Our family holiday to Australia - Part 2: Sydney

...So, after two weeks in Victoria, we travelled to New South Wales with Virgin Australia.

I can only imagine how beautiful the bays of Sydney and the surrounding area must have been for James Cook to have (re)named it after Wales. There are very few similarities now, unless you head out of the city. The botanic gardens and beaches are beautiful and the Sydney opera house and bridge make stunning landmarks, but it's not until you travel for over an hour outside the city, that you get any idea of what Australia might have one looked like.

During our stay in Oz, we've learned about the indigenous aboriginal people, culture, art and traditions ...something the British history books and classes seem to miss out. We've seen some amazing indigenous art in the Art Gallery of NSW and an interesting exhibition on aboriginal culture in the Australian Museum. It was uncomfortable at times to read the stories of stolen land and children taken from their families, but something I feel I must mention.

Anyway, back to the review...we stayed in the suburb of Rozelle; around a 20 minute bus-ride from the centre, and within easy reach of a selection of bars, cafes and restaurants, in neighbouring Balmain. Getting around Sydney was easy enough on the buses and ferries. Like Melbourne, you need to buy a travel pass, called an Opal (based on London's Oyster Card apparently). Of course, we had to visit the harbour bridge and opera house, which are in the heart of the city, near the beautiful botanic gardens. I was surprised to find they were so close together, as they don't appear that way on TV. I had hoped to be in awe of these fantastic structures, as so many of my friends and family have been, but alas, they looked like a pointy building and a big, metal bridge to me!

Food-wise, Sydney was pretty similar to Melbourne, except there seemed to be more European/Middle-Eastern influences and slightly less Asian. Vegetarian and vegan food was plentiful in both restaurants and shops, so we had no shortage of good food to eat. Lunches in cafes and restaurants were full-on meals with ubiquitous avocados and salad, not light snacks and sandwiches, so we often look a picnic out with us, which saved money too. We found that Greek and Middle-Eastern restaurants were the best bet for a vegetarian light lunch or dinner, but these were out in the suburbs, not in the city .

On an Aussie Masterchef theme again, we ate at the trendy Wilhemina's restaurant (fronted by last years' forth-placed contestant Jamie Fleming) and tried some delicious cake and pastries from guest chef, Adriano Zumbo's patisserie.
Towards the end of our holiday, we were craving a good (British-Indian) curry and luckily both the Indian Palace and Manjits in Balmain delivered on taste and price. The only thing lacking was a good naan (maybe they don't have tandoor ovens in Australia), as the naans in both places were small, round, pale affairs, not the big, puffy pillows of bread we get in the UK! They also had puny pappadoms...no idea why that is!

As a city, we found Sydney to be big, brash and busy, so a highlight for us all was the tranquil, and small but perfectly formed, Chinese Garden of Friendship in China Town. You really wouldn't believe you were in the city centre, unless you looked up to see the skyscrapers surrounding it. Another must-do was the stunning coastal walk from Coogee beach to Bondi, which took us around and hour and a half with plenty of photo opportunities. Unfortunately, there were no Bondi Rescue life guards on duty when we got there! Talking of beaches, we also took the ferry from Circular Quay to visit Manly and Watson's Bay. Even in the winter, it was warm enough to have a paddle and a picnic on the beach, which was lovely. It was also well worth travelling out to the vast Blue Mountains to get a taste of real, rural Australia.

After four busy weeks down-under, it was time for another mammoth flight back to the UK with Cathay Pacific. I don't know when or if we''ll ever travel back to Oz, but this was a holiday we'll never forgot. Pin It

Our family holiday to Australia - Part 1: Melbourne

If I was an organised blogger, I would have had a couple of posts up my sleeve, scheduled them to publish whilst I was away, and you'd have been none the wiser. As I'm not, I thought I'd better explain where I am ! I don't post many personal anecdotes, so if you're looking for a recipe, feel free to ignore my holiday ramblings ...

My long time followers, if there are any, may remember my rather self-indulgent post about my friend and her family emigrating to Australia. My brother and sister-in-law also emigrated a few years earlier (you see a pattern emerging here?!) so it's been a mission for us to save up enough money for us to visit them all, before the girls left home. As Miss Ony took her GCSEs this year, we thought this summer would be a good time to go; luckily, Mr O's boss was agreeable to him taking an extended holiday.

As we're tied to school holidays, flight prices were never going to be cheap. By initially using flight price-checking websites and then comparing fares for individual airlines, I eventually found suitable, affordable flights with Cathay Pacific - the cheapest were with Malaysian Airlines! Cathay Pacific were great to fly with and had pretty comfortable seats, but it's a long flight no matter how far the seats recline and we were all very happy to finally land in Australia after 27 hours.

So far, we've spent 2 weeks in Melbourne. Despite the chilly winter weather (yes it's winter here - which seemed to come as a shock to some of my friends!!), we've had a great time seeing my friend and her family, plus of course, the sights of Melbourne. We've also eaten some great food...see, this is a kind of a foodie post after all!

