Lake Annecy, France

The first stop on our trip was towards the south-east of France at the town of Saint-Jorioz, which sits on the edge of Lake Annecy. The lake is the third largest in France and is known as Europe's cleanest lake, attracting many tourists for cycling, swimming and water sports. It has a surface area of 10.65 square miles and, whilst the average depth of the lake is 41 metres, at it's deepest it is actually 82 metres!

This was the longest part of our overall trip, at around 734 miles/1181km of driving, so we set off on Friday evening so we at least made it down to the Eurotunnel in Kent, meaning we had an early start on Saturday morning to try and make good time.

Fast forward three stops and only 10 hours to 6:30pm (French time) on Saturday evening and we arrived in Saint-Jorioz! The weather was warm and the sun was still shining, so we headed straight down to the lake to stretch our legs and grab some dinner whilst it was still beautifully light.

 

This was my second time visiting the area, having been in 2009 visiting my parents who were working nearby, and I knew Charlie would love it as the mountains contrast so well against the flat surface by the lake. Whilst in the area we travelled around the lake, stopping at various points to take advantage of the scenery and tranquility, and we also ventured towards the top of one of the mountains where you can find many thrill-seekers paragliding (and no doubt getting the best views) over the lake. For those that love life on two wheels, there is also a cycle path that goes partially around Lake Annecy past Sevrier and St Jorioz to Ugine.

 

If you know anything about France you will know they very much have a 'work-to-live' view on life and like to take it easy. What I enjoyed most about this was seeing the many locals meeting down by the lake to sit for hours and chat with the friends and acquaintances that passed by - it's a fantastic spot for people watching!

If you are thinking about seeing this part of the world and have any questions, please do get in touch, I would be happy to share any ideas or knowledge with you!

European Road Trip

Hi everyone,

It's been a long time since I last posted so apologies for the silence; I have been planning a wedding, got married and have since spent several months organising a road trip around Europe for me and my husband!

We both had the opportunity to take some extended leave at work to travel, and considering the time of year it fell (May and June), it made perfect sense to take advantage of Europe as it enters summer!

Below you will see the route that we are taking - numbers 1 and 20 are home in Shaftesbury, England; we are extremely excited about seeing so many different beautiful locations, and not only that, but as we are travelling by car, it's meant we haven't had to strip back to the very basics - yay! Don't get me wrong, I've had to make some sacrifices, but I'll cope.

I will be updating you on our progress in due course, so keep your eyes peeled, I will be sure to have some tips for you.

Have a good evening all,
Em

I Only Went and Got ENGAGED!!

Hello there people! I have good news.... I got engaged this weekend yippee! Evolving Neurotic bridezilla here so watch out!

Charlie proposed at the weekend when we went away to The Hand & Flowers (chef Tom Kerridge's pub) in Marlow for a belated birthday trip I booked for him last January, would you believe?! I made the booking for his birthday which was July, but the waiting list was so long we had to wait until February 2016 before it was our turn! I will post about the pub and accommodation in a separate post, so keep your eyes peeled.

I'm feeling very lucky and very excited to tick another thing off my 101 thing in 1001 days list, which was titled "Help plan a wedding (hopefully mine)" - hooray, it is mine!!

Homemade Simple Gift Idea - Remember When Photo Frame

Last year for Valentine's Day I made a fab gift using an idea I got off of 'Not On The High Street', which hangs proudly in our hallway - you can find it here

Well as it was such a success I set out to find something similar for Valentine's Day 2016 to bring some memories into our home. Typically I started out on Not On The High Street to see if anything was appropriate and found this: http://www.notonthehighstreet.com/rosierobins/product/personalised-remember-when-print The idea was perfect but the medium one was £45 and it was unframed! Disappointed, I decided to make my own.

What do you need? A frame (I got mine on eBay and it was £9.10 with free delivery and the border), some imagination and memories, and a colour printer. Good luck all, this will be hanging in our home, so I hope you can create one to hang in yours :-)

London Treats - Food and Drink

I thought I'd share with you some of my favourite food and drink destinations when in London - obviously the choice is vast, but hopefully there might be something new here to tempt you!

Breakfast: Le Pain Quotidien. A wonderful French chain is perfect for breakfast and a relaxed venue to chill out. I like the one in Soho and highly recommend the fresh OJ with the ham and cheese croissant which comes with three mustards to accompany it. Mwah!

