This week I’m joined by the lovely Lisa from Mummascribbles. I love Lisa’s blog, it was one of the very first that I found and I relate to so much of what she writes. Her posts have had me laughing and in tears she paints a vivid picture, that’s the sign of a truly gifted writer!
And gifted writer she is, now I shall let Lisa take it away to tell us all about their trip to Eurocamp, France.
Where are you taking us to today?
I am taking you to France. We are headed about half an hour from Calais in a little village called Picardy the heart of the French countryside.
What sort of trip was it, adventure, beach, relax, sightseeing?
It was an adventure. I mean, every holiday with a toddler in tow is an adventure. Holidays can no longer be boring and everything is focussed on keeping him entertained!
Tell me all about it; where you stayed, food you ate, how the little person took it all!
We stayed at a Eurocamp parc. We had been kindly invited by Eurocamp to take this holiday in order to provide a review on the blog and we snapped up the chance to get away! We chose Picardy because it was only a short drive away from Calais and it was my first time driving on foreign roads. The camp itself was called La Bien Assise and really was in the middle of nowhere but equally had good road links to everywhere we ended up visiting (I got brave with the driving through those country roads!). We had hired a mobile home as I couldn’t deal with camping and a two year old. Even though the tents looked amazing, it would have been too easy for Zach to escape! With the mobile home, we could lock ourselves in so he couldn’t get out! The mobile home had 2 bedrooms, a living/kitchen area and a small shower room. Importantly it had both UK and European plug sockets – I hadn’t needed to buy those adaptors!
We were terribly boring with food! On the first night we ate in the fancy restaurant on site. The food was delicious but we blew a portion of our spending money in there and so couldn’t return again! The rest of the time we ate at the diner. It was actually really tasty and they made a lovely home cooked pizza. But there was no eating French food throughout…unless you can count french fries!
The little person LOVED it! He literally had a ball. The space to run around, the little play area, the food, the swimming pool. He adored it. Along with the day trips we made to the beach, aquarium and toddler theme park, he just loved it all.
Why did you choose to tell us about this holiday?
I chose it because I’d never even heard of Eurocamp and we had such a wonderful time that we would definitely go again. They have many camps throughout Europe to choose from and some parks are much bigger than La Bien Assise with all sorts of play equipment, kids clubs and water slides! Had I have not received the email regarding the chance of a holiday, I still wouldn’t know about them and so I am here to spread the word! We loved La Bien Assise and where it was situated so I would definitely recommend that parc. Despite it being in the middle of nowhere, we did have some great days out to nowhere more than an hour away.
What is your favourite memory from this trip?
My favourite memory is Zach making friends with the kids in the next mobile home along. It was so cute when they were all playing together and we all had fun in the pool one morning. Going to places like this, you really hope to meet other families with young children and it happened and it made him so happy.
What did you learn about travelling with babies/toddlers/children from this experience?
Taking a car is an excuse to over-pack! We took so much stuff with us that wasn’t required but it fitted in the car and was for a just in case moment. Also, I think I would stick to short journeys. Even if we were flying somewhere I think I would only go a couple of hours away. We had enough trouble keeping him still on a ferry, I can’t imagine him on a plane! Also, we still tried to keep him to his routine that he has. He still had his nap, he still ate dinner at a normalish time that he normally does. I know some people like to give their kids free reign when it comes to holidays but I think it’s easier on them and you, especially when you return home, to try and keep them to as normal a day as possible. It also means that hopefully you should get a couple of hours to yourselves in the evenings!
What is your top tip for travelling with little people?
Don’t cram too much into your days and try to spread the excitement out a bit because they do get over stimulated and exhausted. We spent five full days there, two of which was just spent hanging around camp. We went on three day trips and I think any more would have been just too much for him.
You can find more from Lisa over at Mummascribbles, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Google+.
If you would like to appear on #travelwithme please drop me an email on lifewithbabykicks@gmail.com