2. While social marketing is a big part of our business at home, we had the opportunity to run a proper social marketing campaign leading up to the Top 10 – and did it with fantastic results. Our second place finish with over 3,000 votes and the media attention it garnered in Canada is a feat we will always be proud of. We have our friends and families to thank for coming onboard and making BREL go viral.

3. Our relationship is rock solid. Sure, we’ve been working and travelling together 24/7 for years, but the pressures of the UJ tested all of the couples. We’re proud to say, BREL is stronger than ever.

4. We can prioritize. While the UJ bosses tried to distract us from the official tasks, we stayed focused and created top-notch writing assignments and videos. Of course, it seems now that the ‘fun challenges’ were actually more than fun (oops), but looking back, we wouldn’t have changed a thing. As travel writers on the road, we know all too well the temptations to have fun at the expense of your work and deadlines. We never want to risk turning in mediocre work for the sake of fun.

5. We can stream live-to-the-web! When tasked with a race of putting up our videos of getting to the top 10, we took it one step further – we streamed it live to the web (complete with TV crew in attendance). Sure, this was a risky idea – we could have waited endlessly for the phone to ring with 262 people around the world watching our rejection. And while live-to-the-web didn’t win us the “first-uploaded” contest (a technicality, if you ask us) it’s still a skill we’ll definitely use in the future. Plus it was super cool.

6. Our network of support is fantastic – you voted, you spammed your friends, you followed our blog (we had more comments than anyone!) and we’ll always be thankful.

A huge thank-you to everyone in Kinsale – it’s a fabulous town where the locals and the sponsors made us feel at home (a special shout-out to Mayor O’Brien for your late night drinking and singing). To all the other candidates, we’ll never forget sharing this experience with you all – you were incredible people with incredible skills and personalities and you raised the bar for us on a daily basis. Mark and Denise: we’ve already congratulated you both in person, best of luck on this adventure. And of course, lastly, thanks to RBG: you’ve pulled off a massive social marketing coup and this has been a blast.

The next BREL adventure may not be the Ultimate Job, but it will be Bigger-than-Ultimate. That, we can guarantee. Stay tuned.

photo credit to Susan Jefferies Photography (www.sjpireland.com) – Susan and John were fantastic!

[NOTE to those following the Ultimate Job: the following post is one of our official challenges. We've targeted this blog post to Runaway Bride and Groom's audience--engaged couples everywhere. We will be returning to the BREL Ultimate Job blog again shortly!]
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Tell any Irish person you’re headed to the town of Kinsale, Co. Cork, and you’re likely to get the same reaction. “Oh, Kinsale’s beautiful! Make sure you go to Fishy Fishy.”

The aptly-named seafood restaurant is something of an institution here, in no small part to its charismatic owner, Martin Shanahan. From its humble beginnings as a fish shop deli (still open for business in the centre of town), Fishy Fishy quickly outgrew its small 20-seat capacity; four years ago Martin and his wife Marie expanded to a second location, a sprawling, stylish quayside space complete with one of the town’s prime patios. That is, when the Irish weather cooperates.

Martin’s mission as a fish ambassador of sorts has grown of late, and these days the local celebrity can be seen spreading his fishy message far and wide as the host of his own wildly successful RTÉ television show Martin’s Mad About Fish. “My mission is a simple one,” he says, “to take the fear out of fish.” “No bone, no fear” is his mantra.

No fear indeed. His flagship restaurant carries the torch high, focusing on what he knows best: freshly caught, simply prepared fish and seafood, full stop. The local fishermen who support the Fishy Fishy credo are so central to his success, their pictures adorn the restaurant walls.

We start by taking a cue from local regulars, who swear by the legendary chilli seafood salad, a collection of monkfish, salmon and prawns, that changes with what happens to be freshest, all served on a bed of greens and chickpeas and topped with a sweet chilli sauce redolent of mango. Crispy parsnip chips add a welcome crunch.