We initially stayed at the Pegasus Apart'Hotel at the edge of the CBD for our first week, We decided on this accommodation, partly for the location and price (I got a discount by booking through Expedia), plus they offered free WiFi and had an indoor, heated  pool - great for the teenagers. The apartments were near Queen Victoria Market, which had an amazing deli hall and fruit/veg market, where we bought most of our food for our self-catered breakfasts and lunches. We found out that in winter, there's also a weekly night market every Wednesday - with street food, drink, craft stalls and live entertainment - we wrapped up warmly and enjoyed an evening there.

Luckily, the exchange rates were in our favour! Restaurants in the city varied widely from cafes, budget restaurants (mainly East Asian) and pubs, to expensive steak and hotel/casino restaurants. There were plenty of vegetarian and vegan options available, including several exclusively vegetarian places, but basically, the more expensive the restaurant, the less veggie food was on the menu! We mainly stuck to the budget end of the market and ate some delicious food, including a yummy eggplant parma at the famous Mrs Parmas, but we did splash out one night and ate some beautifully presented, and very tasty Greek-inspired food at Gazi (one of Aussie Masterchef presenter George Calombaris' restaurants).

The public transport system was very easy to navigate, cheap and efficient. All the trams in the CBD are free, which is amazing. If venturing further afield, you need to purchase a MYKI card, which you then top up as needed - like an Oyster card, I'm told.

We've done plenty of the usual touristy things, including visiting the brilliant Melbourne Museum, the beautiful Botanic Gardens, seeing some amazing art by indigenous artists at the National Gallery of Victoria (Australia), a Yarra Valley wine tour and of course we've seen some of the unique, native Australian wildlife including koalas, wombats and kangaroos. 

After a week in the city, we moved out to the seaside resort of St Kilda at the Quest St. Kilda Bayside Apartments, again, we chose these apartments for their price and location (5 minutes walk from the beach and central St Kilda). Unfortunately, their free WiFi, was limited to 250mb per day, which basically equated to a few minutes checking social media - the girls were not impressed, so we ended up purchasing unlimited WiFi.

In the summer, St Kilda must be bustling with tourists and back packers, but in winter it was pretty quiet, although almost all of the restaurants, bars and shops were open. None-the-less, we enjoyed visiting the traditional European cake and chocolate shops, Luna Park, going on beach-side walks and seeing the wild colony of fairy penguins at the end of the pier. Our favourite eating place in St Kilda was the tiny 40 Thieves & Co Middle-Eastern restaurant - great food and friendly service. 

I'm not sure if it's on in the UK yet, but we've been watching Restaurant Revolution (one of the few Australian programmes on free-to-air TV). Some of the contestants have been running a pop-up restaurant in St Kilda, and we've enjoyed watching the queues build each day!

I can't believe how fast our first two weeks have gone. We're now packing for our next adventure in Sydney...

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The Hundred Foot Journey - A Book Review and Giveaway

After reviewing several cook books with narrative content, I was intrigued by the offer of a review copy of The Hundred Foot Journey, which is classed as Foodie Fiction  - a genre new to me. 

Written by Richard C. Morais, The Hundred-Foot Journey has recently been made into a film starring Helen Mirren . The film will be released in the US on 8th August and in the UK on 12th September. It tells the story of a culinary war between a boisterous Indian family who open a restaurant in a sleepy French village opposite a renowned Michelin-starred chef. 

The book tells the life story of Hassan, a budding young Indian chef whose career takes off in a very different direction to the one his family have planned for him, after they move first to England and then to France. There are touching and sometimes tragic scenes, as well as many humorous moments, as Hassan gains recognition for his culinary skills, much to (acclaimed French chef) Mme Mallory's disdain. It is Hassan's journey though, both physical and emotional, which grips the reader and shocks his family. 

Detailed descriptions of the Hassan's ingredients, menus and culinary skills are paramount to the story, however, I must point out (as a vegetarian) that this is not a book for the squeamish, as there are also passages depicting animal slaughter and butchery. I personally would have liked slightly more detail about Hassan's family, culture and the Maison Mumbai restaurant and slightly less about French haute cuisine, but maybe that's just me!

Having read the book, I can't wait to see the film, as I can imagine that Helen Mirren will play the formidable Mme Mallory very well.

Watch the film trailer here...

I have two copies of the book to giveaway (UK only). Just enter on the Rafflecopter widget below and leave me a comment to tell me which you favourite type of cuisine is. Competition ends midnight 24th August '14.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Integrity Statement

I received one copy of the book to review and 2 copies to giveaway.  The views expressed are genuinely those of myself and my family.

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The cheapest cabin-sized baggage?

Do excuse this slightly random and not-at-all food-related post, but I've recommended this case on several different forums and thought it would be easier to post here to save repeating myself!

If, like me, you favour budget airlines and independently-booked accommodation over package holidays, you might be interested to know that IKEA currently have a cabin-sized foldable case for just £12 (with a free, Ikea Family Card). Ikea's Upptacka case measures 48cm x 34cm x 20cm, so is well within the hand luggage constraints of all major budget airlines... as far as I know.

