Howth: My Hometown in Dublin Ireland

I've been travel writing for over two years and I realise that I have been neglecting to write about my own country, especially the place that I am most passionate about in the world - my home town of Howth. It is not far from Ireland's capital city, Dublin.

Howth Harbour photo @Eamonn Blaney

This peninsula is more than a picturesque fishing village. It is home to several varieties of seabirds and a large family of friendly seals that frequent the harbour and sound between Ireland's Eye and piers. Howth has an historic and cultural heritage. It is one of the most important destinations that Leopold Bloom visited during his walk on June 16th 1904 in Joyce's famous novel Ulysses. in the nineteenth century the great artists Orpen and Osbourne were known to come here to paint and seek inspiration. One of Orpen's loveliest portraits in the National Gallery features a woman standing on Howth Head.

Gorgeous Dublin Bay from Howth Head photo @Ann Dunne

A short walk from howth harbour along the serpentine start of the cliff walk is a house where the poet WB Yeats lived for three years. 

It has a spectacular view of the harbour and the neighbouring islands and must have inspired him.

Howth is easily accessed by bus and the DART which is the Dublin Area Rapid Transit and as it is only thirty minutes from Tara Street in the centre of the city it is easy to visit in an afternoon. The basement of the station is a popular pub called 'The Bloody Stream' where turf fires burn all year round and good seafood is served. The history of the bloody stream goes back to the days of viking settlement one thousand years ago and it is said that the river ran red with the blood of locals as it travelled down the hill before coming to the sea. If you are searching for legends and folklore Howth has more than it's fair share. The legendary pirate Queen Grace O'Malley paid a visit to Howth Castle and home to the St Lawrence family and famously took their son hostage when she wasn't given hospitality. Legend has it that the child was returned under the promise that a place would always be laid at the table for any weary visitor that should call. As the descendants have opened a culinary school now in the castle it may well be worth knocking on the door and seeing if the promise still holds. 

April and May are especially nice times to visit the castle environs as the Rhododendrons are in full bloom.

Howth Lighthouse and Ireland's Eye photo @Eamonn Blaney

The length of the West Pier is home to wonderful restaurants including The Oar House, The Brass Monkey and the one with the best view in Dublin, Aqua.

The view from the bar is spectacular for a pre dinner drink and chance to look over the fishing boats and eclectic mix of houses in the village. The view from the dining area is perfect to watch the evening sun disappear below the horizon. The menu is divine and I challenge anyone to try it - especially perfect for a birthday or special occasion.

 The yacht club and marina is one of the best in Ireland and as there is usually a breeze expect the gentle sound of halliards tipping against each other as you stroll down the east pier.

During the summer you can watch boats racing from Monday to Thursday. The yachts race around Ireland's Eye which is also accessible by hourly boat trips that run from spring until the late autumn.
Ireland's Eye is a glorious oasis and it is difficult to believe that it is so close to the city centre. It's a perfect place to bring children for a picnic on a sunny summer day.

My daughter Nicole and her friend at the Martello Tower on Ireland's Eye with picnic

Howth has many ancient buildings and one of the oldest is also one of the most famous bars in Dublin. The Abbey Tavern is also a great place to eat and entertainment is on offer year round. Next to is is one of the first buildings that is as old as the ruins of the old abbey itself. The pub has a great history hosting musical acts like the Dubliners, Imelda May and Mary Coughlan over the years and the link to the site is here http://www.abbeytavern.ie/

There is nowhere nicer on a cold winters night than to sit in from of the turf fire with a hot port or pint of Guinness. The pub also hosts comedy clubs which are always a great night out.
The centre of Howth Village is crowned by The Church of the Assumption which is a Neo-Gothic building. Wander around the country market or go for a coffee upstairs or down the road in the popular restaurant House which often has an excellent art exhibition decorating the walls.

Great takeaway coffees and yummy delicatessen on offer if you are on the hoof!

I can't write a piece about my home town without mentioning The Kind Sitric restaurant at the start of Howth's East Pier as it is where I had my small and intimate wedding reception. It has since been developed with the addition of East Bar and Cafe downstairs which is a welcome addition to the host of other eateries.