Also highly recommended was the crab crumble, a casserole of moist crabmeat that didn’t disappoint: simmered in a delicate lemon butter sauce, the crab was so tender it literally fell apart. Topped with herb bread crumbs and baked, the dish was true to the restaurant’s aim—simple enough to let the fresh ingredients shine through.

For those not of the fishy persuasion (my wife Melanie included), fear not—a perfectly cooked rib eye steak topped with delicate onion rings came accompanied by a peppercorn sauce declared “good enough to drink.”

A carefully chosen international wine list naturally leans toward whites well-paired with the fare. And last but not least, top of the dessert heap (should you still have room), was a sticky toffee pudding served with butterscotch sauce and fresh cream, decadently sweet but not so filling as to make justifying a final course difficult.

Judging from the out-the-door queues all summer long, Martin’s clearly succeeding in his mission.

Uncomplicated. Consistent. Fresh. And not a bone or tinge of fear to be found.

FISHY FISHY
Pierside, Kinsale, Co. Cork
+353 (0)21 4700415
Open 7 days a week
Mid March – Mid October:
Tuesday – Saturday : 12.00 pm – 9.00 pm
Sunday / Monday : 12.00 pm – 4.30 pm
Handicapped accessible.

We know a lot of you are out there watching BREL at the finals so we’ve decided to update this blog posting as Day 2 of the finals proceeds. Sort of like a Twitter feed for non-Twitter types. Check back for our restaurant review later this afternoon as well.

8:47 am – We are about to board a trolley to the town of Kinsale. The estate we are staying at is the same place where Michael Jackson hid from the media post the sex scandal a few years ago (though it isn’t creepy here at all). In fact, it’s gorgeous. Mel is especially excited about all the rabbits hopping about. Brendan, in true Brendan style, is excited about the black pudding [Mel - that's essentially fried blood].

10:44 am – Frantically working on our video script. The people in Kinsale are super helpful and have given us tons of ideas. Of course, our Toronto research team has been hard at work too…thanks guys! They threw a new challenge at us – finding a secret location where a radio interviewer was waiting. A fun idea, but BREL stayed on task: video, video, video. Stay tuned.

11:50 am – off to the Trident Hotel for lunch on the harbour, followed by a boat cruise. Hungry, a little stressed, but all about the Ultimate Job.

1:06 pm – Focus, focus, focus. We’ve decided to skip the boat cruise and have opted to spend the afternoon filming video and seeing Kinsale. We had a fabulous lunch at the Trident – clearly a top wedding venue option here. Mel sampled almost of all the desserts (delish). Brendan focused on the seafood. Love that we get champers everywhere we go.

4:25 pm – Back from a whirlwind afternoon touring Kinsale. To truly understand the spirit of this village, we hired a local to take us around. We saw and learned so much from Ronnie – including the local expression: Are you married or do you live Kinsale? Tons of fun stories to go along with that one. We had a minor incident where our car rolled into a BMW – with Mel still in it. Apparently parking brakes can be a little tricky here… Don’t worry Mom, I’m ok. Now on to editing our video…

6:20 pm – The video is in full swing, and hopefully you’ve had a chance to read our resto review (Fishy Fishy). We’re off to an evening of activities with our new-found friends: dinner, drinks in the VIP area of a local club, cocktail classes (where we’ll all be sampling the Brell-tini), then back around midnight to finish off our masterpiece. Stay tuned for more updates!

11:59 pm – Back from a great evening out. Dinner at Hamlet’s, cocktail school and another photo shoot. While there is a VIP area waiting for us at a club, we’ve actually taken the first bus back to the estate (very un-BREL, I know). Now the real editing begins. Our interview has been moved to 10 am tomorrow, and we are being treated at a spa at 11 am, so really, the next few hours are CRITICAL!!!! Wish us luck!

