Learning made fun

Aeroplane Toilets - Hours Of Fun!

On a recent flight, due to a problem with the seat pouch where the items are stored inflight eg. magazines, Rob and I were moved to preferred seats. Whilst these seats had lots of leg room, as they were by one of the emergency exits, they were also right by the toilets.

We thought this would be a major drawback, with people queuing by our seats and the smell from the toilets but instead they provided our inflight entertainment and were much more fun than watching the film!

I really don't like aeroplane toilets - I think it's because when they flush I think everything on board is going to be sucked out into space, including me! Watching people go into and out of them provided hours of entertainment though.

Numerous people had difficulty opening the toilet door. Despite a large sign on the door saying 'push' people think they have to pull the door or open the ashtray to get in. Quite why there are still ashtrays outside the toilets when all flights are non smoking I'm not sure - maybe they're there to entertain people sitting in the preferred seats! Some people spent about a minute trying to get the door to open and despite the vacant sign decided someone must be in there.

Florence - Art, Churches and Food

It had been 24 years since Rob and I had been to Florence. Then we were on a three centre visit to Rome, Florence and Venice. Whilst we had been back to Rome and Venice we had not managed to revisit Florence. We decided to address this and so made a return.

On our previous stay, not having much money, we stayed on the outskirts of the town in a small hotel, walking in every day, even though I was 6 months pregnant. This time we stayed in a hotel by the Ponte Vecchio (the famous bridge in Florence lined with jewellery shops).

Florence is a lovely city and fantastic for art lovers. We managed to mix and match flights to Pisa, so we went very early on Saturday morning and came back very late on Tuesday. This meant we had four full days.

Champneys Tring - A Review

Spa days and Spa breaks have become more popular in recent years. It is lovely to escape for the day, or a few days and be pampered, coming back refreshed and ready to tackle everyday life again.  The Champneys resorts don't allow under 16's in so there are no children there. When my 3 children were young Rob and I did visit Champneys leaving our children with their Grandparents. Musical Minis Mums have gone for pregnancy relax days, hen parties and just to have time to unwind. Champneys does charge a premium as it considers itself to be a luxury spa, unfortunately we don't!

Rob and I stayed overnight at the Tring resort at the end of Summer. Perhaps because we remember so clearly the Champneys of 16 years ago that we were so aware of the downhill slide of this spa. Each time we have visited Champneys Tring over the past few years we have noticed standards slip. Our recent one night stay was enjoyable but our visit was very impersonal and the standard of cleanliness and maintenance was very poor.

On the plus side the food is good and the staff friendly. On the negative side the treatments can be hit or miss. The spa staff are trained to carry out a treatment in a particular way (e.g. 3 strokes one way four strokes another) without any consideration for personal need. There are numerous treatments to choose from, which in itself can be problematic as you are not really sure as to how they differ.

The Champneys stay now just seems to be packaged. We were appalled that when an elderly guest asked for an additional half cup of coffee in the drawing room after dinner, she was told only one cup of complimentary tea or coffee was permitted. With nowhere to purchase a drink the lady had no alternative other than to make a cup in her room. Surely this is not 5 star service and was just one example of how the service is now regimented.

Having to use the public facilities after the 11.00 a.m. check out time you would expect the facilities to be kept clean. However, both the men's and ladies toilets were dirty over a number of hours. We noticed these were used by the staff and still nothing was done about the state of them. The carpets in many parts of the resort are stained, the tap in our room would not turn off completely and was loose and a number of the hooks for towels in the sauna were snapped. All in all the resort needs a lot of maintenance and recognition that it's guests are individuals looking for a personal service.

Perhaps Champneys is now catering for the masses but still charging premium rates. Perhaps the management don't think it's necessary to keep the resort clean and in good repair. We gave feedback via a questionnaire which was emailed after our stay and to the staff before we left but weeks later we have had no response. It's not easy to organise childcare to have time for yourself  and if you have managed to do so, the experience we had at Champneys Tring really wouldn't have been worth the effort.

We think it's time to find another spa to visit. Have you been to any you could recommend? Or maybe you've been to Champneys and enjoyed your stay. Do let me know.

Photo by Flickr o5com

Volunteering At A School In Nepal

Guest post from Emily Sherr, my 19 year old daughter, who is studying Education with History at Durham University.

