chrisparkercommunications: Travel PR October 2015 | Page 2
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Daily Record Saturday, November 1, 2014
Page 39
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Late deals
■ Flying from Glasgow on January 9, seven nights
in Fuengirola, Spain, at the four-star Fuengirola
Park on all-inclusive basis, from £379 per person.
■ Flying from Glasgow on January 21, seven
nights in Corralejo, Fuerteventura, staying at the
three-star Dunas Caleta Club on all-inclusive basis,
from £399 per person.
■ Flying from Edinburgh in February or March,
seven nights in Lake Como, Italy, staying at the
three-star Britannia Excelsior on all-inclusive
basis, from £569 per person.
■ For these and other deals, see www.barrhead
travel.co.uk or call 0141 222 2223.
TIME TO
REFLECT
Piran is well
worth a visit
Get in Toon with
a fascinating city
RELAXING
Portoroz
has its own
sandy beach
IT'S TYNE TO VISIT
Gateshead Millennium Bridge
THIRST
CLASS
Inside Korte
vineyard
MARVELLOUS
MUD FOR IT
Drying out in
the sun after
treatment
Facts..
■ Thomson Lakes (www.ThomsonLakes.co.uk; 020 8939
0740) offers a week’s half board at the four-star Hotel
Marita in Portoroz, Slovenia, from £461 per person
(based on two sharing) including flights from Gatwick
and transfers. Direct flights are available from all major
UK airports.
■ Prices start at 18 euros for a 20-minute mud wrap at The
ˇ
Lepa Vida Thalasso Spa in the Secovlie Salina Nature Park.
composer Giuseppe Tartini –
Piran’s most famous son – the
square may no longer be the
bustling marketplace it once was,
where fishermen would come and
sell their catch straight off the
boat. But it’s still the focal point of
the community.
Children are encouraged to run
and play and the stalls selling fresh
breads, meats, cheeses and olives
are a big draw for visitors and
locals alike.
After all that walking around, a
few hours by the beach is the
perfect way to slip back into lazy,
holiday mode. Unlike other resorts
in Slovenia and Croatia that sit on
the Adriatic, visitors don’t have to
put up with pebbles or a spot on
the rocks, as Portoroz has its own
man-made sandy beach.
All ages are entertained, from
a giant inflatable with all manner
of slides for the kids, to pedal
boats, kayaks and jet skis for
adventurous adults.
For those wishing to head out a
little farther to sea, regular boat
trips leave for Izola, or Venice can
be reached in just under three
under hours from Piran.
No visit to this part of Slovenia
is complete without a trip to the
hinterland. Just a few miles away
from Portoroz lies rolling green
countryside, which in recent years
has undergone a resurgence.
Locally produced food and wine
are now helping to put Slovenia on the
culinary map. One of these producers
is vineyard Korenika & Moškon in the
village of Korte.
Our guide Matej now runs the
vineyard, which has been passed down
from father to son for generations.
As we wander through the
cavernous cellars, lined with huge
oak barrels, he gives us an insight
into how he is helping to progress
wine development in Slovenia by
producing organic tipples.
With the tour completed, we are
invited to tuck into a vast array of
meats and cheeses – all sourced
locally – washed down, of course, with
some of the vineyard's best wines.
They include Malvazija and Refošk,
two of the most popular varieties with
bars and restaurants up and down
the coast.
One of these is the restaurant
Fritolin in Portoroz. Situated next to a
busy road, with its modest-looking
façade it would be overlooked if it
wasn’t for its thriving trade. Loved by
the locals, the tables are busy day and
night. In fact, don’t be surprised if you
have to queue up but it’s well worth it.
Waiters scurry about serving only
the freshest, tastiest seafood. What
better way to round off my trip?
After some fantastic mussels,
exquisitely cooked mackerel and a
glass or two of some chilled Malvazija
wine, I think it’s fair to say I have got a
taste for Portoroz and everything this
region has to offer.
Newcastle is a great
choice for a short break
all year round.
Its clusters of bars,
restaurants, clubs and
pubs make for some
buzzing nightlife, while if
shopping's your thing,
the city is home to the
Metrocentre, Europe’s
largest indoor shopping
and leisure centre.
Culture vultures are
well catered for. The
Baltic Centre for
Contemporary Art and
the awe-inspiring Sage
Gateshead are a short
walk across the Tyne in
Gateshead, which you
can reach via the
Gateshead Millennium
Bridge – the world’s only
tilting bridge.
Newcastle has its own
cultural quarter,
Ouseburn Valley, where
you will find attractions
including The Biscuit
Factory and The Cluny.
For our weekend break,
my boyfriend and I
stayed at Newcastle's
Sandman Signature
Hotel, a short walk from
many of the city's main
attractions. This lovely
boutique hotel was built
on the old Scottish &
Newcastle Brewery site,
and our bedroom
overlooked the home of
Newcastle United, St
James’ Park – a view that
never failed to impress
each morning.
This proved to be a
bonus for us, as we were
booked for the club’s
latest attraction – a
rooftop stadium tour.
After a daunting 150ft
climb, complete with hard
hats and high-visibility
vests, we experienced a
real Magpie’s view of the
stadium and cityscape,
before descending pitch
side to learn all about the
club’s rich heritage.
The first attraction of
its kind in the UK, it is
proving more and more
popular with tourists but,
Andrea O’Neill
[email protected]
be warned, it's not for the
faint-hearted.
Being such a compact
city, Newcastle is easy to
get around. In just three
hours, we took in 2000
years of history as part of
a guided walking tour.
A monument to former
prime minister – and tea
namesake – Earl Grey
stands at the head of
Grey Street in Grainger
Town, which boasts the
title of "best street in
Britai