B
ecominga singleparent
whenMaisiewasyoungwas
hardforthebothofusand
beingthesoleresponsible
adultonholidaywas
somethingthatI alwaysfoundquite
stressful.I’msurethatmanyofusin
a similarsituationhaveexperienced
feelinglikethesocialoutcastwhen
youarriveonthefirstdayofthe
holiday.Aftera fewfalsestarts(like
thetimeMaisiegota nastybugon
a holidayinTurkeyonthefirstday),
wehavemanagedtofindourholiday
groove.Nowweoftenplannextyear’s
tripassoonaswegetback.
AsMaisiehasgrownupI havecome
toreallyappreciatewhata greattravel
companionsheis.Weoncemanaged
twoweeksdrivingroundtheOuterHebridesin a campervanwithonly
oneargument!Ourfirstnightcamping
nexttotheseaontheremoteislandof
Barraduringa stormwouldhavetested
anyone’sresolve– evenin theheightof
summertheOuterHebridesis notwarm!
Duringouradventureheronlyproviso
wasthatshewasabletogetaccess
totheinternetatleastoncea day,
somethingthatproveda challenge.
Aseveryparentofteenagersknows,
Snapchattingyourfriendsis important- evenif it meansdriving 20 miles
tofindthefaintest3Gsignal.
Wemanagedtopackin someof
themoststunningscenerywe’veever
seenonourtravelsandMaisiestilltalks
aboutit tothisdaywithherfriends - I guessthatsometimesourefforts
asparentsdon’tgounappreciated!
Balearicbliss
Thisyearwedecidedtotakea late
breaktothebeautifulBalearicisland
ofMallorcaoffthecoastofSpain,lured
bythepromiseofclearblueseasand
perfecttemperatures.Thiswouldbe
thebestantidotetostressfulexams
andmydaughter’sfirstsummerjob
workingin a shoeshop.
Asthiswasourfirsttriptotheisland
andwearen’tonesforloungingaround,
wedecidedtosplitourvisitsowe
couldseeasmuchaspossible.Our
firststopwasjustalongthecoastfrom
Palmaanda 20-minutedrivefromthe
airportattheIberostarGrandHotel
PortalsNous.It wasperfectlylocated,
perchedona hillsidejustmetresaway
fromtheprettybayofCalaBendinat,
andin reachoftherestaurantsand
boutiquesofchicPuertoPortalsmarina.
Thehotelwillinspireloversofmodern
design.Wegazedoutthroughfloor-to-
ceilingglasswindowsatthehorizon,Holidays when you’re a single parent can seem
like a challenge, but they’re also a source of
wonderful memories, says David Dowding
Mallorca
A dad and daughter in
The view from the room
at Iberostar Grand
Hotel Portals nous