Gaudi's Le Pedrera

There are many many many buildings to gaze at wonder at in stylish Barcelona. Gaudi's Le Pedrera off Passeig De Gracia is just one. A very unusual mansion with no straight lines symbolising Gaudi's belief that in nature there are very few straight lines but more sinuy bends and curves line the vain structure of a leaf. Inside the building is an interesting introduction to the architect's work but the best part is the roof where you get a wonderful vista including some of the cities most prominent land marks. Check out the video for an idea of what I mean. My wonderful apartment is 15 minutes walk from Le Segrada and 7 minutes walk from the Mapre tower and the amazing 4km of beach fronts.

The Vagabond and learnin' Spanish

Month 1 is down of 4 in Barcelona and I'm having very interesting times... part of which is getting the old brain around understanding the language. I'm at about the same level as this funny dude in the video!

More photos from BCN.

Bicing in Barcelona

There is a very cool new environmental project in full swing in Barcelona that I like a lot which is helping people get healthy while helping the environment breath. It’s called Bicing. Residents of Barcelona can for €6 a year purchase a card which allows them rent a bike for no more than 30 minutes at a go. During this 30 minutes the individual pays 1 cent a minute for the amount of time they use the bike. The idea behind the program is you borrow the bike for no more than 30 minutes which should be enough time to get you from A to B on a short trip. The system is based on multiple ‘pick n drop’ sites where you take and leave your bike a little like a car park. The whole idea is to get people using bikes for short distance travel a lot more thus helping to alleviate the amount of traffic in the city. It works beautifully and the people in Barcelona love.

Let’s take an Irish example for illustration purposes. Let’s say all the Dunnes and Lidl stores in the Dublin are bike ‘pick n drop’ sites that can hold at least 50 bikes at any one time. Now let’s say there is a long rack at each site on which a bike can be hoisted onto and electronically locked or lifted from. Now put a device that looks like a car metre beside each rack that you can swipe an identity card in. That’s how it works! Cool isn’t it! The idea is short journeys. You can’t use the bikes for the day or for a 3 hour ride to Dun Laoighre for a swim. If you do that for every minute you go over 30 minutes your card gets a hefty fine and ultimately your credit card takes the hit.

The bike is the cross between a High Nelly and a cool Chopper. It has a beautiful red frame, with back pedal breaks, chrome handle bars, a very nice spacious space for a carrier bag and very cool white mudguards.

To find out more go to www.bicing.com

Golan Heights and Tiberius

Today started really badly and almost finished in the same way. It was one of those days that was easily two days in one. I arrived in Tel Aviv on a business class from Paris Charles De Gaulle after missing my flight from Dublin to Paris but fortunately had been able to get on another 3 hours later which allowed me catch my connection to Israel. The worst think about the whole thing was the fact that I had to dash for the gate and missed it which left me sweating with no change of clothes which meant a visit to the men’s room to try cool down. The flight itself was great in the sense that I read the whole way through the thoroughly enjoyable ‘Long Way Round’ featuring Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman and also partly due to the very nice Bordeaux wine and fillet of steak consumed on route! When I arrived in Ben Gurion airport it was 12.40am and that’s when the fun started. Surprisingly, this time, unlike the last I swept past the immigration very quickly. But 2 hours later I was still waiting for my bags – which never came. Eventually after watching the local airport staff running around like blue arse flies trying to troubleshoot a broken carousel and an angry mob of tired people hunting their bags I resigned myself to the fact that I had to go to ‘Lost and Found’ where I was given some paperwork to prove I lost my bags and was told I’d get my bag sent to my hotel at 4pm. Haifa were I was staying was 1 hour away. I fortunately got a decent taxi man who charged me face value at 465 shekils to get to the Meridian hotel (75 euros approx). On the way I asked some very direct questions about why the Palestine’s were treated so bad and how the Jews could prove they were the first people in these lands thousands of years ago. I received in a very nice way but very firml response the history of Abraham, Sole and David. I was told all about Sala Kaheem and his destroying of the temple of Jews and its replacement by the Rome of the Rock. I was also told about how the Palestine’s just sponge off the Israeli state and do very little for themselves and constantly plan war. While thankful for the contorted one-way diatribe and slushy history lesson by the time I got to the hotel I was very glad to get into bed.

6 hours later I was up and in the local shopping mall buying some clothes which I fully intend claiming back on my travel insurance. I got a pair of Nike runners, some flip flocks, a pair of shorts and a few t-shirts. The guy selling me the clothes was about 27 and asked me was I Irish because of my accent. I told him I was and we went on talking for about 20 minutes. He asked me about the North of Ireland I explained very quickly where we were with it and he explained that he hoped Israel and Palestine could be at peace some day but he feared it would never happen. He volunteered that he was in the army for 4 years and he said he had been fed hate everyday but he admitted he did not know the full-story and sympathised with the terrible conditions the Palestine’s lived in. I admired his objectively and the sincere way he told his opinion. As I left the shop I shook his hand and wondered to myself how many more were there of him in the country.

