I sent this email out to my newsletter list last week but I thought I’d share it here too for those of you who don’t do emails/have been snowed under with GDPR emails they haven’t been able to wade through and actually read anything!
The past 8 weeks have been a bit crazy. Some days it’s felt like Good Crazy. The kind of crazy I quit my job for all those years ago when being a full time blogger was just a dream. Hopping from plane to plane with a few days at home to unpack my suitcase and switch bikinis for bobble hats and swimsuits for snow boots before leaving again for a new adventure is amazing. It really is the dream.
Well, it’s the dream for 8 weeks and then you start to crave some normalcy. I want to sleep in my own bed for more than 3 nights and I want to go to the supermarket and buy a week’s worth of food! I want to watch an entire series on Netflix and I want to spend some time with my dog! My poor little dog who has been ferried back to my in-law’s house every time I go away (not that he minds, he gets spoiled rotten when he goes to stay with his Nana and Grandad!)
So that’s what I’m doing for the next 8 weeks.
I’ll be spending the majority of the summer between home and our caravan in Abersoch on the Llyn Peninsular in North Wales. I do have a couple of weekends away in the pipeline which I’ll tell you more about once they’ve confirmed!
Over the past 2 months I’ve been to Dubai on the most luxurious holiday I think we’ll ever have with Emirates Holidays. We stayed at two different hotels, including an enormous suite at Atlantis the Palm which was a similar size to our house! We were there with a small production crew making a video for Emirates Airlines so hopefully I’ll be able to share that video with you later in the year. I can’t wait to see it!
I was a little nervous about making this video. I’ve never done anything like this before and toddlers aren’t exactly known for being patient or performing on camera! It actually turned out to be brilliant – especially because we had early access into a lot of attractions like The Lost Chambers aquarium and Aquaventure waterpark so we were there before the crowds hit. Sam and I had lots of those, ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe we’re doing this!’ kind of moments.
Here’s a video I made from the trip (definitely not made by a professional camera crew!)
I then went to Rotterdam with P&O Ferries and I loved exploring the stunning city. Rotterdam totally took me by surprise. I usually prefer old, historical cities and I knew Rotterdam had lost the majority of its old buildings during the war. But what it lost in historical landmarks it gained in a youthful energy that’s creative and innovative. It’s beautiful and vibrant and I loved it and I highly recommend Rotterdam for a weekend break!
After Rotterdam I went to Finish Lapland for a magical, snowy trip. I haven’t written anything about this yet but I can’t wait to share it all. It was honestly the most magical winter wonderland and a dream come true.
I then stayed a little closer to home and had a little trip to Llangollen in North East Wales. We stayed in a gorgeous bell tent and it was lovely exploring a place I know quite well, but there is always something new or a hidden gem to discover.
I then went down to Somerset where I was hosting a blogging retreat with Twins That Travel. We had the most incredible house with Unique Homestays (it’s the kind of place I dream of owning when I win the lottery!) and we had the loveliest group of bloggers join us. We had 3 days of workshops and sessions where myself, Laura and Claire shared everything we knew about blogging. I absolutely loved hosting it with Laura and Claire because we have very different blogging styles and, just like with blogging, there’s no right or wrong way to do things so I’m glad we were able to give very different perspectives.
After the retreat I went up to the Orkney Islands in Scotland with NorthLink Ferries for a week of outdoor tranquillity with Sam and the boys. That’s really the best way I can describe it because it is so peaceful up there and so beautiful.
I then flew over to Ireland for an epic Irish Road Trip with Jurys Inn. This was a solo trip for 6 days and, I’ve got to admit, I was a bit apprehensive about spending so long on my own but it was actually amazing. After such a hectic few weeks I loved this trip. Even though I was really busy, it’s a different kind of busy when you’re on your own. It’s a peaceful kind of busy. My road trip took me from Belfast to Galway to Dublin and then Cork. I drove a section of the Wild Atlantic Way and ticked off a major bucket list item by visiting the Cliffs of Moher! But 6 days was a long time to spend inside my own head. I did a lot of thinking, mostly about this blog and this crazy business and where I want it to go in the future. I still don’t know but I feel like things are a little clearer.
And now, finally, I’m in Turkey with Mark Warner Holidays and that trip to Dubai feels like a million years ago!
I’m currently sat on the beach with my laptop (yea, I’m that person) looking out to crystal clear water and little sail boats bobbing about. Sam is beside me, regularly bringing beers and ice creams and excitedly chatting about buying a sail boat, or a kayak, or a paddle board. Or maybe even a yacht (insert laughing face emoji because this little blog isn’t paying for a yacht any time soon!)
This is the perfect end to a busy season.
This is our second Mark Warner holiday and I really love them because they’re great for active families, especially young families because the childcare they provide is amazing. The boys are in Kid’s Club every morning so Sam and I can get out and go sailing or kayaking or windsurfing (although we won’t talk about windsurfing because that was a disaster!) We’ve been for bike rides and I’ve done yoga in the pretty gardens or just lazed on the beach and read a book. An entire book. And it didn’t take me so long to read that I’d forgotten who the main characters were. I don’t remember the last time I did that!
And in the evenings the boys go to Movie Club where all the little ones watch a film (and fall asleep) so the parents can have a relaxing dinner and pick the sleepy kids up at 10.30pm.
I love my kids, of course I do. I love them more than anything. But jeeze, they’re hard work! Going on holiday with them is fantastic fun but it’s anything but ‘a holiday’. But this, right now, feels like a holiday and it’s wonderful.
And that’s where I’m up to right now and I feel like we’re all caught up.
I’ve got lots of new posts coming up for June. You might have noticed things have been a bit quiet on the blog recently so I have SO MUCH to share. I’ve also got quite a lot of personal posts to share. Ideas I’ve had floating about in my head for months but I find it really difficult to write anything unless I’m relaxed. I hadn’t realised how stressed I’d been feeling until my holiday to Turkey when all the stress slipped away and it became apparent that I’d actually been really worried about a billion little things.