Holiday Photography - My Barbados Travel Diary

If you didn't know, I actually got back from my family holiday to Barbados yesterday! We went for 10 days and I honestly had such a fun, relaxing break. I took lots of lovely photos, and thought I'd share them in a photo diary sort of thing:) But first, I just wanted to briefly talk about Ariana's new album, Sweetener.. I'm lovingggg it! My faves are probably REM, No Tears Left To Cry and God Is A Woman, but I actually love them all - what are your favourites? I also just bought the NTLTC sweater and I'm so excited for it to arrive!! Anyways, without further ado, onto my photo travel diary...

 

 



camera - iPhone 6s

8th August - 6:50 am

This was the morning of our first full day in Barbados! We woke up super early due to jetlag, and thought we should make the most of it by going to the beach to watch the end of the sunrise. We went for a really lovely walk and it was so much fun. I also, obviously, took a few photos of me, so here's one of my faves!

camera - iPhone 6s

8th August - 8:50 am
This was the stunning view from our room's balcony! We weren't quite sure what to expect in terms of our hotel room, so when we walked in and saw we had that stunning sea view, we were so delighted.

camera: my dad's random phone (don't know the name sorry!)

8th August - 3:30pm
Every day, our hotel had some sort of 'thing?!' going on outside one of the hotels (e.g. giving out snow cones, mocktails etc) and on our first day, there was this guying slashing open coconuts and handing them out! It was so cool, and I couldn't resist not taking a photo.



camera: iPhone 6s

 

9th August - 5:54

Soooo.. today I was loving my dress (from PrettyLittleThing by the way), and the lighting was looking cute so I forced asked my sister to come out to the beach with me and do a lil photoshoot before dinner for Insta!! (Fun fact, we were out shooting for 30 minutes straight and we took 117 photos hahaha. We also got a cute pink ice cream we didn't want hahah for the aesthetic. #doitforthegram #dedicated). If you're from my Instagram you might already recognise this photo;) but yah, I really like it:)*

 

*If you don't follow my Insta by the way you def should hehehe, go check it out @whatlexieloves / instagram.com/whatlexieloves

 

camera: Nikon d80

 

12th August - 1:16pm

One of the days, my family and I went to Crystal Cove, the sister hotel to the one we were staying at (Turtle Beach) to check it out! It was also so lovely, and the pool was so gorgeous, I knew I wanted to snap a couple pics. Isn't the colour of the pool stunning?!!

camera: iPhone 6s

13th August - 10:17am
On the 13th, my family and I went to Harrison's Caves, these incredible, naturally formed caves filled with crystals. It was so insane, and I'd definitely recommend checking it out if you ever go to Barbados. Unfortunately, all my photos turned out rubbish, so here's just one of me waiting to go in. But if you want to see what it was like, just google Harrison's Caves Barbados and look at the images that show up (they do look a little... weird... hahahah, you'll see what I mean) :)



camera: Nikon d80

13th August - 3:20pm
After going to Harrison's Caves, we went to Bottom Bay, a gorgeous beach on the east coast that my friend's mum had recommended. It was really hard to find, but that meant that it was really peaceful and only filled with locals (at least when we were there!)....



camera: Nikon d80

13th August - 3:35pm
..... and we met this really love guy who sold us drinks out of coconuts he had climbed up trees to get. I've always wanted to get the perfect shot of a local doing something they loved so I was really happy with this shot. I would 10000% recommending visiting Bottom Bay if you ever go to Barbados.

 camera: iPhone 6s

15th August - 2:48pm
Our hotel was holding a Family Fun Day on the 15th and that meant there was facepainting, a bouncy castle and even a petting zoo for the kids (def aimed at 5 year olds not a teenager like myself but can't so no to a good ol bouncy castle amirite!!) :) I went a long and held all sorts of amazing animals, like a snake, turtles and even an iguana.



camera: iPhone 8+

17th August - 1:30pm
After lunch on our last full day:(((, I was reading my book - a dreamy YA romance called A Sky Painted Gold (review coming soon!) and we had to take a couple of shots for the Instagram. I love holiday reading, what about you? I'm also reading Cait (Paper Fury)'s A Thousand Perfect Notes and I'm really enjoying it so far. IT'S SO CUTE!

SO... those are my favourite photos from this holiday, along with a little description of what we were doing:) I hope you liked seeing my photography, which photo was your fave? Mine are probably 4 + 7 <3 Do you like my photography posts? Did you go anywhere or do anything fun this summer? Let me know in the comments below!