1:47 am – Still working. Feeling good about the video, though likely pulling an all-nighter tonight. Wondering how the dancers on So You Think You Can Dance do this for weeks on end. And they are actually dancing, not just writing and videoing.

3:04 am – Still going. Making progress. Feeling calm and confident.

4:46 am – We have a complete draft of the challenge video! Stay tuned – it’ll be posted tomorrow afternoon…We should be able to catch a few hours sleep before our interview…

5:13 am – The sun is about to rise and the birds are chirping (seriously, they are). Our videos are complete!!!! We can’t wait for the judges to see them…and of course to share them with all of you. Thanks for sharing this Day in the Life of BREL at the Ultimate Finals…

THE MEETING:
Despite knowing a disturbing number of random facts about all the couples involved (can’t wait to hear that Donald Duck imitation Allan), it was great to actually meet everyone. A little champagne didn’t hurt either.A photo shoot followed, during which we (and by “we” I mean, Mel) managed to spill champagne down my crotch just moments before the photographer was about to make us look famous. In her defence, we WERE in a hammock, a dangerous manoeuvre indeed.

THE CHALLENGE:
Kinsale is known as the gourmet capital of Ireland; thus it made sense that our next challenge would involve dining at some of the top establishments in town.Tonight we were dropped into the centre of Kinsale challenged with a scavenger hunt. We were given several clues that would lead us to selected restaurants to be reviewed for Challenge #2. The last two couples to solve the clues and find their restaurant would be left without tables; they would be sent to a fish and chip shop.

THE STRATEGY:
Despite Brendan’s secret hope that he would get to eat fish and chips yet again, BREL had a strategy: divide and conquer! First: forget the clues—pick the best known restaurant in town (Fishy Fishy) and have Brendan run there as fast as he could. Chances were, we surmised, it was bound to be one of the featured restaurants.Meanwhile Mel hung back and used the power of the iPhone, using restaurant locator apps to find possible matches to the clues. This also avoided her having to run, which she enjoyed immensely.In the end Fishy Fishy had a table waiting for RunawayBrideAndGroom.com, and the BREL strategy paid off. Ironically, Mel doesn’t eat fish. More about that later.

THE PUB:
You didn’t really think an evening with BREL in Ireland would end anywhere else, did you?

We want to take this opportunity to acknowledge all of you who’ve tolerated our spam, voted for us, followed our blog and supported us on Facebook. This experience was so much fun in part because it gave us the opportunity to get closer to our friends and family, and meet people we otherwise wouldn’t have.

We’d also like to give a special shout-out to those of you who made getting us to the Ultimate Job finals your Ultimate Goal:

· Jonas (for helping us edit our application video and teaching us how to edit ourselves)

· Mel Cote (for her incredible and creative brain and shameless plugging of BREL) – and her son, 6-month old Baby Shane for having his naps interrupted for the Ultimate Job

· Kristel (for first dreaming up this idea and believing in BREL to make it happen)

· Mel’s Mom and Dad (for tireless campaigning for votes, commenting on blogs, getting the media on our side)

· Mel’s sister Nicole (for networking for votes, the ‘ash’ joke idea and countless other support and ideas along the way)

· Uncle Roly (for never wavering in his support of team BREL and bringing in hundreds of votes)

· Brendan’s dad (for giving Brendan the gift of a love of travel and spamming his friends even though he hates doing that)

· the Kinnears, the Piches, the Powells and all the other friends and families who gave the Ultimate Job their ultimate all

A huge “thank you” to those of you in Toronto helping keep our businesses and pets alive while we are in Ireland (and hopefully while we’re Ultimate Jobbing for 6 months): Matt, Kelly, Paul…

To all our media support: thank you! CTV television, CityTV, The Espanola Monitor, the Sudbury Star, MCTV, Newstalk 1010 radio, MooseFM, Boots ‘n All, MACO Destinations magazine, PlanetEye.com Traveller magazine, Inside Toronto community newspaper…

We’ll be blogging and Facebooking throughout the finals weekend, so stay tuned and think BREL!!!!