The King Sitric and East Cafe

House Restaurant

The seafront has a playground which is ideal for those with kids and do pop across the road to Eileen's Cafe where you can get yummy Pooh Bear Icecream - your kids will love you for it. If you want to be healthy then Grass Roots offers smoothies and healthy drinks but if you just want coffee then pop into Il Panorama! Casually dining is catered for with the best fresh fish and chips from Cafe Ciara or Beshoffs take aways. The Howth Market will put in an hour at weekends and you can purchase hot crepes and fresh olives among lots of other things from the artisan bakery and crafty stalls.

I think I may have to write another post as my hometown has so much to offer I am running out of time so watch this space for another instalment and if you are in Dublin then come and visit us in Howth, we would love to see you!

See HowthisMagic.com for more...

The Garden of Ireland

Everyone seemingly wants to come to Ireland. I heard today that George Clooney and his new wife have intentions to make Ireland their holiday destination this summer, so as a native I'd like to make some recommendations with my first post of the new year.
Our family have a ritual to start the year off as we mean to go on so we go away with the grandparents for a couple of nights and there are few places more picturesque on the east coast than the lovely Wicklow Mountains. The Powerscourt Hotel, Autograph Collection is a gem nestled under the gaze of the Sugarloaf mountain and only a few minutes off the M50 if travelling from Dublin. If coming from the airport you can be there in forty minutes.
This is the view we had from our hotel room last week and when the sun is shining the hills seems to sparkle and instil an instant sense of peace and calm.

The rooms were decorated with a modern twist on Georgian luxury and my daughters personal favourite is the TV feature in the bathroom. The bedroom is generously proportioned with plenty of room for two adults and two children.  The kids can stay in the parents rooms for free which is an added attraction for families.

Our first port of call is the Sugarloaf lounge where a barfood menu is served all day. There is an option to eat here for dinner with an evening menu or the fine dining area downstairs is a little pricier but a treat. The Magills pub, also downstairs has an excellent menu in both range and price.

Marriott Hotel's, Autograph Collection brand took over this Ritz Carlton hotel two years ago and the standards haven't dropped, it has become more accessible and friendlier for families. Location is wonderful as the famous country house and Powerscourt Gardens are only a short stroll away. The old house is now filled with a variety of shops including an Avoca restaurant and store.

The charming town of Enniskerry is a short walk from the hotel and a cornucopia of charming shops await to be explored. We had lunch in the Powerscourt Arms and my ten-year-old daughter did serious damage in the novelty sweet store. 

There is so much else to do that two days didn't seem quite enough. The infinity pool in our hotel took up much of the afternoon for the children and the spa offers the excellent ESPA range of products and services. 

A trip to this area is not complete without visiting the famous Powerscourt Waterfall which is only 4km away. It is a the perfect area for a picnic in the summer and the children's playground has improved much since we started to visit. A family fee of €16 is chargeable at the gate of the waterfall area but this includes good toilet facilities and a little coffee dock for snacks. The walks around the waterfall and surroundings are spectacular and if you are a film buff then you might remember Excalibur made by John Boorman. Starring Gabriel Byrne and Helen Mirren, some pivotal scenes are set here.

After two nights we felt like we had been away for a week and were truly rested and ready to continue with the rest of 2015. We only had a short one hour drive back home to Howth and I will be posting about my beautiful home town very soon so watch this space.

At the tallest waterfall in the Ireland with my mother and daughter.

To stay at the Powerscourt Hotel Autograph Collection there is currently a special offer of one night B&B with dinner for €145 per person sharing. We found an excellent rate on line of €370 B&B for two nights per room. For more information see http://www.powerscourthotel.com/index.html

Autograph Collection is part of Marriott hotel group international.

Paris en famille!

