And finally...

We had to say goodbye to Cumbria. We had loved it so much. We chose out hotel on the lakeside because it had a pool and spa and when we booked it, way back in January, we thought it would give us something to do should it rain for the whole 3 days - we never saw a cloud!

It is the first time that we have had more than 1 night away without the kids - and we enjoyed the time, walking and talking and making exciting plans for the next stage of our lives together. It felt like we were staring out all over again.


Bowness was wonderful to stay in. It was surprisingly busy and a little crowded by day, but you could easily find a walk to take you away from the crowds, and by evening it had a fabulous continental feel with many gorgeous restaurants to eat in, just a short stroll from our hotel.
We enjoyed a boat trip - so relaxing.
The scenery is stunning everywhere you look.


The valleys are also a training ground for fighter jets and army helicopters - the jets fly very low and make you jump out of your skin, then make your heart stop as you wait to make sure that they make it over the hills.



Bowness was the first place that hubby and I went away together to 23 years ago. I had quite forgotten that until we were there. We won't be leaving it another 23 years to return - we'd never get up those hills!

Through the garden gate

I bet that you can guess where I went by just looking at the next couple of photographs. Come with me through the garden gate.

Don't the props give you a clue?
And the colour of this lovely gate?
I bet you guessed that we visited the holiday cottage of Beatrix Potter - Hill Top. It was lovely. We managed to miss the bus load of Japanese tourists (of which there are literally millions in the lakes) and it was fairly quiet and atmospheric when we got there. I wasn't allowed to take photographs inside which was a shame because everything inside was original and had belonged to Beatrix.
I was just a teensy bit disappointed as I had imagined it to be more remote than it was, but it is still in a very tranquil spot and there are lots of gorgeous walks round about. I'd love to do more of this area at a later date.
We wandered around the garden for a while.

One of the house guides showed us the house she bought when she married her husband. Its only just across the way.
It's a beautiful looking place and owned by the National Trust still, but lived in privately by custodians. She still owned the farm even after she bought this bigger place and would pop across to write there. If you ever visit, you must remember to book a timed ticked which I believe you can only do on the day of your visit.
We also paid a visit to Hawkshead whilst we were in the area (on the recommendation of Lyn at Everyday Life) - such a charming village with a million and one cafes! (I could see why you like it Lyn!!) The building below is where Beatrix Potters husband had his solicitors office and now houses a collection of her original paintings.



We had a coffee and cake stop in the square, but couldn't sit for long as it was just too hot! Plus I had a load more to see !

Climb every mountain

The reason we had chosen the Lake District for our mini break was that hubby fancied a bit of hill walking - with me tagging along. Because we didn't want to use the car very much, we chose to walk from Bowness up to Windermere, and walk up and around School Knott - about 7 miles in total.

The walk was as you can imagine extremely picturesque.
And luckily, it was a very steady climb up around the back of the hill.
We were rewarded at the top of the hill with a gorgeous "tarn" where we sat watching the antics of hundreds of toads!
It was truly beautiful and so silent.

Then, just over the hill was the summit.

I so wish I had a better camera, because the view down to Lake Windermere was absolutely gorgeous. We sat and ate our lunch declaring it one of the most beautiful places on earth.
Eventually we descended down back to ground level.

And sat and cooled our feet in the crystal clear stream.
And rewarded ourselves at the first pub with a beer garden that we could find! Well, we deserved it.

A lovely break

Hubby and I managed to snatch a 3 day mini break away. I can honestly say that I literally enjoyed every minute og the last 3 days - it was perfect in every way. Can you guess where we went?

This was the view from our hotel bedroom - I couldn't take my eyes of it.

We called here on our way to there!
The weather was amazing - I cannot believe I sat in my swimming cozzie getting a tan in the UK in March!

Answers on a postcard - and prepare for a few days of photograph overload! xx

Maisons Lafitte

Our "home" whilst in France was on the campsite at Maisons Lafitte - a very affluent little suburb of Paris and only 15-20 minutes by RER train (which seemed to be every 5 minutes) into the centre of Paris.

The campsite itself sits on an Island in the middle of the river Seine, and it was fascinating to watch the huge barges passing.

It has its own Chateau,
which sits in the middle of the town,
It has great little parks for strolling around and sitting people watching,
And is famous for being a centre for horse racing in France.
In Masons Lafitte, every Frenchmans maison appears to be a mini chateau. We had a good look in the estate agents windows and realised that here you could buy one of these for around 4 million euros, whereas in central Paris, you only got an apartment for that amount!
The main drag had some great shops and restaurants on it. We bought our baguettes filled with ham, cheese and salad every day before we got on the train in the morning - and found somewhere spectacular in central Paris to sit and eat these. We called back at a very reasonable priced restaurant before returning to our caravan each night. We sat out on the pavement and the atmosphere was brilliant. We watched the French men hop straight off the train and call into the Patisserie before heading off home. We watched everyone stop and speak to a French lady (who was obviously famous in France, but we didn't recognise her) and have their photograph taken with her. We watched how everyone chatted non stop and socialised over meals, coffee, wine. I love that part of French culture.
It feels very safe in Maisons Lafitte, and its such a handy and economical place to stay for a visit to Paris. Its the second time we have stayed here, and we would not hesitate to return.