Tag Archives: stress free travelling

Eating Out with Allergies in Liverpool

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As I promised in my last blog post about our short visit to Liverpool, it’s time to reveal the wonderful places we found to eat safely whilst we were there. I’ve said it before, and no doubt will again, but whenever we travel on holiday, be it home or abroad, we always relax the restrictions on M’s diet a little to allow him to enjoy some more “normal” meals with the rest of the family. M has now reached an age where we allow him to make more of the decisions about what he will and won’t eat on any given day and he understands the direct link between that choice and any fallout he might experience in the hours or days that follow.

There were 2 restaurants that we found that were absolutely brilliant in accommodating our allergy needs and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend either of them. M and G absolutely loved the meals that they had here and were desperate to find an opportunity to visit either one of them again, but most especially the first.

Ed’s Easy Diner – This is actually part of a national chain, but not one that we had ever heard of before, though as their website reveals, there are a number of locations across the length and breadth of the UK. There’s even one not too far from us, though I haven’t yet revealed that particular fact to M! G and M were thrilled to discover a lengthy gluten-free menu for them to pore over and whilst G was disappointed that she couldn’t select from their breakfast/brunch options, she quickly decided what her choice would be for our late lunch. We continue to encourage both children to order for themselves and to make their allergy needs known to the servers, only stepping in when it looks like the message might be misunderstood or they haven’t quite made themselves clear.

G settled on “Big Bubba’s Bacon ‘n’ Cheese” burger with gluten-free fries and without the cheese. M was desperate to have a gluten-free burger bun, so he asked for the “BBQ Chicken ‘n’ Bacon” burger – without any of the constituent ingredients apart from the grilled chicken breast, streaky bacon and the bread roll. He shared a handful of G’s gluten-free fries and enthusiastically savoured every single mouthful. Mike and I were a little disappointed that they had run out of hot dogs by the time we got to the diner for lunch, but instead shared a caesar salad, onion rings and sweet potato fries as well as a burger. All in all, this was a fantastic find and I wouldn’t hesitate to eat here again.

Marks: G – 8.5/10     M – 9/10

Chung Ku – G and M absolutely love Chinese food, so I was delighted to find this much-lauded Liverpudlian restaurant during my quick internet search. With a menu catering specifically for those with coeliac disease, there was much excitement with my discerning duo as they pondered their choices for dinner. They eventually settled on Jasmine rice, Aromatic crispy duck served with lettuce instead of pancakes, Salt and Pepper chicken fillet and, especially chosen by M, King Prawns in rice paper. Mike and I were still full after our late lunch at Ed’s Easy Diner, so we agreed to share a platter of dim sum, supplemented by a bowl of chicken and sweetcorn soup for me, with full knowledge that we’d be able to pick at any leftovers once the children had eaten their fill of their choices.

The food was absolutely fantastic, but sadly the service at the restaurant very much let it down. Our dim sum platter arrived first, only beaten to the table by the prawn crackers that had been delivered with our drinks. We tried to take our time in eating our food, painfully aware that the children were just sitting there watching, but at the same time, we didn’t want to let it go cold and we were waiting a long time for the other dishes to appear. M’s King prawns were the next to arrive, eventually followed by the Salt and pepper chicken and Jasmine rice. G picked at some of the rice and chicken, patiently waiting the arrival of the Aromatic duck, which is her all-time favourite Chinese dish. By the time it reached the table, there wasn’t much left for the rest of us and unbelievably we then had to chase down the lettuce leaves – they delivered normal pancakes by accident – and my bowl of soup. Everything did eventually arrive and the food was absolutely delicious. The poor service we experienced was a huge disappointment that spoiled what was otherwise a memorable dinner and would certainly make Mike and me think twice about visiting another time.

 

Marks: G – 9/10     M – 8/10

“War is over if you want it”

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In planning our Easter adventure around Scotland, we quickly realised that our desire to visit all the places we were hoping to go would create what can only be described as a whistle-stop tour of the country. We could easily have chosen a half-dozen more places that one of the other of us, or perhaps even both, wanted to see and I can already foresee more visits North being squeezed into our future travel plans. For each location we settled on, we decided to stay just 2 night only, giving us one full day to explore where we were and so asked G and M to do a little research about different museums they wanted to visit or landmarks they’d like to see. There were no promises that we’d manage to do any or all of these, but I was keen for them to be as excited about our travels as we were.

