Occupational Therapist since 1986, Case Manager since 1990, Author since 1993, Consultancy since 2001. Launched a blog from 2013, a podcast in 2014, and YouTube videos from 2017.
You have the whole of the Algarve to be soaking up rays in… so why bother taking the other direction out of the airport into the city?
For a start…the rays are here as well! No, not just on the other side of the track…
It’s got a genuine OldTown… not just something that’s about 30 years old, which the sun worshippers already consider to be uncool and out of date…
There’s a restaurant with a well in the middle of it that’s over a 1000 years old…
Your safety isn’t just guaranteed from falling down unexpected holes in your eating joint… it’s also a matter of 24-hour vigilant surveillance. With a nest like this, do you really think the occupant has any other intentions…
The food elsewhere may claim to come from the sea, but here, the smell of the sea leaps off your plate (believe it or not, there’s a salmonfilet residing beneath this roof of shells and veg!)…
The local residents are so chilled they can’t even raise the effort to flutter a few feathers…
And did I mention the much sort after rays can be found here as well. Why not take a boat out across the nature reserve to find beaches in the shadow of a 170 year old lighthouse…
Then, there’s the matter of the SmokeTiki. After a couple of these, your trusty correspondent struggled to remember what an Algarve was supposed to be used for… an implement for sun worshipping… possibly? Who needs the sun when your drink comes with a blow torch accompaniment, anyway?
Until we speak again, you’re welcome to go to everywhere else on the Algarve in search of your rays. Me, I’m not venturing far from Faro! Just maybe, those SmokeTiki misdemeanours are rendering movement a bit more restrictive!
If you’ve heard the saying… I diedandwenttoheaven… well, dying is no longer obligatory! The good news is that you just need to go to Portugal!
If proof of heaven were needed, then MensagemRooftopRestaurant in Lisbon puts forward an application based on a starter of VealCarpaccio with a Syrah red wine from the nearby Beira region…
Not yet convinced? Faro quickly steps up with a main of ArrozNegro (blackricewithcuttlefishink, andcrispysquid) accompanied by a robust Tomato & Roast Pepper Salad. The local Algarve wines provide an extremely dry white, aptly named ‘SoBlanc‘…
What do you mean, where’s the dessert? This is Portugal, where the best dessert is widely available throughout the day. PasteisdaNata are what Portugal was invented for, didn’t you know? Best taken with a proper cappuccino side…
Until we speak again, whatever your version of heaven is… I’m sticking with this one!
Say what you want about the diminished size of the BritishArmedForces. But, here in Cardiff docks, the Senedd Cymru (WelshParliament) is ensuring its own security against foreign invasion in this increasingly uncertain world.
Until we speak again, a special thanks go to the Spanish Armadasurplusstores for the loan of Galeon Andalucia. What, you thought the British Navy had anything more viable? 🤔🤣
Who’d have thought it back in the summer of 2013… as a cat deep in thought, pondered nothing but good intentions towards a swan on the canal beneath Chez Juno? Wind forward nearly 11 years, and the 500th post on Juno’sView has arrived.
How best to celebrate this milestone… when you just happen to find yourself in Dublin? As the previous post pondered… what are you going to do? Perhaps a quality control review of the city’s finest is in order… after all, it’s Guinness time!
First off, it’s TheStagsHead… and yes, that first pint really does hit the spot while surrounded by the trappings of a well-preserved Victorianpub.
Then there is TheBrazenHead… for some genuine history. It just happens to be the oldest pub in Ireland dating back to the 12th century and serves a cracking pint of the black and white stuff. What’s more, a traditionalIrishband seems to be celebrating the 500 with me!
Then a call into Darkey Kelly’s just happens to combine all that’s good about visiting Dublin, including tasty Irish beef stew and great music…
Don’t be flagging, as there’s a load more celebrating to be doing. Kehoe’s might just provide that much needed pint… in between pints!?
Not forgetting TheTempleBar… so good they named the whole neighbourhood after it…
If bands are a bit full-on at this stage, try TheAuld Dubliner for a Guinness with a solo guitarist/vocalist backing soundtrack…
And you lucky old soak, you, as there is only a few yards to stagger to TheOliver St JohnGogarty across the cobbles. You might even have a horse-drawn carriage waiting outside for you to finally be poured into as you head off into your drunken stupor!
