08 April 2025

I’ve had a lot of conversations recently about how breaking the journey to the UK (or any long-haul destination) can result in cheaper flights. This has certainly been true for us on many occasions – and we get to explore somewhere new in the process. The money saved on flight tickets funds the majority of the additional expense, so it’s a win-win! During our recent trip home for a family wedding, we decided to travel via Paris to tick off some bucket-list items (Disney!) as well as a whirlwind tour of the city itself. We flew with Air France direct to Paris, enjoying a very civilised daytime flight (with Champagne included in all cabin classes!) and landed around 15:30pm. Public transport is very easy and accessible in Paris, so we headed straight to the airport train station to continue our journey. Google Maps will tell you which route to take on the ‘public transport’ tab, and we found the best way to buy tickets was to purchase a Navigo card (2EUR each) and top up for each journey. You can also buy full day passes, with children up to 10 years travelling half price. We had chosen a hotel close to Gare de Lyon which required minimal walking with our luggage, heading straight there to check in – and find our winter woollies! We stayed in a family room in Courtyard Gare de Lyon which had great city views. Something to bear in mind in Paris – hotel rooms are a lot smaller than here in the UAE! But we still had a comfortable space and all the usual amenities for our 2-night stay. For dinner we decided to explore close to the hotel, and since it was very chilly, found the first classic Parisian bistrot we saw! The food didn’t disappoint and we were soon enjoying our steak frites, duck and local beer while dusting off our French language skills. Jet-lag helped us to be up and off early the next morning to our pre-booked Eiffel Tower experience. (This is definitely one to book in advance if you want to reach the top or use the lifts!) We took the metro to Champ de Mars, and called in at another café/bistrot for our fix of freshly baked croissants and morning coffee – the perfect Parisian breakfast! After climbing the 669 steps to the 2ème étage (and down again!) we continued our city tour by walking across the Pont D’Léna (home of the Olympic rings and fantastic Eiffel Tower views) and heading towards the Arc de Triomphe, enjoying the glorious sunshine that took the edge off the morning chill. Strolling down the Champs-Elysées was next on the agenda, spotting designer stores (you certainly can’t miss the Louis Vuitton store, currently nestled beside a huge silver LV trunk which is cleverly disguising the construction of the LV Hotel!) and stopping again for a bite to eat at one of the many cafés spilling out onto the street. Next on our itinerary was the Moulin Rouge and Sacré Cœur, which required a short metro journey from the Arc de Triomphe station. (Be careful which streets you walk along between these two landmarks, especially if you have curious teens!) We didn’t have time to go inside Sacré Cœur – there was a very large queue possibly due to the fact it was a Sunday - but enjoyed the fantastic city views, admiring all of the ‘love locks’ on the fence nearby and stopping for an al-fresco afternoon snack of macarons. Unfortunately, we had to call it a day at this point as one of the girls wasn’t feeling great, having done very well to get round most of Paris, so we headed back to the hotel on the metro and resorted to room service for dinner and an early night. By next morning everyone was feeling better and we were able to visit the last landmark on our list – Notre Dame. Another sunny morning meant we could stroll along the banks of the Seine, crossing over to Île Saint-Louis for another dose of croissants, and across to Île de la Cité which is home to the cathedral. Although renovation works are continuing on the outside of Notre Dame following the devastating fire of 2019, the interior has been completed, and visitors can now go inside once again free of charge. There are various ways to support the cathedral inside, such as purchasing a candle to light or visiting the gift shop on the way out. A quick metro back to Gare de Lyon meant we could pick up our luggage in time for check-out and then head off on the train to the main event… Disneyland Paris! (This deserves its own blog, so I will save these details for later.) With only 36 hours in Paris itself, I’m quite impressed with how much we managed to squeeze in, even with a poorly little one in tow. I hope that this might inspire you to try the indirect route to your next destination and help you to tick off multiple locations in one trip – as I said to my husband, it’s basically having two holidays for the price of one!

