in front of you.

In a way, you are only as “good” as your subject – an experienced model knows which poses will be the most interesting to draw, as well as the importance of stillness and body confidence. “That’s why Martin [Watson] is so great, he knows what he’s doing,” says Clarke. “We’ve been inundated with life model applications. But people who have never done it before often cancel.

Because they walk around the house naked, they think they’ll be fine to take their clothes off in a studio, and then the day arrives ...” (To combat last-minute nerves he now invites potential models to come to a class first so they know what to expect.)

Obviously, it takes body confidence to stand starkers before an audience but, from the artist’s perspective, you quickly forget that they’re naked; they fast become line, form, light and shade – nude. My life drawings will never win the Turner Prize or hang in a gallery but I don’t care. I got to lose myself for 90 minutes without breaking a sweat, everyone works at their own pace and ability, and there’s a donations bar …

They didn’t have that at college.

The Head Chef Dave carving from a selection of freshly roasted meats at the Carvery

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BEING THERE | BORDEAUX

48 hours in

Bordeaux

Big, beautiful spaces, narrow cobbled streets and wonderful food and wine – no wonder Conor Power adores Bordeaux city, a Unesco World Heritage Site.

Eat at …

THOMAS SANSON

The region enjoys a cast of thousands of superb specialities; from Arcachon Bay oysters and eel fricassée to grenier médocain (local fancy sausage), canelés pastries and asparagus (white, from Blaye to the north, and green, from the Landes to the south).

STUNNING Le Gabriel occupies the central building on Place de la Bourse, in front of the Miroir d’Eau, the world’s largest reflecting pool – the ultimate place to people-watch from Michelin-level comfort. Chef Nicolas Frion is a local lad with bright ideas like Acquitaine Caviar as a floating island with cauliflower.

(10 Place de la Bourse, +33 556 300 080; bordeaux-gabriel.fr)

Don’t miss ...

A NIGHT AT THE OPERA The landmark Grand Théâtre is a place worth dressing up for and immersing yourself in an evening performance.

It has a packed programme of dance and theatre, so even if you miss the once-monthly operas, you’ll still have an opportunity to put on your glad rags and wave your fan. (Place de la Comédie, +33 556 008 595 opera-bordeaux.com)

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MID-DAY FILLER The Cambridge Arms Pub has been feeding the good people of this formerly English city with enormous brunches at tasty prices. The kind of place where you might even be served by a former professional rugby player from West Cork. (27 Rue Rode, +33 556 511 922)

GILLES ARROYO

WINE The heart of the most important wine-growing region on Earth? Yum! Half-day wine tours to Saint-Emilion skirt rolling hills covered in vines bearing the names of so many wonderful wines that you’ll do well not to be salivating by the time you get to the dream-like town of Saint-Emilion itself.

(Office de Tourisme, +33 556 006 600; bordeaux-tourisme.com)

GLIDING BY With more than 200 kilometres of safe cycle lanes in Bordeaux, it would be rude and silly not to get your bearings around town on two wheels. Cool Bike offers the option of an electric bike. Wind through cobbled streets or swish along quaysides, following a new, self-guided city tour. (77 Quai des Chartrons, +33 533 481 386; coolbik2.wix.com/bordeaux)

Top, the appropriately monikered Grand Théâtre and, above, wine tourists in SaintEmilion. Above right, L’Orangerie restaurant has one of the best outdoor terraces in the city.

GARDEN GRUB With one of the most beautiful outdoor terraces in the city, L’Orangerie is in the middle of the action but feels like the countryside. Deliciously varied seasonal cuisine is served under the shade of concrete balustrades.

Wonderful in early summer.

(Jardin Publique, +33 556 482 441; lorangeriedebordeaux.com)

Sleep at …

CÉELINE LESCURE

LUXURY The Grand Hôtel de Bordeaux & Spa is the poshest address in town. Designed by Victor Louis just before the Revolution, it faces his other great masterpiece, Le Grand Théâtre.

Renovated in 2007, the interior is a five-star paradise of atmospheric restoration, multiple marble surfaces and a rooftop suite.

(Place de la Comédie, +33 557 304 444; ghbordeaux.com) ANTIQUITIES Nestled amidst the grid-like pattern of the Chartrons district is the Hôtel l’Avant-Scène – a boutique, three-star nest of nine individual rooms. One can vourite imagine it being the firm favourite

of a 19th-century British wine merchant or some such, and the proliferation of antique shops here gives it a certain timelessness.

(36 Rue Borie, +33 557 292 539; lavantscene.fr) CONVENIENCE What it lacks in traditional charm, the 1970s-era Les Citadines Apart’hotel offers a very affordable, no-nonsense setup with clean, bright rooms above a lounge and reception. The large Mériadeck shopping centre is just across a modest-size public park and the city centre is a ten-minute walk away. (25 Rue Jean Fleuret, +33 557 016 270; citadines.com)

VINCENT BENGOLD

Top left, the Grand Hôtel de Bordeaux. eaux.

Left, the Quai ai des Marquess and, right, nautical chic ic at I.Boat. Below, w, bygone buys at Passage de St Michel.

Shop at …

For atmospheric browsing, try the historic and charming narrow streets of Saint-Pierre aka “Old Bordeaux”.

Lots of antique and wine shops are to be found in the Chartrons district, while the Grands Hommes area is where upmarket gear awaits.

TREASURE TROVE Part antique super-store, part exhibition space and part dusty old curiosity shop, the Passage de St Michel also comes complete with a brasserie – all housed in a beautiful 18th-century building that was once used for ripening bananas. What’s not to like?

(14 Place Canteloup, +33 556 740 184; lesbrocanteursdupassage.fr)

Drink at …

ONE-STOP SHOP The Bordeaux eaux version of Galéries Lafayette is a great, old-school-style department store, with ranges es from the affordable to the expensive. (11-19 Rue Sainte-Catherine, +33 556 909 271; galerieslafayette.com) BARGAINS Quai des Marques is the great factory outlet à la française. Brands are gathered in five refurbished, 300-year-old warehouses along the banks of the Garonne. Dangerously attractive prices on labels such as Boss, Delsey, etc. (Quai des Chartrons, +33 557 873 008; quaidesmarques.com)

AVANT GARDE Café Andrée AV Pu Putman is at the top of the CAPC – Bordeaux’s modern art museum.

Great roof terrace. (7 Rue Ferrère, +33 556 447 161; cafeandreeputman.com) TRADITIONAL L’Autre Salon de Thé is the place to step back in time.

They seemingly have every tea (and confection) in the world within their wallpaper-and-mirrored walls. (11 Rue des Remparts, +33 556 485 543) WATERFRONT A smashing spot for an evening drink, I.Boat (an actual boat) sits in the city’s historical harbour basin, and is also a restaurant and nightclub. (Quai Armand Lalande, +33 556 104 835; iboat.eu) AER LINGUS FLIES FROM DUBLIN TO BORDEAUX FIVE TIMES PER WEEK.

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43-44 Francis Street Dublin 8, Ireland ☎ 454 1143/453 9659 e info@osullivanantiques.com 51 East 10th Street New York, N.Y. 10003 ☎ 212 260 8985 e newyork@osullivanantiques.com

www.osullivanantiques.com

WAIKIKI BAR in the Papaga Papagayo commercial centre in Play Playa Blanca is ideal for ni night owls with lots of ener energy for dance and music.

Kara Karaoke until midnight and DJs until 4am. (Centro Ce Cemmercial, Papagayo, +34 677 497 645)

AN INSIDER’S GUIDE TO

Lanzarote From volcanic vistas to tasty tapas, Carolyn Curtis shares some local knowledge.

ANTHONY WOODS

My favourite restaurant in Puerto del Carmen is CAFE OLA . You can take a swim in an outdoor pool between courses, sit and ponder in a meditation area, relax on a four-poster double bed, or just laze on the loungers overlooking the ocean. What more could one ask for? (Avenida de las Playas 10, +34 928 515 5 00; cafelaola.com) HARÍA or “Valley of the Thousand Palm Trees” is an exquisite area in the north of Lanzarote that’s ideal for walkers or mountain bikers with many trails, villages, mountains and flora. The best way to get there is over the top of Teguise on the LZ10, where you can take time out to enjoy the great views coming down the Malpaso Way. It is said if you travel this way at night, look out for the bruja (witch!)

JAMEOS DEL AGUA is a fascinating place to visit. Here you will find an underground lake in the volcanic tunnel that was produced by the eruption of the Corona Volcano. At six kilometres long, it is one of the longest tunnels in the world. The tunnel is home to cleverly designed cafés, restaurants, a beautiful garden and shops, all beneath this tropical island beach, and a 400-seat auditorium with amazing acoustics. It is like something out of a film set and there are regular concerts here that are quite amazing. (Carretera Orzola, Punta Mujeres, +34 928 848 020)

If you like real Italian ice cream then look no further than IL NUOVO GELATO in Playa Blanca. I find this one of the cosiest and most welcoming little gelato bars. They also welcome my dog and spoil her with free ice cream! I would also recommend trying their hot snacks and wines – all in all, it’s a great value spot. (Calle la Tegala 22, Playa Blanca, +34 663 593 051)

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For a home from home, I love the IRISH ANVIL BAR run by Padraig and Aoife Coffey from Portarlington, Co Laois. They have managed to get the perfect balance of great food, talented musicians, warm welcome and stunning sea views. It is my local for watching every Irish match and catching up with news from home.

