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M. A.Chidambaram Stadium or Chepauk is the venue for Test Cricket and is a beautiful, recently renovated stadium adorned with picturesque sails. The locals are friendly, welcoming and passionate; and the stadium is close to the ocean ensuring a cool breeze.
Victoria Hostel Rd, Triplicane, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Google map: bit.ly/15BQZiw
HQ of the Gaelic Athletic Association, Croke Park is impressive as a venue in its own right. Take the stadium tour, however, for fascinating insight into what this unique sporting organisation means to the people of Ireland, as well as the key role that 'Croker' has played in the nation's complex political history. We - a group of just 10 - were privileged to be guided by the wonderful John Campbell, who fully engaged with everybody, kids and all. Children will also enjoy the interactive elements of the GAA Museum, where they can have a go at hurling and Gaelic football. €12 (€8 for kids), for the 90-minute tour plus museum entrance, very well spent. New for this year is the Skyline Tour, but at €25 a pop, we didn't bother ... this time!
www.crokepark.ie/gaa-museum
Jones's Road, Dublin, Co. Dublin, Ireland
+353 (0)1 819 2300
Google map: bit.ly/PZhOmN
Google map:
Had a lovely day learning how to play polo and relaxing at a ranch for the day in Buenos Aires. Worried it would be too hard as had only ever ridden once before, but was amazing! Really chilled day, nice and patient teacher, and amaaaaazing barbecue! Best thing i did in BA I reckon. (Also loved the Malba art gallery, and the beautiful rose gardens in Palermo. Best meal (apart from estancia bbq) was at Don Julio in Palermo.
www.guapapolo.com.ar
+54 9 11 5111 8214
Google map: bit.ly/xZpvw8
What a place to watch a game of football! It was a dull game but the venue was stunning. We sat right at the back – the back row of the stand opposite the Ostkurve which is akin to the Kop.
You can get a reduction on tickets with a Berlin Welcome card so the price of tickets is very reasonable.
If you can’t see a game, visit the stadium. Incredible.
www.olympiastadion-berlin.de/en.html
Olympischer Platz 3, 14053 Berlin, Germany
Google map: bit.ly/qWvFpp
Open from 7am to midnight, the 30 metre long swimming pool rue Pontoise is built like an art-déco ship with individual cabin for every swimmer. From 8pm onwards, the pool is lit from within while music blares out ...
www.clubquartierlatin.com/
19, rue de Pontoise, 75005, Paris (5th)
+33(0)155427788
Google map: bit.ly/jTOGkS
You can't knock a New Yorker down easily. Especially when she's on rollerskates and goes by a name like "Bitch Cassidy." Gotham Girls Roller Derby brings together different teams from the city's five boroughs in sometimes bloody and always bawdy bouts. Events are held on weekends around the city. You can eat, drink, and be merry from the safety of bleachers, or opt for front row seats on the floor. Just don't bring your own skates - those roller derby chicks might make you use them.
Cortina in Northern Italy provides an excellent base for via ferrata - a challenging climb/walk along the "iron roads" of the Alpine hills created during the second world war. A harness for beginners is a must, but these can be easily hired along with helmets from locals shops in the town centre. There are levels for all difficulties, from a 1A to a 5C. One route can be easily reached by a combination of bus and cable car, and you will be in the clouds with fantastic views. Cortina also boasts the longest via ferrata bridge in the Dolomites of Italy!
Cortina has a selection of campsites, bars, restaurants and a supermarket for those touring or having a short break.
A bus from Venice airport takes around 3 hours. Though it only goes twice a day. Try Cortina tourist office (dolomiti.org/dengl/cortina/index.html) for information about the via ferrata.
The Società Canottieri Esperia-Torino continues its traditional International long distance rowing regatta “D’inverno sul Po” on Saturday 13th February. The regatta has been running since 1982 and is open to men, women, boys and girls.
The regatta take place on the Po river, between the hills and the historical city centre. The race distance is 6000 meters, starting from Moncalieri Island and finishing in front of the Società Canottieri Esperia-Torino (Turin Rowing Club). Racing starts from 12:00 on Saturday 13th February and from 10:00 on Sunday 14th February.
Last year more than 1700 participants attended the regatta, from countries such as France, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Holland, the United Kingdom, the Principality of Monaco and of course Italy.
