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TRAVEL Home & Away with Robert Walshe Home and Away Extra The souvenirs on offer in Bar- celona’s gift shops range from tasteful reminders of local art- ists and architects such as Pi- casso, Gaudí or Miró to tacky, wide-brimmed Mexican som- breros and posters of football- ers such as Lionel Messi.But the latest souvenir is a set of lapel badges and fridge magnets deemed so subversive by the city hall that they have been banned from municipal museum shops. The badges depict local scenes that are familiar to both city residents and visitors. They show bag-snatchers, prostitutes, street alcohol vendors and, in a reference to the brutality with which recent demonstrations have been treated, the local riot police. But now orders have been issued for them to be re- moved from the city hall-control- led history museum before they damage the tourist industry Living LONDON hotels are amongst the worst in Europe, according to a new survey. Of all the continent’s capital cities, London came out the worse in the study by online hotel price comparison website trivago.co.uk. Out of 1,000 cities and towns across Europe, hotels in London were given lowest collective score by users of the site. Hotels in Birmingham also scored badly. Out of a possible 100 points, Lon- don managed only 72.2 and Bir- mingham 74.15. Out of 1000 cities evaluated, the only ones to score less than London were Sliema in Malta (71.00) and the Spanish towns of Lloret del Mar (69.57) and El Are- nal (66.78).The German city of Dres- den scored the highest marks, with an average hotel rating of 82.32, fol- lowed by the Polish city of Krakow, which scored 81.09 and Bruges in Belgian, where the average hotel rat- ing was 81.03.Venice scored 80.72, Barcelona 79.32, Budapest 80.24, Florence 79.75, and Berlin 78.88. Belfast, Canterbury and Cardiff were the best in the UK, scoring between 79 and 81 and Edinburgh managed 78.63 while Glasgow achieved an av- erage of 75.95. The study was based on European cities and towns with more than 50 hotels and over 28 mil- lion reviews from customers were taken into consideration Weekend Hideaway Built in 1865 and designed by the same architect as the Langham, the privately owned, Petersham Hotel lies on the top of Richmond Hill and boasts the most amazing views over the Thames and the surround- ing Petersham meadows making it hard to believe that we were still in London. The property is a yellow-and-red brick fantasy of Victorian archi- tecture and decoration. With its tower, turrets and high-pitched, red-striped roof, this privately owned hotel stands out ahead of the rest! The most notable feature of the interior is its magnificent Portland stone staircase; reported to be the tallest unsupported stone staircase in the country. The paint- ings on its ceiling were executed by Ferdinando Galli an Italian painter then briefly working in England (he exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1866). In 1877, follow- ing a change of owner- ship, the hotel’s name was changed to ‘The Mansion’ (which left Richmond Hill Hotel free to be assumed by another hotel on the hill in 1913). In 1889 it became ‘The Man- sion Hotel’. Then in 1922, when the famous old Star and Garter had been demolished to be replaced by the Royal Star and Gar- ter Home for disabled servicemen, it took on the name of ‘New Star and Garter Hotel’. The ‘New’ was dropped a few years later and the hotel contin- ued as ‘Star and Garter’ until 1945, when the Bank of England bought it for use as a staff hostel. It was sold in 1951 and reopened as ‘The Star and Garter Hotel’. In 1978 it was purchased by the Dare family and renamed ‘The Petersham Hotel’. Traditional luxury runs throughout this elegant four-star hotel with 60 guestrooms on offer. The River view rooms include bay windows and a private balcony, overlook- ing the River Thames’ and many of the bathrooms are designed with elegant Italian marble. Each room is equipped with LCD television, laptop connection, Internet access, direct-dial telephones and trouser press. The Petersham’s award-win- ning restaurant is a favourite with locals and movie stars alike and I could not help but notice US actor John Voight at the adjoining table. The views from our table at the window were beautifully green and while we were there people were sailing their boats along the river all adding to this idyllic view. The restaurant itself has a kind of retro feel harking back to a 70’s and 80’s style which I loved. Chef Alex Bent- ley’s cooking is without doubt the star attraction here. His style stems from the time he spent in Michelin start establishments both in London and internationally but at the heart of his menu is true British cooking, using fresh, seasonal produce and the