by Pádraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua It’s hard to describe Vancouver without referencing San Francisco: two cities with paradisiacal natural surroundings, on the water, both with iconic bridges, both heavily Asian, both redolent of supreme west coast cool. Vancouver’s connections to that stunningly rich natural hinterland – the islands, woodlands, mountains – are more immediate,… Read more »
by Pádraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua Visitor numbers to Dublin have increased year on year by 16% in 2016 which means our message is getting out there and folks are anxious to catch a breath of fresh air, Dublin-style. Thankfully the scope and range of things to do around the city is increasing all the time… Read more »
by Pádraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua Telling Stories In many languages the words for history and story are the same. Telling stories is intrinsically connected with the past, with relating how people, events and circumstances from times gone by have fashioned, forged and formed our present realities. When it comes to selecting a destination to visit we’re… Read more »
by Pádraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua Prague – off the beaten track Two roads diverged in a wood, and I – I took the one less travelled by, And that has made all the difference If ever there was a place to get off the beaten track and follow Robert Frost’s advice to take “the road… Read more »
by Pádraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua One week later and I’m still buzzing from a week in Slovenia. @Supergreybeard and I visited the country for two reasons: firstly, to attend the board meetings of the Foundation of the Society for Incentive Travel Excellence (SITE) and secondly, to participate at Conventa, a MICE trade show for South… Read more »
by Pádraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua Love at first sight? With Bratislava, you don’t fall in love at first sight. She’s not that kind of city. She’s a pretty city in many ways but she doesn’t use her beauty to beguile you. She’s not coquettish in the slightest and she never flirts with you at all. Bratislava… Read more »
by Pádraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua So the last plane ride of 2015 was atypical. It was a super-short hop, skip and jump leisure / pleasure trip to London with Rita to visit our daughter and son-in-law. But it was another opportunity to experience one of the world’s great cities as a simple visitor, unencumbered… Read more »
by Pádraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua Rise up again Twenty years ago last month, after almost 5 years of fighting, hostilities with Serbia came to an end and Croatia started to live and breathe as an independent, sovereign nation. Somewhere in the recesses of my mind there are vivid memories of devastating news reports of Dubrovnik… Read more »
by Pádraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua We bent low as we boarded the Bombardier DHC – 8 – 400 direct flight from Dublin to Luxembourg. It was a 1 – 2 configuration with little overhead luggage space, its compact size reflecting in our minds the tininess of its country of origin. Luxembourg is only 82km… Read more »
by Pádraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua I won’t lie, I wasn’t looking forward to the trip to London. It was a short 2 night trip sandwiched between two long transatlantic journeys but I could easily have done without it. I was also flying BA to London City airport and staying in the Docklands area around… Read more »