Thursday 28 June 2018

Eurocamping through Italy.

I would be very surprised if you've never heard of Eurocamp. The UK's leading European camping specialist. We have 'Eurocamped' on several occasions and have always thoroughly enjoyed our time when staying in one of the various site's around France. We have stayed in both mobile homes and classic tents and although we prefer staying in one of the mobile home's both are comfortable, home from home and provide a great holiday experience. We have often thought about venturing to other European Eurocamp destinations, particularly Italy which is somewhere we have always wanted to visit. Camping in Lake Garda sounds absolutely delightful.  From the stunning cities such as Verona, Moniga and Venice to beautiful national parks and of course not forgetting the delicious food and drink offerings that Italy has to offer. 


Photo by davide ragusa on Unsplash

What we have always liked about Eurocamping is just how comfortable the accommodation is and how family friendly, clean and welcoming the parcs are. There are usually marvellous pool facilities, restaurants on site, children's activities and play areas. The accommodation itself has everything you need, it really is like being home away from home, we have always utilised the add on packs, we don't mind paying a little bit extra to have some supplies ready and waiting for us, it really eases some of the stress upon arrival. We have always found the staff welcoming us to Eurocamp friendly, knowledgeable and approachable.  Having staff like this really can enhance a holiday. 

We truly have lots of very special memories from our Eurocamp get away's and wouldn't hesitate returning to make more memories with our little family. Have any of you visited Lake Garda or other Eurocamp destinations?

* collaborative content

Wednesday 27 June 2018

Blogger's Best Linky!

Welcome back to the Blogger's Bests linky. We can't wait to read your posts and see what you've been sharing this week. I hope you have all had a great 3 weeks, we took a bit of an extended break, Sarah has been away and life just ran away with me!

So Sarah from RunJumpScrap and I would like to introduce you to the Blogger's Best linky. A place for any post, whatever the post, the best post of your week or simply a post you are proud of and want to shout about it. This is the place to share it and we can't wait to read them. The linky will open at 05:30 on a Wednesday and remain open until Friday 23:55.

There aren't many rules because lets face it, rules are boring right? However, linkys only work if you share the love and support your fellow bloggers so what we do ask is.....
  • You comment on the host posts and at least a couple of others, of course if you want to comment on more  then please do!
We would also love if you could .....

  • Tweet us over on Twitter (I'm @helsy_1983) and Sarah is (@runjumpscrap) so we know you're joining in ( and please do use #bloggersbest) and we can give you a retweet

  • Join us over on Instagram with the hashtag #bloggersbest and tag us in, we both love a bit of Insta! You can find me here @helsy_1983) and Sarah is @runjumpscrap

  • Add the badge at the bottom of your post so we know which post you've added to the linky
But these are pretty much all the rules. Sarah and I will continue to have featured posts each week and will of course be retweeting your links when you link up. We're really looking forward to hosting a fresh and vibrant new linky and hope you'll enjoy linking up too! Spread the word, Blogger's Best is the place to be!


Run Jump Scrap



    

Tuesday 26 June 2018

Dinosaurs in the Wild *Review*

When I told Alfie and Elarna we were going to be time travelling back the Late Cretaceous period to see some actual, living dinosaurs there was lots of excitement and anticipation in the air. Alfie could barely contain himself, he absolutely loves anything to do with dinosaurs and dino related and when I showed him some videos of dinosaurs in the wild he was ridiculously excited, every day he was asking when we were going.

We made our way to London super early on Sunday morning, it doesn't take long for us on the train and both kids enjoy a train journey so it was all good. We arrived into Kings Cross and made a short tube journey to Greenwich Peninsula, near The 02 which is where the experience is situated. On arrival to this area it wasn't overly clear where we were supposed to be heading but we soon found a sign and followed the huge dino prints to get to where the time machine was waiting for us.


Before hopping on the time machine to whizz us back several millions of years ago we were very privileged to be given a talk from top UK palaeontologist Darren Naish he gave a very informative talk all about dinosaurs and more and I actually feel I learnt a bit, it was interesting. I would be more than happy for Alfie to follow in his footsteps when older. I also really liked to hear that Darren played a big part in the development of dinosaurs in the wild ensuring that things are kept factual and extremely realistic. It was a great way to start our experience.  


