In June last year my family (husband and two boys) went off to Europe where there were many magic moments that happened along the way.

We had a ‘National Lampoons’ vacation moment where we went around the Rome roundabout, not once but many times. We also had suitcase dramas. We were dragging around quite a bit of luggage on the many modes of transport we used including plane, car, train and by foot. My boys and I squeezed in what we could without daddy knowing - toy cars, fluffy toys, books and I packed heaps of warm clothing for that unexpected cold weather, which was only for a small part of the journey. Throughout the holiday we had to hear daddy’s complaining about the luggage, but we of course didn’t say much, because he had to carry most of it.

While we were in Cannes on the French Rivera we saw Hollywood hand prints on the ground with some of the Hollywood Stars. I happened to put my hand on Meg Ryan not realising that a couple of days later I would bump into her.

After our stay in France, we headed off to Rome and during our stay there we went to Vatican City. As we were going through parts of the church amongst the many people I spotted Meg Ryan. I told my husband that the blonde lady in front of us was Meg Ryan and he did not believe me (in person, she is much taller and thinner). By the time we finished looking at the amazing church, Meg was standing outside the veranda and we where only a few meters away.

I didn’t want to bother her so I asked my husband to take a photo of me with Meg in the background (which I called a ‘Hollywood Shot’) but there were so many people in the background it was quite hard for my husband to hear me. In the meantime my boys were watching mummy trying to discreetly tell daddy what a ‘Hollywood Shot’ is, while daddy was telling mummy to go up to Meg and ask if I could have a photo with her. After much drama my husband took my “Hollywood Shot” for me.

And there you have my ‘National Lampoons’ style family holiday. There are many more memorable moments but I will leave that for another time.

The views, opinions and positions expressed by the authors and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect those of Cover-More Insurance.

Since I have been four I have been to a place called Kioloa. Kioloa is three hours away from home. We drive there each Easter and sometimes Christmas for a relaxing holiday.

I go with my mum, dad, little brother, grandparents, aunties, uncles and three cousins. The park is dog friendly so we bring our four dogs Indy, Bella, Dodger and Bonnie. Of course dogs need a holiday every now and then.

I just wish I was there right now with the wind in my hair, hitting some golf balls at the oval, playing tennis on the courts, riding my bike over jumps, swimming at the beach or in the swimming pool, walking on the sand with the dogs, watching the sunrise and the sunset, riding our bikes or scooters, going to fetes, walking to Shelly Beach, playing in the playground, doing plaster painting, going fishing or just simply going for a calming bushwalk. There is so much to offer making your time a wonderful trip to the country.

Throughout Kioloa Caravan Park there is no reception so there are no mobile phones or computers. We camp in a tent, so there are many things that won’t get internet or power. You can camp or caravan or you can live there in a permanent caravan.

Two of my friends go there too. Both of them stay with their grandparents. Each time we meet up the kids go bike riding and the parents play a game of cards and we always have barbeques with each other.

There are lots of different types of animal species (just to name the main ones) such as flathead, blue bottles, possums, pelicans, kangaroos, fairy penguins, seals, sharks, seagulls, seahorses, bream and many more.

Kioloa is a great place to be and I want to share it with everyone I can. It has a rustic feeling and a bush taste. The place I will always remember in my heart will be... Kioloa!

The views, opinions and positions expressed by the authors and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect those of Cover-More Insurance.

On my very first visit to New Zealand I discovered my love and passion for the untouched and breathtaking beauty of this country. In my previous job as a Travel Agent I participated in an industry competition where I won a campervan voucher for 5 days. I also have a friend who lives in New Zealand so I thought I would go visit my friend, see the country and use my voucher at the same time! What could be better?!

We had the campervan for five days and in such a short time we saw so many beautiful places and people including juicy green endless wineries, majestic mountains, waterfalls, snowy mountains, white beaches and black sand volcanic beaches. The ocean and mountains were such an amazing combination. I’m a well travelled person but I don’t think I’ve ever seen something that made such a huge impression on me.

And at the end of our journey we arrived in Christchurch, which was a special story to tell. A big earthquake had hit Christchurch on 22 February 2011 and claimed many lives. The whole CBD was closed and restoration and construction works were still ongoing. All of the buildings around the CBD had yellow stickers with no access due to danger. As we walked past, we could see through the windows of some offices and cafes. They had been untouched since the date of the earthquake - chairs and coffee cups were on the ground, office furniture turned upside down, shacked and broken when the earthquake happened. We could still see the newspapers through the window dated 22 February 2011.

