Globalmouse

23/11/2024

ad| How’s this for a view of London?! We are staying at the amazing Marriott County Hall hotel which is on Southbank and if you scroll through the photos you can see the view of Big Ben I took this morning as we heard the bells ring out across the city. This is a really beautiful hotel and the views over the Thames are fantastic. We’ve had breakfast - a lovely vegan English breakfast for me including sausages, field mushrooms, avocado on toast and a selection of other delicious items for the rest of the family including Eggs Royale, porridge and pancakes. Keep scrolling to see the complimentary sweet shop also in the hotel!! We’ve got lots of nice activities planned for this weekend. I love being in London in the run up to Christmas, there’s nowhere quite like it!! ♥️

10/11/2024

ad| Some photos of life lately!!

Bubble tea and Bath!

First up is our family trip to lovely Bristol for my absolute favourite bubble tea place - We’ve been enjoying their bubble tea since they began in 2012 and it’s still one of our best places to go when we’re back in Bristol. They’ve just launched their Christmas drinks menu so we had to take a trip. They’ve got lots of delicious hot drinks including hazelnut hot chocolate, gingerbread cloudcake, gingerbread chocolate boba and an eggnog pudding boba. They’re also going to have lots of fun festive whips to go on top. We really loved our visit to try these Christmas treats and can’t wait for our next bubble tea fix again soon!!

It’s been a busy week in the globalmouse household after getting over our jetlag and trip to Florida. There have been work trips, getting together with friends and for me plenty of tennis too! It’s all fairly full on at this time of year but we love it that way. I snapped a few photos of Bath when I was in town earlier this week as it was looking as beautiful as ever in the crisp air. Even in winter it is a truly picturesque place.

I hope it’s been a fun, happy week for you too! ⭐️

01/11/2024

Happy Halloween!! We’ve had such a lovely time celebrating in the aptly named town of celebration - the town that Walt Disney built! We all donned our animal themed ears and wandered about the town with other brilliantly dressed people of all ages. It was such a great atmosphere. We loved it! 🎃👻

30/10/2024

🚀 Bucket list item ✅ Watching a rocket take off from Cape Canaveral. I have to say this was up there with the best things we’ve ever done!

I saw a random news item yesterday about Elon Musk’s Space X rocket that had its launch postponed to today. So we took a drive to the beautiful beach near the Kennedy Space Center to watch it. After a wander along the sand we took our spot on the rocks to see it take off.

It was so exciting, counting it down and then watching it blast into the sky. Much clearer than the photo shows (scroll to see it in the sky) and then a few seconds later the roar that followed.

It felt quite emotional watching it leaving its trail as it blasted through the sky. What an amazing sight to see!

29/10/2024

ad| Today has been a really lovely relaxed day. We have spent time at the hotel - the so the older children could get some revision done and we’ve also spent time here in the pool which is a great space for families. We’ve been out to the outlet mall which was fun and bought huge cinnamon rolls to eat in the sunshine. It’s been so nice to have a fairly relaxed day and just enjoy this beautiful weather!

28/10/2024

ad| We’ve come back to universal 💥 We’re getting to re do all our favourite bits of the park from shopping in Diagon Alley to all the fun of Seuss Landing. Everyone’s picked some of their favourites and we’re packing them all in. This is one of our happiest places to be and we’re having the best day!

💥 shopping for wands in Diagon Alley
💥 Diagon Alley
💥 Joining the Hogwarts choir 🐸

27/10/2024

ad| We have had such a lovely day at the seaside. We took a trip to the beautiful town of New Smyrna Beach which is real old school USA. It was so hot and sunny again and we loved spending time by the sea. We stayed in New Smyrna a few years ago so couldn’t resist recreating some more photos!! We have also spent time at our hotel - Melia Orlando where they had some mermaids come to visit!! It’s the perfect base in Orlando, easy to get to the parks but also out to the seaside.

