Why I prefer Aer Lingus over Ryanair.

When flying I do most often travel with Ryanair. I go through the usual routine, herded like cattle onto the plane to sit in cramped conditions for up to 3 hours with screaming babies, grumpy passengers and everything else that goes with it! That is what we have come to expect from Ryanair but we tolerate it for the low fares.

Recently, however, I have had the pleasure of travelling with Aer Lingus a number of times, and the difference is staggering! With Aer Lingus I was actually treated like a person, not a seat. I was greeted by very friendly staff who were kind enough to have a quick bit of banter with me before showing me to my seat (assigned seat I might say). Then the seats are so much more comfortable than Ryanair, there is actual legroom and the seats recline. Is that luxury or what?

I couldn't have been more happy with my latest flight from Dublin to Madrid. That was at least until I had a drugged up idiot park himself next to me. He seemed okay at first, a little odd but no matter. Then he fell asleep, having taken a cocktail of various pills to knock himself out. He began drooling and lost all sense of personal space. I didn't mind so much when he put his feet under mine, or when his arm fell over the arm-rest onto my side. But then he actually dropped his head on my shoulder and I swear he was trying to spoon me! I was never so disgusted, no matter how much I shook him or pushed his (rather heavy) head off of me. It wasn't long before other passengers began to take notice, laughing and pointing. The whole thing was quite embarrassing. But God bless those Aer Lingus staff. When one of the stewards saw what was happening he immediately went to look for an alternative seat for both myself and Andrew (my friend who was moving to Madrid with me). He very kindly set us up with seats in the emergency exit row, affording us even more legroom and further validating my already sky-high opinion of Aer Lingus.

The fares were similar to Ryanairs. On many routes the prices only differ by €20 to €30. So my recommendation is, if you get the chance. Choose Aer Lingus!

Salvadors Restaurant Killarney

I enjoy surprises very much, especially when it comes in the form of delicious food!

Myself and Dominika recently found ourselves in Killarney town feeling quite hungry. Not feeling like having McDonalds or other fast food, we decided to have a look at the various restaurants scattered throughout the town, and there are many of them!

Salvadors was one of the last we checked out, by this time we were pretty starved so it was out of necessity more than desire that we went in. Immediately we were greeted by extremely happy, friendly staff and shown to our seats. The interior of the restaurant is so warm and welcoming, it was a fantastic atmosphere that makes you feel right at home, as if you were dining with extended family at Christmas time.

The menu has a fine selection which you can check out here. I decided to have the chicken goujons, and let me tell you, I have had some nice chicken in my time but this was right up there with the best!
Between the fantastic food, and friendly staff this is a restaurant that I would definitely recommend you try if you are looking for places to eat in Killarney.

6 Reasons why Ireland loves Americans

While driving through Moneygall this Saturday past, we came across the most blatant display of "Arse-lickery" you are ever likely to see in this country. The place was absolutely coated with American flags and Obama-related pictures, pubs and what have you.

Not that I have any major problem with that, towns must use what they have going for them to increase tourism, and for Moneygall that happens to be their connection to the prez. But it did get me thinking as to why we in Ireland love America so much, and also why we hate them! So here are the reasons (In my opinion at least) as to why we love them (the hate list follows later).







1. Tourism

The first, and probably most obvious reason is the all important dollar! Not as strong as it used to be, but we love when those folk from across the water come and spend their hard earned bucks in our little green island. So we roll out the welcome wagon, throw on a leprechaun costume and bombard them with as much paddwhackery as a drunken ginger farmer on Saint Paddys day!

2. The Drink

We seem to love nothing better than showing them yanks how to drink, really drink! (Who says the Irish have a drinking problem, we drink, it's no problem!) The tales I could recount of lads who were down the pub and "drank them Americans under the table and over the counter" and were still able to walk home while those same Americans were on their way to A&E. It might help that we (legally speaking) have an extra three years of practice.

3. The Movies

There is no denying that we all love a great American action movie. Die Hard, Terminator, Fast and Furious...need I say more?

4. The Accent

Whether it is the really annoying version, or the version that makes you want to unbutton your pants. The American accents (It's plural for a reason folks) are instantly recognisable. From the souther drawl to the New "Yoik" swagger, we all turn our heads when we hear it. (Unless of course we are IN America in which case we would get a crick from constantly turning...)

