A ten-year-old’s idea of paradise: Mum, the Med and a makeover
MY ten-yearold daughter Hannah has a vision for our first mother-and-daughter holiday together – a seven-day Mediterranean cruise.
‘There’ll be lots of swimming, shopping and spas, and absolutely NO sightseeing,’ she says defiantly. Hmmm.
We board MSC Preziosa – the newest addition to the MSC fleet – in Marseilles, and within minutes Hannah is in heaven. She’s ridden the longest single-rider waterslide at sea. ‘This is so much fun, you’ve got to try it,’ she urges. But I’m in a different kind of heaven, relaxing in the sun.
The following morning we’re in Genoa and my concern about Hannah’s ‘no sightseeing’ edict vanishes. In fact, she’s so entranced as we wander through the tangle of narrow medieval alleys which rise from the port that she even allows me to look around a couple of historic churches.
Eventually we reach the tiny house where Christopher Columbus was born in 1451. ‘He can’t have been very rich,’ Hannah remarks.
Columbus’s modest abode is a stark contrast to the MSC Preziosa, where there are dazzling Swarovski crystal staircases. The decor in our cabin is equally glamorous, with gold-coloured curtains, a suede headboard and a massive gilt-framed mirror.
If only we sparkled like our surroundings. To remedy the situation, I book us some treatments at the onboard spa and the next day, after sniffing out bargains in the Sicilian capital Palermo, part one of our makeover begins with a pedicure. As we sit side-by-side in a suite for two, beauticians work their magic on our feet. All we can do is relax and watch the sky turn an inky black as the sun sets.
The next day we show off our pretty toes on a beach in Cagliari before enjoying a second makeover session: mine is a sublime Balinese massage, and Hannah’s is a facial.
At one point, as I flip from my stomach on to my back, I catch a glimpse of Hannah wearing a dreamy expression.
Life is never dull on the ship. We swim in the infinity pool and enjoy dance and acrobatic shows in the theatre. Hannah eats a gazillion doughnuts and burns off the calories in some dance classes.
We don’t want the trip to end, but soon we have reached our final port – Valencia, Spain’s third largest city.
Here we hire bicycles and pedal through the Turia Gardens, past avant-garde museums and trees ripe with oranges before exiting along a bike lane towards the city’s famous football stadium to buy a T-shirt for Hannah’s soccer-mad brother.
The last night on board is gala night where guests dress up for dinner. We enjoy our lobster bisque, risotto alla parmigiana, duck a l’orange (steak and mash for Hannah) and baked Alaska in style.
Hannah even clinks her water glass with my Prosecco for a toast. ‘To a wonderful week of pampering – can we do this again?’