18 December 2023

My husband and I finally had our honeymoon in Dubai in October this year. We originally booked back in 2019 to travel just after our wedding we had planned for August 2020 – but we all know what happened that year! And it wasn’t our wedding! We got married in 2021 but waited until this year to go – and it was definitely worth the wait! We flew with Emirates direct from Glasgow – a 7½ hour flight. Although we would’ve loved to be heading upstairs to First Class, Economy was great - plenty legroom, an excellent choice of entertainment with lots of movies, TV and games to help pass the time and a comfy pillow and blanket if we wanted to sleep. Everything in Dubai is built on a massive scale – and the airport is no exception - on arrival we had to take a train to another terminal to collect our luggage! We loved our hotel from the moment we stepped inside. The luxurious 5* Jumeirah Al-Naseem was cool and contemporary, it looked and felt like a luxury retreat. Our room was simply stunning with THE view in Dubai – overlooking the Burj Al Arab. As the temperature was over 40° for most of our holiday, it was lovely to head indoors to our beautiful, clean, air-conditioned room at the end of the day! We travelled just before the optimum time to visit Dubai (November to March) when you can relax in the warmth of the desert-like climate while avoiding the extreme heat. The service we received from everyone in the hotel was exceptional! From the moment we arrived we were made to feel special by everyone we encountered. Servers, reception, buggy drivers, concierge, housekeepers, etc. just couldn’t do enough for us. We opted for the Half Board basis which meant we had a buffet breakfast in our own hotel but had the choice of almost 40 different restaurants across the Madinat Jumeirah for dinner. Breakfast was incredible, everything you could possibly want was included in the buffet – fruits, juices, pastries, pancakes, waffles, cooked breakfasts and charcuterie, there was even an avocado toast station! Super healthy options or complete indulgence, there was something for everyone, but if you did manage to think of something that wasn’t available then it could be made especially for you. Everything we had was absolutely delicious! Having so many different restaurant options for dinner meant that as we were only there for a week, choosing where to eat each night was probably the most difficult decision we had to make in Dubai! We expected to have limited menus to choose from (as is often the case with half board offerings) but were delighted to discover that all of the restaurants offered their full a la carte menus. Only a handful of dishes had a supplement to be paid, even in the Michelin star restaurants. Getting around between the other hotels and restaurants was super easy as there are golf buggies continually running along the beach front between the hotels. There are also abra boats on the waterways of Madinat Jumeirah which was a lovely way to travel from one hotel to another. We wanted to use our time away (without the kids) to relax and chill by the pool but we couldn’t be in Dubai without doing some sightseeing. We took the hop on-off bus to see around the city, it was incredible that we had to drive along 8 lane motorways to get from one area of the city to another! Travelling the full length of the Palm Jumeirah to reach Atlantis, The Palm again highlighted just how big everything in Dubai is! It was also really interesting to see the contrast between Old Dubai and the busy city centre. We also spent an afternoon visiting the worlds tallest building, the Burj Khalifa. We went to floor 125 of the 828m high skyscraper! There is always a haze in Dubai but it was still possible to see the city’s other famous landmarks from this spectacular viewpoint. We then watched the Dubai Fountains display – twice! Within half an hour you can watch the display in daylight and then in darkness. One of our trip highlights was our time at the AURA Skypool – at 210 meters above sea level, it’s the world’s highest 360° infinity pool. We didn’t manage to get one of the poolside daybeds but we had our own sofa with a view looking over to the Burj Al Arab. We spent the morning swimming around and taking in the breathtaking views at the 3 other sides - Dubai Skyline, Palm Jumeirah, and the Dubai Marina. Top tip, if you want to go here, bookings open 60 days in advance and sell out quickly! We absolutely loved our time in Dubai and will definitely be back!