It's not easy to escape to the Christmas markets alone so I devised a cunning plan to make a trip to Paris for the entire family. Ten year old Nicole loves shopping, hubby's new hobby is photography and football loving son Mark had said he'd love to see Paris St German play at home. So we set off on a low fare Ryanair flight to Paris Beauvais. Coach transfers from the airport to Port Maillot are not cheap at 34€ return, so we pre-booked a taxi online for convenience at an extra cost. Our hotel the Astotel Malte Opera was in a great location close to the Louvre and metros. The family room ticked all the boxes with two ensuites, a fabulous extra balcony room and two TVs. Soft drinks in the mini bar were free and it even had a random exercise bike. The breakfast included everything my crew enjoy including freshly squeezed orange juice with the bits left in.
Our first port of call was only minutes away where we paid our respects to the Mona Lisa. Nicole's appraisal of the priceless painting was, "It's much bigger than Charlotte said it was going to be!" We had beaten the queues by buying two museum passes. The Paris Pass includes transport so is a good investment too. The French love their culture and it's great to see that all museums and galleries are free for under 18s which makes it light on parents wallets. After snapping our photo at the famous glass pyramid outside, we jumped into a cab − a decadent treat with a €3 supplement for the fourth passenger but it is the quickest way to get to the Eiffel Tower. This is one landmark that's just as impressive in real life. We pre-booked lunch at 58et on stage one and this is a great way to avoid the long queues and save precious time entering by a special lift. Lunch was served via picnic baskets in ceramic dishes − a novelty for the kids. Our table looked out over the river seine with the imposing Trocedero backdrop. Dinner was delicious with mouth-watering mash and dessert consisted of a chocolate Eiffel Tower with Créme Anglais and proved a big hit.
Afterwards we strolled past the skateboarders and street entertainers that lined the steps of the Trocedero. Here the boys hopped on the metro in one direction to Parc des Princes and home of Paris St Germaine while Nicole and I went to the markets. The market on the Champs Elysées starts earlier than most of its European counterparts and runs until Jan 7th 2015. Starting a little later but lasting well into the New Year are the markets at Montmarte and Saint-Germain-des-Prés.


















The entire boulevard from Place de la Concorde could have been designed with Christmas in mind. Every tree sparkled with tiny white and blue fairy lights and as the sun went down magic filled the air with the aromas of cinnamon and mulled wine. A glass set me back €4 but even cheap French wine is good. Small wooden huts painted white and covered with synthetic snow set Nicole's eyes alight. Filled with the usual array of hand crafted soaps and jewellery she broke open her purse to buy a bauble for the Christmas tree with a hand-painted Eiffel Tower. The pink food stalls were difficult to pass wafting yummy smells of candy floss, gaufres and churros. The atmosphere was magical but very busy so I had to hold Nicole's hand tightly. It isn't easy to get lost at the markets as it runs in straight lines but our legs were aching and just in perfect time we had chosen to meet up with the boys at the Disney store.We pushed the kids to the limit by squeezing in one additional excursion after dinner. But as our metro stop was only a few metres from the Arc de Triomphe, we hiked the 284 steps and caught a glimpse of the Eiffel Tower sparkling − as it does for the first five minutes of every hour. The view down to the wheel of Paris with Christmas lights is possibly one of the best in Europe. After a blissful night's sleep in our oasis of peace at the Malte Opera we woke refreshed and ready for more. The Musee d'Orsay houses a great selection of impressionist paintings and the chance to see Whistler's famous portrait of his mother that the kids recognised from Mr Bean The Movie.  It was lunch time and we had a treat in store. 
The Bateaux Parisiens is the most upmarket way to take in views on the River Seine. We sat at cloth covered tables and our hostess greeted us with glasses of wine with kir and warm nuts. We browsed the menu as our barge gently pulled away from the gaze of the Eiffel Tower. The kids devoured the roast chicken and gravy while the adults ate salmon and pork belly. Desserts were more-ish and all this while we were serenaded by a live rendition of La Vie en Rose. The sun peeked out from behind the clouds as we glided past Notre Dame and the Statue of Liberty. If Carlsberg did Sunday lunches then this would be it. We had a couple of hours to spare so returned to the markets en famille before the last flight out of Beauvais. With our bags crammed and heads full of amazing memories Paris was given the thumbs up by all.












Fact BoxFor all information see Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau www.en.parisinfo.com

The Hotel Malte Opera can be booked through www.astotel.com with family rooms available

The Paris Pass/museum pass adults www.parispass.com

For a special tour of the Seine see www.bateauxparisiens.com Sunday lunch €57 pp.

The Eiffel Tour restaurant 58et on premier etage see www.restaurants-toureiffel.com to book online, picnic lunch from €21 with panoramic views of Paris.

Dublin to Paris Beauvais with Ryanair see www.ryanair.com

Venice with the Kids

There are few cities more perfect for a romantic breakaway than Venice. But does it have the X Factor for families? I recently took my husband, ten year old daughter Nicole and teenage son Mark, to find out.

If you are coming from the airport then your taxi or bus will more than likely stop at the Piazzale Roma. It can be a bit of a maze if you don't know where you are going as the usual modes of transport are not an option. The Vaporetti (water busses) are fun and easy to use once you've found your bearings. We decided to go for the decadent option of a water taxi to take us to our hotel. It wasn't cheap at €60 as there were four of us, but it could take up to ten passengers, which makes it a reasonable option for a group. The taxis are limited to travel on the main canals only which made the journey longer and an adventure in itself. Sitting under the cloudless Italian sky, on plush cream leather seats, we understood why George Clooney chose this city for his wedding!  