After our rather fascinating talk from Darren we were then taken to begin our journey back through millions of year to TimeBase 67 where scientists are situated studying the dinosaurs from the past. Built by pioneering company Chronotex Enterprises this exhilarating experience is only possible by the cutting edge technologies by this company. 


On entering the facility we were given some 3D glasses to enhance the experience, you are advised throughout  when you should wear these. It's also worth mentioning that there are no toilet facilities while going around the experience so if you are taking little ones it's best to use the loo's beforehand. 



Before stepping aboard the time machine we entered the Chronotex departure lounge where we met our tour guide, he was fab and made us feel very welcome. We had to watch a short safety video about our journey to Timebase 67 and how we needed to be aware of the dinosaurs and what we might encounter. At this time we were reminded that if we have seen a dinosaur they will have already seen us! We then entered onto the transfer pods to get to our destination......I didn't get any pictures of these as didn't want to spoil anything. While in these pods we were taking through some bumpy terrain to get to Timebase 67 and on the way we spotted some dinosaurs, we had our 3D glasses on at this point which just makes the experience awesome. Our fab tour guide also chatted to us throughout and pointed out everything that we were looking at.


Once you've entered the Time Base you are shown around by your guide. To begin with we learnt a bit more about the facility, the work it does and what you can experience while there. 


We then entered the path lab which is packed full of awesome things to see and you can even get a bit hands on with some poo and examining things up close and personal. The Alamosauras heart is particularly impressive sitting in the middle of the room beating away, there is a button to press to see the effect of adrenaline on it (I think) and yes it was my son who kept pressing the red button to test it out.......typical! He also loved having a play with the poo (with gloves!), what kid isn't fascinated by faecal matter!



There is lots to see in this room, so much to take in, it's hard to look around it all on the time restraint that you seem to be on while going around. I would say that this is the only downside you are on limited time while going around, it's hard to take it all in as there seems to be only about 5 minutes or so in each area which is a bit of a shame. It doesn't take away from the experience and I understand that there is other groups being shown around after (the experience runs on time slots for this reason). However you may need to look around quickly if you want to take everything in.








After visiting the lab we were then taken through to watch a dinosaur autopsy. Nothing too graphic for the little ones just an interesting bit of anatomy and physiology, it was educational. No pictures to share of this I'm afraid but more of the pathology lab for you to check out.




Next on to the hatchery! This was a great room, three large incubators housing different species of dinosaur eggs, some very close to hatching. In fact while we were there we were super lucky that one hatched while we were there, a rather cute (well in appearance, snappy little thing it was!) Dakotaraptor!


Throughout the whole tour the attention to detail is phenomenal, we were blown away by this and the actors/staff brought the experience alive for us. There were times when I actually felt like this was real! It is like this throughout the whole time, so much fun!





Next it was on to the animal lab where the lab is divided into nocturnal and daytime areas. Mostly housing juveniles this area was fab, I fell in love with the little Triceratops......so flipping cute. They are all safely caged........or are they? Ha, well you'd have to have the tour to find out. Nothing jumps out, sorry to spoil the surprise but there is an element of the unknown which the actors/staff play out perfectly. 




Finally it was on to the look out which is amazing, with 4 huge windows with breathtaking views out on to the it's here you get to appreciate all the dinosaurs that are roaming around. Here you get to spend a fair few minutes taking in the views with your 3d glasses on. It's also here that the actors/staff really come into their own. Now I don't want to take away from anything if you're planning on visiting so won't go into too much detail, but there is something that does happen in this area which potentially could frighten the younger children. 

Elarna was a little bit clingy and Alfie a bit worried but overall it was brilliantly done and it did get us feeling a bit on edge! After we'd left the lookout we were escorted out of the experience to the merchandise area, as I said I don't want to give too much away but there is stuff that happens between leaving the lookout and making it to the merchandise area but if you want to find out I guess you'll just have to book tickets!


Of course landing in the merchandise area is a tough one as the kids did want to get something. The items aren't cheap to buy and we did treat Alfie to a rather cute T-rex cuddly toy (for £22.00 I would like to add!) and Elarna a small little Dakotaraptor soft toy (uber cute for £9.99), needless to say they carried around their toys for the rest of the day with no issues. We also purchased one of Darren Naish' new books which he kindly signed for Alfie, we discovered that we already have a few of his books so this was a good one to add to the collection.


