Thankful

It’s been eight years since I’ve observed Thanksgiving, the US national holiday celebrating the Pilgrims’ arrival to the New World. Even when I lived here as a kid, my Irish parents were pretty skeptical about any holiday requiring Turkey that’s NOT Christmas – so the traditional celebrations were pretty few and far between. This year was different.

Following a restful night’s sleep at the Westin Hotel Time Square (the comfiest beds in the world FYI) we got up bright and early to head to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. The parade is a New York tradition spanning back to 1924, making it one of the oldest Thanksgiving parades in the country! Interestingly, the parade was started by Macy’s employees who were immigrants from Europe and longed to celebrate their new lives in America with the type of festival they would have had back home. They marched from Harlem through the city to the Macy’s flagship store on 34th street, dressed in costumes and leading live animals from the Central Park Zoo! Eventually the animals were replaced by giant animal shaped balloons and thus the parade’s famous cartoon balloons were born.

On Thanksgiving morning everyone watches the parade on TV (..unless you’re too hungover – the night before is one of the biggest party nights of the year!). It always reminds me of the movie “Miracle on 34th Street” where the big department store is looking to hire Santa for their parade and get the REAL Santa by accident.

Anyway, I digress! We were fortunate enough to have TICKETS to the parade this year. Before last week I didn’t even know they issued tickets. They’re usually just for Macy’s employees and relatives of the parade performers – but somehow we landed a few for the grandstand seats. Normally you’d have to queue up all morning to get a prime viewing spot.

Sitting along Central Park West freezing our behinds off, we couldn’t help but gaze longingly into the windows of the luxurious condos across the street. Each window was filled with families all ready to watch the annual parade from the comfort of their New York City home.

As first time parade go-ers were were perhaps slightly over-excited at times. For example, when the Sesame Street Float went by, myself and Lynsday couldn’t help but scream “BIG BIRD”! To us, he was Justin Bieber. 

We laughed at the silly clowns, clapped along to the marching bands from all over the country and oohed and ahhed at the fantastic balloons idling down the street, controlled by teams of handlers. We loved Spiderman, Spongebob and Sonic the most. In my opinion, the best part of the parade is seeing Santa and Mrs. Claus come through – which signals the start of the Christmas season! It’s almost a crime to walk away without seeing that happen!

I had a quick chat with 4fm’s Gareth O’Callaghan live from the parade – have a listen: 

The day was capped off with a Thanksgiving feast at my brother-in-law’s family’s house, where twenty of us chowed down on turkey, sweet potatoes, vegetables and an array of pies! sigh…what an excellent way to celebrate how thankful I am to be here. 

Disney World for History Buffs

New York Museums have a treasure trove of original and beautiful items in their exhibitions – and the newly reopened New York Historical Society Museum is no different. It’s New York’s oldest museum, pre-dating the Metropolitan Museum of Art by 70 years and it has just received a $70 million revamp.

Located adjacent to Central Park West and just across the street from the stately American Museum of Natural History, the Historical Society welcomes you with a life-size statue of Douglas Adams at one entrance and one of Abraham Lincoln at the other.

As you enter the building you come upon the Rotunda featuring beautiful art installations, as well as original New York artifacts from the Revolutionary Period and also from 9/11. For example, the Rotunda displays the original chair George Washington used at his Inauguration and the dueling pistols used by Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr. The history buff in me almost fell over!

Additionally, there are large interactive screens showing the collection and explaining each piece in a large, bright text. The screens were extremely easy to use and much better than crouching in to see the tiny descriptions next to the exhibits. The 9/11 collection shows a small portion of the Museum’s photographs from the day.

Also on display on the ground floor is an exhibit called “Making American Taste” which has a collection of beautiful paintings that shaped 19th Century American culture. There is everything from European style religious paintings to depictions of life on an American farm. The centerpiece is Louis Lang’s enormous painting, The Return of the 69th (Irish) Regiment, which greets you as you walk in. You don’t need to know anything about art to appreciate these works, they’re extremely accessible and the collection doesn’t overwhelm you with it’s size.

On the 4th floor, the Museum has a Luce Center (there is one at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and at Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington) where visitors call see over 40,000 objects from the permanent collection displayed. There are paintings, furniture, silverware and much more to see here! Some of the more notable items include a set of chairs – one from Marie Antoinette’s boudoir and another from Napoleon’s – side by side. The Luce Center also boasts the world’s largest collection of original Tiffany Lamps and a full sized carriage that would have carried New York’s elite in the 18th Century.