(CC Punta Limones, Playa Blanca, + 34 928 517 272; irishanvilbar.com)

ANTHONY WOODS

A visit to the volcanoes is a must. The views from the coach tour of MONTAÑAS DEL FUEGO are amazing (+34 928 118 042). Tourists get to watch water demonstrations at the volcano, which are great fun, and to enjoy delicious food from the huge barbecue cooked over the heat of the, thankfully dormant, volcano!

The outdoor market in RUBICÓN MARINA is my favourite on the island. It takes kes place every Wednesday and Saturday from 10am until 2pm. I love to sit and enjoy a coffee listening to the live jazz music and look at the beautiful array of expensive yachts lining the marina in between popping between the many stalls there. (lanzaroteinformation.com)

SALINAS DE JANUBIO is a very impressive, scenic landscape in the south-west of Lanzarote, near the village of Yaiza where organic sea salt has been harvested from the sea from April to October, since 1895.

The family Padrón Lleó continue this harvesting to this day.

(Yaiza, +34 928 804 398; salinasdejanubio.com)

Fo the most spectacular views of Lanzarote go to For TH THE MIRADOR DEL RÍO in the north of the island. It was created on the Risco de Famara at an altitude of 474 metres by well-known local artist César Manrique and offers a spectacular view of the island of La Graciosa. (Rambla Medular 15, Arrecife, Las Palmas + 34 928 526 548)

go to CASA EMILIANO . This rustic For the best view on earth you must ooks in the mountain village of Femés, overl ns ratio gene three by restaurant, run sunsets are The tura. teven Fuer of island the and Playa Blanca, the ocean the view while enjoying their excellent breathtaking. I love to sit and soak in e la Vista 34, Femés, +34 928 830 223) Canarian food and local wines. (Call

More about Carolyn

For over 20 years, Carolyn dreamed of a life in the sun, so when her boys left the family home in Cork, the time felt right for her to move. Living somewhere as “beautiful and laid-back as Playa Blanca” – a pretty multicultural fishing village in Lanzarote – is a “dream come true” and where she hosts meditation and mindfulness retreats via coach4life.ie and also Cork’s Lee Travel Agency.

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AER LINGUS FLIES FROM DUBLIN TO LANZAROTE DAILY UNTIL MID-SEPTEMBER AND FROM CORK THREE TIMES A WEEK UNTIL LATE OCTOBER.

White Gold Studs €110

Irelands Oldest Pub EST 1198

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BEING THERE | PALMA

SPOTLIGHT PALMA

Stylish stays ...

Compiled by Mr and Mrs Ross

TOP TABLES The cuisine of Palma in Mallorca reflects its international status and proximity to the sea. Hoja del Patron (patronlunares.com), left, is a super-cool Santa Catalina restaurant, famous as much for its margaritas as its fish. Dressed up like a dockside bar, it’s the perfect springboard for a fabulous night out. The next morning, head to Fibonacci Bakery (fibonacci-bakery.com), where the coffee beans change daily. Sit in, or grab a takeaway coffee and cruise the Santa Catalina food markets opposite. Or, try Restaurante Sushi Yoko (restaurantesushiyoko.es) at Olivar Markets in the historic centre – it’s impossible to find fresher sushi than here, and owner Yang has great energy. And charmingly situated 25 minutes out of town is Reco de Randa (esrecoderanda.com), a typically Mallorcan terrace restaurant with pool attached. Views stretch all the way back to Palma, and the shaded areas are very welcome in summer.

CLIFFTOP Cap Rocat This will really blow your mind: Cap Rocat is a reformed military base, its ammunition bunkers now bedrooms – and yet it’s pure five-star. Staff are super-smart and refreshingly human. Golf buggies transport you from A to B – you can’t help feeling a little bit Bond … Dine at its casual, clifftop barbecue grill restaurant, with fabulous sundown views. caprocat.com

3 shopping highlights …

CONCEPT Bconnected is a group of five stores offering everything from real estate to mens- and womenswear and colourful homewares.

It’s all in the name: if you need something done in Mallorca, you’ve found your tribe right here. Lovely things and great staff combine to provide so many reasons to keep popping back in. bconnectedmallorca.com

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RETRO Run by a mother-anddaughter team, Frida Watson is a serious and very well-managed vintage furniture store, selling pieces from the 1950s-1970s. The range of ceramic, furniture and curiosities is beautifully displayed, and they have more stock hidden away so ask either Sarah or Margarite who are more than happy to help. fridawatson.com

HISTORIC Hotel Can Cera A stylish, converted Mallorcan Palace in the middle of both the historic and the shopping district, this place really has it all for a weekend away, from its brilliant breakfast to bird’s-eye views from the rooftop sun deck. Guest rooms have been simply and respectfully decorated, leaving you feeling that you’re staying with a well-connected cousin. cancerahotel.com

GLASSWARE The glass-blowing factory Gordiola, near Algaida, has been around since the early 18th century and run by seven successive families. There are resident glass blowers (the furnaces are continually burning so if you’re lucky you’ll get to see some demonstrations), while the shop itself is a colourful mix of products from all artisans.

Fascinating museum too. gordiola.com

OUT-OF-TOWN Son Julia Once the centre of a large farming estate, this manor house has lost none of its historic charm.

The grand old home oozes space, privacy and relaxation. The two pools and respective areas provide a well-needed respite from the summer sun, while children are very welcome – a week here would do the whole family the world of good. sonjulia.com

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On business Towering achievements In our all new business section, we explore Dublin’s Silicon Docks, new travel apps, cool hotels and smart travellers ...

Making travel work for you

Business

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Downtown hotel

Work hard … and play harder at Hotel Zetta, a cutting-edge, tech community favourite where the best brainstorming sessions take place over the playroom pool table. Rooms from $299.

(55 5th Street, San Francisco, +1 415 543 8555; viceroyhotelgroup.com)

Travel essentials

1 Tumi Atlantic Luggage Tag, £50 at amara.com 2 Aloe Vera Super Gel, €12.95 at The Body Shop 3 Bowers & Wilkins P3 Foldable Headphones, €200 at mrporter.com 4 Dakine Beige Backpack, €64.95 at raglan.ie 5 Aspinal of London Classic Travel Wallet, £125 at houseofraser.com 6 Unisex Sailor Series Watch, €169 at ansleywatches.com

Appy travels

One of the joys of business travel is having to jump on a plane at the drop of a hat.

These easy to use – and free – apps take the hassle, and cost, out of unplanned trips.

ACCOMMODATION HotelTonight Pick your hotel style from Basic, Hip or Luxe across over 150 destinations and, with three taps and a swipe of your finger, tonight’s business stay is sorted. hoteltonight.com

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DESTINATION AroundMe This easy-to-use app points you to local hotspots, the nearest ATM, coffee shop and more.

Think Yellow Pages, Google Maps and Yelp rolled into one. aroundmeapp.com

DINING OpenTable Scan sought-after restaurants for available tables, read reviews, browse menus and even make a speedy business lunch reservation with this time-saving app. opentable.com

Tardis tote

Saturn’s lightweight-but-sturdy shell, roomy interior pockets and extra straps keep your valuables in check and the 360-degree rotating wheels mean the race to the gate is no biggie. Saturn Suitcase

by Antler, £99 at antler.co.uk.

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Contact: Mike Jones 087 6297738

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Business

HOTEL REVIEW

Windy city wows Soho House Chicago is off-the-charts wow. It takes the concept of a club hotel stratospheric. Situated in the old meatpacking district, which was a no-go area until 20 years ago when one Oprah Winfrey opened her TV studios nearby, it is now at the epicentre of the coolest part of town, aka the West Loop.

Housed in a former belt factory, the six-storey brick building is all about space.

Space for armies of MacBook Air-toting creatives to spread out and pitch in three restaurants/bars; space for them to work out in what is arguably the coolest gym on Earth (with full size boxing ring); and space for them to groom at the basement Cowshed Spa. Two floors of rooms are ultra luxurious – antiques, linen,

velvets, details like your own private bar stocked with the ingredients for the cocktail of the day, freshly baked treats – and toasty warm even in a blizzard. Friendly staff are at your beck and call (and will even materialise to make that daily cocktail in your room) but don’t make a point of trying too hard, which is a skill in itself.

Rooms from $300. (113 North Green Street, +1 312 521 8000; sohohousechicago.com)

3 Choice Chicago eateries Preferred prandial pitstops, inside and outside Soho House Chicago ...

Sepia

Served in the 19th-century interiors of a print shop, Sepia’s mains are what could be described as ‘Michelin via Vegas’ – American fundamentals finessed with a nod to European modernism. The vegan chocolate cake is a showstopper. (123 N Jefferson Street, +1 312 441 1920; sepiachicago.com)

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Girl & the Goat

A few yards around the corner from Soho House, Top Chef winner Stephanie Izard’s Girl & The Goat is one of the most inventive casual restaurants in the country. Asian ingredients thrive here, but be sure to book well in advance. (809 W Randolph Street, +1 312 492 6262; girlandthegoat.com)

Pizza East

Chicago is famous for its pizza, and Pizza East wears the mantle, well. Puffy-crusted, wood-fired and topped with tastiness, the pies here will have you wondering why they can’t get them right at home. Maybe it’s something in the water ... (113 N Green Street, +1 312 521 8000; sohohousechicago.com)

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Business

Smart Traveller CHICAGO

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BEST BUSINESS HOTELS IN BUDAPEST

“Chicago is great for business travel because … International access is so good and you can connect to almost anywhere in the US from O’Hare airport. It has hotels for every taste and budget and the food scene is on fire – from fine dining to food trucks.

