Home and Away July 5th 2010

TRAVEL

Home & Away with Robert Walshe

Home and Away Extra

Four Seasons’ property in central London is to be posi-tioned as a “new hotel” when it opens at the end of the year. The Park Lane property has been closed for refurbishment, but Jane Burnell, Four Seasons’ regional vice president of sales for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said it will have undergone so many changes behind its facade that it can be deemed a new hotel. Four Seasons Hotel London is hav-ing an entirely new fl oor added which will allow for a rooftop spa overlooking Hyde Park. All 192 rooms and suites will be completely redesigned and the hotel will feature a new bar and updated restaurants. The group’s Marrakech hotel is due to open in the fi rst quarter of 2011 and Burnell said that will add a new level of service standards to the destination. The low-rise villa concept property will be 20 minutes from the city’s Medina. This July Newcastle Gateshead and Tyne and Wear are set to wow visitors with a jam-packed and sizzling summer programme kicking-off the school holidays in style.SummerTyne returns to The Sage Gateshead with fi ve days of American inspired music and events, 22-26 July. The Americana theme has proved popular in the past and is back with a mixture of per-formances. Taking to the skies above nearby Sunderland – the city by the sea – will be a host of award winning aerial display teams at the 21st Sunderland International Airshow, 23-25 July. www.visitnewcastlegates-head.co.uk

Robert Walshe is a freelance contributor / broadcaster and is guest travel writer for River Media newspaper titles across the island of Ireland

LivingFRANCE is the most expensive place to take a holiday according to new research despite the public percep-tion that it is cheaper to visit than the Nordic countries, Dubai and Japan. A survey compared the cost of paying for various typical items – including a coffee, a beer, a meal, accommodation in a Marriott hotel and hiring a car from Avis – in 30 different countries and found that the cheapest place to buy these was Cyprus, followed by mainland Greece and South Africa. If the cost of a fl ight was then included Cyprus and Greece were still the cheapest, followed by Morocco. Flights added considerably to the cost of holidays in far flung countries: although New Zealand was in the bottom 10 excluding fl ights, it moved up to eighth most expensive when travel was included. The recently opened Ritz-Carlton Shanghai, Pudong will be the luxury hotel brand’s second hotel in the city, and it’s seventh in China. The 285-room property will be the cities ultimate destination for luxury and style and occupies the top 18 fl oors of the Shanghai ifc South Tower. The design and style of the hotel is contemporary with hints new interpretations of 1930’s Shanghai Art Deco. This gives a great sense of place to the hotel as guest rooms and restaurants em-brace magnifi cent sweeping views over The Bund – the most intact collection of Art Deco architec-ture anywhere in the world. The Ritz-Carlton Shanghai Pudong will offer a host of exquisite luxury res-taurants and a bar with unrivalled views. Located on the hotel’s 55th fl oor and occupying an area of more than 1,500 square meters, The Ritz-Carlton Spa by ESPA features 10 treatment rooms, including nine multi-function treatment rooms and a Harmony Suite where two guests may relax and enjoy treatments to-gether. www.ritzcarlton.com

Weekend Hotspot

The principality of Monaco is a bizarre little place. Situated to the east of the French Riviera, the coun-try is very small and dominated by the city of Monte Carlo. Every-thing in the principality caters to the wealthy, so budget travellers

beware. Historically, the Grimaldi royal family has and continues to dominate Monaco. Established in 1866, Monte-Carlo was named in honour of Prince Charles III and is the richest of the country’s four quarters. For years, Monte-Carlo has been the playground of the rich and famous, from Hollywood star-lets to royalty, and business people dodging the taxman. It is also one of Europe’s foremost holiday resorts, but certainly not for the humble backpacker. The city has several attractions, such as the Oceano-graphic Museum and Aquarium, the Monaco Ca-thedral and the Prince’s Palace, several gardens, and other attrac-tions centred on the country’s famous Royal Family, such as an exhibition of HSH Prince of Monaco’s Private Collec-tion of Classic Cars. Monte Carlo is the only city of significance in Monaco. The city is perched above the ocean and fairly dramatic. There is an old Europe charm, but modern hotels, resorts and so on are blended in nicely. No mention of the city would be complete without men-tioning Formula One racing. Every year, the city hosts the Monaco Grand Prix and attending the race is defi nitely something you should do at least once. There are some in-teresting diversions, such as cata-maran trips, watersports, yachting and the Azur Express tourist train that links up the city’s attractions accompanied by multi-lingual com-mentary. Worth exploring is the Old Town, with its attractive City Hall, and of course when one is bored of sightseeing, the best diversion (and the cheapest) is merely to settle down with a fancy cocktail and peo-ple-watch. Monaco and Monte Carlo are defi nitely worth a one-day trip if you are visiting the French Riviera.

