Our Holiday Prize With Thomson Al Fresco and Tots 100

Our Thomson Al Fresco Cote de Nacre Resort Holiday Plans

Finally after a great deal of researching, to and fro emails and date swapping, the holiday that I won from the Tots 100 Thomson Al Fresco Holiday Competition has finally been organised.  The very friendly and helpful lady from Thomson Al Fresco has bent over backwards to ensure that the holiday, dates, travel and accommodation suit our needs perfectly, and she even went as far as to give me some tips regarding my sea-sickness!  We are going to the Al Fresco Yelloh! Village Cote de Nacre resort in St.Aubin-sur-Mer, Normandy in July.  The resort is just 11 miles from the port town of Caen, making it very accessible and practical when travelling with a toddler!  The ferry leaves from Portsmouth and means that we can do all our travelling from home to resort in one day with no need for overnight stays.

We can now start to get excited about our Summer holiday in the sun (fingers crossed).  The resort is nestled on the Western Coast of France with its own micro-climate making it pleasantly warm but not too hot, another consideration when travelling abroad with a toddler.

The site is one of 54 Al Fresco holiday parcs positioned across France, Spain, Italy, Croatia and Holland.  The parc offers fun for all the family with a tropical water complex, activities for the kids and a spa for the parents to relax in!  There is also a program of evening entertainment from live music to quizzes to karaoke.

The accommodation looks great with well equipped six berth mobile homes providing everything needed for a relaxing holiday, including a decked veranda for enjoying balmy evenings with an alfresco meal cooked on the barbecue.  We will be staying in a three bedroom Vivaldi mobile home, ideal for families.The open plan living accommodation is modern and stylish, spacious and comfortable.  Plug adapters are even included in properties where 2 pin plugs are fitted.  Everything is thought of, making it easy to cater for your family's needs.  Some large items are available to borrow so everything really is taken care of.  I love that we have the choice to eat out on the resort, or cook a meal for ourselves, keeping our options open.  This is also good from a budgeting perspective.

We can't wait to have a family holiday together.  Ella will have finished her GCSEs and Megan will have just graduated so they will be ready to unwind and have fun on our French family break.  Cote de Nacre is just half a mile from the sandy beach of St Aubin with its pretty promenades.  It also boasts a rich history with the D-Day Landings beaches in Normandy and also Bayeux, famous for its tapestry and just 12 miles away.  The parc itself is easy going with a relaxed ambience making it easy to simply relax and do nothing or take advantage of the activities and modern amenities available.  This makes Cotre de Nacre perfect for all the family, whatever they want to get up to.

Take a look at the information below.  This is all the facilities and the things we have to look forward to at the resort.

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Tropical pool complex with new swimming pool, waterslides, chutes and lazy river

Covered pool (heated subject to local climate conditions)

Children's splash pool.

Sauna and Hammam

For the Children

Playground

Organised activities for children aged 5 - 12 years

Table tennis

Table football

Outdoor Fun

Pool tables

Bicycle hire (numbers limited)

Synthetic outdoor ice rink

Multi sport pitch for football, volleyball, basketball and tennis

Meals

Bar/restaurant & take-away

Charcoal BBQ

Entertainment

Evening entertainment including weekly outdoor disco, live music, quizzes and karaoke

Other Facilities

Shop

Washing machines

WiFi

Dryers and ironing facilities

Things to do Off Site

Horseriding 1/2 mile

Golf 12 miles

Sightseeing

Sandy beach 1/2 mile

Caen 11 miles for the Château Ducal and Musée de Normandie

The Cider Route - a scenic trail through the regions apple orchards

Honfleur - with its colourful harbour and lively atmosphere 52 miles

St Aubin promenade 1/2 mile

Bayeux 12 miles - for its Notre Dame cathedral and the tapestry

The beaches of the D-Day landings

If you are planning a holiday for the summer take a look at http://www.thomsonalfresco.co.uk for details of all the parcs in Europe.  Also, take a look at the Thomson Alfresco blog for local information, holiday ideas and advice.

I'll be reporting on our holiday experience with Thomson Alfresco, letting every know how we get on with holidaying with our toddler, tween, teen and 20 year old children.  It'll really put the facilities to the test!!  Thanks once again to Tots 100 and Thomson Al Fresco for this exciting opportunity.  Now if someone can guarantee me some sunshine I'll be a very happy camper!!

Our Family Holiday to Tancrou and Disneyland Paris

We have just enjoyed a wonderful week long stay in a small village called Tancrou near Paris. I won the Travelizer blogger competition earlier in the year which  funded our stay. We stayed in a gite which is part of a working goats' cheese farm, which was so quintessentially French with its spiral stone staircase, exposed beams and open fireplace.  The grounds were beautiful with grassed areas enclosed by old stone walls.  Lizards scurried across the rocks.  It was idyllic and a place where Freddy could play to his heart's content.

The weather was as gorgeous as our accommodation with glorious sunshine that warmed the air into the evening.  It couldn't have been better.  We felt very blessed.

Every morning we visited the goats from the farm who were full of character and eager for attention.  The kids loved them and named a few of them!  We sampled the cheese made on site and it was delicious.

We enjoyed days of peace and tranquillity at the gite.  This was exactly what we all needed, recharging our batteries for the next part of our holiday.  

In the middle of our relaxing time we spent two much longed for fun-filled days at Disneyland Paris.  It was just a half an hour's drive from our gite.  As we approached we caught site of the Disney balloon that floats high above the Lake.  We stayed at the Sequoia Hotel which was fabulous and just a short walk from the gates to the Disney magic!

Freddy discovered the joy of Disney and loved the rides.  He kept saying "I'm so excited!" and grinning broadly!  His favourite ride was the Buzz Lightyear ride where he got to 'shoot aliens with space power!'  We went on it several times!  

We spent the second day at Walt Disney Studios.  The new Tower of Terror ride was absolutely brilliant and something for us grown-ups to enjoy.  We were immersed into the world of The Twilight Zone being transported to the heady heights of the tower overlooking the parks with an awesome view,  before plummeting down weightlessly.

The parades were full of the joys of Disney.  Amazing floats, colourful characters, dancing, music and razzmatazz!  The Stars in Cars parade included characters onboard lovely old vehicles.  It was glorious!

  The  20th Birthday Spectacular finale was out of this world.  The castle was transformed into scenes from Disney films using a combination of lasers, projections, pyrotechnics, water fountains and fireworks. The kids were wide eyed with wonder.  It was completely amazing what they did...and I was literally in tears by the end because it was so beautiful!

The Disney experience was not perfect.  Almost all the restaurants were shut meaning that everyone who wanted to buy lunch ended up trying to buy it at the same time and the same place.  We literally queued for an hour and a half in a roasting hot and crowded place to buy some pizza, fries and drinks which cost over 50 Euros!  Outrageous!  Also the toilets struggled to cope with the capacity of people in the park and they ended up overflowing and having half hour queues...tricky when you have a toddler!  But somehow the magic of Disney overshadowed any negatives.

Overall, the Disney experience was magical.  The rides, meeting the characters, going to a Character Tea Party and watching the parades was amazing.  After two days we were utterly exhausted and glad to return to our tranquil gite to recover for a few days before the long journey home!

Thanks to Travelizer for this wonderful prize.