Lexie x



Things To Do In London... with kids and teenagers

Hi everyone!! A couple of days ago, my mum took my siblings and I up to London for the day, and we had a really lovely time. London is a beautiful, busy city with plenty of things to do, but I had to do quite a bit of research and weeding through articles before I found fun things for us to do (normally my mum plans our day trips to London, but this time I did haha). However, in the end the activities we chose were really fun, and made for a great day trip. So in this blog post, I will be sharing with you what we do and other fun activities to do in London... with kids and teenagers.

Peggy Porschen Cake Shop - https://www.peggyporschen.com/

The first thing we did, was get the tube to Victoria before walking for a few minutes to get to Peggy Porschens, a beautiful cake shop. This is a great thing to stop and do for half an hour or so, and it's great for all the family.. because who doesn't love cake?! I had a brownie, and whilst it's all fairly pricey, it was delicious. And whilst little ones may not appreciate how pretty the shop is, if you have teenagers they'll be taking heaps of photos for Instagram!! Beware: This cake shop is fairly popular and 'tourist-y', so sometimes they'll be a small queue outside the shop, if you want to eat in. The waitress said it would be around half an hour, but we got a table within 5 minutes. Go the website here, for more details.

St James Park and Buckingham Palace

This is definitely not the most unique thing to do whilst in London (!!), but it's still fun and interesting, particularly for younger ones. Firstly, we went to have a little look at Buckingham Palace, and then went for a walk in the lovely St James Park. Also, Hamleys is fairly near Buckingham Palace, so you could get a taxi there (or even walk it if you wanted!).

Museum of London - https://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/museum-london

I have to admit, I'm not really one for museums haha, but I found the London Nights expedition (info about it on their website is here), and I thought it actually sounded like my cup of tea. Basically, the expedition is full of gorgeous photography of London at night, and whilst littler ones may not be that interested in that expedition (although there are other ones like Fatberg that children may find cool), I found it really inspiring and motivating.

Zip Now (London) - https://zip-now.co/

This isn't an activity my family and I actually tried out (although I definitely want to at some point), and I've seen mixed reviews on it, so maybe do your own research first, but my friend went to Zip Now in London and said it was really fun. Zip Now is basically London's longest zip line at 225 metres. Younger ones may be too scared for this, and I've heard there's quite a bit of queuing, but for teenagers this is an exhilarating and exciting activity many would love. Note: this is around £30pp so obviously a much pricier activity for all the family!

Va Piano for dinner - https://uk.vapiano.com/en/home/

After we'd had our great day out, my family and I where actually heading to Va Piano for dinner.* This is a delicious Italian restaurant which has three branches in London (as well as other branches in the UK and across Europe) and we've been there multiple times before (it's literally my favourite restaurant ever!!). My siblings and I all had the carbonara, and I would recommend it so much... it's honestly the best carbonara ever (and that's saying something, as I've tried a lot!!) The cool thing about Va Piano, is that you can actually go up and watch the chefs making your food, and chat to them as they prepare it (e.g. you can say 'ooh can I have a bit more cheese' or 'could I have chicken as well as bacon' etc etc) - meaning it's just how you like it!

*The meal was complimentary for my family, as a thank you for a previous mention, not to be featured in this post (I'm just including them because their food is amazing haha!!)... all opinions are completely my own.

So there you have it... lots of fun things you can do with kids and teenagers out in London. Have you been to London before? Do you have any other fun things to do in London that you'd add to this list - comment them down below as I'd love to hear them for any future trips. Thanks for reading everyone, and I'll be back soon with a new post <33
tags: London, day out in London, things to do with kids. Things to do with the kids when bored, London for teenagers, activities for all the family teen blogger, blog, family blog, teenagers

Top 5 Family-Friendly Restaurants Around The World

Hello everyone! Sorry I haven't posted in a couple of weeks - I've been away with my family, and didn't have much time to write blog posts (or any ideas of what to write!), but now I'm back and motivated again, so today I'm going to be sharing with you my Top 5 Favourite Restaurants From Around The World. These restaurants I have picked out are located in all different places - Thailand, Las Vegas, the UK, France and Boston, and I highly rate all of them. And obviously since I'm a child myself and dined in all of these with my family, they are all family-friendly restaurants, with kids menus (at time of dining).

Max Brenner - Boston, USA (and other locations in the USA, Russia, Israel, Japan and Australia).