During our time at the Museum, we were guided by a very well informed Docent and she really added to the experience for me. The only downside was that she wasn’t great with the microphone and we struggled to hear her at times. I’d be reluctant to do a self-guided tour of this Museum the first time there, probably because there are so many exquisite items on show. I would have had no idea which were the more impressive artifacts and art works! The Docent did a really great job of pointing out the collections’ highlights.

Every half hour there is an 18 minute film shown in their state of the art auditorium. The film documents the history of New York City through a multimedia experience with surround sound, theatrical lighting and effects. Unfortunately, our group missed the last showing of it (poor planning on the part of the tour’s organizers!) I think it’s something that visitors, especially New Yorkers would really enjoy.

There is also a brand new Children’s History Museum located in the basement, which I would have absolutely adored as a child.

As far as future exhibitions go – two of them caught my attention. One is called Stories in Sterling and will display the Museum’s silver collection along with the items’ backstories. Visitors will hear of the wealthy New York husbands that commissioned the likes of Tiffany to create silver collections for their wives. The pieces are beautiful and the stories are very interesting from the small taste I got!

Another will open in November 2012 and is called “New York and World War II” and will explore the effect the War had on this city. One of the pieces in this exhibit will be Irving Boyer’s, Prospect Park, ca. 1942–1944 which we got to see on our tour.

The restaurant the Museum houses will open later this year (it was under construction as we were touring) and is called Caffe Storico (Italian for “historic”). Another project of Stephen Starr (the man behind Buddakan and Morimoto), this casual dining experience is sure to be delicious! It’ll stay open after the Museum has closed to cater for New York diners as well as Museum go-ers.

In conclusion, the New York Historical Society Museum is beautifully laid out, accessible and has some extremely interesting historic and artistic pieces. I especially love how New York-centric it is. A lot of the exhibits really celebrate the great history of New York and it is sure to impress city natives and tourists alike. I would suggest a guided tour or an audio tour to get the full experience.

All information, including ticket prices can be found at: nyhistory.org. They also have an iPhone App with a guide to the exhibits and some very interesting videos by the curators, found here.

Coffee & TV

So what have I been doing in New York? Forming new bad habits, that’s what!

For as long as I can remember I’ve been a hardcore tea drinker. And none of this fancy blackcurrant mint tea! My poison of choice is the regular Lyons/Barrys variety, strong-ish with plenty of milk. At first I was a two sugars girl. Then this was brought down to one sugar and earlier this year I got rid of the sugar all together. I figured if I was going to drink five or six cups a day, this was necessary to preserve my teeth. See what I mean? Hardcore.

It got to the point of obsession actually and during my masters I produced a radio documentary called What Would You Say to a Cup? Coffee vs. Tea. The piece included a round table discussion with some fellow tea addicts on where the practice came from and why drinking tea is so amazing. It’s hilarious listening because the conversation is so serious and the topic is utterly ridiculous!

Americans like tea. Hell, they even launched a fairly historic protest about the price of it back in the 1700s! But here in the US tea totally takes a back seat to the proclaimed king of the cup – Coffee. Pss! Friends wasn’t lying. It’s really like that.

Yesterday I gave in to the societal pressure and reluctantly entered Starbucks. Now, I’m well aware that Starbucks isn’t the “best” cup out there but it’s by far the most accessible. It’s also always packed – even though there are TWO outlets on the same level in Penn Station. So that has to count for something right?!

Anytime I’ve tried coffee, I’ve had to load it up with sugar to disguise the taste, but that’s got to be cheating right? So I made a mental note to take the drink like a man. 

I looked up at the menu and my initial thoughts were: “Crap crap! I can’t remember what all these things mean! Do I want a mocha? A macchiato? A frappachino? What the hell is a Venti? Oh god, there are the calorie counts. I bet there aren’t as many calories in tea!” 

Then I started thinking about this: 

And this: 

The nice Starbucks employee interrupted my manic stream of consciousness and youtube references and said “M’am? What can I get you today?” FROZEN. “Um…m’am?” STILL FROZEN. “Are you still looking at the menu?” One word came from my lips. “Mocha” I squeaked. “Tall?” I half asked. And the coffee making process began.

I couldn’t help thinking that I was about to waste almost five dollars on some sort of coffee concoction that I was not going to like. And then I noticed the chocolate. They were putting chocolate in with the coffee! So THATS what a Mocha is. So THATS why there were so many calories!

I left Starbucks sipping my chocolatey caffeinated hot drink definitely a satisfied customer.

I couldn’t help but think that the Mocha is obviously a gateway drink to future hard coffee usage. I guess I’m doomed.

