Fresh from accepting a euro-zone bailout, Ireland is picking itself up in little ways, not least of which is a newly revived tourism industry. Hotels, attractions, and airfares are about 50% lower today than a few years ago, when the Emerald Isle was in its economic prime. And tourists have lost no time cashing in.

These days a shoestring traveler can fit a night at an Irish castle, fine dining by the sea, and a trek through the forest in one week for under $5,000—and bring the kids, too. This kind of purchasing power hasn’t been seen in Ireland for over twenty years.

Ireland has always fascinated Americans, who make up the biggest slice of its tourist population and many of whom share their heritage. In 2007, it welcomed 9 million visitors, twice its own population.

But getting there was always a complex affair, especially during the country’s economic boom from the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s. And despite the general tumble in hotel rates, hotspots like Galway and Kilkenny are still rife with tourist traps, especially on the pub and restaurant side. A pint of Guinness can cost three times as much as in the U.S.

Leo Varadkar, Ireland’s new tourism minister, wants to shake off that image. Last month’s industry survey shows that Irish hotels are the most affordable in western Europe, thanks (or no thanks, depending on which side you’re on) to the scale of its property bust. Basically, too many hotels were built during the boom, and now they’re forced to lower prices to compete with each other. Some 350 have been seized by the government.

But it’s not just about prices, says Varadkar: the industry itself has given itself a facelift. Hotel quality is up, the staff is friendlier, and choices abound in price range, dining, accommodation, and itineraries. Savvy travelers have only to look around to get sweet deals, even in peak seasons.

Of course, some things are still too good to be true. Foreclosed hotels are usually poorly located and maintained, and since they’ve changed hands, service may be shaky at best. Those that survived the bubble intact usually offer the best bang for your buck.

The trick, say experts, is research and haggling. Look up your location and read traveler reviews online. Confirm prices and haggle by e-mail—some say it’s the best way to get a hefty discount. Plan ahead like any good traveler, and you can have your Guinness and drink it too.

Lunch with our landlady was a nice experience. She lives outside the city of Moscow. Its about a 30 minute drive. You have to drive to a place called “Luxury Village”. This was not my first time visiting “luxury village”. I had the unusual experience before Christmas of teaching an Oligarch’s son near where our landlady lives in Luxury Village.

Yulia (Julia) lives in one of the many gated private villages that seem to be common here in and around Moscow. We have gated communities in Britain, but they are few and far between. I would not mind living in one, if I could afford it, they are safer and cleaner than regular housing estates.

Yulia, made an excellent lunch of crab salad, red caviar eggs, salmon, meat burgers and mashed potato. This was all washed down with large amounts of red and white wine. I noticed that Yulia liked to make many toasts, maybe that a Russian thing to toast to everything? I like the idea a lot. A toast to welcome us to her home, a toast for the New Year, a toast for good health, a toast to us, a toast to this and a toast to that. I did not take part, as I was the unlucky driver. Her house is big and wooden. She told us that it has been in her late husbands family for years and that the land was spilt up, half was given to one son and the other half was given to another son (her late husband), the brothers did not speak to each other. The house is surrounded by birch forest and very peaceful, and the air is clean and fresh. Fresh, clean air is a luxury when you live in Moscow.

The house she lives in, is her former holiday house or “Dacha”, the flat we live in, is her former city residence.

Or rent supports Yulia and her old sick mother, of course Yulia has no mortgage, (as far as I can assume), so our money must give her a good life style. She is a widow, her husband died a few years ago, he was a famous Russian actor, who’s name I don’t know and could not pronounce anyway. The house she lives in, is her former holiday house or “Dacha”, the flat we live in, is her former city residence. She told me they used to spend the summer at the Dacha and the winter at their city flat, where we now live. Its a modest flat, small and not at all luxurious (despite the rent price) , but its only a 15 minute walk to the Kremlin, so we are paying for the location. It is a hard and large pill to swallow, since I know everyone else that lives in our block of flats, certainly does not pay the rent we pay, (or any rent) so its does make me a bit angry. But rent is rent. We can’t live for free.

I told my wife not to become too friendly with her, as after one year she may decide to increase the rent. We did agree to fix it for two years, but its common in Russia for flat owners to just increase the rent as and when they feel like it. If she does increase it, we will move and she will have to search all over again for a tenant willing to pay her the rent that she demands. However, she is a kind person and we are lucky to have chosen a nice landlady. This is very important when renting in Moscow, choose your landlord/Landlady carefully, you will save problems later.

Editor’s Note: Yulia is a real person. The author has chosen to use a fictitious name for the purposes of privacy.

Gretchen for TravelBlogs, 2011.

How to Decipher the Menu, Know the Market Foods & Embark on a Tasting Adventure By Ronnie Hess

Ronnie Hess is an author, journalist, English teacher, and chef. She has lived and worked in France, studying gastronomy with a passion for the art itself.

The Introduction:

This entry to the Eat Smart series of guides tackles French cuisine in a most interesting manner. It is not simply

about the cooking, but rather it covers the historical and regional aspects of how the foods came to be what they are today, immersing the reader in the culture of the country. It brought back memories of the aromas around an open air market in Paris so many years ago…..the bread, the cheese, the garlic…..

The Review:

This book is absolutely delicious, cover to cover. I feared I would actually eat the pages; that’s how descriptive the author made the food of France. The first chapter is dedicated to a brief history of French cuisine, from the beginning of human habitation to present day, with a slight lament that fast food may

have become the mode of choice for the citizens of France. Fast food has its place, but dining is more than eating; it plays a large role in the social structure of humankind.