Slightly frustratingly (as we tried so hard to find a budget-priced case to fit in with Ryanair's required baggage dimensions), we've used ours twice already and it has ended up in the hold, but has survived to tell the tale! Do label your case though, as if it ends up in the hold it may well be one of several identical cases on the carousel!

Integrity Statement

I purchased this case myself and have not been offered any incentive for a review.

Image courtesy of Ikea.

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Foxholes Castle campsite in Shropshire - a review

We spent a fabulous few days at Foxholes Castle Campsite, in sunny Shropshire, over half term. Yes, the sun actually shined on us for practically the whole weekend, which hasn't happened to us for about three years! I did, of course, pack the precautionary wellies and waterproof coats, but luckily we didn't need them at all.

Foxholes is located just outside the pretty village town of Bishop's Castle. While the site caters for caravans, camper-vans and tents (plus two on-site statics and a bunk house), there are no electric hook ups and most of the fields are gently sloping, so tenters were actually in a majority, which was a pleasant surprise.

Facility-wise, the site has a recently built toilet block with solar powered showers and rain-water/well-water flushed loos; these were clean and spider-free and impressively, the solar powered showers were hot too! There is also a covered washing-up area, campers' freezer, fridge and phone re-charging point and extensive waste recycling facilities. Most importantly for us though, was the availability of fire pits for hire (£3 per stay) and fire logs (£3 per bag).

One thing I must have a little gripe about though, is their charge for teenagers. While I have no desire to share a site with hoards of rampaging teens, I equally feel that parents sharing a pitch with responsible teens should not be penalised. Our stay per night with a 12 and 14 year old was £24, but this will go up to £28 per night next year as both girls will be classed as adults. However, if we had two children under 12, the cost would have been a very reasonable £20 per night. I really don't see how 13 year olds can be classed as adults when sharing a tent with their parents, especially on such and isolated, rural site, which really isn't going to appeal to those who want to wreak havoc and disturb other campers!

On a plus point, we booked our pitch as a last minute getaway after seeing the good weather forecast. On arrival, the friendly owner offered us a choice of  'pitches' which, as there is no electric hook ups or hard standing, basically meant we could find a space anywhere we liked! We chose a spot on the gently sloping and very spacious main tent field. The outlook over the beautiful Shropshire countryside was amazing.

If you enjoy walking, the Stiperstones, the Long Mynd and the Shropshire Way are all within easy reach of Bishop's Castle; we also visited Mitchell's Fold stone circle and Powis Castle. I must just mention the Stiperstones Inn, where we received a warm welcome and had a lovely lunch after a walk across the Stiperstones ridge. This traditional pub serves a good range of clearly marked vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free snacks, sandwiches and meals (plus meat-based meals, of course!) and can prepare other dishes on request, depending on your dietary requirements.

Evening entertainment for us consisted of of stroll through fields along the Shropshire Way into Bishop's Castle for a drink in the local micro brewery, the Three Tuns, followed by a slightly slower stroll back to the campsite and dinner around the campfire. We smelt like smoked kippers, but we had a great time!

I would thoroughly recommend Foxholes to anyone who enjoys 'real' camping, and we certainly hope to return in the not to distant future. 

Integrity Statement
This holiday was taken at my own expense. I did not receive payment or any incentives from any of the businesses/websites mentioned. 

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When is a child not a child?

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When is a child not a child? When they go out for a meal, go on holiday or visit an event or tourist attraction apparently! As a parent of 12 and 14 year old children, this REALLY annoys me.

These money-grabbing companies have decided that childhood should end somewhere between 8 and 16 (and usually at 12 for some reason)...but strangely, our adult-children get no extra perks except for having the privilege of paying a higher price than their infant equivalents; indeed, most of these companies also state that children under 16 or 18 must be accompanied by an adult. If they'e paying an adult price, surely they should count as an adult?

Kids' meals
These seem to have the widest variation in age restrictions, with some restaurants even deciding on eligibility for kids' meals by height, which is hardly fair! 

I've always tended to ignore these age requirements and if my girls want a kids' meal, I order them one, however some places are stricter about this than others. Take Disney for example - in the magical world of Disney dining, childhood officially ends at just 10 years of age! This actually worked to our advantage when we were there, as we got free dining, so then 10 year old Miss Kahonie qualified for adults' meals, which had better menu choices for vegetarians. Those with fussy eaters may well want to order from the kids' menu though. This is possible, but only if you've paid for an adult meal! Surely parents should be able to choose whether their child eats from the kids' or adults' menu and pay accordingly? 

It would also be nice to be able to order a smaller or half portion from the adults' menu, especially for tweens and young teens. Some Indian and Italian restaurants offer this option, but this still seems a rarity in the UK. 

Theme parks, tourist attractions and museums
Most UK theme parks seem to have come to the agreement that childhood ends at 12, whereas major tourist attractions and museums (with an entry fee) seem to prefer to end childhood at 14 or 16.

