Two trips

 I recently had a lovely day in London with my eldest daughter, Jenny, along with Arty and Bonnie.  The kids had wanted to go for a while and neither Jenny or myself need much pursueding to visit London, we both love it. 

We had an early start, catching the 7.30am train into Marylebone, which gave us plenty of time to make the most of the day.  As it was the first time either Bonnie or Arty had been to Londone, we didn't pre-book any attractions, Instead, we thought it would be nice to take things as they came, walk around and see some of the more famous sights.

Bonnie had mentioned seeing Buckingham Palace, so we took the tube straight out of Marylebone station and arrived in time to see the Changing of the Guard.  It was so busy though, and I think the crowds were a bit overwhelming for her.  fortunately we managed to get both of them to the front of the railings at one point, and the guards came right up in front of them.  They absolutely loved and made up for having to battle our way to the front.

We also spent some time in the Lego shop, where they each chose a set ot take home.  After that, the rest of the day was spent walking around Londone and taking in some of the main sights.  In hind sight, I think it might have been better to have booked at least one attraction to visit, just to give the day a bit more structure and break up all the walking.

These are some of the photos from our day

They are still both a bit too young to fully appriciate the history and significance of many of London's landmarks, but they certainly enjoyed the experience of exploring the city.  Riding on the underground was an adventure for them, (and me, I always enjoy it) and of course seeing Big Ben, and London Bridge.  It was lovely to see Big Ben all clean and shiny now, the last time I visited it was covered in scaffolding.

By the time we finally headed home we were all exhausted.  We didn't get back until just after midnight, but luckily we had a direct rain, both children completely crashed out almost as soon as we set off and slept all the way back.

It was a long and tiring day, but enjoyable, and hopefully the first of many London trips for both of them.

Last weekend Mark was working so I went away for a few days.  Things have been so busy latley that I needed some time just for me, and I haven't seen the sea all Summer.  Living in the middle of England means that we do live a fair way from any coastal town so it's a lovely treat to be by a beach and the sea.

Can you guess where I went?

I've visited many times now but I never get tired of going, It was of course Llandudno in North Wales.

I stayed in a lovely little B&B very near the pier, and the weather was dry and bright, not rainy like predicted.

I didn't do a lot, these few days were all about having a rest, I walked, read my book, bought some more books, (oops) and knit while watching tv in the evening.  It was just what I needed.

I did venture out one evening, there was a charity Harley Davidson bike ride along the pier and around town.  The bikes were all lit up and some of the riders where dressed up too.  It was lovely too see, although much fewer than the 150 riders the advert said there would be.  Still it was fun.  No photos i'm afraid, for some reason they all turned out blurry, (user error).

I had a little walk along the pier afterwards, I wouldn't normally venture out alone when It was dark but It was mostly families around after the bike ride, I felt safe enough for an hour, and I was back in my room by 9pm.

We should have been going away again this week, but someone left it too late to book time off work - lets just say there were a few words!

 

-X-

**I have no idea what going on with blogger, the blogs i visit most are in my sidebar but that's not updating and neither is the reading list.  Is anyone else having problems, and have you managed to fix it?