City breaks Archives - ENGLISH MUM

What are the different staterooms like on AmaMagna?

November 27, 2024/0 Comments/in BLOG, City breaks, Cruise holidays, Discounts and sales, Food travel, Holidays, TRAVEL /by English Mum

Last time, I told you all about our gorgeous Christmas markets Danube cruise on board AmaWaterways’ revolutionary, double-width AmaMagna river ship. I thought I’d take the time to write a separate post about all the different AmaMagna stateroom categories, as there’s so much to tell you and I was conscious that the post was getting very long! So what are the different staterooms like on AmaMagna? Well, because there’s so much space, most of the staterooms (apart from a handful on deck 1) are suite class cabins. We explored the different stateroom categories so you can have a good look at all of them.

A guided tour of AmaMagna in pictures

November 26, 2024/0 Comments/in BLOG, City breaks, Cruise holidays, Food travel, Holidays, TRAVEL /by English Mum

If you follow me on any of my social channels, you’ll know that I was away last week on the most beautiful river ship I think I’ve ever seen. You know I love a river cruise, and AmaWaterways’ new AmaMagna is spectacular - she’s a double-width river ship, but without double the passengers. I loved the feeling of space this creates, as well as the luxurious boutique hotel feel on board. So what’s it like to take a cruise on this delightful - and rather extraordinary - new river vessel? I thought the best way to show you around would be to create a guided tour of AmaMagna in pictures, to really give you a feel for this clever, and truly luxurious new ship Read more

Great places to visit in London: Samsung KX

November 14, 2024/0 Comments/in BLOG, City breaks, Days out, LIFE & STYLE, NEWS, TRAVEL /by English Mum

Have you been to Kings Cross recently? A friend of mine said recently that she nearly bought a flat there years ago, and - many years later - is seriously regretting her decision not to, as it’s now utterly gorgeous there. Walk down the side of Kings Cross St Pancras station and there’s a whole new area of lovely shops, restaurants, cafés, bars and lovely places to sit and watch the world go by. Go a little further and you’ll find Coal Drops Yard - a brand new trendy shopping district where old Victorian brick viaducts have been redeveloped into even more lovely places to shop, dine and hang out (there’s even a gorgeous Tom Dixon showroom - you know how I love a bit of Tom). And now, there’s a dramatic new addition to Coal Drops Yard in the form of a multi-tasking leisure space created by Samsung. And if you’re looking to great places to visit in London - Samsung KX should definitely be on your list.

TUI’s new river cruises: everything we know so far

October 8, 2024/0 Comments/in BLOG, City breaks, Cruise holidays, Holidays, TRAVEL /by English Mum

You all know I’m addicted to cruise travel, and one of my favourite cruise lines is TUI’s Marella Cruises. I love the bright, colourful ships, the warm and friendly staff and the fabulous itineraries (you can read all about what I thought of Marella Explorer here), so I was delighted to hear the news that TUI are moving into river cruising with a fleet of three gorgeous river ships that will be setting sail in the summer of 2020. As with their ocean vessels and land-based holidays, TUI does river cruising a bit differently, so I thought I’d take a look at TUI’s new river cruises and check out the ships, cabins, restaurants and itineraries to give you a bit of an idea of what to expect. At the moment, we only have artists’ impressions, but they’re looking pretty spectacular already.

A mini London break and Z Hotel Tottenham Court Road

September 10, 2024/0 Comments/in BLOG, City breaks, Days out, Hotels I love, Restaurants and cafés, TRAVEL /by English Mum

When I was at the Visit USA Ball recently I was lucky enough to win two tickets to School of Rock in the West End. We decided to plan a mini London break, cramming in as much foodie fun as we possibly could without actually booking anything in. Having loved our stay in Covent Garden, we thought we’d try another of the central Z Hotels, this time the Tottenham Court Road property (I guess the Soho one would probably have been nearer, but we really wanted to try a different one), and we weren’t disappointed. The Z Hotel Tottenham Court Road is actually on Poland Street, right in the heart of Soho, surrounded by shops, bars and restaurants, and about a five or six minute walk from the actual station.

