Taking a baby on his first holiday is a nerve wracking experience, but Martinhal resorts are specifically designed to cater for families with young children. I took a trip to Lisbon with my husband and five month old to find out for myself... The beautiful sandy beach at Estoril. Lisbon is a hipster-filled, happening [...]
***Update: The winner is Mary Tighe - thanks for your entries, keep an eye out for more competitions!*** There is such a thing as a free lunch! Last week I wrote about my recent staycation at the fabulous Cork International Hotel. This week, your chance to win a delicious lunch for two at the New Yorker [...]
In 2010 I visited Port au Prince, Haiti, with the Irish charity Haven. Branding for Denis O'Brien's Digicel towered over UN refugee camps, cluttered market stalls, and even coated roadside shacks (I had never before seen the developing country 'fashion' of having your house painted for free by an advertising company... I'm amazed it's never taken [...]
I never understood the appeal of 'going to look at the planes'. My mother, who grew up in Ennis, talks fondly of Sunday drives to Shannon, where she and her siblings would be encouraged to watch the planes landing and taking off from Co Clare's most cosmopolitan location. It's always seemed to me like a poor [...]
It's World Book Day and I want to know what you're reading! I'm a terribly unadventurous reader in many ways - my comfort zone consists of literary novels, detective series and historical fiction - but this year I've discovered two new forms that I really love. Short stories They've become a real go-to. When your brain is fried [...]
The Dingle Food Festival is one of the country’s best kept secrets, although in the three years since I was last there, it seems they have rather let the cat out of the bag. With bigger crowds than ever before, one organiser estimated that it brought 20,000 visitors to the town this year. The [...]
The beach next to Martinhal Resort If you’re looking for a holiday incorporating good food, better wine and lots of activities to put the colour back in your cheeks, but you’re a five star traveller, you need look no further than Martinhal Resort in Sagres, Portugal. The family resort is a [...]
Most newlyweds are tight on either time, money, or both. We fell into the latter category, and opted for a mini-moon to remember in beautiful Florence instead of a traditional long-haul honeymoon Forget jetlag, exotic destinations with unpronounceable names and cocktails made from coconuts. For newlyweds, with sore feet from dancing, sore cheeks from smiling and broken [...]
I wrote these two pieces last July, after travelling to Kusadasi with Sunway Holidays. They never made it to the blog, for some reason - but in this weather they're a nice reminder the sun exists! "It’s a bit like being on the slab below at Kay O’Connell’s, but it’s lovely, like.” Kusadasi has been a [...]
Manchester: hop, skip and jump with BMI Baby Fancy a shopping trip? A good night out? A premier league football match? Or even some culture away from Cork? I visited Cork recently as the guest of BMI Baby and Marketing Manchester Manchester is one of the UK’s biggest cities, with over twice the population of Dublin, [...]
