London Dec 26 - 29 2011

Another great trip to London. Even if there were problems with train strikes on Dec 26 getting from LCY, and a murder closing half of Oxford street during the chaotic sales.

Amidst the chaos we managed to squeeze into a very packed Selfridges and have some famous Salt beef sandwiches. Tasty, but I'd recommend the tongue and pastrami above the salt beef.

Went to Dinner by Heston at Mandarin Oriental. Had famous 'Meat Fruit' dish. Very tasty, and waiter explained the 3 day process to make it. (Parfait made day one/ frozen. Day day mandarin flavoured jelly is made. Frozen parfait dipped into jelly and removed. this is then frozen. Day 3 Ice crystals form on jelly overnight. This is dipped in jelly a second time. Ice cystals melt which form pock marks on jelly surface to make it look like mandarin skin). Seafood dishes had incredible scent of the sea about them, and the pinapple dessert was fantastic.

Yauatcha for Dim Sum lunch. Excellent. Our plan was to go for early bird special but this wasn't available on holiday that we went. After lunch we were off to the WestEnd to see Priscilla... Unfortunately I have to say that was disappointing.... it seemed to think it was a lot funnier than it really was, and the main male singers were not great.. (Some of the backing female singers were quiet good though). Wicked was a far more impressive show.

Finally we had an early lunch in Helene Darroze at the Connaught. Very impressive, especially considering the exceptional pricing (£35 for 3 courses, £42 including 2 glasses of wine). This was a great price considering the quality of the food and surroundings.

Travelogue (v2)

2011

October Merrion Hotel Dublin

September Dundalk fairways hotel

August Cliff House
+ Tannery
Great food in both. Tannery hjad 2 of the best dishes, but other two were poor to middling. Cliff house had all very fancy dishes, however not as tasty as top 2 from tannery. Best course was desert. Strawberry/ rasberry plates were excellent/.

July Limerick
No. 1 Perry Square.. Very nice and great restaurant.

June Sardinia (June 1 – June 8)
Alghero (3 nights)
La Maddelena (2 nights).. walk in thunderstorm on La Caprera (Goat island)
Cala Gonone (2 nights) ... Beach with flies, and boat trip to cala Luna.. lashing rain.

April: West Clare
(Easter) Spanish point.
Walk O’Briens bridge on way down
Cliff of moher walk. Surf lahinch. Little bit of burren way from Great weather..

April: Nice
Nice and monte Carlo with Lorna, Andrew, Mairead.

March 17 – 20 Berlin
Stayed in Ritz Carlton Potsdamer Platz.. Enjoyable.. Good food (currywurst, kebab, Uma restaurant, grat pizza in amici amici). Mini (car) shop.
'Topology of terror' interesting museum.. Under den Linten.. checkpoint charlie

Feb London
staying in Chelsea... Nobu.. Kitchen W8

2010
Dec -Jan Madeira.
Walked Levada.

Oct: Nice - Lyon,
Nice (Matisse chapel ),
St Tropez,
Lamaurin, spent a few nights driving around Provence
Avignon (Christian Etienne restaurant) ,
Lyon

Sept: North Spain with, Lorna, Andrew
Bilbao,
San Sebastian,
llanes,
Santiago de Compostela:

Aug (August bank holiday). Cruising
Carrick on Shannon - Boyle - Lough Key. Carrick Craft.

July. Athlone..
Wineport lodge. Day Nancy passed her driving test

June: Lyon.
Staying in Le Royal.
Restaurants: Le Nord (Quenelle, pullet de bresse, Macon), l’ouest (in rain), Less Halles (market), some bouchons (andouillette)

May: (May day) Seville

April (easter) Cliff House..
walking Dungarvan

Feb: London..
staying in Intercontinental.
Restuarants. Maze, L'autre Pied, Hakkassan.
Play: Wicked...

