There really is nothing as good as relaxing in the sun by the pool.
Here's Miss Amy walking back from the bar with cold drinks from the bar!
Look at the great view of the mountains from the pool. Muscat really is a beautiful place.
Sunday 30 April 2017
Dolphin Village & Pool in Muscat, Oman
As well as days at the beach, we also spent two days at the pool in Dolphin Village. The facilities are excellent here with a large bar and restaurant and a super pool with lots of chairs for sunbathing.
There really is nothing as good as relaxing in the sun by the pool.
Here's Miss Amy walking back from the bar with cold drinks from the bar!
There really is nothing as good as relaxing in the sun by the pool.
Here's Miss Amy walking back from the bar with cold drinks from the bar!
Life's a Beach - Capital Area Yacht Club, Muscat Oman
Muscat is hot. That is stating the obvious.
But it's hotter than anything I have ever experienced before. It was up at 36 degrees celcius and it was so hot that both Amy and I came to a point of nearly fainting. I was kindly helped by a waiter who made me a soda water with lime and salt for the dehydration.
It being so hot the best place to cool off was at the beach where there is a delightful breeze and the water is the perfect temp for hopping in to and cooling down.
And this is the beach where we spent most of our holidays at - the Capital Area Yacht Club.
It's a beautiful beach with clean waters, golden sand and a handy beach bar for snacks (although we brought cooler boxes full of lunch and drinks) along with bathroom facilities including indoor and outdoor showers (is there anything nicer than an outdoor shower?!!).
Here's some pics of the gorgeous beach.
On our first day there was a lot of people at the beach because it was a public holiday. On our second visit it was practically empty because it was mid week. Then on our third visit it was a little bit busier because it was the weekend - but we got there early so we got a great spot.
To me a holiday is all about spending time at the beach and this was one great big beach holiday!
But it's hotter than anything I have ever experienced before. It was up at 36 degrees celcius and it was so hot that both Amy and I came to a point of nearly fainting. I was kindly helped by a waiter who made me a soda water with lime and salt for the dehydration.
It being so hot the best place to cool off was at the beach where there is a delightful breeze and the water is the perfect temp for hopping in to and cooling down.
And this is the beach where we spent most of our holidays at - the Capital Area Yacht Club.
It's a beautiful beach with clean waters, golden sand and a handy beach bar for snacks (although we brought cooler boxes full of lunch and drinks) along with bathroom facilities including indoor and outdoor showers (is there anything nicer than an outdoor shower?!!).
Here's some pics of the gorgeous beach.
"Kargeen" Muscat, Oman
On our second last night in Muscat we ate in Kargeen restaurant which is a favourite of my sisters.
The restaurant is in a beautiful setting among trees and canopies and lights. We sat outside by the fountain.
Here's a picture of my view as I ate (you can see shisha being smoked at the table beside us).
Here I am with my twin, my sister and my sister's roommate.
Lots of lovely food including lamb chops that my sister and I had been talking about ordering for the past few days!
This is a mixed grill which gives a great selection of different meats.
And lamb koftas!
Chicken and hummus which Amy adores!
We also discovered falafel while we were in Muscat.
What a wonderful night out in Muscat. Click here to read more about Kargeen.
The restaurant is in a beautiful setting among trees and canopies and lights. We sat outside by the fountain.
Here's a picture of my view as I ate (you can see shisha being smoked at the table beside us).
Here I am with my twin, my sister and my sister's roommate.
Lots of lovely food including lamb chops that my sister and I had been talking about ordering for the past few days!
Chicken and hummus which Amy adores!
We also discovered falafel while we were in Muscat.
What a wonderful night out in Muscat. Click here to read more about Kargeen.
Flight to Muscat
We flew to Muscat from Ireland to London with Aer Lingus and then on from Heathrow to Muscat with British Airways.
We found British Airways to be very comfortable and hospitable to fly with. Amy and I ordered a vodka and diet coke and the lovely cabin crew member brought us doubles. We loved this!