And when you wake up the day after the day before, there’s always a visit to the Guinness Storehouse Brewery Museum itself as a reminder of why your head’s not feeling like it did 24 hours earlier! A fabulous educative tour across several floors culminating in that hair of the dog pint in the Gravity Bar… complete with a 360-degree view of all you’ve forgotten you did before!
Until we speak again, that quality control review is published in full as follows… Wow! Here’s to the next 500… wherever they may be. Juno may be long since passed, but Juno’sView continues!
Is that even a real question? Ask any random selection of pissheads… sorry, tourists, and you can be sure that none of the most familiar reasons for visiting will be liquidated. But is there anything that can seriously interrupt the flow?
Quenching that religious thirst that draws so many of us when on holiday is well served in this capital city of a Catholic country. Here, there are two cathedrals, neither of them Catholic in persuasion! However, both are very capitalist in nature. You don’t need to wrestle your conscience when staring at the donation box… you’ve already paid a compulsory admission fee to get anywhere near the box.
Christ Church Cathedral comes with a fully accessible crypt. It’s a great place for hiding that most worshipful of gift shops…
Half a mile away sits St Patrick’s Cathedral dedicated to a Welshman who possibly decided his own homeland wasn’t wet enough! Meanwhile, the organist clearly buys into the more regular reasons for visiting Dublin…
Apparently, the GeneralPostOffice was a site of much spillage back in the early 1900s… blood in particular. Once you’ve purchased your commemorative stamp in the cathedral-like main office, splash out some more dosh next door and educate yourself about the 1916 Easter Uprising, leading to Irishindependence from Britishrule.
Still got that need for surfing local history? On the north bank of the River Liffey, you really should set aside an emotional half day to learn more about the impact of the 1845-52Potato Famine. The EPIC Museum details mass emigration, as the national need to install the IrishPub into every other part of the world officially began. Further connection with the horrors of the day can be found in the statues making up the FamineMonument. Also, a must visit is the 45-minute guided tour of the Jeannie Johnson tall ship, which made 16 journeys carrying human cargo across the Atlantic.
Finally, if you’re apprehended for any misdemeanours, there is a large and empty place of interest waiting to accommodate you. Kilmainham Gaol is another highly rated tourist attraction. Closed down in 1924, it’s still a fine source of social and political history and became something of a blueprint for subsequent prison layout… including crosses to identify the places where executions by firing squad took place!
Until we speak again, Dublin Castle provides less depth of interest. But, who would’ve known it was the blueprint for tall cranes?
What comes to mind when you think of New Orleans? Maybe voodoo rituals around the Witch Queen Marie Laveau, or the above ground cemeteries (because much of the city is below sea level). For some, it’s the pissheads theme park that is half of Bourbon Street. For others, it’s the deep culture revolving around a quality combination of music, food, and more sophisticated imbibing.
My advice… always join the ‘others’! There is an enchanting and somewhat chaotic elegance that emerges out of so much of what this city represents. Above all else, this is an authentic place… as unAmerican as an American city can be. It’s almost as though the LouisianaPurchase came with a covenant… that this city is and always will be NuAwlings, come what may!
For a start, just check out the calming backdrop of the National Museum of Jazz performance venue. Here are the enchanting Belinda Moody Trio…
The creative spark is visible wherever you wish to find it. Avant garde jazz or the raw power of a Grammy award winning brass ensemble are available on successive nights at Snug Harbor…
Even the street scene exudes an eloquent passion in its music. Take Royal Street at lunchtime, for example. Doreen and the guys would easily seduce your musical inclinations for nothing more than a drop of cash in the bucket…
The finest of dining has been explored in previous posts. However, it is also supplemented with signature favourites, such as the Palace Cafe unique CrabmeatCheesecake. As elegant a dish as you would wish for… and the subtelty of that creolemuniere sauce could defuse any international conflict.
So, what about the intoxicating element of this entrancing city? BigAssBeers on Bourbon look more like something that should come with a geigercounter attached. If you want something more sophisticated, try the Roosevelt Hotel famous SazeracBar to sample the world’s first cocktail…
Or maybe Hotel Montelione is the place for you… waiting to take a seat on the CarouselBar? Surprisingly, they do a Sazerac, as well as a Cosmopolitan.