Here’s a hilarious and informative little guide courtesy of The Oatmeal: http://theoatmeal.com/comics/coffee

Heroic NYC by Water Taxi

New York is the kind of city that always surprises me. In fact, it almost overwhelms me with the sheer volume of new and interesting things to do! A lot of people who live here don’t even take advantage of the great seasonal events, shows, museums and tours that are on offer 365 days a year. Many assume these things are just for tourists, but I think if they did a bit of research they’d find that living in one of the most exciting cities in the world is pretty pointless if you don’t experience it to the fullest. And just because you’re a New Yorker – doesn’t mean there isn’t more for you to learn and love.

When I’m not doing journalism-type activities, I work in the travel business and as a result am lucky enough to see some of the best attractions up close and personal. This week I attended an event that took me from the USS Intrepid to the brand new 9/11 Memorial by Water Taxi. Here’s what I thought:

Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum

I have to admit that I knew very little about the U.S.S Intrepid before I visited the museum. In a stereotypical way, I had these pre-conceived notions of it being a “boys place” with big ships, planes and guns. However, once our tour guide Daniel started to show us around, my opinion completely flipped. The Intrepid Museum is for anyone with a passion for history and a love of fascinating machines. Daniel only had a short period of time to squeeze in a lot – but I’ve never seen a guide with so much enthusiasm for his subject! He was constantly sharing little known facts about US naval history and making the huge amount of information he had extremely accessible to our small group.

The museum space is set out in an attractive way with plenty of places to sit and take everything in. It also has lots of different interactive exhibits including a 4D experience! In addition the museum has a British Concorde plane and is soon to be home to a US Space Shuttle.

One thing I learned was that the U.S.S Intrepid is still vital to the US military. Directly following the September 11th attacks, the aircraft carrier was called back into duty and became the base of the FBI in New York as it carried it out its counter terrorism operations.

At $24.00 for adults and either $12.00 or $19.00 for kids (depending on their age) the price tag is a bit steep. But you could easily spend several hours in this museum and not tire of the educational, historical and heroic snapshot its gives.

For more info see: http://www.intrepidmuseum.org/

The NY Water Taxi

I’m no stranger to the NY Water Taxi and spent a whole summer ferrying large groups of senior citizens on and off these boats! I can therefore vouch for my experience on more than one occasion. But in a city where quick and easy transportation is king – these boats sure do come in handy!

We were ferried from the U.S.S Intrepid Museum down along the Hudson river, which allows you to take in every facet of the New York skyline in all it’s glory! There is no better way to check out the city than from the top deck of a boat with the breeze in your hair. Especially when you compare the experience to a cramped, dark and sweaty subway carriage. It took us no time at all to reach the Brooklyn shore and the newly revamped Brooklyn Bridge Park for lunch.

We were then ferried back across the river to lower Manhattan and Battery Park. You can get a Hop on Hop Off day pass for $25.00 and see the city at your own pace. The NY Water Taxi docks at Pier 84, West 44th Street, Battery Park Slip 6, Pier 17, South Street Seaport and Fulton Ferry Landing, DUMBO.

And now, the Water Taxi has partnered with the new 9/11 Memorial offering passes and packages on its website: http://www.nywatertaxi.com/

9/11 Memorial

It’s hard to believe that ten years have passed since the attacks on September 11th, 2001 but sure enough, time has flown by and a
few weeks ago the 9/11 memorial opened to the public. As someone who was in New York on that fateful day ten years ago, I was eager to see what kind of tribute would be put in place and I can tell you, I was not disappointed.

Passes to the memorial are available from its website http://www.911memorial.org/ (or the water taxi website above) and are issued in timed intervals. This system works really well and once you’re there on time with your pass you should have no problems. Lines moved quickly and security went very smoothly despite the huge numbers of people going through the metal detectors. Once in side the Memorial itself I was surprised at how open and airy it was. There weren’t too many people crowded into one space and this left each person more than enough room to breathe and thus take a moment to reflect.

The two pools of water located on the original Twin Towers sites are breath taking. Cool waters flow from all around square imprints where the towers once stood and are surrounded by engravings of the victims’ names. The metal surrounding the giant pools is such that it will always be cool, even on the hottest New York day. Also visible from the sight is the Freedom Tower – currently under construction and only at half it’s final height.

While we were making our visit, we were overwhelmed by the respect ordinary visitors showed to the FDNY, NYPD and military officers who also attended. It is truly a touching and fitting tribute to what happened that day.

This is sure to be one of the most visited tourist attractions on the planet – especially when the 9/11 Memorial Museum opens up next year. Passes for the site are free (but a donation is suggested) and must be reserved in advance. Definitely put this one on your to-do list.