The cracked roads and destroyed buildings all indicated what had happened at this sad event but at the same time this small pretty town had such a welcoming atmosphere with beautiful green parks and an amazing city coastal drive. The people were so friendly and helpful, one older woman from the street markets said to us “Oh girls don’t go back to Australia! Come and live in Christchurch and help us to rebuild our city again!”. It was so sweet it made me smile the whole way back to our campervan.

The views, opinions and positions expressed by the authors and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect those of Cover-More Insurance.

When my best friend decided to get married in the UK and asked me to be a bridesmaid I couldn't refuse. The prospect of travelling 24 hours in a plane to the UK with my 15 month old son Harry wouldn't stop me. Once the plans started I thought to myself, "When I lived in the UK I rarely ventured to Europe, maybe this time I'll explore a little." When I told my younger sister who was travelling with me what my plans were she was very excited.

When we arrived in the UK we were raring to go, and Harry, the 15 month old, soon recovered from his jetlag and we were off to Europe. First was Prague which was awesome. We went to the Bone Chapel in Kutna Hora and the Royal Palace of Prague. Next we hopped on a train to Berlin where we visited Potsdam, Brandenberg Gate and the amazing Holocaust Museum.

We then took a plane to Venice where we saw the Basilica, St Marks Square and a day trip to Verona to see Juliet’s Balcony. With a hop, skip and a jump we were in Madrid. We saw the Royal Palace and took a civil war tour of the city. It was then a train to Barcelona where we walked Los Ramblas, had our caricatures done and did a gothic architecture tour of the city before heading back to London.

On top of all that we had my best friends wedding, my grandmothers 100th birthday, my 31st birthday and my dad’s 70th birthday. We even managed to squeeze in a trip to Belgium to pay tribute to the fallen soldiers of World War I and visited the Menin Gate for the Last Post, a very special moment for my dad whose grandfather was captured there.

Overall it was a holiday of a lifetime and all with Harry in tow. It's a lesson that you can do anything with a 15 month old if you plan it properly.

The views, opinions and positions expressed by the authors and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect those of Cover-More Insurance.

I was 24 years old and lost. Many questions about life and my future lingered but no answers appeared. It finally got to me so I decided to do something about it. I thought in order to find answers I would need to open my mind to new perspectives. I pondered upon numerous strategies and finally decided I was going to visit one of the Seven Wonders of the World, since I couldn’t afford to visit them all. I wrote them on a piece of paper and stuck it on the wall, then threw a dart to see where fate would lead me. I always wanted to visit the pyramids in Egypt so I aimed for it, but it landed on the Taj Mahal. I decided that was a practice run and I aimed again at the pyramids but once again landed on the Taj Mahal. That was the fate of my dart. So I planned my pilgrimage to the Taj.

It was approximately 200kms away from Delhi so I decided to commute about 150kms and then walk the rest as I love long walks. I booked my flight and was ready to go. The plane trip was a 15 hr movie marathon. I packed my DVD library and player and had Al Pacino, de Niro, Stallone and Jet Li keeping me company. I hit Delhi airport and I was finally in India. It felt so strange and surreal being there. I was fascinated by the commotion.

I caught a train to Farah Town Station and got off purposely to travel the rest on foot. Watching the scenery pass whilst on the train was a great contrast to walking. I absorbed the scenery in slow motion which stimulated many thoughts. Along the way I met a traveller from England on his way to the Taj. We shared great conversation until finally reaching our destination. What a sight! I was totally mesmerised by the size, detail and architectural genius it portrayed. I had researched its history and seen many pictures but viewing it in person felt surreal. My new friend and I conversed all day whilst chilling out viewing the Taj from a distance. The changes of light in the sky were reflected by the monument and it was the most awesome sight to be just chilling in front of, especially after the long walk.

This trip was then the greatest experience of my life. The English traveller helped me to focus more on living in the present. “The present is a gift”, he said, “And that’s why it’s called the ‘present’”. He said not to focus on the past or future but to live in the moment, explaining that people worry too much about life and never get a chance to actually live it. Practicing this led me to meet my future wife not long after.

My travel experience was an adventure and experience that money couldn’t buy. I got out of it so much more than I could’ve imagined. It was life changing. I realised you just have to go out and live it rather than worry about it. Consequently in my lifetime I plan to visit the other Wonders of the World one by one to see what kind of new experiences they will present.

The views, opinions and positions expressed by the authors and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect those of Cover-More Insurance.

