Cyprus Pre lockdown

On March 6th 2020, we flew from London Heathrow to Larnaca, Cyprus. The third largest island in the Mediterranean, partly ruled by Greece and partly Turkish, the island held some intrigue and we looked forward to exploring and learning more. We stayed in a little beach side hotel for two nights. A waterside promenade along […]

Oslo, Norway

Heading to Oslo for three nights we repeatedly heard how expensive it was going to be. Travelling with two kids in tow and no major desire to break the bank we researched. One hotel that came up in a search for hotels with breakfast included was the Clarion Hotel Bastion. Also included was all day […]

Reykjavik & Akureyri, Iceland

Business class seats on our Iceland air flight were great. We had pre ordered a meal so got some hot food including drinkies for the adults and activity sets for the kids. The scenery en route was spectacular. We saw the glacier and the volcano that had erupted in 2010 causing major trouble with travel […]

Derby, UK

Flew into Manchester from Bilbao and spent two nights in the Crowne Plaza. The hotel was very close to the town centre. We also had access to the club which provided complimentary snacks and drinks from 5-7pm each evening. We found a nice Indian restaurant nearby and dined there both evenings! Not a tapa in […]

Biscay, Spain

Bilbao, a port city, capital of Biscay province, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. It is the largest city in the Basque Country. The hotel gran Bilbao was visible from a distance as we approached town. It was a little outside town. The ten minute downhill walk to the old town was ok. Returning […]

Cantabria, Spain

The Hotel Bahia was the perfect spot to spend a few nights while exploring Santander. It’s location was great, near the water and the old town. Santander was similar to A Coruña but on a much bigger scale. The waterside setting was lovely for sea walks and the old town nearby for dinner. Across from […]

Asturias, Spain

We hired a car at the airport in A Coruña and drove through Galicia and some of Asturias. The rolling hills we passed by were dotted with wind turbines and the sea was always visible on the horizon. We stopped for two nights in Aviles in another NH Collection hotel on the Plaza España. The […]

Galicia, Spain

Santiago de Compostela, the capital of Galicia in Northern Spain was a short flight from Dublin. It’s best known as the culmination of the pilgrimage route, the Camino de Santiago. The apostle St James or Santiago is reputedly buried in the Cathedral de Santiago de Compostela. The elaborately carved stone facades stand tall in the […]

Ireland Christmas and New Year

A month in Malta

A month in Malta was spent visiting different parts of the main island and staying in a farmhouse on Gozo for two weeks. We also enjoyed visits from Ita, Gwen and Cathryn. St Paul’s Bay First stop in Malta was Park Lane Hotel in St Pauls Bay for five nights. We were initially very surprised […]