Ten products to give your skin a gorgeous glow

Weekend wishlist: 10 products to give your skin a gorgeous glow

August 24, 2024/0 Comments/in BLOG, City breaks, Eco/sustainable/plastic free, Fashion and beauty, LIFE & STYLE /by English Mum

Recently, I’ve been researching products that are (paraphrasing William Morris), both beautiful and useful. As a consumer, I want to feel pampered and uplifted when I spend my hard-earned cash, so I tend to look for skincare products that feel like a treat - ideally I’d like them to be effective, smell delicious, and have beautiful packaging (or at least two out of three - if it’s a cracking product, I can forgive a plain bottle). I want a skin product to really earn its money: do wonderful things for my skin, make it feel plump and soft and revived and, yes, glowy. I’m incredibly lucky, because generous brands often send me their products (although some of these were purchases), and I thought I’d collate a little top ten of the very best, so especially for you, here are 10 of my favourite products to give your skin a gorgeous glow.

Les Villages Nature Paris: a different way to do Disneyland

June 25, 2024/0 Comments/in BLOG, City breaks, Disney holidays, Holidays, Hotels I love, TRAVEL /by English Mum

I’m always up for a different approach to a Disney holiday, and I’ve recently discovered one that I think you’ll really like - a beautiful resort just a stone’s throw away from Disneyland Paris with tons of space and all sorts of things to do. If you’re a bigger family, this is absolutely perfect for you: a perfect, self catering apartment option with a little Disney magic thrown in. Here’s everything you need to know about Les Villages Nature Paris: a different way to do Disneyland!

A weekend break at the Z Hotel, Soho

May 15, 2024/0 Comments/in BLOG, City breaks, Hotels I love, Restaurants and cafés, TRAVEL /by English Mum

You might remember that a little while ago I told you about my trip to London to stay at the fab new Z Hotel in Covent Garden. Last weekend, we were due to meet a lovely friend in London for his leaving drinks (bon voyage, Kelly!), so we decided to make a night of it and have a mini weekend break at the Z Hotel in Soho. It’s a brilliant location, literally right next to the Palace Theatre in London, so it’s absolutely perfect if you’re going to see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (we’re planning a return visit when this happens), or if you just want to be right in the centre of things for eating out, going to the cinema in Leicester Square, exploring Covent Garden, shopping on Oxford Street or whatever else you have planned.

Everything you need to know about sailing the Danube with Viking River Cruises

May 8, 2024/1 Comment/in BLOG, City breaks, Cruise holidays, TRAVEL /by English Mum

I’ve just come back from a Viking River cruise from Passau in Germany to Budapest in Hungary. It’s pretty different to my usual ocean cruise and I didn’t really know what to expect before I went, so I thought it might be useful to give you an overview of everything, from the accommodation and food on board, to what to expect from the excursions and destinations. Spoiler: I absolutely loved it. I never thought I was really a city break person but it’s such an easy (and luxurious) way to tick off several different cities all in one trip. Here’s everything you need to know about sailing the Danube with Viking River Cruises.

The Z Hotel Covent Garden: an affordable hotel in the heart of London

January 17, 2025/4 Comments/in BLOG, City breaks, Hotels I love, TRAVEL /by English Mum

I first heard about Z hotels after bookmarking Monica from The Travel Hack’s 10 best cheap hotels in London list last summer. I live a 30 minute train ride outside of London, but I love a little overnight in the city, and it’s always really handy to know an affordable hotel in the heart of London to turn to when you need a night away. The new Z Hotel Covent Garden is located right in the centre of all the action and 30 seconds from the famous piazza, bars, shops and restaurants. It took me about three minutes to walk there from Leicester Square Tube (anyone else not keen on those Covent Garden lifts?), and I found the Z Hotel Covent Garden tucked away just off Bedford Street.

A magical Christmas at Disneyland Paris

November 20, 2024/0 Comments/in BLOG, City breaks, Disney holidays, Featured, Holidays, NEWS, TRAVEL /by English Mum

It’s been a bit of a whirlwind weekend for my pal, Mickey Mouse, as he’s been celebrating a very special anniversary - it’s 90 years since Mickey first appeared in Walt Disney’s iconic cartoon, Steamboat Willie. This weekend was also pretty special at Disneyland Paris, because as well as celebrating Mickey’s 90th with a celeb-filled party, and an enormous cake baked by Pastry Chef and Chocolatier Pierre Hermé, there was a special celebration to mark the opening of Disney’s Enchanted Christmas. If you’re thinking of experiencing a magical Christmas at Disneyland Paris, I’ve teamed up with Isango.com, the specialist retailer of tours, experiences and Disneyland Paris Tickets to bring you all the latest news this holiday season.