I've now been in Nepal for over two weeks and I can safely say that this is a great experience for me, and not just someone else's daughter!! Those of you that read my previous blog will know that my mum was less than happy about me going to Nepal to teach in a charity school for 6 weeks and coined the phrase that it would be "a great experience for someone else's daughter".

Having never been to Asia before, Nepal has been a great culture shock which began as soon as we touched down in the airport in Delhi before getting our interconnecting flight to Kathmandu. The whole experience was highly different to the efficiency present in European and American airports. There seemed to be a total lack of organisation yet everything still managed to work fine! When we left the airport in Kathmandu there was a bustle of people trying to get us to take their taxi or help us with our bags - it was so chaotic but highly relaxed at the same time. Nothing is a stress or problem to the people - it's an odd mix. The culture shock has continued in the school where we use squat toilets and there are only cold showers! Even walking down the street is completely different - pavements don't seem to exist and there's a constant stream of beeping from the motorbikes, cars and buses!

Singapore - Not Much More Than A Sling!

Our last day in Australia was spent travelling. Firstly we flew to Darwin and then after a four hour stopover in a very cramped and boring transit room, we flew on to Singapore.

Arriving at night meant that the view of the harbour was quite spectacular. Our first experience of Singapore highlighted just how clinical and clean the country is. As soon as I had stepped out of the cubicle at the airport toilet a cleaner went into it! Nothing like Heathrow!

We stayed at the Mandarin Oriental and this experience surpassed even that of Bangkok. We certainly finished our holiday in style. An upgrade to a Marina Bay view room should have been enough. However, we were checked in actually in our bedroom. Here we were given complimentary wine, chocolates and fruit. If that wasn’t enough, there was a ceremonial tea service, topped off by rose petals in the bath. The next morning at breakfast, we were presented with champagne and strawberries with the hotel photographer taking our photo. Having arrived so late at night and just falling into bed, the photo has not captured us at our best, particularly as the eye cream I had just put on hadn’t yet sunk in!

Port Douglas And The Daintree Rainforest

The one hour transfer from Cairns to Port Douglas followed the beautiful coastline. We were greeted at the Peninsula Boutique Hotel in great fashion. An ice cold glass of water was followed by an equally cold flannel which was welcome on a fairly hot day. The welcome was the warmest we have ever received and we were shown to a beautiful suite with its own patio leading onto a shared jacuzzi and then down to the swimming pool. January is usually the beginning of the wet season but whilst they had recently had some showers at night, there was no rain during our stay and it was not too humid.

We wanted to visit this area to go and see the rainforest. We were really lucky as we were the only ones on our trip. We had a boat ride along the Daintree River to spot the local wildlife but a high tide meant no crocodiles or snakes were seen. The Daintree Rainforest was fascinating to visit because of the abundance of different trees, shrubs and wildlife. Rob fed by hand some kangaroos and wallabies that had been rescued after road accidents (I wasn't brave enough) and we sampled some home made ice cream from locally grown tropical fruit.

A stroll along four mile beach as the sun was setting seemed such a good idea until we realised that we had a four mile walk back in the dark. Thankfully we were told where the local bus stopped and had a taste of Queensland friendliness. How often has a bus driver asked you whether you liked conundrums? The 10 minute journey was spent with him telling us puzzles and us answering them.

Hamilton Island - Queensland Paradise

Landing at Hamilton Island we got a real flavour of what was to come. The luggage arrives not on a conveyor belt but piled on a series of trolleys. The hotels are there to greet the guests and to take them and the luggage on the very short journey to their hotel. Everything is handled with super efficiency. What is most noticeable is the preferred means of transport - the golf buggy.

Our room was on the 13th floor of the Reef View Hotel. The view from the bedroom was amazing, looking across the beach towards Whitsunday Island (famous for its Whitehaven Beach). The bed is sited so that you can look through the massive patio window onto this view. The one warning is not to leave the balcony doors open as the native cockatoos like looking for food in unoccupied rooms.

We spent three nights on Hamilton Island and absolutely loved it. Hamilton Island is a resort but it was so different from our previous resort experience at Ayers Rock as to be incomparable. The whole area is geared to tourists and in addition to the golf buggies there are free island buses and numerous walks round the island. The marina (where most of the restaurants were located) was a 10 minute walk. The restaurants we tried were of a very good quality without being over priced. Indeed, given there is a captive audience, the prices of most things were cheaper than we had got used to elsewhere in Australia. At capacity there are 8,000 tourists and 2,000 staff. We were there at the height of the season and it certainly didn't feel crowded. Indeed we took one walk along the beach and didn't see another person.

