Sometimes you just hit the jackpot with your Airbnb. After three nights exploring the Iron City aka Pittsburgh, we drove East towards Gettysburg. Gettysburg is a town steeped in American Civil War history. Its eponymous battle involved the largest number of casualties and is often described as the war’s turning point. There are plenty of historical sites and museums to visit. The Gettysburg National Military Park, with over 1000 monuments, is a battlefield shrine to the Union and Confederate soldiers who fought there. About to book a well-rated but bog-standard Residence Inn, I stumbled upon ..read more

Pittsburgh was not on my original Pennsylvania road trip itinerary. However, as fervent Dance Mom fans, Jetlag & Mayhem would not let me get away without adding it to the list. Turns out I am ever grateful to their travel planning contribution and Pittsburgh turned out to be a real highlight. Pittsburgh was embedded in America’s industrial heartland, as a hub for coal mining and steel production. However in the 70s and 80s, the industrial downtown meant that Pittsburgh had to reinvent itself as a centre for education, medicine, smaller scale manufacturing and research. You can see remnants ..read more

Surrounded by gentle hills and picturesque countryside, Lehigh Valley, Pa. is home to well-known towns including Allentown and Bethlehem. After a jam-packed few days in Philadelphia, we set off West for some R&R. Located in Bethlehem, Hoover Mason Trestle (HMT) was once used as a narrow gauge railroad to carry the coke, limestone and iron ore needed to make the iron from the ore yards to the blast furnaces. Now a public walkway, you can admire the machinery that almost feels like a huge sculpture, set against a forest backdrop. If walking the HMT has made you thirsty, head to The Joi ..read more

The first stop on our Pennsylvania roadtrip was the ‘Birthplace of America’, aka Philadelphia. Instrumental in the American Revolution, Philadelphia served as a meeting place for the Founding Fathers of the United States. They signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776 at the Second Continental Congress, and the Constitution at the Philadelphia Convention of 1787. The second largest city on the East Coast, Philadelphia is filled with fun activities for all the family. It may not be my favourite US city (that honour is bestowed on Chicago) but it’s worth a trip for Reading Terminal Market a ..read more

Whilst much of Iceland’s scenery is jawdropping, there’s a stretch of the South Coast that is renowned for being the most scenic. After a few days in Reykjavik and a tour of the Golden Circle, we landed in Hella, a small town of 800 people about 94k from Reykjavik. Our arrival into Hella was accompanied by sputtering noises from our hire car. This is the first time in decades of road tripping we’ve ever had a problem with a hire car. On the advice of Blue Car Rental, we took it to the nearest garage. Thankfully Hella had a garage as the subsequent day’s driving was fairly remote. The auto repa ..read more

It all started with an airfare. Easter holiday was looming and I decided it would be fun to explore some of Europe (we have spent the past 17 years living in Asia). However on searching, I realised I had missed the boat on prices and flights to Italy, Spain etc were extortionate. I was on the British Airways website hoping to use miles and started randomly selecting destinations. Turns out, Reykjavik was not so pricey to get to. I had no idea if it was a good time to go, or whether 9 days was the right amount of time to spend in Iceland. All I knew was that Miss Jetlag had been banging on abou ..read more

Having flown Emirates twice in the past six months, this may be my new favourite airline. The cabin crew are friendly and the economy seat is superior to British Airways. As I was walking through Emirates Terminal 3 in Dubai, I also clocked the complimentary strollers. You can pick one up and then drop it at the boarding gate.. nice touch! A huge thanks to my sister in law Emily for her travel tips. She recently flew to Mauritius (via Dubai) with a 3yo and 11 mth old. As she’ll tell you, there’s no secret sauce to a smooth flight. But it helps to be prepared and stay calm. Other passengers can ..read more

This morning I caught up with an old friend who is based in New York. Having jetted over to London with her two kids, she remarked how much easier the flight was now they’re older. She then followed up, ‘Oh I must give you a review with my tips! But why haven’t I seen you post anything?’ Truth be told, it has taken me a long time to write. Covid tore through the world and put travel on hold. It didn’t feel right to share travel tips and hotel reviews when people I knew were still living in lockdown and Covid was rife. Then things seemed to click into gear and people were travelling. It brought ..read more

Having recently relocated to the UK after 17 years in Asia, I was looking forward to rediscovering my home country. Following a wonderful summer Cotswolds trip, I was looking for a birthday weekend getaway. I got the map out and searched for destinations that were a two hour drive from London. I noted Winchester in Hampshire and thought ooh, hasn’t that got a cathedral. I’m a sucker for a cathedral and a lighthouse. After reading the Mummy Travels guide to Winchester, I was hooked. This was the citybreak for me. We spent two days exploring the old capital of England and I have raved about it t ..read more

One selling point of Dubai is that there are so many family-friendly activities. From theme parks and adventure safaris to malls and sunshine, it reminds me of the Orlando of the Middle East. The sort of place you could spend anywhere from a long weekend to two weeks. We enjoyed a wonderful 5-night stay at the Park Hyatt Dubai over the October half term. Although I could have easily spent all day lazing by the pool, I was keen to get out and explore this UAE city. When you are travelling to Dubai you do need to be mindful of the temperature. Even during October half term, I found the heat quit ..read more