TRAVEL
Home & Away with Robert Walshe TOURIST sites across the island of Ireland should offer free Wi-Fi access to visitors which would encourage visitors to upload pictures of their visit to online social networking sites. Of Ireland’s top tourist attractions, not all provide Wi-Fi access to visitors. There are no plans to introduce any form of Wi-Fi at the Cliffs of Moher visitor centre in County Clare or at Bunratty Castle and Heritage Park. The Brú na Bóinne visitor centre at Newgrange provides no Wi-Fi access either, whereas one of Ireland’s most visited tourist sites, the Guinness Storehouse, has a facility whereby visitors can access a Wi-Fi network for free. Meanwhile Cork City Council has rolled out a pilot scheme providing free Wi-Fi in public open tourist spaces, such as Bishop Lucey Park and the Grand Parade area in the city. The scheme is designed to facilitate the increasing use of smart phone apps and websites by visitors to the city. A signage scheme will also be put in place in the coming weeks whereby tourists will be directed to areas where free Wi-Fi exists. British Airways has become the first airline to serve an English sparkling wine on board its flights and in its lounge at Heathrow Terminal 5. The sparkling wine, ‘Balfour Brut Rosé’ from the Hush Heath winery in Kent, will be served alongside an existing range of Champagnes to customers in First class between July and September.
Weekend Hotspots
From Danish rock festivals such as the world-renowned Roskilde, to the long, light summer nights of Stockholm’s midsummer or to Oslo where in summer months you can soak up the ecclectic Norwegian style while in winter avail of the cities convenient proximity to some fantastic ski fields and winter sports facilities. This season Scandanavia is a haven of activity including the “ Roskilde “festival, Copenhagen one of the longest-running and best rock events in Europe. Continually attracting some of the biggest names in rock, it’s one of Denmark’s, and Scandinavia’s, most raucous annual
events. Meanwhile For the seventh time in a row Copenhagen Cooking will guide foodies from all over the world around the gastronomy scene of Copenhagen. The aim is to create a festive environment for our cuisine, manifesting Denmark as the center of Scandinavia’s gastronomy and world of flavors. The festival is a celebration of the industry, the Danish and Nordic cuisine, the art of the chefs, the traditions and the local produce. The program is made by a long list of restau-
■ Newforge House in Co
■ Royal Palac
Armagh
rants and food-enthusiasts who will invite you on a 10 day journey full of excellent food experiences, workshops, cooking classes, lectures and much more. In other words Copenhagen Cooking has cooked up many ways to enjoy the Nordic cuisine. Copenhagen Cooking 2011 runs from the 19th28th of August! In Stockholm you can soak up the many bars, restaurants, clubs and galleries late in to the night, thanks to the long days and light nights while in Oslo take a sightseeing trip around the city and the spectacular outer fjordland area, also visit the famous Munch Museum painting “The Scream” or kick back at any one of the happening festivals taking place around the city. If you are under 26 years, SAS offers discounted tickets to and within Scandinavia at affordable rates. Not only are the f lights great value for
Pet’s Corner...
