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Great places to visit in London: Samsung KX

Great places to visit in London: Samsung KX

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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.

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Vegan dining options at Walt Disney World Florida

Vegan dining options at Walt Disney World, Florida

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You all know how I feel about the food at Walt Disney World. The dining there is some of the best in the world, and the restaurants - in the parks, the resort hotels and at Disney Springs, are some of my favourite in the world. If you follow a plant based diet, don’t eat meat, dairy or both, or have other dietary requirements, it can be daunting visiting a new place, so I thought to celebrate World Vegan Day, I’d take you through some of the brilliant vegan dining options at Walt Disney World, Florida. Read more

Vegetarian and vegan dining options at Universal Orlando Resort, Florida

Vegan dining options at Universal Orlando Resort, Florida

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Did you know that today is World Vegan Day? In fact, the whole of November has been designated World Vegan Month, and to celebrate, I thought I would do a few vegan things throughout the month. I thought I’d start by creating a bit of a guide to eating vegan at some of my favourite places. I’ve started with a roundup of the vegan dining options at Universal Orlando Resort, Florida. I’ve been lucky enough to have eaten at Universal Orlando Resort in Florida quite a bit recently, what with the opening of Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, and then Halloween Horror Nights, and then filming the Universal resort hotels with Attraction Tickets Direct (big roundup coming soon). Generally in our group there’s at a vegan or two, plus weird people like me who still occasionally eat meat but like to order the plant based options, and it’s been interesting to experience how brilliant the serving staff and chefs are in all of the restaurants at accommodating different dietary requirements.

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Which P&O Cruises will have the Food Heroes on board

Which P&O Cruises will have the Food Heroes on board?

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You already know that I’m a huge fan of P&O Cruises. From attending the naming ceremony of Britannia back in 2015, to a foodie cruise with my pal Erica in 2016 and our gorgeous relaxing break on board elegant Oceana last year, I’ve always loved the cruise line’s effortless knack of making a cruiseholiday seem both glam and unstuffy all at the same time. The food on board is always a highlight, and P&O Cruises’ continued partnership with their brilliant Food Heroes means that as well as tasting their food and drinking the wine they choose, you can even get to set sail with them. I absolutely can’t wait to get on board brand new ship, Iona (especially because I love a bit of Scandi chic), and P&O Cruises have just released details of when the Food Heroes will be sailing, so if you fancy combining your holiday of a lifetime with learning a few tricks from your very own favourite wine expert or master pâtissier, here’s your chance: I’ve got a full list of which P&O Cruises will have the Food Heroes on board.

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My 10 favourite Universal Orlando experiences

My 10 favourite Universal Orlando experiences that aren’t attractions!

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Of course we all visit Universal Orlando Resort, Florida for the brilliant rides (I think Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure has knocked Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts off the top spot in my favourite rides top ten), but there are so many more brilliant things to do and see when you visit the parks. I thought I’d do a quick and very unscientific roundup of my 10 favourite Universal Orlando experiences that aren’t attractions (catchy title, huh?). Admittedly, many of these include eating and drinking (you can’t visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter without sampling a Butterbeer) but I’ve included some shopping and some of my favourite relaxing things to do when you’re in the parks too, so there’s something for everyone. Read more

A look at TUI's new river cruises

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

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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.

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WIN APH parking for your next holiday

WIN APH parking for your next holiday (and 15% off airport parking for everyone) *closed*

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Recently, I told you about Airport Parking & Hotels (APH) and their state of the art new parking facility at London Gatwick Airport. They also very kindly offered one English Mum reader the chance to win airport parking at the new facility. This proved very popular with travellers flying from London Gatwick so the lovely guys at APH have now offered to open their generous offer up to any UK airport where they offer airport parking, so this means whether you’re travelling from Aberdeen, Manchester, Luton, Stansted, or many more, you’ve got the opportunity to win APH parking for your next holiday for nothing!

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Planning your Disneyland Paris holiday into 2020 and beyond

Planning your Disneyland Paris holiday into 2020 and beyond!

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Last week, Disneyland Paris announced their future plans at a brand new Media Expo event and I thought it would be really helpful to create a Disneyland Paris timeline, to show you what’s coming up for the rest of this year, and also next year (including the return of Marvel Summer of Super Heroes which we loved last year!) and beyond. I’ve also got news of an absolutely brilliant winter offer which will save you a fortune (but remember you need to book before October 1st so don’t delay!). Here, then, is all you need to know if you’re planning your Disneyland Paris holiday into 2020 and beyond.

