Scarborough

Another day trip from London but wish we could have stayed overnight as there was so much to do.

Here's what we've been upto. These are all out of town about 20 to 30mins away from the centre:

- Skipton Castle -part of English Heritage which provides beautiful views  of the coastline. This was more ruins of the castle but the grounds were beautiful.

- Peasholme Park - this was a surprise as I didn't expect much but it had a lake with Oriental Gardens and waterfalls. You can go boating on the lake as well as mini golfing. The highlight of this park is that it showcases mini ship battles on the lake which is the highlight of the year. 

-Water Chute is a water ride and one of the few ones in the country

- Right by the water chute is the North Bay Railway which is a little railway that will take you upto the North Beach Bay

- The North Bay Beach offers more attractions than the South Baby beach. It has an Open Air Theatre and a Sealife Centre as well 

- Alpamere is a water park with all indoor slides as well as 2 outdoor thermal books offering nice views of the North Bay. The water park is decent with 4 big slides, a wave pool and small splash park as well. You could stay as long as you like but I thought for what it offered, the price could have been a bit cheaper. 3 of the 4 slides requires floaties which means you will need to queue. Depending on how busy the pool is, the queues can be very long.

Scarborough has so much to offer and wish we had more time to explore it.

A day trip to Skipton

I always wanted to go to Skipton because it had a few waterfalls I wanted to explore so here is our day trip fron London.

We first headed to the town centre to visit the Skipton Museum which was free to visit. It was small museum but it detailed the history of Skipton so well and even my grumpy teenagers enjoyed it.

We then went to Skipton Woods behind Skipton Castle. We didn't want to visit Skipton Castle but there is that option for you if you will like to explore a castle. Skipton Woods is a nice woods by the river. You can do the circular trail which won't take much long. It is very nice and quiet despite it being in the town centre. It also had waterfalls which was a highlight for me.

After that, we headed to Bolton Priory which was stunning. There's a few walking trails through beautiful woods and waterfalls. Walking through the woods, there were also games dotted around which made the walk fun for the kids. 

There is also a steam rail which will take you quite close to Bolton Priory from the next stop after Skipton.

We had a great day out in Skipton amongst beautiful nature and fresh air!

Soaking up the sun in Mallorca

 I have been a big fan of Rafael Nadal, one the greatest tennis players and athletes that this world has ever since, for 2 decades and counting. I fell in love with this guy since 2005 Roland Garros and I have never wavered in my love or support for him. So, as you can imagine, going to see where he was born and grew up has been on my bucket list for a very long time. It has been 20 years in the making and I have finally made it happen! 

We spent 4 days on the island and we saw everything I wanted, except Nadal unfortunately (I had missed him by a day and found out that on a particular day, we were just a few metres away from each other!)

Before I go in depth about our trip, here's a few things to know before you go to Mallorca!

- I have never used cash except the bus to the airport.

- There's authentic food everywhere so was very pleased with it

- I travelled by bus which was easy to use. You will need to pay contactless when you enter the bus (you can also pay in cash but the fare will be higher). When you exit the bus, you will also need to tap the same card you tapped in so they can charge the right fare. Uber is also used around the island.

- There are jelly fish skin in some beaches which can be quite stinky. Most beaches are sandy

- Although the weather was great in April, we couldn't do as much as swimming as the water was cold but that didn't stop some people.

Below is our itinary:

1) Port Soller - 

We stayed overnight in Port Soller and that was a great decision so we can the north of the island and it wasn't as busy either. The centre was small with plenty of places to eat along the port and beach. We stayed at Hotel Eden Nord which was great with a swimming pool and we went half-board too. It was very close to the centre so very convenient. We did a speedboat tour around the north North of the island coming across Sa Calobra, Cala Tuent and other coves and caves along the way. It was short and sweet with time for some swimming and walking around! The tour is 2hours and we had a great time with some stunning views! Perfect if you are short on time! We saw lightouses and fortresses on the way too. This is the activity provider we used: https://www.getyourguide.com/mallorca-l47/from-soller-speedboat-tour-a-sa-calobra-with-swimming-stop-t451657/?ranking_uuid=86ca23c2-1b04-439b-af3a-9a86edc3b6e0. 

