Starting a Holiday off right at Bloc Hotel London Gatwick

July 18, 2018July 18, 20182 Comments

It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of airport hotels especially before an early morning flight. I’ve stayed at (and written about) a few over my travels because they really do make the start of a journey so much easier.

My first ever airport hotel experience was at Bloc Hotel at Gatwick Airport a few years ago, and because of the convenience, the friendly staff and the seriously amazing rooms, this is a hotel I go back to time and time again. So when I planned mine and Evie’s trip to Germany and Bloc offered us a stay the night before our flight, it seemed like the perfect way to start off our girly getaway and to make travelling with a toddler a whole lot less stressful. And as I was travelling alone with a toddler I needed it to be as stress-free as possible!

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The Chocolate, Cheese and Coffee Lover’s Guide to Zurich

June 5, 201811 Comments

You don’t have to be crazy about all three things in the title to read this post. There’s something for everyone here but I’m not going to lie, the majority of this list does feature them all pretty highly. Because when you’re in Switzerland it’s only fair and right that you eat a tonne of Swiss chocolate. And cheese. Because chocolate and cheese are two of the best things in life, and coffee is just a given, so of course there were going to be a fabulous range of places to sample them.

The fact that so many chocolate treats are called “Schoggi” which is a ‘cute Swiss word for chocolate’ (I googled it and that is literally the meaning!) just made it all so much more tempting and had me wanting to eat it all.

Most of these places are ideal for children too as Zurich seems to be an extremely child friendly city, but whether you have kids with you or not they are all still some of the best places to eat and drink in Zurich.

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13 Inspiring Travel Mamas

March 12, 201812 Comments

Due to it being Mother’s Day yesterday and International Women’s Day last week, I am feeling like celebrating all the strong and brave women right now. So I thought it only fitting that I share some of my favourite travelling, blogging and Instagramming mamas with you.

Mamahood isn’t always easy and travelling with a little one (or little ones in some cases) can be stressful but these ladies prove that it is possible. They all fill me with so much inspiration and wanderlust and they make me want to jet off with Evie on a new adventure every single day.

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Cruising With a Baby

January 22, 201814 Comments

I’ve always been a bit unsure about cruises. Having been on a few over the years, from luxury Caribbean cruises to mini cruises around the Mediterranean, I absolutely love that you get to explore so many different places in the space of just a few days. Sitting on a different glorious white sandy beach every day? Yes please!

But on the other hand having only a day, or half a day really by the time you’ve got on and off the boat, isn’t really long enough to properly explore somewhere in depth. When I travel I like to do things off the beaten track, meet the locals and get lost trying to find the best eatery, but you just can’t do that on a cruise.

For a taster of a few different cities or beaches it is perfect though so we decided to give it a go with Evie. Our week’s cruise visited several places in Southern Spain, Gibraltar, Portugal and Morocco and I never would have guessed how seriously brilliant a cruise is with a baby. So here are just a few reasons why we loved cruising with Evie so much and, if you’re a bit unsure yourself, why I think a cruise with a baby is the most perfect holiday.

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Getting Festive at Prague’s Christmas Markets

December 22, 201715 Comments

Christmas has always been my very favourite time of year. I love everything about the festive season from the cosy winter nights and possibility of snow to mince pies and mulled wine, but mostly just that happy magic feeling that’s always in the air this time of year. Christmas markets have this in abundance so some of the European markets have always been on my travel wish list as they look even more festive and are just a tad more traditional than the likes of Winter Wonderland – which spending one hour at costs pretty much the same as three nights in Prague. So we went with Prague

Being Evie’s first Christmas we had an actual valid reason to go this year. She adores the twinkling Christmas lights, her whole face lights up when she hears the singing of Christmas carols and I knew it would make our first Christmas with her even more magical. This trip wasn’t for me in the slightest. In fact I didn’t even want to go at all. It’s all totally for her. Yup.

