A trip to Paris with kids is a very different vacay compared to one sans children. However it makes for a wonderful and memorable city break all the same. Recently our family traveled to Paris for a long weekend. This is the 6th time that I have visited the city of love and I think I am finally starting to get the hang of it. I must say, Paris can be a difficult city if you don’t speak French and don’t know your way around. But there is so much culture, romance and food to indulge in that it is worth the challenge. Keep reading to hear my insights, tips and tricks for enjoying a holiday in Paris with kids.Continue Reading
London’s Most Instagramable Eateries
Saint Aymes, London
I have been UK living for over 2 years now and I am slowly making my way through the list of London’s most Instagramable eateries. What is an Instagramable eatery I hear you say? My definition would be a pretty establishment worthy of the ‘perfect Instagram picture‘. Whether that be for their food or their decor. So I have started with a list of the places I have already tried, and finished with a few more that are still on my wish list!Continue Reading
Travel Diary | Dubrovnik, Croatia
View of the City Walls & Old Town | Dubrovnik, Croatia
I have been wanting to travel to Dubrovnik, Croatia for as long as I can remember. Many of our friends have taken a Croatia Sail cruise along the Adriatic Coast, however unfortunately I think we have missed the boat on that one (excuse the pun). I have only ever heard good things about Croatia and I expected it to be very picturesque. It is also common knowledge that it was one of the key filming locations for the hit TV show, Game of Thrones. I can safely say that Dubrovnik captured my heart at first sight and absolutely took my breathe away. Keep reading for my complete download of our family holiday to Dubrovnik, Croatia.Continue Reading
10 Toys to Occupy a Toddler on a Plane
This year has already seen us take several flights with our toddler, both short haul and long haul. Whilst I love traveling and exploring as a family of three, I also always slightly dread the flight with my toddler whom is 21 months old. We have been fortunate enough to fly Business Class on the long haul flights so that does give us a bit more room and comfort, however it is still very difficult to entertain a little one who is incredibly active but cant quite yet communicate. As such, I have spent a lot of time scouting Amazon for toddler friendly toys and activities. I pack them into our carry-on luggage to keep her entertained during the flight and then use them throughout the holiday. Here are the top 10 toys that I have opted for to help keep my very busy toddler occupied.Continue Reading
Review: Yorkshire Heart Vineyard and Brewery Tour
Yorkshire Heart Vineyard
A vineyard in North Yorkshire you say? You must be joking! But this family run business halfway between York and Harrogate in North Yorkshire is breaking all the rules, and winning awards for their produce. When we first arrived in England, I was surprised to learn about English wineries – when you think of wine country you most certainly don’t think of the UK. But this little gem in Yorkshire is proving us all wrong.Continue Reading
Travel Diary | Sorrento, Italy
Sorrento Dream Resort, Italy
As a family we almost always travel over the Easter holidays – it is a good excuse to get away for a few days without taking any annual leave. This year we opted to travel to Sorrento, Italy. It has been 10 years since we last visited Italy, and the first time for our daughter. We found cheap flights to Naples so were then tasked with the tough decision of where we wanted to be based for our short vacation. I had heard great things about Sorrento and given its close proximity to Naples, it made it an easy choice to explore this coastal town. Continue Reading
Master Distiller | Distill your own Gin at Spirit of Harrogate
Last year I was lucky enough to win Runner-up Best Dressed at York Races – you can read all about that experience in ‘Fashion at the Races – How I (almost) won best dressed‘. The prize was an overnight stay at Hotel du Vin, Harrogate and a ‘Distill your own Gin‘ experience at the Spirit of Harrogate. Given we are living the expat life, we booked in the experience and night away months in advance once we knew my parents were coming to stay and that we would have a reliable babysitter. Continue Reading
Plane Spotting in St Maarten – A Day at Maho Beach
KLM A330 on approach to Princess Juliana International Airport
A visit to Maho Beach, St Maarten has been on our bucket list for quite some time. If you have been following me for a while you will know that my husband loves planes, and to be honest I have been quite fascinated with aviation for as long as I can remember. You may have seen the footage on YouTube of the planes coming in to land at Princess Juliana International Airport (airport code: SXM) – they come in low over the water and sand at Maho Beach and people stand on the beach waiting to be jet blasted by the planes engines as they take off. I must say, the real life experience of watching these aircraft in the Caribbean completely lives up to expectation. Detailed below is everything you need to know for a day of plane spotting at Maho Beach – we ended up doing this twice and if we had been staying closer to the airport then I imagine we may have been there every day. Can anyone say plane geek?Continue Reading
Travel Diary | Miami, Florida
Miami Beach, Florida
Miami, the home of beautiful white skyscrapers contrasted against never ending palm trees, expensive cars and an acceptable dress code of active wear. We were not really sure what to expect on this family holiday, but I must say that we were pleasantly surprised. I expected a lot of tits and arse and drunken shenanigans, and whilst I am sure there is plenty of that in parts of Miami, it is not the version we uncovered during our vacay. I left describing it as the friendly and tropical version of NYC.
It was a short trip with only 2 days and 2 nights on the ground to explore. Tie that in with the essential toddler naps and it meant we didn’t have a lot of time to do everything we would have liked and instead spent plenty of time relaxing on the balcony with a glass of Rose (how terrible!) However, it makes for a good excuse to travel back soon. Here is the down low on our trip to Miami, Florida.Continue Reading
My Top 5 Holidays of All Time
Santorini, Greek Islands
I thought it would be fun to share my top 5 holidays of all time and give everyone a little more insight into my travel history. Essentially this list also reflects my fave places in the world, both for what they have to offer but also due to the many happy memories that I have made in each place. So here we go, my top 5!Continue Reading