The first leg of our journey took us to Liverpool, famously home to The Beatles as well as Premier League football clubs, the Grand National and the White Star Shipping Line, owners of the ill-fated Titanic. Mike and I spent a long weekend in the city for our 15th wedding anniversary a couple of years ago and so had already determined that we wanted to take the children to “The Beatles Story” exhibition at Albert Dock. A lengthy Google search by G and M led to the discovery of “Western Approaches”, a museum delving into Liverpool’s role during WW2. As both children have been studying aspects of the First and Second World Wars at school, they quickly decided that this was somewhere they absolutely wanted to go and Mike and I were more than happy to agree.

After a quick breakfast in our hotel room, something we usually choose to do as it ensures we have safe cereal and milk for both children whilst we’re away from home, we headed off on foot to our first destination, “The Beatles Story” exhibition. This marvellous museum is based at the iconic Albert Dock and charts the history of The Beatles, starting with childhood stories and finishing with all that the individual members of the band have gone on in their solo careers. As always, we all opted for the audio guides, something that M loves to do as he listens to the stories unfold as he traipses round the exhibits and touring at our own paces, moved from room to room. I’ll be honest and say that M didn’t manage to stay engaged for the entire exhibit, but he did reasonably well and by the time he’d had enough, I was ready to remove my headphones and wander the remaining spaces with him. Both children enjoyed the museum, especially the areas displaying memorabilia and costumes and picked up some interesting facts about one of our favourite bands. They also loved walking around Albert Dock and exploring the multitude of small shops that are there.

From Albert Dock, we walked back to Liverpool One, where we found a fantastic allergy-friendly diner for lunch. I will leave reviewing our dining choices until my next blog, but I will tease you with the tidbit that this lunch-time destination was easily one of the best we went to and M was desperate to go back again if only time had allowed. After a late lunch, it was time to go on to the children’s choice of the Western Approaches War museum. Hidden in a fairly unprepossessing building, I cannot begin to tell you just how fantastic this small museum turned out to be. Based in the wartime bunker beneath Derby House, Western Approaches takes you on a journey explaining just how the Battle of the Atlantic was won by the Allied Forces. The staff were incredibly knowledgable and helpful and took a keen interest in explaining what we were going to see to both children before we entered. G had just been learning about the Battle of the Atlantic at school and so it seemed a particularly apt museum choice, especially when she was told that young women, not much older than her, would have been working down there during the war years.

What particularly appealed to M whilst we were here was the Treasure Hunt that saw him toting a gas mask case filled with instructions, code-breaking equipment, notepads and a mini UV light around with him. Some of the clues were easier to crack than others and both children had a great time trying to find where they were hidden and working out where they needed to look next. Most of the exhibits were hands on, which is great for children of all ages and both M and G quickly spotted the link to Bletchley Park and the code-breaking work that went on there during WW2. My favourite bit came right at the end of our visit, when we reached the street scene set up, including unexploded bomb and the tiny canteen asking for 2d for a cup of tea or coffee. I happily paid my 2p over, plus a little bit more to support their cause, and sat down to enjoy it whilst we all played one of the period board games that was available. It was a fantastic way to spend a couple of hours on a fairly grey and miserable afternoon and I would highly recommend this museum to anyone who’s looking for something to do in Liverpool.

The only disappointment with our visit was that we hadn’t realised that the Terracotta Warriors are currently on display at the World Museum, something that Mike and I would both love to take the children to see. We were lucky enough to see them in-situ in Xian when we visited China back in 2001 and want to take advantage of this opportunity to share this fascinating exhibit with G and M. Our plan is to book tickets for a visit there over the summer and have another long weekend in Liverpool, perhaps experiencing some of the other things we didn’t manage to do on this trip.