Scroll through to see our photos of -

🏖️ New Smyrna Beach
🏖️ Ice creams at Treats on the Beach 2024
🏖️ Ice creams at Treats on the Beach 2016
🏖️Salt water Taffy (a chewy flavoured sweet) at Zeno’s (a family business in New Smyrna since 1948) 2024
🏖️ Salt water taffy at Zeno’s in 2016
🏖️ Mermaids at Melia Celebration Orlando

26/10/2024

ad| The fun continues, today at Islands of Adventure at . Another scorching day and so much fun, exploring Hogsmeade and the Marvel area along with my absolute favourite Seuss Landing full of Dr Seuss amazingness!! Scroll through the photos to see

🌞 fun at Hogsmeade
🌞 enjoying pumpkin juice! 🎃
🌞 We also had the butterbeer which is delicious
🌞 And now we are staying at the wonderful at Celebration which is perfect for a family. We have two bedrooms and a sofa bed and our own kitchen so we’re able to cook meals in too (there are also restaurants on site). It’s the perfect home from home!

25/10/2024

ad| We’re spending the day at the amazing water park, Volcano Bay. With its huge volcano at the heart of the park and a really tropical feel, we’ve been basking in the sunshine and cooling off in the waters here. This is a water park you don’t queue at - instead you tap on and join a virtual queue - leaving you to enjoy the rides that don’t have a line until your time comes. It’s a great system. It is so hot today, we are loving the sunshine and loving Volcano Bay!

24/10/2024

ad| We couldn’t be happier to be back at - one of our favourite places. It’s been seven years since we were last here (scroll to see our second photo which we recreated here from our visit back in 2017!). The sun is shining, the children have the biggest smiles and we have had a day exploring the Universal Studios park today. We’ve been recruited to join the minions, ate giant doughnuts with the Simpsons and raced across New York with Jimmy Fallen. We’ve also been transported into the wizarding world of Harry Potter, exploring the hidden vaults of Gringotts bank and shopping for chocolate frogs in Diagon Alley. What a day of fun!!

24/10/2024

ad| We are so happy to be in sunny Florida! We absolutely love it here and have been hanging out at the Endless Summer Resort which is part of We have spent the first day or two just catching our breath really.

We flew in from Heathrow and thanks to had a seamless start with meet and greet parking and then the at Heathrow to relax in (scroll through the photos to see it and where my 15 year old and I were laughing so hard, trying to take a picture but making each other laugh!!)

We arrived into Tampa airport (you can see the amazing huge flamingo in the airport in one of the photos too!) which was a really lovely modern airport.

Today is going to be all about Universal and we can’t wait. Our hotel - Endless Summer Resort - is right on site so we’ve already been soaking up the atmosphere and just relaxing in the pool and enjoying this amazing sunshine 🌞

We love Florida so it’s wonderful to be back!!

29/08/2024

ad| Just a few more glimpses into this lovely hotel we’re staying in while we’re in northern France. La Chartreuse du val saint esprit is full of old world charm. But it’s not without its luxuries. Downstairs is a brand new spa where I had the best facial. I love facials as they’re such good me time, I get to totally relax and have my skin pampered which is such a treat! This is a hotel to really enjoy and we’ve loved exploring its hallways and grounds!

28/08/2024

ad| How beautiful is this hotel? It’s Le Chartreuse du val Saint Esprit, about an hour from Calais and about two hours from Paris. The perfect countryside retreat.

Today we headed out to the seaside at Berck to meet up with friends. It was such a lovely day - boiling hot (37 degrees by the time we left late afternoon) and an amazing stretch of sand. We had a wonderful meal and then all walked along the beach promenade to where a large group of seals live!! It was amazing to watch them all playing and swimming and hanging out! We stopped for fantastic ice creams from Le Cornet d’amour who have been making artisanal ice creams since 1934. I had the violet flavour but the raspberry was ridiculously good!!

We are now back at the hotel to relax for the evening.

Scroll through to see photos of -

🌞 the beautiful drive to the seaside
🌞 seals on the sand
🌞 violet flavoured ice cream

27/08/2024

ad| We have left the big city for the beautiful small towns of northern France. It’s so picturesque here with the rolling countryside looking so green and all dappled in the sunshine.

We are staying at the beautiful Chartreuse du val Saint Esprit. It’s such a grand hotel, steeped in history with wonderful creaking floorboards and heavy drapes to be pulled closed at night. The grounds surround us with gardens down to the lake and the stunning French countryside fading in the distance against a sky all pastel pinks and blues as dusk settles in.