We felt like rockstars on arrival at the Boscolo Venezia hotel. The brightly striped red and white mooring posts, mark the entrance of this fine hotel which was once the French Palace. Boscolo Venezia is housed in the beautiful old mansion Palazzo Rizzo-Patarol in the residential Cannaregio district. When Venice was at the height of its power, this was the only area planted with small crops, which is why Boscolo Venezia is the only luxury hotel in Venice to have a private garden overlooking the lagoon.

Our suite was perfect for families and decorated with oriental carpets and 18th century cabinets: some of the rooms overlook the lush garden but we had a perfect view of the canal to watch the gondolas glide by. Rich in marble, Venetian stucco and chandeliers our hotel was a cultural experience in itself.

The Boscolo Venezia provides a free water taxi to take guests to St Marks Square several times a day - it also offers a tour of the Murano glass factories across the lagoon on Murano Island and all free of charge. This made a fascinating excursion for the children who got to see firsthand how the famous glass is blown and shaped.

While the usual draw of St Marks Square is a must for visitors to Venice, after we peeked in to see the awesome interior of St Mark's Cathedral and Nicole had her photograph taken on one of the famous lions outside, the kids asked to go back to the quieter district where our hotel was situated. We battled our way past the crowds at the Rialto Bridge and a sense of calm settled on us in the windier streets.

Prices fell considerably in the bars and restaurants the further we travelled from St Marks. Once we were settled back in the residential quarter, we took time to wander through the Jewish Ghetto which had an interesting range of shops and low budget eateries. Getting lost in Venice is a wonderful way to put in the afternoon and there is always the attraction of finding new Gelaterias along the way to savour wonderful Italian ice-cream.

A water fountain providing free drinking water from a sculpted cast-iron-spout proved a great novelty and was only a few steps away from our hotel. The city promotes drinking tap water rather than using plastic bottles because of waste disposal issues.

We only had to stroll a few metres away from our hotel to find the church of Madonna del Orto which houses an original Tintoretto and allowed me to indulge in a little bit of culture without queuing or expensive entrance charges. A good alternative to churches is the natural history museum and it's only a twenty minute walk from St Marks. For kids that are agreeable to visiting art galleries the Peggy Guggenheim museum is filled with modern masterpieces that my crew loved.

There is a beauty about Venice at night that is special and we truly felt like cognescenti as we sat in a small Trattoria on the Rio Tera Lista di Spagna and ate pasta. We were provided with free wifi which is always a big hit with my kids, but watching the locals buy from the colourful fruit and vegetable stalls was more interesting for the adults.

If your kids are still in strollers then Venice may not be a good city break for you, as crowds, steps and bridges can make it difficult to get around. But if you can keep up with your kids, it's a great city to explore with a camera and give them a visual feast for their eyes that will stay with them forever.

Published in the Herald newspaper December 2014

Fact box
For more information see http://venezia.boscolohotels.com/  

Prices start at 182 Euros per night. Boscolo Venezia is part of Marriott International Autograph Collection.

Buy your ticket for the guggenheim museum at this site http://www.guggenheim-venice.it/

Home on the Range

Like many of a certain age, my father is a massive fan of the Wild West. I can remember as a child having to watch The Magnificent Seven and A Fistful of dollars over and over on TV, and Jim Reeves tunes were constantly played on the cassette in his car. So my father was the perfect candidate to accompany me on my first adventure to Oklahoma – the state that was, and still is the gateway to the West.

We flew with American Airlines into Chicago O’Hare and had a short stop over before our two-hour commuter flight to Oklahoma. Fly-drive is the best option when travelling through the United States and I thought driving on the right-handside of the road would be off-putting for Dad but the level of excitement in the car was on a par with the first time I took my children to Disneyland. The drive from Will Rogers Airport to Island Guest Ranch in Ames took two hours. With open plains, country towns and mini oil drills to see on route 81 the journey flew by. We arrived at our destination before sunset to be greeted warmly by Jordy White and her father Carl. Island Guest Ranch is a working ranch and the White family have been settled here since the Oklahoma Land-run of the late 1800s. Set on several-thousand-acres, the Cimarron River runs through the ranch, where they keep a large herd of long-horn cattle and are guardians to several wild species.

