Our recent trip to Malta involved flights with all 3 of the major low-cost airlines we have access to: EasyJet, RyanAir and FlyBe. I’m really quite impressed with Easyjet out of the 3 of them. Their service is pretty much superior to the others, the staff more cordial and their baggage arrangements more generous. It’s like EasyJet has had it’s multivitamin while all the others are slightly undernourished.Bottom line, next time I need to travel, given a choice, we’ll be going with EasyJet.

It’s good to be home though. We won’t been travelling again for a few months I think. Hopefully the babies will be a bit ore manageable by then!

We’re off to Malta at the end of the month; it’s the twins’ birthday and it will be great to celebrate it with family and far away friends. We haven’t really had a a holiday this summer, it’s just that the twins have really been keeping our hands full. I don’t know how many of you guys have been on holiday, but I haven’t received any holiday cards from anyone!

So, off to Malta we go, to show off the twins and to get some son. It will be getting cold here in the Isle of Man, but it will still be warm enough to go swimming. Should be fun, hopefully I have some time to blog!

We haven’t made any plans where we’re going on holiday this year. The twins are still under 2, so travel with them should be a bit cheaper .. and easier as they won’t be running around anywhere. As they grow older, it might be more difficult, but the great thing about having a bigger car is that we can pack everyone into it and set off on a road trip. It’s not quite a caravan or one of these motorhomes, but it will let us get from place to place and it would be a fun way to explore the UK. We may even venture across the Channel, though it depends on how much time we have available. Travelling by car takes longer than plane, but it does give you the opportunity to see a number of different things you wouldn’t normally see.

Then again .. driving around the country with 3 screaming kids in the back … we’ll have to see what the twins are like when they grow a bit older ….

So, it’s been a week since I wrote to RyanAir and FlyBe about our cancelled flights and subsequent re-routing costs, and haven’t really heard anything yet. Well, it was only a few days, so I suppose I wasn’t really expecting anything just yet; but we’re currently almost £1000 out of pocket, so the sooner we hear something the better.

Our travel insurance was with Direct Line and that proved to be useless. They classified our predicament as a “delay” and offered us £20 per 12 hours delay it took to our destination. We couldn’t even buy a sandwich each with that sort of cash. We really have insurance to cover us for lost luggage mostly (not that we fly around with Christian Louboutin or anything like that, but you know how annoying it is to lose all your belongings), but it would have been nice if the insurance covered flight cancellations too. Maybe I should be looking for a different insurance …

photo credit: Penelope Else

Well, only a few days left and we’re off to Malta for Christmas. We’re off to see some family and we’re taking the babies down to be christened. It’s going to be great because no one has really seen much of them yet. Both our sets of parents haven’t seen the babies yet as they haven’t really been able to travel, so it’s going to be quite an event for all of them. Our flights are all booked, though our bags aren’t packed.

It’s nice to take some time off for Xmas. Truth is, I’m a bit fan of Christmas. I prefer mince pies to Mr Kipling cakes any day. It won’t be so cold in Malta, which isn’t really very Christmasy, but it will be nice to spend some time with friends and family.

Anyway, we’ve decided we probably going to Malta for Christmas, and just need to sort out our travel arrangements. One things we won’t have to sort out will be our travel insurance. We didn’t go for a cheap insurance policy, but instead opted for a combined one for our house that covers all family members travel insurance too. I just need to confirm that they know about the kids. Should be fun.

We’re planning on going to Malta for Christmas this year; to get the twins christened and show them off to family and friends. We’re still looking at flying options, but it’s going to cost a bomb; Xmas is a bad time to be flying especially as everyone seems to be going on their holidays at that time also. I’ve actually spotted a Las Vegas vacation deal that’s cheaper than getting off the Isle of Man, let alone getting everyone down to Malta. I suppose it’s just one of those things really; you live on an island, so getting off it can cost a premium. But we love living here, so happy to pay the price when we have to!

The problem with Xmas in Malta is there’s no snow, people don’t have real trees in their house; and it’s usually too darn warm to feel like Xmas. But it will be nice to see everyone again.

We’re already talking about when we might go again, though with the twins on the way, it may be some time yet. We might even consider driving down next time, especially now that we have a car the whole family can fit in (and then some). Just make sure we have good car seat covers and car matsso we can clean the car after the kids make a mess eating in it

So, who’s been to EuroDisney then?

The one astounding thing about Disney is how the park is designed to cope with droves of people. I don’t know how many people go to their parks every day, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we’re talking 5 figures. They manage to handle such large loads by designing the park in such a way that people flow through it, rather then trying to obstruct them. They also use machine readable systems using magnetic strips and a barcode scanner wherever possible. This means that you don’t have to interrupt the flow when, for example, people are queuing in at the gate.

I guess they have loads of experience in the area, but it’s easy to see where someone less experienced could go wrong. Anyway .. enough blogging for now, time to head back to the Disney Park!

I’m afraid I don’t have photos to share, but we had a great photo shoot with Mickey Mouse today. We were walking into the park and spotted a queue waiting to have their picture taken with him; and as it wasn’t too long, joined in. I managed to get a few good pics, but the “oficial” photographer didn’t want to take one of the whole family with my camera. I accept they have to take their own, but unfortunately the two he took with the whole family in didn’t come too great. It’s not like when you get motorhome insurance and you can read your policy and know what you’re getting; photos by a stranger can be a bit touch and go.

Well, we also had a couple of great rides around the park, though Arthur go scared out of his wits in the Haunted House and in the Armageddon Experience. Ah well, you know that they say, it’s good for kids to have scary experiences too, and he took them in his stride, though he vowed “I don’t want to go there EVER AGAIN”

I’ll get the photos up as soon as we get back home.