HERS

1.        A pint of Guinness in Ireland is WAY better than a pint of Guinness anywhere else. [Note from B: that’s not saying much coming from Mel, since she wasn’t much of a fan to begin with…] And not just because you’re drinking it in a REAL pub surrounded by fun Irish people. It actually tastes better.

2.       It’s a bit strange to be speaking the same language as everyone and yet still not understand some of the words being used.  Though it is good craic. (pronounced ‘crack’ for everyone at home – it means fun, good times, good conversation)

3.       The Irish really know how to make you feel at home – we’ve joined strangers for pints at their tables and been invited to a celebrity party (and a funeral, which was a bit odd). People who would scowl at me at home—or just ask for change—strike up friendly conversations.

4.       It seems that everyone we talk to is familiar with RunawayBrideAndGroom.com and the Ultimate Job. Some have even seen our application video. Still working on our celebrity status here though.

5.       We are staying at the Dylan, one of the hottest boutique hotels in Dublin. Everyone here looks famous. We’re considering taking photos of  random people holding our ‘Runaway Bride and Groom Rocks’ sign and posting it to our blog just in case they are, in fact, famous. Whitney Houston and Colin Farrell just checked out a few days ago, so you never know…

HIS

1.       Mel is drinking Guinness now? Just a few weeks ago she spit it out while filming our application video! And yes, the Guinness is exactly as good as I remember.

2.       Everyone seems to know each other here. We’ve already run into friends of one of the other competitors. (Insert joke about small gene pool here)

3.       Let it be said: Dublin is a sophisticated city – it’s not just about having pints in a pub. There are swanky cocktail lounges, gourmet restaurants and stylish people. Though we did balance that with pints in a pub – we are still BREL, after all.

4.       I can’t believe how many shoes she brought. What was she thinking?! She’s got more pairs of shoes here than I have underwear. (And no, I am NOT planning on using any of our dangerous underpants manoeuvres)…see:
http://www.runawaybrideandgroom.com/ultimatejob/blog/read/156/800

5.    Travelling in Ireland as a Canadian named Brendan is like coming home—for once I look like the locals (it’s hard to blend in while travelling in Japan or India), nobody asks me how to spell my name, and every rack has my size at Marks & Spencer. Brilliant!

In response to the flurry of interest (revulsion? horror?) at bacon chocolate as an ingredient in the BREL-Tini, I thought people would enjoy some photos of Mel trying her first taste of this legendary combination.

A Hollywood fixture and stand-up comedian, Howie is currently on tour. These days you can see him on TV regularly as the host of the prime time game show Deal or No Deal.

He is a regular guest on the Tonight Show (these days hosted by Jay Leno); his next appearance is coming up May 20th.

Starting June 1st Howie will be the new judge on America’s Got Talent, replacing none other than David Hasselhoff. Not that anyone can replace The Hoff.

Howie is also the Executive Producer, writer and voice of the kid’s show Bobby’s World, now in syndication in 65 countries…although you might remember him back in the day as an actor on St Elsewhere!

AND, more importantly, Howie is also a huge supporter of Brendan and Mel for the Ultimate Job!

Rather than ruin the fun for those guessing the celebrity by actually naming him, you can click on the links below for the big reveal.

Hints:
- He’s on tour in the UK right now, and makes regular visits to Ireland
- Whether you recognise his face or not probably depends on what kind of music you listen to!

bio
label
The man In Ireland

Some fun video to follow soon, but for all of you following along to see if we would make it–we’re here! Even had our celebratory (and mandatory) first pub visit.

Sláinte!