For a cracking business lunch … Try Benny’s Chophouse (444 North Wabash Avenue, +1 312 626 2444; bennyschophouse. com). It has that effortless combination of great staff, a serious dining room and food that everybody loves, done to a superb standard. The rib-eyes are delicious and they do a great steak sandwich, too ... and that’s not even starting on the chops.

Meetings with a view …

One of Chicago’s best views is from Terrace at the Trump (401 North Wabash Avenue, +1 312 588 8000; trumphotelcollection. com). It’s sophisticated without being overblown, the seafood is mouth-watering and you can soak up the city skyline. Grab a cocktail and kick back for a bird’s-eye view of the Navy Pier fireworks.

Best business hotel … The Drake (140 East Walton Place, +1 312 787 2200; thedrakehotel. com) looks out on Lake Michigan and is just a stone’s throw from the John Hancock Center. It’s

MARK DUGGAN

Group editor-in-chief at Dublin's Independent News & Media (INM), Stephen Rae oversees website independent.ie and the group’s newspapers. He tells Lisa Hughes why he loves Chicago.

friendly, frie and service is spot-on.

Dip Di your head into the 1920s ballroom ba for a real wow moment.

Marilyn Ma Monroe and Joe DiMaggio Di once visited, carving their th initials into one of the bars Top, buzzy and you can still see them today.

Chicago is Business travel tips … Live on a perfect local time from the moment you all-rounder get off the plane. And always for seasoned keep a checklist. No matter how traveller Stephen Rae, often you travel, it’s all too easy above. to forget one essential.

Don’t miss … The Chicago Architecture Foundation river cruise (Chicago’s First Lady Cruises, +1 847 358 1330; cruisechicago.com). The Windy City is President Obama’s hometown, famous for the cut and thrust of its politics, but architecture is “I can’t travel without … A good the abiding memory. book. I’m reading Legacy: 15 Lessons in The tour floats along Leadership by James Kerr (Constable, the Chicago River, €19.50 at easons.com) about the values with guides talking of the All Blacks rugby team and what you through dozens of they can teach us about business. iconic skyscrapers and I definitely recommend it.” under 23 bridges. It’s a must.”

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LANCHID 19 DESIGN HOTEL An illuminated, moving glass façade means a stay at this design hotel is a bit like stepping into an art installation.

Inside, you’ve got free Wi-Fi, a glass-floored, modern lobby and a panorama suite boasting extra work space and sweeping city views. (Lánchíd utca 19, +36 1 419 1900; lanchid19hotel.hu)

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HOTEL PALAZZO ZICHY Formerly the residence of a Hungarian noble, the four-star Palazzo Zichy is, naturally, grand. Located on the Pest side of the city, past meets present with a modern lobby bar, gym, Wi-Fi, meeting rooms and a 24-hour business centre. (Lõrinc pap tér 2, +36 1 235 4000; hotel-palazzo-zichy.hu)

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HOTEL PARLAMENT Free Wi-Fi, business centre, conference room and airport shuttle make this Budapest business base a winner. Tuck into a sizeable buffet breakfast, enjoy free drinks during the day and unwind after a productive day at the sauna – complimentary, of course. (Kálmán Imre utca 19, +36 1 374 6000; parlament-hotel.hu)

BUSINESS | SILICON DOCKS

It’s all biz and buzz in Dublin’s redeveloped docklands. Pamela Newenham gives a guided tour to the haunts of the high-tech crowd. Photographs by Shane Lynam.

A

home from home for some of the world’s top internet firms, Silicon Docks is Ireland’s tech mecca. Situated south of Dublin’s River Liffey, away from the drinking hub of Temple Bar and the hustle and bustle of Grafton Street, the area houses such notables as Google, Facebook, Airbnb and Twitter.

Its real name might be Grand Canal Dock but, due to the presence of so many tech giants, the moniker Silicon Docks has stuck. Like its American namesake Silicon Valley, Silicon Docks is not really a place you can get a proper sense of from inside a car; the atmosphere is best experienced by a stroll around the area and a visit to the local cafés and restaurants.

A caveat: unless you’re the next Mark Zuckerberg, or know a member of staff, the offices of the high-tech companies are off-limits to the public. And, although,

you might not be able to get in to the companies, you can still rub shoulders with the workers, who are some of the most talented minds in the country. The Googlers, Facebookers and other techies can be found wining, dining and coding in the area’s many bars, restaurants and coffee shops. You might even bump into a venture capitalist or two. Don’t expect to see suits or ties. The office attire of the Silicon Docks tech set is jeans, T-shirts and hoodies. In fact, if you do see people in suits, they are probably management consultants, lawyers or Facebook employees partaking in Corporate Friday, a spoof of Casual Fridays, where workers dress up in corporate attire.

It’s not just tech glitterati that hang out in Silicon Docks. The area has hosted Prince Albert of Monaco, who visited Grand Canal Square as part of a threeday State visit in 2011. The trip took place 50 years after the prince’s late father and

mother, Prince Rainier III and Hollywood actress Princess Grace, visited Ireland.

Some of the world’s biggest recording artists, including Lady Gaga, the Rolling Stones, REM, Sinéad O’Connor and U2, have also made music in the area, at the famous Windmill Lane Recording Studios (20 Ringsend Road, 01 6685567; windmilllanerecording.com). The original studio was on Windmill Lane and it was here that U2 recorded their first albums.

That studio is empty now but music fans have covered the building in a psychedelic kaleidoscope of U2-inspired graffiti. The Factory (35A Barrow Street, 01 430 6964; thefactory.ie) was another haunt of the Irish rock band and it was here that U2 performed their pre-tour rehearsals.

Like the tech companies that inhabit it, Silicon Docks has undergone many reinventions over the years. It was once a thriving shipping port, with boat-building,

BUSINESS | SILICON DOCKS

rope-making, flour-milling and glass-manufacturing among its main industries. However, the introduction of shipping containers, along with a shift in manufacturing, resulted in a dramatic loss of employment in the area. The establishment of the Dublin Docklands Development Authority in 1997 led to major redevelopment of the area, and Grand Canal Dock is now a lively and vibrant business hub.

While there may not be as great a selection of bars and restaurants here as compared to Dublin’s better-known streets, there are still good ones. For a bird’s-eye view of Silicon Docks the rooftop of the Marker Hotel (Grand Canal Square, Docklands, 01 687 5100; themarkerhoteldublin.com) can’t be beaten. With its panoramic views across the city to the Dublin mountains, and an excellent cocktail list, it’s a popular venue. The Marker Hotel is the ideal place to stay in Grand Canal Dock. Located next to Facebook’s international headquarters, the hotel is a large, white cube overlooking Grand Canal Square – a public space designed by renowned American landscape architect Martha Schwartz and the centrepiece of Silicon Docks.

The 10,000-square-metre public space is overlooked by the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre (Grand Canal Square, Docklands, 01 6777999; bordgaisenergytheatre.ie), which has hosted TEDx talks, ballets including Swan Lake and Broadway and West End shows including Rock of Ages, The Lion King, Cats and Chicago.

(In June, the theatre will host Frozen star Idina Menzel, who sang the film’s Oscar-winning song “Let It Go”.)

Also overlooking the square is Café H (Grand Canal Square, 01 899 2216; cafeh.ie). With a long list of wines, cocktails and summer punches, this is probably the best place for a drink. Stroll across the square, cross the road and walk up Grand Canal Quay past the Waterways Ireland Visitor Centre (Grand Canal Quay, 01 616 7009; waterwaysirelandvisitorcentre.org).

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SPLASH!

On May 16-17, the Docklands Summer Festival welcomes an international wakeboarding competition, charity rubber ducky race, and more.

Grand Canal Square & Basin;

Clanwilliam Terrace, Grand is set to undergo a €150 Canal Quay), sits on the leftmillion redevelopment, hand side under the archway. which would provide The restaurant is located in almost 30,000 square docklandssummerfestival.com an old railway tunnel, which metres of office space was used as a hideout during for about 2,300 workers, the 1916 Rising.

