Well can anyone actually believe it has been a whole year since our fabulous wedding day?

My amazing husband devised a plan to organise a surprise trip to Brugges – somewhere I knew little about and had never been before.

It would have remained a total surprise if the tube workers had not been strike and we had to devise a different route to get to Kings Cross.

We set off at some ungodly hour to make it to Cockfosters to get the tube to Kings Cross to catch the Eurostar.

We made it in good time despite having to take various other forms of transport across London at 6am as the underground workers were striking.

Once we got to Brugges (only 2 and a half hours by EuroStar to Brussels then 45 mins on the train) I was immediately take with the architecture, modern and cosmopolitan near the train station and chocolate box fairy tale in the City Centre.

I had plenty of opportunity to see the architecture as Mr Lewis (or Copernicus as I now affectionately call him) could get lost down a one way street! – so plenty of wondering aimlessly trying to find our hotel.

They say marriage teaches you a lot about your other half…well this trip I learnt that my husband can not read a map for toffee!

However it was worth the wait. We stayed at the Pand Hotel – a small romantic 4 star hotel decorated in a Parisian Boutique style, simply gorgeous! (and we found out later from talking to a couple from Yorkshire it is the hotel where Michael Winner stays…GET US lol)

As well as the stunning accommodation hubby had organised champaign breakfast and a junior suite for us – wow!..and a meal at the exquisite Maria van Bourgondië resturant.

I highly recommend the Pand Hotel if anyone is on their way to Brugges anytime soon, the staff are amazing and the hotel is stunning!

Brugges itself is very pretty, with canals and parks a lot is pedestrianised so you don’t get the hussle and bussel and of course the buildings are stunning, like out of a story book. The best way to see it all in my opinion is via a horse and cart tour. This will set you back about 30euros but worth it!

The food in Brugges is fantastic – mainly seafood, mussles etc.. but also good old fashioned steaks and Italian dishes. You will pay about 25euros a head so a bit more than in the UK but it is all cooked to perfection.

The local tipple is beer – Zot to be exact, brewed in their very own Half Moon brewery which you can take a tour of for 5euro with a free pint at the end, bargain! We didn’t try the 11% alcohol version but still went down very nicely.

And of course there is the chocolate, Belgium chocolate! amazing! All in all a really nice trip and thank you to my wonderful fella for organising it all, can’t wait to see what he has in mind for our 2nd anniversary lol x x x

See our photos of Bruges here

Hi – hope everyone is well and looking forward to the weekend, just a quick update on the Thomas Cook saga – those who have read my previous blog entry will know of the debacle we suffered at the hands of Thomas Cook on our holiday to Vegas last December. Anyway, we and a few of our fellow passengers have had a template response from good old Thomas Crook…sorry Cook! saying that the snow was not their fault (well done Sherlock Holmes! or should I say Michael Fish) and therefore they are not liable.

We are not disputing that the snow was their fault, however the events that proceeded the freak weather were a complete and utter shambles at the hands of this company. Customer service…what customer service???

Thomas Cook knew of the weather conditions in Vegas before we even arrived at the airport to check in at 6am, they came up with a lame ass excuse that it was due to a flight from Mexico being delayed that caused our delay…then the story changed to an engineering problem with the plane. If there was a problem with the plane was it wise to re-fuel it while we were on it?! Good old Thomas Crook gave everyone a letter saying there would be a 4hour 45min delay (very convenient as anything over 5 hours and we’d be allowed to claim the flight price back) however this delay exceeded 5 hours by the time we were put on the plane and it was fuelled up (by the way does anyone know if this is legal – to refuel with passengers on the plane?)

Anyhow the fight for justice…and our money back continues as Thomas Cook’s idea of customer service was to try and land in Vegas (knowing some 15hrs previously this would not be possible) then diverting us to Ontario California where we were held hostage on the tar mac for a further 4hr 30 mins until we were allowed to get off the plane….minus our luggage. We then had a nice 3 and a half hour wait in an airport lounge with no food or water while another airline (American Airlines) helped us get hotel rooms.