After lunch we headed for a little walk to the National Sea Museum and look at views of Port Soller. The museum is free to visit. Do check times before going. There are pplenty of hiking trails as well. I wanted to hike to the lighthouse of Cap Gros and also Torre picada but since I've seen them from the speedboat tour so I didn't go on to these hikes. But if you have the time, do go on the hikes as the different views of the Tramuntana mountains is majestic!

2) Soller:

 We took the iconic vintage tram for Port Soller to Soller. It is 10 euros per person and under 5s go free. Do check the timetable as it varies for the seasons. I really enjoyed this short trip and loved the views especially when it started to pull into Soller. Once we arrived in Soller, we went straight to the main square, Placa de Constitucion and saw the very beautiful gothic cathedral Esglesia de Sant Bartomeu. It was also the Citrus Festival so there were lots of interesting decorations around the Sqaure. Soller was too busy for my liking. We did take a 20-30mins walk to the next village Biniaraix to see the orange and lemon groves on the way there. It was a very leisurely walk. We didn't go all the way to the village as we came across the groves before them. You can't enter the groves unfortunately but if you do, you can go through Ecovinayasa which offers tours around the groves with snacks. There is also a botanic garden about 15minutes walk away from the centre. Jardin Botanic de Soller also has a Natural Science Museum which is included in the ticket price. Overall, I didn't enjoy Soller as much as I thought I would as it was too busy and commercialised for my liking.

3) Valldemossa:

We took the bus from Soller to Valldemossa through Deia and loved the journey as the views were stunning. Valldemossa has my heart. I would highly recommend this gorgeous little town where you could spend a day easily there! I headed to the Carthusian Monastery (you get a discount if you book online in advance). This was the Royal residence of King Sancho. There are various ticket and I picked the general entry with tower visit which included the climb to the tower which offered stunning views of Valldemossa, entry to the monastery which had different little museum such as one dedicated to Chopin, the Polish composer who lived in this town and Sancho Palace. You can also listen to a nice Chopin piano recital included in the ticket. I would highly recommend these places to visit as it tells the story of the town but also the royals. Valldemossa is also famous for its pastry 'Coca de Patata) which was nice. I would also enjoyed walking around the cobbled streets, don't worry about the directions, just enjoy the views! Valldemossa is a must on your itinary!

4) Porto Cristo:

Rafael Nadal's town. We stayed there for 2 days and wasn't crowded at all despite having many things to do. Porto Cristo is on the other side of the island so we took the bus across the island which only took 1hour. We stayed about 5minutes from the centre and we enjoyed our stay at Marina Drach Aparthotel! We did a once-in-a-lifetime experience with Lucky where we went sea caving with AV Caving Mallorca (https://www.airbnb.co.uk/experiences/3603719?location=porto%20cristo&currentTab=experience_tab&federatedSearchId=9284769e-fb62-43a0-b6d1-86549d6d26e0&searchId=d30b9f85-66ab-44be-81b7-4b38d12c2f58&sectionId=9301c7fa-6399-4015-baac-411acb1ab5c0) . I took about 5 hours but if you want to do something unusual and discover hidden gems, I would highly recommend this experience especially with AV Caving Mallorca as it was relaxing and well organised with plenty of stories. We came across other groups but I felt they looked rushed! The experience involved walking, swimming in the open sea (you will be given a float but you must be good at swimming), climbing and down formations as well as crawling through tunnels. It sounds intense but Vanessa and Antonia took it at a very relaxed pace. It is suitable for kids over 8. You will swim through beautiful caves and see because formation! The sights are just unbelievable but highly recommend it! Other things we done were Drach Caves which has the largest underground lake. You can treated to a little classical concert and even a short boat ride on the underground lake. Porto Cristo has many beaches including one in the centre. There are also a lot of hiking trails which leads you to very beautiful views of the island. Close to Drach Caves was the Majorica Pearl Factory and Shop which is home to their famous synthetic pearls. It is free to visit and you can learn the story of the pearl and even get to see a small side of the factory where pearls are made with live demonstrations. We also took a nice walk around the marina, The marina is crowded with places to eat so you will never go hungry. I also took a morning walk to a little fortress on the edge of a cliff which offers picturesque views of the bays and the sea! A short bus ride away is Dinosaurland and Hams Cave. We didn't do this as the kids didn't want to do it but if you got young kids, it could be worth a visit! You can walk anywhere and always come across stunning little places and hidden coves so take the time to walk around!