Easter holidays

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There’s only one thing that beats going on holiday for me and that’s planning for the next one…or two…or several. After our hugely successful Greek jaunt last summer, our attentions had naturally turned to our travels for 2018 and beyond: or perhaps, more honest, my attention was drawn to the “beyond”, whilst Mike and the kids were happy to just think about the next 12 months! With G heading into the start of 2 years studying for her GCSEs, which will kick off our family’s long haul navigation through the wonderful world of exams for both children, our holiday choices will need to accommodate school deadlines and revision demands as well as giving them, and us, the chance to kick back and relax away from it all.

We have long been considering a much overdue trip back to Canada to visit our family and friends, and have decided that 2018 is the year to do it. We are still ironing out the finer details for the trip – including which time of year is going to work best for us to go allowing for term dates, weather and flight availability – but with that big holiday tentatively pencilled into our calendars, our attention turned to fitting on some other smaller adventures throughout the rest of the year. Our starting point was a holiday in Scotland, somewhere neither child had been to before as well as a place we knew we’d be able to cater for M with relative ease and minimum stress. Having heard that G didn’t have a place on this year’s South Siblings OTW camp, we decided on 10 days during the Easter holiday and set to planning with relish once Christmas was out of the way.

Unfortunately, the bout of Aussie ‘flu that hit Mike and M in January combined with the tough couple of months that followed, meant that March rolled around with, much to my discomfort, nothing booked and only a very basic sketch of our proposed route through the North of England and Scotland. We decided to involve G and M in as much as the planning as they wanted and had been informed that the key places to visit on our approximately 1,800 miles car trip included Liverpool, Glasgow, Inverness, Edinburgh and Scarborough (don’t ask!). Armed with our calendar, a list of activities in each location, a reliable internet connection to facilitate mileage, travel time and hotel bookings in each of our destinations and a glass or two of wine, Mike and I sat down one night and booked what rapidly became known as our “Premier Inn” tour of Scotland.

As ever with our family, our plans to set off early to our first stop of Liverpool didn’t quite go according to plan, when Mike managed to enthusiastically floss a filling out of one of M’s baby teeth the weekend before our start date. It was only once the emergency appointment at our dentist was complete that we finally found ourselves on our way. Despite the late start, the Wednesday afternoon traffic wasn’t too bad, albeit the week before the Easter weekend, and we arrived in Liverpool by dinner time, ready to immerse ourselves in all things Beatles before carrying on in a more Northerly direction.

Greece Photo Round-up 2017

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Making the most of our 10 days in Greece was everything we needed it to be this summer. It’s been a big year: with me changing job, G becoming a teenager, M taking SATs and the move to having 2 children at secondary school; and we all appreciated the chance to escape from the day-to-day and spend some precious family time together relaxing and enjoying each other’s company. From the ancient monuments in Athens to the beauty of Syros, Greece was an amazing holiday destination and one place we would love to return to again.

Unexpected Greek Treats

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We might have packed a suitcase full of a variety of allergy-friendly foods to keep us going during our 10 days in Greece, but, as ever, we kept our eyes open for any M- and G-friendly Greek treats that we could spot in the supermarkets. delicatessens and local shops in Athens and on Syros. I had no doubts that we could find the bare essentials of soya milk, goats’ cheese and rice, but it’s those unexpected finds that make all the difference when we’re travelling as a family.

The first fantastic find, and one that we found ourselves stocking up with to last the duration of our stay, was this unassuming pack of smoked chicken fillet that quickly became a firm favourite with M. Mike had ventured out of our Athens studio one afternoon and found a delightful small deli less than 5 minutes walk away. They had a huge selection of fresh and dried olives, oils, cheeses, breads and cooked meat, but it was the smoked chicken that caught his eye as we had been struggling to find an appetising way to cook and serve chicken for M, who is not the biggest fan of cold chicken at the best of times. The smokey flavour was something new to him and whilst he was prepared to let the rest of the family have a small taste to see just how delicious it was, he insisted that the remaining slices were his and his alone. Mike also discovered these brown rice cakes with pink Himalayan salt, a surefire hit with M and the perfect base for his smoked chicken fillet sandwiches that became a lunchtime staple.

