TRAVEL
Home & Away with Robert Walshe Dublin has the best restaurants in Ireland according to a food survey from Hotels. com. The survey questioned more than 27,000 travellers worldwide ,revealing that almost half (48%) of travelers on the island of Ireland consider Dublin to be best for dining out but the capital is last on the list for local food produce. Cork took the top spot for local produce with 18% voting it their favourite for food followed closely by the West (16%), South West (16%) and the South East (15%). Although a large quantity of food producers and suppliers are based in Dublin, the capital city was ranked last with just 13%. On a global scale, the survey revealed that Japanese food could one day rule the world after being voted global travellers third favourite culinary delight. This shows there is now tough competition for more traditional favourites such as Italian and French cuisine from food from the Far East. Although international travelers do still favour Italian (32%) and French (24%) cuisine, with them taking first and second in the rankings, the dishes from Japan are gaining in popularity with more cosmopolitan palates. 18% of all people surveyed favoured Sushi, Tempura, Ramen and Japanese Soba,particularly when it comes to fine dining. www.hotels.com
Holiday Hotspot – Praslin Seychelles
Lazare Picault in 1774, it also used to be a common hideaway for pirates and merchants from the Middle East in the mid eighteenth century. Praslin was initially named ‘Île de Palme’, in honour of its lush green and picture-perfect tropical vegetation and magnificent palm forests. Most people who visit come to see Valle- deMai a preserved area where coco de mer palms are abundant. UNESCO declared it a World Heritage Site as a result of its importance to nature and holidaymakers journey to this remote part of the Indian Ocean to explore a vast collection of flora and fauna. The one thing that they all wish to catch sight of is the coco de mer – the largest seed on the planet which bears a striking resemblance to parts of the human anatomy. These double nuts grow on over 4000 trees in the vallee, some reaching to 30metres giving this unique spot a second name – “Valley of the Giants”. The tallest of these are estimated to be over 800 years old with six species of endemic palms found. The elusive black parrot is amongst the very rare endemic birds to be seen in the valley along with the bulbul and beautiful blue pigeon. Many of Seychelles’ most renowned beaches are found on Praslin with Anse Lazio the most famous stretch of surf enjoying a prime position in the top 10 list of
the world’s most famous tourist beaches. Located on northwest “Chevalie” the high waves discourage snorkeling, but is a great spot to enjoy blazing sunsets with a cocktail. Grand Anse is the longest beach on the island while Anse Georgette a wonderful swimming spot can be accessed only via boat or the nearby Constance Lemuria Resort boasting the Seychelles only 18-hole Championship golf course. Accommodation options here are luxurious with villas built from natural raw materials such as wood, marble & granite. www.lemuriaresort. constancehotels.com Praslin stands at the forefront of the Seychelles’ tourism industry with a strong tradition of hospitality and wide range of accommodation facilities. One of
www.seychelles.travel
A British colony until 1977, Seychelles boasts a long and unique history that has been influenced by African, Arab, Asian and European cultures .Praslin, with a population of 6,000 people, is the second largest island 45km to the north-east of Mahé and measures 10km by 3.7km. First claimed by French explorer
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my favourites was Coco de Mer Hotel & Black Parrot Suites at Anse Bois de Rose. Offering exceptional value this resort is well run with those staying on a half board basis eating buffet in style at the Hibiscus restaurant. www.cocodemer.com At Côte d’Or on Praslin’s northeast shore Hotel l’Archipel built in 1987 by owner, Louis D’Offay offers panoramic views and colourfully-planted gardens. Spread over a large hillside estate, there are 30 rooms some newly refurbished. The location does vary from beach to hillside, so it’s important to specify at the time of booking if you have a strong preference. The hotel’s swimming pool is just a few yards from the beach, as is the main restaurant. Here you can enjoy a fine gourmet dinner in barefoot luxury listening to waves splashing by nearby. www. larchipel.com For independent travelers transport by boat to Praslin is easy with
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regular and efficient fast ferry services between Mahé and La Digue operated by Cat Cocos. www.catcocos.com Creole Travel Services offer a selection of options aimed at providing everything that you could want in a holiday here whether that means providing excursions on or simply professional assistance with itineraries and reservations. www.creoletravelservices.com You can also day trip to Praslin from Mahe, or stay longer and use it as a jumping-off point to explore the small, sandy pathways of nearby La Digue island for the day. Emirates Airline operates a Dublin to Dubai daily service departing at lunchtime. Dubai to Seychelles is a double daily service departing at 2.05hrs or 8.25hrs.and was the 52nd route launched by Emirates. Current prices start from €765 (Economy Class) inclusive of taxes or €2586 Business Class Fare.