The highlights for us were the Great Barrier Reef, the views from Peak Point and cocktails at One Tree Hill at sunset. The trip out to the Great Barrier Reef was really well organised. There was the chance to snorkel, scuba dive and go into a semi-submersible as well as looking at the reef and fish from an underwater viewing chamber. Rob went snorkelling with a marine biologist for a reasonable additional cost and was shown things he might otherwise have missed. I am not a great fan of water so stuck to the semi-submersible, which I went out in twice.

The airport was good fun at departure. The security was excellent. I was selected to undergo an explosives check with the security man sharing his family history on both sides. His mother's family arrived with the first or second fleet (i.e. convicts), whilst his father's family was descended from William Pitt (the prime minister). Not often you hear a story like that. We boarded a small plane to take us on to our final Australian stopping point, Port Douglas.

How To Plan A Trip To Disney World

Guest post by Debbie Caygill, our Newcastle Musical Minis franchisee.

Easter 2011 my husband, our 2 children (4 years and 2 years), my parents and I set off for a holiday of a lifetime to Disney World Florida. I had my concerns over the ages of our children but we looked on various websites  and decided to just go for it. Before I became the Newcastle Musical Minis franchisee, I had worked as a business travel agent and have always loved booking and organising our holidays. The last time I actually went into a travel agents and booked a “package” holiday was over 10 years ago! Your holiday really does start from the moment you decide to go. The planning stage is so important, here are a few tips to planning your holiday to Disney World Florida.

Planning your holiday:

1. Visit http://touringplans.com/walt-disney-world/tools . This website tells you everything you need to know about when to go, what days to go and waiting times for rides. It is $11.95 for a years subscription, but it is money well spent

2. Decide which parks you want to visit and buy your tickets before you go. You can buy your tickets at http://disneyworld.disney.go.com and find out all the information about the various different parks. Bare in mind age and height requirements for certain rides, you don't want to turn up at a ride that your child is excited to go on, only to discover he/she can't get on.

3. Decide where you want to stay. There are a number of hotels on site which have public transport provided to take you from your hotel to the parks. If you choose to stay in a villa off site, remember you will need to pay for parking everyday that you visit and parking is $14 per day for a car. The parking lots are huge & baring in mind we went over the Easter holidays (the 2nd most busy time of year) we didn't have any problems parking, never queued to enter or leave the park and only had to queue once to get on the connecting trams to the park from the car park.

We flew from Glasgow International Airport with Virgin Atlantic, direct to Orlando International. We stayed in a villa in the Davenport area, around 12-15 minutes drive from Disney World, and hired a car from  Holiday Autos. The roads are very good and we never had any problems with traffic jams or becoming lost. We did take our handy Sat Nav with us although you can hire them from most car rental companies too.


The last thing you want to be doing on your holiday is standing in queues for rides & attractions. Here are some things you can do to reduce your waiting times:

1. There are various apps you can get now for your phone which shows you the waiting times at various attractions & rides. If you did purchase a subscription for http://touringplans.com/walt-disney-world/tools this will also tell you which days are early opening days. If you are staying in a resort hotel then you will have access to the park 1 hour before everyone else and 1 hour after everyone else on certain days. If you are not staying in a resort hotel these days are best avoided at certain parks as the early arrivers will have already had an hour to get their FastPass tickets.

2. Certain rides have “FastPass” available. You simply pop your park ticket into the machine and they will give you a ticket to return at a set time. When you return to your ride just look for the FastPass sign and go straight onto your ride.

3. If you have seen all the parades or don't wish to see them, then use this time to go on the attractions, the queues will not be so big.

4. If the weather is looking bad, don't be put off, others may be so lines will be less busy.

5. A child switch or switch rider pass avoids the need to queue twice. Dad can wait in line while mum watches the kids. When he has finished on the ride Mum can use her switch rider pass & go straight to the front of the line.

