I always wondered what it would be like to fine dine with a chimp…
And now I know! This is Rocco having his first taste of hummus in Fowey Hall Hotel, Fowey, Cornwall. Needless to say he liked it.
When I first arrived at Fowey Hall – I thought – NUTS!!! Why the hell have I brought Rocco with me?! It was luxurious and opulent with beautiful interiors, fabulous views and peace. Oh the peace. Except I had bought Rocco, my toddler son, and my mum. We found ourselves at Fowey Hall – part of The Luxury Family Hotel group and one of our lovely sponsors – for the annual Truly Madly Kids meet up, our first one (which Natasha wrote about here). It really was beautiful and I did think, at first, that I had diddled myself out of a ‘night off’ and a proper night’s sleep. Instead I planned to share it with my son and snoring mum (sorry mum but your snoring is on another level!)
However, the hotel was so set up for children that I would have missed him like crazy – so I was really glad I had bought him along. The staff were simply brilliant; he got to feed the chickens in the morning; we took the hotel dog, Bramble, for a walk; he could join in with cookery classes or painting; everything you could want was at the hotel already (toys, wellies, brollies, fishing nets, buckets and spades, books, DVDs…); the food was scrummy CLEARLY (see photographic evidence above) and there was not a hint of stuffiness. I wasn’t at all on edge thinking or shrieking eeek…don’t touch this, don’t touch that. I could actually relax with a toddler in tow. AMAZING. You all must treat yourself and go!
Anyway, what with holiday season just round the corner. I thought I’d share some of my favourite tips for travelling successfully with kiddiwinks.
1) Ensure you have a good roof rack – this way the kids can ride up top while the car swells with all their toys/clothes/nappies/junk you will need to bring.
2) Failing that the boot is an option for them. They could lie down in there and perhaps even sleep?! Drill holes to meet H&S standards.
3) …I jest, earmuffs (for you) are essential to bear the ‘Are we nearly there yet?’ whine.
4) Have some games ready like when crossing country borders (not in countries with zero sense of humour mind, like Switzerland) convince the kids that it would be a good idea to sit on the same side of the car and squish their faces and their passports onto the window. Much hilarity for you…and it might even break the ‘blue steel face’ of a Border Guard! Make sure you keep lots of other games up your sleeves – like spell the longest word in the English Dictionary (antidisestablishmentarilism) BUT be sure to tell them that they have only one guess and they are out once they have spoken. That should hopefully buy you 2 minutes of peace. Or who can fit the most marshmellows in their mouth could buy you 30 minutes of relative silence but you pay for it in sticky pink goo for several weeks afterwards. Side effects include vomiting.
5) Just don’t do it! You want a holiday, right? 🙂
Here are some sensible tips from the lovely, educated (probably childless) lot at The Guardian 🙂
Hee hee
Jordanna x
