Salah had a thing for lettuce. So much so, he blamed the wind it made him pass, on the banana trees in the fields. Or at least I think he did. Eating a whole head of lettuce in one go has not only got side affects but its got consequences. The side affects being that it makes you pass copious amounts of wind, the consequences are that the person sitting in the back of the taxi has decided to declare it to the world through the world wide web. Salah was our taxi driver for the day, and other than his denial about his flatulence he was a perfect gent. We were picked up by him at 10am for our trip to see Jerash and Ajloun. Both of these are in the north of Jordan and ... read more

Our trip to Jordan was even better than expected. The openness and friendliness of the Jordanians was undoubtedly the highlight of the journey. Everyone just wanted to tell us…. Welcome to Jordan. If I got a Dinar/Euro for every time we were welcomed, the trip would have been for free, such was the hospitality of the Jordanians. We were never conned or felt that we were being ripped off and it took us a while to realise that tourism is slightly different here in Jordan. It is like there has been a collective decision by the people to recognise the importance of tourism to their economy and everyone has consciously decided to take part. Lesson No.1 for English class in schools must surely be the word Welcome. I had read somewhere that Jordan had decided to ... read more

Feeling a bit worse for wear and after having an unscheduled sleep in, we rose for breakfast just in time. The Guinness sampling went well the night before and a traditional Scottish breakfast was just what the doctor ordered. The traveller still inside us, told us to take advantage of the buffet breakfast so that we could prolong the time until our next stop but most importantly to save on money. Not every person starts the day with a continental and Scottish breakfast but we said we’d give it a try! On one of the hot plates was something resembling black pudding, so I presumed it was Haggis. Now breakfast is an important meal of the day so it was time, just yet, to try out the local delicacy. Fed, watered and thermos filled (free of ... read more

There is a stone that whoever kisses, Oh! He never misses to grow eloquent, ‘Tis he may clamber to a ladies chamber or become a member of parliament - Francis Sylvester Mahony Legend has it that those who kiss the Blarney Stone will gain the gift of the gab. In other words, you could charm your way to anything you wanted. Although there are many who don’t need to kiss the stone, over 350,000 visit the castle every year. We thought that it was time that we added to the numbers. Cork has many attractions but it was my ignorance at how close the castle was to the city that kept me from visiting before this. Only 10km’s from the city centre it was surely worth a visit on a sunny Sunday afternoon. We got to ... read more

Work has brought me to Cork city and has also given me new opportunities to blog new places without getting on a plane or costing all that much. My days off are now full of plans to see a county I barley know anything about. Last time I set foot down here I was a child and my one memory was visiting Fota Wildlife Park. So where better to start my new adventures around the Rebel County. Cork so far has been excellent. It’s like a big Galway and small Dublin. It has probably got the best shopping street in the country by a long mile and each side street is filled with little café’s and excellent restaurants. We are working our way through the early bird menu’s, where you get three courses for €20. ... read more