As we had expected, we had no problem in sourcing goats milk, butter and cheese for G in Athens and were also delighted to find both almond and hazelnut milk there too. She quickly fell in love with the traditional Greek Feta cheese and ate it as frequently as M devoured the chicken fillet for lunch. We also found a small selection of gluten-free crisps that they both enjoyed on occasion as just a small snack when needed. However, it was on Syros that we were truly amazed by the unexpected plethora of allergy-friendly foods we found in the very small supermarket in the seaside village of Finikas. When we ventured inside on our first day on the island, we were hoping that we might be lucky to find some soya milk for G to drink and were completely blown away by this astonishing selection of dairy-free alternatives, from almond milk to chocolate soya milk, goats cheese, butter and yoghurt, and the one item we had never expected to find there: rice milk.

This tiny treasure trove also stocked a small, but comprehensive selection of gluten-free products including rice cakes for M, gluten-free pasta, bread and biscuits. We bought a couple of different flavours of the allergy-friendly biscuits that quickly became a favourite with G. These were a welcome treat and alternative to dessert for her especially when accompanied by some small slivers of Feta, whilst M enjoyed the opportunity to pick and devour fresh figs from the trees surrounding our villa at the Good Life. Having discovered these unexpected Greek treats, we made an effort to buy a few extra packs of biscuits and rice-cakes alike to bring back home with us to keep the memory of our Greek adventures alive for just a little longer.

Eating Out with Allergies in Greece

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It feels a little as if this is becoming a mini-series in itself: a list of the countries where we’ve successfully managed to find a safe way to eat out with food allergies with both children. In the last year, Mike and I have been impressed by the options we have found in both Italy and New York whilst travelling without the children and our summer in Portugal last year was a great success thanks to the freefrom choices we uncovered there. Our decision to venture to somewhere new this August meant we had to adopt our usual 3-prong approach to travelling with food allergies:

  1. Pack an extra suitcase with the bare minimum of everyday essentials that we will need to cater for both G and M in our self-catering accommodation;
  2. Relax the rules a little for M and allow him to enjoy the full Greek experience on occasion, whilst keeping him strictly to his restricted diet the rest of the time; and
  3. Be prepared by doing some research about restaurants in advance and be willing to explain at length numerous times just how restricted his diet is.

Our careful planning ahead meant that we were all able to eat 3 meals a day without too much stress and we achieved some great successes along the way. We had started a new approach to food trialling about 6 weeks before we travelled, whereby we chose 3 foods to challenge M with over a 3-month period and had strategically picked the ones we thought would be of most use whilst we were in Greece. This is the 3rd way of food-trialling we’ve tried over the last 12-18 months, all with the support of our local hospital, and whilst I still have my concerns about whether this really is the best approach to take, it did allow us more flexibility that we’ve had before. M decided he wanted to trial olives, prawns and bananas and these seemed a good fit with our Mediterranean break.

We found several highlights in Athens, including our perennial favourite, the Hard Rock Cafe, where we ventured on one of our more relaxed days to the topic of M’s restricted diet. He enjoyed every mouthful of his gluten-free burger and chips with great gusto and even though the increased dose of medicines we had agreed with his consultant before we went didn’t fully tamper down his body’s response, it was a real treat for us to see the delight on his face when faced with something a bit different to the varieties of chicken, rice and cucumber that he’s become accustomed to at home. The waiting staff worked hard to accommodate our additional requests around making sure the meals were also dairy-free and the vegetables added to the plate were restricted to just cucumber for both children as we had asked.

When you wander through the Plaka in Athens, you are surrounded by a huge array of small tavernas to choose from, ranging in price and, if I’m honest, authenticity. It was surprisingly easy to cater for M at nearly all of these and the ones we ended up eating at were delightfully keen to prove themselves to us. Every menu seemed to contain grilled chicken and rice and it was just a case of just how much of an accompaniment they were able to serve, with most preparing small salads of cucumber, apple and pear. G tended to play it safe and opted for the easy option of steak and chips – or sometimes steak and rice – though we did manage to convince her to try mouthfuls of our more authentic Greek dinners, which she reluctantly had to admit to enjoying despite herself and her preconceived ideas! One evening we even found a restaurant serving gluten-free pasta and G enjoyed a delicious spaghetti bolognaise, albeit in the wrong part of Europe.

