Category: My Travels

The red city of Bologna is heaven for foodies.  It was like a warm hug from some lovely Italian mama in the cold wet, November weather we found there.  We stayed at a lovely central hotel so we could get straight out and explore the amazing architecture and I particularly like the university which is said to be the oldest in Europe.  The towers and porticos make the city distinctive (and help to get around in the rain).  We loved the market where you can eat as well as shop for food and there’s plenty of opportunities for retail therapy as well.  The restaurants were of course a highlight in the ‘stomach of Italy’ and we enjoyed the pasta and rich sauces, cheese and red wine.

If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to sail in the Mediterranean then read on, as that’s exactly what we wanted to discover last summer. We also wanted to explore the lesser known Balearic island of Menorca so decided to combine the two.  We arrived in the delightful city of Mahon and were greeted by our very helpful sailing company ‘Menorca Cruising’ who usually offer sailing courses, but had agreed to let us hire one of their boats and borrow their instructor Andy as a skipper for 5 days.  We did some shopping and then were immediately off for a quick afternoon sail in the massive natural harbour of Mahon to get a feel for the boat and learn some of the basics.  The kids took to it straight away and had lots of questions for Andy.  It was extremely hot in Menorca at the beginning of August so being out on the water with the breeze was a great relief.  Over the course of the following few days we sailed from Mahon south to Binibequer where we spent our first night aboard.  We also travelled further along the coast to Cala en Porter which has a lovely beach and Cales Coves which is only accessible by boat.  The clear, turquoise water everywhere meant it was easy to jump in for a refreshing swim and Andy helped us to learn some sailing along the way.  We finished off with a couple of shorter day trips to Illa de Colom, which is just off the National Park Albufera des Grau and extrememly picturesque, and finally Illa de l’Aire which is simply referred to as lizard island locally because of the large population of black lizards that live there – the kids loved them.

Menorca is very welcoming and relaxing, and if you want to learn sailing I couldn’t recommend Menorca Cruising enough.

Well what can I say – I loved it!  The people, the wildlife, the rainforest, the beaches – everything was wonderful.

For me the highlight was the wildlife.  It’s one of the most biodiverse places on the planet and we felt like we had a front row seat. Our villa overlooked the Manual Antonio National Park and had two troops of monkeys, one capuchin the other squirrel monkeys, that would pass through the gardens every day. There were even hummingbirds and sloths in the garden, although the scorpion that visited one day was a little less popular.  The people are wonderful and it’s clear why ‘Pura Vida’ is the national saying!   While we were there we tried our hand at surfing and zip-wiring, but generally just took in the relaxing surroundings and enjoyed ourselves.  We also ventured out on a couple of boats, one in the Pacific where we had a bit of a snorkle and the other on the mangroves nearby where we saw all sorts or animals including Jesus Christ lizards or wizards as my nephew calls them!
I can’t wait to go back!!!

A wonderfully diverse country. We really wanted to tour around Morocco, as there is so much to see and do. We started in Marrakech – what a city! Our kids first visit to Africa and so culturally different to anything they have experience before. I loved the vibrancy, sounds and tastes. We stayed at a riad in the medina and everyone was so welcoming and helpful (the hand-drawn map from our riad manager was the only way we found our way back!) Next we went to the foothills of the Atlas Mountains to go horse-riding and zip-wiring at Terres d’Amanar. There are so many activities there you could stay a lot longer, but after 2 days we were off to the coast to the lagoon town of Oualidia. It is a beautiful place and we had a very relaxing stay at La Diouana where we were very well looked after by Abdillah and Fatima who cooked for us even though our French only stretched to basis requests. The lagoon and beaches keep us happy for the whole week.

Amazing place – and the Volcano! We were aiming for something for everyone so we spent a week near Cefalu enjoying a family resort on the beach. The kids absolutely loved the huge pool and the evening entertainment. Then we spent a few days in Taormina so us adults could see some sights. And what a sight – the view from our hotel room was of Mount Etna which was erupting while we were there. It was mesmerizing to watch the lava flow down the hillside in the evenings. We stayed at the Hotel Villa Sonia which was a great location, not just for the views, but also because we could walk to the village of Castelmola, but were also only a few minutes drive from lively Taormina. All of the landscape around Taormina has been influenced by the volcano, which I found fascinating and was even educational for the children!