TRAVEL

Home & Away with Robert Walshe

Home and Away Extra

An Irish company Surf-box, providers of pay-as-you-go internet kiosks, has launched a mobile printing service which allows Irish travelers to print documents from their mobile devices while at the airport. The service is available at Surf box’s eight internet kiosks in the departures lounge at Dublin Airport. Some airlines charge €40 to print boarding passes www.sufbox.ie

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

LivingJuST as people are going online to organise their summer holidays, more and more are arranging their own ski breaks without using a tour operator. Package companies make skiing holidays easy, you just turn up at the airport and on landing you are coached to the resort, handed ski-lift passes, escorted to a ski-hire shop and then on to ski school. But just as people are organising sum-mer holidays online, more and more are arranging their own ski breaks. The advantages are in flexibility and, very often, cost (cheap flights are crucial to this). The crucial fac-tor is the flight price, once it starts getting close to the package price it’s not worth the hassle – you might as well go with a package company. Some people worry about how to get equipment, ski instructors and lift passes, but that’s easy. Resorts are coming down with ski-hire shops, you just walk in, ask for what you want and they’ll fit it. Many ho-tels will have discount deals with certain shops, so ask in reception. Lift passes can be bought at the main lift going up out of the resort and, often, other lifts in the resort too. You book lessons in one of the ski school offices in the resort: you’ll usually have a choice of the country’s main ski school. If you are just paying for yourself, when skiing alone, as a couple or in a group, it’s easier to treat yourself to a pack-age but if you have offspring and are looking at the prospect of being priced out of ski holidays, then it’s worth checking out cheaper op-tions.. Self-organised ski holidays are also good if you just want to ski for a few days, although package companies are beginning to offer alternatives to the Saturday to Sat-urday option.

Weekend HotspotFor many tourists to Ireland the

Ring of Kerry journey instils their image of Ireland. The scenery, coastline towns and villages are all spectacular and I once heard it said that the landscape varies a hundred times in 100 km such is its diversity. Even in recessionary times the Ring of Kerry drive is crowded and you may find yourself behind a convoy of tour buses at almost anytime of the day so a visit in off peak is my

advice. Most of the tour buses drive the Ring in a counter-clockwise direction and some tourists who drive themselves pre-fer to drive the same route in a clockwise direction to avoid the crowds..There are a variety of safe beaches in the area and the surroundings attract adventure sports en-thusiasts. Parknasilla an indulgent Victorian hotel has been rein-vented for the modern era, with a magnificent new spa overlooking Kenmare Bay. This historic hotel is set in 500 acres of rolling green countryside, surrounded by sub-tropical vegetation, mountainous backdrops and tranquil Atlantic sea views. Best of all is Parknasilla’s at-titude to children if you have a large family to consider, In fact they are perceived as guests of the future and catered for accordingly with special menus, entertainment and activities. up the sweeping staircase and past the stained glass window, another reminder of a bygone age, the older bedrooms at Parknasilla Hotel are full of character, with classic dark wood furnishings and tall bay windows. The property has 92 bedrooms and suites but the 24 two-bedroom courtyard lodges just off the main building and the 38 spacious three-bedroom villas are particularly suited to families. The older block with higher ceil-ings would be my preferred choice and the new rooms are quite small so know what you want before you book. The cuisine at Pygmalion Res-taurant is a triumph for Head Chef Peter Brennan and the original Vic-torian dining room overlooking the splendour of the bay adds a sense of sophistication. A very large and beautifully appointed formal room, this is an impressive restaurant by any standards and diners are left in no doubt that this is dining in a style that befits the age and history of the building. Presentation is exquisite throughout, adding to the sense of a special occasion. The best ta-bles, in a large semi-circular con-