2009

Dec 21 – Jan 7 South Africa
Cape Town (5 nights)
Kloof street and Victoria and Albert waterfront
SimonsTown (Penguins), Cape drive to Cape Point and Cape of Good hope.. (Baboons, antelope
Christmas eve: Table Mountain... Cocktails in Mount Nelson Hotel
Christmas day in Camps Bay, picnic in Kirstenbosch gardens. Dinner Kloof street

Stellenbosch..
Wine tasting.. Uitkyk, Muratie, Delaire
Franschhoek: Mount Rochelle
Knysna: (Big drive on R62.. Ostrich farm) Walk
Amakhala Game reserve
Mossel Bay
De Hoop
Hermanus


Nov Castle Leslie
Glaslough
Monaghan
Armagh

Oct 23 – 26 Bruges
Bruges
World war I cemetery (Tyne Cot)

Aug Manchester
Pyor Stag. Man city vs Wolves (1:1)

14 Aug Ice House Ballina
Drive through corregeen roe on way back


July24 Bristol..
Cheddar gorge, tintern abbey, dinner in Casa Mia in Bristol (winner of Gorden Ramsey best restaurant in Britain)

May: (May Day) Majorca

March (Paddys day) Bath/ Bristol
Bristol
Lacock
Castle combs
Cotswolds walk
bath

London. (staying in Marriott, Park Lane)... Richard Corrigan, L'autre Pied...

2008
Christmas: Paris
Chantilly

Nov 8 Newcastle
Lars stag

Oct 4: Mushroom hunt
~Avondale house
Wooden bridge

Sept: Porto - Lisbon
Porto (sandeman,
Coombra
Obidos
Lisbon (restaurant: Casa de India)

June 14: Howth walk
With Lorna Paula,

Bologna/ Verona/ Venice



Venice

Bray Greystones walk

Did the Bray to Greystones walk for the second time yesterday. Despite the signs telling you the walk is closed due to coastal erosion its very much open and popular. The 2 -3 hour walk starts at the base of Bray head (which is well worth the ~30 minute climb for the great views), and winds along the coast for 5.5 km to Greystones, ending at present through a lane of metal fencing around the building site that will be the new Greystones marina. As yesterday was one of the best days of the year so far it was quite popular (but not busy), and offered great views. Its also very convenient with the Dart allowing you to get back to your starting point easily.

Holiday travelogue

Holiday List

Aug 1997 Turkey: Kusadasi, Ephesus

Jun 1998: Eastern Europe: Prague, Bratislava, Busdapest, Lake Balaton, Krackow.

Jan - Jun 1999 Stockholm

Feb 1999 Hong Kong, Guagzho

1999 - 2000

Singapore, Jakarata, yogjakarta, Bali

Australia (Jul 99-Jul 00 )

Sydney, Melbourne, Tasmania, Perth, Ayres Rock, Darwin, Cairns

New Zealand: Jul 00

Auckland, Queenstown, Dunedin.

Aug : Cook Islands

Aug : Las Angeles.

Nov 2000: Lanzarote

June 2001: Greece. Mykonos, Paros, Santorini

Feb 2002 ? : Paris

May 2002: Italy: Amalfi coast. Sorrento/Positano, Capri

June 2002: Majorca? Santa Ponza, Soller, Deia

Dec 2002/ Jan 2003: US. Las Vegas, Bahamas, Maimi

April 2003: Lanzarote

Aug 2003: Spain. Malaga, Tarifa, Ronda, Jaen.

Dec 2003: Edinburgh?

Aug 2004: Croatia. Mjlet island, Dubrovnik

Dec 2004: Rome?

Aug 2005: Germany/ Austria: Munich, Innsbruck, Zel am Zee, Werfen, Salsberg, Vienna.

Dec 2005: Barcelona?

Aug 2006: Canada. Toronto, Algonquin park, Prince Edward Island (PEI)

Dec 2006:

Sept 2007: Greece (honeymoon). Santorini, Naxos.

Dec 2007: US: Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, Puerto Rico.

