I don’t know what it is but there is something about the sun at this time of year that just makes the lakes and the mountains look more beautiful than at any other time of the year, the hazy sunshine has just engulfed the national park and it is glorious.

We all hope that you can get down to visit us and take advantage of the good weather, ring us direct for the best offers and best advice on where to go and what to do, plus you could always ask us for a room with the view of the mountains!

I look forward to seeing you all soon

Regards

Chris

 1 head of lettuce ( Iceberg, Butter lettuce or Romaine lettuce)

2 Ripe pears, peeled, cored and sliced thin

¼ cup walnuts, toasted and chopped

2 oz. blue cheese, crumbled

 Dressing: 

2 tbsp. Walnut oil

1 tbsp. wine vinegar / apple cider vinegar

½ tsp. Dijon Mustard

salt and pepper

 Method:

Tear the lettuce into bite sized pieces and layer on a platter, then layer the pear slices over the lettuce, sprinkle the Blue Cheese over and finally sprinkle the toasted walnuts. For the dressing, blend all the ingredients together & drizzle over the salad just before serving.

• 10 digestive biscuits
• 50g butter , melted
• 600g cream cheese
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 175g caster sugar
• 2 Tbls lemon Juice
• Rind of One lemon
• 2 eggs, plus 1 yolk
• 125 ml cream

Method:

1. Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Crush the biscuits in a food processor (or put in a plastic bag and bash with a rolling pin). Mix with the butter. Press into a 20cm springform tin and bake for 5 minutes, then cool.
2. Beat the cream cheese with the flour, sugar, Lemon Juice & Rind, eggs, the yolk and cream until light and fluffy. Pour into the tin. Bake for 40 minutes and then check, it should be set but slightly wobbly in the centre. Leave in the tin to cool. 

INGREDIENTS:

350 g penne pasta

3 Tablespoons olive oil

8 Thick slices of Smoked bacon, chopped

2 garlic cloves – finely chopped

1 can chopped tomatoes

1 tsp sugar

1 bunch fresh spinach, rinsed and torn into bite-size pieces

Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Parmesan Shavings to Garnish

 METHOD:

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.

Add the penne pasta, & cook until tender, 8 to 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.

Place bacon in the skillet, and cook until browned and crisp.

Add garlic, and cook for about 1 minute. Stir in the tomatoes,

and cook for 5-10 minutes until slightly reduced, add a tsp of sugar to balance the flavour.

Place the spinach into a colander, and drain the hot pasta over it so it is wilted.

Transfer to a large serving bowl, and toss with the remaining olive oil, a

nd the bacon and tomato mixture.

Serve with Parmesan Shavings.

Killarneys Christmas festival is now in full swing and seems to be getting better every year so now is a perfect time for taking that well deserved break away in Killarney. From Open Air Christmas Markets, the ‘Real Ice’ Skating Rink to Santas Magical Lodge set in Killarneys National Park and the pre Christmas sales aren’t too bad either!!

For more info on the Festival log onto www.Christmasinkillarney.com

As always the INEC has a fantastic array of shows coming up over the next few weeks but be quick to book your accommodation with us as we are filling up fast.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of our guests and readers a very Happy Christmas and a Prosperous New Year.

 Looking forward to welcoming you all to the Riverside in 2009

Hello Everyone,

I started here at the Riverside Hotel 4 years ago; previous to this, I had worked in every city in Ireland but wanted to move closer to home, which is a beautiful town by the sea called Caherciveen (I had to give it a mention).

I joined the team at the Riverside at the start of a busy season, June 2004 & have never looked back

I did leave for a few months but had to return due to the great staff & working conditions (nothing to do with a pay increase).

On a serious note I do enjoy my work, especially meeting new interesting people, facing new challenges each day. There is never a dull moment.

What do I do every day?

I deal with many aspects of the hotel. I am the deputy manager, covering shifts from 7am -3pm or 3pm-11pm.

The 7am-3pm Shift is my favourite; I arrive at the hotel around 6.45am where I get the hand over from the Night porter. Also I give him some vital information on what happened last night with Grison or Horatio on CSI.

I then check who’s on duty with me that morning & make sure that all staff are accounted for.

Each morning is different; sometime we have tours up for breakfast early, other times we have private bookings that arrive down a little later than the planned tours, off course, the Irish like a good sleep in! The great thing about the morning shift is of course we get to enjoy that full Irish Breakfast, good for the hunger but not for the figure. No matter how late our guests go to bed they always arise for the black pudding. I think people can smell sausages & bacon in their sleep as they awake & are downstairs within minutes, waiting in anticipation. 