As we all know, only a few weeks ago, Eyjafjallajokull volcano brought air traffic across Europe to a grinding halt. The stories of stranded passengers and frustrated travellers filled the news for days. For me, it was personal : my sister was about to board a plane to Paris for her first overseas trip, a trip she had painstakingly planned for months –a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. After many frustrating days of waiting and hoping she cancelled her plans and resorted to going to Niagara Falls for the weekend. Needless to say, not the trip of a lifetime.

And so I wonder…what are the chances that less than 24 hours before we are about to board a plane to Ireland for the Ultimate Job finals, they close Irish airspace again???? It seems that a change of wind direction means ash is headed to Ireland.

This is a serious pain in the ash. (sorry, can’t help it).

As life-long travellers, we’ve grown accustomed to delayed and cancelled flights, lost baggage and things-in-general not working out as planned. In the event that our flight does indeed get cancelled on Tuesday, we have a Plan B and a Plan C (is it too late to take a ferry across the Atlantic?) We’d be lying if we said that this new development hasn’t added to the stress of an already pressure-filled week.

Perhaps this is the ultimate test for the ultimate job? Handling travel chaos with ease and grace? Did Runaway Bride and Groom put the volcano up to this?

And one last point…is it statistically possible that fate would interfere with both of my parents daughters’ plans of having the trip of a lifetime????

That volcano needs an ash-kicking. (sorry, still can’t resist).

1. When travelling with limited underpants, the following manoeuvres are permitted:

• Continuation – the continued wearing of a pair of semi-clean undies, after for example, a shower or swim, if the undies have been worn for less than 16 continuous hours
• Double-dipping – a last ditch option, whereby you select the least soiled pair of underwear from the laundry bag and re-wear. Cannot be combined with Continuation.
• Inside-out – much controversy surrounds this dangerous manoeuvre, whereby a worn pair of skivvies are turned inside-out and re-worn. Generally, this manoeuvre is considered covert and not publicly disclosed.
• Commando –can either be a desperation move, or one justified by chosen attire (surf shorts, bathing suits, man-pris, etc.). When skilfully applied, this manoeuvre can significantly extend the length between visits to the laundromat.

2. The size of the stuff you’re carrying expands to 120% of the space you have in your pack, requiring that you strap objects (e.g. pineapples – true story) to the outside of your bag. And no matter how much you think your partner loves you, he will not, under any circumstances, carry your pack for you, nor will he put any of your shoes or makeup in his bag. No matter how much you whine.

3. You can never see too many monkeys or have too many photos of monkeys.

4. The best time to spot wildlife is when you are without your camera. The harder you look, the less chance you have of finding it. Best strategy: beer in one hand, standing alone in a parking lot, without your glasses.

5. Budgets are easy to meet when they are moving targets that contract or expand depending on how badly you need that massage or $4 diet coke from the mini bar.

6. The resident gecko issued with every hotel room in the tropics is highly preferable to the giant, resident cockroach. It is best to shield Mel from said giant, resident cockroach.

7. Even Brel can start to annoy each other three months in to a year-long trip. Take a deep breath and repeat the following: “Compromise will NOT kill me. Surely he (she) isn’t this annoying in real life – I’ve spent x years with him (her) and surely would have noticed this (fill in the blanks: hygiene/morning cheeriness/ pickiness/ stubborness/pig-headedness) issue before?”

8. It’s always Happy Hour somewhere.

9. If you have to ask “Is that smell us?” it likely is.

10.Two dollars US can actually buy an entire half-pound of bacon for breakfast in a restaurant in Belize. Bacon lovers unite!

They finished bartending school – how about party featuring the entire cocktail list from class? Engaged in Mexico – how about an engagement party featuring a mariachi band – in their house? Christmas party? Cheese ‘balls’ lovingly sculpted like little Christmas trees. Heck – they even came over to throw my housewarming party. That’s dedication.

Melanie has been known to cook elaborate feasts including little details like crackers she’s baked herself. And Brendan, who has DJ’d around the globe, keeps the music coming all night long. That and works the room, fills the glasses and makes a mean spring roll.