42 apartments, shops, cafés, For an excellent cup of coffee, restaurants and an exhibition check out 3fe (32 Grand Canal building. Further up the street, It’s a dog’s life at Street Lower; 3fe.com). Last year it on the right-hand side, is The Airbnb Ireland, was named by Buzzfeed as one of Warehouse (35A Barrow Street), above, where “25 coffee shops you need to see home to Social Entrepreneurs marketing ace Sarah Murphy before you die”. It attracts young Ireland. It was also the home of talks shop. start-up founders along with aspiring Dogpatch Labs until recent times entrepreneurs brainstorming for but the incubator has since moved ideas and hoping the start-up buzz across the River Liffey to the CHQ will rub off on them. We can’t name Building. Instagram, the photonames but some well-known people sharing service that Facebook in the Irish tech world are often bought for $1 billion, graduated found here, discussing everything from Dogpatch in the US, and from funding rounds to coding Ireland’s next billion-euro start-up issues. The Art of Coffee (Unit 1, may just emerge from the Dublin Alto Vetro, Grand Canal Quay, hub. Irish alumni such as software 086 100 3684; theartofcoffee.info) firms Intercom, Logentries and is another good café and a nice sun Boxever have already raised tens of trap overlooking the water. millions of euro in venture capital From the Art of Coffee, cross the funding between them. Interesting bridge, and make a right-hand turn fact: an email to Twitter co-founder onto Barrow Street, with Boland’s Biz Stone inviting him out for Mill on the corner. The historic site drinks, led to him becoming one of

Docklanders – from top left, Petra Remeczki and Vanda Vaczuli; left, Sokari Higgwe, and below, a Google staffer champions the brand. Above, architect Martha Schwartz’s glow sticks.

Intercom’s first investors.

At the end of Barrow Street you’ll find Google. The search giant opened its EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) headquarters on the street in 2004 and is seen as the founding father of Silicon Docks. Eschewing the practice of setting up in business parks on the outskirts of cities, Google chose a central location, to be within easy reach of potential employees. From Indeed to Ancestry. com, Facebook to EngineYard, Twitter to Airbnb, Google has led a long line of tech firms to the area.

Google is not one building. It sprawls over several, for which the internet search giant has shelled out more than €250 million to buy.

The biggest – Google Docks – is Dublin’s tallest office block and has a swimming pool, gym and even a swing in the café. More than 2,500 “Googlers” work across these buildings and it is said that Dublin could maintain Google worldwide, if the lights were to go out in Silicon Valley. Food is free at Google and friends of Google workers all angle to be taken for lunch there. While the free food is a great job perk, there is the dreaded “Google stone” – a 14-pound infliction that can

happen to new employees who get over enthusiastic about the fabulous fare, or so the legend goes!

If you didn’t take a right onto Barrow Street and kept walking up the Ringsend Road, you’d come across the Watermarque building where Airbnb has its European headquarters. The online accommodation rental service has an Irish bar in its office, which you can see as you walk past.

Out on the water of Grand Canal Basin, you will often see the incongruous sight of paddleboarders, kayakers, windsurfers and wakeboarders moving between the office blocks and apartment buildings. If you want to get some exercise/try any of these, then pop along to Wakedock (South Dock Road, Grand Canal Dockyard, Ringsend, 01 664 3883; wakedock. ie) or its neighbour Surfdock (Grand Canal Dockyard, Ringsend, 01 6683945; surfdock.ie). Just don’t expect the water to be warm!

Pamela Newenham is a business journalist with The Irish Times and editor of Silicon Docks: The Rise of Dublin as a Global Tech Hub (Liberties Press).

Follow Pamela @PamIrishTimes

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BUSINESS | TRAVEL

Get your bearings

Pamela Newenham sets her sights on the best bites, drinks, beds and activities found at Silicon Docks.

SLEEP AT The Marker Hotel, 01 687 5100

DRINK AT Café H, 01 899 2216

BRUNCH AT Herb Street, 01 675 3875

RELAX AT 3fe, hello@3fe.com

SHOP AT Donnybrook Fair, 01 668 3556 ext. 280

LUNCH AT Osteria Lucio, 01 662 4198

EXERCISE AT Wakedock, 01 664 3883; Surfdock, 01 668 3945

ILLUSTRATION BY STEVE McCARTHY

CULTURE AT Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, 01 677 7999

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APRIL/MAY 2015

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BUSINESS PEOPLE

6 THINGS I’VE LEARNT Before moving to New York City, Galwayborn Galvea Kelly, L’Oréal’s assistant vice president and global head of digital content, studied business and law at UCD, and did a masters in international business at Smurfit School of Business. Manhattan-based, she is the recipient of 21 Global Digital awards including Top 40 Under 40 Brand Innovators in the US and Top 40 Under 40 Irish People’s Choice Award. Here, she reveals her words of work/life wisdom.

1 2

Take a job that you love. You will jump out of bed in the morning.

Never give up. My dad always told me to roll up my sleeves and work hard.

Never wait for opportunities to present themselves, make them happen through hard work and recognition through your body of work.

3

Learning how to manage self-doubt is crucial for your career success. Seek out advice, support and mentorship from others. Nothing can help alleviate selfdoubt better than coaching from older, wiser people. Recognising that challenging professional situations were not unique to me made situations seem more manageable.

4

Be optimistic. A positive attitude generally leads to a positive outcome, and a leader who is optimistic will bring positive results to the company. An optimistic leader is always willing to help others and have solutions to problems, and generally avoids negative thinking and criticism in the workplace.

5

Be connected. I’m a bit of a geek so I pretty much eat, sleep and drink with my connected devices! One major thing for me whilst being abroad is data and using my phone, iPad and laptop for Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc. They pretty much come everywhere with me.

6

What did I learn from the worst job I ever had? How to make silverware look shiny and flawless – I cleaned cutlery in a restaurant for a summer, aged 14!

136 |

APRIL/MAY 2015

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There’s a reinvention happening at Café En Seine that brings us back to the essence of what we’re all about. Culture and creativity with a Parisian flair. Taste it in our new menus. Savor it in our signature drinks. And experience it with the launch of our new club nights, Bon Bon with Claire Beck on Friday Mar 6th and Republique with Christian Homan on Thursday Mar 12th.

An epicentre of contemporary Parisian culture and creativity in Dublin on Rue Dawson… MAIS OUI! Enjoy alcohol sensibly. Visit

OURLM FI TOP O CE CH I

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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

Why not try speaking a few words ge of the native langua while you are visiting Ireland!

me Fáilte Welco ello Dia dhuit H ill Goodbye Slán go fó is... m My name o d m in a ...is you? tú? How are Conas atá ood ma ith I’m g Tá mé go eers Sláinte! Ch u gat Thank yo a h it a m h Go ra ib me scéal Excuse h it le o m h Gab

Cara Friend

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.

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

Passengers with wheelchair requirements

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. u.

When contacting us you will need your booking reference number.

Inverness Aberdeen Glasgow

Donegal

Knock Shannon Kerry

Cork

Edinburgh Newcastle

Belfast

Dublin

Isle of Man Birmingham

Leeds Bradford Doncaster Manchester East Midlands

Exeter

Brussels

Paris Rennes Nantes

APRIL/MAY 2015

London (Gatwick)

Southampton

Jersey

140 |

Amsterdam

London (Heathrow) Bristol

Cardiff Newquay

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

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

What cities do Aer Lingus fly to and connect to?

See page 160 for full route maps

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.

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?

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.

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.

Devices permitted at any time

Devices permitted in flight only*

Devices prohibited at all times

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

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.

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).**

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

*Not permitted during taxi/take-off/ initial climb/approach/landing.

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.

ON Airplane

Mode

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.

**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.

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Your comfort and safety

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

Fógra Sábhá Pour votre ilteacht Sécur ité Für ihre Siche rheit Para su Segur idad

Airbus 319

Safety For your áilteacht Fógra Sábh Sécur ité Pour votre Siche rheit Für ihre Seguridad Para su a Sicurezza Per la vostr

Per la vostra Sicurezza Säker het ombo rd Sikke rhet om bord Sikke rhed om bord Please do

Please do

not remov

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ft

not remov

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ft

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

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 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.

ON Airplane Mode

DRINK UP

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.

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 drier 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.

142 |

APRIL/MAY 2015

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INFLIGHT

Aer Lingus news NEW GOLD CIRCLE LOUNGE AT NEW YORK-JFK A brand new lounge facility will open from April for Aer Lingus Gold Circle members and Business Class customers at T5 New York-JFK airport.

Amongst the facilities on offer, the lounge will have an exclusive pre-dine service for business class customers wishing to dine before their flight allowing them to sleep for the duration of their onward journey. The lounge, see rendering right, provides an oasis of calm within the busy terminal where guests can enjoy refreshments, catch up on work or simply relax. Shower facilities are available too, for added convenience. Designed with comfort and style in mind, the new lounge also features contemporary lines, inspired by the Irish Landscape – white oak, dark grey stonewall cladding, feature moss green carpet inserts, white floating ‘cloud’ ceilings with pendant lighting evoking droplets of rain, all continuing the relaxing themes of the Aer Lingus Dublin and Heathrow flagship lounges.

A welcome package

On May 1, Aer Lingus launches its ninth direct transatlantic service, with a new four-times-weekly summer service from Dublin to WashingtonDulles. In a further boost to its growing long-haul business, the airline is also increasing capacity on other Aer Lingus transatlantic routes for summer 2015, including a daily service from Dublin to San Francisco, and the introduction of a third daily flight from Dublin to New York from June through August, departing at 7.50am and returning from New York at 12 noon. Finally, there’s an increase in frequency on the Dublin to Orlando route from three to four flights per week, from May 1.

Want to book your flights and hotel in one fell swoop?

Check out AerLingus.com for all your holiday requirements tailored to your individual needs and budget. Looking for accommodation only?

