TRAVEL

Home & Away with Robert WalsheLiving

Minister Leo Varadkar, the republic of ireland minister responsible for transport, tourism & sports received his seychelles counterpart Alain st.Ange, the seychelles Minister responsible for tourism and Culture at his offices in Dublin recently. the cooperation between the seychelles tourism Academy and the irish shan-non College of Hospital-ity Management was also acknowledged. Minister st Ange explained that the sey-chelles are now accessible than ever to holiday makers or honeymooners from the republic or northern ire-land with emirates & etihad offering connections to the capital Mahe via the Middle east daily from the splendid terminal 2 at Dublin Airport. He also discussed the im-pressive range of branded hotel chains in seychelles operating side by side with excellent local ‘home grown’ properties. www.seychelles.travel

Holiday Hotspotwww.peninsula.comwww.aerlingus.com

the Peninsula Hotel Chi-cago is the finest luxury hotel in the city and consist-ently wins top Us accolades including the exclusive Mobil Five star and AAA Five Diamond

award. When you walk into the lobby, the concierge and receptionist greet you by name and the legendary five star service you come to expect from this hotel group immediately springs into action.

the Peninsula’s decor is modern, with a sprinkling of the Far east. it offers a number of different choices in guestrooms, from an exceptional standard to a 3,000 square foot suite with private terrace.

the bedside table has a control panel to manage the lighting, deactivate the doorbell for privacy, and alert housekeeping when you want service. Amenities include: marble bathrooms with separate shower, tel-ephone and television, fax machine and data port, free wifi internet access, flat screen television, mini bar, in-room safe, multi-line phones with voicemail, bathrobes, guest laundry and dry cleaning, and DVD player.

the Peninsula espa is designed to revitalise the mind, body and spirit by indulging in luxurious body treatments and skin care.

You’ll discover calming treatment rooms, a relaxa-tion lounge, eucalyptus steam room, Jacuzzi and

more. this oasis combines oriental, Ayurvedic and european techniques for a full experience. it also fea-tures a 25 meter swimming pool and sundeck. there are a number of dining op-tions including “the Lobby “which despite the open space manages to blend the most amazing menu with a perfect ambiance accompa-nied by a quartet creating a true feeling of elegance.

the Chef de Cuisine is Lee Wolen boasting a culinary pedigree that includes the famous eleven Madison Park in new York, a three Michelin-star restaurant, where he held the position of sous Chef for three years. He is so passionate about this space that he presses the flesh nightly and you re-ally feel you are meeting a culinary genius.

For starters we shared Foie Gras torchon with orange, gingerbread, and lemon balm & smoked Arc-tic Char with roasted beets, horseradish and pumper-nickel which were sublime. the roasted pork tenderloin and crispy belly with sauer-kraut, dates and mustard was my choice for main course and did not disap-point.

the signature dish on the menu is whole roasted chicken for two with roasted fall squash, lady apples and chocolate and was by far the popular choice with most. Located next door to tiffany’s and across from the historic Water tower & saks, Fifth Avenue, the Peninsula Chicago offers a unique chauffeur serv-ice, featuring two bespoke Mini Cooper s Clubman ve-hicles as a complimentary amenity to suite guests. the concierge team has devel-oped a series of self-guided tours focusing on popular themes, including family, culture, romance, outdoor excursions, entertainment, dining and of course, shop-

ping. For couples or girlfriends look-ing for a perfect winter escape or a pre- Christmas shopping extrav-aganza you can reserve the Pe-ninsula “ retreat “ package from Us$395 includ-ing daily conti-nental breakfast for two. Guests will also re-ceive one lucky draw ticket at check-in for a chance to win an exciting prize, such as dinner for two in the Lobby; three hours in a chauffeured Mini Cooper; gourmet chocolates; an up-grade to the next available room category or a compli-mentary 60-minute massage - or even a complimentary overnight stay in a Deluxe suite during your next visit to Chicago. www.peninsula.com if you’re spending 72 hours in the windy city i would highly recommend a visit to the richard H. Driehaus Museum which is housed in the restored samuel M. nickerson Man-sion, with galleries of objet d’art from famous design-ers of the 19th and 20th centuries all draped in the elegance displayed by the wealthy during America’s Gilded Age. www.driehaus-museum.org the Art in-stitute nearby has one of the world’s most notable collections of impression-ist and Post-impression-istart in its permanent collection. its diverse hold-ings also include significant American art, Old Mas-ters, American decorative arts, Asian art and mod-ern and contemporary art. www.artic.edu if you love heights a visit to the Willis tower is a must see!

the skydeck open daily offers spectacular views spanning up to four states,

a one-stop Chicago expe-rience full of interactive exhibits and…the Ledge, a glass balcony extending four feet outside the 103rd floor of the tower. www.theskydeck.com Chicago has a large number of other tourist attractions, but there are undoubtedly se-lect handfuls that are by far the most popular with visi-tors including.

