CLOTHES MAKE THE MAN
The extraordinary mens blog for the modern man
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Home & Away – GALWAY

Eyre Square, Galway

With St Patrick’s day just round the corner what better way to celebrate it then to book a weekend away to the Emerald Isle and today’s Home & Away, is a guide to the beautiful and ancient city of Galway. Galway offers a unique Irish experience, being an amazing coastal city and where olde world Ireland fuses with a modern, cosmopolitan but welcoming vibe. If you’re looking for something a little different to Dublin or Cork I strongly recommend this unique city where stunning coastal scenery is never far away.

Top 5 things –

5) Head to the Spanish Arch for pub, after pub, after pub, from traditional to contemporary, you’ll find at least one to like here.

4) Walk to the beach at Salthill, but generally walk it’s a brilliant city to walk round. Be Brave while in Salthill join the locals and take a dip in the Atlantic

3) Impress your better half and take them for a cream tea at the Meyrick Hotel (hotelmeyrick.ie)

2) While in Galway head to the Arran Islands and visit the spiritual home of Father Ted.

1) Eat Fish & Chips in McDonaghs (22 Quay Street, Galway City, www.mcdonaghs.net)

imageEat – The Huntsman (huntsmaninn.com) a little out from the centre of Galway but well worth it. Walk to it and build up your appetite for this great example of old meeting new and working brilliantly.

Sleep – The G (theghotel.ie) or Sleepzone (sleepzone.ie). Depending on your budget we’ve given you two options, either the Philip Traecy designed 5* hotel or one of the best hostels in the world, officially.

Drink – Tig Cóilí, Mainguard Street, Home of Traditional Irish Music 7 nights a week. Great atmosphere and music.

Ask a Local – Tommy Connolly

“Galway’s brilliant for a pub crawl, don’t get stuck in one pub, there are few bad pubs in the city so have a drink or two and move on, your never more then two doors away from a pub”.

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Home & Away – Bristol

Today folks I leave you in the very safe and capable hands of Katie Deighton who offers us her essential guide to Bristol, famous for –

Bristol is a port city known as the “Birthplace of America”.

The infamous pirate Captain Blackbeard once had a hideaway cave under St. Mary Redcliffe church. His original birthplace and childhood home still stands on Bristol’s harbourside.

Hollywood legend Cary Grant (Archibald Leach) was born in Horfield, Bristol. Grant’s first role in theatre was working at The Bristol Hippodrome.

The oldest dinosaur so far found in Britain, and one of the oldest discovered anywhere in the world, was unearthed in Bristol

The world’s first commercially produced chocolate bar was made in Union Street Bristol by Fry’s in 1847

 

Bristol is beginning to gain a reputation as a mini-London.  From the new shopping Mecca of Cabot Circus, to grimy reggae nights down in Stokes Croft, to private art galleries and Lidos in Clifton, Bristol truly has something to offer for everybody.  And what’s more, everything is in walking distance.  Here is Clothes Make the Man’s guide to Bristol: the capital of the West.

Top 5 things to do

5. Take a tour around the newly, ahem, ‘renovated’ Nelson Street – the largest street-art display in the UK.  Soon to be as iconic as the numerous Banksys dotted around the city, the See No Evil project has been recognised worldwide as a real challenge to the notion of ‘graffiti,’ especially as it manages to cover over some particularly ugly high-rises and car parks.

4. Stroll around Clifton village, taking in the abundance of independent boutiques, antique stores and award-winning delis and cafes.

3.  Forget the gym, grab a bike and take advantage of Bristol’s status as the UK’s first cycling city.  The Bristol-Bath cycle path is a particular gem.

2.  Get your hair cut at Mr. Swanton’s.  The Victorian decor – alongside the controversial ‘no ladies beyond this line!’ mark of demarcation – offers a barbershop experience like no other.

1.  Head on up to Clifton Down with a blanket and a bottle of chilled champagne, and watch the sun set over the Clifton Suspension Bridge.

 

Eat

The Clifton Sausage – The perfect place to enjoy exquisitely cooked West Country favourites (including cider!) in a warm and cosy setting. http://www.cliftonsausage.co.uk/clifton/

Sleep

The Avon Gorge Hotel – Near-perfect service coupled with panoramic views of the Avon Gorge. http://www.theavongorge.com/

Drink

Hyde and Co. – A 21st century speakeasy and home of the best cocktails in Bristol.  Get there early as the exclusive space = no guaranteed entry! http://www.hydeandcobristol.net/

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NEW YORK

So good they named it twice, the city not the Empire State Building.

For the second of our essential city guides, Home & Away, what other city could you choose, Norwich, Preston, Inverness. No, the city that never sleeps, the concrete jungle, where dreams are made of etc etc the city that has been the inspiration for a million and one songs & films. New York !

Top 5 Things to do

5) Do the open top Bus Tour you get to see so much in just a relatively short space of time.

4) Take a stroll round NOHO (North over Houston) and SOHO (South over Houston) and work your way down to Century 21 (c21stores.com), even if you hate shopping, you will find yourself buying something and the prices have to be seen to be believed.

3) Wear trainers, sorry sneakers and walk, you’ll recognise so much from years of watching Films and TV Series.

2) Visit the Moma (Museum of Modern Art – moma.org) on a Friday evening as it’s free or the Metropolitan Museum (metmuseum.org), free entry but a donation is HIGHLY recommended. Great to partake in a lil drinky on the roof over looking Central Park in the Summer.

1) While over at Central Park, hire a bike and take a ride round the park. Must see stops are the Roller blade disco. After laughing and dancing from the side lines, go and grab a drink, I recommend a Dirty Martini from the Boat House.

Eat – The Fat Radish (thefatradishnyc.com)

Sleep – The Standard(standardhotels.com/new-york-city/)

Drink – Freeman’s Alley(freemansrestaurant.com)

Ask a Local – Ben Kay

“Take a walk over the Bridges, think BMW, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Williamsberg. Brooklyn Bridge being my Fav”.