Here are the movies that I watched on the flights over and back:
"Lion"
"Denial"
"Moonlight"
"Loving"
Amy watched "La La Land" again both over and back!!
Having now watched Moonlight, I truly believe that La La Land should have won the Oscar for best picture.
If you are looking for a serious tear jerker, Lion is the film for you. What a story!
We found British Airways to be very comfortable and hospitable to fly with. Amy and I ordered a vodka and diet coke and the lovely cabin crew member brought us doubles. We loved this!
Here are the movies that I watched on the flights over and back:
"Lion"
"Denial"
"Moonlight"
"Loving"
Amy watched "La La Land" again both over and back!!
Having now watched Moonlight, I truly believe that La La Land should have won the Oscar for best picture.
If you are looking for a serious tear jerker, Lion is the film for you. What a story!
Saturday 29 April 2017
Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque Muscat
I have just returned from a week in Musat, Oman where I had the most fantastic time. It is a beautiful country and I saw some amazing sights.
On Thursday my sister and I visited the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque.
The first thing we had to do to get to the Mosque was hail a taxi and then negotiate a price. My younger sister who lives in Muscat (but was working that day so couldn't give us a lift) had told us what price it should be. The bargaining with taxi drivers was painful for us but we continued to haggle and got all the taxis for the price we wanted. On this occasion the first taxi we hailed wouldn't entertain the price we offered so we hailed the next one and got it for 2 Rial (about 5 euro).
When we got to the Grand Mosque we walked up through the stunning gardens to the entrance.
As you enter the mosque there is a sign with the dress code. You must wear long sleeves to the wrist and trousers to the ankle and women must also cover their head. You must also take your shoes off when you enter the prayer rooms.
The mosque is very beautiful and is covered in the most wonderful marble that is so nice underfoot. There is a lovely calm serene feeling outside.
The large prayer hall can accommodate 6,500 men with the ladies prayer room holding 750 women. In total the mosque can accommodate 20,000 people.
It also has the largest single piece of carpet in the world which took 4 years to make!!
For further info about the Grand Mosque, read here or for a 360 degree panoramic tour, click here. The wiki page also has some interesting facts about the mosque.
On Thursday my sister and I visited the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque.
The first thing we had to do to get to the Mosque was hail a taxi and then negotiate a price. My younger sister who lives in Muscat (but was working that day so couldn't give us a lift) had told us what price it should be. The bargaining with taxi drivers was painful for us but we continued to haggle and got all the taxis for the price we wanted. On this occasion the first taxi we hailed wouldn't entertain the price we offered so we hailed the next one and got it for 2 Rial (about 5 euro).
When we got to the Grand Mosque we walked up through the stunning gardens to the entrance.
As you enter the mosque there is a sign with the dress code. You must wear long sleeves to the wrist and trousers to the ankle and women must also cover their head. You must also take your shoes off when you enter the prayer rooms.
The main prayer hall has a magnificent chandelier in the certain of it. The scale is massive - it has to be seen to believed!
It also has the largest single piece of carpet in the world which took 4 years to make!!
No trip to Muscat would be complete without a visit to the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque. It should also be noted that abaya's are available to rent if you don't have a long sleeved top so don't let the dress code be a deterrent.
For further info about the Grand Mosque, read here or for a 360 degree panoramic tour, click here. The wiki page also has some interesting facts about the mosque.
Sunday 16 April 2017
Delivering and hanging art!
My sister got a new art piece and you can click below to watch the delivery and installation by the artist!!
https://www.pscp.tv/Pigsyinspace/1djGXvVaVnzxZ?t=30
It's worth a watch - and you get to hear my Irish brogue ;-)
If you'd like to see more of Pigsy's work (after viewing the video), go to www.ciaranmccoy.com
https://www.pscp.tv/Pigsyinspace/1djGXvVaVnzxZ?t=30
It's worth a watch - and you get to hear my Irish brogue ;-)
Saturday 15 April 2017
Good Friday - Great Friday!
