I’m going to take you on a little journey back in time, if you don’t mind. You probably do remember that a few years back, we took a road trip to visit family and friends, and the returned to our home at the time, Spain. Well, the route back to England has seemingly been a popular search recently, and after reading the post again, I realise that I never fulfilled my ‘return journey with longer stops coming soon’ statement.

So, now is the time to finally fulfil that ‘soon’ element and post our road trip route from England (Leicester) to Spain (Benidorm, Alicante). Now, bare with me here because we have actually done four more road trips since said visit. And yes, they are coming soon. Though hopefully that soon will be quicker than four years, but let’s see…

We left out on August 11th, and our tunnel crossing was around 11am and for reference we returned home on the 24th August at around 7:30pm (thank you iPhone time stamps!).

You will have to excuse that the map is in two parts, Google only allows for 10 stops! You are welcome to zoom in and out and search around the map,

Day One – Paris

Paris is always a good idea. You either love it, or you hate it. And we love it.

Paris is surprisingly quite dog friendly, we’ve been a few times with Rio since, and have always enjoyed it. We’ve eaten inside in restaurants and he’s seen all the main tourist attractions from Eiffel Tower to Le Louvre. I enjoy just wandering around Paris, whether it’s the depths of winter, or the beating sun of summer. It’s just generally a wonderful carefree vibe.

Now, in terms of where we stayed my booking dot com past trips is doing all the heavy lifting here because for the majority of the hotels, I didn’t really take photos or remember much about them as for the most we were using them as a stop off. Though, there are a couple that I do really remember – which in this case is often because of how stunning they were.

Paris though… relatively forgettable until I looked at the photos on the app.

We stayed at The Hotel Ascot Opera which is a three-star hotel in the 2nd arr of Paris. The location was brilliant, being a short walk to The Louvre and super close to Opera Garner. We paid £84.83 for one night and then had an additional fee for parking and the dog.

Day Two – Dijon, France

I’d fallen in love with Dijon on our first ever road trip back in… I want to say 2014? It’s an underrated city in France, I feel. I remember looking out of our hotel window and taking an Instagram photo (with one of the insta filters!) and so many friends commenting that it looked like it was out of a fairytale. Now, said hotel isn’t dog friendly, so we couldn’t return to it – and my Booking app now doesn’t go that far back.

Instead, we went for a budget Hotel du Palais which was £55.61 and was pleasant enough. I remember it being a large room, with a really large bed and then 2 single beds head to toe by the door preventing us from looking out the gorgeous window with ease. It felt very oldey worldy and if memory serves, there wasn’t a lift. We had to park in public parking too, which was cheap but obviously felt less secure having to walk with cases. Despite this, it was a lovely budget stay. And Dijon? Well, lovely as ever. We ate in the square at Au Moulin basking under the beating August sun drinking French wine, and eating something that resembled fish, and a creamy sauce. Ahhh, bliss.

Day Three – Zurich, Switzerland

How Alex didn’t start to flag when we were constantly on the move will forever leave me in awe. We moved at such a quick pace and he never moaned or waivered. We would cross country borders daily and still have time to see every landmark and get photos with that I’d circled on my wishlist.

I remember feeling a sense of lightness being in Switzerland. A sense that we’d made it back. A sense that I couldn’t explain but it felt like a sense of belonging. It didn’t feel like home, but it felt right. I don’t think I’ve ever had that sensation anywhere else. It’s either been home, or a beautiful place to visit (or not!). But Switzerland, I don’t know. It’s just… different, somehow.

I can’t help you with Zurich, because we were incredibly fortunate to stay in the most wonderful Swissotel Zurich. We had never had a welcome quite as lovely as this place. We were in the top room with sweeping views of the outskirts of Zurich, complete with a letter and the biggest suite I think I’d stayed in outside of America. This was a gifted stay but due to COVID it unfortunately is permanently closed.

Still, do stay in Zurich. For anybody that I’ve recently said it’s not great… It’s just, it’s not Lucerne or Montreux. But, it’s still a beautiful city. It’s the first place we ever tried fondue, and despite being in an overpriced tourist trap, it was still beautiful overlooking the river and the adorned rooftops eating one of our now favourite international dishes.

I remember we sat for ages looking over Lake Zurich. Appreciating the blooming flowers and the buzz of the city. It was a gorgeous August day with the bluest of skies and clearest of waters. It’s a day that I can still remember sitting on the metal benches with the swans floating by. If time could stand still for just a few moments. I’d have asked it to.

Day Four – Schwangau, Germany

Now, dear reader, whoever you are. Please bare with me as I really did ‘girl math’ this night stay, long before ‘girl math’ was a trend that I understood. But, trust me, it was a girl math moment and it SO wasn’t worth it.

Look, I was drawn in by the photos of a blissful spa hotel overlooking a stunning lake with the pristine Neuschwanstein castle standing proudly above. I was sold a dream of a cabinesque feel of a cosy interior, and dinner in a dining room looking straight at the castle. I was sold a dream of opening floor to ceiling window curtains and seeing mountains, and the lake, and that gorgeous Disney inspirational castle.

