Sailing Holiday 2019

We are just back from our Summer holiday and what a holiday it was!!

We were away for over 2 weeks and honestly it felt like we were away for a month.

We started the hol with a 5am flight (3am taxi to Dublin Airport is not fun!!!) to Munich where we connected to Izmir arriving about 6pm and heading to a hotel close by.  

The next morning at 9am we hooked up with the crew and got a taxi to Alacati Port where we picked up our boat which was nicely named "Solution".

We had intended to head off that day but the wind was picking up so we put off departure til the next morning.

Here's the route we took and some of our destinations that we covered over the 10 days sailing 

Port Alacati
Teos, Turkey
Fournoi, Turkey
Patmos, Turkey
Lipsi, Greece
Kalimnos, Greece
Unknown bay, Turkey
Didim, Turkey
Poseidon, Greece
Kusadasi, Turkey

There were so many highlights to this trip that it is hard to say what was best.

A few of the things we really enjoyed were:

• Seeing dolphins in the wild - incredible to have them swim around the boat
• Patmos Sacred Music Festival - hearing a choir from Russia sing Leaonard Cohen's "Hallelujah"
• Visting the Temple of Apollo near Didim
• Waking up in the above pictured bay and diving in to the water upon waking up
• Tasting different food - Smooth Hound Fish was a new one on me!
• Our boat - it was a super 46ft yacht that was beyond roomy for the four of us
• The weather was so good - really warm, bright and sunny during the day and then cool at night
• Visiting all of the different ports and bays - this is one of the great things about sailing - I love waking up in a different place all of the time
• Seeing sea sponges for sail in Lipsi
• Friendly people in both Turkey & Greece
• Visiting the ancient city of Ephesus
• Arrival drinks - cracking open a beer after we had tied up 

It really was a brilliant trip and after the 10 days our holiday wasn't quite over as we then headed on to Munich for a few days!

The Roses are in Bloom!

Well it's that season again when those Roses are in bloom in County Kerry. It's Rose of Tralee time again!

I was having a think today about why I am a fan of the Rose of Tralee and why I always enjoy watching it on television. I think it is probably because it brings me back to my childhood and happy times watching the show as a family.  I actually grew up in a house with no television so it got me thinking as to how or where we watched the Rose of Tralee (or ROT as I endearingly call it #ROT lol) and it started to all come back to me. During the week leading up to the Rose of Tralee, my mother would make arrangements for us to go watch it in either my grandmother's house or sometimes an aunt's house or other times her friend's house. I always loved trekking off to watching it in a house full of adults and children - it was always a great fun social night!

And so as an adult I continue to watch the show.  Doing the modern day equivalent of watching it with others by having what's app conversations while the show is on with friends and of course Cousin Kasey who is fan too.  My twin sister and I always hoped that Cousin Kasey would be the South Africa Rose but it was not to be.....ah well, her being a fan is just as good!

So look at this gem that Cousin Kasey sent me this morning - a Rose of Tralee programme from 1987, found in a curiosity shop by her mother Aunt Mary.  

Off to the left on the cover of the programme, you can see Gay Byrne. He presented the Rose of Tralee for years. Other presenters that I can remember were Derek Davis, Ray Darcy, Marty Whelan, Ryan Tubridy and of course Dáithí O'Sé.  I always like Marty presenting the event but I think that Dáithí is the best.  He likes the Rose of Tralee so much that he even married one! His wife is the 2008 New Jersey Rose Rita Talty.

Ah sure you can't beat a pint of Harp and the way Sally O'Brien might look at you!

Look at this electricity ad!  We had that Vax vacuum cleaner - it could wash carpets as well as vacuum clean.  My mam probably bought it from the ESB shop - you could pay for it installments on your electricity bill!

Times have changed indeed - looks like there was no women bank managers in 1987 in Bank of Ireland!

I had a look on wikipedia and it seems that Larna Canoy from Chicago was the winner of the Rose of Tralee - if anyone knows what she is at these days, please do comment below.

And now on to the 2019 Rose of Tralee, it's the second night of the event and a winner will be crowned shortly.  They are all magnificent women but for me my favourites are the Donegal Rose, Cork Rose, Washington Rose, Chicago Rose and the London Rose.  

Good luck to all the roses!

*I'll edit this blog tomorrow to up date you all when a winner is announced.

Edit - Limerick Rose Dr. Sinead Flanagan is the 2019 Rose of Tralee!

On the hunt for Key Lime Pie!

I'm always on the hunt for Key Lime Pie here in Dublin. It's a rare item to find.

Well, guess what?!

I found it!

In the Devlin Hotel in Ranelagh - at the top of the house in Layla's restaurant.

I ordered a slice, asking for the additions of yoghurt(!) & coulis (why would this be considered a necessary addition to a good old pie) to not be served on my plate and to serve with whipped cream instead.

So this is what came out!  

Looks good.....

So what's the verdict?!

