We recently asked you to tell us your favourite family holiday memories for our Mum’s In The Know competition. There were so many great entries we wanted to share a few more with you! We loved reading how Rachael Titley’s holiday routine changed when she had her daughter! Have a read of it yourself:
It is strange but true that my heavenly memories of our first holiday with our first daughter would have been holiday hell a year earlier!
Previously, I had always scoured the beachfront for the best spot to get the perfect tan- trees and shade were a no no! However, in Majorca in 2010 we even had a favourite tree on the beach where we would spend the morning lazing on the sand whist Sophie gurgled away interrupted only by paddles in the sea. We may not have been perfecting our golden tans but instead the beautiful view of a glistening sea and our happy little daughter made it heaven!
In not so distant holidays, lunch had always been a quick sandwich and our evening meal had been an event in which plenty of pampering and preening were needed. However, with a baby we quickly realised that this wasn’t going to work. Instead lunch became our ‘event’ meal and even though most of the time it was in beach wear, we sampled lots of wonderful and exquisite restaurants in the middle of the day. Our daughter either slept peacefully in her pram or chortled away happily whilst we got to sample the mouth-watering delights that Majorca had to offer.
On our first holiday as a couple, we’d gone to Barcelona where we’d danced the nights away until dawn but no more nightclubs now. Instead, with wine, olives and goodies gathered from local markets we sat on our balcony chatting and laughing, content in the knowledge that our daughter was sleeping on the other side of the glass.
Holidays had always been about sampling a bit of local culture and getting out and about. I’m glad to say that this was one thing that didn’t that didn’t have to change with a baby in tow. Holidaying on an island steeped in culture and with a rumour that Mr Clooney himself may have been there too made us both want to explore (OK the second bit was more me than my husband) and I’m glad to say my daughter loved travelling on a bus. In fact so did we! In truth over here I wouldn’t even know how to catch one but in Spain they were our lifeline to beautiful bays and sumptuous sights and even a train ride that rivalled a scene out of Harry Potter.
To sum it up, on one of our bus rides to the next town a woman sat opposite us had said, ‘beautiful baby, Mum looks happy’ and Mum was! And now even happier at the prospect of doing it all again but this time with two beautiful girls.
Have your holidays changed since you had children? Let us know 🙂
