I haven't had the chance to update you about our holiday yet, so I'm going to do that now! Inside my head it is already busy-busy-busy. You would think that we had a nice rest during our holiday and that I would now be completely zen. Unfortunately, that is only partially true. We are now in the getting used to new school mode, which means that my stress level is back on track, but more about that in a later blog 😉 . During the holiday we had a wonderful mix between relaxing and doing activities with children. A good method to clear our heads and we were really ready for that.
In the south the holidays started very late. So it was a very long year for us. The kids were overtired from school and our oldest's last week of camp added extra money. The pressure in our family was mounting and since we always have enough on our to-do list, the tension seemed almost too much. So much so that the chagrin could regularly be read off our faces. Our holiday therefore felt like a kind of rescue 😉 .
Table of contents
On to France, the town of Portiragnes-Plage, and then a week in Spain, in Miami Platja. Relax and exert yourself, because that's what we like. And that's not for nothing 😉 . If we don't do anything with the children (which of course happens every now and then), the children 'sink' into a kind of vacuum called lifeless-monsters-behind-the-technology. Do you recognize that?
Vacation means getting out of your tight rhythm. For my darlings, that means they spend the morning in pajamas. And that they crawl behind the technology in pajamas. And that once they're behind the technology, they're basically invisible to me all day long. Maybe you recognize that too! That they intentionally keep quiet to make sure they aren't seen and they can just sit on the couch all day to create square eyes?
If they start the morning with something active, my lifeless monsters will be much better for the rest of the day. But if they do start the day on the technique, then I have a challenge. That is the case at home, but also when we are on vacation. At least if we don't intervene.
That is why we decided for our last holiday in France and Spain not to take any technology with us. Don't we have anything with us? Then no monstrous phase can begin. It may at most be the case that an I-bored-me face is put on, but I have noticed that it will come back on its own 😉 .
It does take some crumbs, we have found, though. Before the holidays, we already started with 'pointless information' as we call it here at home. It is not possible for us to have a meaningful conversation about this subject. That is why we do not enter into a discussion, but simply 'announce' that the technology will stay at home on holiday. Except mom's laptop 😛 . The funny thing is that this - as long as we simply communicate it - is also accepted. As long as it's a holiday. And it did 😉 .
I read Henrike's blog, in which she wondered whether we enjoy our children enough; being a mother and having fun too. And I catch myself that maybe we don't always do that enough. Normally then. On holiday, we try to make up for that time in any case.
We are therefore of a bit of relaxation and also effort. We try to find a mix of activities that we all enjoy. Sometimes one is more enthusiastic than the other about an activity, but then we make sure that the next activity is more in line with the wishes of the other. Do you recognize that? Do you also plan the activities together with the children? Or does one person come up with it and the rest just follow along? It's really a group thing here. If we do this today, we will do that tomorrow. That works well, especially because the kids can also do some activities that they might not otherwise choose for themselves.
Provided that we certainly have a part of the day free for the beach, swimming pool or something similar on a number of days, we try to fill in the rest of the time a bit actively. We divide that over:
I'll show you below what we did on invitation this holiday.
A climbing forest is almost a must for us. We therefore often look for a campsite where we can have it on the campsite itself, or at least can find it nearby 😉 . Not for us specifically, but for the children. We used to take to the air ourselves, but nowadays they can do quite a bit independently and we encourage from the ground. So again this year. A holiday not climbed is a holiday not lived! Just check the photos.
At camping Les Sablons in France you can practice archery. Nice to do if you can do it, but also nice for Lotte to try what that is. I went for bacon and beans because Lotte was only allowed under supervision. Frank and Luc were doing a competition in the meantime 😉 . What pleasantly surprised me is that archery at the campsite is free! You register a day in advance for a certain time, you show up and hoppa, you can get started. Super fun!
They have mini golf at quite a few campsites, of course. This is also the case in Spain at Playa Montroig. We have to be a little careful with the miniature golf itself. Once Luc has been, he wants 😉 every day. So we always try to shift this to a little later in the week so that we don't have to spend every day on this beautifully landscaped golf course. Because well… you don't play miniature golf alone, but at least with two people. And even better… with mom and dad 😉 .
A foam party was organized once a week at both Eurocamp campsites. We were lucky, at both campsites we were present at the right time for the foam party. One big party I can say, and not just for the kids. I'm strongly thinking about setting up something like this for a kid's birthday 😉 . Fun for big and small guaranteed. Takes some getting used to in the beginning.
And then off….