Well it was a nice dessert but unfortunately it did not match up to all of the Key Lime Pie I've eaten in Key West Florida.  It just didn't have the right combination of cream and key lime tartness. I'm not too disappointed because I know I will be back to Key West and will get to eat lots more pie there!

And in the meanwhile the search continues!!

People's Park, Dun Laoghaire

On Saturday, I took a wander in to the People's Park in Dun Laoghaire on my lunch break. I thought the Ukulele Hooley Festival was on and was looking forward to hearing some music.  Unfortunately I had it wrong and it was not on on the park - I think there was a busking bus instead of the park event.

Anyway it was a nice day and I enjoyed the walk through the park. It has a nice Victorian feel about it and also there is a lovely Fallon & Byrne tea room in the park.

The park was built in 1890, it seems. They have a very informative plaque on the wall to mark the opening - note that the park was in the township of Kingstown - this was the name of Dun Laoghaire at that time (in honour of King George IV's 1821 visit). 

The planting is exceptional and there is a beautiful fountain in the centre of the park. The park itself is in a fantastic location which will be even better when the the restoration of the baths is completed.

Look how gorgeous the tea rooms are - they have a fantastic vista of the park.

The People's Park in Dun Laoghaire is definitely worth a visit if you are in the area. Enjoy!

A sweet treat - Take the Cake!

A while ago, I discovered Take the Cake cakes in my local Supervalu in Ranelagh. Oh dear lord they are so good!

At this point I'm fairly addicted.

So.....

What I'm now doing is buying the cupcakes rather than a whole cake - which stops me eating too much of the delicious cakeness!

Not a bad lifehack I think!!

Pictured above is the gorgeous chocolate flavour cupcake which I enjoyed on Sunday.

These cakes have to be tasted to be believed - so fresh and homemade tasting. They just don't have that preservative taste that so many shop bought cakes taste of and each bite is melt in your mouth - just divine.

Check out the Take the Cake website to see all of the different places you can buy them.....or you can buy online too. 

So if Salted Caramel Cupcakes or Key Lime Pie is your thing, be sure and check out Take the Cake instore or online. Let me know what you think if you do get to taste one!

As I am currently on Keto (or modified Keto which I call Cheato) I need to be really careful how much sugar I am consuming, so only eating one cupcake very infrequently is best for me as an occasional treat. Even better is probably just to eat half the cupcake and leave the other half - but who has that kind of will power?!!

Aug Bank Holiday

Yesterday was busy catching up on lots of chores but I had a bit of fun too!

We started our day by meeting up with Friends of the Grand Canal and picking up litter along the canal. It started raining just as we started so we dashed to Starbucks and drank coffee under an outdoor umbrella until it finished in about 20 mins. Then we were right back at the litter picking - we did Fitzwilliam Street and then back on to the canal.

It was a fairly productive hour - we got a bag full. There were loads of other volunteers out collecting litter so there will probably be 20-30 bags collected in total.

After that we headed to Pot Bellied Pig in Rathmines for a spot of brunch. We both had the Hog (the full Irish) and I even had a glass of prosecco!

Oh and Bones came too....

And then on to the chores bit....we got the chimney swept.
While this was being done I did some laundry and steam cleaned the floor.

Later Ciaran went off and played Paddel Tennis while I went to Rathmines and bought a HDMI connector to hook my TV up to my Surface Book in order to watch Now TV. After getting the cable in Gallagher TV I then chilled over a coffee in Insomnia.

And so later that evening we watched an episode of shows on Now TV - Manifest, Chernobyl & Big Little Lies.  Can't say I was hugely impressed by them all.....

Anyway that was Saturday - we still have Sunday & Monday to enjoy on this Bank Holiday!

Sunday in the City

It was a beautiful day in Dublin so we got up and headed in to town on the Luas. We planned on getting coffee and wandering down Grafton Street with it but then decided to go to Stephens Green park and sit on the grass with our coffee.  Ciaran went to Butlers while I went to Insomnia (I brought my keep cup) and then we met in the park.

 

Afterwards we did take the stroll as planned down Grafton Street and landed on College Green which was car free for the second week running.

The atmosphere was great in the area with a relaxed vibe as everyone walked the streets on the plaza.

Check out #streetsareforpeople on twitter for more pics.

From College Green we went on to Temple Bar and found that All City was open. Ciaran took the opportunity to go in for a browse and pick up some spray paint and oil sticks.

 

And then after Temple Bar we walked to South Williams Street where we took Bones for a pint in Grogans!

By this time we were getting ready for lunch so we decided to go get some wings in Wishbone on Montague Street. So Bones went back on the lead and off we went walking again.

It was such a nice day that we took our wings in to Stephens Green and sat on a bench and enjoyed them there. We could hear music from the band stand which was very cool!

And finally after all of that it was home on the luas. Fun for sure and car free College Green was very enjoyable. A great day all in all!