We didn’t really eat out too much on Syros as we instead took advantage of the beautiful local produce that Nick had kindly sourced for our pantry at the Good Life and spent time preparing, cooking and enjoying simple meals at our villa. However, we did choose to eat some lunches at the beachside restaurants and this is where having olives and prawns as a menu option really came into its own as M indulged in some delicious meals including those tasty morsels, whilst munching on the Greek rice-cakes we had managed to buy in both Athens and Syros.

Living the Good Life

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Are you more “Tom and Barbara” or “Jerry and Margot” when it comes to your approach to life? There’s no way I could let a reference to this unforgettable 70s British sitcom pass without a gentle nod in their direction, but my blog post is actually all about our exceptional retreat in Syros during our recent Greek holiday. Somewhere that embraces the self-sufficient lifestyle of the Goods and yet provides an experience that even the pickiest Leadbetter would struggle to complain about.

The Good Life Greece is owned by the charming and laid-back Nick, who, despite having called Greece his home since 2004, still speaks with a distinguishable Australian accent and, with the help of his sons also set up a number of small businesses in Athens, including our base whilst we were there, the Athens Studios. Escaping the noise and busyness of the capital city, the Syros villas match the peaceful beauty of their location and gave us a chance to recharge our batteries whilst embracing the simplicity of Greek island life.

Our home for the week was the idyllic Balance villa, a traditional stone house surrounded by vineyards and olive groves. Carefully designed to be sustainable and eco-friendly, the villa was simple with an understated luxury that we all enjoyed. The children were welcome to pick vegetables, hunt for eggs and harvest the figs on the nearby trees; and enjoyed every moment as they explored the grounds around the villa. With 2 bedrooms, a kitchen I’d love to have at home, bathroom and spacious living/dining area complete with TV and DVD player, there was more than enough space to house us all without risk of getting in each other’s way. A beautiful stone patio circled 2 sides of the house with amazing sea views, which we enjoyed on our quiet Sunday “at home” when we spent the day playing card games, listening to music and soaking up the sun in absolute peace.

Before we arrived on Syros, Nick and I had exchanged a couple of emails and I gratefully accepted his offer of a pack of local foods to welcome us to the island. I was so delighted by this decision when we discovered the wonderful array of goodies that filled the fridge and pantry. Fresh fruit and vegetables, goats’ cheese, yoghurt and milk for G, local sausage, cooked meals and chicken kebabs for M as well as eggs, fresh bread and, most importantly, local beer and wine gave us everything we needed for the first few days. Nick also hosted a wine-tasting evening mid-week, where he introduced us to a number of fantastic Greek wines accompanied by a spread of delicious local foods. We met our Dutch next-door neighbours, whose 11 year-old son quickly became great friends with both M and G as well as a willing partner-in-crime!

We loved every moment of our holiday on Syros and would go back in a heartbeat. I am particularly tempted by the thought of a Christmas spent there and, who knows, maybe we’ll make it back before too long.

Marks out of 10: 10/10 without hesitation

Our Syros sojourn

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What better to do after a busy few days walking thousands of steps to explore all that Athens has to offer, than escape the city and head to one of the many Greek islands for a change of scenery and of pace? Mike and I were keen to avoid the busier tourist destinations such as Crete and Rhodes and M expressed a desire to visit a smaller island which still gave him and G plenty to do whilst we were there. Once again our choice was somewhat dictated by the decision to stay somewhere with self-catering facilities and a few hours of careful internet research led us to the idyllic island of Syros, capital of the Cyclades islands.

