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 [View Full Entry]

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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 [View Full Entry]

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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 t [View Full Entry]

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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 [View Full Entry]

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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.) [View Full Entry]

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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 [View Full Entry]

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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 [View Full Entry]

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I've now been in Barcelona for more than 24 hours and so far its been as enjoyable as I expected it would be. The weather has been warm (though more humid than I would have liked), the city full of energy and the food so far has not disappointed. Renting an apartment was probably a very wise decision on reflection. My apartment is large, clean and very central and with the flexibility to sleep-in (no cleaners knocking on your door to clean your room!!) and the ability to cook your own food when you want to makes it extremely affordable as [View Full Entry]

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If you had asked my opinion of Prague less than 72 hours ago I would have told you it was a trashy, run down and overcrowded city. The famous Charles Bridge is jammed with tourists, musicians and street sellers and is definitely best avoided. Even the Old Town Square feels as tired as it is old - and that's nearly 1000 years of spanned time! Whilst there is undoubted charm in the narrow cobblestoned streets of this city, I get a sense that the city's historical qualities have been exploited to such an extent that its beauty is lost amongst the [View Full Entry]

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I was awake early this morning after a reasonable sleep. Being in the roof of the hotel means it attracts the heat of the day and it stayed hot until at least 2am. Breakfast in the hotel was passable, though the staff were far from friendly. Not that they were nasty it was more that they found if difficult to muster a smile. Having witnessed the crowds of the evening before I decided to head off to the old town square before the masses. The Old Town Square's most notable sights are the Church of Our Lady before Tyn and [View Full Entry]

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