I don’t normally do Disney, but Tinkerbell is different  You can’t do Florida without doing Disney. How many times had people told me that? So, despite my conviction that Disney wasn’t for me, I agreed to spend a day in one of world’s most popular theme  parks to see if might  experience the magic… “No [...]

Behind the scenes with Legoland Master Builders Who do you imagine builds Legoland? Kids in third world sweatshops working to blueprints drawn up in the Billund headquarters? Nope. Bespectacled professors of plastic? Wrong again. It isn’t a line of people in a grim northern factory, robotically slotting heads onto Ewoks while counting the minutes till [...]

Propeller Island City Lodge in Berlin isn’t your normal hotel. It doesn’t always have staff, or indeed guests, it doesn’t promote itself and you can’t book online. But it does have coffins, and cages and upside down rooms. You see it’s not really a hotel at all; it’s a work of art, a living installation, a temporary exhibition space. And you can [...]

I spent most of my visit to Orlando either upside down or flying backwards. I might not have been able to get to the Kennedy Space Centre but I did fly around Hogwarts, above a Miniature USA, over an alligator swamp and had slime flying at me. However, no ride, zip wire or even broomstick [...]

Do you love or hate theme hotels?  I’m on the fence, so wasn’t sure how I’d feel about Orlando’s Nickelodeon Hotel. As colorful as a graffiti artist’s palette, and with a guest list of larger than life cartoon characters, spending a night there is a bit like stepping into the TV channel itself. It wouldn’t [...]

When is a bridge more than a bridge? When you get to check out the view from Tower Bridge I thought a bridge was just a bridge. And then I visited The Tower. No not the place where Henry’s Wives were beheaded. I’m talking about London’s Tower Bridge; a Victorian marvel and modern city icon. When [...]

Anyone for Afternoon Tea? An afternoon tea is great British tradition and there are dozens of fine hotels in London that serve this uniquely British meal, complete with polished silver teapots, cucumber sandwiches, scones, cream and tiers of handmade pastries and cakes. On our post Jubilympics tour of London we experienced this ritual in the kitchen [...]

Gearing up: Buying a Tent for Family Camping In this occasional series of posts, “Gearing Up”, we share tips, lessons and practical advice on different aspects of planning, organising or carrying out different indie style family adventures.  Camping has been a big part of our travel style. It’s simple, fun, outdoors and helps keeps costs down. But [...]

Sleeping at The Palace Our post Jubilympic London mini break begins at Buckingham Palace, with a visit to The Queen. Well not an actual visit. We don’t see her, but we know she’s there. As I tuck the children up in bed just down the road at The Rubens at the Palace hotel, I tell them [...]

Does my bum look big in this tube? With Cornwall kyboshed, and twelve year olds looking for birthday treats we thought Manchester’s Chill Factore might fit the bill. But why should kids have all the fun? I wanted to play in the snow too.  So I booked us a tubing session. But what is tubing?? [...]