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ad| I’ve had so much fun exploring Philadelphia and catching up with friends. I’ve loved the Christmas market and have got some good shopping in!! The hotel has been so sweet too - in the old city. It’s been a great base from which to explore from! I have some final bits to pick up before heading home to get ready for Christmas in England!!! Thank you to the City of Brotherly Love for making me feel so welcome as you always do ♥️
ad| I’m loving exploring Philly! Yesterday was so much fun, travelling all over on the little trains, catching up with friends and enjoying the snow flurries! This hotel is in a great location, really close to the little train into the centre. I think I’m going to try to make it to the Christmas market today and a little festive shopping. But first….coffee!!
ad| It’s so lovely to be back in Philadelphia! A city I love and it has so much history here for me. I’m staying at the sweetest hotel, right in the centre. The rooms are so cosy with little fireplaces and wooden floors. I wandered out last night for a cheese hoagie which was sooooo good!! More exploring today and meeting friends ♥️ I love this city!
ad| We’ve loved being here in the Algarve for late autumn. The perfect time of year to enjoy the beautiful sunshine and warmth. We’ve really relaxed like we haven’t in a while. It’s been a great break and staying here at has given us chance to just stop for a while. Which has been perfect.
ad| Ah lovely Portugal. It really is such a beautiful, colourful country. Today we visited somewhere I’ve wanted to visit for years - Monchique. Up in the hills, away from the beaches and the heat, this pretty little town is full of crafts (lots of products made of cork), cafes and picturesque streets. We spent the loveliest of mornings here (and loved seeing the multitude of storks on the drive up!). The rest of our time has been spent at (see picture number two), which has been so nice to relax in. The Algarve is full of treats.
ad| iI’s been such a beautiful day here in the Algarve. A few light showers but plenty of warmth and sunshine too. We’ve enjoyed spending more time in our villa at the . Plenty of time relaxing and enjoying the pools. We also popped out to Portimao, exploring the old town and the gorgeous lighthouse here. Watching the waves crash out to sea felt really atmospheric, but there were also gentle waves lapping at the sandy beach. Another lovely day in Portugal 🌟
ad| It’s been another relaxing day here in the Algarve and so warm and sunny. I want to say we’ve been out exploring and taking in the many sights but we’ve just relaxed! It’s been too tempting to enjoy the sunshine and the pools and chill out. Today we did move resorts to just up the road. We’ve got the sweetest little villa that backs on to the resort’s heated pool which is perfect. Our trips are usually so full of explorations we are all really enjoying the opportunity to spend some time just enjoying being exactly where we are.
ad| Oh happy days in the Portuguese sunshine! It’s been such an idyllic day. This is our villa at in the Algarve. We’ve got so much space, three double bedrooms and a huge lounge and separate kitchen and laundry room. We’re having breakfast and lunch at the on-site restaurant which has been so good. We popped out to the beach today at Carvoeiro, which is the sweetest little traditional Portuguese town. It was so hot when we visited and we walked along the sand, ate ice creams in the sun and bought souvenirs in the little shops. The rest of the day has largely been relaxing here in the resort which we all needed. Perfect October half term.
ad| We adore the Algarve and are so happy to be back here. We arrived late last night and have immediately starting relaxing!! We’re loving this resort where we’ve got an amazing three bedroom villa with our own pool. There’s also an indoor pool (pictured here) and outdoor pool on site along with a spa, gym and lots more besides. It’s the perfect chance to really relax and enjoy the beautiful Portuguese ambiance.
ad| Oh Paris! You are such a wonderful city, so much fun to explore, to eat out in, to shop in and to just soak up the atmosphere. I love it and have loved it my whole life. Today on Globalmouse Travels you can read our review of - a lovely, recently renovated hotel in a 1930s building in the 15th arrondissement. It’s a fabulous hotel in a great location. Have you been to Paris? Is it a city you love too? ♥️
ad| We absolutely loved our stay at in Moira Riviera, North Goa, India this summer. It’s such a tranquil location, a really special secret! Today on Globalmouse Travels you can read all about our stay and see glimpses of the beautiful bedrooms, delicious food (I’m craving their masala dosas!!) and stunning grounds. With just 15 rooms it’s a wonderful retreat and such a special area of India.