But if you’re looking for a real blast, why not drop in on Pat O’Brien’s for a Hurricaneor a FuzzyLeprechaun. Beware, the former packs a quadruple rum (amongst other things), while the latter packs a double vodka (also, amongst other things). Elegance can sometimes come with a cerebral challenge if one is just not quite enough!
Until we speak again, remember that elegance may come with not doing that which you’ve done before!
History didn’t end when us white Europeans colonised the already populated lands we know of as America. But we do occasionally have an arrogant tendency to look on these parts as too young by comparison if they try to claim historical context.
Take the Treme district of New Orleans, for example. The widely recognised birthplace of jazz also happens to be the oldest Blackneighbourhood in the USA. 212 years and counting is good going. You may not find any ruined centuries old castles here, but if you open your mind, then walking these streets inspires imagination.
As a neighbourhood, Treme likes to wear its pride prominently on its sleeve. History emerges from a wealth of creative people and culture with memories that reverberate down the generations.
Alongside a thirst for knowledge all of this walking can generate an appetite. Talking of which… DookyChase’s is right on hand and remains a must for SouthernFriedChicken at its best… particularly with sides of stewedokra & mustardgreens.
For many visitors to NOLA, the French Quarter just may be all they see or struggle with their vision after many hours imbibing on Bourbon Street. Pre-inebriation historical appreciation can still be indulged, for example, a stroll by what claims to be the oldest bar in the US (Lafitte’sBlacksmithShopBar). But, look forward and look up in order to appreciate that mix of classic French/Spanish architectural styles.
And when that stomach rumbles to a beckoning tune, you’re spoiled for choice with fabulous restaurants populating the area. On this auspicious occasion, Antoine’sRestaurant on St Louis Street provides a perfect blend of historical setting and fine dining.
It’s a shame that eating the full menu wasn’t physically an option, so I had to be satisfied with a cup of SeafoodGumbo, Grilled PompanoFish, and their signature Pecan Bread Pudding. An armtwisting got me to accept a FrenchMedoc off the burgundy list. But don’t let the erstwhile ‘enforcer’ know I said it was a great choice.
And so to the GardenDistrict, with all its horticultural finery on display. There is no shortage of historic opulence here. Just let your imagination cast its own spells as you wonder who lived in these great residences over the years. A few have their historic occupants named on metal plaques to indulge your curiosity.
And, any district affording the donation of the following building as a public library isn’t doing too bad for itself.
Still feeling peckish after a mesmerising meander around ‘the Garden‘? Why not make a reservation (months in advance) for the iconic Commanders Palace.
Once again, the food was otherworldly… just don’t ask about our experience of the service as it failed to match the incredibly high expectations we brought to the table. The Turtles were sure doing what they did best… with the help of an ostentatious splash auSherry at the table! The ChargrilledJerkSpicedDurocPork Chop was simply steak-like in its presence and undoubtedly the best chop I’ve ever tasted… with special thanks to the provider, I hope they enjoyed the life dedicated to this moment.
And, yes, he who doesn’t often do deserts was diving into another Creole Bread PuddingSouffle affair… this time with warmwhiskeycream.
Until we speak again, dive into your history with a passion equal to your culinary fascinations. But beware of unexpected pyrotechnics… when they ask if you like your food ‘hot’, this wasn’t what I had in mind.
Yrs, you read that right… as my skydiving days are definitely a few decades ago! Funchal is all about looking up. Surrounded by mountains, with steep hills very much in evidence throughout the city itself, elevation is key to the whole experience.
For the fabulous tropical gardens of Monte or the botanical gardens of Jardim, there is only one way to travel…
And the payoff is every bit as high as the altitude…
The amount of climbing can be hungry and thirsty work. So, step forward the GalaxiaSkybar and restaurant in the Savoy Palace Hotel to maintain that elevated theme…
A la Carte fine dining comes with an elevated price tag… but limpetswithseaweed, babylambwithtrufflesandyam, and all sorts of local produce done with unique twists create the unique experience; and tunaandegg never tasted quite like this at Chez Juno in Cardiff!
Desert just needed to be an extra glass of a particularly fine Portuguese red wine from the vineyards of the Douro region. But caution is needed when taking in all you survey after a particularly fine meal with delicious wine…
Until we speak again, it’s back to the chill and gloom of late winter, tinged with the memories of a taste of summer in February (yes, I know it’s always summer in February in Australia!)…
JUNO's VIEW 