servatory style area, have views over the garden but you need to book early to avoid disappointment. The newly developed spa and leisure centre has 13 treatment rooms and the thermal suite has a south easterly aspect incorpo-rating a mix of wet and dry, warm, hot and cold cabins. The selection of outdoor activities at Park-nasilla has come of age with something to suit everyone. On offer miles of walks, both guided and independ-ent, tennis, a private 12 hole golf course, horse riding, petanque, cro-quet, archery, clay pigeon shooting, fishing, falconry and boating. Park-nasilla Resort continues to be one of Ireland’s most romantic getaways, so make sure and sign the guest book on departure and join many well known visitors throughout the years including Bertie Ahern, Prin-cess Grace of Monaco and General Charles de Gaulle to name but a few. If your are looking for a relax-ing break after a hectic Christmas, Parknasilla Resort & Spa has the an-swer with their luxurious ladies re-treat package.. Valid between 2nd to 9th January 2011, this Hotel Package includes:, One night B&B luxury ac-commodation with a mountain view, dinner at Pygmalion Restaurant and a mini spa treatment. Prices start at €129 pps. www.parknasillahotel.ie

Weekly Best BuyThere’s nothing you could write

about Italy that could possibly do it justice! From art to food, from stunning and varied countryside to historical ruins, Italy has it all! Now Citalia by Travel mood pro-vide holidays to Italy that caters to all tastes and budgets. Whether you’re looking to explore the beau-tiful lakes in the North, marvel at unique beauty of Florence or Ven-ice or simply escape from it all on a beach in Sardinia. Some exciting of-fers from citalia by travel mood for Winter 2010 and Summer 2011 Relax in Rome with a 3 night package at the 3*Hotel San Remo, departs Janu-ary 10th, from €258. or summer in Sorrento with a 7 night package at the 3*Hotel Girasole, departs May 9th, from €549.or 7 night package at the 3*Hotel Lidomare, departs June 1st, from €549. All prices are per person, subject to availability, and include return flights from Dublin, airport taxes, and accommodation as stated. Travel insurance is extra. www.travelmood.ie

n Launch of Citalia by Travelmood.

n 2011 Ski season.

n Parknasilla Resort Spa.

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

with Kathleen Murray

Buying and selling dogs without papersDuE to demand, this week, I will list the do’s and don’ts of buying and selling dogs for the informa-tion of people that are unsure.

Selling dogs is a huge responsi-bility. If you breed and sell then you need to be registered with the Irish Kennel Club otherwise you are not a legitimate dog breeder. Dog breeding is about improving the standard of the breed, not making money.

You need to know what you are doing. You need to know about the breed, what size and shape it should be (measurements are important) and also know not to breed from dogs that have “faults”. Faults are defects in the

dog such as and overshot/under-shot jaw, too big, too small, wrong shaped skull/bone structure, wrong temperament (nervous or aggressive) etc etc.

There’s a lot to know. You should also know not to breed from dogs during their first heat and not to breed more than 6 litters from a dog during its lifetime. You should know to have the pups wormed, vaccinated by a registered vet at 6 weeks for parvovirus, and to get them microchipped before they go to their new owners.

A pup should not be sold before it is 8 weeks old. It should not be taken from its mother before that as it needs to learn valuable les-

sons from her. The mother needs to be able to come and go with-out the pups being able to follow her. People that sell dogs without papers often sell them too young, not vaccinated (stamped by a reg-istered vet) and they often breed their dogs long after they should have stopped breeding.

This is abuse and if you take more than 6 litters from a dog then you are not caring for your dog properly. Dogs are not breed-ing machines they are live animals that feel pain, get ill or often have to have operations to deliver their pups or die during birth. People buying dogs should not pay money for a pedigree dog that has no pa-

pers with it. They should not pay money for a dog that is not pedigree full stop. This practice only encour-ages the abuse of animals. Well bred dogs don’t cost any more than badly bred dogs. Know what you are look-ing for.

When you buy, you should be able to meet the mother of the pups and see her interacting with the pup to know that she is the mother. Breed-ing several breeds (pedigree) in the one place, for sale, is called puppy farming. In these circumstances the money is the main interest, not the poor dogs. Don’t buy from places like that. You are only creat-ing a demand for more dogs to be abused.