Disney World is made up of 4 theme parks and 2 water parks:

• Magic Kingdom
• Disney’s Animal Kingdom
• Disney’s Hollywood Studios
• Epcot
• Typhoon Lagoon
• Blizzard Beach

Hollywood Studios and Typhoon Lagoon were our favourite parks. I was going to list all our favourite attractions but I don't want to spoil it for you. All I would say is don't miss Toy Story Mania at Hollywood Studios and my children loved drawing Mickey Mouse at The Magic of Disney Animation, also Hollywood Studios. After the session be quick and ask for the animators drawing for a lasting memory to take home with you. We have ours framed in the hall. Go to as many of the shows as you can within the parks, they were all great, especially The Festival of the Lion King at Animal Kingdom.

We loved our holiday so much we are planning to go back in 2013!

Sydney - New Year's Eve 2011

Our first view of the Opera House was as we approached Sydney from Ayers Rock on the aeroplane. We are not sure why we found it so exciting, perhaps because it is such an iconic building. After settling in at our hotel, brilliantly situated in the Rocks area of Sydney we headed straight for a close up view of the Opera House. What we hadn't realised was that the tiles on the roof are patterned, we thought they were just white. Seeing the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge together was really spectacular.

The following day we crossed the bridge on a minibus on our way to the Blue Mountains. We had breakfast at a pretty town called Richmond, situated on the river, then drove up into the mountains. The tour was a bit of a disappointment as it comprised of just looking out from various view points. The Blue Mountains were worth seeing, particularly the Grand Canyon. The mountains get their name from a blue haze created from the significant number of eucalyptus trees that grow on the mountainside. Whilst in Sydney we went to eat at both Darling Harbour and Circular Quay. We far preferred Circular Quay which we felt was more up market.

We planned our whole Australia trip on being in Sydney for New Years Eve. We started the day off with a walk across the Harbour Bridge and had breakfast at a lovely little cafe on the other side. We had decided not to do the 230 dollar Sydney Bridge Climb but opted for the free flat walk across. We did pay to go up the pylon tower on the bridge, which gave great views. During the day we visited Manly on the ferry and went for a beautiful walk that took us partly around the coast and then through a nature reserve. Getting back there was a buzz around Sydney that we have never experienced anywhere else on New Years Eve. We couldn't help but get very excited along with everyone else. We had pre-booked tickets at Mrs McQuaries Point in the Royal Botanical Gardens, a really good spot to watch the fireworks. Tables were set out and we enjoyed a meal and a disco. We had a prime spot with the Opera House in the foreground and the Harbour Bridge behind. The 9 o'clock fireworks were a taster of what was to come at midnight. The fireworks seeing in the New Year went on for 12 minutes and were truly spectacular. It was hard to believe we were watching the Sydney fireworks live rather than on tv as we usually do, as they launch the New Year's celebrations across the world.

The next day we walked a little around the city. The highlight was the Queen Victoria Building, an indoor shopping arcade, where although the shops were shut the building was open and wonderfully quiet. It is such a beautiful building and it is incredible to think they considered knocking it down in the 70's. We then went to Bondi Beach which did not live up to our expectations. It was horribly busy and dreadfully commercialised. We had been suggested the coastal walk from Bondi Beach to Coogee Beach. This took about two hours and went past a number of less spoilt beaches with surfers. Both Bondi and Coogee were packed with limited space to put even a small towel down. We were quite happy to get back to Sydney.

The following day we did a tour of the Hunter Valley vineyards. We visited both small and large wineries. The wine tasting started at 10.30 in the morning and finished 31 glasses later at 3.30pm! We decided that we were not overly keen on the wines from this area and preferred the cheese and chocolate tasting we had en route.

Whilst in Sydney we visited the Opera Bar and the Blu Bar, situated on the 36th floor of the Shangri La hotel. Both of these are worth doing given the buzz of the Opera Bar and the view from the Blu Bar.

Sydney was special because of the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge but when asked what to do, most people suggest places outside the city. It is as though people want to escape from Sydney. However, we wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else for New Year's Eve.

Alice Springs, Ayers Rock and Kings Canyon

WE couldn't help thinking that the weather in the Red Centre had a big impact upon our enjoyment. The Red Centre is right in the middle of Australia and is one of its hottest places. Visiting during the Australian summer was a big risk as temperatures can reach the high 40's in centigrade but we got very lucky. We did a four day three night tour as we thought this was something we should see in our once in a lifetime trip and we are really glad we have done it. Once in a lifetime is however certainly enough!