Friday night meant a trip to the theatre with my cousin and sister to see the The Train.
What a show.
It's a musical.........I love musicals!
Although being a musical, it's on a very serious topic that women in Ireland are still fighting for today: Bodily Autonomy.
You can click in to the video below to see story of the Contraceptive Train that the play is based on.
The Abbey Theatre is a great place to see any play. I had bought the cheapest tickets so we possibly had the worst seats in the house. We were right in the back row but I can honestly say there wasn't a thing wrong with the view. I don't think there is a bad seat in this theatre - just some are better than others.
When I got home I looked at the cast online as I knew that one of the actors was very familiar. When I saw who it was - Lisa Lambe - I instantly remembered her from when she was in Celtic Woman. She is one seriously talented lady.
All of the pubs are closed on Good Friday in Ireland due to licensing laws (again due to the non division between Church and State) but alcohol was allowed to be served in The Abbey. There are some strange places that do not fall under the ban - airports, train stations, hotels (in the residents bar) and also theatres. Pre-show drinks were nice along with interval wine too!!
All very civilised.
The Train chugs out of Dublin and on to The Mac in Belfast - do go see it!!
What a show.
It's a musical.........I love musicals!
Although being a musical, it's on a very serious topic that women in Ireland are still fighting for today: Bodily Autonomy.
You can click in to the video below to see story of the Contraceptive Train that the play is based on.
The Abbey Theatre is a great place to see any play. I had bought the cheapest tickets so we possibly had the worst seats in the house. We were right in the back row but I can honestly say there wasn't a thing wrong with the view. I don't think there is a bad seat in this theatre - just some are better than others.
When I got home I looked at the cast online as I knew that one of the actors was very familiar. When I saw who it was - Lisa Lambe - I instantly remembered her from when she was in Celtic Woman. She is one seriously talented lady.
All of the pubs are closed on Good Friday in Ireland due to licensing laws (again due to the non division between Church and State) but alcohol was allowed to be served in The Abbey. There are some strange places that do not fall under the ban - airports, train stations, hotels (in the residents bar) and also theatres. Pre-show drinks were nice along with interval wine too!!
All very civilised.
The Train chugs out of Dublin and on to The Mac in Belfast - do go see it!!
Litter Picking Friday - Team Dublin Clean Up
While browsing twitter on Friday morning I came across a Dublin wide clean up campaign called #TeamDublinCleanup.
I tweeted for further info and found out that there was one going on in both Ranelagh and Donnybrook along with other areas of the town including Stonybatter, Finglas and Phibsboro.
Amy said she would be interested in doing it also and so we went along to the Ranelagh Arts Centre at 11am.
There we got Hi-Viz vests, litter pickers, plastic bags and gloves and off we went litter picking!
There were a fair few volunteers out cleaning - one man did great work at the entrance to the park and another group did a job on the lane at the side of Supervalu (which is a bit of a litter blackspot, I think). Amy and I picked litter from the luas flyover to the triangle and then back down the street on the Arts centre side.
It was brilliant to see the community engagement and spirit and I like the optics of the community getting out to help. This was the 2nd annual #TeamDublinCleanUp and I think it will get bigger and better year on year!
There is a Dublin Canal Action Day next Saturday, click here for info. They are looking for volunteers so do go along if you are free and want to get involved.
I tweeted for further info and found out that there was one going on in both Ranelagh and Donnybrook along with other areas of the town including Stonybatter, Finglas and Phibsboro.
Amy said she would be interested in doing it also and so we went along to the Ranelagh Arts Centre at 11am.
There we got Hi-Viz vests, litter pickers, plastic bags and gloves and off we went litter picking!
It was brilliant to see the community engagement and spirit and I like the optics of the community getting out to help. This was the 2nd annual #TeamDublinCleanUp and I think it will get bigger and better year on year!
There is a Dublin Canal Action Day next Saturday, click here for info. They are looking for volunteers so do go along if you are free and want to get involved.
Sunday 9 April 2017
Venice - what a marvellous city!