So get your oars and rowlocks ready, its time for a serious workout!
Down by the river at Murazzi close to Piazza Vittorio Veneto.
From the shore of the large Lake Bolsena at Capodimonte hire a small motor boat and venture out onto the lake and to the scenic island of Bisentina. Dive overboard and swim in the crystal clear water and sun bathe on the deck. My kids (14 & 12) loved having a go at driving the boat.
www.lagodibolsena.org/
Google map: tinyurl.com/yf35sn3
What a great day out we had as a family rafting near Norcia on the river Corno. It was great fun and thrilling. The guides were excellent, we even had water splashing fights with the other groups. The scenery is fantastic.
It certainly made our holiday a holiday to remember.
Best to book before on line.
www.raftingumbria.it/
Google map: tinyurl.com/yb68aqg
The section from Vallon Pont d'arc down to St Martin is a 32km stretch through an amazing 1000ft gorge. With amazing views, stunning wildlife (wild boar, Bonneli's Eagles, beavers and more), and numerous rapids to navigate, the Ardeche river is the perfect place for canoes and kayaks and both beginners and experienced paddlers alike.
Suitable for the whole family and a really tranquil / at-one-with-nature experience.
Ardeche Gorge, border of Rhone-Alps and Languedoc just NE of Avignon
Nearest Stations: Nimes, Avignon
Website: www.experienceardeche.com
Tel: +44 (0)1749 812109
I am a weed. So it wasn't surprising my arms really hurt after a two hour session in a kayak. But it was fun, and really nice to get out into the fresh air and water. Southwater in Sussex do the taster sessions which are a good way of seeing whether you like it or not. The stretch of river runs through Sotuhwater country park near Horsham so it's very English and very peaceful – apart from the screams! I'd recommend it.
www.southwatersports.co.uk/
A hangover from the island's British military and colonial past, we were surprised to find that cricket is a popular game in Corfu! The first game took place here between the two military groups on St George’s Day in 1823, and today you can have a game all over the island. The most popular greens are the Esplanade at Corfu Town, (although alot of that space is a car park now) and the brand new ground at Kontokali Marina. Things really kick off in July, and games last 35 overs.
Watch a game, or bring your own set and play!
Esplanade - right in the center of Corfu Town.
Kontokali Marina
There is nothing like it anywhere in Europe.
San Paolo stadium
One of the last blue\brown collar communities in Nelson City, Victory Square is a 10 minute walk south of the city centre. The early signs of gentrification are just starting to show with an excellent cafe and sushi bar opening recently and some of the formerly run down colonial period homes being tastefully refurbished. The Square itself is a cricket pitch/ football field and is rumoured to have been location of the first rugby game in NZ. There is also a brand new children's playground.
The popular fish and chip shop serves a good meal for five bucks and the local pub (the Pickled Parrot on the Park) is a great place to meet some of the local characters (don't worry they are friendly!).
An annual Multicultural festival is also held in Victory Square.
A slice of real Kiwi life.
On the way to Bug backpackers, past the industrial wastelands and New World supermarket.
Tiny resort on the western coast of the Sinai peninsula, about halfway between Sharm and Cairo (you can fly to either, and then it's a fairly long drive though they will send someone to pick you up).
It is mainly a windsurfing place but they also run yoga courses which are really good, and also cheap - about £400 for a week half-board, including the yoga but excluding flights and drinks. It's a three star place but clean and with nice airy chalets dotted around the grounds, and a beach-front bar. Food is good and plentiful.
The yoga sessions (when I went a few years ago) are held for 1.5 hours every morning and evening in a shady room just off the beach. Mats and other cushions are provided and you can hear the sea as you practise.
The teachers change every couple of weeks so aim to go at a time when a teacher who interests you is going. The one just before I arrived was very meditation/breathing focused apparently (which wouldn't have suited me) but my teacher was fantastic - very position-focused and good at explaining what you were trying to achieve, so you're actively in the pose and not just standing there with your arms out. So make sure you check out which teacher will be there when you want to attend.
I was travelling alone and really enjoyed the social aspect. The yoga class was very small when I stayed (off-peak) and we always went into breakfast or dinner together after class, and met in the bar later. When I was there they let you bring your own booze for the week and store it in the windsurfing bar so you could drink more cheaply too!