result is unfalteringly wonder- ful and without pretension. Locally Richmond has been associated with the royal family since medieval times – the park was a hunting ground for King Charles I, and London’s high society was attracted to the area by the royal court. Royalty also resided at Kew, where today’s Royal Botani- cal Gardens are one of the areas and other big draws for the thousands of tourists. The Petersham Hotel is conveniently placed just 8 miles from Central London, the West End and Heathrow Airport. With the M3 motor- way just 15 minutes away and excel- lent tube and rail links, the hotel is easily accessible for those traveling by car, train, tube or plane. For details on their autumn packages check out www.petershamhotel. co.uk/accommodation Weekly Best Buy Two of Waterford’s most welcom- ing destinations have come together to create a truly memorable (not to mention delicious) autumn break. The Park Hotel in Dungarvan’s new Autumn Experience package com- bines three nights in their stylish accommodation with full Irish break- fast each morning with a fabulous three course dinner on the evening of your choice in the famous Tan- nery Restaurant. Dishes like Smoked bacon and hazelnut salad with garlic crumble, Summer garden vegetable soup with goats cheese and cream, Roast and confit chicken leg, with Tuscan bread salad and aioli, and Chocolate truffle cake from the res- taurant’s Easy Evening menu (avail- able Tuesday – Thursday) will have you in foodie heaven. Located just two minutes from the vibrant town of Dungarvan and just five minutes from the Copper Coast blue flag beaches and three championship golf courses, the Park Hotel is the ideal base for exploring Waterford. In addition to this, there are the hotel’s Aqua and Fitness Centre, Meladon Bar and Garden Room Res- taurant to enjoy or take some qual- ity time to stroll through the town and take pleasure in its many shops and lively atmosphere. The Park Ho- tel’s great value Autumn Experience package is available from €159 per person sharing, subject to availabil- ity.For more information visit www. flynnhotels.com Robert Walshe is a freelance con- tributor / broadcaster and guest travel writer for River Media newspaper titles across the island of Ireland Pet’s Corner... with Kathleen Murray n The Petersham at night. n View from the restaurant. n The Petersham - Balcony view. CATS and dogs can get along really well together if they are brought up properly together. If you have had a cat for a while and then get a young pup there will be some settling in to do. The cat will not like the intrusion and may go away for a while or may be a bit rough with the pup, but if you keep the cat indoors in a cage and let the pup get over its curiosity, by allowing it to sniff the cat without getting in- jured, then the novelty will wear off very soon and they will be able to co-exist quite peacefully. The pup must always be cor- rected for getting too “enthusi- astic” if it tries to get the cat to run so he can chase it, or is too excitable during any play with the cat. The cat will soon get used to it and then not pay too much attention to the pup after a few days. Make sure that the pup has enough exercise so that the cat is not the target for his energy release or frustration. If you have just gotten a new adult dog and it is showing a tendency towards being aggressive with the family cat then the cat needs to be put into a cage for its own safety and the dog should be put on a lead. The dog needs to learn to ignore the cat. This is very important but will take a little time to achieve. You can practice each day a few times by bring the dog into the room when the cat is in the cage. If the dog ignores the cat then re- ward it but if it shows “interest” then chastise the dog for that until it stops. There are many ways to chas- tise a dog… none of them should contain shouting or hitting as part of it. This only slows down the process and may even excite the dog into being even more ag- gressive toward the cat. If you have a dog already and then get a new kitten, the kitten has all the rights. It has the right to wan- der about without being licked, nosed, pawed or whatever else that the dog has in store for it. The dog is the one that needs to be controlled. When the kitten has more confidence and starts to approach the dog itself then things will need to be supervised in case the dog is unsure about how to react. It is very impor- tant that the animals are never let alone together until you are certain that they get along. No matter how well your dog and cat get along in their lifetime a strange cat passing by outside will still always be an intruder and something to be chased by your dog… and most likely your cat too. Do cats and dogs really get along together?