14 August 2023

Last week my daughter Ava and I spent a fantastic couple of days in London, the highlight being a trip to the Warner Bros Studios – The Making of Harry Potter. We flew with Easyjet from Edinburgh to London Gatwick and caught the train from the airport into the city. Within 35 minutes we were in London Victoria Station, just a 2 minute walk from our hotel. We stayed in the centrally located 4* Park Plaza Victoria which was within easy walking distance of everything we planned to do whilst in the city. The hotel had everything we needed for our trip – a comfortable bed, delicious breakfast buffet and even a dedicated kids check in! There was also a sauna and steam room (unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to enjoy these!) All staff members we encountered were very friendly and helpful, nothing was too much trouble. An easy 20 minute walk took us down towards the Thames, past Westminster Abbey, and across Westminster Bridge which allowed us to take typical tourist photos of the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben! At the other side of the Bridge is the fantastic London Eye. Ava couldn’t believe how big it was – I think she had imagined a small ferris wheel! The views across the city during the 30 minute ride were spectacular. At the base of the London Eye are several other attractions including the London Dungeon, London Aquarium and Shrek’s Adventure. We only had time during our visit to go to Shrek’s Adventure, a fun interactive journey to Far Far Away to find Shrek. Top Tip – if you are planning to visit any of these attractions it’s definitely worth buying them as a package with your London Eye ticket. We also walked the half mile from the hotel to Buckingham Palace to see the Changing of the Guard. We watched the guards and bands pass from a great vantage point opposite the Queen Victoria Memorial. However, if you want to see more of the ceremony within the Palace grounds then you’ll need an early start to grab a spot at the Palace gates! And on to Harry Potter! This was a treat for my daughters 8th birthday and we loved it! We took the train from Euston Station to Watford Junction (approx. 20 minutes) and then the Harry Potter shuttle out to the Studios (15 minutes). There is a direct Harry Potter branded shuttle bus from Central London to the Studios but as our time was limited we took the train as it was quicker. At the studios we visited all of the main locations from the movies - Privet Drive, Diagon Alley, Platform 9¾, Gringotts Bank and the Great Hall at Hogwarts to name a few. The interactive experiences we at the studios were so much fun! We opened the door to the Great Hall, tasted butterbeer, danced with Dobby, boarded the Hogwarts Express and picked a mandrake in Professor Sprouts greenhouse! We also learned the secrets of how some of the special effects were created and filmed our own flying broomstick video against the green screen. It took around 4 hours to see and do it all. We did miss out a few scary bits (we weren’t keen on seeing Aragog in the Forbidden Forest or the Gringotts Dragon!). The staff were brilliant with my daughter when we decided to avoid these. All in all it was a brilliant experience! We flew home from London the next day, again travelling to the airport via public transport, this time by underground, train and the Luton Dart. We made our way home, very tired but very much looking forward to our next trip to the capital – we still have so much to see and do!

15 May 2023

Australia was always number one on my travel bucket list and a few years ago I finally got to realise that dream! It was, and still remains, one of my favourite holidays ever. As work restricted the amount of time we could travel for, my husband and I left Glasgow Airport with a jam packed itinerary ahead of us for our 24 night adventure! Our first stop was Perth where we stayed in the Fraser Suites, with views of the Swan River, for 4 nights. No time for jet lag before we got started sightseeing. We saw our first kangaroo in Perth Zoo and encountered some other local wildlife - quokkas and a venomous brown snake(!) whilst cycling around Rottnest Island. Next up was 5 nights in the centrally located Radisson on Flagstaff Gardens in Melbourne. We hired a car to drive the scenic Great Ocean Road where the spectacular Twelve Apostles were just one of the many breath-taking viewpoints on the journey. Melbourne was also where we got to feed kangaroos and cuddle koalas! After a delay during our connection at Alice Springs Airport, we arrived at Ayers Rock just in time to leave our luggage at the Desert Gardens Hotel before heading out on our sunset trip to Uluru. Finally seeing the iconic rock, and eating dinner in the middle of the desert, was just amazing! Next morning we had another early start to go on a base walk around Uluru at sunrise. Watching the rock change colour, the red intensifying, as the sun came up was just stunning. Less than 24 hours after arriving, we were back at Ayers Rock Airport to catch our flight to Cairns. We stayed in the Hilton Hotel which was ideally located for everything we wanted to do here. We experienced attractions and sights that we had heard of many times before – snorkelling and diving at the Great Barrier Reef, crocodile spotting on the Daintree River, and walking through the rainforest were just some of our incredible experiences! Next we moved on to the Reef View Hotel on Hamilton Island, the largest of the gorgeous Whitsunday Islands. The highlight of our 3 night stay here was without question the boat trip to stunning Whitehaven Beach. Absolute beach perfection! And on to the final stop on our tour – the Hilton in Sydney for 5 nights. Once again seeing sights we had only seen on TV before was amazing! The first view of the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House definitely didn’t disappoint and the views from the top when we did the bridge climb were spectacular! Bondi Beach, Manly and a day trip the beautiful (if a bit chilly!) Blue Mountains were the other highlights of our time in Sydney. We absolutely loved every second of our trip and fitted so much into a short space of time. There is still so much to see and do though, hopefully that means we’ll have to go back again!!