Many of my fondest memories of Spain concern food. When we arrived in Madrid after 20+ hours of travelling we emerged bleary-eyed from the tunnels of the subway straight onto the incredible Plaza de la Puerta del Sol, the aptly-named ‘Gate of the Sun.’ As we walked towards our hotel, it didn’t take long for us to be distracted by food. Our eyes popped at the sight of the pastries in the window at La Mallorquina Pastelería, a local institution since 1894, and we delighted in our first Spanish sweets.

Jet-lagged, we awoke the next day at 3.30am raring to go and soon discovered that the Spanish are not early risers. It was a long wait for breakfast, but well worth it when we sat down to our first (of many) Churros con chocolate - a kind of long donut which you eat dipped in a lusciously thick cup of hot chocolate.

On slightly healthier days we opted for Pan Con Tomate: thick pieces of crusty bread served with half a tomato that one rubs over the toast, and then drizzles with olive oil. The Spanish eat dinner late, and on our first night in Madrid we discovered that it’s terribly unfashionable to head out to a restaurant before 11pm; but while you’re waiting, you can pop into one of the many little bars populating the city centre and enjoy a free plate of tapas - perhaps a bowl of olives, chips or nuts, or bread with Jamon - with every round of drinks.

One of our favourite tapas was a plate of small green peppers known as Pimientos de Padrón, which are simply fried in hot olive oil until they start to blister and then served with a plenty of coarse salt. Most taste mild and sweet like capsicum, but some are bitter, and occasionally you get one that is hot like chilli, and you won’t know what you’ve got until you’ve bitten down into one.

In Barcelona, a friend recommended we try a place called Les Quinze Nits, where culinary school chefs serve up incredible food at student prices. It doesn’t take reservations so we rocked up early and joined a small queue outside which quickly turned into a line the length of the plaza in which we were standing. If you ever go make sure you order the Catulayan dessert: nougat ice cream with Catalan custard on a bed of hot chocolate fudge. All washed down with a jug of Sangria, of course.

I wasn’t expecting to be so enchanted by the food in Spain but the Spanish love of eating is infectious, from the beloved Jamon to the humble Patatas Bravas. I hope to go back and sample some more Spanish delicacies one day.

The views, opinions and positions expressed by the authors and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect those of Cover-More Insurance.

A great deal of effort was required when 16 family and friends decided to embark on a White Christmas. We chose Vermont, USA as our desired location and eagerly waited out the months of planning. We didn’t want to miss a single White Christmas experience so the trip was planned, leaving nothing to chance.

There were condominiums booked to accommodate us all, with kitchens for cooking the much awaited turkey dinner with all the trimmings. There was the open fire with picturesque windows looking out over snow-covered fields without another building to mar the view. We attended a Christmas Eve service in a white steeple New England church and ate in a restaurant with roaming carollers singing. There were shopping trips in the snow to find little gifts and hot chocolate by a log fire to break up the shopping. American friends had arranged to meet us and reminded us that ‘it may not snow’ for Christmas. We didn’t listen, we were believers.

As we awoke Christmas morning the sun was shining and it looked as if the snow had stopped falling, of all days, on Christmas Day. We cooked our hot dinner, opened presents by the fire and got ready for our ultimate White Christmas event: a one horse open sleigh ride. We arrived at the sleigh paddock, still no snow. Just as we were all comfy and cosy in our sleighs and covered with fur blankets it started to snow, as if on cue. Like a button had been pressed, down it came. We were so excited and so began our sleigh ride on a snowy Christmas afternoon, just like a scene in a movie.

Our horse led the parade of sleighs, gently trotting alongside a beautiful stream, through wooded forest, up and down hills all the while the bells were jingling. Until half way when the horse behind us decided it wanted to overtake us. We were happy for it to do so but our horse was not going to have it. As soon as he saw the other horse pulling alongside he took off. He ran like the wind, the sleigh was twisting from side to side; we were hanging on for dear life, women screaming, men laughing. It was like a roller coaster ride on ice. The beautiful stream nearly became an icy bathtub, the wooded forest became timber spears, the driver had virtually no control of the horse and we thought we were all going to end up in hospital. Our driver convinced the other driver to stay behind and explained that our horse was a retired race horse and always had to be at the front. Apologies were made and, when we arrived back safely to our starting point, we forgave our errant horse in the best forgiving Christmas spirit we could muster.

We did get snow, we did get the white steeple church, the hot turkey dinner, the snow fights and the skiing interspersed with hot chocolate and we did get our snow covered, jingle bell ringing, one horse open sleigh ride; albeit a scary one!

The views, opinions and positions expressed by the authors and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect those of Cover-More Travel Insurance.