If you haven’t yet worked it out. It wasn’t quite like that.

This night away set us back a hefty £254.08, then we had pet fees and parking fees.

The reason I girl mathed this was because I had dreamt of seeing this castle for so long. The thought it would be on our doorstep, and the combination of the dream location, it seemed worth it.

The AMERON Neuschwanstein Alpsee Resort & Spa was a pretty hotel. But, our room overlooked… nothing. And, to make matters worse, there was an issue with the water so yep, no spa and limited food service. We did get a bottle of water as consolidation though…

I’m sure if the room was better situated than ours, and you’d get the full experience it might be worth while. The interior of the reception certainly was lovely, and the hotel looks impressive. But, personally, I’d perhaps stay in Fussen or slightly out to make it more cost effective. This was a boujee purchase that I wouldn’t repeat.

It didn’t dampen the beauty of the surroundings though. One of my favourite travel memories is wading with Rio in the lake and then walking up to the castles (Rio complete with a rock in his mouth unbeknownst to us) to appreciate the views, Truly stunning. We aim to return again to the area this year.

Day Six and Seven – Lucerne, Switzerland

Finally, it was time to take it a little slower. And what better place to do that than the place that stole our heart on the way. Ahhh, Lucerne, or Luzern, however you want to be known, you’re stunning.

If you’re ever looking for a stay in Lucerne, I don’t think many could compete with Hotel Des Balances. Sometimes, I dream of standing on the top floor looking directly at one of the most beautiful views I’ve ever seen. The church. The mountains. Whether it was the snowcapped mountains of a February drive, or the endless blue of an August summer memory. It’s unmatched. And, this boujee stay was worth every single euro.

I regularly think about ways to get back to Lucerne (no surprise there). And, I am beyond grateful to be planning hopefully visit number five now. The fact that I’ve even been once is beyond belief. It’s our place (don’t tell Venice though will you… Oh and for those that don’t know, Venice is where we got engaged).

It was £435.93 which in all honesty makes my eyes water that those past three nights is our monthly mortgage, but hey, we were young and carefree and living on the remembrance from past loved ones.

Day Eight and Nine – Interlaken, Switzerland

We really savour Switzerland. There’s very few places that we have ever stayed multiple nights at, even when, fast forward (yet also back in time) to 2022, we were travelling with our then 9 month old around Europe. Somehow, Alex does all the driving and still relishes in the moment. I have no idea either.

So, back to the story, It’s a two night stay again, this time in the adventure region of Interlaken.

Full disclosure, I didn’t want to go to Interlaken. Don’t ask me why, I had no reasoning.

I guess I just didn’t think it could ever top Lucerne. I also had no interest in the place a few days from now either, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves yet. I hadn’t yet really explored Switzerland, and this felt out of depth for me. We were starting to really venture into Switzerland, and my biggest concern was the drive, and the mountains. Anyway, I was completely wrong because Switzerland driving is a dream.

We stayed for two nights in Interlaken at a reasonably priced Metropole Swiss Quality Hotel. It had brilliant views of the mountains, it was a short walk from shops and amenities, and we were entertained with some sort of parachuting happening right outside our balcony. Not gonna lie, the first time gave a bit of a jump scare though,,,

We visit Jungfrau, which I think is a thing you have to do. We definitely wouldn’t pay to do it again. It was silly money, but the novelty of being in the snow in August was weird but beautiful. Now, picture this, we had zero intentions and planning before this trip. I mean this, we had zero idea where we were going. There was zero planning. We booked the first few stops in England, and then started booking a few nights in advance as we went along. So, as you can imagine, we were NOT prepared for winter. With our best attempt at dressing warm, we had a light jacket and long sleeves and a pair of leggings for me, and jeans for Alex. Still, we had a lot of fun. And, this Lindt store up there was a treat.

Rio loved bolting around in the snow, though as you can imagine, we couldn’t venture too far in trainers. We were young and carefree… but not dumb!

Day Ten – Montreux, Switzerland

This one quickly became a firm favourite. Freddie Mercury fell in love with Montreux in first sight, and it’s not hard to see why. The lake. The mountains. The blooming flowers. The Freddie Mercury statue. It just doesn’t get old. We visited another time since, and it was gorgeous again in the winter. But, Montreux is summer is everything,

It was quite clearly an escape for the French and Swiss as the place was heaving. Yet, it just had this incredible buzz about it. We ate at a McDonalds, so nothing special, but the place still felt overwhelmingly perfect.

We stayed at Royal Plaza Montreux & Spa, though I would actually pick the one that we stayed at in 2022 over this one. This was a five star with glorious views, but they were nothing compared to the views from the reception and the rooms at our 2022 hotel – Hotel Eden Palace au Lac (4 stars). We paid £171.80 for the Royal Plaza Montreux & Spa which most of the money I feel went on location as it was a very dated hotel. It did have a stunning access to the lake right next door though which was breath-taking in the early am.