Ad| There is something so emotive about travelling from Dunkirk. We travelled back from France on to Dover and it was incredible to look out over the beaches of Dunkirk, imagining the history of the evacuation of hundreds of soldiers from here during the Second World War. Our crossing was so smooth and we loved settling back in the Premium Lounge with all the drinks we could want, sandwiches, macarons and crisps. We loved the DFDS ferries - clean, well equipped and so efficient getting us on and off. We’ve absolutely loved this trip to France, exploring the history and enjoying Paris. We can’t wait to return.
LOVE the Eiffel Tower 😍 It’s such a beautiful structure and a real testament to determination to get it built in the first place and not allowing it to be pulled down subsequently. There was much opposition to it being built, many at the time thought it would be a blight on Paris’s architectural beauty. But Gustave Eiffel had the vision and the belief and in the 1880s it was constructed and rapidly became a much loved feature of the Parisian landscape. I think it’s so beautiful and I could stare up at it for hours! I can’t imagine Paris without it.
Some top tips if you’re visiting
🇫🇷 pre book tickets - the queues are long to buy tickets and then you have to queue for the lifts
🇫🇷 give yourself longer than you think you need. It takes time to go up and down and it’s an experience to savour not rush.
🇫🇷 Visit as many levels as you can (it costs more according to how many you visit) Each level gives a different view of the city
🇫🇷 There are shops and restaurants on the various levels so bring money!
🇫🇷 Don’t miss the boards at the bottom telling you the history of the tower - it’s fascinating and also has photographs as it was being constructed.
🇫🇷 it costs nothing to go into the grounds and is really atmospheric to just walk around the legs. You will need to go through security checks to get underneath.
🇫🇷 kids up to age 18 are cheaper (buy you may need ID to prove their age)
We took a really emotive trip to some of the battlefields of northern France. We drove across the Somme, stopping at some of the cemeteries that dot the landscape here. I find them so sad, all those lives cut short needlessly. We ended up here at Vimy and the site of the Battle of Vimy Ridge. Here both France and Germany lost hundreds of thousands of lives. The Canadians arrived into trenches some of the British troops had dug in, in 1916. Their arrival and subsequent victory here was a turning point in the First World War. But it came at a huge cost of life. It was incredible to walk the landscape here, riddled with huge craters from shells, lots of the ground still littered with live ammunition and cordoned off. The trenches were reconstructed in the 1920s and are an amazing insight into life here with no man’s land being a mere 25 metres wide at points. This was a really emotional visit for us, weaving through the trenches trying to imagine the unimaginable. I’m so pleased we visited.
I love Paris. It’s the perfect city for a wander. My favourite part is the Tuileries, the large green park that runs up to the Louvre and alongside the Seine. It’s full of families promenading, couples sitting together on the grass, playgrounds buzzing and large beautiful ponds where you can rent a big wooden boat for half an hour to sail around the water. Our stay here has been filled with fun family time, enjoying the art galleries and historic sights and picking up lots of our favourite things from cheeses to bubble bath! It’s a city with endless appeal ❤️
ad| Ah lovely Paris! It’s a city I love and am always happy to visit. We’ve had such a great stay here at . It’s such a sweet hotel and we’ve all felt right at home here. It’s perfectly relaxing with all the right elements of luxury too. Today has been a wonderful day, losing ourselves in the backstreets and enjoying the city. We visited the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower and soaked up everything the city had to offer. My favourite part though was stopping at the loveliest bistro - dell Angelo - for a family meal. We always said we were taking the 16 year old out for a meal to celebrate the end of his GCSEs. He’s done really well but the celebration was for the effort he put in, which was immense, and we are so proud of him. It was the perfect way to celebrate him. So all in all it’s been the loveliest day and as we headed off with the sun setting over the Eiffel Tower we reflected on what has been such an amazing summer. We feel so fortunate to share so many wonderful adventures together. But this one’s not over yet!! What a wonderful city Paris is! ❤️
ad| how much fun is ?! We had such a great day exploring this fun park just outside of Paris. Full of great rides and some really good shows including an illusion show and an incredible diving one (I literally couldn’t watch parts of it, they were diving from such heights into the smallest of pools, it was amazing to watch!). It’s a really great park and recommended for all Asterix fans!
