TUESDAY 11 AUGUST 2009
TRAVEL
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Living
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Home & Away with Robert Walshe Travelling with kids needn’t be the hassle one might expect. Whatever your baby’s travel needs, Baby Travel Shop has everything you could possibly need, from pop-up travel cots to 100 per cent UV protective cream and sunglasses for your baby and toddler. www.babytravelshop.ie. British Airways is today announcing further changes to its winter schedule including increasing the number of flights to Warsaw and Istanbul. From October 25, the airline will move from two to three flights a day from Heathrow to Warsaw and Istanbul. The airline will also be increasing the number of flights from Heathrow to Rome from five to six a day, but reducing the Gatwick to Rome flights from two to one a day. Reductions from Heathrow include: Brussels from seven to six flights a day; Paris (Charles de Gaulle) from 10 to nine, Nice and Berlin from six to five and Edinburgh from 11 to 10. www. ba.com. Five Star Alliance member carriers - Austrian, Croatia Airlines, Lufthansa, SWISS and TAP - have moved from Terminal 2 to the refurbished Terminal 1 at London’s Heathrow Airport. They join Air New Zealand, Asiana, bmi, LOT Polish Airlines, South African Airways, United and US Airways who were already operating from Terminal 1.
Holiday Hotspot:
ples, which are considered as the oldest man-made structure, and the Calypso Cave, the cave that Homer referred to in his Odyssey. The island of Gozo has one city, the city of Victoria, which is also the island’s capital. Victoria is a famous tourist spot because of its rich Baroque architecture and history that reportedly dates back to the Bronze Age. There area many things to see and do while you are on your trip to Gozo. One of the islands finest beaches is the Ramla il-Hamra, which literally means red sands, and one of the mustsee places is the rotunda church in Xewkija village. If you don’t like churches, try visiting the Inland Sea, the Azure Window, and the Blue Hole for a magnificent view of Gozo’s west coast.My favourite hotel group The Kempinski run the splendid San Lawrenz on the island a luxurious hideaway resort located in the idyllic countryside of the island. The resort is set amidst 30,000 square metres of grounds and gardens, spoiling you with spacious guest rooms, three outdoor pools and a heated indoor pool as well as an award-winning spa with authentic Ayurveda spa treatments from Kerala, India. The literal meaning of the word is the science of life. It is the most natural way to refresh your self, eliminate all toxic imbalances from the body, and regain resistance and good health. The L’Ortolan is the fine dining restaurant of this beautiful property while the Trattoria San Lawrenz is the right choice for informal dining. Both experiences highly
If you are looking for a holiday with a completely laid-back feel then Gozo could be the place for you. It’s the second largest of the Maltese islands, yet very small by comparison - a beautifully tranquil place that boasts a fantastic landscape, clear seas and a relaxing atmosphere. The island is famed for its unique character because of its rich history and various places of interest. Some of these famous places are the Ggantija Neolithic tem- n Kempinski Gozo
Pet’s Corner...
impressed and their Mediterranean buffet is a definite choice. www.kempinskigozo.com/
Weekend Hotspot
Home and Away Extra n Stockholm Archipela
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If you’re wedding day is approaching and you want to be slimmer, trimmer and ready for the big day. Well fear not, the personal trainers and therapists at ESPA at The Ritz-Carlton, Powerscourt have combined their skills to develop a Bridal Boot Camp which promises participants will leave feeling leaner, pampered and ready whether they are the centre of attention or a guest! The four-day programme which is available to book for September 23 with further dates to be announced, consists of a range of fitness classes, spa treatments, a nutrition workshop and a make over including make-up tips to ensure the bride and bridal party look great throughout the wedding celebrations. All of this costs just €335 per day, based on a four day stay. Places are limited to ensure personal attention for each participant guaranteeing they leave with an improved physique with a little pampering and luxury thrown in too! Guests will be asked to check into The RitzCarlton, Powerscourt for the four day boot camp, which includes four night’s accommodation, a healthy breakfast, lunch and dinner each day and classes such as body pump, Pilates, boxercise, circuit training and aqua aerobics. www.ritzcarlton.com/ powerscourt
Weekly Best Buy With the forecast of above average temperatures during August, Irish Ferries and Haven Holidays are offering seven-night summer breaks at their Welsh resorts of Kiln Park, Presthaven Sands and Greenacres resorts for parties of up to six persons. Price includes return car cruise ferry crossing and accommodation
in a two bedroom caravan with onsite entertainment to suit all the family. Three and four-night options are also available www. irishferries.com Cruise2 have fantastic special offers available at the moment which enable you to enjoy some 4* luxury whilst seeing the delights of the Middle East or the Mediterranean. Seven nights Mediterranean Cruise from €659 per person sharing plus airport taxes of €56, eight nights Dubai Fly Cruise from €1,269 per person including airport taxes. www. cruise2.ie. If time is of the essence this summer yet you still feel the need for a romantic break for two, then the Couples Break at Parknasilla Resort and Spa in Co Kerry is just the trick to have you back in the honeymoon period all over again! The resort is one of Ireland’s most romantic and luxurious getaways. Two-night stay in an executive room (B&B), dinner on one evening, pre-dinner cocktail each, spa treatment each and two snipes of chilled Champagne on arrival is priced at €320 per person sharing. Discover the stunning archipelago of Stockholm this summer. Stretching 80km east of the city, and with over 30,000 islands and islets, the Stockholm archipelago is one of the most spectacular in the world. Scandinavian Airlines are delighted to give you the opportunity to explore the archipelago for yourself and go island hopping for free with their latest special offer. If you fly with Scandinavian Airlines between August 1 and September 30, you will receive a free Island Hopper Card worth €33, valid for five days, to enjoy beautiful sandy beaches, quaint restaurants and unique landscape. SAS fly four times a week from Dublin to Stockholm for as little as €81 including the €10 government departure tax and a free 20 kg baggage allowance.