Day Eleven – Tasch, Switzerland

One thing that remains on my ‘must do in Switzerland’ is stay in Zermatt. Yet, even when it was just with our dog, it seemed such a faff and a hassle to get there. For those that don’t know, Zermatt is a car-free city. So, to visit Zermatt, you’re best staying in Tasch.

You’ll do as we did, stop in Tasch where you park your car, and then take the very quick and very affordable and very, very efficient train into Zermatt. If you do as we did, you’ll head up the cable car to the 5 lakes and hopefully, like us, get a stunning view of the Matterhorn.

I often think about us sitting on that rock looking at the Matterhorn, and then wandering over to the restaurant with the rope swing. Such glorious summer memories that I’m forever grateful happened.

Some of our most cherished memories are on this day. Watching Rio splash around in the lake. Seeing the Matterhorn, Drinking coke at the top of the mountain. And then… stopping in a shop and I kid you not, recreating that scene with Rowan Atkinson in Love Actually when he starts boxing up the gift – in a jiffy. Well, thanks to the shopkeeper in that souvenir shop, I have the most stunning glass bauble which was kept safe from his incredibly intricate wrapping – downside? Remember that incredibly efficient train? Yeah… I missed work because that train left promptly and I had been stalled by a gift wrapping experience.

We stayed at the Typically Swiss Hotel Tascherhof, which set us back a reasonable £128.92. They also have amazing fondue in Tasch by the way!

I still need to visit Zermatt as an overnight stay one day. I’m really optimistic that one day we’ll get there – maybe even over a Christmas (which we’d pair with a trip to Montreux as they have Santa fly over the lake!)

Day Twelve and Thirteen – Cannes, France

Disappointingly for me, I’m reaching the end of our road trip now. And, I felt we had to visit Cannes again if we were travelling along the south of France to get to Spain. How did we get there? In true us fashion… via Milan. Yep, that’s right. We stopped in Milan for an admire of the Duomo and some (awful) pasta and then carried on driving to Cannes.

Honestly, I had zero idea we stayed for two nights in Cannes, but it makes a lot of sense. We must have been exhausted. Plus, I distinctly remember being adamant I wanted to go to St Tropez again in case we never went again. (We haven’t yet!).

We stayed at the Hotel Colette Cannes Centre which honestly was nothing to write home about. I remember being uneasy that we were so close to a train station, and I remember the maximum kg for your dog being 5kg. For those that don’t know, Rio is like… 15kg?

Well, the dog looked a picture trying to settle into a minute bed.

This hotel was £218.66 and was a great base for visiting the gorgeous Ile Sainte-Marguerite. We did attempt to have a drink at the on-site restaurant, but they didn’t let us in. And you’re crazy if you thought I was paying ONE HUNDRED EUROS for a sunbed, Nah, we had a nice walk around and then relaxed on the beach front overlooking Cannes and the bluest of waters. Nothing beats summer on the Med.

I remember being reminiscent, and reflective, and… borderline sad.

Day Fourteen – Argeles-sur-Mer, France

Oh day 14. The post travel depression had hit hard. It was our last night before returning back home. I was remote working at this point, so it wasn’t the returning to work that was a grind because truly I loved my job as a social media and marketing manager. And it wasn’t returning to Benidorm because well, it’s pretty, It was just all the memories we’d made and all the wonderful places we’d seen would go on without us. New people would come and new people would make memories. New people would experience them for the first time, somebody else would wade in that lake, and somebody else would be venturing. It was times like these I wished travel could just keep on going.

Alas, it could not.

So, we stayed at Grand Hotel du Golfe which was a cute hotel. It had a beautiful view, a lovely pool which we didn’t get a chance to use, and a fabulous culinary offering. There is also a spa, with jacuzzi’s and Hammams but we didn’t get to use them. Our main reason for booking was the selling point of being 25km away from the Spanish border. But, it was such an underrated hotel, and I’m certain with a higher up room it would’ve been a great view. I’d definitely return.

Day Fifteen – Home

It was home time, but not before stopping in Salou on the way. Travel has always been something I’ve loved spending my money on. It’s an investment in you. An investment in education. An investment in widening horizons.

But when we arrived home, we arrived to the glorious blue skies and the prettiest home window view we ever had whilst living in Spain (or ever to be quite honest). The beach was filled with sunbeds, and toys, and people huddled together. Life had gone on, and we’d come back feeling like we still had more to see. Though how fortunate we were to have a home to return back to as gorgeous as this. The only post-holiday blues were the sky and the sea.

I do sometimes miss that life, it feels like a life-time ago, a different life somehow, now. Although, I knew we couldn’t maintain that life anymore, it’s still something that I feel has helped shaped me. It’s still a part of us. And, I hope one day soon we can get a Hybrid car again and have road trips like we used to. We just need to build ourselves back up. It takes time. And I can’t wait to show our daughter all the places that we loved, and find new places for us all to fall in love with too.