As you all know I started my travelling series after realising I haven’t yet chronicled the toddlers adventures. After last week when I flew you out to Mauritius, this week I am back with another guest post from Elaine who blogs over at Entertaining Elliot which is a wonderful blog about her life as a stay at home mum to Elliot, full of wonderful reviews and tips for great family days outs, as well as being one of those lucky #bluestonebloggers.
Today Elaine is taking us further afield than West Wales and we are boarding a plane to Cyprus where they enjoyed a lovely week in Paphos, with the unlimited all inclusive bar, fun in the pool for the water baby otherwise known as Elliot and only one flamingo related melt down…..
Flying to Cyprus with Elliot
Last year my husband was able to take a bit of time off from his computer repair shop business and we decided to book a last minute holiday for the end of September. We ummed and ahhed over where to go but in the end we decided Cyprus would be a good option. We’ve been before and absolutely loved it, and you can guarantee sunshine! We could also fly from our local airport which was perfect as it’s only a 25 minute drive away, saves the hassle of getting to the London airports.
I spent absolutely ages choosing where to stay – there were so many options but I wanted it to be just perfect, especially as it was Elliot’s first time on a sunny holiday. (A week in rainy France when he was 6 months old certainly didn’t count as a sunny holiday!!).
Finally I narrowed it down to the Aliathon Holiday Village in Paphos. The reviews were brilliant and the photos
look stunning. And to top it off, it had his own splash pool for the kids featuring a pirate ship – Elliot would be in his element!!
look stunning. And to top it off, it had his own splash pool for the kids featuring a pirate ship – Elliot would be in his element!!
On the day of our flight we set off to the airport with me feeling rather nervous (flying with a toddler, was I mental?!) and Elliot feeling really excited about going on a plane. I cannot tell you how many times he sang “Flying high, in the sky….flying high and high and high” from Peppa Pig! We got in the queue for check in and waited….and waited….and waited….seriously how long does it take to check a flight in?! I don’t know whether they were short staffed or just exceptionally slow but it took over an hour for us to move like snails to the check in desk. And what toddler has the patience to wait that long when there’s an airport to explore?! He kept wanting to run off so in the end we had to resort strapping him in his buggy with a sticker book to keep him quiet. This kept him quiet for all of 3 minutes until he was yelling “get out mummy!! Get out!”. Arghhhh, I just found this so stressful and by the time we’d checked in I was so flustered!!!
We then had to wait in line to go through the metal detectors – it didn’t take as long but Elliot cried because he wasn’t allowed to walk through holding his sticker book! Time was not on our side then so instead of a relaxed lunch
before boarding we had a manic pit stop in the airport café and before we knew it, it was time to board. I was SO glad to get on that plane and be able to sit down and relax! We took off without any issues and Elliot was good as gold, I
gave him a lollipop to suck on so his ears wouldn’t hurt but he literally fell asleep on take-off! On hindsight I really wish we’d paid extra so Elliot had his own seat but being under 2 years he was still classed as an infant. This
meant we had to have him on our laps for the 4 hour flight. Uncomfortable is not the word!! He was asleep but couldn’t get comfy so was very fidgety, and there’s barely any room on those economy flights!!
before boarding we had a manic pit stop in the airport café and before we knew it, it was time to board. I was SO glad to get on that plane and be able to sit down and relax! We took off without any issues and Elliot was good as gold, I
gave him a lollipop to suck on so his ears wouldn’t hurt but he literally fell asleep on take-off! On hindsight I really wish we’d paid extra so Elliot had his own seat but being under 2 years he was still classed as an infant. This
meant we had to have him on our laps for the 4 hour flight. Uncomfortable is not the word!! He was asleep but couldn’t get comfy so was very fidgety, and there’s barely any room on those economy flights!!
Once we landed in Cyprus and got dropped off at our holiday village, all my stresses melted away and I just
couldn’t wait to enjoy the week with my family! Our apartment was large and spotless and first impressions of the resort were high, it looked just as good as the pictures online. Which is always a relief!!
couldn’t wait to enjoy the week with my family! Our apartment was large and spotless and first impressions of the resort were high, it looked just as good as the pictures online. Which is always a relief!!
We decided to go all-inclusive on this holiday which is something we’ve never done before. I was SO glad we did! The
food was amazing and there was so much choice each night. And it was perfect for Elliot because if he didn’t like one thing then we just went and got something different from him – he ate like a king! The restaurant had different themes including a traditional Cypriot evening – we were able to try lots of different dishes and they even had traditional dancers who were balancing stacked glasses on their head! Another benefit of going all inclusive was the ice-cream, Elliot thought all his Christmases had come at once when he found out the ice-cream was unlimited!!
food was amazing and there was so much choice each night. And it was perfect for Elliot because if he didn’t like one thing then we just went and got something different from him – he ate like a king! The restaurant had different themes including a traditional Cypriot evening – we were able to try lots of different dishes and they even had traditional dancers who were balancing stacked glasses on their head! Another benefit of going all inclusive was the ice-cream, Elliot thought all his Christmases had come at once when he found out the ice-cream was unlimited!!
I’ve already mentioned the splash pool but it was even better than expected. As well as the pirate ship, there were 4
little water slides and we had a really hard job tearing Elliot away every day! He’s been going to baby swim classes since he was a newborn and he has no fear in the water – he was braver than me going down the slides. Near the end of our holiday we got chatting to another family who were going home that day and they very kindly left their inflatable boat for Elliot to play with – he loved shooting down the slides in that boat! The hotel also boasted the biggest swimming pool in Cyprus and it was lovely to go for a dip to cool down when the sunshine got a bit much.
little water slides and we had a really hard job tearing Elliot away every day! He’s been going to baby swim classes since he was a newborn and he has no fear in the water – he was braver than me going down the slides. Near the end of our holiday we got chatting to another family who were going home that day and they very kindly left their inflatable boat for Elliot to play with – he loved shooting down the slides in that boat! The hotel also boasted the biggest swimming pool in Cyprus and it was lovely to go for a dip to cool down when the sunshine got a bit much.
We spent most of our time on the resort which surprised me really. Normally we hire a car and go exploring but it made me realise that holidays are very different now. We actually wanted to stay at the resort all day because we were having so much fun with Elliot! And plus the all-inclusive drinks didn’t hurt either 😉
Elliot was so good all week but he did have a bit of a tantrum at the airport! It took us ages to get through to the departure lounge and Elliot was getting tired as it was past his bedtime. He spotted a toy flamingo in the shop and just HAD to have it, crying and shouting ”want flamingo! Want flamingo!” . Normally I wouldn’t give in to his demands but by that point I just wanted him to stop making a scene so my husband went and purchased the important flamingo. Rather than be pleased, Elliot threw it to the ground and shouted “No! Want donkey!” – ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!(He didn’t get the bloody donkey)
It’s safe to say that Elliot had the best time on holiday – seeing his little face as he splashed around with his Daddy was priceless! He doesn’t get to see my husband much in the week as he works lots so it was a real novelty having him 24-7. And it was great me because my husband was the one Elliot wanted to play with in the pool – I got to sit and read my kindle….I don’t think I’ve read that much since before I got pregnant!!
It was such a lovely holiday and the weather was absolutely amazing all week – we really didn’t want to come home.
Thanks Elaine, you can find more of Elliots adventures on “Entertaining Elliot“, twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Want to join me?
As always if you want to take part in my “Travel with me…” series please get in touch with me by email on lifewithbabykicks@gmail.com, I’d love to feature you.