The second chapter covers the regional variations found throughout the country, and though the main ingredients can be essentially the same, the seasonings and style of cooking are vast and unique. Geography plays an important factor in what is prepared and how it is presented.

The third chapter presents a few recipes for each course of a meal. They appear easy to prepare, and I will definitely work on making the tomato and red pepper tart!!!

The remainder of the guide explains food shopping in France, presents a very nice list of resources for finding ingredients, shows the reader some useful phrases to use when dining at a restaurant (complete with a pronunciation guide – VERY helpful), reveals a comprehensive list of items one would find on a menu, and finally gives the reader a dictionary –like list of ingredients, cooking utensils, and cooking methods, in both French and English.

This guide is for people who appreciate that food should be more than something that is pre-processed, pre-packaged garbage, filled with preservatives, fillers, and artificial ingredients. French cuisine and sitting around a table with friends and family for hours on end over plates and bowls filled with new and unusual foodstuffs are things everyone should experience, if for no other reason than it enriches the soul and makes life good.

Now, what to have for dinner tonight………

The book is now available on Amazon to purchase.

Gretchen for TravelBlogs 2011

Collioure, France – a fantastic splash of colour for Spring.  It was Henry Matisse, the artist, who said, “In the whole of France there is no sky as blue as the one above Collioure.”  The French town, lying almost in Spain but its roots being resolutely Catalan, is best seen out of season, when the weather is warm but not hot and you can have the place to yourself.  Artists Matisse, Picasso and others developed their fauvist (meaning ‘wild beasts’) style of painting in the town, utilising intensely vivid, contrasting colours and simplified shapes.

This little town tumbles down the hillside in a splash of colours, wedged into the Cote Vermeille – or Vermillion Coast, named after the purplish-red rocks.  The outdoor markets sell all manner of local produce – fat, freshly-landed oysters from Cap Leucate, huge bulbs of garlic, paper cones of sardines.  The town is framed by the extraordinary church of Notre Dame des Anges, built in Mediterranean Gothic style.  A wander around the quayside at dusk reveals anchors, fishing nets and a thriving fishing industry. The feeling here is one of stepping back to yesteryear in the cobbled streets and artist’s shops.

You can walk much of the spectacular Cote Vermeille from here, the footpath concealing, then revealing isolated coves and fishing towns all the way to Spain.  The perfect Spring destination to discover the French joie du vivre – or joy of living.

Saint David’s Day (Welsh: Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Sant) is the feast day of Saint David, the patron saint of Wales, and falls on 1 March each year.   To celebrate Saint David’s Day this year, Escapism Magazine enjoyed a visit to the glorious, unsung Glamorgan Heritage Coastal Path, an area of virgin coast that is frequently overlooked by tourists in favour of the Gower and Pembrokeshire.

The Coastal Path begins at Aberthaw and runs 14 miles to Porthcawl.  In between, there are some decidedly stunning beaches and wild coastal scenery – the section from St Donat’s Castle to Southerndown (approximately 2 miles) is simply breathtaking for its wild beauty.

The far-reaching views from atop the cliffs are of the Welsh mountains to the north and the brooding hills of Exmoor across the Bristol Channel.  Below, a wide yawn of yellow sand stretches against a mirror-calm sea.  Spring is truly here, with shrill bird-song and the sight of the first daffodils and snowdrops in the narrow, stony lanes and wooded valleys.  The weather is magnificent – warm and sunny with blue skies and hardly a cloud or breathe of wind.

This coast is famous for its shipwrecks and smugglers.  At St Donats, we find a castle, now a world famous education centre called Atlantic College.  The castle was once the home of American media magnate William Randolph Hearst who entertained his Hollywood friends there during the 1940s and 50s. Where else but here could you walk the same beach that Charlie Chaplin strolled along or the same road that Bing Crosby and Bob Hope followed?

There are no houses, hotels or developments on this immediate stretch of coast, and on most days in the week, you’ll see very few people. 

There is good, traditional lodging options in Llantwit Major, Cowbridge or Porthcawl.  Parking is plentiful at St Donat’s, the pull-in close to Nash Point Lighthouse or the road from Monknash past the Plough & Harrow public house (great traditional fish n chips http://www.theploughmonknash.com/) or Southerndown.  All these locations are ideal to start this walk from.

Slightly further afield, but still on the Glamorgan Heritage Coastal Path, Merthyr Mawr is an idyllic little settlement with an outstanding collection of thatched dwellings straight from the pages of a Thomas Hardy novel.  Nearby Candleston Castle was once a 15th century fortified mansion house on the edge of the Sahara-like dunes of Merthyr Mawr Warren.  Parts of Lawrence of Arabia were filmed here.  You can walk through the dunes to a long, beautiful beach.

The Bristol Channel is tidal, so always check the tide timetables to prevent being cut off by the tide.  In reality, there are not many stretches of this walk where this could happen, but the tides of the Bristol Channel can be treacherous.  Check tide timetables here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/coast/tides/tides.shtml?date=20100301&loc=0512

Situated at Dunraven Park, Southerndown, Vale of Glamorgan, CF32 ORP, Tel: (01656) 880157, the Glamorgan Heritage Coast Centre can provide you with maps and information about the various walks you can do.

There is parking on the edge of the village, or at intermediate points in Monknash, Dunraven Bay or Southerndown.  See map below.