March 2008: India: New Delhi, Jaipur, Agra; Nepal: Katmandu, Pokura, Annapurna, Chitwan safari; Thaland: Bangkok, Phuket (Kata, Karon), Similan islands.

Sept 2008: Portigal: Porto, Obidos, CasCais, Sintra, Lisbon

Dec 2008: Paris, Chantilly.

Feb 2009: London

March 2009:Bath, Coswolds, Lacock, Castle Combs

May 2009: Majorca. Andratx, Soller, Arta.

Jul 2009: Bristol: Cheddar Gorge, Tintern abbey

Oct 2009: Belgium: Bruges, Ypres,

Dec 2009: SouthAfrica. Capetown, Stellenbosch, Franchoek, Knysna, Safari (), Mossel Bay, De Hoop, Hermanus.

City bikes Paris

In the end, mainly because of the cold we didn't actually take one of the numerous city bikes for a spin. However here's some information for would be cyclists. BTW Sunday is the best day to take a bike since traffic is substantially reduced.

Taken from (gadling.com) riders insert a credit card into a special bike rack in order to release one of the bikes. If it is never returned, the user is charged €150. If the bike is placed back into another special rack anywhere in the city within half an hour, there is no charge. Every hour after that costs €1.

Locations of velib bike stations throughout Pairs

Chartier Restaurant, 7 RUE DU FAUBOURG MONTMARTRE 75009 PARIS

Good food great atmosphere. THis is surely one of Paris' most popular eateries, and for good reason. The dining room in over 100 years old. The food is good, the atmosphere great, and the prices are very affordable.

It gets a mention in practically every guidebook. As a result it is frequented by a lot of tourists, who can chose from the range of French classic dishes on offer such as escargot, Bloc de foie gras de canard, Andouillette AAAAA. They don't take bookings instead (if you are eating anytime after 6pm til closing), you join the queue outside, and wait for a table to become available.

Food is simple but tasty.

We ate:
Starters:
Museau de boeuf vinaigrette 50,
Jambon de pays et saucisse seche (dried meat) 55
Oeuf dur mayonnaise (Egg mayonaise) 70
Terrine de campagne (Block of country pate) 75

Mains:
Magret de canard au poivre (Duck breast in pepper sauce with mash) 80,
Poulet fermier roti frites (Roast chicken with fries) 65
Choucroute alsacienne (Alsaciene sausages, meat, and potato with sauerkraut) 60
Porc aux olives (Pork with an olive sauce) 65

fromage:
Saint nectaire 65,
Fromage de chevre80
Pont l' eveque 65

Links
Menu and website

Ambassador Hotel, 16, Boulevard Haussmann, 75009 Paris

(also posted on tripadvisor)
We stayed here for the 5 nights in Dec 2008. We had a double room on the 7th floor which had a view of the Eiffel Tower. The location of the hotel is excellent being near the Opera and beside major department stores. The room was comfortable and bigger than previous hotel rooms we have experienced in Paris. I would say, if you were picky you might find the location of the bathroom( its door opened onto the bed) a little off putting. Our room had an interconnecting door which may explain the level of noise from our neighbours - they weren't being noisy but we could hear every sentence they said as clearly as if they were in the room with us - not a very romantic scenario! This was the only real negative of an otherwise enjoyable stay.

Paris

We visited Paris for 5 nights from Dec 26 - 31. We stayed in the opera region. Very central area for shops and restaurants, and walkable distance to Louvre, Champs Elysée etc.

Treking Nepal

Here's an article I swiped from http://www.leelau.net/chai/nepal.htm

Their website seems to a be a bit up and down so I'm copying it here.



Subject: Everest vs Annapurna - a detailed study

Date: Thu, 23 Dec 1999

I did not want to bore most people on my email list with the details of this but since many of you wanted to know why I rated Everest ahead of Annapurna, here goes...