Lunch: I love to head to the food hall in Harrods, Knightsbridge, so much choice and different cuisines!! They do a fab asian section which is reasonably-priced and as a sweet treat they do some 'WOW' luxury cakes and desserts.

Dinner: My go-to when in London is Ping Pong Dim Sum, a chain of Chinese dim sum restaurants across London, it steals my heart every time! Probably in my top 5 restaurants....

Cocktails and Treats: As I mentioned in my post about The Langham Hotel, London, Bar Artesian is an award-winning cocktail bar that's been voted the World's Best Bar for 4 years in a row. With quirky names and eclectic ways to present the cocktails, it's an amazing experience, so head here for a drink or two at the start of your night.

And finally the perfect way to end a trip to London, Godiva chocolate-dipped strawberries, so divine and worth every penny!

Holidays 2016: Vacation Time Part 2

Just a quick follow up to my last vacation post for 2016 (click here to view) to show you all what we're doing for our last trip of 2016!

Holiday 4 (European City Break) - Copenhagen, Denmark, 2 adults, 26th July - 29th July 2016
This vacation takes place right at the start of the summer school holidays and therefore it is a bit more expensive than if we went a couple of weeks earlier, but nonetheless it looks amazing and actually the flights were very reasonable! We booked flights with Easyjet (hand luggage only, cabin case with no weight limit) from London Gatwick to Copenhagen, Denmark at £39.14 each return (**further notes below on this)
The accommodation I headed to AirBnB for because a 4*+ hotel was working out far too much, and we found this little gem on there! It's the entire apartment for our own use and includes Wifi and is right by the metro - £88.50 each
Total per adult for flights and accommodation - £127.64
**Get a bargain with flights and use Nectar points towards the cost - definitely recommend if you are a regular online shopper, a great money saving method to online shopping. We saved £30 by doing this!

 

Very excited for this mini adventure and I've already started learning some Danish to impress the locals (or shock them with my pronunciation!) :-) It will likely be around 20 degrees in Copenhagen which will be perfect for brisk walks and heading to the biggest aquarium in Europe! Who knows, we might even pop over to Sweden for a quick look around.

The Langham Hotel, London, England

The Langham, London - currently ranked 54 out of 1,059 hotels in London, and all I can say is that I'm surprised it's not higher. Styling pink proudly and located only a couple of minutes' walk away from Oxford Street and Regent Street, this luxury hotel has everything you need for an indulgent and special getaway.

 

As Europe's first "Grand Hotel", The Langham is renowned for its legendary service with poise, featuring a restaurant with star chefs Albert and Michel Roux Jr (Roux At The Landau) as well as award winning coktail bar: Bar Artesian, which has been voted "The World's Best Bar" for four years in a row. Wow!

Yes, that really is a cocktail!

We have stayed at this glorious hotel twice, and no doubt we will be back. We tend to visit during the summer, hopeful of good weather so we can explore London on foot and also celebrate our birthdays, and for such occasions there's nothing better than the treat of staying somewhere so exquisite.

The doormen and front of house staff are charming and polite, and within seconds of being in the entrance hall the smell of fresh roses (pink of course) hits and relaxes you. Of course there is a spa and pool to relax you further if you wish, or why not let the very reasonably priced 24-hour room service be of use if you're on a busy schedule!?

 

  

On our most recent visit we stayed in one of the Grand Club Junior Suites which was definitely big enough for two. In fact the bed was so large and comfortable that you could easily get lost in it. A nice touch to the stay for both nights was the turndown service which allowed you to feel right at home from the moment you stepped in of an evening.

I couldn't recommend this hotel enough, so if you're in need of a bit of luxury in The Big Smoke, head to The Langham.

Holidays 2016: Vacation Time Part 1

Following the popularity of my 2015 holiday post last January - http://em-maria.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/this-is-how-we-do-it-holidays-2015.html I thought I would spend some time sharing our plans for 2016 travel for anyone that fancies something different with their trips! Seeing the world is something really important to me, but with working full time and only getting 5 weeks off a year it can be tricky to fit in lots of worthwhile trips, not to mention the cost. I am in my late-20s and my partner is in his mid-30s, so we're not very far away from thinking about expanding our family. We have therefore decided that this year is a time to head further afield and do a twin centre holiday!

