Paris is always a good idea!.....

So says Audrey Hepburn!...... and that's exactly where we headed for Valentines Day. Yes I know that its a little twee but trust me you would never have known it Valentines Day in Paris in comparison to how OTT the UK does Valentines.
M has never been to Paris so when Eurostar sent me their £50 return deal I never expected to be able to book Valentines day but we did and that's where we headed. Starting off in the gorgeous station of St Pancras is always lovely and even with a 4am alarm call I was still greeted with roses and a card (definitely a keeper!)
We were booked on the 7am train and we left on time and started the journey with prosecco strawberries & cereal, arriving in Paris just after 10am. I had planned a small itinerary to give M a whistle stop tour of the city. The day was quite foggy and misty to begin and grey clouds loomed for most of the day, however this didn't deter us from having fun. A hike up the steps to the Scare Coeur was our first stop where we stopped to view the skyline of Paris. The walk down was easier which lead us past Galleries Lafayette and into the square of Paris Garnier the stunning opera house. We both said that we would come back for a few days and try to see the ballet there. Next stop was the Louvre which was packed, I think everyone was looking for options to escape the chill. Our escape was via Angelina chocolate shop for Hot chocolate which is just like molton chocolate! With this warming us up we headed towards the Champs Elysees to window shop and have some fun at the Arc de triomphe watching the cars avoid crashing.

With time running away with itself we headed across the Seine for our pre-booked time to ascend the Eiffel Tower. We only visited the 2nd level and didn't go to the top as it had sold out (everyone pre-booking for proposals!) this was fine with us as it was freezing by this stage.
We enjoyed exploring the side streets around the tower and look forward to returning when all the re-generation around there is complete.
Our final stop on our whistle stop tour was to see the Notre Dame which we managed to get to just before dark and before the rain started.
After walking the best part of 12 miles it was time to find a quaint French restaurant which we did along the river and have dinner before heading back to Gard de Nord for our 8pm train home.
Both of us loved the day and will look to go back for longer in the Spring.

MIA at Sea..... A Baltic Adventure

Just popping in to say hello and farewell to May!.....

For this month I have a legitimate excuse for no blogging as I have spent 17 days of it at Sea travelling through the Baltic's.

Over the 17 days I woke up in 9 different ports, in 8 different countries and have sailed 3,471 miles with Captain Cook on the ship Aurora.

This beautiful cruise liner has been my home for 17 days in May

 This was my first cruise and I was unsure of what to expect, but was blessed with beautiful blue skies and calm seas throughout my cruise and thoroughly enjoyed it.

My cruise took in the following countries & towns:

Gdynia & Gdansk – Poland

Klaipeda – Lithuania

St Petersburg – Russia

Tallinn – Estonia

Riga – Latvia

Travemunde & Lubeck – Germany

Copenhagen – Denmark

Oslo – Norway

Skagen – Denmark

I will over the coming weeks share with you my adventures of life on ship and also the places that we stopped and what were my highlights. I am still wading my way through the unpacking, washing being back to work and photo editing!... 2,000 + photo’s that require sorting ( I promise not to share them all!!)..
here’s a flavour of my trip:

 I completely understand why people fall in love with cruising and choose to travel the world this way. I still have some air & land holidays that I want to do but wouldn’t rule out cruising again, but quite happy to be back on solid ground and looking forward to some new adventures in June.

Hello May....

When it appears that I have my blogging mojo back, I am going to take a small hiatus in May for a much needed holiday and adventure.

For the later half of May I will be having my first 2 week holiday in over 15 years, I am nervously excited all in one feeling as I am going on my first cruise. St Petersburg has been on my bucket-list since I was a small girl when I can remember seeing Anna Karenina with my Nan and falling in love with the mystery of the Russian Tsars and palaces.

My cruise will dock in St Petersburg for 3 days where I will be seeing some of the sights and also attending The Russian Ballet to see Swan Lake.
Some of the other countries and cities that I will stop off in will be Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Germany, Denmark - Copenhagen, Oslo - Sweden, and Skagen - Norway. I am busy compiling lots of lists and any 'cruise' tips will be most welcome as I am a complete novice.

Before I go there are a number of events at work that I need to get ready for and the launch of the Summer season - Fenwick are one of the main sponsors of Ascot and will host a number of parties and events for the season, to accompany this they have decorated the store and facade in the most beautiful blooms, which make for some fabulous Instagram moments.

I hope to post a little before I go and then be prepared for a hundred posts when I come back. Wifi is very limited and very expensive on ship, so I don't imagine that I will post much whilst away.
Here's hoping everyone has ana amazing May.