The Butterfly Effect

The following is my Stage 2 Toastmasters speech. Although I gave it awhile ago, and I have written a similar post to this before, I felt it was an important addition to my blog this weekend. Now that I’m back in New York, the story I’m telling below is just one of millions. Here each and every person has a searing memory of that day. This is mine:

When a butterfly flaps its wings in Brazil, does it cause a tornado inTexas? Have you ever examined the decisions and actions that were outside your control but that somehow changed your life forever? Could you pinpoint it to just one day? To one hour? To an instant?…. I can.

The day started like any other – except it was summer reading test day. The bane of every High School student. Each summer we were assigned a couple of novels to read and on the second day back, we were quizzed. The air was warm and the sun was shining as I left the house for school that morning. The weather was so glorious that I wore knee highs with my uniform and didn’t bother with a jacket. I allowed the usual bus to pass me by as I met my friend Tara and we walked the whole twenty blocks – a feat reserved for only the nicest days.

At 8:30am the bell rang and I sat down to the test. I scrawled the date across the top of the page – it said: September 11th, 2001.

Fifteen minutes into the test, the first announcement came over the school PA.

BING BONG Attention students, will those of you with parents working at the World Trade Centre please report immediately to the general office. Thank You.

Not one girl looked up from her test.

Another twenty minutes passed then another announcement from Father Collins came over the PA.

BING BONG. Attention girls, I’m not sure how to report this…. but two commercial airplanes have hit the Twin Towers. Would anyone with parents or family working in the area please report to the general office immediately.

It’s hard to imagine ignoring something like that. But we did. When something that unimaginable happens – your brain probably doesn’t know how to process the information. It’s like reading a word that you don’t know the definition of – you simply skip it and move on to the next one. But reality was about to hit.

The silence of the classroom was broken by the bell for second period and as soon as the door opened, I knew something was seriously wrong. Cell phones were banned in school, yet every girl was on one. There were tear stained faces everywhere I looked – including my friend Tara who’s aunt worked in one of the towers. We hurried to the general office and even though it was complete chaos, one kind secretary let us use the phone to call Tara’s mum. Her aunt, she told us was absolutely fine and had gotten stuck in heavy traffic on the way to work. As she was describing the sequence of events, we still couldn’t visualise what had happened – and then Tara’s mum stopped. She stopped dead in her tracks and gasped. One of the towers had fallen…we couldn’t believe it – but it had completely collapsed.

The rest of the school day was like trying to piece together a puzzle while blind. We had no TVs and the radios were all going haywire. Teachers tried to continue with classes, but we all had so many questions that they couldn’t answer. Soon, parents started collecting their daughters one by one and there was no point in keeping school open – so we were sent home.

I should probably explain that I lived in Brooklyn – right across the river from Manhattan. It was far enough away that I couldn’t see the buildings, but close enough that all the cars in the area were covered in ash, like a dull grey snowfall. I can still vividly remember the smell of burning.

I took the bus home – which is normally packed and loud…but that day it was strangely silent. I hopped off at 79th street, not quite knowing what I’d find at home. My Mum would be at work – but my Dad had been planning a trip to Manhattan that morning.

When I got into the house, I called out but there was no answer. The place was empty and I did what anyone would do in a silent house and turned on the TV for a bit of company. What confronted me still makes me feel nauseous almost ten years later. It was a shot of the towers and all of a sudden, a plane crashed through the middle of the building heading straight towards the camera. Finally my brain had something to make sense of and the only thing I could do was cry. As I sat there, not really knowing what to think – my parents arrived home with a week’s worth of shopping. My Dad had been just about to leave for the city when the first plane hit.

The rest of the day was spent glued to the television and receiving worried phone calls from family in Ireland. I don’t remember the exact details as they unfolded. But one image has stuck with me for all these years; the hundreds of people who jumped from the towers, desperate to escape the flames. It was more like a disaster film that life.

After that day, things were very different in New York. People were kinder to their neighbours. There was a greater sense of patriotism. At first the city was angry, broken and scared, but after awhile there was a great sense of determination and strength.

That day shook me to the core for a number of reasons, but most importantly, it was the day my parents decided to leave New York and go home. The city we called home wasn’t safe anymore and my world was turned upside down. It meant a brand new life back in Ireland with new friends, a new school and a complete culture shock. When those hijackers got on those planes, they set off a butterfly effect that changed the lives of millions. For me it meant moving country, for others it meant coping with the loss of a loved one, moving career because their office was destroyed or changing their vote.

If those planes had never taken off, would I be in Ireland today?

If a butterfly flaps it’s wings in Brazil, does it cause a tornado in Texas?