It is possible to fly to Syros from Athens, but we decided to take the more scenic travel option and something that would feel like more of a new experience to G and M. The last time we travelled by ferry was when we holidayed in Ireland about 8 years ago and M has no memories of that trip at all. This time we went as foot passengers, which would perhaps not suit those who prefer a more organised and less Greek approach to boarding than was offered, but it more than met our needs. I had taken the precaution of booking seats for both our outward and return journeys, which proved to have been a sensible decision as the Blue Star ferry was incredibly busy and filled to the gills with people making the 3.5 hour trip. M was, for some unknown reason, particularly delighted to find that I could have a coffee whilst we were sailing and insisted on taking the photo below for my blog to show that, for me, it apparently really is “all about the coffee”!

       

We were lucky to find, and be able to book, what turned out to be a truly spectacular villa for the duration of our stay on Syros. The Good Life Greece is located in Poseidonia on the west coast of the island, just a short drive away from the main port and island capital of Ermoupoli. Although we toyed with the idea of renting a car for part of our stay, we decided in the end to spend the week vehicle-free and instead arranged with our host, the charming Nick, that he would meet us at the port and take us, and all our luggage, to our final destination. There are just so many great things to say about the wonderful villa that became our Syros home that it would be impossible to do it the justice it deserves in just a few words, so my review of our accommodation will follow in a separate blog post.

However, what I can talk about are the peaceful beaches, glorious weather, incredibly blue sea and delicious food that filled the remainder of our holiday and really rejuvenated us all. We were able to walk to 2 nearby beaches at Voulgari and Finikas and one day hopped on the local bus to journey less than 15 minutes along the coast to another sandy gem at Megas Gialos. Having spent the last couple of summers near Alvor in Portugal, these Greek beaches were a complete revelation to us and one that I think might be hard to give up in the future. My favourite beach destination on the Algarve is the beautiful Burgau, which I love because it tends to not be too crowded and the distance between sun-lounger and sea just about allows me to watch G and M without having to venture in, and out, of the sea myself. The 3 Greek beaches we discovered on Syros were just like Burgau, but even better!

Not only were all 3 far closer to our villa than we imagined possible, but even in mid-August, there was always space for us to set up camp and find enough shade to shelter in during the hottest part of the day. No matter what time we arrived at the beach, from mid-morning to early evening, we almost always were able to find either one of the fixed sun umbrellas or a tree to set up camp under and even if that wasn’t immediately possible, a space would open up within the hour. This part of Syros was welcoming and friendly and so we felt perfectly comfortable leaving our belongings – though nothing more important than beach towels, sand toys and books – on the beach to save our spot whilst we disappeared off to the nearby taverna for some lunch or a cold drink or both.

For anyone thinking of a holiday in Greece, we would all highly recommend Syros as we had a fantastic time just relaxing and enjoying what was on offer. We chose to not spend too much time on the go as we felt we had done that in Athens, but both children were able to try their hands at paddle-boarding at our local beach and I understand sailing and windsurfing lessons are also available in the area. Syros really did feel like a home from home and we would go back in a heartbeat.

 

 

Magical, mythical Athens

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One of the most wonderful things about our Greek holiday was to experience the absolute delight of both G and M as we trekked our way around Athens, visiting those ancient sites that they both associate with the fantastic Greek myths that they love to read. It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly when we introduced the children to the Greek myths, but they both love to listen to the audio-book of “Atticus the Storyteller” and M has been known to spend hours at bedtime absorbed in re-reading his favourite tales. There are just so many places to go and sights to see in Athens that we had to carefully pick out those we wanted to visit during our limited time in the city.

You just can’t visit Athens and even consider not wending your way to the top of the Acropolis to see the Parthenon and other monuments. Climbing up in 34°+ heat is not easy, but the views from the top were definitely worth the effort, and all the water we drank. Mike’s must-see destination was the Acropolis museum and whilst neither children was initially that keen to go, the lure of the air-conditioned inside, the wide array of artefacts on display and the brimming bookshelves they discovered in the shop soon overcame their reluctance. Our hostel for the duration was less than 5 minutes walk away from the museum, which made it the ideal place to head back to for a much-needed late lunch and a little downtime after our busy morning.