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Halloween Horror Nights 2019: 10 houses, 5 scare zones, and 2 original shows in one night

Halloween Horror Nights 2019: 10 houses, 5 scare zones, and 2 original shows in one night!

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So finally after wishing and hoping and thinking and praying and planning and dreaming my whole summer away, last week saw a small but beautiful group of UK media head over to Orlando for the opening night of Halloween Horror Nights 2019. I always feel super lucky to be counted amongst the proper journos and invited on these trips and I feel a deep sense of obligation to take absolutely everything in so that I can report it all back to you. I know from your messages that a lot of you pop here to get updates on Halloween Horror Nights, and to get help planning your trips to Universal Studios (and to Orlando and, indeed, Florida in general) and I also understand that there’s a fine line between giving you information, and telling you too much about the experience and basically spoiling it all for you before you’ve even got there! So here, without further ado, are my thoughts on taking on Halloween Horror Nights 2019: 10 houses, 5 scare zones, and 2 original shows in one night! Read more

The Z Hotel Tottenham Court Road

A mini London break and Z Hotel Tottenham Court Road

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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.

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Ten products to give your skin a gorgeous glow

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

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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.

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Copper House Bar

Copper House Bar - modern British dining in the heart of Berkhamsted

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Last week, we finally got to visit Copper House Bar, the brand new restaurant located in the very heart of Berkhamsted. The restaurant has moved in to the old Town Hall building - inhabited for many years by Carluccio’s, and wow - what a transformation. We chatted to joint-owner Lyndsey Simpson (all four of the partners are local) and it’s clear the restaurant has been an absolute labour of love, from making sure they kept as many of the original features of the Grade II listed building as possible, to creating a British, locally inspired menu and sourcing great quality partners like Moët Hennessy. From the beginning, for Lyndsey and her partners, Copper House Bar has been about creating a beautiful fine dining venue inspired by the sociable dining experience you’d find in the tapas restaurants of Spain. The service is attentive and friendly and it definitely feels high end.

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The stunning six course summer tasting menu at Paris House in Woburn

The stunning six course summer tasting menu at Paris House in Woburn

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I’m always looking for wonderful local restaurants to recommend to you, and this time I think I’ve really hit gold with the best restaurant I’ve experienced in a long time, and it’s just a stone’s throw from Woburn Abbey (near Milton Keynes), about an hour’s drive from London. Run by award-winning Michelin starred chef, Phil Fanning and his wife Claire, Paris House in Woburn is perfect for a romantic meal for two or a special celebration (they even have a gorgeous private dining room for special celebrations). We booked in for a spectacular six course summer tasting menu at Paris House last week and I can honestly say it was one of the best meals I’ve ever eaten.

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Halloween Horror Nights 2019 houses

Halloween Horror Nights 2019 - everything we know so far

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So on Monday, I was very lucky to attend one of my favourite events of the year, the UK celebration of Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights event. There are often some surprises, some behind the scenes stuff, some big reveals, occasionally the odd monster, and of course a lot of absolutely iconic horror films and franchises - all coming to Universal Orlando this autumn for the biggest Halloween event in the world. If you’ve been here before, you’ll know I’m a massive fan (read my top tips for planning a trip to Halloween Horror Nights here), and this year, we were joined by the lovely Patrick Braillard, Creative Development Show Director and writer at Universal Orlando who had plenty of news to get our spines tingling ready for the big event. So, let’s chat about those Halloween Horror Nights 2019 houses - everything we know so far is right this way <insert evil laugh here>

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Bigfire at Universal CityWalk

The one where we went to Bigfire at Universal CityWalk

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While we were at Universal Orlando Resort for the opening of Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, we were really lucky to also be there for the opening of a brand new restaurant at Universal CityWalk, the brilliant location just outside the entrance to the parks that’s full of gorgeous places to eat and drink, and loads of things to do, from cinema to karaoke and mini golf to the Blue Man Group show. Here’s what we thought of Bigfire at Universal CityWalk.

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Naming ceremony of Saga Spirit of Discovery

The naming ceremony of Saga Spirit of Discovery

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Well, what a gorgeous day we had on Friday! You might have seen that I was in Dover for Cruise International to cover the naming ceremony of Saga’s beautiful new boutique cruise ship, Spirit of Discovery (read all about it here), and I thought you might be interested to find out what happens during these ship christenings, so I grabbed my camera and nabbed you a few behind the scenes photos of the frankly beautiful party and naming ceremony of Saga Spirit of Discovery. Here goes, then!

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