An hour later I was on the road with one of my work colleagues on the road to Tiberius with a taxi driver than had hardly any English and kept ringing his taxi office when we asked him questions and they duly translated for him. The journey consisted of taking in Tiberius, Capernam, a wine tasting treat and visited Badem Mountain and an old vacated watch tower looking out of the Golan Valley.
Tiberius is situated on the sea of Galilee and is in close proximity to a large number of sites were Jesus conducted his miracles. The walking on the water, the wedding in Caina, etc and was also the place he gave the ‘Blessed’ sermon on the mountain of Beatitudes. Nowadays it’s a little city which modern western life has consumed with pubs, McDonalds, cafes and shops. The first stop was Capernam which is where Jesus went to live after he left Nazareth and where he recruited Peter and some of the other disciplines. Luckily, when I was there I saw a local priest giving a sermon to a very well English spoken group of Japanese tourists. I learned all about Jesus curing Peter’s stepmother and all about Peter’s church and the old temple. The sun was beating down at 34 degrees as I listened to the beautiful positive words coming out of the priests heart and it filled me with joy. It was a very peaceful reflective experience and one I look forwarding to telling my Dad more about who I think would really have enjoyed it.

Next was a real brucy bonus and a visit to the Golan Heights Winery www.yardenwines.com. We got a chance to try three wines and by a bottle before we left. We tried a semi-dry Gewurztraminer white for starters, a Carbernet Sauvigon for dinner and my favourite a beautiful smelling floral, fruity, sweet Muscat dinner wine. I ended up buying a bottle for my cabinet back in my apartment it was so nice. I also bought a contraption for taking the air out of half wine bottle you haven’t finished so you can keep it in the fridge for 3 or 4 weeks without going off.
After this it was the amazing tower on the Golan Heights. For me it was a very educational visit, with amazingly beautiful scenery that looked like Tuscany meeting El Calafate in Patagonia. From the empty patrol bunker which was 1,100 metres above sea level I saw Lebanon, Syria and Jordan. To the left was Mount Hermon were the Israeli’s ski in winter. Also on our left but more in the foreground was a kabutz and The Valley of Tears where a raging tank war took place in 1973 during the Syrian invasion. In front of us was the UN town that protected the one entry point into Syria between the two countries and to the right and back was wide sweeping vineyards, a massive army control tower that has some serious antennas and satellite bubbles and dishes, some wind generators and a mountain in the distance which was a part of Jordan. What I like about it was the beauty. Golan is a very very beautiful one where the numbers of soldiers almost match the number of grapes. While surrounded by such beauty which was magnified by an extravagant sunset. The place screamed of pathetic fallacy.

The Golan Heights in a clear reminder that man is still very much at war and has a lot to learn before it can walk in the light of our Lord who preached in this beautiful land. It wil be very interesting to see the reaction of the Israeli people who love this land when they have to give it back to Syria which probably will happen sooner rather than later.

So my day started shitty, was great in the middle and then went to shitty again when I arrived back to my room at 10pm and there was no lost bag sitting beside my bed like i hoped. I went down to the reception in the hotel and tried to ring the airport to find out where my bag was but no response. I then drafted and sent a fax to Air France so they could get my disgruntled feedback the next day. At 11.30 I got a phone call and the bags had arrived!

A very interesting day indeed!

Co Clare

I love county Clare. It's where my grandmother was born and bread and it's the recent location on the vagabond's travels. It's famous for The Burren, The Cliffs of Mohar and surf at Lahinch but to say that's all it has to offer is doing it a gross injustice. The journey was spread in two. The first half was in Killaloe where I visited my good old Viking friend Morten from Norway and old Vordel work colleague,and, then Bunratty Castle and a visit to the Cliffs of Mohar with my family to celebrate my parents 40th wedding anniversary.

Location: Killaloe
Days: Friday, Saturday
Hotel: Hotel Morten 5*
Cost: Nada

I really enjoyed my visit to my good old friend Morten and his fiancee Ciara's Limerick get away palace. It was a no-brainer for Morten and Ciara to get out of the city life in Dublin and the wide rustic forest laden and river speckled landscape is perfect for them. The trip started with a hitch on the back of Morten's 650cc demon roadster and it finished on the same way. In between was brilliant hospitality, beautiful country walks (where I took the above photo of a horsing rolling in the mud)an encounter with two newly shaven lambas from Peru and a visit to the ancient nombstone in an old church in the centre of the village. An excellent time had by all with plenty of great food, conversation and fun. I really looking forward to going back.

