4 Life Hacks for Parents Flying with Kids

* Affiliated Content As a parent, you may love the idea of traveling with your young children, because you can think of no better way to expand their horizons and cultivate their curious minds than by introducing them to new countries, new cultures, new people, new sights, and new experiences! However, as we know from the Star Wars movie franchise, there is a dark side of the force out there somewhere — and for so many parents out there, it is that dreaded time in the air. Indeed, while some kids love flying and decorate their rooms with pictures and models of airplanes, many kids would almost rather go to the dentist (almost!) than board a flight. Of course, they are too young to know or care how airplanes work. But that is beside the point. They know what they like, and they know what they are not keen on and for some flying is firmly in the latter bucket. Fortunately, if you’re the parent of an unwilling or unsure passenger, then you don’t have to limit your adventur......

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4 Easy ways to save money on Family Travel

When you love to travel as a family, it can sometimes seem like all your spare money gets spent on your adventures. In fact, you may even be holding off on doing some things and visiting particular places because you are worried about the cost involved. Happily, if you put the tactics below into action, family holidays don't have to cost a fortune. Something that means you and your brood can get away, and still have plenty of money in the bank. Read on to find out more. Explore the UK One way to get away on a regular basis without breaking the bank is to explore the UK instead of always heading abroad. After all, UK breaks usually mean that you don't need to pay for flights, or if you do they will be cheaper. You can also choose to travel there under your own steam in your own vehicle as well, something that can help save a fortune on public transport. Lastly, you have the option of choosing a short break, of one or two nights, something that can make your travel as a ......

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London, Birthday and Premier Inn

Mr A loved the comfy king sized bed  On our way back from France we arrived into St Pancras in the afternoon and decided to spend a night in London as it was Mr A's birthday the next day and wanted it to be a fun and relaxed affair. It was actually perfect timing as it coincided with the opening of the new and super stylish  Premier Inn St Pancras which could not be closer and more convenient to the station. When we arrived we were given a warm welcome from the reception staff and right from the start this felt like a new experience in terms of what Premier Inn is starting to offer - Style on Budget. We were given a family room which was lovely and large with a huge window and large comfy hypnos king sized bed. That evening we tried out the Thyme Restaurant in the hotel which offers lots of family friendly meals, I had the Wild mushroom Risotto, John went for the mixed Grill and Mr A the tomato pasta, it was very tasty and the perfect way to end a long day. By......

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A Parisian Adventure

Well where to start? We managed to fit quite a lot into our 3 days in Paris before heading down to the South of France. I thought I would do an overview post of what we got up to with smaller more in-depth posts on our favourite things we did, including an amazing lunch on the left bank as an early 30th birthday present from John. As soon as we stepped off the Eurostar into the city of lights and found our lovely little Airbnb apartment, which was conveniently located near the Seine river, we were out the door walking along the riverside on our way to the Notre Dame and the love lock bridge. It was a lovely warm evening and Mr A loved running past all the boats and taking in the inspiring scenery. We had heard of a good Falafel place near the Notre Dame but after wondering the little streets we settled for some fresh hand stretched pizza, a big chunky vegetable one, which was light and super tasty, I know it's not really typical French food but it was getting late so we went ......

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On the road....

As you know we love to travel, it's something both John and I did a lot before having Mr A and now that we have him it hasn't stopped our wanderlust ways. There is nothing better in the world than waking up in a different country and different city and young children of the most adaptable of all, in fact I think they make the best travellers as they don't appear to stress about anything. We have been whizzing our way on the Paris Metro lines of late before heading South and cannot wait to share our adventure with you....

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Paris - We will soon be seeing you

So we will be heading off on a really exciting adventure this month, partly because we want to feel some real sunshine for a few days and partly because I am turning 30 this year!! Before we head down to the South of France and our stunning James Villas property for a blissful week will will be spending just under two days in the city of lights and it seems like years (5 to be exact) since I have walked the streets of Paris and it's a long overdue stop in this stunning city and won't be our last that is for sure. We arrive in the late afternoon and this is a rough of what we have planned so far, after making our way to were we will be staying we are going to try and find M.O.B a vegan veggie burger delight of an eatery before a leisurely stroll along the Seine and finally making our way to the Eiffel Tower at night time. The next day we plan to take it easy, visit Notre Dame and than walk down Le Jardin Du Luxembourg to sail some boats in the park bef......

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Sleeper train interiors and slow travel

How beautiful is this photo? ( image ) I have to hold my hand up and say I really love trains and train travel. There is something very relaxing about it, my favourite experiences have always been in central Europe, on trains that in any other country would of been shelved for newer models. I have been lucky enough to do a few sleeper train trips, my favourite being an over night from Zurich to Zagreb, Amsterdam to Prague and Vienna to Venice, of which I mainly stayed in the basic couchettes. The Zurich to Zagreb passed through Slovenia and the landscape was beautiful, as was the wooden panelled interior of the train with velvet style seats, something straight out out of the 1940's with a ticket conductor dressed top to toe in a smart baby blue suit with a conductor hat, chain smoking the while stamping tickets (something you don't see in Western Europe). Luxury on the Orient Express I think people today are always rushing from A to B and not enjoying the journey. I......

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What you really need when travelling with a baby or toddler

Even the most experienced travellers will be able to tell you that as soon as you put a baby or toddler in the mix its a different story altogether and if your not well prepared things can go south rather quickly, but it really doesn’t need to be that way. We have done a lot of different holidays and adventures with out son, each with there own challenges, from camping to festivals, rural and city breaks to trips to Europe, it's all been a learning curve and have learnt a few things a long the way. Myself and three other top parenting bloggers recently did a hangout with Argos all about our must have products when travelling and I thought I would share my other top tips when it comes to hitting the road with a baby or toddler. The first rule of thumb is you want to keep luggage to a minimum and only take with you what you really need. Everything needs to have a purpose and should only be taken if it's genuinely going to make your life easier and your travels less stre......

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Chic style at The Dominican Hotel, Brussels

On our recent trip to Brussels we stayed at the very stylish and chic The Dominican , a 4-star hotel right in the heart of the city. The hotel stands on what was the Dominican Abbey in the 15th century and building really is a feast for the eye which high ceilings and intricate details. As soon as you step through the front door you are welcomed by a luxurious reception area and informative and friendly staff. After we checked in we made our way to our room, which was located near the gym in a very quite part of the hotel.  We stayed in a Delux room which was really nice and spacious, with lots of room to store our bags, a very large and super comfortable super king bed, complimentary wifi, a mini bar and Nespresso maker and luxurious fabrics and colour scheme really made the experience special. The bathroom had a rain shower and very deep bath with the little man loved. The breakfast was a real treat and was place in the opulent restaurant. There was so m......

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