The exceptions to this are of course the US theme parks, including Disney and Universal Studios, where childhood again ends at the tender age of 10. Even though you'll have to pay full price for your 10 year old, they won't be able to go on all the rides, as these have height restrictions.

Holidays and flights
12 seems to be the general cut off for most airlines and budget tour operators, whereas 16 seems to be the cut off for most major travel agents. Do 13 year olds, suddenly take up more space on a plane?

I would like to see a national age limit of 16 or 18 (if still in full time education) set for child prices in the UK. Of course most 16 year olds won't want a kids' meal, but they should certainly be charged a child's rate when visiting tourist attractions - after all, it's us parents who pay for them to get in! 

So there you go. Rant over for now.

Do let me know the most outrageous and annoying kids' age restrictions you've come across, by leaving me a comment.

Just in case you were wondering when childhood officially ends, here's the  NSPCC's Legal definition of a child'.

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Fuengirola on a budget - a review

Over the Easter holidays, we went to Fuengirola on the Cost Del Sol in Spain, for a budget week away. Fuengirola was far more 'Spanish' and cosmopolitan than I expected. It's a working town and port rather than just a tourist resort, so was quite busy even in low season. Although there were plenty of British bars, they were quite low key and scattered between other bars, restaurants and shops.

The resort had a long sandy beach, which sloped gently into the sea, so it would be ideal for families with children of all ages.  

Budget
My top tips for booking a cheap holiday are to book flights directly with a budget airline, watching out for extra costs such as luggage charges. Then look for the best deal for your accommodation.This may be booking directly with the owner, or booking through a low-cost travel broker. I always look at Trip Advisor for reviews and then pick accommodation with the highest star rating for the lowest cost! By booking separately rather than booking a package, we saved several hundred pounds. However, it's worth remembering that you get more financial protection if you book a package holiday through an ABTA/ATOL registered travel agent.

We stayed in the cheap and cheerful Ronda 4 Apartments, which were right by the beach in the quiet area of Los Boliches. We were really please with the location and the quality of the accommodation and would be happy to stay there again.

Food
Before going, I did a bit of research on vegetarian-friendly restaurants in the area. It's worth knowing that vegetarianism is still viewed as a strange concept to many Spanish people and that ham, meat-stock, fish and lard are sometimes included in dishes which may appear vegetarian on the menu. For example, when we were last in Spain I ordered a green salad along with a pizza. The salad came topped with tuna!

I found a couple of useful guides before I went: one from Span Expat and one from Piccavey.
I also discovered that there are several exclusively vegetarian restaurants in the area. We visited two of them: El Vegetariano in Malaga (in a side street just behind the castle) and Restaurante Vegetalia on Calle Santa Isobel in Fuengirola.

El Vegetariano served a full menu for lunch and dinner, with a range of tapas dishes as well as main meals, whereas Restaurate Vegetalia had an all-you-can-eat lunchtime buffet and an a la carte dinner menu. Both restaurants were surprisingly busy and had a good atmosphere. The food in both places was great and there were various vegan options.

We found plenty of other veggie-friendly places to eat in Fuengirola along the paseo (beach front). There were several Indian restaurants, all offering a selection of vegetable dishes plus a good choice of Italian restaurants serving a limited selection of vegetarian pizza and pasta dishes. There was a lot of competition, so the prices were really reasonable.

We self-catered for lunches and breakfasts. There were several large supermarkets (and loads of mini-markets) and we found that most food and drink was a little cheaper than in the UK. We also noticed a couple of health food shops: Bio Casa Health and Bio Natura. Although we didn't go into them, they may well stock vegan foods such as dairy-free milk if you need them.

Integrity Statement
This holiday was taken at my own expense. I did not receive payment or any incentives from any of the businesses/websites mentioned. 

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Self catering abroad? Travel essentials

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I've got to admit that I'm a bit of an obsessive planner when it comes to holidays. I love holidays and want them to go well, so I do plenty of research beforehand (accommodation, beaches, public transport, local restaurants serving vegetarian options etc.), to make sure we chose the right resort and have a great time when we're there. We generally stay in self-catering, budget accommodation in Greece and to keep costs down once we're there, I pack various 'essential' items, which some family members seem to find a little over-the-top!

It's worth knowing that kitchens in Greek self-catering accommodation are often very small and basic (see photo). You will generally have a 2 ring electric hob, a fridge and a sink, plus one set of basic crockery and cutlery. Microwaves, toasters and even kettles can be scarce, so check reviews or contact the owner before travelling to make sure you have everything you need.

Foods to take :
These foods tend to be expensive in Greece as they are imported.