5. The Celebrities

Nobody does fame like the Americans, and we love famous Americans! If Enda Kenny walked down the street nobody would blink an eye, but if Eminem took a stroll to the shops or went for a pint in the local, their would be women fainting within a 2 mile radius and men rushing to be the first to buy him said pint.

How the hell am I gonna get served?

6. We hope they will turn out to be a secret agent

Is it just me that has a slight hope that when we meet an American that they are going to whisk us away on an epic crime-fighting adventure and turn us into the next CIA superspy? No? Just me then?


If you like this post, please help me out by voting for one of my previous posts here. I would really appreciate it!

4 Simple ways to avoid Ryanair charges

Following on from my previous post about why Channel 4 was wrong to attack Ryanair on its Dispatches programme, I decided I should give you my tips for avoiding the airlines various ad-on charges.

We have all heard about the infamous Ryanair excess charges, boarding pass fees etc. But you need not worry, there are some very simple steps you can take to ensure you do not have to pay anything extra. So take the time to read this list and make sure you avoid those dreaded charges.

1. Travel insurance

When initially booking your flight, an option for travel insurance will pop-up, and you cannot move forward until you have selected "your nationality". Most people assume that this is just to re-confirm their nationality, it does in fact charge you for insurance if you select your nationality, be it Irish, Spanish etc. You need to select the "Travel without insure" option to avoid adding the charge to your flight.

2. Print your Boarding pass

I can't tell you how many times I have been at the airport and people witnessed arguing fiercely about this! Ryanair state very clearly that you must print your boarding pass BEFORE you travel. If you don't you are liable to re-printing charges at the airport. So either print it out at home, or get a friend to do it. You have two weeks before your flight to do it, and for the love of God please don't leave it at home on the day of your flight!

3. Priority Boarding

I still don't see why people pay for priority boarding (unless you have a small child and need to get a specific seat). The plane will not be overbooked with Ryanair. And regardless of whether or not you get on the plane before everyone else, you are going to be in the same seat as them. The only difference, the people who get on after you didn't pay for the "privilege" of being first on. So save your money, and don't bother with it!

4. The Cabin Bag

This is the one that seems to catch most people out. Ryanair have very specific measurements for cabin bag allowance. As quoted from the Ryanair website "Strictly one item of cabin baggage per passenger (excluding infants) weighing up to 10kg with maximum dimensions of 55cm x 40cm x 20cm is permitted. (handbag, briefcase, laptop, shop purchases, camera etc.) must be carried in your 1 permitted piece of cabin baggage."

So make sure you measure and weigh your bag before you leave the house! And make sure you do not fall to the wrath of the bag checking apparatus! Make sure you wear the heaviest clothes on the day of travel so as to keep the weight of the bag down!I hope this list has helped, happy travels!

Blog Awards Ireland 2013

Hey everybody!

This is just a short post to let you know that I have been nominated in two Categories for the "Blog Awards Ireland 2013".  Those categories are, "Best Personal Blog" and "Best Newcomer". Thank you so much to all who nominated me! I am truly honoured to have even been nominated, whether or not I get any further in the awards process.

I would also like to give a hat-tip to my fellow bloggers, Erika Fox of Retro-Flame.ie and OntheQt.ie (who I was also honoured to write a guest blog for).

The full list of nominees can be seen here.

Thank you again, and best of luck to all my fellow nominees!

3 Reasons why Channels 4's attack on Ryanair was wrong

I am not one to usually defend Ryanair, in most cases I am quite critical of them, but in this particular case they have been unfairly criticised.

1. Ryanair comply with all safety regulations
Despite implications that Ryanair are risking passenger safety by carrying "just enough" fuel. Ryanair has an impeccable safety record and must comply with the safety regulations of all relevant authorities. Said authorities also investigate the airline regularly to make sure they are up to scratch, and so far no concerns over safety have risen.

2. They do their best to be economical

As Mr. O'Leary has stated today, Ryanair does not want "boy racers" flying their planes. In other words, he wants his pilots to fly, slow and smooth so as to be both economical and environmentally friendly.

And let's face it, they do a damned good job of it too. There is no need for them to be filling their tanks to the brim.







3. Channel 4 omitted some vital information.

According to "thejournal.ie" the IAA informed Channel 4 that Ryanairs safety is on a par with every other Airline, not just the average but the safest. As well as omitting this vital piece of information, Channel 4 said that 3 planes were diverted due to fuel emergencies, this was out of over 1 million flights so clearly these fuel emergencies are the exception, not the norm.