But of course NONE of this was Thomas Cook’s fault as all their staff were no where to be seen, so while we froze and starved and waited to find out what the hell was happening the Thomas Cook staff disappeared and we were left completely stranded with another airline picking up after Thomas Cook’s mess! ALL of this was avoidable with a bit of forward thinking! and certainly could have been handled better – we have now wrote to the EU regarding this complaint and compensation as us and 400 other passengers apparently aren’t entitled to even so much as an apology from Thomas Cook – just a letter saying “it was not our fault”! disgusting!
Needless to say we will NEVER be flying or booking a holiday with this pitiful excuse for a travel company again. I will keep you posted on any developments. Rant over! Have a good weekend people.

Not off to an amazing start to our holiday 2008 to Las Vegas when we arrived at the check in desk at 6am to hear the flight was delayed 4hrs 45mins! oh joy! anyway we gritted our teeth and “amused” ourselves in Manchester Airport which is not easy to do for that amount of time.

Anyway we finally got on the plane which was re-fueling as we sat on it…errrmmm is this safe?! and finally took off some 5 hours after our scheduled time, for someone who is not a great flyer this was not a fun way to start the holiday. Also i could have had an extra few hours in bed instead of making the dingy drive to Manchester Airport! Anyway trying to put the worst behind us we “enjoyed” the flight as best we could (Good old Thomas Cook – no apology or anything, just snooty service) when we came to land in Las Vegas it was snowed out! yes snow! in the Navada desert, such a thing had not been seen for over 40 years! Lucky us. So we were diverted to Califonia LA. After touching down we were kept on the tar mac for a further 4 and half hours while Thomas Cook tried to find their arse with both hands and organise us getting off the plane, which they said was due to no customs officers being on duty at Ontario Airport (But they had been there for hours waiting for us to deploy – think Thomas Cook are just sadistic!)

So off we got and moved to a more “comfortable” lounge within the airport where we had another 3 hour wait to be allocated a hotel for the night! It was freezing, there was no food or water between 400 of us and our luggage was not allowed off the plane so we were still in the clothes we traveled in! Got about 2 hrs kip at the hotel before we were all summoned back to the airport to take off for Las Vegas…only there was another 2hr delay taking off…oh the joy. Still no kind words from Thomas Cook instead the flight crew manager just shouted to us “We could all turn around and go home and leave you here” as she walked past! professional I think not, and certainly unfunny! anyway finally got to Vegas after missing best part of 2 days and fuming at the total disregard for customer service skills from Thomas Cook we decided to try and enjoy our holiday.

Which we did! We visited the Grand Canyon – which was a sight to be seen with 12″ of snow! we took in a show – Phantom of the Opera was AMAZING!! and did a bit of gambling …although I didn’t win. My boyfriend and dad went to play Golf at Desert Pines while I relaxed in the Spa at the Excalibur hotel…lovely!! We visited the Mirage with the secret garden dolphin and big cats sanctuary which was a highlight for me being a nature fan! and before we knew it it was time to brave the 10hr flight home…luckily no delays coming home so landed Xmas day then came home and slept for about a week!

Vegas I can highly recommend, although I wouldn’t exactly call it a family resort when every 50 yards there is some guy in a neon vest handing out call girls cards sporting a T Shirt saying “Girls to you in 20 mins!” bit out of order when they are putting these flyers in kids pushchairs as they walk past! but overall, excellent fun and the grand canyon has to be seen. A bad start to an overall good holiday but one piece of advice take some walking shoes cos the strip is longer than it looks!!!

Check out the holiday snaps from Vegas

Merry Xmas Everyone!!

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Well it is only a few weeks until my trip to Vegas, it’s my first time there but I have heard good things. I am excited so watch out for the photos in the Gallery when I get back. I might even get lucky on the roulette wheel and then there will be some interesting photos showing how I celebrated lol.