I also did their trip up Mount Sinai to watch dawn at the top, and that was a very spiritual experience which fitted in brilliantly with the yoga ethos. It was about £35. They also had a lady doing massages a couple of days.
The windsurfing/yoga resort is part of a larger place which Egyptians use at weekends, so it got much busier and less 'Western' then, which was an interesting thing to be a part of - we got chatting to some young people from Cairo and played cards with them, which was a great night.
Bring lots of books as there isn't a huge amount to do between yoga sessions. You can snorkel (they lend you equipment) or try windsurfing, but it is often quite windy (there's a reason why it's wind-surfing centre) so I mostly read on sun-lounger behind a wind-break.
www.moonbeachretreat.com
Fly to Cairo or Sharm-el-sheikh
One of our tour guides over at Brazil Expedition company told us that Rio was the only city in the world where we could hanglide above the mountains, buildings, beach – and even slums – all together in one place. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but after I found out about that, I obviously had to try it out! It was rad! I was a bit scared at first, because I had never hanglided or done anything of the sort, but you jump off the ramp with a fly instructor, and he’s the one who gets all the work, all you have to do is stand back and enjoy the ride! The coolest pics I took of Rio were from my hanglide flight. If you're into adrenaline and tryng out new things, I recommend it!!!
Straddling the spectacular Belledonne mountain chain, Les Sept Laux is not one of the Alps most famed resorts. You don't come for the apres-ski or the prestige, and the range of accommodation is relatively limited: but herein lies the resort's appeal. Les Sept Laux can get crowded at weekends with daytrippers from nearby Grenoble, due to its proximity and accessibility, but during the week, it is blissfully deserted, and even at the peak of the season, you can have the slopes almost to yourself. There isn't the massive pisted domain of resort areas like Les Trois Vallées or Les Portes du Soleil, though there are a range of runs for all ability levels - Sept Laux's real joy comes from the acres of luxuriantly powdery off-piste, which combined with a fabulous combination of scented pine forest and jagged peaks, not to mention the spectacular views across the Isere valley far below and further to the Chartreuse and Vanoise massifs, makes from a truly blissful day away from the crowds in a still-unspoilt Alpine paradise.
Les Sept Laux, Isere, France. (The main base station, Prapoutel, is off the A41 autoroute 15 miles north of Grenoble towards Chambéry) There are regular buses from Grenoble's central bus station, see www.transisere.fr
Straddling the spectacular Belledonne mountains, Les Sept Laux is a gem of a ski resort that is little known to foreign skiers. A small resort, only 45 minutes by bus or car from Grenoble, there is little in the way of accommodation, and you don't come for the apres-ski, Les Sept Laux is nonetheless a fantastic option for those who wish to beat the crowds and save money. Its easily accessible location means it gets busy with day-trippers at the weekends but never to the same degree as the more famous resorts, and come during the week for blissfully empty pistes. Sept Laux doesn't have the largest pisted terrain in the French Alps by any means, though there are certainly a variety of slopes for all abilities, however what makes the resort stand out is the seemingly endless expanses of soft, luxuriously powdery off-piste areas. And all this comes with superlative views on both sides of the Belledonne ridge (there are three base stations for the resort), and a mixture of jagged peaks, lush, scented pine forest and fresh, clean mountain air. Ski heaven.
Les Sept Laux, Isere, France.
Even for non-football fans, a trip to one or other of Lisbon’s two sporting cathedrals is a must. The Estadio da Luz is a legendary arena that has hosted great Benfica teams through the years and was once lit up by a youthful George Best. The Estadio Alvalade is altogether different. Built for the Euro 2004 tournament and home to Sporting Club de Portugal (aka Sporting Lisbon), it is a colourful modern, art-deco delight. However the venues have plenty in common - above all a passionate, warm atmosphere that draws you in. Buy your scarf outside and enter for a slice of Lisbon life.
Tickets: Tickets can be purchased at the stadia, at kiosks outside, or in advance at the ABEP kiosk on Praca Restauradores.
Getting there: For the Estadio da Luz, take the metro to either Alto dos Moinhos or Colegio Militar/Luz; for the Estadio Alvalade, take the metro to Campo Grande.
Website: www.portugoal.net has fixtures and other information.
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