Getting active while on hols

For the first time in my life I tried SUP - Stand Up Paddleboard.  What fun! 

It's a quiet sport that is very relaxing.  I tried it in the man made lake in our resort.  I'd say it is amazing in the clear blue seas of the Florida Keys where I intend to do it next in June in Key West.

I also tried out Kayaking while in Sandos San Blas in Tenerife.

Again it's a sport that is very relaxing.  Some people like to paddle vigorously. I like to take it slow.  My twin sister and her husband are involved in kayaking back home in Ireland - I can see its appeal!

My favourite activity while in Tenerife was the 2 hr tour of the San Blas Nature Resort.  The scenery was spectacular and I enjoyed hearing about the history and culture if the area.

From time to time actors appeared and acted out scenes from different periods.

Here is an early settler on the island.  He would have been a cave dweller who lived on fish from the ocean.

Many crops have been grown in San Blas including cereals and tobacco but it is the tomato that has been the most fruitful crop over the years.

The above actor explains how the tomatoes are graded.

The next actor tells of how she sells the fish her husband catches to those who live in villages away from the sea - after her husband catches the fish she walks from midnight to dawn to sell the fish.  On her return home she cooks lunch for her family with the produce she has bartered her fish for.

The nature resort has a very impressive interpretative centre which is well worth a visit. We were ably guided by the very friendly Arturo and had a most enjoyable tour!

The above pic is of the man made dam.

The tour of the San Blas Nature Resort is available to all guests of the Sandos Hotel for €7.50 and it is most definitely recommended.

Tenerife

Our flight from Ireland to Tenerife was surprisingly pleasant considering we flew with Ryanair (my least favourite airline).  After a slight boarding delay and a 4 and a half hour flight we touched down in the South of Tenerife.

Our hotel was less than 5 mins away in a taxi and when we arrived we were very happy with the resort.  We are staying in the Sandos San Blas Nature Resort.  Billed as a 5 star hotel, it has 8 pools and is laid out over an undulating concrete area.  We are on an all inclusive package so all our drinks and food are included.  The buffet is quite spectacular but which unfortunately means we seem to be going from meal to sun to meal and repeating the process over again.

Two days ago we walked over the cliffs to Los Abrigos which is a sleepy little town with not a whole lot going on.  So far we are finding our holiday extremely relaxing and very enjoyable!

The weather has taken a turn from mild in Ireland with storms expected today and Christmas Day so it looks like we are missing the coldest days of the year so far.

Amazing Mascara!

I don't normally blog about cosmetics but I needed a new mascara so I bought one in the airport before I boarded our flight to Tenerife on the 20th.

I chose L'Oreal False Lash Wings Mascara which purports to give you flipped out lashes.

Wow - it's incredible.  It makes the lashes  look so long!

The wand is a very unique shape - this is what elongates the lashes.

I have very thin barely there lashes - this mascara made them fuller and longer.  This is one of the best mascaras I have bought in a long time, I highly recommend it!

Cleaver East

On Thursday we visited Cleaver East in the Clarence Hotel (which is owned by U2).  

It is a restaurant that serves "tasting plates".

Cashel Blue

Fish & chips (Hake)

Paella (deconstructed)

Lobster Dumpling

Monkfish

Pork belly

Corn fed chicken

Scotch egg

Banoffee

While we did have an enjoyable time being out for lunch, we both found the food  be over manipulated and over processed. A lot of the food options were deep fried :-( and very salty.  We thought we would experience light, refreshing and flavorful food made with a gentle hand but that was not to be.  Service was unfortunately sketchy also.  I highly doubt we will revisit Cleaver East.

Wicked

On Saturday night I was taken to the theatre by my sister Katie to see Wicked the musical. 

Before the show we went to the always excellent Tribeca for a burger and a glass of malbec.  We had our burgers cooked rare and agreed that they were one tasty burger!!  I love this restaurant.  It always a great buzzy atmosphere and the service is the best.

After we left the restaurant, we took a taxi to the Grand Canal Theatre.  It was not too far but the weather was windy so it was more comfortable by car.

After a drink at the bar we entered the theatre.  The Bord Gais Theatre is fairly newly built.  It's about 5 years old and extremely modern.

The show itself was quite spectacular.  From the songs to the acting to the scenery to the costumes - quite brilliant staging.  We could partially see the orchestra under the stage from our seats which added to the brilliance of the show.

Wicked tells the tale of the friendship between the Wicked Witch Elphabor and Glinda the Good Witch.  We also found out about the origins of the tin man and the scarecrow. 

It was a surprisingly good story that had you hooked for the whole show.  All in all it was a "Spectacular Spectacular". 

We are lucky in Dublin to have a fantastic facility that allows shows to visit from the West End.

Above is a selfie that we took- tried to get the Wicked sign in!

Katie and I walked home afterwards - getting a good laugh from the eigits participating on the 12 Pubs of Christmas!

Have you seen Wicked on Broadway or the Westend?  What did you think?

Main Street Ranelagh

Another new restaurant has opened in Ranelagh.  We spotted it this morning when out for coffee.

It's called "Brioche" and it is around the corner from Gammells.  It is a French Restaurant that serves tasting plates for around €10 each.  It looks like it could be a really nice addition to all of the other great restaurants in this area.

 

 

I would like to book in before we go to Tenerife on Friday but I don't think we will have a free day.  We are already booked in to Cleaver East for lunch on Thursday.  Perhaps we will visit after at some stage between Christmas and New Year. 

It looks really nice inside -  I can't wait to try it!

Up the road near McSorleys are another two new shops.  There is "Magpie"  (a little boutique) and a new book shop.  

The new book shop begs the question as to whether a small village like Ranelagh can sustain two book shops. I'm sure the "Company of Books" is not happy about the new book shop.

For the new businesses opening on Main Street Ranelagh, I'm sure it is comforting to know that Dance World has been in business for 40 years!

There was a popup shop for yesterday and today in another unit on the main street.  They were selling lots of handcrafted items which were all lovely.  I bought some onion relish for my brother in law as he is a big cheese fan and he loves good relish to go with it.

 

In other news, I got my Christmas Tree up over the weekend!

Alone at Christmas

James Gray has spent the last 10 years on his own for Christmas.  Despairing that he would be on his own again this Christmas he placed an ad in the paper looking for someone to spend Christmas with him in London.  Unfortunately he did not receive any replies.

The Irish Post Newspaper is making arrangements to get Christmas Cards to Mr. Gray.

If you want to send him a card, you can send it to 
James Gray
C/O The Irish Post
Suite A
1 Lindsey Street
Smithfield
London EC1A 9HP

If you do send a card you can post a picture of it here

Here's the card I am sending, hopefully it will make Mr. Gray happy and not so lonely.

 

Please comment below if you are going to send a card to this old man - it would be great if he got cards from all over the world!


Who will you be spending Christmas with this year?