Then we headed to our hotel - the in the 15th arrondissement. This is the loveliest hotel, we have two interconnecting rooms and it’s so well situated.
We then headed into the city for a wander. I love Paris, it’s a city we’ve been to a few times as a family and I adore it in every season. We spotted the Eiffel Tower as we wandered through the Tuileries, my favourite part of Paris. It’s lovely being back here and we can’t wait to explore some more!
Cooling off in Amiens! Today has been the perfect first day in France. After our stay at a little Premiere Class hotel about an hour from Calais (which is such a well priced stay - less than £30 for a room for three which includes a croissant and coffee in the morning), we headed to the sweet little town of Arras. I loved it here - so picturesque! It was market day so we wandered the stalls picking up a massive string of garlic and buying so many pastries which we sat in the sun and ate. We then moved on to Amiens, via some of the many war cemeteries that dot the landscape here. We stopped in a couple and I found it so emotional. I’ve visited before but it never ceases to move me to tears, especially seeing whole groups from the same regiment, all killed on the same day. So much loss and so much bravery. We then explored Amiens which is a lovely city, we really enjoyed the shops here and I loved the pharmacies to pick up some of my favourite French products. Then we went on to Chantilly which is the most beautiful French town, white bunting fluttering across the streets. It’s somewhere I’ve bookmarked to return to. It’s been a great start to our holiday in northern France.
Ad| We are so happy that our last hurrah of the summer sees us travelling to France. We’re on board ferry from Dover to Calais. It doesn’t matter how many times in my life I’ve taken this journey there’s still something so evocative about this route. Watching the white cliffs of Dover fading into the distance, seeing both France and England with one turn of the head. It’s packed full of history of so many journeys taken and so many lives changed. We are loving this ferry ride, we have access to the premium lounge with unlimited Prosecco, macarons, sandwiches, pastries and more!! We are almost wishing the crossing was a little longer 😂 We can’t wait for a few days exploring northern France. The other day the 16 year old said he thought it had been our best summer yet…..I have to agree! So far it’s been pretty special ❤️
And so the summer continues! It’s been such a good one so far with travels home and away and plenty of walks and visits to the park too. It’s felt carefree and happy. And tomorrow we hit the road again for our last hurrah and a little trip away. I hope you’re all having a good one whatever you’re doing…..🌟❤️
Ad| Hot air balloon watching from@the Apex Hotel in Bath! We really have enjoyed our staycation at in . We’ve done so little….which has been perfect!! Time indulging in the fantastic breakfast each morning, taking dips in the pool, relaxing in the lovely bedroom. I can’t say enough about this hotel. We’ve stayed in a few in Bath but I think this has to be my favourite for the lovely airy bedrooms (which fit four) and a fantastic location.
Ad| our summer road trip continues and we’re having a proper staycation in beautiful Bath! We’re staying at the Bath hotel which is sooo lovely! Big comfortable beds, lovely bathrooms with baths and showers (I had a bath this morning and I’m going to be indulgent and have another this evening!!) and a fantastic swimming pool which the kids loved spending time in. It’s right in the heart of the city so ideal for walking out and seeing the sights. A perfect stay if you’re visiting Bath! ❤️
🌟SAVE THIS POST for when you’re looking for a low cost London break with (or without!!) kids🌟
We’ve had a great day in London going to some of our favourite places.