What did we think of Dinosaurs in the Wild?

It is absolutely fantastic and we enjoyed every single minute of it, we wouldn't hesitate visiting again and I've just heard today it is being extended into September now so plenty of time to visit. I really hope it becomes a permanent feature, however as there has clearly been alot of time, money and effort spent on this and it would be a real shame for it not continue. A few bullet points below with what we loved and what we were not so keen on.

What we loved:

  • This is an immersive and fascinating, live action experience. It really is like being transported millions of years into the past. 
  • The whole experience is entertaining, interactive and enjoyable. Not only did we have fun but also felt we learnt from it too, so quite an educational experience also
  • The attention to detail is incredible, they really have thought of everything from the realistic dinosaurs to the facilities that would be on something like Timebase67, each room has been cleverly thought out and there is so much to take in
  • Only small groups at a time which means there is no risk of over crowding
  • The staff/actors really make this come alive, they are fantastic and they have clearly learnt their stuff as they were able to answer questions and share knowledge about the dinosaurs while we went round



What we weren't so keen on: 


  • The time restraints, of course I understand that there has to be timed slots but it would have been nice to have maybe a little while longer looking around the different areas
  • The price of entry. We were very kindly provided free entry in exchange for this review but if we were to purchase a family of four ticket it would have set us back almost £100 which is fairly steep when you factor in travel costs, food and sight seeing if you desire, that being said myself and my husband have both said we would love to return again over the summer
  • The place is quite hot, set inside what looks to be a warehouse or similar it is quite stuffy and they don't allow food and drinks into the experience itself which is something to be aware of, although I'm sure if a child needed to drink they wouldn't overly mind
  • There are no toilets while going around so if you have a small child that needs to pee or poo urgently it is worth bearing in mind there is a possibility if not being able to rejoin the tour. Thankfully both mine were ok!
  • Recommended age is for 5 years and over with any younger ones entering at the discretion of parents, Alfie thought it blooming brilliant and Elarna enjoyed it too, there was only a couple of moments when she wanted to be carried but as parents you will know if your child would enjoy it or not



Overall, we absolutely loved it and wouldn't hesitate returning again. If you have a dino fan or just want to go for the experience get yourself booked in as this experience currently is only running till the beginning of September, however I'm keeping everything crossed that it becomes permanent.

* Please note that we were kindly given free entry to Dinosaurs in the Wild in exchange for an honest review, all thoughts and opinions are my own and I will always give an honest account.

Thursday 21 June 2018

Feel Beautiful with Fee Marraine Boutique

After having babies, finding clothes that flatter and suit the post baby figure can be something of a struggle. It's a fact of life that after harbouring a small person inside your body for around 9 months your body is going to go through some changes. There are clothes in my wardrobe that I'd love to wear again but don't feel I ever will, yet can't bring it in me to get rid of them. I still find, 3 years on from my 2nd baby I struggle to accept my softer stomach, wobbly bits and things that perhaps aren't where they used to be.....I'm sure you get where I'm coming from! This is where the lovely Fee Marraine Boutique could help you out. 


A little bit about the online shop: 

Dreaming of being a fashion designer, Valentina grabbed the opportunity of chasing her dream when she could. Not an easy decision, but when her husband convinced her to follow the dream the boutique was born. Valentina creates beautiful and flattering post natal clothing that are both functional and lovely to wear.  Everything is hand made (how amazing is that!) and it's clear from reading about Valentina and looking at the online boutique that she puts her heart and soul into all she does. 

One thing I love about the boutique is that the usual sizing of clothing (e.g size 10, 12, 14, 16 etc) are not labelled as this and instead are alluring, captivating, delectable, ravishing, saucy, scrumptious, spellbinding and voluptuous - I love this method sizing! Perhaps shops on the high street should take note. 

There is something delightful about the beautiful selection of items that Valentina features on the website, I have chosen a few of my favourite's and featured them below, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

How gorgeous is this floaty number? I would wear this on an evening out, would be perfect for my holiday in France! I also love it teamed with the converse below, adds a different dimension to it I think.
Or how about this cute little baby doll number? It's also breastfeeding friendly with trademark zippers, so if you are or aren't this item is versatile as well as pretty.