J u s t make sure you’ve warmed up your credit cards. Avoid rip off taxi drivers and try the helicopter ride from Nice Airport and Columbus Monaco a boutique property overlooking the Princess Grace garden is special. Aer Lingus operate daily fl ights from Dublin to Nice, seven days a week. One-way fares start from €45 excluding taxes and charges. For more information on fares and schedules and to book log on to www.aerlingus.com

Weekly Best Buy

If you have a sense of adventure and love the great outdoors then Delphi Mountain Resort is the per-fect place for you! Bring the family to the west of Ireland where you can be at one with nature and ex-perience the best of Irish holidays!

With surfing and kayaking, hill walking and rock climbing, high ropes and archery, there is some-thing for everyone at Delphi Moun-tain Resort. A two night stay with a three course meal on the evening if your choice starts from just €189 per person sharing. www.delphi-mountainresort.com Joe Walsh Tours has introduced a special “No Fly Cruise” direct from Dublin to Spain, Portugal and North Africa. A new 9 night cruise leaving direct from Dublin is now on sale from only €799 departing on the 9th Oc-tober.

Packages includes: daily break-fast, lunch & dinner, daytime & evening entertainment, lectures by food & wine experts and port taxes. The cruise itinerary takes in; Dublin-Lisbon-Algarve-Gibraltar-Tangier-La Coruna (for Santiago de Compostela)-Dublin. Book before July 31st and receive up to 10% off! www.joewalshtours.ie

Pet’s Corner...with Kathleen Murray: Animal Behavioural Therapist

with Kathleen Murray

Pet birds – do some homeworkIN RECENT times the demand for pet birds has risen as peo-ple think that they are very cute, and the fact that some can talk is very entertaining.

There are lots of birds to choose from and they are easily got which is a prob-lem. Some of these birds are very expensive and have been taken from their natural en-vironment by poachers, for cash.

This is no refl ection on pet shops, by the way, as they know where their birds are coming from, and can trace them back to source. If there is a bird that you are interested in then do some homework

fi rst. Find out more about this type of bird in a book or on the net. Find out where it comes from and what it eats in it’s natural environment. If you have a bird already or have lost a bird because someone has let it out by accident then you’ll know the downside to having a bird in your home. Cute as they are they need exercise like any other animal and some can be destructive.

They need space to flap their wings and fl y. You need to have a very safe place for them to do this. If we lived in a very warm sunny country then getting out by accident wouldn’t be as big a prob-

lem than getting out here on a cold windy day. Keeping these birds in a central heated house and then losing them to the elements outside is very upsetting as they can’t with-stand the cold or feed them-selves without danger.

They are used to having food in a certain place every day (provided for them) and then suddenly they are in a world that they don’t know, where there are other birds with territorial issues that won’t be so generous with the food if your bird arrives to eat with them. Pet birds are very trusting and don’t know the dangers of the outside world

so enemy number one is the local cat.

As our cat population is enor-mous due to cats not being neutered in time (6 months) the bird won’t be around for long. Safety plans are very im-portant when you have a bird in your house. Summertime is the most dangerous as we have our windows and doors open for fresh air. If you are out and about in the garden in the summer you can take the bird out there in the cage with you and put it up on a table or somewhere that you can su-pervise it. Protect it from the strong sun by putting a towel over the top of the cage. Being

in the sun is fi ne but if you are stuck there for a lengthy pe-riod of time, in a cage, with no way to get to a tree for shade, then it is not fi ne any more. If there are children in the house then they must be taught not to leave doors open when they go in and out when the bird is “loose”.

Children should always be supervised around any ani-mal as they don’t know the right way to behave around animals. They often bring problems onto themselves by just simply being children. Birds are intelligent. They can be trained to do many things and adapt to many situations,

■ Delphi Mountain Resortgraphic Museum and Aquarium, the Monaco Ca-thedral and the Prince’s Palace, several gardens, and other attrac-tions centred on the country’s famous Royal Family, such as an exhibition of HSH Prince of Monaco’s Private Collec-

perched above the ocean and fairly dramatic. There is J u s t

■ Delphi Mountain Resort

■ Ritz Carlton Pudong Shanghai Hotel

■ Monte Carlo Monaco