Rest assured!

Last Sunday coming back from London, I sat beside a lady on Ryanair who had recently purchased a holiday home near Carcossone in Southern France. She told me the main reason for doing so, was; Ryanair flies to Carcossonne and this has enabled her, her children and grandchildren to visit frequently at little expense. This is certainly commonplace now. I pray to god that my husband and I are next on the list and can buy somewhere in Burgundy! This impromtu meeting spurred me to contact the man himself, and so I sent a letter to Michael O'Leary congratulating him on what he has done for all of us or those who wish to avail of his inexpensive flights to all of those wonderful hidden gems all over Europe. This was his reply!


"I thank you for your card and for your frequent flights on Ryanair. Rest assured we will keep trying to reduce the cost of air travel throughout Europe and I hope we will have the pleasure of welcoming you on many more Ryanair flights over the coming months."

Best wishes,

Yours sincerely

Michael O'Leary"

Here are a list of gems to visit from Dublin:

Algerho - Sardinia
Sardinia is wonderful. Wild and Rustic. It is very like Sicily in the sense that most locals completely disown mainland Italy. Saying that, this beautfiul island is frequented by the Romanese and Milanese, frightfully chic! It's still quite off the radar though.
Food and wine is wonderful. Look out for their Vermentino white wine, Cannonau red wine and Seafood! Head north west to Stintino.

Milan - Italy.
Frightfully sophisticated and glam! Head here for you shopping weekend and people spotting.
Great for access into the Dolomites for ski-ing holidays. The Dolomites are still very much undiscovered with us Irish and English. We went to Arabba last year near Cortina. Ski-ing was amazing and did not ski the same run twice in a week. Lots of pit spots for coffee. Queuing for lifts taught me a thing or two about fashion, sunglasses, and what to wear on the slopes. Check out Val Gardina as well. Very swish!!!

Paris - France
Ohhhh amazing, I simply adore Paris. My husband and I are true francophiles at heart. We visited paris in Spring this year. Simply wonderful, so romantic. I could rave about this wonderful city for hours and have decided that at some stage we will have to go and live there for a year. My dream is to become a french fashion aficionado - french women really know how to dress! We had a long weekend there and ate and drank for a third less than Dublin. We hung around the left bank mainly and visited all the wonderful galleries, watched the parisians walk their dogs and drooled at flower and interior design shops on Rue Jacob,7eme.
If you do plan to go I have a great file on a very parisian visit, thanks to a friend who lived there for a while.

Hann - Mosel Valley
A hot spot for Riesling wine. This part of Germany produces the finest in the world.
The mosel is extremely traditional and a beautiful spot to visit; try and go in during autumn tine when all the wine festivals are on. The village streets are taken over for the day and all sorts of delicious foods and wines are served. They love their pork! The region is also fab for wild river trout. To work it off you can hire bicycles and spend the day going downstream to Bernkastel. Fly into the regional airport of Hann, no hassle and very straightforward, within 15 minutes you are in the heart of the mosel wine region.


Pisa - Italy
Toscana - the heart of wine in Italy. Everyone that visits this wonderful part of the world, cannot resist the pull of all the beautiful hill top towns of Montalicino, Volterra, Montepulciano and Volterra or roam the streets of hisorical Sienna, Lucca and Florence. We had one of best meals ever here. We were staying in Chianti Classico and went off one evening to find supper. We came to a funny little cafe in a rather non exciting town. A good sign for the best food. We both had a teabone veal steak costing €5.20 each - wow I will never forget it, washed down with some delice Chianti Classico. Simple is best.

Trapani - Sicily
This is probably my number one destination to visit. Sicily is old Italy, trapped in a wonderful time warp, filled with tradition and history. I feel filled with a warm love when I think about this fascinating island. Never have I seen a culture so rich. We had the best time, staying in Agriturismo's dotted around the island, visiting working farms where the hospitality was top notch. Little English was spoken, a lot of "Alora". The food was heavenily and I can honestly say that in 17 days of eating out 3 times a day, we did not not experience one bad meal. The best dining experiences were always off the beaten track in small hidden away coastal towns, where we were always the odd ones out and no english was spoken. A favorite spot was Castellamare di Golfo on the north west coast, where we had supper in the port. A wonderful people watching experience, I was fascinated by all the sicilian americans, literally straight out of the sopranos, children dressed in Polo Ralph Lauren with thick New York accents which then conversed in strong regional sicilian when needed. Sicilians are just like us Irish, strong to their roots.
We ate a delicious seafood dinner and strolled around this seaside town in the dark, watching the auld biddies sit in the street underneath their streams of washing, with the occossional sound of a passing vespa in the distance.