Both campsites were also on the beach with us. And that gives water sports opportunities, yay!
Of course you can also do some activities with children yourself, that does not always have to be organized by a mini club!
We are fond of the game Keezen, you know that? And not the Keezen between parents, but a party game 😉 . It's a mix between Bullying and a kind of Human-annoy-you-not. You play it in teams of 2 and with our family you can do that! Lotte is also very handy with this game, so even if we sometimes do 'the parents against the children', that is no guarantee of profit for us. Below I play together with Lotte, the teams are always diagonally opposite each other.
And well, if you do that in the evening too, and you drop a pawn, you get this!
tip:Are you also a fan of games within the family? Then Keezen is really worth it. We have the wooden Keezbord, beautifully made and very sturdy. You can order it online in no time.
I used to love this myself, so I thought this was a great idea to pass on to my children. Especially when it's 30° plus! Next time only bring large bottles, that's a lot more fun.
Yes duhuh, this is (obviously) one of the most obvious activities with children. I can therefore not imagine that we would book a holiday without a swimming pool. Indispensable, especially with the sunny weather we have had in France and Spain this year. It is a pity that you are almost never allowed to take a tire or a ball with you in the pool, for example. I get it, but still a little bummed. So what do you do then? For example, building a tower 😛 , only to find out that that is not allowed either. For those who don't like cold water… Camping Playa Montroig also has a heated outdoor pool!
There's nothing more fun than being awake when it's already dark. And during the holidays that should be possible, right? So we participate in a fun evening activity with children; beach volleyball.
Table tennis and regular tennis, both generally available at the campsites we visit, and at least at the campsites we were on this holiday. Now I'm not a fan of a game of tennis in the sweltering weather, so we played some small games of table tennis.
And then, we come to the part that mom and dad like the most 😉 . Visiting nice towns, strolling around the markets, strolling along the boulevard along the harbor, going to a terrace and having a snack and a drink every now and then.
From camping Playa Montroig it was about 1.5 hours drive to Barcelona, of course we made that drive! Strolling down the Ramblas, looking for a Starbucks is a joint activity these days. Also a fun activity for children to do, because there is plenty to do! Not only do we find the cappuccino very tasty, Luc is also a fan of it these days. And Lotte likes to drink the iced coffee Raspberry, without coffee 😉 .
Of course, you will board an open tour bus in Barcelona for a tour. Then at least check out the Sagra Familia, if only to take a selfie. No kidding, it's a beautiful Basilica, even though I -and many with me- have never seen it from the scaffolding.
And of course we also wanted to take a look at Park Güell. You can already see so many wonderful influences from Gaudi throughout the city that you don't want to miss that park. We personally also thought it was a must-see for the kids. Too bad, but alas… the park was fully booked until closing time. So after our long walk we had to leave without being able to take a look 🙁 .
Ending the day in a Hard Rock Café with a delicious bite is always a good idea. In this way we also visited Salou and Cambrils and some smaller harbor towns. Slightly less sights than Barcelona of course and we went there to see the boats and the terrace. The kids for Pokémon!
For all that Pokémon playing -and my own social media addiction- I have experienced how great it is these days you can arrange that you can use some extra MBs abroad. Even though I personally think it is high time that the best telephone managers started working with a standard rate within Europe… I was still happy that I could get a small extra subscription a number of times with 2 simple text messages on the affordable iPhone SE exit.
In addition, Frank has a boat on his wish list for a reason. So when an opportunity presents itself, there is also danger. This time on the Canal du Midi, with an electric boat, not quite according to our wish list, but still fun!
I could keep talking and show you many more pictures, but I'm done with it. It's already nice if you're still reading this 😉 . Actually, I think we have done a lot in this holiday. Enough activities with children, visited enough nice cities and harbors and also relaxed a bit, what more could you want?
After that we also went to Hanover for a few days, I also wrote an extensive report about it. Also so fantastic and also done enough activities with the children. One of those activities:looking for a Starbucks in the city, haha.
School has now been going on for two weeks here in the South and I wish I could say that I was back in the rhythm, but nothing could be further from the truth. The schedules of the children -school and sports- are a challenge for me. And to also find enough time to work is quite a job. I now long for a moment for myself 😉 . Or maybe for myself and Frank, that's okay too. Taking a sauna together for example, I like that.
And then I'm going to break my head again about something fun for the autumn holidays. Because for me it is clear that this undertaking fun activities with children has ensured that the past holidays were really worthwhile for them.
Other extensive travel reports (full of activities with children) can be found here:
