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Monica

Hi, I'm Monica! This is my family lifestyle blog where I share posts about motherhood and microadventures.

I’d like you to take a minute, sit back and think about your favourite travel experiences. It’s OK, I’ll wait here while you scan your memories and really think about it. No rush. It wasn’t until I sat down to think about this that I realised that most of my best travel experiences revolve around …

Read More about 25 restaurants worth travelling across the globe for (and what you should order when you arrive!)

We all want a gorgeous summer glow but, these days, everyone is pretty savvy and aware of the risks associated with too much sun. a lovely tan is nice, but not when it comes at the cost of premature aging, wrinkles and sunburn! I remember when the phrase, “Ooh, you’ve caught the sun!” used to …

Read More about Staying safe in the sun and the best way to treat sunburn

Calling anyone who loves the great outdoors and loves having microadventures close to home. This is also for anyone who has young kids and would love to take them to a festival but the thought of a festival with kids is kind of terrifying – especially camping at a festival with kids! That was me …

Read More about An adventure closer to home with the Big Little Tent Festival

This week's travel guide is a weekend guide to Amsterdam and is written by Eppie Shepherd, the fabulous London lifestyle and travel blogger. Amsterdam is perhaps one of the most diverse European cities, attracting visitors from all walks of life at any age. Beautiful cobbled streets and miles upon miles of floral canals wind around the …

Read More about Your Weekend Guide to Amsterdam

I know lots of people get really nervous about their baby’s first flight. I was so scared the first time we flew with George and we only flew to the Isles of Scilly! It took less than an hour and Sam and I were prepping for it like we were flying to New Zealand with …

Read More about Everything you need to know about your baby’s first flight

Today I'd like to share some things to do in Swansea Bay and Mumbles and Gower. This is such a gorgeous place for a weekend break so I'm sharing everything I did during a glamping weekend in Swansea Bay. You may have noticed that Wales has been having a bit of a moment recently. Wales …

Read More about A weekend in Swansea Bay and the best things to do in Swansea

I was recently sent the Pixter Wide Angle Lens Pro and to the Pixter Flexible Tripod to review. This is part of the Pixter Travel Pack and retails for £64.90 (currently reduced from £89.80). On my first day testing it out I met up with The Travel Hack Team so we all had a little go with …

Read More about Pixter Travel Pack Review: Wide angle smartphone lens plus tripod

Canada has got to be one of the most gorgeous countries on Earth. With breath-taking landscapes of snowy mountain peaks, glistening blue lakes and sprawling green forests, it's the kind of place where you don't need any 'activities', you can simply spend your entire trip admiring the views. The expanses of Canada are as vast …

Read More about 5 Canadian road trips to get on your bucket list

This topic is such a toughy but it’s something that comes up again and again. How do you make travel a priority in your life without being held back by ‘real life’. You go to school and then maybe uni. You get a job, you start your career, you buy a house, you get married, …

Read More about How to make travel a priority and realising there’s never a perfect time

The sun was blazing as I drove along the North Wales coast with my windows down and the radio blaring. I perched my elbow on the open window whenever I could, partly to catch some rays but also to feel the sea air and the warm breeze whipping past. I never normally do this. The …

Read More about A luxury glamping trip with Wonderfully Wild, Anglesey

Today's blog post is my Forest Holidays review from your winter trip to their Argyll Scotland location. Forest Holidays offer luxury log cabins in beautiful, foresty locations for a relaxing escape with your family. As an outdoorsy family we've loved our breaks with Forest Holidays as you have the chance to unwind in nature but …

Read More about Forest Holidays review, Argyll Scotland

Did you see yesterday’s post about winning a Google Pixel Phone from EE? To celebrate EE’s recent announcement that all existing EE mobile pay monthly and pay as you go mobile customers can take their UK allowance abroad to 48 European destinations, they’ve given me a Pixel Phone by Google, featuring an amazing camera. So …

Read More about 10 photography apps you need for your travel photos

One of the hardest things about travelling with all my blogging equipment is keeping it all safe and secure - especially when I've got the little ones with me and I feel like I need 10 extra arms to keep everything and everyone safe! The days of travelling with nothing more than a notepad and …

Read More about Safely travelling with my blogging equipment with the Calumet Rolling Camera Case

Skirts. Can we just take a moment to appreciate the gorgeousness of skirts. The pretty, feminine, twirliness of skirts. But also the ease and practically of them too. It’s so easy to chuck a few colourful skirts into your suitcase, add a handful of plain t-shirts and you’re good to go. [one_half padding="0 5px 0 …

Read More about Skirting the issue with Fat Face

Today I'm sharing what it's really like to ride in a hot air ballon after my incredible early morning flight in one! It was 5.30am and the field was covered with a mystical blanket of cloudy mist. The sun was rising and streaming through the trees as a group of guys unloaded the enormous hot …

Read More about What’s it really like to ride in a hot air balloon?

Sam and I are both firm believers that your life doesn’t have to change when you have kids. Of course, it does change a lot (for both the better and the worse!) but you don’t need to change as a person and you don’t need to stop doing the things you love. One thing Sam …

Read More about The best family friendly festivals to take the kids

Saint-Cast-le-Guildo was one of those places we accidentally stumbled across and then wondered how we'd never heard of it before. We visited on our final day during our French road trip with Les Castels and I hadn't done much research for this part of our trip. We'd already seen and done so much that I'd thought we'd …

Read More about Saint-Cast-le-Guildo, France: Get this place on your French bucket list!

The Canary Islands are one of those destinations we Brits take for granted. ‘Canary Islands’ may conjure up images of cheap and cheerful package holidays but there’s so much more! Now we all love these gloriously relaxing holidays but today I want to share a couple of gorgeous videos from the Canary Islands that prove …

Read More about There’s so much more to the Canary Islands

Dinan is the kind of town that is so pretty and so quaint I didn't actually believed existed in real life. Sure, towns like this exist in Disney films and between the pages of fairytales but in real life....not so much. In real life, the modern world creeps in and places that are this beautiful …

Read More about A mini guide to Dinan in Brittany, France

I’ve just returned from Almaverde eco-village on the Western Algarve. This was a traditional ‘sun, sea and sand’ kind of holiday and my third trip to the Algarve in three years. I’ve been coming out with Sam and my parents since George was born (and I got to an age where I realised my parents …

Read More about My stay at Almaverde eco village on the Algarve

No matter how old your children are I think it’s really important to travel with them. I do think kids learn a lot through their travel experiences but it’s more than that. Holidays are one of the only times when parents dedicate 100% of their time to relaxing and having fun. There’s no work, no …

Read More about The hardest things about travelling with kids and how to overcome them

This blog post isn’t aimed at anyone or anything in particular, more at a one thing I’ve been noticing from lots of people recently. And that thing is criticism. I know it’s ironic that I’m criticising people for criticising people but hear me out here because I feel like it’s everywhere and it’s totally unnecessary …

Read More about Be so busy being awesome you don’t have time for all the criticism

TrekAmerica is currently running an amazing competition to win a 3-week tour around the USA (with flights included!) They’ve giving away a spot on their Westerner 3 tour which looks absolutely incredible. Find out more about the prize and how to enter the competition here. Since TrekAmerica launched this competition I’ve had so many readers …

Read More about The Travel Hack’s Guide to TrekAmerica

Dubai is a place that has always intrigued me but it wasn’t until recently that it made it onto my travel bucket list. Elle visited Dubai last summer and her gorgeous photos blew me away. It was the contrast between the sleek and modern and the more traditional side to the city that really caught …

Read More about 10 reasons why Dubai is on my bucket list

Last summer Elle and I travelled to Southern France. We visited charming little villages, vineyards, gorgeous countryside and amazing restaurants. We were amazed by how much there was to see and do in Southern France. We were expecting to find bright purple lavender fields, world-class wine, and classic French food, the kind you crave for weeks after returning …

Read More about An off the beaten track weekend in Southern France: Balazuc, St Martin, Avignon + Isle sur la Sorgue

This was my favourite day in the Algarve with a visit to Praia da Bordeira Beach... Warning: Reading this post will make you want to immediately book a holiday! Early mornings are my favourite time on holiday. At 6.30am and I hear the faint rustling of a baby waking up through the baby monitor. His …

Read More about Visiting Praia da Bordeira Beach in the Algarve

  If you’re dreaming of a celebrity inspired holiday but you don’t quite have the budget for multi million pound yachts, private jets, road trips in vintage cars, 6* hotels with private butlers and swanky nights out where you’ll wear your diamonds and a designer dress (because we all have diamonds and a designer dress …

Read More about Travel Hacks to Have a Celeb Inspired Holiday

Did you read Tuesday’s post? The one about the incredible new travel brand called Lintenair? Lintenair promised an amazing new way of travelling where you don’t have to queue, get an unlimited luggage weight allowance, can travel directly from city-centre to city-centre terminals throughout the UK and Europe, and can use mobile tickets with the app. …

Read More about 10 travel hacks for travelling by train

Today's blog is all about how to improve your travel photography with these simple but very effective photography hacks! They come from Lisa, a professional photographer who shares her travel photography tips over on The Wandering Lens. Her photography is absolutely stunning so check out her Instagram feed too! Lisa has also contributed to my blogging …

Read More about 10 Photography Hacks for Beautiful Travel Photos

As you guys already know, travel is pretty much my favourite thing in the world – and I’m sure it’s one of yours too if you’re reading this blog. I love discovering new destinations and that feeling when you first arrive and everything is new and unfamiliar. It’s kind of scary but so exciting at …

Read More about Is this the best way to travel…ever?

Hands up if you’ve got a long haul summer holiday coming up!? Oooh you lucky thing, I hope you’re jetting off somewhere fabulous! As your departure date gets closer I’m sure you’re going to start thinking about packing so I’m here today to share my tips. I used to be terrible at packing and would …

Read More about Packing tips for long haul summer holidays