Colin Manning

Ryanair's website has long been overdue a makeover.  The new site is much more attractive.  It was not working properly over the weekend, but seemed to be open for business again yesterday. It still has a ways to go though.  Although Ryanair.com accepts bookings from passengers who have non-ASCII characters in their names, it doesn't properly print their boarding cards.  This belies a very anglo-centric view of the world.

The routing algorithm used by Transport for Ireland clearly needs tweaking. It suggests that passengers travelling from Bishopstown to Ballincollig should go all the way into town and change busses there, despite the routes intersecting much earlier.  That could add an hour to the journey on a bad day.  I wonder is it because the bus routes don't share an actual stop, the routing algorithm does not consider them to intersect?  At the point where they first meet, the busses are travelling opposite directions they don't share any stops with the same number.  But of course most passengers would be happy to get off and cross the road to save an hour. I've reported the problem to the website operators. It'll be interesting to see how long it takes to fix it. update: I received a details response within hours. The error was fixed within the week.

This is an amazing building that is well worth a visit. Built around an old university, the building is respectful to the magnificently detailed stone structure but at the same time is modern, airy, and stylish. The glass dome at the center of the quadrangle that covers the underground spa. The building is a triumph of architecture and interior design. The rooms continue the innovative mix of the old and the new. The underground pool area, which is free to guests, is very impressive. But Hotel Termal is a very good illustration of the difference between a great building and a great hotel. The service is terrible. The staff, if you can find them, are surly and unhelpful. One gets the impression that they would prefer if you simply went away and judging from the largely empty cafe and restaurant, it seems most guests have. If facing grumpy staff does not start your day badly, the breakfast buffet will surely disappoint. The food in the café is embarrassingly poor and seriousl...

[I found this cleaning out my website. It was written in 1999. There were no blogs back then] Should you ever have the dual misfortune to transfer through Charles de Gaulle and find that your baggage did not do the same, be sure to ask for your consolation prize. After you have been told that your transfer time was too short, despite being six hours, ask for your Air France overnight bag. This is a veritable treasure trove of chinese plastic goods and French perfumes, that will keep you in top condition over the following days. Well, following day anyway. In addition to the obligatory tooth brush and toothpaste it contains a handy T-shirt, proudly boasting that it is a gift from Air France. What it should say is "my bags went to France, but all I got was this lousy T-shirt." Designed to prevent you sleeping naked while your clothes are located, this one-size-fits-all T-shirt affords discretion to only the shortest of men. A fold out hair brush with a mirror for a ...

I was in Munich last weekend for long weekend and visited the Christmas market in the old town. It and the shops nearby were mobbed. There's no sign of an economic downturn in Munich. It is a very clean and organized city. I was struck, however, by just how many shops didn't have lifts. That's not something I would have noticed until I started going places with the buggy. Eating out was about the same or slightly less expensive than in Ireland. But I guess there are very few places left that are actually more expensive than home. There's lots of shopping to be done in Munich. But I wasn't really in the mood and so came away empty handed. But the Christmas market did fill me up with Christmas vibes.

We went to Isaac's on MacCurtain St tonight for the first time. I was surprised. I really don't know what all the fuss is about. Apart from an interesting tempura, the menu was very boring. The siñorita's tempura was fun and as far as I'm concerned wasabi is the new black. But we were hard pressed to find anything else interesting on the menu. I opted for a goat's cheese salad. The salad was boring and the goat's cheese very thin on the ground. The siñorita, for want of anything interesting, opted for lamb. It was nice, but not special. I had some stuffed chicken. Again, nothing wrong with it. But very uninteresting. The atmosphere at Isaac's is casual. Too casual. It hits that sweet spot that lies somewhere between cafeteria and bus station. Atmospheric 18th-century warehouse my arse. There's nothing screams not-atmospheric-18th-century warehouse like Formica. I thought the food was over-priced. Isaac's certainly is not special enough to warra...

In most UK airports it is possible to pay in Euro as well as Pounds. However even credit card users are now given the option to pay in Euro. This seems a bit strange but it may suit some customers to have the transaction posted in Euro rather than a foreign currency. In addition it saves them any extra or hidden charges that their credit card company may include. Whether or not this option represents good value depends on the extent to which your credit card company screws you and the Euro price offered. Anyway Stansted Airport screws you more on the rate than Visa does. So now you know. Ryanair, incidently, always charges you at your home rate even if the ticket is priced in Pounds. At the exchange is at a rate that Ryanair deems appropriate.

I had an unusual experience this week trying to book a flight from Munich to Madrid with Lufthansa. I thought it was a bit silly that a one way ticket cost about ten times the price of a return, but the return was so cheap that I didn't mind so much. I went to the Lufthansa website and selected English as my language choice and didn't pay too much attention to the country selection. I chose my flights and went to pay. On entering my credit card details I was told I had to start again because I was in Ireland but I had said at the front page that I was in Germany. I found it very inconvenient to have to start all over again. I was startled to see that as a resident of Ireland I had to pay more for the same flights. And in addition to this, the days on which the best fares were available varied also. I contacted Lufthansa and after some initial very shabby customer service I found out that Lufthansa charges residents of different countries different prices. Some of this may...

The wine museum in Peñafiel is quite missable.