Virgin Atlantic’s fabulous Pride Flight

October 13, 2024/0 Comments/in BLOG, City breaks, Holidays, NEWS, TRAVEL /by English Mum

I’m SO up for good news, aren’t you? There’s such a lot of doom and gloom right now, that when something fabulous and positive happens, I’m all over it! So, you’ve heard of Pride in London, right? That wonderful, colourful coming together of everything that’s fabulous about the LGBT+ community. Last year, I watched my social media with envy as friends from Disney, the guys at Virgin, and many more (remember all the brands and companies that changed their logos to incorporate rainbows during the festival?) joined in the celebrations. London friends have told me that it’s a brilliant family day out. Of course, it’s not just a celebration. It’s a way of raising awareness of LGBT+ issues, and giving those that some people want to silence a voice. Of course, there are some countries where a celebration like this just wouldn’t be possible, and that’s where World Pride comes in. It’s an international celebration where people from across the globe gather to celebrate. It’s previously been hosted in London, Rome and Toronto, but this year it’s in NYC, and Virgin Atlantic’s fabulous Pride Flight is going to get people there in the most wonderful way! Read more

Christmas lights with Trainline’s new Price Prediction tool

November 28, 2024/0 Comments/in BLOG, City breaks, Featured, LIFE & STYLE, TRAVEL /by English Mum

You all know that I love everything to do with Christmas, and once the lights have been switched on in London, I’m always desperate to take a trip to go and see them. Mr E works really hard and we don’t get much opportunity to do things as a family, so I thought we’d plan a lovely festive trip up to London on the train to go and see the lights (and maybe grab some dinner and a cocktail or two) while we’re there. While we were planning our trip, I thought it would be a good opportunity to try Trainline’s new Price Prediction tool to get the best possible ticket price. Here’s how we got on.

New Virgin Holidays Experiences and a foodie tour of East LA

October 24, 2024/0 Comments/in BLOG, City breaks, Food travel, Holidays, Hotels I love, Restaurants and cafés, TRAVEL /by English Mum

So you’ve booked your dream holiday: you’ve chosen a great hotel, maybe scoped out a couple of decent restaurants (you know how important this is to me) but what’s the best way to really get under the skin of your destination? Well, Virgin Holidays has come up with the brilliant idea of Virgin Holidays Experiences: a breathtaking range of over 300 experiences for everyone from foodies and shopaholics to the thrill-seekers and outdoorsy types, and even those in search of the perfect Instagram shot. These fab new experiences will enable all of us to create a bespoke holiday experience that truly reflects our interests and obsessions. So whether you’ve always dreamed of shopping with your own personal stylist in New York, fancy taking surf lessons in San Diego, a seaplane trip over Horseshoe Bay in Vancouver or discovering Chinatown in San Francisco, the world really is your oyster! I was lucky enough to travel to LA and San Diego with Virgin Holidays earlier this month to try out a few of the amazing new Virgin Holidays Experiences. First up, an incredible foodie tour of East LA.

The perfect French 75 cocktail

September 30, 2024/0 Comments/in BLOG, City breaks, Cocktails, drinks and liqueurs, Food travel, LIFE & STYLE, RECIPES, TRAVEL /by English Mum

Let’s be honest, one of the best bits of being on holiday is getting to try ALL the local cocktails, am I right? When the lovely bunch at Travel Republic asked me to contribute to their cocktail-themed travel guide - packed with information about destinations and their signature cocktails - I was happy to oblige and I knew exactly which city (and cocktail) to champion. Mr E and I absolutely love Paris, and to us, the French 75 (or soixante quinze) is synonymous with our favourite destination: chic, stylish, and just a little bit outré. It’s Paris to a T. Here’s how we make our perfect French 75 cocktail at home.

A lovely London weekend, and the Dorsett Shepherds Bush

August 1, 2024/3 Comments/in BLOG, City breaks, Days out, Hotels I love, LIFE & STYLE, TRAVEL /by English Mum

Are we allowed to say ‘staycation’? Well, whatever we’re currently calling it, I had a bit of travel cancelled recently and was getting majorly itchy feet, so I suggested to Mr E that we take a little weekend trip to London. And what a lovely weekend it turned out to be. We stayed at the very lovely Dorsett Shepherds Bush, which is the perfect hotel for a city break: it’s literally a five minute walk from the tube station (and Westfield Shopping Centre), and we spent the whole weekend exploring and hopping on and off the tube.