Avail of Aer Lingus Hotels’ vast worldwide selection and best-price guarantee, or if you wish to save further by booking your flights and accommodation together, try Holidays with Aer Lingus city breaks, cruises and sun holidays with deposits from as little as €1 per person (terms and conditions apply). For passengers travelling from the USA, visit the Aer Lingus Vacation Store on AerLingus.com, and for those originating in the UK and Europe, visit AerLingusHolidays.com.

AL HIGGIN S

Transatlantic flights soar

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APRIL/MAY 2015

SEASON’S CHEER IN CHICAGO MARK DUGGAN

Aer Lingus will operate up to ten flights a week from Dublin to Chicago during the months of November and December. Twice daily flights will operate Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, adding an extra 13,000 available seats. These extra flights will serve strong demand over Thanksgiving and the Christmas holidays. Meanwhile, customers wishing to connect to onward cities from Chicago can choose from almost 70 connections across North America with partner airline, United Airlines, including Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Dallas and Denver. Aer Lingus customers travelling from the UK and Europe can connect from over thirty cities, via Dublin, to Chicago including London, Glasgow, Manchester, Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris. Visit aerlingus.com for more information or see map, pages 160-162.

G-Mac spreads some sunshine Aer Lingus is proud to continue its partnership with US Open and Ryder Cup hero, Graeme McDowell, and his charity, The G-Mac Foundation. For the fourth year running, Aer Lingus flew children and their families from all over Ireland to Orlando, Florida, for a holiday of a lifetime. McDowell – a resident of the Sunshine State – was at Orlando airport to greet the eight kiddies, all of whom are recovering cardiac patients of Our Ladies Children’s Hospital in Crumlin, and their families.

AER LINGUS FIRSTS Inaugural flights and events that happened in April and May over the past eight decades

1936

The month of May saw the start of operations by Aer Lingus using a single De Havilland DH84 Dragon aircraft supplied by its UK partner airline, Blackpool & West Coast Air Services.

On May 22, Aer Lingus was formally registered as a private company, while five passengers were booked on the inaugural Dublin-Bristol service on May 27.

1958

Aer Lingus started transatlantic services in April, operated by its sister company Aerlinte Eireann, and using Lockheed Super Constellations leased from the American carrier Seaboard & Western

Airlines. The official inaugural flight, right, was operated on April 28 and was staged in grand style. A banquet was held at the airport restaurant prior to the flight and was attended by a wide range of dignitaries led by An Taoiseach Eamon de Valera, who delivered a short speech referring to the fact that the long-awaited Atlantic service was about to become a reality, and how it was a symbol of Ireland’s progress.

1966

This year saw a major expansion in the Atlantic operation, with the addition of Montreal and Chicago

used on three services a week on the New York route; it was introduced on the DublinShannon-Boston route on May 27.

1988 to the network – the first additions since 1958, when the transatlantic service commenced.

1971

The inaugural Aer Lingus Boeing 747 service was operated on April 5 by EI ASI St Colmcille on flight EI 105 on the Dublin-Shannon-New York route. Initially, the 747 was

Aer Lingus’ first female

pilot, Grainne Cronin – right, with her father, Captain Felim Cronin – gained her command on the Shorts 360, and she flew her first flight as pilotin-command on a Dublin-Edinburgh service on April 14. Grainne retired in May 2010.

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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!

OURLM FI TOP O CE CH I

Drama Birdman 119 mins

R

Birdman or The Unexpected Virtue Of Ignorance is a black comedy that tells the story of an actor – famous for portraying an iconic superhero – as he struggles to mount a Broadway play. In the days leading up to opening night, he battles his ego and attempts to recover his family, his career, and himself. Starring Michael Keaton, Zach Galifianakis and Edward Norton.

EFG I S

Comedy

Action

Exodus: God and Kings

PG13

Annie

Drama

PG13

Dumb and Dumber To

R

Horrible Bosses 2

150 mins Moses rises up against the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses. Stars Christian Bale, Joel Edgerton, Ben Kingsley

136 mins A business tycoon changes the life of a foster kid. Stars Quvenzhané Wallis, Cameron Diaz, Jamie Foxx

109 mins Lloyd and Harry try to find Harry’s daughter.

Stars Jim Carrey, Jeff Daniels, Rob Riggle

108 mins Dale, Kurt and Nick decide to start a business. Stars Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, Charlie Day

E

E

EFG I S

EFG I S

Drama

R

Sci-Fi

Into the Woods

PG

Mr Turner

125 mins A witch gives a baker and his wife an impossible task. Stars Anna Kendrick, Meryl Streep, Chris Pine

150 mins An exploration of JMW Turner’s life.

Stars Timothy Spall, Paul Jesson, Dorothy Atkinson

EFG I S

E

PG13

Kids G

General

PG

Parental Guidance

PG13 Parental Guidance

Not suitable for children under 13.

R

Selma

PG13

The Homesman

R

You’re Not You

R

Interstellar

PG13

Penguins of Madagascar

128 mins A chronicle of Martin Luther King’s civil rights campaign. Stars David Oyelowo, Carmen Ejogo, Tim Roth

122 mins Three pioneers experience a strange cross-country journey.

Stars Tommy Lee Jones, Hilary Swank, Grace Gummer

102 mins The story of a pianist who has been diagnosed with ALS. Stars Hilary Swank, Emmy Rossum, Josh Duhamel

80 mins A team of explorers attempt to ensure humanity’s survival. Stars Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain

92 mins Skipper and friends join an undercover organisation. Stars Tom McGrath, Chris Miller, Christopher Knights

E

E

E

EFG I S

EFG I S

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E G

F G I S

Restricted Not suitable for children under 18.

Available in English French German Italian Spanish

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!

OURLM FI TOP O CE CH I

Drama The Imitation Game 114 mins

PG13

In 1952, British authorities entered the home of mathematician, cryptanalyst and war hero Alan Turing to investigate a reported burglary.

They instead ended up arresting Turing himself on charges of ’gross indecency’ – little did officials know, they were actually incriminating the pioneer of modern-day computing. Starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley and Matthew Goode.

EFG I S

Action

Comedy

John Wick

R

101 mins An ex-hitman comes out of retirement seeking revenge. Stars Keanu Reeves, Michael Nyqvist, Alfie Allen EFG I S

Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb

PG

The Hunger PG13 Games: Mockingjay Part 1

98 mins Larry embarks on a quest to save magic.

Stars Ben Stiller, Robin Williams, Owen Wilson

123 mins Katniss shatters the games forever. Stars Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth

E

E

Drama

Taken 3

PG13

Crime

Laggies

R

Inherent Vice

R

109 mins Bryan Mills is accused of a murder he never committed. Stars Liam Neeson, Forest Whitaker, Maggie Grace

99 mins Megan panics in the throes of a quarter-life crisis. Stars Keira Knightley, Chloë Grace Moretz, Sam Rockwell

148 mins Larry Sportello investigates a personal disappearance. Stars Joaquin Phoenix, Josh Brolin, Owen Wilson

E

E

E

Fantasy

Kids G

General

PG

Parental Guidance

PG13 Parental Guidance

Not suitable for children under 13.

R

Days and Nights

PG13

92 mins A family confronts the volatile nature of love.

Stars Katie Holmes, William Hurt, Allison Janney EFG I S

Wild

R

Horns

R

115 mins A chronicle of one woman’s 1,100-mile solo hike. Stars Reese Witherspoon, Laura Dern, Gaby Hoffmann

120 mins A man awakens to find horns sprouting from his temples. Stars Daniel Radcliffe, Juno Temple, Max Minghella

E

E

The Hobbit: PG13 The Battle of the Five Armies

The House of Magic

E G

F G

144 mins Bilbo and company must protect the Lonely Mountain. Stars Ian McKellen

85 mins Thunder, seeking shelter, stumbles into a magical house. Stars Cinda Adams, George Babbit, Murray Blue

EFG I S

EFG I S

I S

Restricted Not suitable for children under 18.

Available in English French German Italian Spanish

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

Timeless favourites such as The Croods and Walk the Line are available as well as a selection of Irish short films and features.

Our Classic Movie Selection

A Good Year

PG13

117 mins Stars Russell Crowe E

Diary of a Wimpy Kid

PG

Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked 92 mins Stars Jason Lee EFG I S

EFG I S

Dirty Harry

102 mins Stars Clint Eastwood

EFG I S

E

G

98 mins Stars Nicolas Cage, Ryan Reynolds E

Amelia

111 mins Stars Hilary Swank, Richard Gere

94 mins Stars Zachary Gordon, Robert Capron

The Croods

G

The Darjeeling Limited

R

R

PG

Happy Feet 2

G

American History X

119 mins Stars Edward Norton E

EFG I S

Invictus

134 mins Stars Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon

E

EFG I S

PG13

Argo

120 mins Stars Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston

100 mins Stars Elijah Wood, Robin Williams

The Internship

R

PG13

The Last King of Scotland

Legally Blonde

R

EFG I S

PG13

EFG I S

The Rock

91 mins Stars Owen Wilson

119 mins Stars Vince Vaughn, Owen Wilson

123 mins Stars James McAvoy

136 mins Stars Sean Connery, Nicolas Cage

EFG I S

E

E

E

PG13

140 mins Stars Christian Bale, Michael Caine

96 mins.