Come on Irene: and other freakish weather

To say that a lot has happened in the last couple of weeks is putting it lightly. Since I last posted, I have left Ireland, my family, my job, my friends and journeyed to beautiful, sunny Long Island, New York. Why did I make the leap? Well that’s another blog post entirely. 

I’ve been in New York (“my home away from home” really) for just over two weeks and it has been a whirlwind. Literally.

Earthquakes and hurricanes are two things that are generally quite low on New Yorkers lists of things to worry about; and yet both have happened since I arrived. Let’s just hope that’s a big coincidence!

The earthquake was the first bizarre occurrence. I was at home, working on a project, minding my own business when I heard a rattling sound. I went over to inspect the wine rack, which was trembling slightly and I could not, for the life of me figure out why. Next I hear my sister upstairs screaming “is that a tremor?” No. It couldn’t be. This isn’t California, we just don’t have extreme weather here in New York. Unless you count the snow, but we can handle that! Now that I thought about it, I did feel kind of dizzy. Once the sensation had passed I checked twitter and sure enough, everyone was chatting about an earthquake in Virginia that could be felt all the way up to Toronto. Now, if that’s not freak weather, I don’t know what is!

I spoke to several New Yorkers about the quake. Some thought it was extremely cool, and others (perhaps the more dramatic among them) seemed genuinely worried. One of my friends thought it was just coming up to lunchtime and that her stomach was rumbling! Here’s an idea of what people thought:

And just when I thought that we were done with freakish weather on the east coast, along comes Hurricane Irene. The warnings began early, but because hurricanes happen every summer and usually taper off before they get anywhere near the tri-state area, I largely ignored them. It wasn’t until Mayor Bloomberg outlined a possible evacuation plan (the first mandatory strategy of its kind) that I sat up and took notice. Even more extreme was the complete shut-down of New York’s mass transit system. This sort of plan was completely unprecedented and frankly not something I could even contemplate.

Here’s a clip of me speaking to Jonathan Healy on Newstalk’s Lunchtime Programme…

The weekend of the storm was terrifying to be honest. We spent most of Saturday in this pre-storm haze of news reports and weather maps. Outdoor furniture was tied down, local businesses were boarded up and sandbagged and we were instructed to have a “go-bag” of essentials ready should be have to leave the house in a hurry. Our biggest worry in Nassau County was the perils of falling trees. Last March, during a particularly violent storm, a tree fell on top of the house next door to us – crashing through a teenager’s bedroom. I wasn’t taking any chances and slept on the couch.

As we went to bed, begrudgingly, we could hear things flying around outside and the wind and rain seriously picking up. Around 2:30am, our power blew – which really freaked everyone out. We all fell asleep and when we woke up the next morning, we creeped outside to see what the damage had been.

Thankfully, as we slept the hurricane was downgraded to a Tropical Storm and although it caused havoc for electricity users, the structural damage to the houses in my neighborhood was pretty tame. We spent most of the day cleaning up minor branches and leaves from around the house and garden.

Although we definitely got off lightly after Irene, we then faced FOUR DAYS of no electricity and considering that an office (with several employees) is based here – that was a problem. We carried flashlights around to go to the bathroom. Everything in the fridge had to be disposed of and most noticeably, we had no hot showers or air conditioning. We did manage to acquire a small generator to run the phones in the office – but when the electricity did come back on, I’ve never seen a happier group of people!

So, a tumultuous first two weeks here in NY. Hopefully it continues to be this exciting!

Hello, Friend.

It used to be relatively simple. You asked, Can I borrow your crayons? They said Yes or No and you knew where you stood, within the first five minutes of starting a conversation.

If you were athletic, there were your teammates – all those practices together had to count for something right? Plus, there’s bonding over a championship win or commiserating over a catastrophic defeat.

Making a new friend is just not as straight forward when you’re an adult. In fact it’s a whole lot more frightening. But maybe it doesn’t have to be.  

I was always the “new kid” in school because we moved around as a family, a lot. Being new lent itself to curious stares and questions from classmates. They asked who I was and where I had come from – which at least got the friendship ball rolling. I was pretty much just a welcome disruption to the status quo of the school day but being new is actually a great way to pick up some new friends. This is especially true if you’ve travelled from a different country and have a strange accent – both of which I can claim.

When I was seven, we moved to Brooklyn from Ireland. I was so new and different that my Mum was amused to hear American parents whisper in the school yard, Look at the little Irish girl. Isn’t she so pale? One day, the curiosity of one of my classmates got the better of her and she convinced her grandmother to follow me home so she could see which house I lived in. That little girl is still one of my best friends to this day. See what I mean about making friends as a kid? Imagine if someone did that as an adult?! Stalker.