 

Finally, this beautiful blouse. I love a shirt/blouse and this is floral, pretty and totally me. I would wear this with leggings or jeggings and pair with either heels for a night out of flip flops for a more relaxed look - gorgeous!


I really like the ethos surrounding the boutique, it will appeal to so many ladies that are struggling with their post natal body or wanting to dress to impress after having a baby. There is a lovely selection of items and I'm sure that Valentina would do anything to help or offer advice on styles. Please do go and have a look at the boutique, it's really important we help small businesses to thrive, so go have a nose!

* Written in collaboration with Fee Marraine Boutique. 

Wednesday 20 June 2018

Blogger's Best Linky!

Welcome back to the Blogger's Bests linky. We can't wait to read your posts and see what you've been sharing this week. I hope you have all had a great 3 weeks, we took a bit of an extended break, Sarah has been away and life just ran away with me

So Sarah from RunJumpScrap and I would like to introduce you to the Blogger's Best linky. A place for any post, whatever the post, the best post of your week or simply a post you are proud of and want to shout about it. This is the place to share it and we can't wait to read them. The linky will open at 05:30 on a Wednesday and remain open until Friday 23:55.

There aren't many rules because lets face it, rules are boring right? However, linkys only work if you share the love and support your fellow bloggers so what we do ask is.....
  • You comment on the host posts and at least a couple of others, of course if you want to comment on more  then please do!
We would also love if you could .....

  • Tweet us over on Twitter (I'm @helsy_1983) and Sarah is (@runjumpscrap) so we know you're joining in ( and please do use #bloggersbest) and we can give you a retweet

  • Join us over on Instagram with the hashtag #bloggersbest and tag us in, we both love a bit of Insta! You can find me here @helsy_1983) and Sarah is @runjumpscrap

  • Add the badge at the bottom of your post so we know which post you've added to the linky
But these are pretty much all the rules. Sarah and I will continue to have featured posts each week and will of course be retweeting your links when you link up. We're really looking forward to hosting a fresh and vibrant new linky and hope you'll enjoy linking up too! Spread the word, Blogger's Best is the place to be!


Run Jump Scrap





    

Monday 18 June 2018

The Peterborough Museum *Review*

I love discovering new places to visit, especially if they are local and free to enter, although we did donate to continue the work of the museum.

When I asked Alfie what he wanted to do with me for his birthday I was actually kind of surprised at his response, usually he would want to go to the zoo or something nature or wildlife related but instead he asked to visit the Peterborough museum. He'd recently been on a school trip and loved it and had mentioned about going again so this seemed the perfect time as he was on a training day and I had booked annual leave. I roped my parents in too as thought they'd be interested and so it was arranged and we visited a couple of weeks ago.


As I started to read up about the museum prior to visiting I was absolutely fascinated by the building and its history. I love a good ghost story and finding out that where the museum is situated (within what used to be the old infirmary from 1857 to 1928 in a large, old mansion) and that  it is said to be Peterborough's most haunted building in the city certainly  intrigued me.


Set over 3 floors the Peterborough museum certainly boasts a mixed bag of exhibitions and artefacts. It's brilliant! As Alfie had previously been he was insistent we visited certain areas first but eventually convinced him that we should start in a logical manner ...... on the top floor......don't ask! We did however make our first stop at the rather eerie operating theatre (see below!). There certainly is a strong aroma of a medical nature in this area and a bone chilling aspect to this clinical and brightly airy room. I dread to think what it would have been like back in those days!

Dating back to around 1910 this is one of three period surgical/operating facilities in England. It has retained its original tiling on the floors and walls (all white and ceramic, easy to clean the blood from!) and the skylight and windows. There is also a glass cabinet with a Nurses uniform and a handful of rather macabre surgical instruments. It certainly made us all cringe with thoughts of operations with minimal pain relief and infection prevention. Poor Alfie wasn't a fan of this room! I just couldn't stop thinking of all the awful things that must have happened on the operating table and just how lucky we are now with medicine!



As I said the museum is set over 3 floors and as you make your way around the old mansion there is something to see of a historic nature around each staircase. From the collection or art work to the plethora of period features such as the specially designed wooden squares on the stair cases, designed to prevent staff slipping when the mansion was the infirmary. There is something at each turn. 

