17 September 2018

Rome...what a beautiful city! I visited Rome for the first time this summer and if you have never been you need to put it on your bucket list! The architecture and history are absolutely mind blowing. We travelled as a family in August and decided to stay about 3km outside the main area so that we could have a hotel with an outdoor pool. We stayed at the Crown Plaza St Peters which was €10-15 by taxi to get into the main areas of Rome. The hotel also runs a shuttle bus to and from which is €1.50 per person. The hotel was clean and modern but not traditional. The outdoor pool was a welcome sight after walking in the August 34 degree heat. I was in Rome for one week but if I was staying 2-4 days I would stay in the centre. We visited all the main sites – the Coliseum, Roman Forum, Vatican and its museums, St Peters Square, Pantheon. My top tips are to do a guided tour, book the skip the line and go as early as you can! The queues can be huge but skip the line does exactly that and we didn't have to wait to get in to any of the sites. As the day goes on it does get busier inside but it is well worth it. We also visited the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain and Borghese Gardens where we hired an electric bike to get around which was great fun way to get around. There are many incredibly beautiful churches to look at. Your shoulders, back and knees need to be covered to go in, I carried a shawl around which was light enough to carry all day and did the trick when I needed to cover up. The taxis are quite cheap, but the best way is to walk around. This way you get to find wonderful streets and squares packed full of traditional Italian restaurants and cafes. I have a few favourites and recommendations, please get in touch if you would like any! My children are 17 and 15 and they loved everything about Rome. They never complained once about all the walking as around every corner there is something else to see, a fabulous view or more importantly a Gelato! One of them had 150 flavours to choose from - we were there a while! I would 100% go back to Rome, even though we saw a lot of it there is so much history and wonder to take in, many more restaurants to try and many more squares to sit in and watch the world go by.

17 September 2018

If you are looking for a special few days away for fine dining, glitz and glamour, Monte Carlo is the place to be! On the other hand, if you are looking for a family break then you won't be disappointed either. I stayed a few days at the Monte Carlo Bay Hotel which is a beautiful, sparkling hotel with a fabulous pool area. The pool has sand on the bottom so feels like you are in the sea. It does have sea access if you want to take a dip and has water sports but no beach. It has great facilities and is just across a small bay from the Monte Carlo Beach Club. The MCBC is a great place for a day, although the name is slightly misleading as there is no beach! It is right on the water’s edge with direct access for swimming and it has a fab pool area and cabanas for hire with amazing views. It also has a water sports centre. Next, I moved to Le Meridien Beach Plaza which is the only hotel in Monaco with a beach! It's a lovely modern hotel with a large pool area and a beach with a netted area for swimming. They also have a water sports centre on the beach and have weekly beach BBQ's with music which shouldn't be missed! If you have older children, then they will love pool parties or just chillin' at Nikki Beach at the Fairmont Hotel or a night out in Twiga or The Budda Bar. There are some wonderful restaurants and of course the world-famous Casino and Café de Paris! We had a walk up to the old town and the royal palace to watch the changing of the guard. The views from The Rock are incredible and again some lovely restaurants with stunning views over Monte Carlo and the Mediterranean Sea. During the summer months they have an evening open air cinema. You can choose your seats, sit back and relax with an ice cream or a bottle of wine under the stars in the still 22-degree heat - we loved it! Having a car for a day or two is ideal as there are some beautiful towns and villages within 30-45 mins from Monaco. A couple of my favourites are Saint Jean Cap Ferrat with its small windy streets and beach side cafes and Port de Beaulieu but you can also drive up into the hills and enjoy the magnificent views! All in all, Monaco is a fantastic place to visit and a short hop from the UK so even a long weekend is easy!

31 January 2018

Sabi Sabi, Kruger National Park in South Africa has to be my favourite place in the world. We have travelled as a family to South Africa since my children were babies and we all fall in love a little more each time we go to this stunning country. It's a long flight but we always did overnight flights, so the children slept most of the way. There is something for everyone: beaches, wine regions, extreme sports, Victoria Falls, driving along The Garden route and of course game drives! It's a perfect winter sun destination and only a one-hour time difference so no jet lag! My all-time favourite visit was at Sabi Sabi Bush Lodge which is in the Kruger National Park. It was six years ago that we visited Sabi Sabi but it was such a magical time that I wanted to share it. It is the most incredible place; the individual lodges with outside showers, eating dinner in the bush, toasting marshmallows over the camp fire, watching the animals at the water hole whilst eating breakfast and the friendliest staff of anywhere I've ever stayed. We were there at the beginning of September which was an ideal time to travel. Warm days meant the animals weren't hiding from the heat of the sun and the cooler evenings meant the animals were ready to hunt. The evening game drives were so exciting! From the sunsets and sundowners, to the chase through the bush watching the lions searching for their dinner! We saw the big 5: lion, leopard, buffalo, rhino and elephant. We saw many other animals including giraffe, cheetah and had an encounter with a leopard and her two cubs who were very inquisitive and came right up to our vehicle. It is incredible and a little scary how close you get to the animals! One day we visited a local village and orphanage which is an education in itself. The people were so welcoming and loved the clothes we gave them - I went back to the lodge with no shoes! If you've been thinking of going to South Africa and to a game park my advice is do it! With children (children of all ages are welcome, under six they generally don't go out on a game drive unless you organise a private drive however, most lodges and hotels in the parks are near waterholes so you will see the animals without going on the drives) or without kids it is truly the most amazing experience and you won't regret it!