"Hey lady, it's free, don't be shy now" said the dreadlocked Bob-Marley-alike leaning at the top of the 14th Street subway entrance, a newspaper in his outstretched hand. A yellow taxi whizzed past, then an NYPD car. I clutched my paper bag of danish pastries and my cup of strong smelling coffee. It was 6am in NYC and the only thing missing was Al Pacino. If I squinted I could almost see him, slouching past, hands stuck deep into leather jacket pockets, collars turned up against the bitter February cold. The whole of New York is a movie set, the show never stops. I have wanted to visit New York for as long as I can remember. Everything happens in New York - every street name is as familiar the one you grew up on and ... read more
Spent a perfect bank holiday weekend in the tiniest palace in all of Paris. Evenings watching the moon over Sacre Coeur across the roofs of Montmartre, days walking through back streets and main drags of this most beautiful of cities. What can you say about Paris that hasn't already been said? So, here it is in a few of its own words...... read more
It took us a while to realise that there are, in fact, no sign posts in the county of Donegal unless of course you are prepared to hack your way through 3 foot of hedge to get at them. Our third accidental detour of the day took us nearly into the Atlantic on one side with only 1 half a mile of lake to swim across to get us to Maura's wedding starting in approximately 15 minutes on the other side. Some frantic reversing, cursing and waving at fists at the gentleman in the petrol station who had sent us in the wrong direction (not to mention some swift under-carpet-brushing of the small fact that it was moi who had lef the map behind) got us to the right town with 5 minutes to spare but ... read more