My family and I went to Max Brenner 5 years ago, when we were on holiday in Boston, Massachusetts. I actually did a blog post on it, which was one of the first posts I ever did, and the title was 'The most extraordinary, unusual but cool restaurant ever.' And 9 year old me was right!! Max Brenner is the weirdest but coolest restauarant I have ever been to. Basically everything in Max Brenner is related to chocolate - there are pipes carrying chocolate around the restaurant and jars of chocolates and sprinkles decorate the walls. I had chicken nuggets (which were sprinkled with cocoa powder, much to the delight of little me (although don't worry parents - you couldn't really taste it!!)) but the dessert was the best thing. I had the 'sugar star landscape waffle' which 5 years later is still on the menu!! It's basically a waffle, ice-cream, chocolate sauce, gummy bears and strawberries and was amazing! This is one of the most family-friendly restaurants on the list and I would 100% recommend to families visiting Boston (or any of the other locations listed here: http://maxbrenner.com/locations/worldwide/usa

TIP: Save room for dessert - as I'm sure you can imagine, they are amazing!

credits

Dr Frogs - Chaweng, Thailand

We had this meal a couple of years ago when my family went to Thailand in the summer. One night while we were in Koh Samui, Chaweng - an island off of the mainland - we went to Dr Frogs, a lovely Italian bar and grill. The first thing we noticed when we seated were the stunning views - Dr Frogs is located right on the beach, and has massive open windows so you can watch the ocean as you eat. The atmosphere of Dr Frogs in another great thing about it - they have live music playing for most/all of the meal, but not too loud that it drowns out any conversations. My little siblings and I, once we had finished eating, actually got up on the stage with the musician and starting dancing - which was really fun. And obviously, I wouldn't be recommending it if the food wasn't good; we all had pizzas, which were delicious, although they also offer Thai cuisine, if you'd prefer a more fitting and authentic meal to the location. This is on the pricier side of Thai restaurants, but in my opinion (although I'm not the one paying hahaah so I don't know if I'm really eligible to have an opinion!!) it was definitely worth it.

TIP: Book in advance if possible! I'm sure you can get a table if you walk-in, but it's quite popular, and you may not get an ocean view that way, so I'd recommend booking if you can.

Va Piano - London, England (and other locations around the UK, France, Germany, Denmark, Poland and other countries in Europe - see here: https://uk.vapiano.com/en/restaurants/)

This is one a little closer to home for me, and unlike the others, I have been several times. Va Piano is another Italian restaurant chain with multiple stores around Europe, although is a little quirkier than any other Italian restaurants I can think of. Basically when you order your food, instead of telling a waiter or waitress your order, you queue to tell the chefs your order and watch them cook it in front of you so you can make sure it's just how you want. For example, I ordered a carbonara, but wanted chicken not bacon and extra cheese, so I just asked the chef that and watched him as he made it. However there is a slight flaw with Va Piano, as you stand whilst you take turns to order your food, it means in a family one meal will be ready and it'll be quite a while before the last meal is finally read - so bear that in mind, particularly with young children. However WOW, the food makes up for it!! My carbonara was honestly insane... probably the best carbonara I have ever had (and being someone who pretty much always just orders carbonara or pizza from restaurants... that is saying something)!

TIP: The portions are absolutely huge!! Ask for half-portions, and if you're a teen debating on whether to get the kids' menu or not, I'd recommend getting the children's portion (even that I couldn't eat, and I do have a big appetite).

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Mon Ami Gabi - Las Vegas, USA (and other locations in the USA - see here: http://www.monamigabi.com/)

Mon Ami Gabi is a French bistro chain located in the USA. We visited the Las Vegas branch when we did our California and Nevada roadtrip this time last year (wow I miss it so much) and ended up eating there twice out of three nights! We chose Mon Ami Gabi as we were dining with our grandparents and aunt who had specific dining requirements (one pescetarian, and one vegetarian who was gluten free) and it had meals that suited them. I moaned a little because 'French bistro' didn't appeal to me but looking back I can appreciate we found a real gem (and if you know your kids/you will moan about it being a French bistro, it does have all the usual burger, mac+cheese, chicken nuggets etc. kids' menu that will appeal to most fussy eaters). There are two things that stuck out for me about the meal and made it special. Firstly, the location - we, by chance, got a lovely outside seat which had an amazing view of the Strip (it's opposite the Bellagio) and that really made the meal special. And secondly, my steak! I ordered steak and it was so good, it was what I ordered the second night when we returned. If you like steak and you do go to Mon Ami Gabi, it would definitely be my recommendation!!

