Ho, Ho Ho, It’s Helsinki!
It was with some trepidation that I took my son to Finland for a week. We were not going North to Lapland to visit Santa (who he still thinks is real, I am pleased to say, at the grand old age of seven) as it was too far from our base in Helsinki. I had some initial...
Riding A Cow Chariot To The Dogon Country In Mali
“We will not walk anymore, I am tired. Tomorrow, we will drive,” declared Mohammed suddenly. His announcement surprised me, not because he was fourteen and had never driven a car in his life, but because we had been trekking for three days and were now in a deep...
El Salvador: Be The First Tourist, The Time is Now
We wound up deciding to visit El Salvador purely by dint of mathematics. I had been to 97 countries already and was not willing to let the arrival of children (presently aged 6 and 3) stop my desperate attempt to become the next world explorer. My husband was the one...
Ships And Sugar In Antigua
Having visited much of the Caribbean, and in search of a sunny holiday destination that would be relaxed and easy to visit with kids in tow, we read about Antigua and it sounded perfect: easily accessible island with some history and nice beaches. What more could a...
Travels Round The Homeland Of The Knights Of Malta
Like many a former English schoolchild, I remembered the name of ‘the Knights of Malta’ from my youth. I could not, however, remember anything more than the name. Who they were, what they did, and where they came from had not remained in my conscious memory. What...
Thirty-Six Hours In Paris, France? Here Is What To Do
First of all, you need a place to stay. Paris has 20 “arrondissements” (suburbs) that basically spiral out from the Musée de Louvre and cover all of central Paris in a giant helix. Central Paris being defined as the area enclosed by the periphèrique, which is the ring...
The Medieval Magic Of Estonia
“Estonia is the most developed of the Baltic States,” said our taxi driver proudly as he drove us to our hotel in Tallinn. I was pleased to hear this as travel with a six-month baby is not easy at the best of times. The Hotel St. Petersbourg, located in the heart of...
Adventures With Ostriches In Aruba
Looking for a relaxing holiday – if such a thing is possible with 3 kids under 10 – we headed off to the Caribbean for some sand and sunshine. We’d selected Aruba based not only on the photographs we had seen of glorious sandy beaches, but also because there was a...
Bulgaria: Not Your Parent’s Eastern Europe Anymore
"Don't go to Bulgaria, you'll hate it!" said my husband to me on his return from that same country, where he had been with our son, who was fencing in the European Championships in April. "I never want to go back!" he added, vociferously. Since he (son not husband)...
C Is For Cold In Canada: Adventures In Quebec City Over U.S. Thanksgiving Break
Our family hates the cold - except our youngest, aged 8, but, being one out of five votes, she loses every time. Anyway, she also loves the seaside and swimming, so we can satisfy everyone with Caribbean island holidays. This Thanksgiving, however, we decided to go...