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• Breakfast cereals
• Teabags/coffee
• Marmite (squeezy in plastic jar)
• Peanut butter (in plastic jar)
• Packets of dried veggie burger/sausage mix (not available in Greece).
• Small sachets of herbs/spices

Kitchen equipment:

• Washing up liquid - decanted into a small bottle
• Tea towel
• Ice cube bags/tray
• Sponge scourer/dish cloth
• Corkscrew/bottle opener
• Small sharp kitchen knife in original packaging
• Small plastic sandwich bags to wrap sandwiches etc.
• Adaptor plugs

Equipment to take for picnics on the beach:

• Picnic mat/s with waterproof backing
• Small insulated cool bag (use small frozen water bottles as ice packs)
• Small beach parasol 

Depending on accommodation reviews, you might want to buy these in the UK and leave them in resort or pass them on to fellow holiday makers:

• Small 2 slice toaster
• Travel kettle/small kettle

Although we generally eat out most evenings, I prepare a basic breakfast and lunch each day, which really helps to keep down the cost.

Laundry

• Travel wash
• Camping washing line and a few pegs

Basics to buy in resort:

• Fresh bread each day (enough for breakfast and lunch)
• Jam/marmalade
• Fruit juice
• Water
• Soft drinks, beer etc for an evening drink on the balcony!
• Fresh fruit/salad ingredients
• Small bottle of vegetable oil
• Eggs (omelettes, fried eggs etc)
• Cheese
• Butter
• Ice-creams - much cheaper at the supermarket, than from your hotel/apartment!

If you're travelling on a very strict budget and want to cater for all your own meals, try some of my camping recipes, for simple, budget-friendly meals which can be cooked on a 2 ring hob. 

Rachel has some more great family holiday tips and ideas over at Midlife Single Mum.

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Farewell and bon voyage!

image from istockphoto

This is a sad post for me to write. I'm about to lose one of my oldest and closest friends (I'll call her Scarlet as I think she'd like that!), as she's emigrating with her family to Australia today. Well, I suppose I'm not really going to lose her as we'll be in regular contact thanks to the modern wonders of Skype and Facebook, but that's how it feels. 

Scarlet and I met at uni many years ago and soon realised we both had a similar outlook on life and taste in music (and luckily not a similar taste in men!). 

During our uni days, we passed many a happy hour at the student union when we probably should have been studying at the library or writing assignments, and while other friends moved on to pastures new, we remained living in the same town after we graduated. Our lives changed quite drastically over the years, but we were there for each other through the highs and the lows. 

We often moaned about our jobs and gossiped about our respective work colleagues, either over the phone or over a cup of tea and a piece of cake. She was a bridesmaid at my wedding and my girls were bridesmaids at hers; we celebrated our 30th birthdays together and commiserated when we hit 40! 

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I'm not sure if she's ever read my blog (she knows I write one, but I haven't told her what it's called!), but if you do, Scarlet, I'm really going to miss you and my girls will miss your children just as much.

To make this post slightly food-related and slightly less self-indulgent, here's a photo of the Bon Voyage cake I made for Scarlet and her family!

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Beautiful Days Festival 2012 - A review

The law of averages should have meant that our third festival of the year was a dry one, having been to two wet and muddy festvals earlier in the year, but no; when we arrived at the rural Devon campsite for our first Beautiful Days festival it was peeing down with precipitation.

We parked the car, loaded up the trolley and then headed on down the hill to the family camping areas. We settled on a spot away from the main paths (which turned out to be a good idea as the paths soon turned into muddy canals!), but fairly near a set of portaloos and a water tap. Once the tent was pitched, we cracked open a beer (and a couple of cans of Coke for the girls), sat in the tent and hoped it would stop raining; it did briefly, giving me just enough time to cook up some veggie burgers for tea, but then started again and continued for the rest of the night...

Friday was the first proper day of the festival and after waking up and finding the tent had leaked in the night (oh the joys of camping!), I cooked breakfast in the rain. We then headed off through the by now rather squelchy campsite, to see the Levellers kick off with an amazing acoustic set in the very packed Big Top. We explored the rest of the festival site in the afternoon and were impressed by the number of food and craft stalls. There were plenty of veggie and vegan options, although the food was a little pricey, as festival food always is. There was also a 'general store' which sold basic foods like bread, juice, milk, cheese and eggs at a reasonable price. 

We weren't quite as impressed with the number of portaloos available which often meant a good 15 minute or so wait, followed by a treacherous amble through the quagmire that surrounded each line of toilets...not so easy to navigate for those with young children (or after a couple of drinks!)

The kids' area ©

The festival won the best family festival award last year and I could see why; as well as family-friendly entertainment each morning in the theatre tent, the designated kids' areas looked great, with everything from fairground rides and craft activities to theatre and music workshops, but the girls felt too old for the kids' activities (accompanied by us) and too young for the teenagers' tent (where understandably, no parents were allowed!). Instead we all stayed together and watched various other acts that day, including a couple of lesser known bands at the small and intimate Bimble Inn and ending up with a fantastic set by Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls back on the Main Stage.

By Saturday the weather had started to pick up, but the ground underfoot was beyond redemption even inside the marquees (thank goodness I packed the wellies and waterproof picnic mat!). Luckily The Bar-Steward Sons Of Val Doonican were our first stop at the Band Stand and they soon made us forget about the mud with their humorous renditions of familiar songs with alternative lyrics...Waterloo Portaloo particularly made us laugh, especially when the portaloo cleaning crew turned up to empty the adjacent toilets halfway through the song!