Robert Walshe is a freelance contributor / broadcaster and Travel Editor for River Media newspaper titles across the island of Ireland. www.robertw-
Weekly Best Buy Farnham Estate in Cavan has taken all of the trouble out of pre-picnic packing by having their talented chefs create a delicious hamper for you so that all you have to worry about is in which picturesque spot in the 7km of woodlands you choose to enjoy it! The summer picnic package includes
two nights luxury accommodation, Super Buffet Breakfast each morning, dinner in the Botanica Restaurant on the evening of your choice and a picnic basket from €178 per person sharing. Offer is valid until 30th September, with one picnic basket per room, per stay. www.farnhamestate.com
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Pet’s Corner... with Kathleen Murray Children and Animals Children and animals have been both a great, and awful, partnership since time began. They get along really well at times and then other times they can have a bad effect on each other. They are both of limited intelligence and both have a lot of energy. There are certain parts of the brain that don’t spark into action until we are 25 years old, so when I say that kids have limited intelligence it is not meant in a bad way. Kids are clearly not stupid but they have only experienced and learned a small amount compared to what teenagers and eventually adults will have ex-
Passenger flyi n g First Class can enjoy a very generous baggage allowance of 50kg, In Business Class, its 40kg and in Economy, a healthy 30 kg. The airline’s Chauffeur-drive service is available to both First and Business Class passengers across the island of Ireland. All of Emirates’ customers can enjoy in-flight telephones, SMS and email and children’s activity packs. Highly trained cabin crews from across the globe, including Irish nationals are on hand to serve gourmet chef prepared meals. www.emirates.com For all travel related information to the truly wonderful Seychelles visit www.seychelles. travel
perienced and learned. Dogs are intelligent too on a different level. They have ways of figuring some things out that we could never manage with our bodies and minds. Their sense of smell and their hearing is way superior to ours so they are ahead of us on that for a start. Nearly everyone I know had a dog when they were a child. They certainly knew many dogs. These dogs were part of the daily life. They played with the children, annoyed the children, were there when the child needed a friend, and met them excitedly when they arrived home from school. Now
and then a dog bit a child and it was deemed to be a bad dog. In many cases the dog was put to sleep and often not in a nice way due to an incident like this. Nowadays there is a lot more information about why dogs do what they do and there is a lot more awareness of animal welfare, so if something like this happens then, in many cases, the incident happened because the child either teased the dog or the adults didn’t either supervise or educate unruly children that can frighten a dog into having to defend itself.
Sometimes it appeared that there was no provocation on the part of the child but there are always warning signs to be seen in a dog from a very early age if they are not handling situations well. Sometimes
too much is expected from a dog and this is not the fault of the dog. There will always be children and animals for as long as this planet is here and it was very evident how much they still love and need each
other when the DSPCA did their Art Competition in all the Primary Schools this year. It will be held every year in 1st Class and 6th Class. The competition was to help raise awareness of animals and to give the children a chance to express their love for animals. A calendar was made from the pictures and the standard of the pictures was very high. The launch of the Calendar will be held in the Central Library, Letterkenny on the 15th September at 6.30pm and it would make a beautiful present for someone, so come along and enjoy the beautiful pictures. Calendars are on special offer for the launch at just 5 Euros. Children and Animals will both benefit from it. Everybody welcome.