with Kathleen Murray
with Kathleen Murray: Animal Behavioural Therapist
Sharing your life with a dog?
Dogs are as different as we are. Some are very lively, some less energetic, some shy, some with short fuses etc., but they all need to learn how to live among humans safely. Some people refer to this as training a dog. Training is a way of life. Teaching a few basic commands like Sit or Stay is just about teaching a language, so that a dog can be controlled (like a remote control), because no dog speaks English. A dog already knows how to do all of these things, it just doesn’t know the English (or French, German etc) words for them, so when you say “Lie Down”
the dog looks at you like you have two heads on you. If someone said to you “yap yap yap” and then backed it up with a thump, you’d be confused too, not to mention scared or deeply annoyed. Take time to teach the language, and the action that goes with the word. It will have to be repeated patiently until the dog “gets it”. What is much more important than all of this is that the owner should learn dog language. If you are communicating with an animal you need to know how to “talk to it” and how to “listen to it” when it answers. To be fair to your dog
you need to know the rules of that species (how they interact and function among themselves), and teach them our rules. Good luck with that. Many humans find it difficult to keep up with our rules themselves. Humans can change the goalposts at a minute’s notice. Dogs know nothing of human games and human thinking, yet so many people expect them to. These interactions between humans and dogs are more important than teaching it a few words. Knowing when to challenge and when to retreat, when to praise and when to stay silent, when to block and when
to allow movement are all vitally important things for you to know, and for you to teach your dog. When I ask people about the things they have taught their dog they say “He/She can sit and give a paw“. While these are good 10 second party tricks, they will not prevent your dog from being run over by a car. Teaching your dog the rules of life is not an easy task. It is a huge responsibility that lasts for as long as you have your dog. It is time-consuming and energy-consuming and absolutely necessary, and it is so worth it when you get it right.
Hotel Plaza Athénée, one of the Dorchester Collection, is the chicest address in Paris on Avenue Montaigne and is not just for grownups. The hotel has just launched its exclusive travel blog for its younger guests – www.veryimportantchildren.com. Named VIC, the online site offers sections for every interest and is split into two age ranges. The website has been devised for younger visitors to make the most of their stay at the Plaza Athénée, and Paris with access reserved exclusively for VICs who have stayed or who are going to stay at the hotel. With their parents’ permission, children will receive an identifier and password when their booking is made. So even before they arrive at the hotel, they can log on to prepare their trip and find out about what’s on in Paris and at the Plaza Athénée. Picking your own holiday looks set to take on a different meaning altogether, as national tourism organisation Visit Scotland launches its first ever Kitchen Garden Trail, encouraging Northern Ireland visitors to reduce their food miles and stay in establishments that serve produce direct from their own gardens. Created as part of Visit Scotland’s ‘Perfect Day’ campaign and available www.visitscotland.com/perfectfood, the trail showcases home-grown hotspots for every budget, ranging from luxury hotels and prestigious castles to cafes, B&Bs and youth hostels. Easy Jet today confirmed it will offer Starbucks coffee and luxury teas onboard flights next month. Packets of “micro-ground” Starbucks VIA Ready Brew coffee beans will be available on flights from Newcastle, Stansted, Gatwick and Madrid. Malaysian no-frills carrier AirAsiaX has started a daily service from Stansted. It had been five flights a week service since the route was launched in March. Bosses said demand from leisure and business travellers forced the change. Budget fares to the Malaysian capital have been available from £150 at certain times. Why not plan a birthday weekend with Wow House and stay at the sumptuous Pentrehobyn Hall, north Wales? A 16th Century, classic Jacobean Grade I listed house with unique architectural, medieval features, Pentrehobyn Hall is the perfect place to stay for a milestone birthday celebration. The property is set in 100 acres of parkland and fields in Flintshire, 25 minutes drive from Chester (www.thewowhousecompany.com). Robert Walshe is a freelance contributor / broadcaster to travel publications and radio programmes across Ireland and the UK.