Next stop was the Big Top to watch The Jam Tarts Choir (singing choral versions of indie/rock songs), which was a refreshing change from the usual festival acts and went down well with the crowd. Later on, we only caught a few Billy Bragg songs, despite me being a fan since the 80's, as by the time he came on the weather had picked up and the sun was shining. Unfortunately this had the effect of turning the Big Top into a sauna with the evaporating moisture from all the mud! Instead, we found a nice spot up on the bank in the main arena and settled down to watch the remaining acts on the Main Stage, which included Bellowhead, New Model Army and PIL.

Sunday started with another grey morning, but soon brightened up both weather-wise and visually with the colourful selection of festival goers' heart-themed attire (the dressing-up theme for Sunday was hearts, if you hadn't guessed); we felt slightly under dressed in our shop-bought, heart emblazoned T-Shirts, as some of the other outfits were real works of art.

After seeing a couple of acts at the Band Stand, we watched the hilarious Le Navet Bete's  - Napoleon A Defence in the theatre tent. We then headed to find our usual spot in the main arena, which was already getting pretty full. The girls and I hit the shops while Mr O soaked up the ambience and a pint of cider. We all watched the last acts on the Main Stage together, which included Alabama 3, Waterboys and of course the Levellers once again with a rousing firework finale.

So did we have a beautiful time at Beautiful Days? Yes!

Part of the family camping area ©

Overall, we were really impressed with the organisation and layout of the festival, the wide range of acts and the general family-friendly, laid-back atmosphere. My only criticisms were that there weren't enough toilets,the showers were a long way from the family camping area, and that a few more contingencies could have been made for the expected mud, especially around the portaloos and main pathways, such as boarding or extra bark chippings etc to soak up some of the moisture. I have since heard about instances of  'youths' up to nocturnal mischief and mayhem in some of the other camping areas, but luckily we didn't witness this first hand and were actually impressed with the behaviour of the vast majority of fellow festival-goers.

You can read my festival guide with meal ideas here.
Visit Festival Kidz for more family-friendly festival reviews, tips and info.

Integrity Statement
I paid for the tickets to Beautiful Days myself and was not asked to write a positive review. The views expressed are my own and those of my family.

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Bearded Theory Festival 2012 - a review

© Essential festival items!

We went to the Bearded Theory festival last year and to be honest, despite the line up, we weren't that impressed with the lack of space in the camping area and the (un)helpfulness of the stewards. This year, we hesitated before booking...partly due to our previous experience and partly due to the cost...and before we reached a firm decision, it was sold out! Amazingly, we were lucky enough to win tickets thanks to a competition I spotted on Festival Kidz, and before we knew it we were packed up and ready to go, hoping we'd be able to find a space to pitch without too many problems.

Thankfully, the organisation was much better this year, although it did feel slightly odd to cart all of our gear across the main arena to get to the camp-site! We trudged right down to the bottom of the camping area and easily found a flat space to pitch in the quiet family area...this was a big improvement on last year's cramped pitch of mole hills, nettles and thistles! Unfortunately it started raining as we arrived, so we had to pitch quickly before our stuff got wet....but such are the joys of camping in the UK.

© Family camping area

Although the weather was pretty cold and dismal for the whole weekend, the mornings were dry enough for me to get out the camp stove and make a cup of tea and a cooked breakfast for us all.

Portaloos and water taps were spaced out well throughout the camping areas and arena and were kept fairly clean (that's if you're used to festival toilets!). There were showers available too (for a fee), but we didn't use them due to the queues.

There was a good range of different genres of music during the festival, from folk and acoustic to dance and rock - so something to suit all the family. The Angel Gardens kids area looked better than last year too, and offered music workshops, craft activities, theatre and puppet shows plus a baby-care area and even two dedicated kids-only toilets! At 11 and 13 years old, my kids felt they were too grown up to go in though.

© Angel Gardens kids area

There was a decent variety of food outlets, including many which provided vegetarian and vegan options. The onsite shop sold essential groceries such as bread, milk and snacks too. Bar prices were reasonable, although most people (us included) chose to bring our own alcoholic drinks, which we were allowed to bring into the main arena area.

We saw some great bands over the weekend including headliners Adam Ant (replacing the Levellers, who were absent due a fiddle-related injury!) and The Damned. Other notable acts that we particularly enjoyed were Ferocious Dog, Terrorvision, Chumbawamba and Mark Chadwick (from the sadly missing Levellers!). We heard Wheatus (of Teenage Dirtbag fame) from outside the Tornado Town big top, as we didn't get there early enough to get a decent spot after decamping and lugging everything back to the car. My only criticism of the festival this year is that Wheatus and Mark Chadwick should have been on the main stage, as both drew large crowds which spilt out of the tent.

© Mud!