Stars Reese Witherspoon, Luke Wilson

R

Batman Begins

R

Minority Report

PG13

Bullitt

E

E

Rocknrolla

145 mins Stars Tom Cruise, Colin Farrell E

EFG I S

PG13

Walk the Line

R

PG13

12 mins Stars Ruth Bradley, Dylan Moran E

16 mins Stars Cyril Cullen

E

Mechanic

15 mins Stars Sil Fox, Paul Roe

E

R

Michael Collins

R

The Portrait

133 mins Liam Neeson, Aidan Quinn, Julia Roberts

20 mins Stars Juliet Stevenson, Neal Pearson

E

E

PG13

136 mins Stars Joaquin Phoenix

96 mins. Stars Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan

E

E

EFG I S

G

General

PG

Parental Guidance

Run & Jump

100 mins Stars Will Forte, Maxine Peake

R

R

E F E

G I S

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When Harry met Sally

108 mins Stars Michael Douglas

Not suitable for children under 13.

Cyril Cullen: PG Master Knitter

PG13

E

PG13 Parental Guidance

PG

Scott Pilgrim vs the World

G

112 mins Stars Michael Cera

Irish Shorts and Features

Breakfast Wine

Citizen Kane

119 mins Stars Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten

114 mins Stars Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkinson

The Sentinel

PG

114 mins Stars Steve McQueen, Jacqueline Bisset

Restricted Not suitable for children under 18.

Available in English French German Italian Spanish

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BRAY IRELAND

October 2015

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

Bloomberg’s Encore

This month, Bloomberg’s Game Changers spotlights the careers of Twitter co-founders Jack Dorsey, Evan William and Biz Stone.

Bloomberg’s Manus Cranny also interviews banker, Sergio Ermotti in An Exclusive Conversation with UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti.

Meanwhile, in two more Bloomberg exclusives, gain access to the unorthodox C-Suite of Crossfit, and watch an interview with Sting in Encore. Also on board are Inside, Euronews’ Business Planet, Real Economy and Science – all of which cast a cold eye over the worlds of business and technology.

Comedy

Documentary

Shameless Idealists

Tune into Super Senses to explore the extraordinary sense of sight that some animals possess. For more from the animal kingdom, join Colin Stafford in Living the Wildlife as he searches for the perfect kingfisher nest. Also available are Inside The American Mob, National Geographic’s Megafactories, Beer Geeks, Shameless Idealists, featuring exclusive interviews with Rick Hansen and Cosmos: A Space Odyssey, hosted by astrophysicist, Neil DeGrasse Tyson.

Drama As we witness a golden age in TV drama, Aer Lingus offers engaging choices with boxsets of Game Of Thrones, House of Cards and Mad Men on offer, as well as multiple episodes from the brand new series, The Knick and a return to fan favourite, Boardwalk Empire.

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 and Kitchen Hero with Donal Skehan.

In this month’s episode of Young Hollywood’s Greatest, we delve into the lives of seven A-List action stars, including Matt Damon, Jason Statham, Chris Evans, Channing Tatum and more. Also available are Pawn Stars, The Art Of Tattoo, Project Runway All Stars and Jamie’s Comfort Food.

Sport

Kids Modern Family

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 or HBO’s The Comeback, starring Lisa Kudrow.

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.

Everton TV

Sofia the First

Kids will surely enjoy Roobarb & Custard, a lighthearted comedy about Roobarb, a loveable wacky dog and Custard, a sarcastic pink cat. Fans of Roobarb & Custard may also enjoy Sofia the First, a Disney series about a young princess, charming animated series Pip Ahoy! or an imaginative episode of Rocka-Bye Island. Teens may be more inclined to view and enjoy Austin and Ally, a sitcom about a young internet celebrity.

Soccer fans shouldn’t miss Everton TV, which chronicles the club’s long Irish tradition – from Kevin Sheedy’s days playing for Ireland to today's star, Seamus Coleman and his development into one of the Premier League’s hottest properties.

Also on board is a one-off, exclusive interview with David Coulthard, examining his past in Formula One, his current ventures and his future, along with extreme sports documentary, Ultimate Rush, and HSBC Golfing World.

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Television On Demand Drama Boxsets

OU R V TOP TICE CHO

Game of Thrones The Chicago Sun-Times’ Andrew Romano once called Game of Thrones ’the most pleasurable television show’ there’s ever been – and also ’the hardest to convince... friends and family to watch.’

Now that Season 4 has been and gone, this is no longer the case.

The stigma against fantasy has finally lifted, in the face of the series’ gripping storytelling.

Game of Thrones is a cultural phenomenon the likes of which hasn’t been seen since, say, the publication of

Dickens’ The Pickwick Papers; a serial narrative masterwork that has viewers salivating for the next installment.

Dubbed ‘The Sopranos in Middle Earth’ by series showrunner David Benioff, Game of Thrones is a sprawling multi-narrative saga, based on George RR Martin’s book series ’A Song of Fire and Ice’. The books, first published in the mid-nineties, made Martin’s name. They’re full of realistic violence and debauchery, and Martin’s penchant for

killing off beloved characters is notorious; his plots are extremely unconventional for a genre in which convention is sacrosanct. The TV series has surpassed The Sopranos as HBO’s most popular series ever; the number of Emmys the show has earned recently hit double figures.

A fantasy drama series that is set in the mythical land of Westeros.

The fourth season, based on books 3, 4 and 5 of the series, is set to be the series’ most exciting yet. The royal wedding approaches, but several forces conspire to upset the proceedings.

House of Cards Since its debut on Netflix in 2013, House of Cards has become one of the brightest stars in the glittering constellation of top-quality modern TV. Based on a BBC miniseries from the early nineties, the series is Macbeth, or Richard III, transposed to Capitol Hill; a classic high drama of Machiavellian political intrigue.

House of Cards tells the story of Frank Underwood (played

by Kevin Spacey), a Democrat from South Carolina’s 5th Congressional District and

House Majority Whip who, after being passed over for appointment as Secretary of State, decides to exact his revenge on those who betrayed him with the help of his equally cunning wife Claire (played by Robin Wright).

The series also stars Kate Mara and Nathan Darrow in supporting roles.

Best Actress, making the show the first online-only series to boast a major acting award for one of its cast.

The show’s first season received nine Emmy nominations, with shouts for Spacey, Wright, and director David Fincher. Wright also won the Golden Globe for

Now showing Season 2 on board, and the really compelling character has proven to be Claire Underwood. Behind every great man is a great woman, goes the old sexist saw. In House of Cards, behind the smart, conniving Frank stands Claire, still smarter and more cunning, pursuing her own mysterious agenda.

ladykiller with a penchant for expensive whiskey and cigars. He also becomes, in a feat of superlative character development, the series’ moral centre. As the story progresses, we start to catch glimpses of the thick deposits of existential dread that are piled up at the bottom of Draper’s soul.

another lost soul, his old-guard superior Roger Sterling (John Slattery).

Even bit parts are perfectly rendered, like the company’s Freud-obsessed head of research – appositely described by critic Mark Greif as ’a cross between Hannah Arendt and the Wicked Witch of the West.’

Hamm regularly chews the painstakingly recreated scenery as he carouses his way from crisis to depressive crisis. Then there’s the supporting cast – his wife Betty (January Jones),

In Season 6, the rising counterculture movement makes an impression on the office. Keep an eye on Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser), as he finally starts to gain the viewers’ sympathy.

A political drama series that delves into the dark underworld of politics.

Mad Men Madison Avenue, 1960: where today’s advertisingsaturated culture was born.

Mad Men tells the story of the fictional Sterling Cooper ad agency. With the benefit of hindsight, the series works a kind of magic; its storyline is structured to bring about a slow deflating of the rakish ad man’s mystique, all the while making the debauched antics of said ad men gripping to witness.

At the centre of Mad Men is Don Draper (Jon Hamm), the agency’s alpha male.

He’s a true pro, and a

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

the ca s tle | the lodge | the old stable mews

A rural retreat in the heart of Ireland‌

N

estled on 1,000 acres of undulating Irish countryside, dotted with ancient woodland and glittering lakes, Castle Leslie Estate is one of the last great Irish castle estates still in the hands of its founding family. Steeped in history, full of character and charm, it is the ultimate Irish rural escape.

Only 80 minutes from Dublin and 60 minutes from Belfast,

hub of the Estate, a country house boutique hotel that brings

Castle Leslie Estate boasts a variety of accommodation and

locals and guests together in an atmosphere of conviviality and

activities to suit all tastes. The Castle, at the heart of the Estate,

comfort. The Old Stable Mews and Village Cottages are the

offers authentic original interiors and old-style hospitality and

perfect spot for groups that want the convenience of hotel living

is a complete respite from the world. The Lodge is the social

combined with private luxury home rental.

Castle Leslie Estate, Glaslough, Monaghan

The Fitzwilliam Casino & Card Club

Clifton Hall | Lower Fitzwilliam St | Dublin 2 | Ireland Tel: 01-6114677 | Visit: www.ďŹ tzwilliamcardclub.com

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Radio On Demand

TO P R A D I O P I C K

Fitzpatrick Hotels

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

CL ASSIC AL

INDIE

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

IRISH

A World of Song

The Blue of The Night

TXFM‘s Indie Hits

Ceol na nGael

Irish Pulse

Liz Nolan of RTÉ lyric fm celebrates the wealth of Western vocal music in the exclusive, Aer Lingus edition of A World of Song.