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Gift Ideas for Travelling Mamas and Babies

December 1, 201710 Comments

I won’t claim to be an expert but I’ve travelled with Evie a fair few times in her 8 months on earth so I like to think I’m at least a little bit of a pro when it comes to travelling with a baby. We’ve been on all sorts of adventures from train and plane rides to road trips and cruises and now we sail through customs (mostly) stress free!

With Christmas coming up I thought it was a good time to share some things I’ve found super useful when travelling. I’ve included a whole different range of ideas from the essentials and the practicals to some that are just plain cute and simply needed.

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A Girly Getaway to Clavertye Shepherd’s Huts

November 6, 2017September 13, 201818 Comments

It’s no secret that I love a road trip and when we’re not travelling abroad I like to make the most of exploring a bit closer to home. Even though I passed my driving test well over ten years ago I have only just got my very own car last month and this was just the excuse I needed to plan a mini adventure with just me and my girl.

Clavertye Shepherd’s Huts was the perfect place. Set on a huge farm in the countryside near Canterbury just over an hour from home, meant that it wasn’t too far for me to travel alone with a (possibly screaming) 6 month young baby. Luckily for me Evie slept away soundly in the back of the car for the entire journey so when we arrived at the farm nice and relaxed and I spotted our tiny little hut far away in the distance at the top of the valley, I knew this was going to be a wonderful getaway.

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My New Favourite Little Travel Companion

October 4, 201726 Comments

I try really hard not to be one of those mums who posts way too many baby spam photos on Facebook and whose every other sentence is about their kid. I’m also trying really hard not to turn my previously non-baby related travel blog into a family travel blog – I have written one post since she was born that isn’t about her! But I seem to be failing all on counts because, let’s face it, when you have a baby they become your life. (And also I just cannot stop posting pics because she’s just too damn cute.)

Apart from the wonderful feeling of becoming a mama to my gorgeous girl, one of the things I’ve loved most about parenthood so far is that I’ve been able to combine my biggest passions in life…travel and Evie. So many people told us our travels would be over when we announced that I was pregnant and I told them hell to the no. And I am so glad we carried on booking trips and going away as much as we did pre-baby.

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A Blissful Baby Friendly Holiday with Tots To Travel

September 22, 20176 Comments

Going away with a baby was always going to be more stressful and manic than when it was just the two of us and even though we’d already taken Evie to Paris when she was just nine weeks old, our trip to Mallorca would be her first flight, her first beach holiday and her first taste of the summer sun.

I’m not usually much of a worrier but it can be a bit daunting when you have to remember to pack different factor sun creams for all three of you, swimwear for every occasion (one to keep baby warm, another to keep baby protected from the sun and one to keep any leaks out), plus a pram, travel cot, car seat and the kitchen sink.

Enter Tots to Travel who seriously made our trip so much smoother and stress free, not only by sending us to a brilliant baby friendly destination (although it was still hard to pick where because they have so many dreamy ones to choose from) but also by providing anything we could possibly have needed when going away with a little one.

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Adventures in Paris With a Baby: Evie’s First Trip

June 28, 2017June 28, 20179 Comments

Having had some serious travel withdrawals due to not being away since September, I was desperate for a break as soon as our little adventurer arrived. Plus I think it was well deserved after, ya know, pushing a tiny human out!

For our very first trip with our little adventurer we wanted somewhere that wasn’t too far away which was easy to get to, and so Paris seemed like the perfect choice. Despite it being so close to London we hadn’t been in 12 years and it’s somewhere I had been wanting to return to for such a long time. The bonus of taking the Eurostar over flying sealed the deal, so we took the plunge and booked our first trip for when Evie was just 9 weeks old.

So many people had told us this is the easiest time to travel with a baby, when they’re tiny and can’t walk around yet and don’t do much apart from eat and sleep, and they were totally right. But a lot of people had also said that Paris is not a good place to go with a baby and hopefully this post will prove that I don’t agree with these people at all! Paris is a great idea with a baby!

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