The procedure in college is relatively easy too. You bond during orientation and everyone is fresh, new and ready to embark on this three or four year adventure. If you live on campus, your fellow students become like your family; friends for life, surely. At DCU, I was heavily involved in societies and was an active DCU Drama member. Doing an extra curricular activity is another great way to meet new people – and my Drama friends are still close.

But what happens when University finishes? Do people still continue to make new friends? Or do you just keep the old ones and hope that their new busy lives will allow them to cross paths on a regular basis?

Some claim that social networks are making keeping up with old friends easier and making the world a smaller place, but I’m not entirely convinced. I have some six hundred friends on facebook. SIX HUNDRED! How many do I engage in conversations with? Roughly twenty. How many do I just facebook perv on? Maybe fifty. How many do I never hear from? Oh too many to count. And even worse, how many of my facebook friends would I stop to talk to in the street? Embarrassingly, too few.

Facebook doesn’t necessarily cement a friendship; it just gives you lots of information about people. Sometimes so much information that you no longer need to ask your friends about their holiday because you’ve already seen the photos and read the status updates. Done job. 

I suppose there are new friends to made when you eventually grow up and get a job. But with so many of us unemployed, how do we fare on that front? When you are temping or working freelance, this can be just as tough. Just when you join a team – you’re moving on to a whole new role. Good thing you’ve added the first team on facebook and can now perv on their photos to your heart’s content!  

Even though I’m giving social networks a hard time here, I do have to admit that the internet has a role to play in facilitating new friendships. For example, the small community of Irish bloggers – people from different places and walks of life – come together online in mutual appreciation of each other’s work.

I experienced something like this recently. A few years back someone left a nice comment here and it turned out we had mutual friends from college but never met. Now we work in similar circles and interact through twitter and facebook all the time. All that was left to do was meet for lunch! And that’s how I met the lovely Aisling over at Think What You Like.

Later that night I told my house mates that I had made a few friend today. They looked at me like I had six heads.

As much as I love my long time friends and believe me, they are scatted across the globe and are great at keeping in touch, I really believe it’s important to engage (in real life) with new humans.

Now there’s a new summer goal for me: make one new friend before September. Any takers?

Up, up and away…

J.R.R Tolkien once wrote, “Not all those who wander are lost”.

What a fantastic quote! In fact, it pretty much sums up the last twenty four (oh god, almost 25!) years of my life. I’ve never been able to stay in the same place for long and like many of my friends and peers, I have vowed to see as much of the world as possible.

It is with this in mind that I launch the following little project:

I’ve been lucky enough to see a few new places so far this summer and have plans to see a few more before September. They may not be the hottest places to head on your summer holidays – but I’ll be giving an honest account of my experiences and who knows, you may even pick up a few tips!

Plus, if you’re trying to decide between a foreign jaunt in the sun or a staycation recession style – I’m giving both a whirl!

So, strategically pack your suit case, grab your guide book and enjoy the first installment!

*****

Paris: the spectacular city of lights and one of the most romantic places on the planet. It conjures images of beautiful little cobblestone lanes, grand palaces, impressive landmarks, smells of fresh baked pastries and tastes of fine wine. Unfortunately it’s also frequently ranked as one of the most expensive cities to visit.

So, how can you take in all that Paris has to offer if you’re short on cash and time?  

In this era of super cheap travel, getting to Paris and back can cost very little and if you’re willing to put in a little extra energy and plan in advance it is excellent value.

The idea for “24 Hours in Paris” started when a friend of my boyfriend said that he travels back and forth to Spain every couple of months to buy these cigars that he just loves. Sounds excessive right? But actually, he just goes over and back for the day on a Ryanair flight that ends up costing less than €50. For a tiny price he gets to soak up some Spanish culture (and possibly some sun) and be back at his desk for work the next morning.

We wondered if we could do the same thing with Paris and so the challenge was extended and accepted. 

The advantages were clear: very cheap with no accommodation to book, just one day off work, no packing to do (just bring a handbag!) and the luxury of reading a city’s first impressions!

We looked at flights and realised that Tuesdays and Thursdays were the best times for a one day trip – where your departing flight is very early in the morning and you arrive back in Dublin at the latest possible time that same evening. All together we spent €47.98 each on flights to and from Beauvais airport including check-in, taxes and charges.

Not including air travel and getting in and out of Paris city centre by bus, we had roughly nine hours on holiday – and we didn’t want to waste time. This is where extreme planning skills really come into play. We made a big list of things to see and do in Paris and then brutally crossed off anything superfluous. There were lots of joint decisions and plenty of compromises, but we ended up with a pretty solid itinerary with options and back-ups for the day.