Today we explored the nearby town of Bethune with its incredible bell tower (which seems to erupt into joyful music continuously!). The 15 year old spent some of her holiday money on French clothes, I bought soap (you can’t have too much right?! I have a theory French soap is the best!!) and we sat at the sweetest patisserie (drawn in by the crowds jostling for a seat and the queue for the outdoor waffle maker). The children had waffles and ice creams and we had strong black coffee and rhubarb tarts and we chatted about the bits of the trip we’d most enjoyed so far.

I love Paris and all the busy hustle and bustle and huge number of activities on offer but there’s something very magical about the little towns of northern France. The land itself is full of history (and we’re constantly reminded by the war cemeteries we pass and take note of every time we come across them) and the towns here all feel very authentic - they seem untouched by tourism and just there to be adored by their residents! It’s always just so uplifting to stumble across them.

We couldn’t be happier to be here!

26/08/2024

ad| I love how varied the experiences in Paris are. There’s always so much to do here and new things to explore.

Today we had the absolute best time at and their macaron making class! We all had a go (see the second photo along) and learnt how to make both chocolate and pistachio macarons. Learning how to make macarons in Paris has to be the best experience ever. The class was in English and so easy to follow so all of us really enjoyed it. We can’t wait to cook up a macaron storm as soon as we get home!!

Photo three shows the beautiful domed ceiling of Galeries Lafayette, constructed in 1912. It’s so stunning to look at.

Scroll through to photo four to see another of our activities! This time at the Patisserie, the only one in the world! Pick out your exclusive to this location products and have them specially wrapped as you would in a real patisserie! You also get an exclusive pin and stickers to match. We loved this! (A separate post on this will be coming soon 🌟)

We also spent time at the mesmerising ! We loved all the cartoons (seeing original Marvel cartoon strips and Peanuts, amongst many many others). We really enjoyed the modern works too from Matisse to Picasso. Another fantastic Parisian stop off.

This evening we’ve been enjoying our macarons and coffee at our absolutely beautiful apartment (keep scrolling through to see the photo of us having pre dinner nibbles!!). It’s been such a wonderful base and we couldn’t have been more comfortable.

All in all it’s been another wonderful adventure in Paris. A city we continue to fall in love with ❤️🇫🇷❤️

25/08/2024

ad| Oh beautiful Paris! It’s been such great day exploring and we are properly tired tonight!! This morning we headed out towards poor old Notre Dame who is recovering well thankfully. It was so nice to pick up some drinks and explore some of the little shops around that area. Then back to our lovely apartment a tasty lunch of French cheeses, baguette and lots of fresh salads (the kitchen here is so well equipped, it’s perfect for a family break). Then this afternoon it was off to Sacre Coeur which it’s been a few years since we were last at. I love this area of Paris probably the most. Montmartre with all the artists and lovely bistros. On the walk down the hill we discovered the artisan bakery and picked up one of their carrot cakes which is soooo good!! Oh I also bought a Venus flytrap from the sweetest little flower shop and as we were leaving saw photos of the Queen, Charles and Camilla who all also visited a few years ago!! (I know, no one else in the family understood why I was buying a Venus flytrap in Paris either!!). It’s been a jam packed day but so nice to soak up all the Parisian vibes again! We love it here. Scroll through to see some of the photos of our day!

25/08/2024

ad| it’s so wonderful to be back in Paris ⭐️ We were here exactly a year ago and just love spending time in this city ❤️ We are staying in the heart of all the action, in fashionable Marais at the wonderful which is like living in the city in a beautiful apartment. We have popped out for some amazing pastries and croissants from Boulangerie Beaubourg (check them out in the second picture including the raspberry croissant I’m about to dig into with a big mug of coffee!!). This is what Sunday mornings are made for!!

23/08/2024

Read our full review here - https://www.globalmousetravels.com/places-to-stay-in-lincoln/

We were bowled over to read today’s review of the White Hart and our newly appointed Georgian townhouse and fully-serviced luxury apartment, No.7, Castle Hill. This in-depth review shows the truly beautiful surroundings of and the gem that is.