Which Canary Island is For You?

March 7, 2013 in Welcome with 0 Comments

“This is a sponsored post from Thomas Cook. When I travel with my family we often try a combination of the popular spots (better facilities – eg water parks for the kids) and those less travelled (so we get a better view of local life as well)”

Map of the Canary Islands.

Map of the Canary Islands. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Canary Islands are one of the most popular and best-loved destinations for sun-seeking holidaymakers, and it’s not hard to see why. Born out of fiery eruptions thousands of years ago that crafted unique and fascinating landscapes, these islands are so much more than your average beach break destination. Yes, they’ve got great beaches – and lots of them. But they’ve also got fabulous resorts, great nightlife, a fantastic family vibe and stacks of local activities ranging from day trips to camel safaris.

In Tenerife, you’ll find some of the archipelago’s liveliest resorts in the south. Playa de las Americas and Los Cristianos is where clubbers convene to dance the night away and have a ball in the process, before sleeping it off the next day on the beach. But you’ll also find plenty of quieter resorts, and family-orientated areas with great local activities such as the world-famous water park, Siam Park. Further north, Tenerife is all hills, mountains and dramatic rocky cliffs – perfect for those who like their holidays a little more secluded.

Over in Fuerteventura, it’s beach heaven all the way. Quieter than its party-animal neighbour, Fuerteventura holidays are famous for their gorgeous golden sands and laid-back vibe – perfect for catching some rays, relaxing with a book and generally taking it easy.

Gran Canaria is different again – and while you’ve got quiet resorts that are perfect for catching up on that all-important R&R, you’ve also got the likes of Playa del Ingles which is non-stop fun in the sun.Lanzarote is another diverse spot, and it’s got some of the most fascinating volcanic landscapes of the lot – particularly as some of the ancient lava caves have been crafted into visitor attractions by the late, great architect Cesar Manrique.

So whatever you fancy, you’re bound to find it on holiday in the Canary Islands…

English: View of sandy beach in Playa del Ingl...

View of sandy beach in Playa del Ingles, Gran Canaria - Canary Islands (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Travel @ home – imaginary journeys of a 4 year old

February 20, 2013 in Everyday, Inspiration with 0 Comments

Lion

Lion (Photo credit: fatedsnowfox)

My 4 year old daughter asked me today if I would go on a trip with her to see the lions.

The zoo would be a first stop but I think we’re going to do a multitude of things, some ideas came to mind, as you can travel through discovery by

  • books,
  • internet,
  • creating a lion out of lego,
  • pretending to be on a safari in the garden
  • drawing, finger painting, collages
  • going to the zoo
  • … and there will be plenty more (ideas welcome)

and then when she is a bit older do the real thing in Africa or India .

I love the idea that my daughters imagination can also take me on her journey and look forward to discovering lions with her.

 

Lion

Lion (Photo credit: fatedsnowfox)

 

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Weekends Away with the Kids: Holidays near Heathrow

February 1, 2013 in Travel with 0 Comments

“This is a sponsored post from Travelodge. When I travel with my family I often mix up where we stay for better value, access to sights or just to keep us exploring.”

Is there anything worse than travelling for hours, into London, with youngsters in the car? No matter how much preparation you do, and no matter how many sticker books you pack into the back, it always seems to become a stressful experience.

After ten rounds of sensible, adult-led games such as eye spy and word connect, it is never long before the boys start giving each other a dead arm on the sight of any yellow vehicle and your youngest has some issue surrounding travel induced bodily fluid complications.

There has to be a better way to do it! And flying from Manchester, Edinburgh and other far-out UK destinations – in less than an hour – could be the answer to your prayers. Staying at Heathrow Terminal 5 hotels, outside of the city centre, will also ensure you pay a low price for your weekend away, especially if you choose a family room from a budget company.

Heathrow is well connected to central London, by underground (at Terminals 1, 2, 4, and 5), as well as the Heathrow Express from Terminals 4 and 5, which transports passengers into the city centre in less than 15 minutes.

The attractions and entertainment within the city are endless. Every type of trip is catered for in central London. Those looking to see the traditional sites of ‘Old Landan Town’ can add Big Ben, Buckingham Palace and the Houses of Parliament to their itinerary.

Tower of London

Alternatively, a child friendly museum tour in the capital will leave you spoilt for choice. There’s also a huge number of contemporary attractions on offer including the London Eye, Madame Tussauds and the recently reinvented, London Dungeons.

One of the most convenient aspects of staying out of the city centre is that you are close to some of the out of town attractions, which can really make a family getaway.