Millennium Park one of the newest additions to cit-ies many wide-open urban spaces, and is host to a range of indoor/outdoor ac-tivities for the entire family. You can listen to top musi-cal events at the outdoor pavilion, or glide across the ice skating rink this winter Located just east of down-town on Lake Michigan, navy Pier offers scores of entertainment and dining options, making it one of Chicago’s top tourist attrac-tions.

Built in 1930, the shedd Aquarium is one of the premier aquariums in the country and home to an impressive collection of un-derwater life.

travellers going to the Us can now enjoy the new improved facilities in t2 by clearing both passport con-trol and customs & excise prior to boarding their flight

from Dublin. i r e l a n d is the only country outside the north America region to offer such a service.

this will mean that upon arriving in the Us, tourists will be treated similarly to domestic passengers. the Aer Lingus transatlantic service continues to lead by example and is by far the most comfortable, reliable and value for money service to the UsA out of ireland.

From check in to onboard the infamous “smile “and award winning service is present. if you are travel-ling in Aer Lingus Business Class, are Gold Circle Club members you will be able to use any of the Gold Circle or affiliated lounges either side. Aer Lingus operate a daily service between Dub-lin and Chicago. From sum-mer 2013 there will be four additional flights a week, on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and sunday. Lead in fare for winter travel (to 31 Mar) is €279 each way. www.aerlin-gus.com

Robert Walshe is a travel broadcaster with Q Radio Network and Travel Edi-tor for River Media news-paper titles across the island of Ireland. www.robertwalshe.com

Pet’s Corner... with Kathleen Murray

n The Skydeck at Willis Tower Chicago.

n The Lobby at Peninsula Chicago.

Dumping animals - a major issuetHis practice is one that has gone on for a very long time. For the past three or four years it had eased up a bit as people had more money and were in a better position to hold on to animals, or neuter them.

Dumping is not the answer to a cri-ses with an animal problem. it doesn’t matter if it is a cat, dog, cow or horse there is an answer to the problem. An-imal charities are overwhelmed with calls and animals, and are at the worst time ever in their history with regard to funding, so their hands are often tied when it comes to helping to solve the problem.

to solve the problem that you may be having with an animal right now you need to ask yourself a few ques-tions and be very honest with yourself

when you answer. no point in telling yourself a lie it won’t solve the prob-lem now or in the future. First ques-tion... why do i want rid of this animal? is it a money problem, a behaviour problem or a population increase problem?

if it is none of these then you may be getting rid of an animal simply because you don’t like it or it has medical prob-lems that are causing you more work around the house. if you don’t like the animal why was it there to begin with? Did another family member get it and now you have all the work with it? it is important to understand that what-ever problem there is with an animal in your life the animal should not be the one to suffer, it is never the fault of the animal. second question... Are

you in a position to put things right between you and the animal. now that it’s there then working the problem can cure the problem in many cases, so there is no need to get rid of the animal. if it is not a behaviour prob-lem then it may be a financial problem. For farm animals you can call the Dept of Agriculture for help. they will guide you and offer assistance in resolving the problem. there is no shame in not having the money (the people who robbed us blind have no shame) but there is a shame in leaving an animal to die of starvation or to fend for itself “in the wild” when it has been raised by people who provided the food up until now. it won’t know how to feed itself, and won’t have access to proper feeding if dumped.

the risk to the public, to motorists especially, from wandering animals is very high not to mention the injuries that the poor animal will receive as well. if it is a cat or a dog then it may not meet with an understanding per-son if it appears in someone’s garden and causes trouble like raiding bins or chasing their cats etc.

if it is fortunate enough to arrive in good hands then you have caused mis-ery for the animal and also for some soft hearted person as well, as they may not be in a position to keep it and won’t know what to do with it, ending in anxiety, sleepless nights and less food for themselves as they may be in hard times also. if it was a problem that your animal has been reproduc-ing because you couldn’t afford to

neuter it then the charities may be in a position to help you with that if you explain your case.

You could do a little fundraiser for the charity and get enough to neuter your animals out of it, back from the charity again. it is a way of helping them to help you. if all is lost and you can see no way forward then ring the isPCA and surrender your animals so that they can be put to sleep kindly, or rehomed elsewhere and go on to have a decent life elsewhere with someone in a better financial position right now. You would be more at peace with yourself if you didn’t have to dump them somewhere and then wonder what became of them, not knowing if they lived a cruel life or died a cruel death.