It may be tacky and touristy, but hopping on an open topped bus is one of the best ways to acquaint yourself with a new city and this was the natural place for us to start. For just €26 each, we could hop on and off at the main attractions for the entire day. Included in the price was a pair of headphones to take in the commentary – but it’s totally acceptable to enjoy the tour without this. From the top deck of the bus we took in the Lourve, the Eiffle Tower, Mont Marte, Champ de Mars, Musée d’ Orsay, and much more. Our tummies began to rumble at the Notre Dam stop and we decided to disembark in favour of some lunch.

In Paris, you’re truly spoiled for choice when it comes to restaurants and cafes. We chose one on the corner of a quiet boulevard with a pretty basic menu, chatty waiters and white table cloths. To get a French perspective, we asked the waiter to select a red wine for us and we had a lovely slow paced meal in the sunshine. Parisienne cafes are also a great place to people-watch – with everyone from tourists, to businessmen stopping by for a bite.

When we were full to the brim, we decided to walk it off along the Sienne. We passed boats of all kinds and locals lazed, dangling their legs over the side of the river having a sandwich or a cup of coffee.

No trip to Paris is complete without running into a protest! We bumped into quite a large one, being contained by French police. It took us some time to figure out what was going on – but a very kind French journalist explained that the Judiciary of Paris were looking for more money and had taken to the street in their wigs! It’s not unusual to see a protest on the streets of France – I guess the revolutionary spirit of liberty, equality and fraternity still exists with the French!

Our next stop was the famous Lourve for a spot of culture. Unfortunately, the museum is closed on Tuesdays (one downfall of booking a flight on this day) and so we had to be content with wandering the fabulous grounds – rich in both art and history themselves. We examined the glass pyramid up close and personal and took a pit stop at a cafe in the square with another glass or two of wine.

One of our great debates on the trip was whether or not to climb the La Tour Eiffle – the quintessential tourist stop. Due to our short day, we decided not to waste time queueing but to view it from the open topped bus. We opted instead to climb the beautiful Arc de Triomphe at the western end of the Champs-Élysées. Standing at a height of 50m the Arc is no easy climb – especially since there is no lift and the 300 steps wind in a tight spiral. The trek is definitely worth it though, as the view is phenomenal and Paris stretches out from every angle.

After a stroll down the glamourous Champs-Élysées we were ready for some classic French crepes before finishing our day with a locally produced glass of beer.

At 7pm, we reluctantly boarded the bus back to Beauvais airport for the flight home. Although the airport is very basic, there is a fantastic little pizzeria there with the most delicious thin crust pies – the ideal way to top off your quick European break! 

So what was our verdict?

The day was packed to the brim with Parisienne delights and the places we saw, the people we met and the food we devoured really cancelled out all the hassle involved in getting there. But, at the end of the day, we were wrecked. If you’re energetic and up for an adventure, this could be just the break for you – but if you hate trading comfort for value, then maybe plan a longer stay.

Summer ’11

No pressure now Summer 2011,

you’ve got some lofty heights to live up to…

Summer 2010

Croatia

Vegas

New York

London

Stevie Wonder

 Summer 2011

* Sunny Beach, Bulgaria *

*Killarney, Co. Kerry*

*Prince at Malahide Castle*

Suddenly Susan Sets Forth..

Coming Soon

Radio: Because Sometimes Pictures Need a Thousand Words…

I gave my stage 3 speech at Vox Populi Toastmasters last week and I’m so delighted to have it over and done with! 

I really struggled to come up with a topic for the speech – and the objectives of this particular project were to present a general and specific purpose. I kept putting off Radio as a topic because it’s something I do every day of the week and I thought – People won’t be interested in that! But once I wrote the speech and stood up at the top of the room, I realised that most people don’t think about Radio in this way. 

So without further ado – my stage 3 speech…

Sitting on a shelf or in a car dashboard, it’s merely a box full of wires and silicon chips. It may not look handsome, or technologically advanced and its outward appearance fails to portray the magic it contains. But the radio is clearly one of the most ingenious devices ever created.

Radio holds a special significance for us here in Ireland. The first Irish radio broadcast didn’t take place in an RTE studio – oh no – it happened during the 1916 Rising when the rebels broadcast a call to arms from the General Post Office. You see, radio was actually used as a nationalist tool, not just for propaganda but also to distinguish us from UK  in News, Sport, Language and Music. In fact, the first legal station in Ireland began broadcasting in 1926 and was called 2RN, named after the song, “Come back to Erin”. This station eventually became RTE Radio One. In 2006, RTE Radio One celebrated 80 years of continuous public service broadcasting – making it one of the oldest stations in Europe. In 2011 a whopping 85% of us are listening to a wide range of national, regional and local stations on any given day.