Windsor and Eton railway is just six miles away, and a truly beautiful day out. As well as visiting Windsor Castle, why not catch the bus service from the centre up to the LEGOLAND theme park? The rides and LEGO mini land are bound to keep them thoroughly entertained. Whether you choose to call a taxi, or take the train from Heathrow (with just one or two changes), you can be at LEGOLAND in well under an hour.

LEGOLAND

Those with tweens and teens in the camp may prefer something a little more adrenaline packed than the wonder of LEGOLAND. If this is the case, Thorpe Park is a fabulous day out for your family. Extreme rides include THE SWARM, SAW, Stealth and Colossus. You can book 2013 tickets online now, for the price of 2012 passes.

The most important factors to a family break are keeping costs low and cutting the stress. Forget driving across the country, make the holiday magic happen and catch a flight. In less than an hour you’ll be checking into your budget Heathrow accommodation ready and set for a wonderful weekend with your nearest and dearest.

 

A day at the tennis – fun for Dad and the kids

January 20, 2013 in Inspiration, Sport with 0 Comments

Roger Federer returning against Evgeny Korolev...

I love the big Grand Slams, and have been lucky enough to have gone to each of the Big 4 at least once, and having lived in London 10 years and Melbourne a few years to Wimbledon and the Australian Open many times.

I want to expose my kids to the international atmosphere, the buzz of the crowd and the excitement of watching the worlds best play for the ultimate prize.

Thus this is the second year I’ve taken all 3 of my kids to the Australian Open.  We buy a family ground pass (about $90), take the day off work during the first week of the tournament and then spend the day from opening at 10am till dinner time at 6/7pm.. the kids can get tired by the end as its a full day.

And the Aussie Open makes a real effort to make the tournament kid friendly.  Case in point the excellent kids fun day on the Saturday before the start of the tournament – which my kids loved – is now firmly on our calendar.

Things my kids loved definetly included

Sponsors giveaways – from chocolate milk (off the train on the walk to the gates), Ski yogurt tubs to Cadbury chocolate getting little treats is a kid favourite

Giveaways

Sponsors games - RFID enabled smart cards are now mainstream  and we kept them around our necks to checkin to activities from Kia’s racecar simulator to Optus’s speed serve.  The kids also loved the studio in a box approach that seemed to be everywhere having their photos taken on court, at locations around Victoria..etc

Winners trophy?

Minicourts - for having a hit. Tennis Australia is making a big push to get more kids into the game and so had a few courts set up for quick 4 minute hits.  My mini Federer and Williams had a ball. And the sand court was  a bit of fun as well.

Beach tennis?

Player favourites - my seven year old son was keen on Andy Murray for the first half the day, had a photo in front of a poster of Andy to seal it until he found David Ferrer in a practice session and changed is number one status… Andy is now no 2.

Court time - I won’t lie and say sitting to watch matches is my kids favourite.  They’ll watch for bursts of 30 minutes at a time but then having an ipod/games and some snacks on hand is the only way to get through a whole set for us. While I love being on some of the main courts for first day singles we’ve found outside courts and doubles matches also allow the kids to make a bit more noise and feel like they have a bit more scope to move around (my kids have troubkle with the keep quiet during play and luckily tennis stands are now much louder than they use to be)

Sunny in the stands....

Food - while like any sporting event the food is likely to be twice as expensive and half as good as what ou can get outside, we pack a picnic lunch to be eaten in the stands while play is on (and a kids mouth chewing is pretty quiet) supplemented by sponsor snacks and buying an icecream on a hot day.

Have a great day at the tennis!

Learning to play at Kids Tennis Day at the Australian Open

January 13, 2013 in Everyday, Family with 0 Comments

Its January which means the Australian Open – the first grand slam of the year – is on.

Saturday before the tournament’s start is now traditionally Kids day where kids of all ages are encouraged to try tennis and take up Tennis Australia’s Hot Shots program.

Hotshots learn to play tennis

Its all fun and games as Nickelodeon’s partnership means that Sponge Bob, Dora, Captain Feathersword and a host of comic characters are also there to be part of the fun.

Characters take court

Highlights for my kids was the balloon artists who for my three made respectively a flower, tennis racket and butterfly.

Balloon artists rule

They enjoyed their hit of tennis as well but probably the most fun was seeing the pros play a fun match where Novak Djokovic danced Gangum style with Serena Williams and Roger Federer was a ball boy.

Amuse on court

And for me, I got a short at Cardio Tennis (a new idea to get people fit and into tennis – combining loud music, a work out and tennis rackets)… well I was sweating after it.

The Pros can PLAY

 

While the dancers dance and singers sing

 

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