If you've been reading the boys' updates (or speaking to them in person!) you might be forgiven for thinking that all we have done on this holiday is watch inflight movies, eaten icecream and played at the odd playground.. I truly hope that when they look back on this trip as adults they realise that there is so much more to it! Rest assured, they ARE having fun and not just because they are getting more icecream (and sunshine) than usual!
London blew all my expectations right out of the water and was SUNNY and hot for the entire week. I think we had one day where it threatened to rain and another with some cloud but it was warm and summery and it really did feel like a holiday.
Staying in Kingston was great. Nina found us a wonderful Air BnB place big enough for nine (no small task!) and it was even better than it looked online. There was even a wee garden for the kids to play in and a big rumpus room downstairs so they had more than enough space to play. Callum and Daniel really enjoyed spending time with Maia and Noah. Thankfully they will have more time together at the end of our trip in France as well.
So what did we do in London for a week with three young boys? We did have a couple of days just chilling out and hanging around home. But we also took the train up to the city for a day (twice) and hunted for BFG Dream Jars, visited the Tower of London and took a tour with a Yeoman Guard, walked along the Thames and saw London Bridge, Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, St Paul's, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, the London Eye, St James Palace, The Mall, Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus, Hamleys, Regent Street and visited the Natural History Museum with the Kovacs as well. We went on a boat to Hampton Court Palace for the Good Food Festival and caught up with lots of old friends in the sun while we were there. Nina and I managed to see Les Miserable which was INCREDIBLE and will probably be one of the highlights of the whole trip.
Most importantly, we spent loads of time with our very good friends. It really made me miss our Singapore days (and Japan) and we are already plotting where we might be able to meet up next :)
Monday, August 29, 2016
Sunday, August 28, 2016
London - first impressions
Yesterday was a bit of a challenge: our flight landed not long after 7am and we were at Nina and Giles' place around 9 for breakfast and the second half of the Wellington Bledisloe Cup match. The boys were straight out into the garden and playing games with Maia and Noah, just what they needed after all those hours sitting on a plane. After breakfast we got ourselves organised and Giles brought us all round to the house we're sharing for the week here in Kingston. It really is perfect for two families and the Air BnB hosts have children similar ages to ours so there's plenty to keep five busy kids entertained when we're here as well.
We have loads planned for the rest of the week. Catching up with old friends, some dream jar hunting and sight seeing and on Tuesday Nina and I will be going to see Les Miserable.. I can't wait!!
For the boys, the highlights so far would be double decker bus spotting, a ride to the shops on a (regular) bus and all the games they've been playing outside with Maia and Noah. At least that's my take on things... They will probably tell a completely different story tomorrow!!
Sarah x
That 14 hour flight...
(followed by another 8 hour one)
Many, many people asked me if I was ready for this flight. I'm not sure whether it was self preservation or stupidity, but I spent a lot of time not thinking about it at all. In my mind, the kids had "done it all" before. They've certainly flown between Singapore and New Zealand (and other places) before anyway. The scary reality though, is that Melbourne to Abu Dhabi is over 14 hours, longer than the kids have flown in any direction, and we are following it up with another 8 hour journey to London with little more than a toilet stop at the airport in Abu Dhabi. What were we thinking?!!
Much more than any other holiday, I planned and overthought the seating arrangements, kids' snacks, what to take on board (as little as possible, that never changes!) and whether or not to take a car seat on board for Jack. We did bring the car seat and, despite a couple of hiccups, it was definitely the right option for us. Jack, as you know, is a hurricane at the best of times but being cooped up in one spot for hours on end is basically his worst nightmare. The car seat didn't actually solve that problem, but it did mean he couldn't undo his own seatbelt at least! He also had somewhere comfortable and familiar to sleep and for the most part, that worked.
There were a few downsides to the car seat thing: it meant the seat back touch screen was right at his eye level AND he could reach it. He could also kick the seat in front of him. We attempted to be less annoying to our fellow passengers by putting Daniel in front of Jack on both flights (sorry Daniel!!). Not much we could do about the TV screen except to keep it switched off.
Then when we arrived in Abu Dhabi, Mike had the FUN task of getting the car seat unbuckled from the plane. Hahahahahaha. That was enjoyable. We learned our lesson for the next flight and didn't do the buckle up RIGHT in the middle of the back of the seat (though that did mean it wasn't secured quite as tightly as it should have been I guess). One more tip about the car seat - Mike also fashioned straps (using straps off two sports bags) so that he was able to carry the seat on his bag when we were in the airport/boarding the plane and that was a LIFESAVER.
