Recharge and reconnect

Hello 2024! This is our first blog post since our November 2023 post because of work submissions, plenty of storms, really short days and the Christmas season. Life just happens and that's how we ended up not hanging out for two years with the children's favourite aunt. The pandemic may be something we are eager to forget but so many of the social distancing rules literally tore families apart. Right after the restrictions were lifted, we travelled for 7 whole months and almost immediately moved to the UK. We were overjoyed that she wanted to visit and hang out with a weird bunch for 10 days haha!

As we share our story of reconnection and recharging, this 10 day itinerary could work for you too if you'd want to visit the UK with your family. It's a slow, mindful and relaxing trip around England and Wales. 
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We met in the grandest of settings in Hintze Hall of the Natural History Museum in London. I thought finding each other under the blue whale skeleton named "hope" was really apt for our reunion. We spent a couple of hours exploring the rooms filled with dinosaur skeletons and animal taxidermy. I don't think the children gave their aunt's ears any break with their constant chatter. It was kind of a foreshadowing of the next 10 days. Haha! 

After a mandatory shop at the museum gift shop, we took a relaxing stroll to Hyde Park's serpentine in the windy, cold and gloomy weather of central London. We braced a sudden drizzle and the noisy geese and made our way towards our yummy rewards. 

After clocking more than 10,000 steps we were famished and so after a quick bite at Leon (a local fast-food chain with gluten-free options), we managed to find a space for 5 in the really crowded Italian Bear Chocolate - SOHO (London W1F 9QL). Call in to make a reservation because they are always full. ​The Italian hot chocolate looked really lush but our in-house chocolate connoisseurs thought its gravy-like texture didn't satisfy their chocoholic tastes. The cake however, did satisfy. It was gooey and fudge-like when served warm. Don't leave it out in room temperature for too long, the chocolate hardens!

After our dinner and dessert, we had our second dessert! Ice creams are great in hot weather but I think they are even better in cold weather! That's exactly what we had at Bilmonte (London W1D 7LW). They serve really really rich chocolate ice-cream (that taste a little like brownie batter) and their famous double pistachio ice-cream! 

Long walks, yummy food, lots of desserts and a jet-lagged aunty with two chatter box kiddos wasn't too bad a way to start the trip! We left Sasha for the next 24 hours in London while we headed back to Leicestershire that night. 

London is a bustling city very much like most major cities in the world. So if you'd like a relaxing time, we highly recommend getting a hotel room at any of the Hilton, Marriott, Sofitel or Holiday Inns at Heathrow airport itself. The Elizabeth Line now connects the airport to central London (Paddington) in less than 30 mins. You get to be away from all the sirens and crowds + lower hotel prices! 

Suggested relaxing things to do in London:
1. Museums (Natural History, National Portrait Gallery)
2. Parks/Garden (Hyde Park, Kew Gardens)
3. Stroll along the Thames or take the River Bus to see the major landmarks
(Canary Wharf to Embankment is quite a good route. You'll even get to sail under the Tower Bridge and London Bridge etc...)
4. Watch a play!
5. Desserts and Cafe hop. 

After some 400 miles (640km) in 48 hours on the motorways, we were now reunited in Leicestershire where we live. That meant we were all a little knackered from all the travelling. I think the worst mistake we can ever make when going on vacation is planning one that is so exhausting you'll need another vacation after that. 

We enjoyed a couple of really slow days where we just enjoyed each other's company. The kids bombarded their aunt with card games, board games and video games. Debra hung out in the kitchen with her sister and we enjoyed the simple meals. We've grown to appreciate just recharging with no agenda, just meals and company. 
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We took a stroll at our local Everards Meadows, blew bubbles and whinged about the gloomy skies. haha!

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​HIGHLY RECOMMENDED ACTIVITY WHEN TRAVELLING: Take a stroll in a large local supermarket. Our visits to Tesco (a local supermarket chain) turned out to be surprisingly therapeutic for all of us. I've not come up with an explanation for that...do you have one?

Once we felt recharged and ready, we crossed the border over into our favourite place in the world: Wales. Dolgellau, Gwynedd was our mandatory stop and TH Roberts (LL40 1BD) is our compulsory lunch spot. (Gluten free options available!)

After filling our tummies, we picked Cregennan Lakes in Gwynedd and Llandudno's Marine drive as our day's agenda. We spent the time soaking in the countryside, fresh air, strong winds and amazing sunshine. It was a lot quieter when we were out in nature. I guess we can all agree, with views like that, words fail us. 

The day definitely felt like it was too short. It wasn't long before we watched the sunset and revelled in some crazy dance music on our ride home. ​

The countryside is like a balm to the soul. We always recommend visiting Wales because it is just so incredibly gorgeous. We've met the warmest, kindest and most helpful people in Wales. I think the perspective and calm of being around our natural environment helps make us better people. What better place to be when taking a break from the hustle?

We spent a couple more days having early nights when we felt tired and woke up later when we wanted. The kids started their mornings with games and chats in bed with their aunt. The grownups had evenings watching our favourite shows (and some Rick Astley, haha!) while enjoying a glass of wine. 

We also took time to explore our shared interests in space at the National Space Centre in Leicester and ancient history at Oxford's Ashmolean Museum. It was refreshing to be away from work, be with the people you care about and just enjoy each other. 

We spent the last bits of the 10 days in the Cotswolds exploring the treasures within the villages. Stow-on-the-wold's candy store and other small local produce shops were really interesting. Feast your eyes on beautiful architecture and then enjoy all the amazing cheese, wines and candies you'll find in the shops! What we all really enjoyed was The Old Bakery Tea Room (GL54 1BN). They serve the most delicious gluten-free scones and meals. It must have been years since we've had scones that didn't ruin our guts. The cream and jam (or jam and cream) just made our smiles wider. 

Just like how a pot of tea always finishes too quickly, the 10 days flew by. We found ourselves at Heathrow again saying our goodbyes this time but our hearts and tummies have been very very full. We'll meet again.