Now our Olympic swimming host is IN the water
Was determined to relax with her famliy in Corfu – but she couldn’t resist taking a dip
IFIRST visited Corfu a few years ago for a TV travel programme and loved it so much that I vowed to return one day for a proper holiday. My husband Richie had never visited the island before, so we decided it would be the perfect destination for a sunshine break with our fourmonth-old son Ernie before I set off for the Rio Olympics and my stint presenting the swimming events.
The Greek isle is well known among two groups of holidaymakers. The resort of Kavos is popular with youngsters keen on its lively nightlife, while more thoughtful travellers are attracted to the island described so memorably by Gerald Durrell in his book My Family And Other Animals, which was recently adapted for TV.
My first trip to Corfu was largely restricted to Corfu Town in addition to a quick visit to one other resort: as is the way with TV travel programmes, we were there only a couple of days, looking at a typical package-tour stay and trying out the sorts of things people do on holiday.
It was very much a flying visit that involved a lot of driving here, there and everywhere. This time I was there entirely for pleasure, enjoying our first-ever fly-and-flop trip together as a family.
Before Ernie was born, Richie and I would fly to a destination and, rather than choosing to stay in one place, we’d travel around (in my time on Blue Peter I was something of an action woman). Last year, for example, we flew to Miami, hired a car and drove all around Florida.
Richie is a professional rugby league player who currently plays for the Catalan Dragons. He is not very good at just sitting on a beach. Ask him to sunbathe and he gets restless. I’m the same: I want to be doing things, so when we travel, I buy a guidebook and we set out to see as much of a place as we can.
ON THIS trip, though, with a young baby to look after, we took a different approach. We checked in to our hotel, took off our watches and powered down our mobile phones – the first time we’ve ever done that! It was just so lovely to get away from everything.
When we told people we were taking Ernie on a four-hour flight from the UK to Greece, many of our friends thought we were mad.
Fortunately, he was a dream. Ernie slept for the entire journey, which was a relief to us – and, I suspect, to the other passengers.
We were also slightly worried about how guests at a luxury hotel might feel about having a baby in their midst, but many of the people we met were doting grandparents who couldn’t get enough of him. Several guests came over to us and said: ‘Oh, my daughter has just had a baby the same age as yours.’ It was a nice way to break the ice.
We stayed in the MarBella Corfu Hotel (I’m not entirely sure why a hotel called MarBella – a resort on Spain’s Costa del Sol – is in Corfu!) but it was ideal for our stay.
It had a pool where we spent most of our time, taking it in turns to mind the baby while the other cooled down in the water. And down by the beach, there was lots of decking and little cabanas where Ernie could doze out of the sun.
The food at the hotel was amazing. Our holiday was all-inclusive, so we knew to expect a classic holiday buffet at some point, but the resort offered so much more. For example, there was a Greek restaurant called Comodo, an Italian, and a beach cafe, so we didn’t have to go to the buffet every night.
The menu at the Greek restaurant in particular was delicious, and the Italian was much more than a pizza and pasta place – it was more like fine dining.
THE hotel is situated on the island’s east coast, and our one excursion was a trip north into Corfu Town. It was a simple trip – we took the bus there and used a taxi for the journey back to the hotel. We had a really great day strolling round, visiting the old fort and a few other places. Other than that, we stayed in the hotel – a new holiday experience for us both. I felt really proud of Ernie and how he behaved throughout the trip. Before we left Britain, all my friends who are mums were saying: ‘Oh my goodness, you know that taking a baby so young will be very hard work.’ However, I took the view that the younger he is, the less he needs. We took milk, a steriliser, and the travel cot. When Ernie is toddling around, that’s when I will worry about him walking too close to the edge of the swimming pool or falling down steps.
There were no problems on our
trip – it was brilliant and I would totally recommend it to anyone.
It was the break we needed. When you’ve just had a baby, your house becomes a bit like Piccadilly Circus – everyone descends on you for a visit, including friends and family you haven’t seen for years. It turns out to be almost as exhausting as giving birth.
At last, after the birth and all the visitors, we were finally able to get away and just spend some time together as a new family.
We had quality time, which is what holidays should be all about.