The guest list often includes ‘strays’ – random people they’ve come across who are new to town, new to the neighbourhood, sometimes even from a shop they visited or from the next table at a restaurant. Little do those people know how lucky they are to be added to the mix. In fact, more than one couple that has met at one of these shindigs has since tied the knot.

What does this have to do with the Ultimate Job? Well the successful candidates will be putting themselves into the shoes of Runaway Brides and Grooms all over the globe. What would throwing a party here be like? Even if it’s an intimate party of 2 – those wedding couples and honeymooners want to be sure it can be absolutely perfect.

Food. Drink. Experiences. People. Large groups. Romantic solitude. Brel won’t ever just be guests at these incredible spots – though the hotels might believe them to be. They are Hosts by nature. It’s what they do. And every Bride and Groom considering these spots will see them through the eyes of folk who throw the perfect party over and over again. Who could be better for the job?
Now if only I could find a way to get invited…

(Melanie Cote)

But during all the fun we’ve been having this past month, we’ve never lost sight of the fact that the Ultimate Job is an actual JOB. It isn’t a contest with a prize at the end of it. Or a 6-month vacation on a beach (or a series of beaches, as the case may be).

The successful candidates will have assignments to complete, real deliverables to deliver, deadlines to meet and office politics to manage. There will be engaging blogs to write, videos to shoot and edit, travel articles for the Irish Times to write; there will be media appearances, wedding package planning, interviews with top hoteliers, and yes, of course, one with Oprah.

We’ve always approached the Ultimate Job as a Job – with a fun recruiting process (and fabulous by-product publicity for RBG), but it is still a Job – with a capital J.

That said, we’ve been training for the sexier parts of the Ultimate job – and practicing our video and editing skills. Enjoy!

The perfect martini is uncomplicated but elegant. It must be prepared properly—unhurried, and with style. Likewise the perfect BREL-tini is straightforward, but elegant in its simplicity.

Fill a martini glass with ice water and set aside to…chill

INGREDIENTS
1 ½ ounces Tequila (distilled by Las Ventanas resort in Cabo, Mexico)

2 ounces Passion fruit juice (do I need to explain why?)

PREPARATION
Stir slowly with a cocktail spoon in a martini shaker with ice.
Strain mix into the now-perfectly chilled glass.
Drop a Thai hot chili in the bottom (Brendan is the spicy, exotic one)
Garnish with shaved bacon chocolate (Mel is the sweet bacon-lover. And yes, it exists. Bacon and chocolate together at last!)

Serve in a hot tub with a champagne chaser.

INGREDIENTS

1 ounce Coconut rum (to evoke swaying palms and exotic beaches)

½ ounce Spiced rum (because every honeymoon needs a little spice)

Orange juice for topping up (because it doesn’t get sweeter than 6 months of honeymooning)

1 float Canada Dry ginger ale (because the Ultimate Drink AND Ultimate Job aren’t complete without a little taste of Canada)

Pour over ice.
Serve in a coconut shell with TWO straws…for the honeymooners to share.
Garnish with a hibiscus flower…the meaning of which is “seize this opportunity”.
Drink under a palapa at sunset on a tropical beach.

1. Jump up and down 100 times

2. Scream “I knew they would win, I knew they would win” over and over

3. Make a cool Lego creation of Melanie and Brendan in a plane

4. Send a picture of my Lego creation to the Lego Magazine so they publish it

5. Have a sleepover and hot tub party and roast marshmallows in the fire pit at Melanie and Brendan’s house

6. Miss school to help Melanie and Brendan pack their suitcases

7. Bring lots of balloons to the airport to say goodbye to Melanie and Brendan

8. Teach Michael, Zachary, Loren and Andrew about the countries Melanie and Brendan visit

9. Write about Melanie and Brendan’s adventures in my Montessori journal

10. Beg mom and dad to take me to visit Melanie and Brendan in Ireland!