Location: Bunratty Castle Hotel: 3*
Cost: 145 euros a night, in the executive suite

You know what? I love Ireland and no matter how much travelling the vagabond does he loves returning home. This trip was again bomb dropping opaque affirmation of all the reasons I love this country. There simply is no other place like it. What was very special about this trip was I was with my entire family to celebrate my parents 40th wedding anniversary. The last time I went on a holiday with my entire family was 1979 Kerry.

The first night we watched the Deise hurlers topple their great foe from Cork to reach the last 4 in the hurling and then we visited the excellent "Corn Barn" Bunratty Folk Night. This was all about watching traditional Irish music and dance while eating a good old plate full of Irish stew with gallons of free wine, meade (honey whiskey) and baileys. It cost a mere 45 euros per person, lasted 2 hours and had the greatest mountains of spuds served up by the tray load covered in melted butter bliss and fresh herbs from the local garden.

The next day we took in the small but impressive swimming and sauna facilities before we paid a visit to the Bunratty Folk Park. This is a theme park dedicated to what life in Ireland looked like 100 years ago. It consists of a visit to the castle itself and then a stroll past reconstructed farmhouses, cottages and shops,pubs, schools, post offices and bakeries. The best thing about the park is it is a living museum where you can see animals being tended to, apple tarts and bread being baked, milk being churned and live music being played with the instruments of the time. You can also if your lucky see a blacksmith at work, a weaving demonstration from an old spinster and a few scones being cooked in a hanging black pot by the side of turf fire. A really step back in time and while a little expensive at 14 euros entry an adult its was worth every cent for the images it evoked in my mind as a carefree child in the late 70s and early 80s.

In the evening my brother and his family relaxed in the hotel while my Mum, Dad, Camila and I tried out my brothers new GPS system to navigate us to the Cliffs of Mohar. On the way I encountered the worst downpour of rain i have ever seen anywhere in the world. For at least 3 seconds while driving on a motorway the drops of rain were so violently falling on the car visibility was zero. When we could see again all the cares ahead had the hazard lights on and were going at snails pace. Ironically, and kind of to be expected the sun was shining when we got there. What was nice about it was it was a rainy sun divided by heavy grey clouds on one side and azure blue and white with 2 rainbows on the other side. The cliffs were as magnanimous as ever however the abuse of tourists by having to pay a 4 euro entry cost was a little Irish for my liking. Board Failte need to get there act together and stop the rip of culture which seems to be pervading the country's touristic soul.

The next day before a trip back to Dublin on the Limerick train was a visit to Craggunowen theme park. This was another step back in time this time to the farmhouses, hunting sites and cranogs of the Iron Age. I wasn't sure what to expect from this visit but I was pleasantly surprised. I got to see how woollen taken off sheep is patiently transformed into wool reels, we got to visit a reconstructed cranog with underground food holds and had the opportunity to study some dolmens and a reconstructed version of the boat that St Brendan used to supposedly travel to the US 1,000 year before Columbus.

TIP: If you want to feel your Irishness flowing through your veins or if you are with some visitors and want to give them a real quickdraw emersion of Irish culture pay a visit to Bunratty castle and make sure you go to either the Mediveal Banquet or the Corn Barn night. It's well worth the effort of getting their and the dancing and singing are priceless.

The biggest slum in the world - Mumbai

I'm just back from a brillant week in India. My first of hopefully many visits. The first 2 days were business in Hyderabad. Next 4 days consists of pleasure. 3 in Goa and 1 in Mumbai. When I ge some spare time I'll write more about it. But for the moment here is one of the videos I shot in Mumbai outside the biggest slumb in the world!

The Great Wall and the Forbidden City

I'm on a whistle stop tour of China for work reasons and I'm throwing up these two videos very quickly. The first is a visit to the Great Wall which was by and large very disappointing and the second was shot in the spectacular Forbidden city.

The Temple of Heaven and the Peking Duck

Location: Beijing, China
Hotel: Shangra-La - 4 star:big and spacious with a wonderful self-catering breakfast
Weather - A very smoggy 26 degrees at midday

After getting off a BA business class flight, the first for me, you are fighting fit to take on Marvelous Marvlin Hagler in a come back fight or in this case check out what Beijing has to offer in a couple of days before a whistle stop tour of Microsoft's Beijing office to find out what the company is doing in China and how I might be able to help make the core-tech recruitment team improve our processes and communications globally. The thing I liked most about BAs business class was their reclining chairs and the myriad gadgets it had on offer. Not to mention the constant pampering from the inflight attendants and the huge variety of digital entertainment on hand the chair was something special. Fully reclining, vibrating, and long it combined space with style all at 11,000 metres and worked well with a glass of tasty wine.