In this bespoke edition of ’The Blue of The Night’ made for Aer Lingus, Eamonn Lenihan features an orchestral movement

by Ravel, and much more.

TXFM bring us the best indie hits of the moment, featuring artists such as U2, Royal Blood, Kongos and Kasabian. Curated especially for Aer Lingus

by Claire Beck.

Join Seán Ó hÉanaigh of RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta, as he brings you traditional Irish and folk music.

Irish Pulse brings you some of the best Irish songs in recent history.

Listen out for U2, Thin Lizzy and many more!

JA Z Z

KIDS

POETRY

POP

Jazz Alley

Happy Days

Irish Poetry Corner

Chart Hits

The Nicky Byrne Show

Donald Helme, expert presenter of RTÉ lyric fm’s weekly programme Jazz Alley, takes us through some recent and exciting releases from the world of jazz music.

Join Emma O’Driscoll in this special 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-to-the-minute pop hits from both sides of the Atlantic!

A music driven entertainment show mixed with guests from the world of music, entertainment & TV. Presented by Nicky Byrne and Jenny Greene.

POP

ROCK

Top Ten

Weekend on One

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!

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.

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Nova Irish Classic Rock For 60 minutes, Marty Miller is here with some of the greatest rock bands around. Sit back, relax and enjoy your flight!

TA L K R A D I O

Documentary on One

Best of Moncrieff

RTÉ Radio 1 Documentary on One brings you, ‘Con Carey and the Twelve Apostles‘ along with ‘Never Knocked Down‘, which tells the story of Irish boxer, Seán Mannion.

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

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

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

Status Quo

Amy Winehouse Back to Black Elton John Goodbye Yellow Brick Road Fleetwood Mac Rumours Status Quo Aquostic (Stripped Bare)

A LT E R N AT I V E

Johnny Marr

Johnny Marr Playland Karen O Crush Songs Lykke Li I Never Learn Morrissey World Peace is None of your Business Royal Blood Royal Blood

E L EC T R O

IRISH

Röyksopp

Hozier

Aphex Twin Syro Basement Jaxx Scars Depeche Mode Sounds of the Universe Jungle Jungle Röyksopp The Inevitable End

OPER A

Andrea Bocelli

Alfie Boe Alfie Andrea Bocelli Aria – The Opera Album Anthony Kearns With a Song in My Heart Katherine Jenkins Believe

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

Selena Gomez

Ariana Grande My Everything Jessie Ware Tough Love Sam Smith In the Lonely Hour Selena Gomez For You Taylor Swift 1989 (Deluxe)

CL ASSIC AL

Alexandre Tharaud

Alexandre Tharaud Chopin: Journal André Rieu Music of the Night Benjamin Grosvenor Dances Rachel Podger Guardian Angel Rafal Blechacz Chopin: Polonaises JA Z Z

Hypnotic Brass Ensemble

Bill Laurance Flint Brian Blade & The Fellowship Band Landmarks Ginger Baker Why? Joe Jackson The Duke Hypnotic Brass Ensemble Fly: The Customs Prelude RNB

Nicki Minaj

Electric Wire Hustle Love Can Prevail FKA Twigs LP1 Nicki Minaj The Pinkprint (Deluxe) Paloma Faith A Perfect Contradiction (Deluxe)

COUNTRY

Florida Georgia Line

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

Robert Plant

Coldplay Ghost Stories Foo Fighters Sonic Highways Robert Plant Lullaby and...

The Ceaseless Roar The Black Keys Turn Blue U2 Songs of Innocence APRIL/MAY 2015

| 155

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

IRISH COUNTRY COTTAGES & FISHING on the Beautiful Blackwater River, Co Waterford Comfortable newly refurbished Self Catering Cottages with Free Wifi, in Beautiful surroundings.

Salmon and Trout fishing on 3.5 miles double bank in season.

Rod and Wader Hire, Ghillies and Instructors available Stabling and hire of Horses available.

Private and peaceful Farm and Parkland surroundings on 400 acre Irish Estate Fortwilliam Rose Collection & Gardens and Tennis Court Convenient for mountains, coast and heritage town of Lismore.

Character Pubs and Restaurants Historic Houses and Gardens, Racing, Golf courses, Music & Theatre nearby.

Dogs welcome.

Contact Philippa (00 353) 86 467 0857 info@fortwilliamfishing.ie

www.fortwilliamfishing.ie

Cork Airport 1 hrs drive • Rosslare 2 hrs drive • Dublin 2.5 hrs drive

U .S. IMMIGRATION LAWYERS

Specialists in US immigration law since 1997 • • • • •

Professionals Executives Investors Intra-company transferees Multi-national managers

• • • •

Family-based petitions Interns and trainees Artists Outstanding individuals in athletics, business, entertainment and science

Excellent track record representing top Irish companies and individuals.

OFFICES IN NEW YORK CITY AND KILKENNY, IRELAND

New York T: 212 965-1148

Kilkenny T: 056-7767994

For client testimonials visit: www.obrienandassociates.com @USVisaExpert MEMBER OF AMERICAN IMMIGRATION LAWYERS ASSOCIATION

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?

Terminals 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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Glenstal is a private secondary school for boys set in the heart of Munster just 40 minutes from Shannon Airport and just To register your interest or get more information please over 2 hours from Dublin Airport. visit http://GlenstalAbbeySchoolEvents.eventbrite.ie Day boardingor and sevenour dayAdmissions boarding available contact Office. for your son.

Glenstal Abbey School, Murroe, Co. Limerick, Ireland

MADE IN DONEGAL

altan

mary chapin carpenter

+353 61 621044 - admissions@glenstal.com - www.glenstal.com

10- 26 JULY 2015

Saint Patrick's Cathedral Dublin

Come and experience an undiscovered world of unique music, culture and stunning scenery on the northern most route of the Wild Atlantic Way. Immerse yourself in a festival of music, theatre, visual arts, film, literature, children’s events and outdoor spectacle. Here on the North West Atlantic coast, you’ll find world premieres of unique musical collaborations, masterclasses, bi-lingual Gaelic and English spoken word, guided walks and artistic trails in the heart of Ireland’s magical county of Donegal.

For information and a full EAF programme visit

www.eaf.ie

Open Daily for Visitors www.stpatrickscathedral.ie or call +353 1 4539472 for details

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

St. John’s

Quebec Duluth

Fargo

Traverse

Minneapolis Boise

Sioux Falls

Omaha Denver

Reno

Madison

Cedar Rapids

Salt Lake City

San Francisco

San Jose

Grand Rapids

Dayton Indianapolis

St Louis Wichita

Las Vegas

Springfield

Los Angeles Santa Ana Orange County San Diego

Little Rock

Burbank

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

Oklahoma City Phoenix

Louisville

Syracuse

Toronto

Detroit Fort Wayne

Des Moines

Tulsa

Long Beach

Milwaukee

Chicago

Sacramento Oakland

Montreal

Ottawa

Portland OR

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) San Juan

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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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 70 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

Edinburgh Copenhagen

Donegal

Belfast

Knock

Isle of Man

Dublin

Shannon Kerry

Newcastle

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

Award winning Irish Bar and Restaurant

Rated the Number 1 Bar and Restaurant on Tripadvisor out of 2,508 bars and restaurants in Malaysia

Famous for our food

Kuala Lumpur KLCC I Kuala Lumpur City Centre I Kuala Lumpur Ampang Kuala Lumpur Hartamas I Ipoh I Penang Island I Medan, Indonesia Opening soon: La Zenia, Alicante I Breaffy House Resort, Castlebar, Co Mayo Jakarta, Indonesia I Yangon, Myanmar I Dubai

www.healymacs.co m

Enjoy Wi-Fi and Mobile on board your transatlantic flight today* 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.

Switch on Once the safety belt sign has been switched off, turn on your device and connect to the Telekom HotSpot Network. SSID: Aer_Lingus_WiFi

Mobile Network on board With our on board mobile network, AeroMobile, you can use your phone for text, email and internet browsing, just like you always do**. Stay connected even as you cross the Atlantic.

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.

Purchase Internet Access Click the 'Buy Internet Access' button and choose a tariff that offers either one hour of browsing or a 24 hour pass.

Payment Select your payment method which is processed via a secure connection. Credit card, roaming or Deutsche Telekom accounts are accepted.

Username and Password

164 |

Switch on your mobile when it is safe to do so and ensure it is on silent or vibrate mode.

Aeromobile Wait for the AeroMobile network signal to appear. If your device does not connect automatically, manually select the AeroMobile network through network settings.

Welcome SMS Once connected you will receive a welcome SMS from AeroMobile. You may also receive a pricing message from your mobile operator.

Standard roaming rates apply.

Enter a username and password. You need to remember these if you wish to change device.

Connected

Connected

** Voice calls are disabled and are not permitted during flight. Remember to manage your settings to avoid automatic data download and roaming charges.

You can now browse, email and surf the internet… enjoy!

W ER NE W ES LO R I C P

Switch on

One hour pass €7.95 | $9.95 24 hour pass €14.95 | $18.95 APRIL/MAY 2015

You can now use your phone for SMS, MMS, email and browsing the internet.

Standard roaming rates apply from your mobile phone operator *A330 aircraft only.