5) Manacor:

The whole purpose of this Manacor trip was the Rafael Nadal Museum and Academy and it didn't disappoint. My kids were quite apprehensive but they surprisingly had a good time due to its interactive nature. The first half of the museum is a place for you to take part in a number of sports using virtual reality such as tennis, football, mountain cycling, football and racing! The kids had a blast in there and tried every single activity. Dotted around are obviously Rafa's achievements and objects. The real dedication came on the lower ground where you see all his accomplishments. There are also gifted sporting display from other athletes. Once you finish the museum, I will highly recommend going around the academy to look at the grounds! We easily spent 2 hours and this was thoroughly enjoyed by my kids who are not big museum fans.

6) Palma:

Palma is the capital of Mallorca and very beautiful as it set by the sea. I loved the architecture. We went to Palma Cathedral and the Royal Palace which are next to each other so very convenient. It is also very beautiful. We also walked around the grounds which was so beautiful! There were museums too but as I said, kids don't like museums much so we just concentrated on the unusual things to do!

It may look like we have done a lot but it was quite relaxed. If I had more days, I would have definitely done the more natural parks and hiking and spend time in the North East and  South East of the island but this itinerary included everything that I wanted to do as his trip was mostly dedicated to Rafael Nadal. Mallorca is a nature's paradise and another great trip!

Winter in Bosnia

 I wanted to spend the Christmas holidays in a country nestled between mountains and with plenty of snow. I also wanted somewhere that was not too touristy and full of history and culture! We were also working on a tight budget (as usual). Upon doing a lot of research, I focused on the Balkans (it truly has my heart) and zoomed in on Bosnia and Herzegovina! It didn't disappoint and had a magical 5 days!

As transport was an issue for us, I booked a guide to take us everywhere we want to do. Mirnes (+387603412728) was the perfect guide for us who was patient and put up with all my requests. His rates were very competitive too. Mirnes was always on time and very professional! Bosnia is a Muslim country herefore if you wish to visit any mosque, please carry a head covering for women and no shorts for men! We loved that the food was still very traditional just like we loved it as it is not too touristy. In terms of money, we took euros and then converted to Bosnian Convertible Mark. Except Sarajevo, everywhere lese took cash so always carry cash instead of card. Bosnia and Herzegovina was very cheap therefore you will get your money's worth! Everywhere we visited had entry fees. 

We went at the end of December and it wasn't that cold except when we got to the mountains however it is best to wear show boots as it is very snowy. 

Here was our itinerary: 

- Sarajevo - the capital city is full of charm especially the Old Town with a nice market and beautiful mosques. We visited the Latin Bridge where Franz Ferdinand was assassinated and caused WW1. We visited the Jewish Museum. I have never visited a temple so this was quite opening. The museum is set on 3 floors and details the influence of Jewish people in Bosnia and the local community. We then visited the Gazi Husreq Bag Mosque which was so beautiful. Please bear in mind that during prayer time, usually around lunch time, you are not able to visit inside the mosque. I have never visited a mosque so to visit the oldest Ottoman Empire's mosque in Bosnia was a great life experience! It was so peaceful! A must visit! We then went to the 1992-1995 Genocide Museum. It is a must-visit museum which details the events of the Bosnian war. It will be very heavy as there's video footage and explicit photos depicting violence. If you have young kids, I wouldn't recommend it. My kids found it very evocative and were quite chocked up to read about the horrors! Lucky especially got quite emotional drawing parallel to the Sri Lankan Tamil war. After that heavy visit, we went to eat, There's plenty of places to eat offering lots of traditional cuisine. We also had traditional sweets Baklava which we found a bit too sweet! To round up the day, we visited the Great Hall, which is basically Sarajevo City Hall and you must visit for it's internal architecture. In the basement, there's a museum of when the city hall was bombed during the Bosnian war and its reconstruction. Sarajevo has lots of  museums and galleries to offer! Trebevic Mountain is also nearby where you can get a cable car and see the views of the city. Sunnyland is an amusement park further in the mountains where you can experience an alpine coaster which is perfect entertainment for the whole family. Near Sarajevo airport is the Tunnel of Salvation which takes you through underground tunnels and how people lived during Sarajevo Siege in the 90s a must visit!