We spent a few days in Venice this week and had a marvellous city break (Venice is only 2.5 hrs from Ireland!).
I received a recommendation for the Al Codega Hotel and it didn't disappoint. It was very well located close to San Marco and rooms were clean and comfortable.
The gondolas are fun to watch and feel authentically Venetian.
We visited the Peggy Guggenheim museum - click here to read about it.
I received a recommendation for the Al Codega Hotel and it didn't disappoint. It was very well located close to San Marco and rooms were clean and comfortable.
The food was great in Venice - I ate lots of pasta and even more tiramisu!
We went on an architectural tour on our first day which was really helpful in seeing lots and also getting our bearings. You can read about the tour and what we saw here.
All in all a super trip to Venice and then we had a lovely few days off in Dublin before we had to go back to work.
Monday 3 April 2017
Liffey Cycle - Sunday 2nd April 2017 #LiffeyCycle
Here's a video of the cycle that I blogged about yesterday that Amy and I took part in.
Sunday 2 April 2017
Dublin Liffey Cycleway
This morning Amy and I took part in the #Liffeycycle to demonstrate to the government the level of support for the Liffey Cycleway which is a planned segregated cycleway of 4.6km from the Phoenix Park to the Point Village.
It was a lovely sunny day in Dublin and it was a very enjoyable event.
I took loads of live video which I put up on twitter so unfortunately took no pics.
Here's a photo I found on the internet in which I've marked Amy and I in red.
It was a lovely sunny day in Dublin and it was a very enjoyable event.
I took loads of live video which I put up on twitter so unfortunately took no pics.
Here's a photo I found on the internet in which I've marked Amy and I in red.
I estimated there was about 300 cyclists involved but I saw people giving higher numbers on the internet.
Afterwards Amy and I treated ourselves to donuts and a chat in Off Beat Donuts - sure didn't we deserve it?!
EatYard Dublin
For brunch on Saturday we visited the EatYard on South Richmond Street. It's a little food market set up in a yard beside the George Bernard Shaw pub.
When we went through the gates, we found lots of containers with different food offerings being sold from them.
Ciaran got a grilled cheese sandwich which he said was pretty good. I was undecided what to have and considered getting "fish and chips" at Veginity's stall until I discovered it was a vegetarian version of fish made with cassava and 4 different types of seaweed!!
I was also tempted by some bao buns from Pow Bao.
In the end I chose to have a buttermilk chicken burger (I didn't eat the bun!) from Pitt Bros and a portion of sweet potato fries from Burger Box.
The whole place is very laid back - the furniture looks like it is made from wooden pallets. We enjoyed it and will visit it again - but of course it would need to be on a sunny day as the whole place is outdoors, including the eating area.
After the Eatyard, Ciaran got given 2 tickets for the Leinster v. Wasps game in the Aviva. We set off walking to the stadium at about 2pm and got to see a very enjoyable game of rugby with Leinster winning!
Saturday seemed to go on forever because after the game I then called to Amy's for a cocktail and then we went on to the Gaiety Theatre so see The Beauty Queen of Leenane.
What a play!
A depressingly brilliant Irish tale.
In someways not quite the most enjoyable play to be watching on a Saturday night but sure it's always good to go to the theatre and to expose ones self to a bit of culture!
When we went through the gates, we found lots of containers with different food offerings being sold from them.
I was also tempted by some bao buns from Pow Bao.
The whole place is very laid back - the furniture looks like it is made from wooden pallets. We enjoyed it and will visit it again - but of course it would need to be on a sunny day as the whole place is outdoors, including the eating area.
After the Eatyard, Ciaran got given 2 tickets for the Leinster v. Wasps game in the Aviva. We set off walking to the stadium at about 2pm and got to see a very enjoyable game of rugby with Leinster winning!
What a play!
A depressingly brilliant Irish tale.
In someways not quite the most enjoyable play to be watching on a Saturday night but sure it's always good to go to the theatre and to expose ones self to a bit of culture!
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