Holiday 1 (Family Trip) - Pays de la Loire, France, 2 adults, 2 children, 27th March - 2nd April 2016
We are off to visit my parents and taking my nephews too (aged 9 and 6). The Loire Valley is well-known for wine-making and also the Le Mans 24 hour racing. Mum and Dad are about 2 hours from Paris and it's a lovely location for some peace and quiet.
Option 1: drive via the Channel Tunnel, use your Tesco Clubcard vouchers to triple up on clubcard points! This takes approximately 10 hours door-to-door from Dorset, England.
Option 2: drive and take the ferry with Brittany Ferries! Unfortunately no chance to use clubcard points but it means the kids can run around and it's a lot less stressful driving-wise! Routes from Portsmouth to Caen or Le Havre, there's always something to fit your travel plans. You will have your fuel costs and then the ferry cost for a return trip £338 during school Easter Holidays.
Total ferry cost per person - £84.50

Holiday 2 (Twin Centre) - Hong Kong and Ubud, Bali, 2 adults, 28th May - 13th June 2016
For a twin centre trip there are not many DIY deals you can do, unless you want to pay for all the flights and hotel stays separately. If that's the case I don't think it'll end up much/any cheaper than going with a tour operator. This is an extravagant trip for us but it'll be worthwhile I'm sure.
We weren't entirely sure where we wanted to go, so I was browsing on Hayes & Jarvis and the online chat window popped up. I typed in what we were after (4/5* 14 night trip over 2 destinations, perhaps Hong Kong or Kuala Lumpur and a couple of hotel choices in Bali) and they whizzed over 4 holiday choices. By luck the cheapest quote was the one we wanted, hurrah! To top it all off I was a bit cheeky and asked about a further early booking discount and got another substantial saving! It doesn't hurt to ask, so remember for next time!
Hong Kong - Harbour Grand Hotel 5* Hong Kong Island, 4 nights B&B, free room upgrade
Ubud, Bali - Maya Ubud Resort & Spa 10 nights B&B, private car transfers
All flights and transfers are included
Total per adult for flights, transfers and accommodation - £1,780

 

Holiday 3 (Private Villa) - Madeira, Atlantic Ocean, 2 adults, 27th August - 3rd September 2016
This vacation does take place during the school holidays and therefore is a bit more expensive than if we went a couple of week later. We booked flights with Easyjet (hand luggage only, cabin case with no weight limit) from London Gatwick to Funchal Madeira at £305.95 each return with seats being pre-booked (**further notes below on this)
The villa with private pool I shopped around for because it was on AirBNB, Holiday Lettings and various other sites. Finally we booked through Homeaway (Angels in Paradise, Calheta) which sleeps up to 6 people - £213.50 Total per adult for flights and accommodation - £519.45
**Get a bargain with flights and use Nectar points towards the cost - definitely recommend if you are a regular online shopper, a great money saving method to online shopping.

Our final trip is still to be confirmed, but it's likely to be a UK break as per last year, perhaps in Wales or Scotland so we can take the dog with us, he loves having time at the beach too! If you need any help or advise with your travel plans/ideas please do not hesitate to contact me, I'd be happy to help!

The Perfect Couples Retreat - North Devon, England

Devon is a beautiful holiday destination in the UK for both families and couples, whether it is the chance to hit the beach during the (sometimes) warm summer months, or a weekend getaway in the winter. We visited a gorgeous lodge near the town of Braunton this weekend just as the cold weather arrived, and managed to enjoy a relaxing few days strolling the beach, indulging in fish 'n' chips and cosying up to the woodburner!

The recently-renovated woodland retreat sleeps two people and is furnished to a high specification throughout, screaming luxury! Staying in this property really makes you feel like going away is a special treat, and that's not just because of the large power shower and cosy bed, the owners really care and are always at hand if you need anything.

View from the bathroom

If you are visiting the south west of England, I would highly recommend heading to Airbnb and snapping up this opportunity of really making your trip an extravagance in Devon! You can find further details here and if you have any questions at all about the area or property please do not hesitate to contact me:

https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/6773606?s=--Two5Cw 

 

Croyde Beach, November 2015

Beautifully decorated and well-equipped