money but you can also take off at the last minute as SAS allow bookings up to 2 hours before departures. Tickets may be purchased up to one year in advance with SAS’ “Youth” tickets, or you can purchase SAS’ “Last Minute Youth” tickets
Living
one day in advance. Fly direct from Dublin to Copenhagen, Stockholm or Oslo from only €61 one way including all taxes and charges with SAS’ youth fares. www.flysas.ie
Weekly Best Buy The wonderful Irelands Bluebook collection of hotels & country houses are offering exceptional value throughout the summer and some of my favourite properties are to the fore including the Newforge House in Co Armagh with a one 1 night’s bed & breakfast with tea/ coffee & homemade shortbread on arrival also pre-dinner drink with canapés in the drawing room and a 3-course dinner followed by tea/coffee & chocolates from £95 pps. The Fitzgibbon families at the award winning Ahernes of Youghal in Co Cork are offering a 3 night’s bed & breakfast & 2 evening meals
e Stockholm
Home and Away Extra
special from their “Table d’hote” menu, all for only €250 euros pps. The genial Margaret Bowe at Marlfield House in Gorey Co Wexford has introduced the “High Summer” two night weeekend gourmet special “including full dinners & Irish breakfast from €306 pps and the Wheelers at Rathmullan House in Donegal invite you to avail of their midweek special of €205pp for 2 night’s bed and breakfast plus 1 house dinner in a standard room. Upgrade to a superior room for an extra €15 per person. Further details on www.irelands-blue-book. ie/offersnew Turkey is fast becoming one of the most popular family holiday destinations. With so many fantastic things going for it such as beautiful beaches, scenic coastal towns, lively family-friendly resorts not to mention great value for money, Turkey is a sure bet when it comes to booking some family fun in the sun. Dublin Departures include Kusadasi -Melissa Apartments / 1 Bedroom / 3* / Self Catering in July from €1136 August from €1536 or Gumbet - Pedalisa Apartments / 1 Bedroom / 3* / self catering in July from €1536 August from €1256 www.wingsabroad.ie Robert Walshe is a freelance contributor / broadcaster and guest travel writer for River Media newspaper titles across the island of Ireland
Agents putting together rail itineraries for clients can now use booking site thetrainline. com to find and book European inter-city train tickets. In conjunction with Rail Europe, the trainline.com will offer information and tickets for travel on SNCF’s TGV services, Deutsche Bahn’s ICE, Thalys and overnight services. The site will also offer details and booking for the InterRail pass which allows rail travel in 29 European countries. Marriott International has been named the ‘greenest’ hotel company in the United Kingdom by staying in the top ten in The Sunday Times 60 Best Green Companies in Britain list for 2011.The hotel company, achieving a ranking of ninth on the list, has also won the award for ‘Best Employee Environmental Engagement’ for the second year running, in addition to becoming the only hotel company in Britain to be in the top ten ranking in the poll. Vietnam Airlines will launch direct services from London Gatwick to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City this winter. The airline will operate four flights a week, eventually increasing to a double daily service, starting in early December from the North Terminal. A Boeing 777-200ER will carry up to 309 passengers across three classes, business, upper economy and economy. More than five million tourists visited Vietnam last year.
with Kathleen Murray
What guidance does your dog need? with Kathleen Murray: Animal Behavioural Therapist
IT CAN be confusing for people sometimes to know what their dog needs rather than what it wants. Many people think that if they join a basic obedience class then this will solve their problems. They think that if a dog learns a few basic commands such as SIT or STAY etc then the dog will be workable. This is a big mistake. Working with a dog is a long term project. Some dogs learn quickly and some dogs need more time. Dogs can learn new things easily and often faster than their owners. . I have worked with many dogs over many years and the one thing that
has consistently been a barrier to a dog’s rehabilitation has been its handler. I use the word handler and not owner because the dog will not always be with it’s owner. The handler is the person that needs to know how to control what they have on the end of the lead. It doesn’t matter if the person is the owner or not. The connection in this work is simply a person, a lead and a dog. Any person, any dog. Training and control always starts at home and as young as possible. Training and control are two very different things. You can train a dog to do many things
but you might not be in control of the dog. A dog can go to a 6 week dog training class and end up as unruly as the day it started. It may know a couple of commands but out in the real world it will not listen if you are not in control of the dog as well. Some people have a mental block when it comes to control. They think it is a negative thing because they may have resented control themselves, so they let the dog do what it wants so that the dog can enjoy itself. A dog enjoying itself is often a nightmare for people that don’t like dogs or people out walking with kids
(or a baby in a buggy). An out of control dog is a dangerous dog because it is liable to do anything, and,, without control over the dog, the person that took it out will just end up being a passenger in the nightmarethat follows. Explaining what a dog needs long term can be a waste of time if a person just wants the dog to “stop pulling on the lead”. Any dog that I have ever met that is pulling on a lead is also doing other important things that it should not be doing.... most obviously, not listening to it’s owner in the first place. Lots of people just want a quick fix and find
it too much of a commitment and a bother to set up a good behaviour long-term plan for their dog. A dog lives a long time and it will go through many things and can develop problems at any stage of it’s life. People in general don’t understand the workings of the mind of a dog and this is perfectly acceptable because otherwise there would be no need for dog
trainers etc., but to try to fix something you know nothing about yourself is not acceptable. If you are experiencing problems in control or training then contact me on 0863192247 and I will tell you if you need to work the problem at home or if a class is a good place for you and your dog to be. Every problem is different, and every dog and owner are different.