Five Happy Things is back - it's nice to have a little look back though, isn't it? For me, so I can see what we were up to and I suppose sheer nosiness for others, we all do it!
April was a hectic month for us and it felt like it went by in the blink of an eye and now with just a few weeks back at school, we're on a fast approach to half term already. April has been packed with days out with the children, dinners with friends and my very first cruise with my mum onboard Princess Cruises. If this is how the year is shaping up, I can't wait to see what the rest of it has in store for us as a family.
Let's hope the weather gets the memo that it is Spring and shows us some blue skies and sunshine.
Cruising the seas with Princess Cruises
The biggest highlight in April was my first cruise - I have been around cruise ships my entire life and have previously worked in the industry so I was so excited especially as I was able to take my Mum as my plus one. We joined Princess Cruises' Sky Princess in Southampton for a short sampler cruise taking in Rotterdam and Zeebrugge. We explored the ship, ate the most wonderful food and had such a wonderful time, safe to say we have definitely caught the cruising bug and can't wait to take the rest of the family with us next time.
Keukenhof Botanical Gardens
During our time with Princess Cruises, we spent the Sunday in Lisse on a shore excursion visiting Keukenhof Botanical Gardens. Open for just a few months each year, Keukenhof provides a backdrop for its 7 million spring-flowering bulbs, as well as sculptures, other works of art and a small farm and play parks for children. The combination of a flowering park and visual art was just phenomenal and somewhere I would absolutely visit again with the children.
Exploring with the littles
I'm a huge advocate of Southampton and firmly believe you can stumble across anything without really trying so that's exactly what we did one weekend in April. Rosie and I bundled both girls up in the pushchairs and just let the day take us wherever, we had coffee and doughnuts, stumbled across two art exhibitions, and explored the parks and the Old Town before ending with a glass of wine each in Ocean Village. If you're Southampton based, it's always worth having a look at what is going on because I can guarantee you'll find something.
Terrible food in Winchester
Okay, so I said this was Five Happy Things and whilst our food was terrible (never eat in The Ivy Winchester) we had a thoroughly enjoyable and funny evening that ended in Mcdonald's. Plus how gorgeous does Winchester Cathedral looking the golden light of the setting sun?
Greatest Days with P&O Cruises
At the very end of April, I spent the day with friends onboard P&O Cruises' latest ship, Arvia for the UK premiere of their exclusive new show, Greatest Days. From prosecco and canapes to exploring the ship and an intimate interview with Gary Barlow, it was a fabulous day.
You can see more about Greatest Day here - Greatest Days // Exclusive to P&O Cruises' Arvia.
As always, you can follow along on Instagram too - alicespake