We started here at the amazing in Walthamstow which is the coolest place. Scroll on to see more photos.
Then into Covent Garden for all of the street entertainers, Chinatown for some pandan cake and a wander and just soaking up the buzz of the capital. We didn’t make it there this time but my favourite playground anywhere in the world is the Princess Diana Memorial Playground in Kensington Gardens. All of these things are free to do (except for the few treats we bought) and give the perfect taste of the capital.
And combined with our accommodation at (see my other instagram photos and scroll to see the photos of the interior) this makes it a really cost effective trip to London. Our cabin cost less than £70 a night for all of us….in August!! 😳 (we stayed as part of a gift voucher from a previous collaboration with which is a great idea for Christmas gifts that can be used later for something really useful, which gave us the two night stay for just £20 along with the voucher).
From the campsite you can easily get into central London - the W8 bus goes from outside every 10-15 minutes or the train goes from Edmonton Green to Liverpool Street. It’s so simple! And very cost effective.
The perfect way to have a really budget friendly break to London with all the family.
It’s been a lovely couple of days glamping in Lee Valley, a 10,000 acre park within the M25 and easily accessible to central London. We’ve barbecued every day and sat out in the sunshine and taken some woodland walks around the campsite. I admit I’m not the happiest camper (or glamper really, I’m more of a hotel fan!!) but we’ve enjoyed our time and watching all the wildlife, particularly the geese flying over on their way to the reservoir has been wonderful. Tomorrow our road trip moves on…some time in London proper before collecting the eldest from his two week course and heading into Somerset for some time with family. The summer continues……….
🌞 We’re having a little staycation!! We’re glamping in north London at . We’ve got this really sweet little cabin and have spent the evening with the door open and the sun streaming in. We’ve barbecued up veggie burgers and little jacket potatoes and have made ourselves at home here. It’s so weird to be in London but in a nature reserve. It’s so peaceful here and lovely to get away for a few days of mock camping (my favourite kind….with a proper bed!! 😂)
ad| We absolutely loved staying at this hotel - The Grand Imperial, Agra in India. It was easy to get to the Taj Mahal from here and to all the little markets we loved exploring. As a heritage hotel the decor was gorgeous too. There’s a full review of the hotel on Globalmouse today if you fancy reading about this beautiful hotel.
ad| I love airports!! Spending time in them, a little bit of shopping, picking up a sandwich for the flight….but getting there can sometimes feel stressful.
RailAir offer a really simple solution to getting to Heathrow from either Reading, Woking/Guildford and Watford.
They have comfortable coaches that leave really regularly, you’re guaranteed a seat and your luggage is stowed away, to be forgotten about until you arrive - perfect!
If you’re travelling to Heathrow this is a great way to get there stress free!
You can book online at railair.com 🌟
After an early train from Pune to Mumbai we’ve spent the day exploring.
We shopped a fair bit (I love some of the things we’ve bought today to decorate the house with). We also had lunch at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, pictured here, one of my favourite hotels in the world. We all loved the bhel puri - delicious street food that’s all over India.
It’s been wonderful being back in crazy noisy Mumbai that has some of the friendliest people.
It’s been such a busy day of travel. We left beautiful Hampi and took a car about 30 minutes to the nearby town of Hosapete.
Here we caught a train to Hubali. It was only a four hour journey and we’re getting used to the trains but they still aren’t the most relaxing.
We had quite a bit of time in the city of Hubali but it was raining and muddy and we probably didn’t see it at it’s best. There were lots of people (including children) begging which was hard to see.
It’s difficult as well as lots of places in India, like Hubali, don’t have cafes so there’s nowhere to just stop and grab a drink.
So we soon decided to head out to Hubali airport and just wait out our time there.