So what else can you see at the museum?

There are several permanent exhibitions and throughout the year have a variety of events and temporary exhibitions to ensure you will see something new when you visit. I don't want to give too much away so I'll just go into brief detail about each current exhibition and share some photos from our trip. 

The Norman Cross Depot - Prisoners of War
For those that don't know, Peterborough was the site of the very first purpose built POW (prisoner of war camp) , many of the items for the public to view in this section have been lovingly hand crafted by the prisoners. It's quite moving, the intricately carved items are seriously mind blowing. 

Changing Lives
This part is all about the story of Peterborough over the last 200 years. It is fascinating! I loved the part about how each part of the city has been developed and over the years how it has grown, plus about the industries within the city, I found it very interesting. There is also a little cinema area where you can sit and watch some films that originate from Peterborough (I think!). I love looking back at history, even more so if local. 




My parents particularly loved this little set up of an old, retro kitchen. Parts of it reminded me of my Grandparents house and we had great fun identifying items that we still use today but just how different they are and how technology had advanced. Alfie couldn't get over the size of the hoover!



We actually have the exact version of the mincer on the table! Retro I know but Adi wanted a proper mincer and bought it second had a few years ago, it is so heavy and quite the contraption.


Changing Landscapes Gallery
Alfie was so excited to show us this part as this was the part that he had talked about after his school trip. Here the gallery is designed to make you feel like you're underwater, it's beautifully done and I know it sounds weird but we all felt we could smell the sea? Very strange but true. It's quite a calming place to be in, and centres around the prehistoric creatures that swam in the seas around Peterborough about 150 million years ago. Hard to believe it was once submerged underwater.




Around the corner from the under the sea area is another changing landscapes area. This set up showed us the different creatures that can be seen at night and how sometimes we won't always see these animals. It was a nice place to sit for a quiet few minutes, replicating an urban scene we sat and just identified the animals for a few minutes enjoying some peace. We're all just in a rush all the time aren't we, sometimes it's so nice to just sit back and take things in. 



Archaeology Gallery - First People
I have no photos from this gallery I'm afraid but this area is all about the pre history of Peterborough. We learnt about the Romans, Anglo Saxons and Medieval period and it was a fascinating insight, there are some great little artefacts in this section that really were fab. I also thoroughly enjoyed making the large coin puzzles.....that's the kid in me, ha! This was a fascinating display from the past and we all enjoyed it.

After finishing looking at the galleries we wandered around the mansion, there are lots of different things to look at of interest. I found this grandfather clock particularly beautiful, look how intricate it is - stunning! This was positioned in the office of the chief surgeon (I think it was, from memory), apparently he got the pick of the room because of his position and this large, round room was suitable for his needs. It is quite a striking room with the curved walls and the light flooding in.




There was also this portrait in there, both my Dad and I agreed there was something quite sinister and creepy about it, we couldn't put our finger on why but there is definitely something about it that sends shivers down me! What do you think?





On the same day as visiting the museum there was also the new Antony Gormley sculpture display  'places to be' #lookup.  For those who aren't sure who he is, he's the dude who did 'The Angel of the North' and is an internationally renowned artist whose sculptures investigate the relationship between the human body and space. We have 3 situated around Peterborough and members of the public are encouraged to #lookup to see them. I love them, I think they're a great addition to the centre and people will come and see them encouraging tourism into Peterborough.



While at the museum I also treated myself to a brand new book, 'Haunted Peterborough' which appeals right to my interest surrounding ghosts and all things like this, I love finding out about local ghostly happenings and this book is brilliant for that, the inside knowledge about the ghostly sightings at the museum itself is great, I'll certainly  be looking out for them when we visit again!
I also cannot wait to visit the Priestgate vaults beneath the museum, these are by arrangement only and on certain days so I'm going to be dragging my Dad along at some  point. I also want to do the escape rooms which are also beneath too, they sounds so much fun and having only ever done one escape room in the past I'm looking for some new ones to try.



Overall we had a great time at the museum, if you are local to the area and haven't ever visited before I would highly recommend. Packed full of interesting artefacts, information and exhibitions it makes for a very interesting couple of hours.

*Please note I have not been asked to write this nor did I receive any incentive I have written this purely for information and because it was a great afternoon.