Staying at Island Guest Ranch means that you are instantly made to feel like part of the family. Jordy’s brother, Rylin, shows guests how to ride and herd cattle and all the guests dine with the family for the three hearty meals of good home-cooking that are served throughout the day. Guest accommodation is in en-suite chalets, close to the swimming pool and a few steps from the lodge-house where we ate.

We woke early on our first morning to freshly made pancakes and bacon with blueberries and strawberries. Rylin was keen to get going and had brought down some horses to the corral for our first adventure. This was my first time to be on a horse since I was ten-years-old and my father hadn’t been on one since the days he spent at home on the farm in his youth. We were made feel confident and comfortable and teamed up with suitably natured horses. I was amazed at how relaxed I felt and we started a trek through the farmland and terrain. “That’s the yellow rose of Texas there,” Rylin informed us, as he pointed to a flowering cactus plant. I realised how these farmers live close to nature and in harmony with it too. Bow-legged, but invigorated after our ride, I retired to the pool for the afternoon and sat in the sunshine reading my book. Our evening’s entertainment involved a trolley ride out to the farm to check up on the cattle and supplement their diet with some feed. I never thought I would enjoy such an experience and I can honestly say that my father was truly in his element.

The Whites offer a wide range of activities from the ranch and will take their guests to Pow Wows, Rodeos, Museums and Country and Western dances. Clay-shooting and paddle-boating are available or you can learn how to lasso your own steer. Jordy suggested we pay a visit to Simpsons Old Time museum in Enid which had my father enthralled. They have the best range of memorabilia from vintage films and music probably on the planet, with film sets that include a saloon, bordello and Jail.

One of the highlights from our stay at the ranch was sitting on the swing chairs at night and looking up at the millions of stars overhead – shooting stars give a private performance night after night to the sound of the wild coyotes howling. There really was no better show in town.

We were sad to leave Ames but there is a lot of the west to see in Oklahoma, so we set off for the town of Duncan on Route 81 which follows the original route the cowmen took on the original Chisolm Trail. Our first port of call was at the Chisolm Trail heritage centre and we got a taste of what it was like for the cowboys and young men that drove the cattle from Texas to Abiline in Kansas on a one-hundred day trek that cost many their lives.

At this time in the late 1800s the plains were flooded with cows and there was a shortage of beef in the east coast. Driving the cattle to meet the train in Kansas was the only way to transport them to market where they would get prices of $30 instead of $3 by staying in the mid-west. The cowboys got 100$ payment or their 100 days work and life was difficult and dangerous. The interactive film is well produced in the museum complete with sound effects and smells.

We packed up a picnic and decided to visit the lookout point used by the cowboys on this trail which is marked with a monument some 20 miles from the museum. Here we sat and absorbed the distance with a trail as far as the eye could see across the prairies. 

This part of the country is rural in every sense of the world and we stopped off at small antique shop in the town of Comanche to find old memorabilia and nicnacs from the old west. It was wonderful to feel that you could find local friendly people gushing with their life-stories and welcoming to strangers.

When we made our way to Oklahoma City and our hotel in mid-town we didn’t expect this warmth to continue but it did. The city has been through a renaissance since the mid-nineties but it has maintained its country feel. We woke to a fun-filled day taking in all the action in Stockyard city. It is difficult to imagine that such a place exists only a short ten-minute drive from the centre of hte city but Stockyard city is where farmers and ranchers gather to sell cattle on a daily basis.

Some of the steers will be taken off to be fattened up in the pastures and others are going for breeding. It was like being on a film set watching the auctioneer rant at pace I couldn’t understand but it was wonderful to watch. The stench was overwhelming but the process brought my father right back to the days when he attended the cattle market as a lad. We dined at the Cattleman's Cafe which has been around since 1910 and was filled with locals going to market. Around the corner was a street with the best range of cowboy clothing and boots so we had to get a Stetson before leaving.

As if he hadn’t had enough nostalgia we finished our time in Oklahoma City with a visit to the museum of the Cowboy where my father was able to name off every single character and their history much to our guide's amusement. Oklahoma may be off the beaten track but it was the perfect destination for my Dad and I to make special memories.

Published in the Herald newspaper October 2014

for details of package holidays to Oklahoma see:

www.platinumtravel.ie

www.travelksok.co.uk

www.islandguestranch.com

American Airlines at www.aa.com