This year myself and my husband didn't go away for any weekend breaks, we saved our money and set off on our holidays in September visiting three countries and the island of Mallorca. Below are some photographs of our holidays... we really enjoyed it and have some memories which will last a lifetime....

From top left: Rome (Italy), Naples (Italy), Marseille (France), Naples, Cinque Terre (Italy), Cinque Terre, Palma de Mallorca, Rome and Barcelona (Spain)...

Back in September, I visited Barcelona for the first time. It is such a lovely city and I never realized that the beach was so close to the city itself. We spent a day around the beach area, it is very modern but very accessible to everyone. The weather was glorious too. Below are just a few of the photographs I took of the Mediterranean Sea. This was my first time to Spain and I was well impressed with it. Have you been to Barcelona? Did you enjoy the beach?

So with our poor weather in Ireland this Summer, I am so glad I still have my holidays to look forward to later in the Autumn. This year I'm off to Spain, France, Italy and the island of Mallorca. I really can't wait to get some sunshine and explore lots of new locations. We are going on a cruise again with Royal Caribbean on the Allure of the Seas which is a much larger ship than the one we went on last year. We will be visiting Barcelona, Marseille, Palma and three locations in Italy. We hope to visit Cinque Terre for a day also. If anyone has taken this cruise or has any tips on the best places to visit, do let me know....