chrisj
Christopher Jack Joined: August 9th 2005
Logged in: January 16th 2012
Logged in: January 16th 2012
Travel Blog Posts
Sadly travel blog and apple do not see eye to eye and therefore I am giving up in this blog. Please head over to twitter and follow me (@chrisjackis) or become a friend on Facebook. Hasta luego!... read more
Hello reader, firstly let me say I've been having a number of problems creating blog entries via the iPad, the travelblog website does not really cater for iPad users but hopefully I now have a bit of a workaround in place to at least to enable me to blog. My next challenge will be uploading images but I will be doing my upmost to provide visuals as well as words in the very near future. Have settled in nicely at the apartment in Borough in SE1. For those of you who are unaware it is about to five minute walk to London Bridge so it's a very centrally located spot just far enough away from the city to avoid all the rush of city workers -something I am certainly not one of while I'm on leave. ... read more
In a city with a population of close to 8 million people and 15 million visitors a year you'd be surprised to think there would be a quiet street to be found less than a stones throw from the Thames, however this is where you find me as I write my first blog entry of 2011. Having spent the morning ensuring I would be able to blog (trips to mobile phone shops) , it was out for lunch to one of the many quality local pubs around Borough (where I am based for the next week) with my brother Paul. The Goldsmith on Southwark Bridge Road is the quintessential local pub that does delicious Sunday roasts and by all accounts an interesting weekly menu that includes Thai Tuesday, a traditional Thai menu cooked by their resident ... read more
The Tube
Its hard to believe but today I am typing this blog entry from my home in Dee Why. Incredibly five weeks has flown by so quickly and tomorrow I am faced with the prospect of going back to work. On Thursday night I went out for dinner with Paul and Mark, a kind of farewell I guess. We went to Cóte at Tower Bridge. Dinner was disappointing and so too the service but it was nice to go out with my brother and his partner Mark again before flying back to Australia. My week has been quite uneventful by choice. I stayed down in Kent with my friends Mick and Sal and used the few days as an opprtunity to wind-down. On Friday I awoke bright eyed and bushy tailed and jumped on the early morning ... read more
An Indian Summer
The nice lady presenting the weather declared that there was “...autumnal...” weather on the way. Autumnal indeed! Rain and wind greeted me on my return to England following 30 consecutive days of sunshine throughout Europe . I was only boasting yesterday that I had had sunshine every day of my holiday however today it is bloody awful! I really enjoyed my time in Ireland. Ballybunion may not be the most exciting place on earth but the sunshine, beaches and the ocean is a lovely combination. Top that off with the odd pint of guinness and winning some money on the horses at the Listowel races on Sunday is was also a very profitable stay. The flight back on Ryanair was an uneventful one. If there was ever a day I fancied a stoush with that airline ... read more
It was a fine day to visit the beach!
Ballybunion was once a very popular seaside resort with Irish families until the late 1960's. Thousands were attracted to its sandy beaches, its busy main street filled with pubs for the adults and fun parlours for the kids. However when cheap package holidays to Mediterranean resorts became trendy, the Irish holiday became less attractive. Better weather, more interesting food and a sophisticated society/culture was a huge pull for Northern Europeans. Ballybunion has one of the most famous links golf courses in the world and now relies heavily on the arrival of foreign golfers to keep the town going economically. They also rely depend on the weather to attract the crowds as there is nothing more depressing than a grey, damp seaside town. Unless the sun shines on Ballybunion the town struggles from one summer to the ... read more
The Beach Umbrellas of Sardinia
I have left the translucent waters and the summer-like heat of Sardinia. I am now back in London for 24 hours before taking a flight with our friends Ryanair to County Kerry in Ireland. Yes I did criticise Ryanair in an earlier blog and I will not fly with them again (after this flight). I'd actually booked this ticket with a couple of months ago and it flys in to Kerry Airport which is about 30 mins from Ballybunion where my all the cousins live (well most of them). Although I enjoyed the beaches of Sardinia and the warm weather was probably a bonus, daily trips to the beach (up to four hours at a time) is not my thing (even though I live only two minutes from the beach at Dee Why). My skin would ... read more
On the way to Porto Giunico
I arrived in Sardinia on Friday after a train ride from Barcelona to Madrid and a flight with Ryanair from Madrid to Sardinia. The train was incredibly comfortable, breakfast and a movie was provided and the service very special. Ryanair from Madrid was a different story. I had previously sworn never to fly Ryanair again however I had no choice this time and again it lived up to my extremely low expectations. On arrival at Barajas Airport in Madrid I discovered that my suitcase was three kgs overweight (Ryanair charge you for every kg your bag is over their 15kg limit.) My overweight bag set me back 60 euros! As many are beginning to realise you are better off flying with the older, more established airlines who in the end provide a level of service you ... read more
Casa Batlló
Its Wednesday and the week is flying. I went to bed on Tuesday night feeling relaxed and comfortable. The air-conditioning in the apartment has been a bonus and although the heat and humidity was still pretty high late into the evening I could enjoy the cool air at home. That was until the power blew in the apartment! I woke up in darkness, not because it was early but because the power was out. I hunted down the fuse box, however as my knowledge of Spanish electricity (in fact all electricity) starts at a very low base I wasn't too keen to fiddle with it. I waited until the office staff arrived before calling them up. Within 10 seconds after walking into the apartment the lady from the office had restored power. Five minutes later when ... read more
Street Art of Barcelona
Tuesday morning and its a pinch and a punch for the first of the month as I go in search for some casuelas. For the first time I have really felt the humidity as I wandered through el Born in the Barrio Gotico . In summer it is always hot in the old part of town as the heat gets trapped in the narrow streets, however the humidity must be at record levels, you could almost feel steam rising in front of you. First stop today was one of Barça's other fresh food markets at Santa Caterina. This is a market glistening with fresh seafood, skinned rabbits (with apologies to rabbit lovers) poultry, fresh eggs (sold individually and by size!) and the freshest fruit and vegetables. It may not have the reputation of el boqueria ... read more