- Olympic Mountains - Winter Olympics were hosted in Sarajevo in 1985 and you can still visit the ski sloes and bobsleigh track. Igman mountains has the ski jump course and Bjelasnica is a famous ski resort where you can ski as well as sledding where you can rent traditional sleds to go down the slopes. The kids didn't want to go skiing so we did sledging which was so much fun! The roads can get very snowy and the fog can be very thick so please be careful when driving!

- Visoko,  Travnick and Jajce - can you believe that Bosnia has pyramids??? Well it has and it has special powers too. You can visit the tunnels beneath the pyramids with a tour guide. We went first thing in the morning where there were no crowds. We definitely felt some changes in our body. Mahi had a heavy cough for a couple of weeks and after visiting the pyramids the cough just disappeared!!! The tour took about an hour and was very detailed! We then drove to Travnick to visit the fortress which gave us a stunning view of the snow covered town. I also enjoyed visiting the museum within the fortress! We also visited the coloured mosque which was so beautiful. We weren't able to visit insdte but it is absolutely stunning. Not far from the mosque was the Nobel prize winner novelist Ivo Andric's house which we stopped by quickly to visit. We then drove to Jajce to see the famous water mills. It was right out of a fairytale! Around the corner, was the famous Jajce waterfall which was majestic! it was so beautfiul especially with the different colours around the waterfalls. There's also a museum, fortress and catacombs close to the waterfall! This town has many things to offer and you can easily spend a day in this town.

- Konjic, Buna Spring and Pocitelj- these 2 towns is in the Herzogovina state and was our favourite part of the holiday. The weather is completely different and the landscape very different too! We first visited Konjic. The river was crystal clear with many different hues of blues and greens. We went on the famous bridge and also visited the huge memorial on the hill. We then visited Tito's bunker. You need to book in advance and provide passprt details before visiting as this is a military guarded place. We had to go on  a special transport to the bunker. It takes 2 hours to visit and it is huge! There's of course a guide to take you around and explain the place. It is absolutely mind-boggling to see how they built such a huge bunker in secret and with so much technology in the 50s! We then visited my absolute favourite part of the trip which was Buna Soring! I cannot describe this place to you! It was magical and I didn’t want to leave it! You can also visit the Sufi Hiuse by the Soring!  During summer time, you can go inside the cave by boat too! What a beautiful place and a must visit. We then watched sunset from Pocitelj. During winter, it is completely abandoned and loved the eerie feeling. There’s a fortress and a mosque to visit and sunset was so worth the walk in the dark! 

Mostar and Jablinka - we visited the Mostar bridge both at night time and during daytime too! We loved Mostar and its charming old town and its cobbler streets. We wanted to visit Kajitaz House but it was closed on Monday. This was a house which depicts traditional living during the Ottoman Period. Jablinka is famous for the fallen bridge which was a strategic move by the Yugoslavia army during WW2 so enemies don’t enter important cities. The bridge is the actual bridge. Nearby is the Battle of the Wounded Museum which is another important museum to visit to learn more about the local area.

Overall, we had a great time. The hospitality of the Bosnian people was so heart warming and their resilience despite their recent history is truly awe inspiring! Bosnia is truly a hidden gem and realised my dream of having a white Christmas! The country is so full of culture and history too and we were learning so many things every day! I would also recommend driving through the country as the road trips were just so scenic! A beautiful country to not miss!