Travel news

Luck of the Irish

ACCORDING to tradition, St Patrick's Day, celebrated on 17 March, was marked in Boston as early as 1737, when settlers of Irish descent commemorated their day of arrival on American shores with a small parade. This is generally cited as the earliest celebration of the Irish saint's day in America, yet these days it is Chicago that is considered the best place to mark the occasion outside of Ireland.

The city will use non-toxic dye to colour its river a bright shamrock green in preparation for the parade, which is being held on 13 March. For more information about the event, see www.chicagostpatsparade.com.

Wha's like us?

SCOTLAND, as the writer H V Morton once said, is the best place in the world to take an appetite. Our natural larder produces a stunning variety of food from land and sea; a fact that has not been lost on the chefs at Rocco Forte's Balmoral Hotel, in Edinburgh, and the five-star Gleneagles resort, in Perthshire. The restaurants at both hotels have won accolades for their outstanding cuisine, and so now they have teamed up to offer a Taste of Scotland package this season, providing guests with a true Scottish gourmet experience in two different locations.

At Edinburgh's historic Balmoral, guests will stay in an executive room, complete with a bottle of Bollinger champagne on ice, and will enjoy dinner in the hotel's Michelin-starred Number One restaurant. Gleneagles, which is set in 850 acres of Perthshire countryside, is inviting guests to relax in a sprawling estate room before enjoying a Scotch whisky-tasting for two in the bar, followed by dinner at the Michelin-starred Andrew Fairlie restaurant. Gleneagles is also home to three of the top Scottish Championship golf courses, a wide range of exhilarating outdoor leisure activities and a spacious spa. The Taste of Scotland package costs 1,200, for two people, and includes two nights at each hotel. This offer is valid until 31 March. To book, contact the Balmoral (0131-556 2414, www.thebalmoralhotel.com).

This article was first published in Scotland on Sunday, March 7, 2010