An Epic Stay at the Lloyd Hotel, Amsterdam’s Most Unique Hotel

July 13, 20201 Comment

I don’t tend to stay in “normal” hotels when we travel. You know the kind I mean. The standard chain hotels that offer a basic room with a comfy bed and a clean bathroom. Nice, but no pezaz. I usually go for something that’s a little more out of the ordinary. Somewhere that is fun and quirky, with unique rooms and beautiful designs. An independent hotel that has personality; somewhere that will make our trip a whole lot more enjoyable and that we’ll remember for a long time after our visit. And of course it has to be child friendly.

This is exactly what we found when we stayed at the Lloyd Hotel. Fun and quirkiness in abundance, this place bursts with character. Our room was like nowhere I have ever stayed before and most definitely somewhere that both Evie and I will remember and would stay at again on any future trip to Amsterdam.

Continue reading →

A Magical Christmas in Stockholm with Kids

December 12, 20195 Comments

My inner child and belief in magic has never really disappeared so Christmas has always been my very favourite time of year. But, since having Evie, it has become even more magical. I adore watching her wake up with excitement every morning during December to see what the elves have left in her advent calendar tree; she shouts out in delight whenever she see twinkly lights; and the thought of Santa brings a huge smile to her face.

Which is why I love visiting a different European Christmas market every year – for the adventure together as well as sharing the magic of Christmas with her.

For this year’s destination we decided on Stockholm, somewhere which I had already heard was extremely family friendly, looked incredibly festive, and a country that neither Evie nor I have ever visited. It’s no surprise that visiting a city in Sweden is going to be a fairly expensive trip so getting a Stockholm Pass, which provides entry to most of the city’s main attractions, is a fantastic way to save some money while seeing all the sights.

These are my top tips for what to do in Stockholm with kids at Christmas time and during winter. Wrap up warm and get out to explore this ridiculously pretty city!

Continue reading →

The Best Brunches in Porto

November 6, 2019November 6, 20193 Comments

Brunch is always a good idea. Especially when you’re travelling. And especially when you’re travelling somewhere that has such exceptional cuisine. It’s been a while since my taste buds were as satisfied as they have been in Portugal, particularly in Porto, which has an abundance of cool restaurants and quirky cafes that serve an expert brunch.

Clearly the best meal of the day, brunch gives you a totally valid excuse to have a lazy morning and then enjoy excessive amounts of both savoury and sweet in one go, with a fun social atmosphere, all while sipping on booze before midday. I may have had a dessert overload, as you would have read in my last drool-worthy post on Porto’s most indulgent desserts, but I also brunched hard, so here are some of the best places for brunch in Porto.

Continue reading →

Porto’s Most Indulgent Desserts (and Where to Find Them)

September 12, 2019September 12, 20196 Comments

On my recent visits to Porto I have been lucky enough to have eaten at some of the most fantastic restaurants, all recommended by locals, from great brunch spots to the most divine vegetarian restaurants. I now have so many recommendations to share that there are far too many to include in one post, so I’ve split it up into sections. The first…desserts! Obviously. Because cake is the most important food group especially when the Portuguese seem to do them so well.

The streets of Porto (which you can wander afterwards to burn off all those sugar-filled calories) are full of cafés and sweet pastry shops. The Portuguese coffee culture gives you an excuse to enjoy something sweet alongside your morning, afternoon and/or evening espresso.

So here is my list of the best places for dessert in Porto. Warning…there are several photos of me enjoying said desserts because apparently I eat so many and enjoy them so much that it just has to be caught on camera.

Continue reading →

Exploring Lisbon with Kids

July 4, 2019August 22, 20194 Comments

If you read my previous post on falling for Lisbon you will know that our first experience of this city was a very brief one. This time around we had several days to explore at a more leisurely pace as well as a local to guide us around, showing us all the best attractions and local spots, which gave us the chance to fully appreciate this beautiful city.

Many parts of Lisbon are made up of a maze of steep hills and narrow cobblestone streets – particularly the old district of Alfama with its historic colourful houses and superb viewpoints. Pretty to look at but not so ideal to visit with a baby in a pram! I found this out the hard way on our first visit (I’m surprised the wheels didn’t fall off), so I would recommend taking a baby carrier for these areas to save yourself the workout of pushing a pram uphill that you most definitely did not sign up for on a city break. Other easy ways of getting around are Uber or tram. Most of the Uber drivers we used had a baby seat in the back and the tram is always fun for little ones to take a ride on.

Continue reading →

Falling For Lisbon at The Explorer’s Home

May 29, 2019May 29, 201914 Comments

My first trip to Lisbon two years ago was not a great one. We only had a day in the city on a cruise and during our brief visit my grandad almost had his wallet stolen and I found it extremely difficult to get around all the hills and cobblestone streets with a baby in a pram. I was so disappointed that we came away with a negative view of this city that so many people, especially family travellers, talk so highly of.

But I knew we had not been able to experience the city fully in just our one short day so I wrote it off as a bad experience that could have happened anywhere and kept it on my very long travel wish list to visit again at some point in the future.

So when we were invited back by Duarte, the host of The Explorer’s Home Airbnb, after he saw a comment about our bad experience on Instagram (ah the powers of social media), with a promise to show us a better side to Lisbon and change our views on the city, I couldn’t resist giving it another chance.

Continue reading →

A Peaceful Retreat at the Hilton Munich Airport

November 20, 2018November 21, 20184 Comments

Having experienced several airport hotels in London, I already knew how easy and stress-free they make overseas travels. Being in a different country, having to navigate public transport from the city centre for an early morning flight was even more daunting than an early wake up alarm at home, especially when you factor in a toddler plus all the baggage I had to handle alone. So when I came across the Hilton Munich Airport Hotel I immediately knew how convenient a stay it would be, making our last night in Germany a much more relaxed one before we headed back home.

With plenty of public transport options from the city centre – or even an easy train ride from Salzburg, Austria, which is where we came from! – we had no problem finding our way through the airport terminal to the hotel in just a short walk. In fact I wondered at first if I had got us lost as the Hilton’s lobby is so tall and expansive with glass walls in every direction and palm trees towering over a cocktail bar in the centre.

Continue reading →

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.

Continue reading →

8 Reasons to Visit the Island of Mallorca

August 15, 2017August 15, 201725 Comments

I will fully admit that I’m a bit of a snob when it comes to travel. I hate touristy places, big resorts full of English people eating all inclusive food, and beach promenades lined with shops selling tacky souvenirs and giant pool floats. This is what I imagined Mallorca would be like which is why it was never somewhere I had pictured myself going.

But now that Little Miss Ayla is in the world, while we’re still travelling as much as we used to pre-baby, our style of travelling has had to change a slight bit. It’s now less about the challenging hikes and full on sightseeing itineraries and more about the I-have-a baby-to-look-after-every-day-at-home-so-on-holiday-I-just-want-to-chill-the-F-out!

So Mallorca it was! I found us a gorgeous and secluded place to stay in one of the most rural and scenic parts of the island, far away from the touristy towns and the all inclusive resorts – which I will of course write about soon. Magaluf aside (let’s just stay as far from that corner of the island as possible!) what surprised me the most was how stunning and traditional the majority of the island really is. I guess I shouldn’t be so quick to judge a place so here are 8 reasons why you should visit beautiful Mallorca.

Continue reading →

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!

Continue reading →