The Best Destinations to Disconnect from Everything

By now, basically everybody knows that our digital devices and the things we do on them, such as scrolling social media can often be addictive or time draining. Like all addictive things, we know we need to strike a healthy balance as phones and social media can be a fantastic tool but it can also be a very big distraction as well.  Besides just setting time limits on our schooling, stepping away from our usual environment can. be beneficial as well. We’re so familiar with it that it doesn’t always provide enough stimulation to keep us away from our devices. However, people are now catching on to the fact that ditching their devices when travelling somewhere new and exotic is an excellent way to break their habits. This has led to a new type of tourism called digital-free tourism, or DFT. Many tourists like to combine going digital-free with spending time in nature and focusing on their health and wellness.  This is your mini guide to destinations that offer all of these thing......

Read more »

3 European Destinations that should be on your bucket list

I've been lucky enough to travel through a lot of Europe, in fact I spent over a year taking trains from one city to another and I came across a few places that I felt really should be more popular than they are and thought I would share a 3 slightly alternative destinations to the more popular places such as Paris and Amsterdam (which are both fantastic in their own rights but very busy!).  While these destinations are not exactly unknown they are at times overlooked in favour for bigger more bustling cities but they are still easily accessible with city breaks being an option if you fancy a dash of culture after 2yrs of limited travel. Just remember to make sure your Passport is up today and you have any required visas before travelling as well as double check what their Covid entry requirement are.  St Marks Church in Zagreb 1. Zagreb Zagreb the Capital of Croatia is really a very special and unique city yet most don't even consider it in favour for coastal destinations su......

Read more »

Great Weekend Reads for Home or On Your Travels

I found last year I just didn't make enough time to read and I think there is something very relaxing, calming and positive about picking up a book and being immersed into a story and with this ever increasing manic world we live in taking a moment to just step back and detach yourself from the now and get lost in a book is very important. I have put together a small reading list which I feel is doable even around working from home, travel and running after two small children. I have included a mix of fiction and non-fiction as well as one or two books to help keep me inspired and help with different areas of my life. So I thought I would share my reading list for 2018 with you and perhaps encourage you to take some time out and enjoy reading. 1. The Old Man and the Sea - Ernest Hemingway This is such a fantastic pocket sized book perfect for when your travelling, it's lightweight and less than 100 pages long and great if your taking a train across country or just goi......

Read more »

Top 10 things to do in Helsinki with Kids

This year we were lucky enough to tick off a city we have been wanting to visit for years - Helsinki! You may have read my post about the inspiring architecture the city has to offer but I also wanted to share our experiences visiting the Finnish Capital with kids in tow.  There are so many reasons as to why Helsinki is a fantastic choice for a family holiday or city break with the fact it's so safe, clean, creative and welcoming. We stayed a whole week in the city and could have stayed another week and still would not have been able to see and do everything we wanted to as you are really spoilt for choice. Saying that though we did manage to cram a whole lot in and thought we would share our top 10 places to take kids in Helsinki. Mr A on the fortress island of Sumenlinna 1. Suomenlinna Island Suomenlinna Fortress island is one of 300 islands off the coast of Helsinki, it's a World Heritage site and only a 15min ferry from the city centre. You will......

Read more »

For the love of Finnish Interior Design

As some of you may already know we have recently got back from an amazing week living as a local in Helsinki . I am still editing the hundreds of photos and film and will be talking a lot more about everything we got up too but the one thing that has certainly stuck in my mind is how much I was inspired by the interiors and architecture. Everything was so well designed, practical, simple, decluttered and chic - basically everything I want in my own home and life and I felt immediately at one with the surroundings in this northern Scandinavian capital city, as you can see the photo above is make-up free after a long day of travelling with two kids but I'm happy after arriving in the Helsinki Secret Residency which happens to have a view of the Finlandia Hall, a building designed by Alvar Aalto and an architectural treasure.  The secret residency apartment was perfect, so well laid out, spacious and open planned with lots of natural light from the huge windo......

Read more »

Hello Helsinki

As some of you may already know we jetting off from Heathrow on Easter Monday, taking off in a storm (that was interesting) and made our way across Denmark and Sweden to the northern Finnish capital of Helsinki , a place I have dreamed of going to for a very longtime. We have been invited to live as locals for a week and get to know the real Helsinki and discover it's secrets. On the first day our flight was delayed meaning after we had navigated the fast train from the airport to the city centre and finding our apartment the sun was already starting to set, luckily the wonderful people at Heleates had left us a hamper of local foods including some much needed Good Life Coffee - did you know Fin's drink more coffee than anywhere else in the world! Chilling on the balcony of our apartment We spent the first evening taking in the view from the balcony of our apartment and making plans for the rest of the week. My eldest is super excited at the thought of being in th......

Read more »