The other two boys were pretty happy to have unlimited access to movies and iPad games. In fact, Callum got so into playing the games on the inflight entertainment that we had to "ban" them on the second leg so that he might actually sleep!! Daniel still talks about how happy he was to watch 14 hours worth of movies - I think he's the only one actually looking forward to our return flights in November.
We survived though, and it wasn't as bad as I was expecting it to be in the end. Truly. But that doesn't mean I am looking forward to flying home again though ;)
Many, many people asked me if I was ready for this flight. I'm not sure whether it was self preservation or stupidity, but I spent a lot of time not thinking about it at all. In my mind, the kids had "done it all" before. They've certainly flown between Singapore and New Zealand (and other places) before anyway. The scary reality though, is that Melbourne to Abu Dhabi is over 14 hours, longer than the kids have flown in any direction, and we are following it up with another 8 hour journey to London with little more than a toilet stop at the airport in Abu Dhabi. What were we thinking?!!
Much more than any other holiday, I planned and overthought the seating arrangements, kids' snacks, what to take on board (as little as possible, that never changes!) and whether or not to take a car seat on board for Jack. We did bring the car seat and, despite a couple of hiccups, it was definitely the right option for us. Jack, as you know, is a hurricane at the best of times but being cooped up in one spot for hours on end is basically his worst nightmare. The car seat didn't actually solve that problem, but it did mean he couldn't undo his own seatbelt at least! He also had somewhere comfortable and familiar to sleep and for the most part, that worked.
There were a few downsides to the car seat thing: it meant the seat back touch screen was right at his eye level AND he could reach it. He could also kick the seat in front of him. We attempted to be less annoying to our fellow passengers by putting Daniel in front of Jack on both flights (sorry Daniel!!). Not much we could do about the TV screen except to keep it switched off.
Then when we arrived in Abu Dhabi, Mike had the FUN task of getting the car seat unbuckled from the plane. Hahahahahaha. That was enjoyable. We learned our lesson for the next flight and didn't do the buckle up RIGHT in the middle of the back of the seat (though that did mean it wasn't secured quite as tightly as it should have been I guess). One more tip about the car seat - Mike also fashioned straps (using straps off two sports bags) so that he was able to carry the seat on his bag when we were in the airport/boarding the plane and that was a LIFESAVER.
The other two boys were pretty happy to have unlimited access to movies and iPad games. In fact, Callum got so into playing the games on the inflight entertainment that we had to "ban" them on the second leg so that he might actually sleep!! Daniel still talks about how happy he was to watch 14 hours worth of movies - I think he's the only one actually looking forward to our return flights in November.
We survived though, and it wasn't as bad as I was expecting it to be in the end. Truly. But that doesn't mean I am looking forward to flying home again though ;)
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| Pre take-off.. |
Tuesday, August 23, 2016
Day 1: Wellington to Melbourne
Finally, the big day has arrived and I am sitting in between Daniel and Jack en route to Melbourne, our first stop on our 3 month journey. Mike is filling out our arrival cards, the big kids are enjoying playing on their iPads at last and Jack is playing cars with his Cheerios on the arm rest... And it still feels completely unreal that we are embarking on this trip that will take us to visit friends in London, family in the Netherlands and the Czech Republic and a whole lot of other places too. Three months stretches out before me like the endless sky outside the window and yet I know it will be over before we know it: back to school drop offs and playcentre duty and hanging out for Friday afternoon wines.
Yesterday I asked the boys to think about how they were feeling about going away: about where we'd be going and all the new things we will see and experience while we're there. They have been ridiculously excited about today for weeks and yet yesterday we had tears about how many play dates they will miss while they're gone (approximately 23, according to Callum) and missing birthday parties and dinners at Wagamama. It's a tough life!
Tuesday, August 9, 2016
Two weeks till Kick Off!
We are all (big kids included) starting to get pretty excited about our trip now. The bags are out - and almost packed! - and we are looking at things to do while we're away. Our first stop after visiting family in Australia will be London, so I have been researching the BFG Dream Jar trails which look awesome! Callum has recently finished reading the BFG at school and the boys saw the film during the school holidays recently too. Unfortunately, I don't think we can justify 40-odd GBP per person for the Roald Dahl High Tea at the Shard .. Boo hoo :(
Monday, August 1, 2016
Introducing Daniel
I hope I have a good birthday on holiday. The birthday will have lots of balloons.
I will have a yummy cake it will have two layers because mummy said I could. We will have a race.
I will have a yummy cake it will have two layers because mummy said I could. We will have a race.
Introducing Callum
Hi I am Callum and we are going to Europe in three weeks time and I can not wait till we go! I am looking forward to learning new stuff about Europe and sharing it with you.
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