London, Lagos, South Wales, Paris 2018 -with Video!
I was just going through some videos and realised I never posted this one on my blog! My husband made it on his phone after our epic summer in Europe in 2018. We visited London (my blog post about rediscovering this awesome capital city is here), Lagos in Portugal, South Wales and Shrewsbury, and even managed a day trip to Paris on the Eurostar! Here's the link:
We flew into the UK as the orange evening light shone gently on the fields below and I knew this was going to be the start of a magical summer. After spending a few wonderful days in London, we flew to Portugal and spent two fabulous weeks in Lagos. I first visited Lagos with my sister, Emily, for a long, fun summer in 1998. My sister cemented ties with the place when she married a Portuguese man and my Mum later fell in love with the town when she visited and moved there too. We visited her when we lived in Fiji and had a beautiful naming ceremony for Ruby and Lyla in a nearby forest. Lagos certainly does have a unique charm that's difficult to match elsewhere in Europe. The town is full of beautiful cobbled streets and colourful buildings and sits right on the sea front so you don't have to walk far to get to the beach. From the beach, you can take cliff walks through breathtaking scenery to dozens of stunning coves, all adorned with picturesque rocky outcrops and caves. We spent most days walking to discover a new beach, and one day we even walked all the way back to Lagos from Praia da Luz, another very pretty town.
One of my all time favourite photos of the twins, on the beach in Lagos
Lagos has quite an international feeling as it's not only a popular holiday destination for families and backpackers, but it's also frequented by hoards of surfers thanks to the impressive nearby swell.
There is certainly no shortage of places to eat and drink and we enjoyed some fantastic meals in the town. We also enjoyed eating on our balcony that overlooked the sparkling sea; it was an awe inspiring view to wake up to every morning.
The only thing we were all a bit shocked by was the temperature of sea. It was freezing! You really had to brace yourself for a dip and when you got out it took a long while to warm up again!
All in all, however, Lagos will always hold a special place in my heart and I hope we can visit again one day soon.
George and me in one of Lagos' beautiful squares
My girls in one of the beautiful coves!
George and me
My seven great loves going down to one of the stunning beaches!
The twins: Happy days!
Upon our return to the UK, we hired a car and drove to Windsor, to explore the town and visit the castle. It was so pretty, decorated with lots of street bunting, and the town still seemed to be basking in the aftermath of the recent royal wedding.
My gang outside Windsor Castle
Then we headed to South Wales, where I spent many glorious summers at my Nan's house, playing in the beautiful countryside. As soon as we crossed the Severn Bridge I literally felt my heart soar and I couldn't wait to show the kids the fairy-tale scenes of my childhood escapades!
Crossing the beautiful Severn Bridge
We stayed in a gorgeous barn half way up the Sugar Loaf mountain...it was so dreamy! On our first day, we climbed the mountain and as we admired the breathtaking scenery below, another hiker bellowed, "I'm on top of the world!" -It reflected how we all felt!
We explored the wonderful market in Abergavenny, where I used to regularly go shopping with my Nan, and took lots of long walks in and around my Mum's home village of Govilon. It's a truly magical place, with sparkling streams, beautiful fields and the gorgeous River Usk running by.
On Lyla's 16th birthday, we enjoyed a lovely breakfast on the picnic table at the front of our barn, beneath the gaze of the majestic mountain, then we took a wonderful long bike ride along the canal, beneath dappled sunlight streaming through the overhead trees, and stopped in a field by the river for a delicious picnic. It was the perfect day.
The birthday breakfast table all set!
Lyla enjoying her special day
A sun soaked bike ride!
Happy cyclists!
A wonderful birthday picnic!
When we finally had to leave Wales it was with a heavy heart and I vowed to return a lot more often. We stopped at the beautiful book town of Hay on Wye on our way to my hometown of Shrewsbury, and, once there, we enjoyed lots of quality time with my dad.
My sensational six on Shrewsbury town square!
Enjoying the views with dad after a delicious lunch in a beautiful riverside restaurant
After leaving Shrewsbury, we headed back to London and managed to squeeze in a trip to Paris. We spent the day walking between all the major city attractions and soaking up as much Parisian culture as we could. By the end, we were all craving a Beyond burger meal, so we dashed off the Eurostar and got to Honest Burger in Kings Cross just in time to order a meal. It was a very satisfying end to a long, busy day!
The Tavola Eight in Paris!
When it was time to board the plane back to Doha, we all had heavy hearts. We'd enjoyed such an amazing summer, it was very hard to accept that it would all soon be a memory! We all agreed that we wanted to go back to Europe a lot more often and immerse ourselves in all the delights it had to offer. So, the next summer, we headed to London, Mallorca and South Wales, and once again it was fantastic! You can read all about it here!