Paris has never been in my top ten travel spots. If I’m entirely honest, I don’t think it would have made my top 20. But when you’re gifted some tickets to see Ed Sheeran at the Stade France, you’ve gotta run with it right? So off I toddle for a two night escape to the city of lurve with one of my besties.
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This year I had my first experience with AirBnB and it was surprisingly good. I don’t know why I’m so surprised. Well actually I do. Budget travelling scares the bejeez out of me. I’m not a travel snob (well maybe just a touch) but I’m much more of a 4* kinda girl nowadays. Actually the use of “girl” is a stretch and so maybe I should let that go…along with 2* disasters, grim hotels and dodgy cheap holidays! Which is exactly my point. Even on a budget I want my holiday to be a holiday, not an angst ridden few nights in hell hole worthy of a bad tv show.

Luckily my most recent budget holiday to Cyprus was as far from that as you could image. Yes it was a girls trip and yes, it had all the hallmarks of one (note the strawberry daiquiris are lethal, contain way too much sugar but taste sensational). But it also had much more class and sophistication (depending on which photos you look at).
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Booking accommodation for a wedding reception is a tricky business. You want the one at the top of the list of options but chances are it’s going to be fully booked or, so astronomically priced you feel you’d need a short break for the price. I must have been feeling fairly flighty the day this particular invite arrived because I went straight to the top of the list. After a very quick Google search I thought “ooh yeah”, rung and booked. It was only when I went back and looked again I realised The Wellington Arms in Baughurst is actually in the top 20 gastropubs in the country. Brilliant, a night away in Gastropub heaven! I was already looking forward to the wedding but now my excitement was beyond the normal realms of weekend-away-anticipation.
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Anyone who loves fish knows nothing beats it fresh. As soon as I arrive in a port and see fishing boats, my anticipation for a great meal hits a high. Unfortunately our little visit to the little port of St Peter in Guernsey was wet. Fortunately the food was not.
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Let me start by saying that this trip was relatively short notice. Truth is, we had a big summer holiday planned to the Dominican Republic but when it came to paying for it, we couldn’t afford it. So we cut back, transferring the deposit we had already paid to a holiday in Lefkas, a cheaper alternative. Cheaper in cost but no less full of beauty, culture and fun.

Inadvertently, we had booked a week on an island often referred to as the Caribbean of the Ionians, mainly due to the exquisite blue waters that surround it. The waters were indeed crystal clear and some of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. Literally a sea of blues, every shade, dappled in sunlight, making a twinkle no filter could create. Lefkas (or Lefkada) has a unique landscape of rock face and luscious greenery, interspersed with spear-shaped cypress trees. The mix of green and blue make it a place holiday dreams are made of.

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Honestly, I’m not sure where to start. I’m just back from a 5 night trip to Abu Dhabi and I am buzzing. The food, the experiences, and most importantly the memories I made, will last me a lifetime. I laughed hard and long on this trip. It was pure therapy.

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I’m baaaack! And suitably shame faced that I haven’t blogged in SO long. Not that I think anyone is on tenterhooks waiting for a post but just because I feel disconnected. However, on the plus side it’s been one hell of a summer. And I have a new job! Well actually, I am officially my own boss which should make it easier to schedule in some blogging…in theory.

Perhaps to remind myself more so than to share with the blogging community, here are my top 5 summer highlights.
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Hola! Well actually I’m back now so it’s just, hi! I’m browner, fatter and relatively rested. Can’t ask for much more than that from a family holiday can you? Our eleven gloriously sunny days in Spain are over but I’m trying to keep the holiday buzz alive for as long as possible. So I thought I’d give you a little run down of our family holiday and in doing so, me a little reminder of a what a brilliant time we had.
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When you book a bed and breakfast, it is always a gamble. Let’s be honest, paying to sleep in a stranger’s home can be well, a bit uncomfortable can’t it? Individuality is what makes a house a home, but that doesn’t always translate when welcoming strangers. We’ve all stayed in a dodgy hotel, but at least there you can complain without offense or ask to swap your room. The intimacy of someone’s home is something quite different. Especially with a small child. But when it is right, it is such a treat. And that was exactly what we had this weekend at Holly Tree House.
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When planning a holiday, I think it’s fair to say that everyone has a vision of what must be included for it to qualify as a holiday. The picture in your mind’s eye of what will make it the perfect escape from the reality of everyday life. I have no qualms in admitting that for me, this includes sunshine, sea and no housework. So our summer holiday this year was a serious risk. A holiday in England. In a caravan.
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