TIP: Request an outdoor seat, preferably with a view of the Strip.

La Maison Bleue - Sainte Maxime, France

La Maison Bleue is actually a restaurant I was at just a couple days ago, as I just got back from a short break in France. It is a restaurant specialising in French cuisine and seafood and is a firm family favourite for whenever we go to the South of France. The atmosphere is lovely - a mix of locals and tourists - and the servers are always friendly (plus they can speak pretty good English, which is a plus!). Like I said above, they do also have an option for fussier children (like myself) who won't be wanting seafood or French dining for dinner - we always have chicken and pasta, simple but yummy!

TIP: The fries are delicious - we'd recommend you get a portion for the table if your meal doesn't include them.

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So those are my Top 5 Favourite Family-Friendly Restaurants Around The World:) Have you been to any? What restaurants would you put in your Top 5?

Xxx

If 10 stars were possible: Watergate Bay Hotel

Hola Lexicans! Last weekend, I was staying in Watergate Bay Hotel, Cornwall, and it was amazing! My friend Mollie stayed in WGB last year, and she was raving about it for weeks on end. So when I found out I was going on a review trip there, I was SO excited.

 

The Room

We were staying in a family suite, which was really nice because it gave us plenty of space, with a room for my parents, and a separate room with bunk beds and a TV for my siblings and me. Like the reception, it had a really contemporary beach feel and some really comfortable beds too - normally hotel beds aren't as comfy as my one at home, but this actually came very close!


FOOD

This may just be the most important factor when choosing a hotel. We were having our breakfasts in Zacry's, and let's just start with them.

THEY HAD A WAFFLE MACHINE! Now being a big waffle-lover, this aroused a lot of excitement (and it's actually on my Christmas list now). The waffles were simply delicious. And filling.

As well as that, they also had amazing crispy bacon, a range of cereal, bagels - and a VERY cool bagel slicer to go with it; my sister had a bagel just so she could use that - sausages, egg, a range of pastries (including my favourite, the pain au chocolat), toast and too many more to name in just one blog post. Needless to say, I didn't get the chance to try all of this, much to my disappointment!

For lunch, we went to the Beach Hut and I had the best fries EVER (and I've eaten a lot of good fries) as well as a delicious chicken burger. It was so yummy and perfect - I'm so hungry right now!!

Dinner was also nice, we had the children's buffet for one night, for younger kids, and the more grown-up one where I had some really tender pork and some chunky chips. And the chocolate mousses which I had for dessert both nights were heavenly.


Surfing - Extreme Academy

Now, I have NEVER surfed in my life, but it is something I have always wanted to do. So when I found out that as part of this trip I was going on a surf lesson, I was VERY excited! Our instructor was really nice and friendly. We started with some simple bodyboarding (which I haven't done before either!) Whilst I was freezing at on the beach, once you got going you going it was so much fun.

And then we started trying to stand up...

I fell over so many times - but it wasn't as bad as I'd anticipated, in fact I loved falling in! Finally, a big wave comes, paddle paddle and I'm up, with some cool surfer moves (Okay, so a little exaggerated, but I did it). It was such a thrilling and exhilarating experience, I can't wait to go again *hint hint Mum*!

Kids Club

The second night, my siblings and I were going to WGB's XA Club. I'm not going to lie, we weren't very pleased about this. Until we saw exactly what there was! There were computers, movies to watch, table tennis, so many different games, popcorn, Just Dance, Fifa and other computer games, books, Pac man,  and so many more. The leaders were really good fun (although not very good at Charades - how can you miss Toy Story!?!)

And when my parents did turn up to collect us, I didn't want to leave, and then decided to come back the next morning!!!

Swimming Pool

The pool at WGB is very large and ever so beautiful, with huge windows so we could see the beach whilst we swam, which was stunning. Also, the temperature was just perfect, warm from the moment we got in; I never wanted to it to end! There was also a shallow area for children who aren't very strong swimmers, alongside the main bit, and I had so much fun and while I swimming my mum had what she said was 'the best massage ever'.

Overall, I had an absolutely AMAZING time in Watergate Bay Hotel, and would love to come again. They had so many fun activities for kids - surfing, swimming, hanging out in the Kids Club and of course eating is pretty much my ideal weekend! And with the beach as its front garden, it was in a perfect destination with stunning views, and I LEARNT HOW TO SURF (I still can't get over that)! This is such a chilled, family friendly hotel, and I cannot express how much I recommend this for all families.