As well as his yearning to find a city playground to spend time in, M chose to take us to the Temple of Olympian Zeus. We visited these incredible remains in the early evening and were fortunate that there were very few other visitors to the site whilst we were there. The remaining columns were simply awe-inspiring and we were fascinated to spot the individual pieces that were so carefully used to construct each column. The ancient engineering skills that created this spectacular monument left the children speechless as we contemplated just how the Greeks managed to build it in a time before modern machinery existed.

Poor G had to wait to the end of our holiday to get to her location of choice, but it was definitely worth the wait. She would have loved to go to see the Temple of Poseidon, but the 2 hour journey there was just too much for us to squeeze into our already time-pressured holiday schedule. Instead, G decided she wanted to see the Temple of Hephaestus and it proved to be a great choice for our last day in Greece. It is found in the ancient Agora, which has so many wonderful ruins to explore as well as the impressive temple itself. The Temple of Hephaestus is the most complete temple in Athens and gives just a small insight into what it must have been like to live in the city over 2 thousand years ago.

By the time our first 3 days in Athens drew to an end, we were all ready to embark on the next part of our Greek adventures, which began with yet another early morning start, a cross-city taxi journey to the port and a passenger ferry trip to the beautiful Greek island that would be home for the next few days. 

Γεια σαυ Αθήνα

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It could appear that I’ve been keeping our final summer holiday destination close to my chest, but hopefully the title of this post will have given you some idea of where we headed to get a healthy dose of natural vitamin D and a much-needed complete break from it all. We decided to head somewhere that the children had never been and a country that Mike and I had last visited close to 17 years ago: Greece.

For those of you not yet fluent in the Greek alphabet and language, the above words say “Hello Athens” and that was how we chose to top and tail our trip to this beautiful Mediterranean country, with a few days spent soaking up the history in the capital city. Our early flight from Gatwick meant that we had reached our hotel by mid-morning and were soon ready to get started on our explorations. We stayed at the centrally located Athens Backpackers hostel, which was only a few minutes walk from both the Acropolis and the Plaka. The double set of bunk beds in the bedroom might not be every family’s idea of a great start to a holiday, but we wanted something that gave us easy access to all we were hoping to see in Athens and were delighted with our choice. With a spacious living area, small, but well equipped kitchen and the all-important air-conditioning, this family studio apartment was everything we could have wanted to start off our holiday.

Following in the tried and tested footsteps of previous holidays, our first destination was to buy tickets for the Athens City Sightseeing bus tour and having stopped to grab a quick lunch, with mediocre success meeting the allergy needs of G and M, we set off around this ancient city to pinpoint exactly where we wanted to visit over the next couple of days. One of the highlights of our city stay was, without a doubt, the Panathenaic Stadium, site of a simple racetrack for the original Panathenaic games and latterly home of the first modern Olympics in 1896. It somehow felt fitting to visit this Olympic stadium following so shortly after our trip to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London for the 2017 IAAF World Championships and M in particular was keen to soak up the history by listening to their comprehensive audio tour. One of the hidden gems there for me was the small museum that housed a number of posters, artefacts and torches from several Olympic Games over the last 120 years. G and I took our time walking around this single room housing numerous treasures and delighted in spotting the posters and torches from all 3 London Olympics Games: 1908, 1948 and 2012.

The children also enjoyed our stop at the Monument of the Unknown Soldier in Syntagma Square, where we watched the changing of the Hellenic parliament guard, who are known as the Evzones. This ceremony is impressive to watch, not only for the incredible historic costume, but also the slow, careful and measured movements that the soldiers make as they take up their official posts for the next 60 minutes.

Travelling to Greece in August had its advantages. Not only did we enjoy constant sunshine and temperatures that could sometimes be stifling in the city, but most Athenians have also gone on holiday and so the queues and crowds were not as big as they might otherwise have been. The one downside was that our holiday coincided with the Feast of the Assumption on August 15 and we were warned that many shops would be closed on the day. However, we planned our day carefully by having a good supply of food in our apartment for lunch and fulfilled M’s desire to visit a local playground, which we found quietly hidden in the beautiful National Gardens located just behind the Parliament buildings.