The day we arrived in Alice Springs the temperature was 38c and we were very concerned as neither of us like the heat. Thankfully this turned out to be the hottest day and we could therefore enjoy the experience far more than would otherwise have been the case.

We arrived in Alice on Boxing Day when there are no organised tours. We therefore had to make our own way around the town. As it was so hot we took a taxi for the 5 minute ride into town. Our first stop was the Royal Flying Doctor Museum which we had both been looking forward to seeing. The Flying Doctors do a brilliant job of providing medical support (mainly evacuation) to the remote areas of Australia. Unfortunately their fantastic work isn't reflected in the museum. The film was informative but all of the interactive exhibits were broken and the rest a little repetitive. A new museum is being built so we are sure they recognise these shortcomings. We gave the reptile museum a miss and decided to explore the town. A mistake. Not only is there nothing to see but the Aboriginal locals were quite intimidating and appeared drunk. Maybe we just didn't understand their customs but we didn't feel safe. We were quite relieved to get back to the hotel.

The hotel staff advised us that Alice isn't safe to walk around at night and whilst suggesting a visit to Anzac Hill to see the sunset, advised us to take a taxi. The view was quite nice but again we were happy to get back to the hotel.

Next day at 7am we were collected on a big tour coach for our tour. Our first destination was to be Kings Canyon. We stopped at a camel farm which was just a commercial enterprise and not what we expected at all. The drivers microphone wasn't working and we missed out on the anticipated commentary. After a four hour drive through bare landscape we were pleased to be at the Kings Canyon transfer point. 4 of us left the large coach and were collected in a van for the one and a half hour journey to Kings Canyon. Undoubtedly Kings Canyon was the best part of the trip and something most people don't do. We stayed at The Wilderness Lodge, described as first class accommodation, although it was situated in the middle of nowhere. Our room was a permanent tent with separate sleeping and bathroom facilities. There was no Internet, mobile connection or tv. I was dreading staying here, as I don't do camping, but actually our stay was brilliant. The staff were very friendly and keen to share their enthusiasm and knowledge of the area with us. We were taken on a drive around the cattle ranch we were situated on, saw aboriginal drawings on stones and some of their utensils such as grinding stones. We then were taken to Kings Canyon, a rock formation and walked along Kings Creek. That evening 19 guests ate together outside and experienced Australian cooking under the stars. I gave the kangaroo a miss! After supper we were given a guide to the stars from one of the staff who was an amateur astrologist. She was really lively and made the talk very interesting. At the end she took us to where she had set up her telescope and showed us the moons of Jupiter and young (blue) stars and old (red) stars. With no light pollution the night sky was wonderfully clear, something we are not used to. An excellent end to the day.

The alarm had to be set for 4.30 am the following day as we were doing the Kings Canyon rim walk which could not be done in the heat of the day. Again there was just four of us and a guide on this three hour walk. The scenery was stunning and the natural history of the area very interesting. We were very lucky as there had been regular rainfall during the year and so not only was there greenery but some water pools - we stopped at one for a picnic breakfast. We returned to the lodge at 9.00 and with reluctance left to join up with the large coach party again.

We picked up the large tour where we had left off the day before although this time the microphone was working and the driver gave an interesting commentary on our journey to Uluru (Ayers Rock). The whole resort was a bit like a Butlins Holiday camp in terms of its layout. Basic accommodation and mostly basic food choices. The main hotel offered a restaurant but the prices were ridiculously high and the food didn't look great, they were clearly taking advantage of the limited alternatives.

In the afternoon we visited the cultural centre to learn about the aboriginal way of life. We then went to Ayers Rock for a close up look before joining many others to view the sunset. We took loads more photos than we could ever need of Ayers Rock as the colours altered as the sun went down. Sparkling wine and canapés rounded the day off at sunset.

4.30 am the following morning we were back on the coach to see the sunrise at Ayres Rock. More photos! It's amazing how you get caught up in the photo fest. Whilst a massive monolith, it is just a rock! We then visited another rock formation, the Olgas. All these places come with an Aboriginal creation story and our driver was excellent at recounting these.

It was then back to the hotel to set off for the airport and on to our most anticipated destination, Sydney. We did enjoy our few days in the Red Centre. We would gladly have missed out Alice Springs and spent the whole time at Kings Canyon. We are pleased we saw it but this is definitely not something we need to repeat.