If you are ever planning on visiting Cornwall as a family, then its definitely worth checking out Watergate Bay Hotel - your kids will LOVE it!


*Disclosure: A one night complimentary stay for 5 was provided by Watergate Bay Hotel in return for this review, including a surf lesson for 2. This post has been in no way affiliated or sponsored, and all opinions are entirely my own*

Like London & LOVE the Athenaeum

Hello everyone! I got back from my AMAZING once-in-a-lifetime experience at the Athenaeum hotel in Mayfair, London a week ago. When they offered me the chance to come and review it, I snatched the opportunity - so glad I did!

I'm going to start off with the kids' concierge, as that's what really made this stay special!

Kids concierge (and other services)

When we checked in, Ana, the kids' concierge, immediately came to greet us, and offered us several cool things like:

- a Playstation or Wii
- DVDs (and popcorn)
- Frisbees
- Scooters
- Games

How cool is that?  I've never stayed at a hotel where they offered all this stuff for kids.  When we first went out (to Spitalfields Market, but that's another blog post!), we came back and found some shortbread, glasses of milk, some little houses to paint, colouring in books and an assortment of DVDs and Wii games, that were especially picked just for us, lying in our room! Amazing.

Enjoying popcorn in our room with a DVD

They also contact you before hand, to find out your personal likings (favourite food, books, films, magazines etc.) so that they could especially prepare it before you got there, although unfortunately, we didn't get the chance to experience this! Kids concierge: 6/5




The sight from first arriving (please do excuse photo quality)!

Room

One of the most important things about staying in a hotel is the size, quality, niceness etc. of the actual accommodation. We were staying together in a twin park room, which had a lovely view of the gorgeous Green Park! And the beds were seriously the Comfiest Beds Ever! Our room included:

1. En-suite bathroom
2. Free wi-fi (essential!)
3. Flat-screen TV (which had my name on!)
4. Safe
5. Slippers and bathrobes
6. Hairdryer
7. Coffee-making machine

And much much more! Room: 5/5

Food (breakfast and dinner)

We also had breakfast and dinner in the hotel which was great! There was a children's menu with: sausages, pizza, mac & cheese, chicken and more, so no worries for fussy children (me!). The food was quick, and tasted yummy!



Me and my delicious breakfast - bacon and pancakes - yum!

I had pizza which was great, and Ines had sausages which were good. Then for breakfast, I had pancakes and bacon with maple syrup, pastries from the larder and hot chocolate which was the Nicest Hot Chocolate Ever ! Food: 4/5

Overall rating and opinions

Overall, this was by far the best hotel I've ever stayed in! The services were great, and they've really thought about how to make their child guests happy. Great location, food, rooms, decor and staff. I'm genuinely really sad that's its over! Definitely rated 5 out of 5, and seriously, if you're going, with a family to London for a break and want to stay in a great hotel, this is really family-friendly and PERFECT for any family or couple to stay in!

The view from our room of George's Park!

For this review, I was given an overnight stay for 3 in the Athenaeum and breakfast and dinner. In no way was I rewarded by money or any other sort. All views expressed in this post are solely mine, and I would genuinely recommend The Athenaeum Hotel a LOT! Thank you to the staff at The Athenaeum for hosting me!

Love it: Supreme Ski!

So, you might not know but I have actually been skiing these last few days in Courchevel, France. It was my first time skiing ever but I absolutely LOVE IT; it is amazing, exhilarating and I will definitely be going again. Because it is my first time though, I needed a good instructor, as skiing is VERY hard, especially if you've never been before!

Look at that beauty (the scenery, not us)! Try and spot me!

We were skiing with Supreme Ski & Snowboard School, a professional, qualified ski school, with great (and very patient) instructors. I started in the Beginner group, with Scott, but within the first 10 minutes of the lesson, I was moved up into a different group, and my teacher was called Nick, also one of Supreme's directors. He was very patient with me, and the other ski pupils. I fell over more than lots, and each time Nick would stop and wait, however many times it happened.

Nick is also really fun, friendly, and he makes the skiing really enjoyable, whilst teaching us with fun exercises, taking us through each instruction clearly . Whether you've been skiing loads before, or are a complete newbie, I would definitely recommend Supreme Ski And Snowboard School to all!