We are blessed with a great restaurant team that are highly trained (just a mention I do a lot of training within the hotel not praising myself of course) so it makes a busy morning go smoothly.

The morning always fly’s by! So when the restaurant quietens down I‘m on the move to reception for check-out time. As a manager, we try to be where we are most needed at the time to ensure all is running smoothly.

No rest for the Wicked as they say.

At Check –Out, we make sure everyone enjoyed their stay, I’m here to handle complaints but we never have many of them, so that makes life easier.

It’s nice to hear good feedback on departure from our guests, as it makes it worth while. I think to be a manager you really need to genuinely care that people enjoy themselves as if you welcomed them into your on home. I have made many friends along the way that return to us every couple of weeks, and look forward to them arriving.

After check-out,  its full steam ahead for lunch & preparing for the night ahead. I make sure that all is ready for the next duty manager that takes over. So when he /she comes in, they can concentrate on check-in’s throughout the evening. I keep in close contact with housekeeping all day to see if they need any help or if any maintenance issues need to be dealt with.

At 3.00pm it’s time to go home & unwind.

Looking forward to the evening ahead.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog.

Hope to see you in the Riverside Killarney soon.

Alanna Kelleher

Deputy Manager

Killarney is so busy at the moment with lots of different events happening around the town-like the rest of Ireland we are hoping and praying that our summer weather will appear soon. But according to an article I read today there is a man living somewhere in the midlands that has promised us that the good weather is on the way because all the cows and sheep are now heading up the hills and mountains and that this is a sure sign that summer is on the way!!

Well not much has changed in the hotel since I last wrote as things have been so busy. But we decided to change around our menus from listening to comments from our guests. You may think that when you fill up a comment card in a hotel that they are just thrown away but we do actually take note of all comments and work towards making changes to try to keep you all happy. So we have introduced a new Bistro Style Ala Carte Menu that we now serve both in our Riverside Lounge and in the restaurant. This extensive menu has all of our old favourites plus some extra special specials available from 6-9pm daily.

Rosemary who runs our Rejuvenation Suite for us has some great Mid Summer Madness offers on at the moment so be sure to check her availability before you arrive to us.

There is a very exciting show coming to the INEC from the 12-24^th August which is less than a five minute walk away from us. It is the ‘Le Grand Cirque’ which has been described by the New York Times & Las Vegas Press as an Enchanting Circus Performance that is ‘Breathtaking’ & ‘Beyond Belief’.  The Fiddler on the Roof is then on from the 26-30^th August.

We still have a few remaining rooms left on these dates so get booking now so that you don’t miss out.

If you are travelling down to Kerry for the Rose of Tralee Festival from the 19-23 August don’t forget that we are only a ½ hour drive from Tralee so you can still enjoy the festival AND get a good nights sleep. A number of special buses run daily from Killarney.

All the Staff at the Killarney Riverside want to wish Paul, Sean & Cathal- our Olympic Hopefuls from Killarney- all the very best . Hope you will join us in cheering them on.

Hope to welcome you to the Riverside in the near future and don’t forget you can always email me on stay@riversidehotelkillarney.com

Here are some great home recipes for exfoliating the face and body:

My weeks work as a barman starts on Friday. I work most weekends-it keeps me busy and away from harm (ie the social scene) 

Friday is a day of intense cleaning around the bar as we prepare for our weekend guests. Most of Friday is spent getting to know the new weekend guests & their favourite tipple. I am very much a people person so by the time Saturday comes I’d like to think that I can help people in deciding what they would like to do for the weekend around this beautiful town and its surrounding areas. There is something for everyone in Killarney-if not on a bicycle or a jaunting car then one can explore the lakes and mountains, alot of which is in walking distance from the hotel. That alone is an incentive to come to stay with us.

Friday & Saturday nights always fly by as it’s always so busy what with serving drinks and bar food.

Sunday seems to be the more relaxed of the weekend. People chill out with their Sunday papers while sipping on their drinks in the lobby

Monday & Tuesday nights I’m on my own as the Night Porter on duty-this is the time we use to catch up on cleaning duties etc. Wednesday & Thursday are my days off –time to catch up on my sleep and then its back to the weekend again.

I was born and raised in London to Killarney parents. I arrived in Killarney for the first time in 1977 just on a holiday. Our second holiday to Killarney was in 1979 and we never went back home-what a holiday!

The next time you are in Killarney call into me for a drink and a chat. Who knows you might never go home either!!