We had to leave before Dreadzone - the Sunday night headliners, but of course before we left, we had to take part in the hilarious fake beard record breaking attempt, donning our Poundland stick-on beards and moustaches and looking pretty suave. A beard-wearing baby scooped the prize for best beard and won tickets to next year's festival...aawww!

Bearded Theory Festival takes place at Kedleston Hall, Derbyshire. For more information, visit Bearded Theory.

More posts on family festivals, camping recipes, kids' camping food ideas.  Pin It

Vegetarian dining in Albufeira, Portugal

As always, I did a bit of foodie research before my recent trip to Portugal, to see what sort of choice we would have when eating out. I found a very helpful website called Algarve Uncovered which has loads of useful information including shopping tips and useful phrases for vegetarians and vegans.

As expected, on our first evening out, we found that meat and fish featured heavily on the Portuguese menus and traditional vegetarian dishes seemed non-existent, in the bustling tourist resort of Albufeira. The ubiquitous chicken piri piri seemed to be the most popular dish - it's a shame that vegetable or mushroom piri piri weren't available! 

Having said that, there were so many different cuisines on offer that vegetarians were fairly well catered for and vegans wouldn't go hungry. Vegetarian pizza and pasta seemed to be on many menus, but if you fancied something more exotic, you could find veggie options in the many Chinese, Indian, British and even Mexican restaurants in the area.

For our first meal out we thought we'd play it safe and try a restaurant with a decent veggie selection on its menu. The girls went for pizza, I ordered spaghetti with Algarve sauce (after checking that the sauce was 'safe'), and Mr O plumped for chicken piri piri, of course.

When my dish arrived, it looked decidedly meaty...yes, you guessed it, they'd put chicken in my pasta sauce! I sent it back, but was rather suspicious about the returning plate minus chicken! Needless to say we didn't leave a tip and didn't return there!

One restaurant that deserves a special mention is Eurasia, which is a mainly vegetarian/vegan buffet restaurant just off the main Albufeira strip.  For E6.50 you could choose from a wide range of starters, salads, main courses and a soup of the day. The menu seems to change daily and updates are posted on their Facebook page.  They also offer one meat and one fish dish each day, to attract the hardened carnivores; These dishes were kept separate and covered, so it really didn't have an impact on the veggie-vibe of the place!

The lady who runs the restaurant asked Miss Kahonie if she was vegetarian, and when she confirmed that she was, the lady told her that she would grow up to be more beautiful than the girls who eat meat! I thought that was really sweet, as the girls don't often hear positive comments about being veggie.

We definitely prefer Greece for the range of fresh vegetable-based veggie food available on almost every menu, but Albufeira, Portugal really wasn't too bad! Pin It

Vegetarian dining in Disney World - part 3

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Well done if you've made it through parts one and two of my Disney dining guide. Here's part three...which is kind of a review, plus a few more tips...

Making Advance Dining Reservations (ADRs)

If you book your table service (TS) meals in advance, you can place a dietary restriction on your restaurant reservations, but as vegetarian and vegan aren't options on the online booking form (for some strange reason), I went for a shellfish allergy! This strategy seemed to work well. All restaurants we had booked for, except Wolfgang Puck Cafe, confirmed details of my 'allergy' when we arrived and all seemed relieved, when I said that my daughters and I were vegetarian and not allergic to anything!

If you're vegan or have any genuine food allergies, I would suggest that you email your requests once you've booked your ADRs, to: SpecialDiets@DisneyWorld.com. State your reservation numbers, where you will be eating each day and what you can/can't eat (one recommendation on Disboards says that it might be a better option to state that you are vegetarian with an egg and dairy allergy, rather than vegan). We didn't do this, as I was confident that we would be able to find something vegetarian that we would all eat in the restaurants I had booked at.

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The waiting staff were generally knowledgeable about the menus, and asked the appropriate questions about whether we ate eggs and dairy. In the buffet restaurants, they offered to ask the chef to give us the tour of the buffet, to let us know what was suitable, which we accepted each time (surely it would be easier to label foods with a V for vegetarian though!)

Several non-buffet restaurants were able to vegetarianise meals by leaving the meat/fish part out, but the vast majority of our meals contained some cheese or dairy, so vegans would need to check whether this could be left out of their meals. 

If you want to take a gamble, try to find out where Chef TJ is working and book a meal there (apparently he doesn't work in the same restaurant each night). Chef TJ has reputation for cooking great vegetarian food - just Google him to find out more.


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Luckily, we found him working at 1900 Park Fare the night we ate there, and instead of the buffet on offer, which had quite a limited vegetarian selection, we were treated to a freshly cooked selection of starters and a main course for the same price. The characters there also made this a fabulous night out, as the ugly sisters, Cinderella and Prince Charming all gave a good performance as they went around the tables.