Easy guide to Naughty Raspberry Icecream

In need of some indulgence. We must always tend to naughty cravings once in a while! Decadent raspberry icecream made with double cream is the way to go!
Take a punnet of raspberries, add a few cups of cold water, and a few spoons of sugar depending on how piquant or sweet you would like it. Bring to the boil and simmer for no more than three minutes. While this is happening whip the double cream until it is floppy. Take the raspberries off the heat, cool and then fold into cream. Straight into the freezer, and leave for a couple hours and then stir. Make sure its stored in a well sealed container to prevent crystals forming. Delicious! Try with other fruits such as, blackcurrants, rhubarb, strawberries and gooeseberries.

A Hidden Gem in Kilmainham

If you are a country lass or lad and feeling in need of some rural pints, take a walk down Kilmainham lane in Dublin 8 and you will find your fix for the evening. Enter the royal oak and you are transported back to maybe Mullinahone. This is a real pub. The owner, stands behind the small bar pulling delectable pints of Guinness, which is no more than half a mile down the road. The chat is local, lots of country accents. The scene is rea,l with plenty of talk about politics and houseprices. This is defintely a place for Kieran Hannrihan of the Ceili House!. A true local.
www.dublinpubscene.com/thepubs/theroyaloak.html

A Fine Rare Wine Experience

Despite being a member of the wine trade, it is not often that one gets to drink fine rare wines. One of my brothers very kindly gave my husband and I three bottles of Paul Jaboulet La Chapelle Hermitage as a wedding present, '82,83, 85. Last Saturday night we took the plunge and cracked open the 82 , chez my parents in County Tipperary.. Wow is all that I can say, a sublime experience. We drank it with simply cooked roast pork with a sprig of rosemary, roasted veggie and roast potatoes. " A masculine and muscular wine, brown with a rusty hue, quite opaque. medium plus intensity on the nose with lively notes of brown sugar, caramel and christmas cake. Sweet and ripe smelling - a joy! Good acidity, with notes of sour cherries and well integrated tannins. Impressive long length. This wine has another ten years, incredible seeing that the critics say it should be drunk now! Excellent".

Oh dear, I can see yet another expensive habit forming!

Foire au Vin

Well, I certainly know where I will be on Friday 4th October later on this year; sitting on the ferry with a glass of wine in hand, en route to Cherbourg for my first experience of the "Foire au Vin". For sure this is a weekend to round up a gang of wine loving friends and to buy all of next year's wine supplies and much more! I have never visited the Foire au vin, but do hear great reports on tremedous fine wine bargains. As far as I know the sale takes place in all large Auchan and Le Clerc supermarkets throughout France. If anybody has anymore information please let me know. I did a google on the name and couldn't find much. The text below has been copied from Irish Ferries webiste. Sounds fun!

"French Autumn Wine Sales Focus Of Irish Ferries Escorted Wine Cruise To Cherbourg
To coincide with the annual ‘Foire au Vin’ wine sales which take place in French hypermarkets each Autumn, Irish Ferries are running an accompanied wine mini-cruises to Cherbourg departing from Rosslare on Friday, 5th October next. A second accompanied trip aimed at pre-Christmas shoppers will also depart on Friday, 30th November.
Focus of the first trip will be the renowned wine sales at hypermarkets Auchan and LeClerc where savings of E12 per bottle of champagne, E10 on spirits and up to E8 on wine plus big reductions on beer and DIY items are the norm.
Aimed at novices and experts alike, each cruise will be accompanied by Ireland’s foremost wine expert and broadcaster, Martin Moran, who will conduct wine tastings on board, preview some of the wines that can be bought ashore plus offer advice on the best bargains available.
Departing at 1600 hours, passengers will spend up to 6 hours ashore in Cherbourg on Saturday, returning to arrive back in Rosslare on Sunday morning at 1130 hours.
Fare, which includes a bed in a 2 bed cabin en-suite, from EUR99 per adult and EUR39 per child (4-15 years) return. A car or motorbike is carried from only EUR59 return extra when two or more adults travel together.
See Accompanied