Flora/fauna and trail-side scenery - Anna
Lodge quality and amenities - Anna
Crowds and the regions ability to spread them out - Anna
Variety of terrain throughout the route - Anna
Less altitude problems and warmer climate - Anna
Costs and prices - Anna
Pretty villages and temples/culture thing - Anna
Stunning mountain views - Everest

So, Annapurna wins every category except the most important one, mountains views. I came to Nepal to see incredible mountains. Not just ordinary ones but huge in-your-face towering walls which make your neck stiff. For all but a select group of obsessed mountain loving people I would recommend Annapurna over Everest. Most people would not appreciate Everest's stunning views enough to put-up its mis-givings. Annapurna's big strength is the amazing variety of terrain you trekked through and I think that would appeal more to most people.

In 17 days you went from sub-tropical jungle to alpine forest (similar to Banff) to tundra-like open pastures to rocky scree and glaciers to high dray Tibetan plateau then back to pine forests and sub-tropical jungle. But, you rarely got the incredible mountain views and that was the surprising thing. In 17 days circling this huge massif of 7000-8000m peaks there were only a day or 2 when you got to see them unobstructed and in-your-face. The rest of the time they were behind a ridge or the trail was just too deep in the valley.

Everest, for the most part had only one type of terrain, above tree-line grassy slopes with monster mountains all around you. It was easy to ignore the crappy trail conditions, shitty lodges, bitter cold, hoards of people, ugly villages etc. since the views were just so damn good.

Annapurna's top 3 viewpoints were : Thorung La Pass looking down to the Tibetan Plateau and Mustang Valley, Tilicho Lake, main massif from Pisang/Manang high-route. Although these 3 were spectacular, they do not even come close to Everest's trio of Gokyo Ri, Chhukung Ri and Kala Pattar....and this is the main reason I rate Everest ahead.

The 3rd trek I did, Annapurna Sanctuary falls far behind the above 2. 7 day hike and 6 of them were just plain ordinary. There was nothing wrong those 6 days but I did not trot all the way to Nepal just for "ordinary". The 7th day was spectacular but 1 in 7 does not cut it. Everest on the other-hand was about 15 in 22 and Annapurna about 7 in 17. Also, as far as mountain amphitheatre's go, I felt Chhukung surpassed the Sanctuary.

Thank goodness I did the 3 day Tilicho Lake side-trip which provided most of Annapurna's big mountain views and vista's. A new 2 year-old lodge built half-way to this lake has provided access without having to camp. Tilicho Lake is huge body of water at 5000m with Herzog's famous Grand Barrier (a monster 7000m wall of ice and rock) tumbling into its south shore. I still can't believe very few bother to see it (less than 10% of passing trekkers). Lazy buggers.

As for overall hiking regions, here's my say :
1) Karakorams
2) Everest
3) Annapurna Circuit, Alaska, Cdn Rockies (tie)

Restuarant Review; Siam Thai Dublin

Siam Thai. St Andrew Street, 353 (01) 6773363, http://homepage.eircom.net/~siames/Andrew-St.htm

This was my first visit to Siam Thai. They have 3 branches currently in Dublin, the other two are in Malahide, and Ballsbridge.

They offer an early bird menu which offers a slightly cheaper version of some of the a la carte dishes. It offers ok value if you have 2 or more courses. Since we were both hungry, we went for early bird options. 2 mixed starter platter consisting of ribs, spring roll, satay chicken, We found the starters slightly poor. Run of the mill dishes you'd expect from your local takeaway.

The mains were slightly better. I had beef penang curry. Nice but not as good as my benchmak dish of Lamb Massaman from Diep Noddle. Bit stingy on the curry sauce... Guest A's' chicken and oyster sauce was unremarkable. We skipped desert, always a good idea in Dublin Asian restuarants.

Other details.. Draft beer is available, a list of wine, full bottles, half bottles is avalable. Full bottles from €18. Staff good. Nothing extrodinary here. Average cooking at the usual Dublin overinflated prices. Eatly bird slightly improves this. Not the worst but we won't be hurrying back.

6/10.