Taxis are incredibly cheap in China. Our first ride was 30 minutes long and it cost about 4 euros. We started witht he Temple of Heaven which called Tian Tian and is the largest temple complex in China. I had never heard about it before until I bought by DK book but I won't forget it now that I have seen it. The video gives you an idea of what it looks like. What the video doesn't show you is the perfectly formed circle format in which he complex is built around lush green grass with lots of myriadering walk paths and lots of beautiful flower beds with lush cedar trees all around them. Throughout the park was lots of tourists and lots of older people flying their colouful kites languidly with an ingenious mouse wheel that freely allowed the kite to soar to the heavesns reeling out as much string as the wind demanded. The is where the emperor made his sacrifice and prayed to heaven and his ancestors for a fortuous harvest for his people. What caught my eye the most was the golden inscribed beams on the outer side of the building that showed lots of dragons curled up and breathing fire. Beautiful artistry. I gave myself an hour their and it was more than enough. There was a small museum in the complex but it wasn't too impresive and if you visit I'd spend no more than 15 minutes in the inner circle with maybe 5 minutes in the museam. Also keep away from the audi guide as it doesn't contain a lot of information, you're better off using your travel book which will provide with sufficent information to let you know what is happening. If I went back again i'd defintely visit the temple again but I'd spend the most of my time watching the folk practiing tai chi, reciting Chinease opera and flying their beautiful kites o gracefully in the gently flowing wind.

After the Temple of Heaven we went to the nearby Pearl market which I thought wouldn't be up to much. I am becoming highly cyncial of markets after all my travelling. Most are rip off, 3rd class quality with sowed on labels on the clothes and rip off copies of artistery with very poor quality souenvirs. You also get enveloped by vendors screeching and touching. My intution: bang on!

After the market we went in search of some of Beijing's famous Bejing duck. I'm not normally a duck fan but when in Rome! A bot like the Brazilian's see football and the Irish see Guinness the Chinese see the cooking, cutting and presentation of duck as art. The restaurent we went to had a lot of pig's lips, cow's tongues and a plate of scorpions to top it off. We decided to go for the full gloden bronzed duck. What I like most about this experience was I expected to get the duck on a nice bed of rice with some soya sauce and salt. Instead a chef came out with a top hat, surgical mask and a set of frightening knifes. He proceeded to slice the duck expertly with a screeching crush of the duck's skull at the end to reveal its brain. With the brain we also got the golden caramilsed peff-pastry like in texture sweet duck's skin, which is a delicacy. The combination of both for me was a sensation my palette won't forget for a while. The brain was a little like you'd imagine by dropping your pencil and chweing on your erasure. The skin was much better and melted like eating paper in your mouth followed by a donut like sweetness.

While I won't rush to my nearest Chinese take-away for the duck I would recommend you try it if you want to dive head first into the crazy world of Chinese gastronomy.

The Lion of Lucerne

Recently while in Lucerne, Switzerland I saw the amazing world famous bridges of Lucerne which are argueably the most famous of all Swiss tourism sites. However, thankfully, I decided to spend an hour in the rain going looking for the Lion of Lucerne which had a small reference in my guide book. I wasn't sure what to expect but I was delighted when I got there despite having to wheel my suitcase up a hill and hoist an umbrella for most of the expedition. When I got their I took a few snaps and stared at it for 5 minutes if not more. One of the finest pieces of art I have ever seen.

The history behind this mighty artisitic feat goes back to the Swiss having a long tradition of supplying mercenaries to foreign governments. Because the Swiss have been politically neutral for centuries and have long enjoyed a reputation for honoring their agreements, a pope or emperor could be confident that his Swiss Guards wouldn't turn on him when the political winds shifted direction.

The Swiss Guards' honor was put to the test in 1792, when--after trying to escape the French Revolution--King Louis XVI, Marie-Antoinette, and their children were hauled back to the Tuileries Palace in Paris. A mob of working-class Parisians stormed the palace in search of aristocratic blood. More than 700 Swiss officers and soldiers died while defending the palace, without knowing that their royal employers--like Elvis--had left the building.

In the early 1800s, the Danish artist Bertel Thorvaldsen was hired to sculpt a monument to the fallen Swiss Guards. The sculpture was carved in a sandstone cliff above the city center, near Lucerne's Glacier Garden and the Panorama, and it has attracted countless visitors since its dedication in 1821.

Tips: Give yourself at least an overnight stay in the city and try stay down town in the old centre were a double bed for the night will cost anything from 150-300 Swiss francs. Make sure you give yourself and hour to see the two famous bridges and also have a look at the Art Centre near the train station. Myself and Camila had a fine meal for a reasonable price at a restaurent right on the river bank, on the train station side called "Opus" that I would recommend.