Road Trip

My hubby and I have just been on a road trip. 4 sleeps away from the kids leaving them at home with Granny North and Grandad. We slept through everynight... unlike the kids by all account.. We had planned to go skiing but we have both been poorly and so have the kids so Europe seemed a long way away so we decided to stay close. We went up to North Wales on Sunday and spent a couple of days mountain biking in Llandegla, Nr Wrexham and visiting friends and family.

We set off home on Wednesday stopping for a bike in Coed y Brenin near Machynlleth, a night in the lovely Fron Haul B+B in Abderdovey then we stopped off all the way home visiting lovely delis, handing out Bendylegs for people to try and meeting some great people along the way. It felt reminiscent of our trip this time 6 years ago around New Zealand. Each time I have been away traveling, particularly in Australia and New Zealand, I have come home and wondered why, despite our beautiful country and all it was to offer, we don't 'do' tourism better here in Wales.

The fact is that things have changed.

Wales has everything.

We've always had the stunning coastline, huge mountain ranges, rolling green hills, passionate and friendly locals and hundreds of castles but now we are also proud to offer very special places to stay, award winning produce and restaurants, some fantastic independent shops and galleries, arts, culture and outdoor activities that are world class.


Llandegla, Coed y Brenin and the other mountain bike centres in Wales www.mbwales.com are a mecca for mountain bike enthusiasts who travel from all over the world to come and do the purpose made downhill tracks. They all have walking/running trails and family bike trails as well. There is something for everyone. Coed y Brenin in particular has a great playground and cafe with views over the river. Llandegla boasts the best bacon sandwich in the UK and a great cafe with wireless internet and comfy sofas. You can hires bikes from both places but walking is free.

Next time you are passing any of the mountain bike centres in Wales, stop... and have a look. Maybe even have a go, I'd forgotten how much fun it was... www.mbwales.com

Boys and Girls

Before I became the proud owner of one of each I never really understood the huge difference in parenting boys and girls. I have to admit to being rather smug about my beautifully behaved girl who played nicely with other children, sat and coloured for hours and hours and more often than not ate what was on her plate. I think I thought that I must have done something right as my friends wished a monster of a boy on us next so we new how lucky we were with our first... He arrived into this world 2 years ago and I have never been smug since... What a totally different story. Hungry all the time, always wanting to be held, noisy... but a big ball of loveliness at the same time who can melt your heart with his smile.

Jinksy is now 2 and I now understand they call it the Terrible Two's for a reason...

Polly is having a play date at the moment. I've picked her up with 3 friends from school. They have been playing happily for the last 3 hours without a crossed word... I'm suspecting it will be a different story altogether on the boy play dates in 2 yrs time!