We then flew from Hubali to Pune where we’ve checked in to the which is lovely. Hot showers have revived us and we’ve ordered room service as we’re tired and just need a quick fix!!
Some days just feel long and full of travel and this has definitely been one of them.
Hampi in Kamataka has been such an amazing part of our trip to India, we’ve absolutely loved it. It’s such a unique place, other worldly with its huge boulders and an unbelievable number of ruins.
Staying here at the beautiful hotel (ad) has made the whole of this part of the trip perfect. From beautiful and spacious rooms to such great food. It’s also thanks to the hotel that we had our guide, Ramesh who was fantastic.
Today we visited the Tungabhadra River and took a trip in the circular basket boat (coracle boat) which was an amazing way to see more of the now abandoned temples that dot the landscape.
We also visited the Virupaksha Temple, the only working temple in Hampi (all of the others were partially destroyed by invaders and so can no longer be used). The highlight for the children was feeding the wild monkeys that leap around the buildings here.
For me the best part of the day was as dusk fell and we walked through the town of Kamalapura. Here people came out of their houses to wave as we walked through, it was so friendly and so lovely to see a glimpse into their lives here.
This has been a very different part of our trip to India and we’ve loved it! If you want to come then I can’t recommend Evolve Back Hampi as a base to stay more, it really is a touch of luxury in this beautiful part of the world.
Oh Hampi, what an amazing place you are! It’s like an Indian version of Pompeii! A city captured in time (although badly looted and lots of destruction too from subsequent invaders). This UNESCO World Heritage Site is absolutely captivating. It’s a 16th century Hindu city which is packed full of intricate carvings and you can see everything from stone chariots to a fantastic bazaar where traders from china, Mongolia and Europe would come to barter for horses, silk, spices and gold. It’s the most evocative place and we have loved exploring it.
If you come I would definitely say get a guide. Our guide Ramesh from our hotel (ad) really brought the whole site alive and we wouldn’t have understood it in any way like we did without him. We also got to see the Queens summer palace and the elephant stables. And we were taken around in the hotel’s really cool open top jeep which made it all so easy.
The rest of the day has been so relaxing. I had a facial and the kids splashed about in the pool here. We’ve eaten until we’re ready to burst (the food is SO good!) and we really love this part of India which is packed full of banana trees and monkeys. It’s definitely somewhere to linger.
We are so happy to be here in Hampi at (ad). It’s like a fairytale palace and we feel like royalty being here!
It was a bit of a journey to get here on the Shalimar Express which is a train that actually goes on for three days from Goa to West Bengal. We were on it for nearly nine hours - and there were only seats in the third tier non air conditioned carriage left - and by the end of the journey I felt like I’d been on it for three days 😂
We we’re all very pleased to finally arrive at Hosapete and be whisked to this beautiful hotel. It has an air of absolute tranquility and luxury and if dinner is anything to go by we’re going to have an amazing time.
We’re looking forward to exploring this area too which is a very special place - an abandoned ancient city with some amazing monuments which have now been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
For now though we’re happy to really relax!
Hanging out in South Goa, India. Today we headed south to the incredible resort of (ad). We have an amazing suite here which comes with its own lap pool which the 11 year old has already been in twice since we arrived! The resort is based on Portuguese towns with little squares with fountains and all set around water. It’s also on a stretch of beach. There are numerous restaurants and so much to do here from an amazing looking spa to a kids club and activities all the family can take part in. The 16 year old has already said he wishes we were here for the week and doesn’t want to leave!! And I know what he means….!!