05 November 2024

Iceland was a destination that hadn't really been on my radar. I mean, I had heard it had some incredible sights and it was a good place to see the Northern Lights. But living in Dubai, it was one of those places we might visit ‘once we move back to the UK’. But then, during the Covid summer of 2021, Iceland was one of only a handful of ‘green’ countries from which you could enter the UK with no restrictions. Travelling direct from the UAE would have meant spending close to £3000 and 11 days in mandatory hotel quarantine… No thanks! Having investigated every potential obstacle, we arrived at DXB with a mountain of paperwork and crossed fingers... and it worked! We were on our way! Limited flights meant an 11 hour layover in Amsterdam with the children - then aged 4 and 6 - but they took it in their stride, and after 22 hours of travel we finally arrived at our Airbnb in Reykjavik feeling incredibly relieved. I hadn’t done a huge amount of research before we went – I think part of me didn’t quite believe we would get there! The trip was essentially a means to an end: getting us to the UK to see our families. Looking back, I think it was this mindset which made Iceland seem all the more incredible. We had decided to base ourselves in the capital for the first 6 nights, followed by 5 nights in a cabin within Þingvellir (Thingvellir) National Park. With the children being quite young we didn’t feel that hopping from place to place every night or two was an appealing option! Reykjavik is a small capital city with a population of just 140,000 people, making it easy to explore on foot. With Covid restrictions having been lifted, the summer streets were coming back to life with outdoor cafes, festivals and markets. It was like a breath of fresh air! Walking around the city we visited Hallgrimskirkja (the largest church in Iceland) and the rainbow road, Harpa Reykjavik concert hall, the main shopping street Laugavegur and the famous Sun Voyager sculpture to name a few sights. Further East of the city centre we explored the expansive Botanical Gardens, Reykjavik Park and Zoo, a frisbee golf course and the Laugardalslaug outdoor thermal swimming pool. This was a big hit with the children; an impressive site boasting an Olympic sized pool alongside a large recreational pool and a range of plunge pools with varying chill factors! Tradition dictates you follow your swim with a hotdog, so we happily obliged. Perlan museum, on the outskirts of Reykjavik, was well worth a visit. We spent half a day there exploring the interactive exhibits including a Northern Lights show and immersive Ice Cave experience! Another fantastic excursion was a whale watching trip from the harbour. We booked with Elding, spending 3 hours out at sea on a large vessel with multiple viewing platforms, spotting dolphins, puffins and of course humpback whales. Though it was summer, the temperature plummeted offshore, and we were very glad of the thermal suits provided on board combined with hot chocolate from the café! After a few days in the capital, we picked up a hire car to allow us to explore further afield. We ventured North for a day, following a suggested route in our guidebook which incorporated beautiful scenery and a hike to the Glymur waterfall, and a visit to the Settlement Center and Saga exhibition in Borgarnes. Next, it was time to relocate to Þingvellir and begin exploring the incredible natural phenomena that Iceland has to offer. We began with some of the so-called ‘Golden Circle’ sights: Geysir hot springs, Gulfoss waterfall, the Kerið crater and Þingvellir National Park and Silfra fissure between continents. Each place we visited seemed to be even more amazing than the last! Another road trip saw us venturing as far as Vik, some 140km from our cabin, and the Southernmost village in Iceland. Along the way there were so many places to stop at that we were out for more than 14 hours; a day where the constant daylight came in very useful! We visited Sólheimajökull glacier, Skógafoss waterfall, Seljalandsfoss waterfall, Dyrhólaey arch, black sand beaches and the picturesque church in Vik, and we still could have seen more… Just a few months prior to our visit, the Fagradalsfjall volcano had begun erupting and contrary to the usual reaction to volcanic events, Icelanders and tourists alike were flocking to see this awe-inspiring sight. The eruption site was in a relatively accessible area and Icelandic voluntary search and rescue teams were monitoring safety, as well as posting daily online updates with conditions and route maps for those wanting to explore. So, we decided to embark on this once in a lifetime opportunity and hike up a volcano! It’s difficult to describe quite how amazing and surreal it felt to be standing beside a lava flow emanating such intense heat while watching the nearby crater spewing fresh lava tens of metres into the air. It was a truly humbling experience. No trip to Iceland would have been complete without a dip in the Blue Lagoon of course. This well-deserved treat after all our exploring, sampling different mud masks and basking in the geothermal seawater, rounded off our holiday perfectly. It really was the most incredible, unexpected holiday of a lifetime. No two days were the same, and even just travelling from place to place provided such awe-inspiring scenery. Given the choice, who wouldn’t prefer to do all this instead of hotel quarantine? Although on reflection we did incorporate a huge amount, our visit only really scratched the surface of what Iceland has to offer. Next time we go (and there will most certainly be a next time!) my plan is to circumnavigate the entire country in a campervan and explore all the parts we missed first time round. Top Tips for an Icelandic getaway: • Book early - particularly if you are renting a car or campervan or are planning to do popular excursions. • Pack layers and waterproofs - even in summer the temperature is around 14°C maximum and it is likely to rain… a lot. • Take a picnic lunch out with you - some areas are very remote, and you can’t always rely on finding a café or food outlet. • Be prepared for high living costs – taxis, restaurants and supermarkets are all pricey. But most importantly, please take me with you!