Today was our final day. We were due to leave just before lunch to head to the airport, so the plan was simple enough, bakery breakfast, then one of us would take Alexander to the pool while the other packed and got everything ready. Unfortunately, Alexander had clearly woken up and chosen chaos. The cat came to say goodbye first thing in the morning, which was lovely. Unfortunately, this created a new problem. For the rest of the day, Alexander repeatedly shouted "cat!" and

Today was supposed to be our Paris day for a picnic in the park by the Eiffel Tower. We got up, got ourselves organised, and headed to the bakery just outside our front door for breakfast. There’s something very satisfying about walking approximately 30 seconds for fresh pastries. It’s a lifestyle I could get used to. While we waited for rush hour traffic to die down before driving into Paris, we headed to the nearby play park to kill some time. Unfortunately, by 8am the sli

For breakfast, we headed to an unreal patisserie to get some pastries and éclairs. Nothing healthy about it, but truly delicious. It would beat a Marks & Spencer éclair any day. The morning bevvy of choice was freshly squeezed orange juice… a holiday essential if ya ask me. Oh, by the way, it’s Anna writing today’s blog. After breakfast, we decided to head to Claude Monet’s house and gardens. We thought we were being smart heading early to beat the queues, but unfortunately e

Day 2 started a little earlier than planned. Alexander had actually slept really well beside me, mainly because I still couldn’t get the bloody travel cot up properly. Every time I thought I had cracked it, another side would collapse in on itself. Whoever designs those things clearly hates parents. We decided to make the most of the morning and head out for a walk before the heat properly kicked in. The place we’re staying is perched up on a hill, which is lovely for the vie

Welcome to Chapter 16. Another adventure begins and, at just 21 months old, it’s hard to believe this is already Alexander’s fourth trip abroad. Frankly, he’s becoming more well travelled than most adults we know. As part of Anna’s 30th birthday, her one request was simple: sunshine somewhere during her week off in May. Months passed, we looked at holidays, ignored holidays, and waited for the inevitable travel blogger invitation for Gin and Travel that never arrived. Eventua

And just like that, our small but mighty tour was over. We were flying home today, back to Derry, back to normality, back to Pippin. Finally, we actually managed hotel breakfast. Alexander enjoyed fruit and pain au chocolat like a tiny European toddler, while Anna and I went for some avocado and eggs with coffee and tea. Bags were packed, room checked, and we were out the door by 9am feeling unusually organised. One of the blessings of our hotel location was that Gloucester R

Happy Valentine’s Day to all who celebrate. I woke up to the most romantic surprise imaginable: Anna, not in her best state and vomiting. Nothing says enduring love like a good old vomit in a boutique hotel bathroom in South Kensington. In fairness, I’m blaming the tofu from the night before. Possibly the wine also contributed but mostly the tofu… The morning was slow. Anna and Alexander were not functioning at peak performance. While I cleaned up and got myself sorted, I als

We woke just before 7am, which in holiday terms now counts as a lie-in. Anna took over morning Wiggles duty while Sophie attempted her lie in as she was working from home today. Not sure it worked though with what can only be described as a background soundtrack of fruit salad and toddler footsteps. We said our goodbyes to Kyle and packed up our now somehow expanded backpacks. We left to meet Steven and his son Miles at the Botanic Gardens — except the Botanic Gardens didn’t

Alexander very much enjoyed the novelty of all three of us being in the same room overnight and decided that personal space was optional. At some point in the early hours he joined us in bed, diagonally, like a tiny starfish claiming territory. No complaints though, his smile made it all worth it! He was up at 5.45am. Naturally. Alexander and I enjoyed a solid couple of hours of The Wiggles before anyone else stirred. There’s something deeply calming about sitting in a quiet

Alexander’s third trip overseas where he potentially is ticking off all means of transport except for a boat. This week we’re on what can only be described as a UK tour: two days in Edinburgh, two in London, visiting friends who have never met Alexander in person! Although we now consider ourselves moderately experienced at travelling with a toddler, we still live by the motto: fail to prepare, prepare to fail. Every trip requires military-level planning disguised as “sure we

It was an earlier than planned start this morning as Anna told Erin and James to arrive for 8am instead of 9am to go to the market. They...

We checked the time this morning and it was nearly 9.30! We no idea how we managed such a lie-in, but it was great. Straight to the pool...

Alexander, having stayed up later than usual, woke bright and early and naturally decided the comfiest place to sleep was directly on my...

The day started off like most others — breakfast, pool, sunbathing. The usual. The morning was packed with fun in the water: breathing...

The day started with the usual routine — preserving sun loungers, breakfast, a quick pool visit — before we headed up to the bar for...

Another morning of work for me, though I was up and ready to take Alexander — only to find Marshall had already beaten me to it. A man on...

A busy day yesterday meant Alexander slept right through until 8am — a real lie-in for him — missing his usual morning walk and...

Alexander had a great sleep but was still up and at it by 6am. Marshall took him out for an early-morning stroll while the rest of us...

After a big trip to Australia, we’d planned to keep things low key this summer — just the three of us heading off to Vilamoura for some...

After many miles, trains and lifts, we finally made it to Terminal 2 for our last flight: London to Derry. But of course, we were too...