Our favourite places to eat in Disney World were:

Table Service

• Tusker House, Animal Kingdom - African/Asian buffet with lots of salads, rice, vegetable samosas, fresh fruit etc.
• Boma, Animal Kingdom Lodge - African buffet with lots of hot and cold vegetarian options. Dishes are generally sweet in taste with cinnamon, mild spices and dried fruits.
• Wolfgang Puck Cafe, Downtown Disney - Italian/American with several vegetarian pasta options, plus the offer of making omitting meat from a couple of other dishes. 
• Raglan Road, Downtown Disney - Irish pub food which serves real chips (not fries!) and fabulous desserts.
• Sanaa, Animal Kingdom Villas - South Asian/Indian food with a good choice for vegetarians and vegans. Dishes are quite spicy, so might not appeal to children.
• Hacienda, Epcot - Mexican with a separate vegetarian menu including 4 main courses (you need to ask for this as it's not on display).
• Cape May, Boardwalk/Crystal Palace, Magic Kingdom character breakfasts - Similar foods available at both with plenty of delicious pastries, breads, waffles and fresh fruits.
• Crystal Palace, Magic Kingdom lunch/dinner - Lots of tasty salads, fruits, pasta and desserts. Limited vegetarian hot food.
• 1900 Park Fare, Grand Floridian  - Great for characters and to sneak a peak at the Grand Floridian Hotel, but generally quite limited vegetarian options (pasta, salads, fruit and vegetarian sushi). Fantastic food if chef TJ is working there.

Counter Service

We weren't particularly impressed with the quick service options available, as the vegetarian options were often limited to one choice. We were very glad that we only got one counter service (CS) meal each day on our dining plan. The quick service dining plan (QSDP) includes 2 CS meals plus 2 snacks per day, which really wouldn't have suited us.

Our favourite CS locations were:

• Earl of Sandwich, Downtown Disney - Sandwiches, wraps and salads with a few vegetarian options.
• Wolfgang Puck Express, Downtown Disney - Vegetarian pasta and flat breads/pizza available.
• Restaurantosaurus, Animal Kingdom - only one vegetarian option (veggie sub with sweet potato fries) but it tasted good and there was a toppings bar available.
• Boulangerie Patisserie, Epcot (cheese tartine) / Main Street Bakery, Magic Kingdom (mozzerella and tomato focaccia roll) - again limited vegetarian savoury options but great pastries!
• La Cantina de San Angel, Epcot - one vegetarian option (cheese empanadas) but it was tasty and filling.

Snacks

There are plenty of snacks and drinks available if you are peckish or thirsty between meals. The best place to find out what counts as a snack on the dining plans is back on Disboards, where you'll find a snack credit thread which is updated each year. Frankly we didn't use many of our snack credits during our holiday, as we just didn't need any more food! We did enjoy the odd ice cream and frozen lemonade though, and we sometimes used them to buy pastries to eat for breakfast the next day. Snack credits can also be 'spent' on sweets and treats to take home  as presents.

To summarise, we were all pleasantly surprised at how good the food was in Disney generally, as we'd expected to see fries with everything. It's perfectly possible to find good quality, tasty vegetarian food, but be prepared to do your research before you go!

If you have any tips or recommendations to add, please feel free to add them in a comment below. Pin It

Vegetarian dining in Disney World - part 2

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If you haven't read part 1 of  vegetarian dining in Disney, I'll recap...my best advice is to plan your dining options in advance. If you like to be spontaneous and choose where to eat on the spur of the moment, don't! Firstly, you may find that the most popular table service restaurants are fully booked, especially during peak season. Secondly, you may find that there are no veggie options available on the menu (yes, really, not even one!)

The way around both of these issues, is to plan where to eat, book table service (sit-down/waiter-service meals) in advance and know where you can find the best veggie counter service and snack options. This might sound like a lot of fuss and bother, but in my opinion, it's worth it.

When planning your food options, your first stop should be AllEars.Net. This website is amazing - it lists up-to-date menus, vegetarian dining strategies  plus recommendations for vegetarian and vegan counter service (fast food) and table service dining locations.

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If you want to ask for recommendations or see picture of veggie meals available at Disney World, try the food forums on Disboards, in particular, the vegan/vegetarian dining help thread, or check out The Disney Food Blog.

There are various Disney Dining Plans available which can either save you money, or may be 'free' as part of your holiday package. We got the free, regular Dining Plan (DDP), which entitled us to one table service meal, one counter service meal and one snack each per day, which was more than enough food!


Veggie kids on the DDP
My kids are 10 and 12, so in Disney terms, that makes them adults! I wasn't impressed with paying adult prices for them, but with hindsight, I'm glad they were able to eat from the adults' menu at no extra cost, purely for the better selection this gave them - even though the portions were far too big for them most of the time. For lunch, the children generally shared a counter service meal.

If you have younger veggie children, I would suggest either paying extra to upgrade them as adults, eating mainly at buffet restaurants, or making sure in advance that the table service restaurants you want to eat at will be able to provide small portions from the adults' menu but at a the cost of a child's meal/DDP credit. If not, your children will be stuck with a very limited choice consisting of mainly pizza and macaroni cheese.  

Part 3 here... Pin It