“come together at...”

www.jameshobansdc.com 1 Dupont Circle NW - Washington, DC

Modern Irish restaurant & bar on Dupont Circle at Embassy Row. Lunch - Dinner - Brunch - Live Music

Washington’s largest patio & outdoor bar The Irish cross-roads in DC!

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SPRING & SUMMER

breaks by the bay...

for CARA” “ e t o u Q y imentar a compl wine! f bottle o

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Food Served All Day NHA Irish Sports Bar of theYear 2014 Late Bar & DJ’s Thursday to Saturday

Call now for more information...

091 518343 090 644 2002

Quote ‘Cara Magazine’ and get 2 for 1 Traditional Irish Stew Sinnotts Traditional Irish Bar, South King Street, (St. Stephens Green), Dublin 2 +353 1 4784698 info@sinnotts.ie www.sinnotts.ie

KORJO USB HUB POWER ADAPTOR

Most people these days have more than one device and charging them can be a nightmare, especially when you’re travelling. Enter: the ingenious USB Hub Power Adaptor, which allows you to connect and charge up to four USB devices at one time. And even better, the four included interchangeable plugs mean you can do so anywhere in the world.You’ll find it on page 75.

New!

Travel Exclusive €25!

New!

WHAT WE’RE BUYING IN...

boutique COLLIE DOG

Travelling companions don’t come much cuter... Made from the fifinest nest quality materials, this little guy is fifibre-filled bre-filled and fifinished nished in super-soft faux fur.

Find him on page 76.

Start your New Year in style with one (or all?) of these awesome buys...

Want to get fitter, healthier and happier?

You need the Fitbug Orb, a discreet button-sized device that tracks your daily activity. It then sends all the data wirelessly to your smartphone or tablet, where you can analyse it on the Fitbug app. Gifts don’t come much smarter.

For more info, turn to page 71.

ON-BOARD PRICE RRP €70

€65

Save €5

ORLA KIELY PURSE

Orla Kiely is, without doubt, one of Ireland’s best designers. Incorporate a little classic Kiely into your wardrobe in the form of this gorgeous multi-stem print wallet in one of her signature styles.

It’s also the perfect present for the stylish woman in your life. It’s on page 57.

Star buy

On-board P rice €8!

New!

FITBUG ORB

€55 RRP €79 Save €24

ON-BOARD PRICE

BROOKE & SHOALS FRAGRANCE DIFFUSER

Sandalwood & Amber is the heart-warming fragrance from Brooke & Shoals, which comes in this stylish travel-sized diffuser. Combining soft powdery notes of vanilla and patchouli, with comforting sandalwood, this will make the ultimate housewarming or host gift. Check it out on page 58.

ON-BOARD PRICE RRP €20

€16

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Check out the new issue of Boutique.

Better brands, bigger savings, this is luxury shopping at discounted prices.

R A I LT O U R S

Bow Liberal

IRELAND

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- HANDMADE BOW TIES & NECK TIES -

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• Cliffs of Moher & Bunratty • Waterford & Kilkenny • Cork & Blarney Castle • The Giant's Causeway • The Ring of Kerry • The Aran Islands • Connemara & Galway Bay • The Wicklow Mountains

a selection of Irish treats

Car Free - Care Free

e-mail: info@railtoursireland.com

for one with a main course purchased on production of your boarding pass

BLANCHARDSTOWN CENTRE Dublin 15. Tel: 01 822 5990 ST STEPHENS GREEN Dublin 2. Tel: 01 478 1233 TEMPLE BAR Fleet St, Dublin 2. Tel: 01 672 8975 DUNDRUM TOWN CENTRE Tel: 01 298 7299 SWORDS Airside, Swords, Co Dublin Tel: 01 840 8525 BELFAST Level 2, Victoria Square, Tel: 028 9024 9050 www.fridays.ie

also available from LONDON

Blarney Castle and Gardens

A FREE APPETISER

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ONE DAY TOURS TO NINE DAY TOURS FROM DUBLIN

www.railtoursireland.com TEL:DUBLIN + 353-1-856 0045

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A taste of Ireland, delivered world-wide

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FOR THE GENTLEMAN WHO UNDERSTANDS STYLE

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Cloghan Castle

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loghan Castle is an exclusive, self catering venue ideal for that Fairytale Wedding or Party, the self catering option gives the unique opportunity to tailor your day to have it your way!

Banquet Hall can seat up to 120 guests with 7 double bedrooms uniquely decorated giving an authentic castle experience in a luxurious way with central heating throughout. Ceremony and Drinks reception can be held on the battlements, in the courtyard, in our landscaped gardens or in our cosy Drawing Room with an Open Fire.

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Intl Tel: + 353 91 870102 Email: info@cloghancastle.com Proprietor: Micheal H Burke, Chanelle Group Contact us for our Special Offers: www.cloghancastle.com

Managing parking for businesses and consumers.

It’s convenient cashless parking by:

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APP

Michelin Bib Gourmand

From Houston, TX to Heuston Dublin ™ is available in 300+ locations across Ireland, the UK & USA. Visit www.parkbytext.com

with over 135 cafes around the world, there’s always something happening at the hard rock.

12 Fleet Street • Temple Bar • Dublin 2 • Tel: 671 7777 • hardrock.com

TRIP OF A LIFETIME | CYCLING

Pedal power

On an epic cycling trip, Charlene Stubbs discovered that two wheels are king – even with two dogs in tow. y legs were burning and tears streamed down my face. This was the fourth time I’d stopped in just five minutes, the pedals on my Surly Disc Trucker refusing to turn. For the first time I was seriously questioning my own sanity. Why on earth were we putting ourselves through this? Oh yes, because we love adventure!

My husband and I lived in Dubai. Comfortable lives, good jobs I was a senior fashion/beauty editor and my husband Kevin was a video cameraman. But in the summer of 2012, we and our two dogs Dotty and Gordon, gave it all up to run a small guesthouse on a remote island in Cambodia. We loved our back-tobasics lifestyle, and in Spring 2014, I signed up to study reflexology for a year in Spain. We planned a campervan road trip through Europe, which would eventually lead us to Andalucia. Except, somehow, my Kev convinced me to ditch the VW and cycle to Spain instead. From England.

Even though neither of us had been on a bike in nearly a decade. And the dogs were coming with us in a trailer.

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APRIL/MAY 2015

Setting out on our first day’s ride from Stoke-on-Trent to Cannock Chase, we were full of excitement, nerves and shock. With over 2,000km ahead of us, the journey was too enormous to comprehend.

A day-to-day mentality had to be taken as each new morning brought new challenges: trudging 69km across Birmingham’s canal towpaths for eleven arduous hours; struggling against heavy wind and rain along Normandy’s coastline with nothing to eat except pasta and honey; the constant battle with hills. I quickly realised that cycling is more a mental than physical test.

But for every low were greater highs. Visiting some of France’s most beautiful coastal towns and cities – Honfleur, St Malo, La Rochelle, St Jean De Luz – gave us the opportunity to stuff ourselves silly with delicious seafood and endless bottles of chilled Muscadet.

We’ll never forget how much we fist-punched the air after completing our longest ride of 85km – twice our earlier distances. Never knowing where we’d lay our heads each night could have been stressful, but

Above, intrepid couple Kevin Broad and Charlene Stubbs with their welltravelled pooches Gordon and Dotty, in France’s La Rochelle. Right, taking a break in Breton heartland, Josselin.

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campsites are so abundant in France that we never had to worry. We were able to stop and soak up all the glorious moments that we’d have missed travelling by car.

Our best day was cycling over the Pont de Normandie. It drizzled as we cycled 20km through Le Havre’s industrial port, the enormous bridge looming in the distance. Our hearts were pounding. No way were we getting over that in one go! As the cars rushed past us and the river below ran at a frightening speed, all we could do was keep on pumping.

We were bloody well going to make this! With pure adrenalin racing through us, we screamed our way over the top until we were blissfully sailing our way down the other side.

And of course there were the dogs - the best travelling companions of all, bringing a smile to our faces, especially on bad days. They won everyone over. Gordon was always man of the people, and Dotty ... she will forever be known as ‘Le Mignon’.

As a couple we’ve travelled to India as students on a budget of £6 per day, Kev proposed to me in the depths of a Russian winter, and our honeymoon was a year-long trip through South and Central America. Never did we think that our most challenging and rewarding trip would be right on our doorstep. Even though it was a tough journey – our final km count was 2,157 completed in 38 cycling days – now that it’s over, we miss it dearly.

Plans were swiftly put in motion for our next cycle tour … until we found out I was pregnant with our first baby, due this June. Our biggest adventure to come?

Read more about their trip, visit charlenestubbs79.wix.com/pedallingpoochals

“A RARE OPPORTUNITY TO SEE OVER 70 IMPORTANT WORKS OF IRISH ART FROM ALOYSIUS O’KELLY TO SEAN SCULLY IN LONDON.”

THE ART OF A NATION: IRISH WORKS FROM THE ALLIED IRISH BANKS AND CRAWFORD ART GALLERY COLLECTIONS

13 to 31 May Admission Free Mall Galleries, The Mall, London SW1 www.mallgalleries.org.uk

Image: Shane Blount, It’s a Blue Giraffe (detail)