So, in an age where technology is advancing at a startling rate – how is the radio still thriving? I’ll tell you how – its continuously available. You can hear it anywhere you like – at home, in the car, in work, in a shop, in a cafe, on the internet or on your phone. And you can listen to it while showering, driving, shopping or flicking through a newspaper. It’s also a medium that allows for dipping in and out with constant updates and continuous playlists. Why would you turn to any other media? It’s been well documented that Television is bad for us – so if you could drag yourself away from that flickering screen – I’m going to outline why Radio is a much better choice.

First off, it’s the only form of mass broadcasting that speaks to ONE PERSON – you. In fact, one of the first things you learn as a radio presenter is never to address your listeners as a group or refer to them as “all of you”, “you listeners” or “the audience”. Instead, presenters connect with us on an intimate level by saying “Hello and welcome to the programme, I hope you’re well” or “We’d love to hear from you – text us now on 55555”.  It is the presenters JOB to bond with the listener. Studies actually show that listening to the radio is usually a solitary activity – and that people think of presenters as undemanding friends who are there for company but don’t need complete and utter attention. There are many examples of this kind of personality in Ireland – including Gay Byrne and the late Gerry Ryan, both of whom commanded an extremely loyal following. Oh it tries…but Television just doesn’t have that level of intimacy.

Radio deserves the top spot because it gives listeners access to up to the minute information. There’s no waiting for the lighting to be right, getting a presenter to makeup or setting up a camera – with radio – once that red light comes on you’re live and breaking news can reach your listeners first. Even with social networking sites developing at breakneck speed – radio has become a point of confirmation and analysis. Take for example the death of Osama bin Laden last week. Millions of people read the news on Twitter but a great deal of those people then went to their radios for confirmation and conversations on the topic.

I’ll give you another example, I was working for Tom McGurk’s show on 4fm during the Eamon Lillis Trial. Lillis was accused of murdering his wife Celine Cawley and the jury weren’t due to return a verdict until Monday. It was Friday evening and only a skeleton staff were running the station. Luckily I was glued to twitter. A journalist in the courtroom tweeted “Verdict coming NOW” at 5 minutes to 6. Even our news desk was shocked! The next tweet said “Manslaughter 10 votes to 2” and after confirming with a courts correspondent we were the first station to broadcast the result. Television doesn’t broadcast news bulletins on the hour or half hour – for up to date information – radio is your medium!

Another way that radio trumps TV is that it is extremely responsive to listeners. YOU CALL IT ANSWERS. Theres a feeling that if you call the radio station – the presenter will answer (and in some cases that happens!) Just look at phone-in shows like Liveline – which has 404,000 listeners! There’s a great sense that if you Talk to Joe on the radio your problems will be solved.

I experienced this first hand working on Newstalk’s Tom Dunne Show recently. A man text in to say that his father had died and that he had wanted his ashes be spread at Cheltenham during race week. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to make it over to the UK. So Tom put the call out to listeners and sure enough – someone was kind enough to bring the ashes to Cheltenham and scatter them. Now, if that’s not responsive – I don’t know what is! There’s something less impromptu about Television – TV presenters may read texts, or they might scroll on the bottom of a screen – but it rarely brings people together like that.

Probably my favourite thing about Radio is it’s role as the ultimate storyteller. It can take the mundane and make it into something magnetic. When someone tells a story on the air, there’s a quality in their voice that gives you so much more information than if you were watching them on television. Also, you can’t see them – so you’re hooked into the piece wanting to know what comes next. This brings to mind the 1938 dramatic broadcast of War of the Worlds narrated by Orson Welles. The piece, broadcast on Halloween used a series of simulated news bulletins to dramatise an alien invasion on earth. Following the production, there was widespread panic as some listeners thought the invasion was real. If you haven’t heard it – google it – it is truly one of the great masterpieces of broadcasting. Other great radio storytelling can be found in National Public Radio’s This American Life programme – which is available to download as a podcast. The show takes all kinds of stories from the everyday to the sensational and brings them to life in short acts. When I listen to these stories, I cant help but react physically by laughing out loud or becoming visibly upset – they are truly inspiring.

So to hammer home my point: Radio IS the ultimate medium for news, sport, features, comedy, music and stories. Why watch television when the radio is so much more personal, responsive, instant and imaginative? I’d like to conclude with a quote: “Radio is for the mind, television is for the mindless”