I'm also sharing the IG handles and hashtags for the hotel:
It was an early start as we flew from Jaipur to Goa this morning. It was well worth all the travelling though as we arrived in the beautiful little town of Moira and the resort of Moira Riviera (ad). Set on the backwaters of the local river and all the wonderfully overgrown indigenous plants here we feel like we’re in a secret little tranquil retreat. There are just 15 rooms here and we have two of their lovely cottages, each with four poster beds, amazing bathrooms, outdoor showers and our own individual plunge pools. With a real Portuguese vibe the resort is beautiful and packed full of lovely design features. We’ve eaten so well here too with traditional Goan dishes alongside Indian staples. We’re really looking forward to exploring more tomorrow!
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Jaipur ❤️ I don’t remember too much from my previous visit but I really enjoyed our trip this time. Crazy and noisy and colourful and chaotic (like so much of India we’ve seen!) the pink city still had a way of warming our hearts.
We explored the Palace of Winds, Hawa Mahal which was built in the 18th century and winds up through all the floors. It’s the one place I have distinct memories of visiting before. This time it was very hot and crowded but good to see (photo 2 shows more of its facade).
My favourite part of the day was exploring the back streets though, the areas not for the tourists. We loved losing ourselves in little lanes, coming across colourful sellers of flowers (which smelled so good) and food and so much more. We ended up in a top floor silver workshop speaking to the most interesting guy who showed us where to see some great views of the city.
We’ve also managed to track down the sweetest launderette who washed all our clothes for us, we bought henna and slippers and had a crazy tuk tuk ride with a female driver (the only one we’ve seen), who stopped in the middle of the busy road to avoid a cat and then we almost ran out of patrol in the middle of another road! We even managed to squeeze in a trip to the hotel’s rooftop pool! It’s been a fun packed day in Jaipur!
It’s been a busy day. We started off exploring Sadhar Bazaar this morning. A really interesting area of Agra. We wandered the backstreets dodging goats and cows and getting glimpses of life carrying on here. It was fascinating and beautiful.
Then it was off to Agra Fort Train Station. We loved seeing the monkeys sitting on the roofs of trains and clambering up the signs. They seem to largely avoid the humans (although we have witnessed a few stealing food a couple of times!).
We were booked on to the third tier AC carriage for the four hour journey to Jaipur (which turned into five hours because something - we never found out what - was on the tracks). I wasn’t a big fan of this carriage which was fairly crowded and noisy. After going to buy snacks from the kiosk I suggested we all move to one of the other non air conditioned carriages that felt emptier. So we lugged our bags off and back along the platform and got to new seats only to realise in about five minutes that actually we really did need the air conditioning! So back we went.
Finally we arrived in Jaipur into a crazy scrum of people trying to get us to go in their tuk tuk. It was overwhelming and we were tired and it all felt like too much! We picked one of the drivers and went with him and got whisked away to our hotel, the .jaipur which was a nice retreat.
We dropped our bags and went straight to dinner at the most amazing Kashmiri restaurant - . The food was incredible, the atmosphere lively and infectious and we had the best night. If you’re coming to Jaipur then don’t miss it!
Ad| We’ve loved our stay in Agra at the heritage hotel of . It’s such a lovely hotel with lots of fun events happening like a musical puppet show each evening and someone doing henna designs for guests in the gardens. We’ve really enjoyed our stay here - I love the four poster bed!!
Some highlights of our time in Agra have been -
❤️ Exploring the amazing red fort. Built in the 16th century it has lots of lovely parts to it (see photos 2 & 3) and beautiful views across to the Taj Mahal
❤️ We spent the longest time at Subhash Bazaar buying clothes and wandering the streets soaking up the street life
❤️ we took a tuktuk ride through the city getting a real glimpse of life in Agra
❤️ We stopped at a street side cafe for cold drinks, interesting snacks (masala crisps were a big hit!) and watching the world whiz by
❤️ obviously yesterday was all about the absolutely breathtaking Taj Mahal.
Agra is noisy, chaotic and full on! It has some beautiful sights and as everywhere in India we’ve found the people so warm and welcoming - our cheeks ache from smiling for photos with people! We have a little more time to explore tomorrow before we’re back riding the trains and moving on!
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