Long weekend fun in the sun- featuring London & Windsor :)

Ooh, this past weekend was just brilliant! I think you can go and ask anyone living in the UK, and they’re all going to say the same thing- the last weekend was brilliant! Think of all the happy, sunny songs you can think of- yep, that was exactly the kind of music going on in my head all the three days:) So, here is a recap of what we did this weekend- our fun in the sun log 8D

Day 0: Friday Afternoon (pre-weekend vibes already!)

Friday was work day for me, but because of the up coming long weekend and the fact that the weather was just marvelously sunny and warm, I think everyone at work was ready to wrap up earlier than usual. All the meetings done, I got to log off for the day by 3:30 pm and I had 2 hours for myself before I had to pick up my daughter! Wow! So, I walked down to the library, borrowed two books that I wanted to read, walked around a little more, and bought some mason jars and funky cups in anticipation of a lot of juices and smoothies to drink in, later. It was an amazing 2 hours! I also managed to go for my Yoga class, cook dinner, watch an episode of Alienist with my husband on Netflix, and have two glasses of JD with coke (here’s to Fridays!)

Day 1: Day trip to London and spending the day with friends & their kids

Saturday morning after breakfast, we left for London to spend the day with an old friend of mine and her family. She and her family live quite close to Central London, so we got to see all the hustle and bustle of a sunny morning in London, on our way to their place. My friend has two daughters and one of them is around the same age as mine, so you can imagine, that the kids hit it off instantly, and set off to playing and exploring the house and toys. It is just amazing to be able to catch up with old friends over meals- conversations with friends, take 2 😀 (book reference..heheh). Around evening, we all headed off to a nearby park, and wrapped up the day with the most delicious Chinese meal at PingPong..All of us had a great day!

Day 2: At home, the park and lots of water play for the kid

We didn’t go out out the city on Sunday- just stuck to the usual chores of cleaning the house and stocking up on groceries and cooking a little. I took the water/sand play table out to the balcony and let my daughter have her fill of playing with the water and her cups there, and soak up as much Vit D as possible:) We ate ice creams and then I took my daughter out for a walk in her stroller. We stopped by a pond to see the ducks and lounge around in the grass and have some grapes, and then we went to the play ground, where she got to go on her swing, slide and just run around in general. It was an amazing 2 hours out in the sun again..I think both of us loved it!

Day 3: A picnic on the grounds of Windsor castle, overlooking the Thames river channel

We left home around 10 am, and it took us an hour to drive down to Windsor. I had no idea we had such a beautiful place so close to Hatfield! There were so many people, shops, eating joints, children parks and play areas, boat rides along the river channel, and not to forget, the huge Castle!! I had not expected the Castle to be so big! Initially, I hadn’t given a thought about going inside the castle, but now I am really intrigued, and want to see how the royals live even today! Just a fantastical idea, but I’ll need to make a trip alone again to see the castle from inside, since I’m not sure my 2 year old will have the patience for a tour like that. So, we parked at the river side parking, and walked along the river channel a bit, looking at the beautiful swans and numerous ducks and many tourist boats, along the way. My daughter was clearly having a field trip of a day! We found a spot on the other side of the river, and set up our picnic there. I went in search for some sandwiches for lunch, while my daughter turned into a dog (yeah, she was running around and rolling on the grass, just like all the other dogs were doing..lol), and my husband tried to run after her 😀 Sadly, most of the eating cafes this side of the town were close due to the public holiday, but I did find one pub open and they kindly agreed to give me some smoked salmon sandwiches in a takeaway bag. On my way back, I spotted an antique book shop and I was so excited! I went in, in the search of some books to pick up, but most of the books were about artifacts on the Queen or the royal family or about the World War. There was an entire shelf of books by Charles Dickens and I was really tempted to buy some, but I don’t know why, I just didn’t end up buying anything. I regret that decision now 😦 Anyway, it was nice to be able to walk around alone on the streets, and explore a little, without having to worry about my daughter for a change:) By the time I returned and we finished out sandwiches, my daughter had finished all her juice, fruits, crackers and smoothies and she seemed ready to doze off any second now!

So we decided to get an ice cream before heading back, but she did crash within 5 minutes of sitting in the stroller. So my husband and I got our ice creams and enjoyed a walk along the river, with our ice creams- these moments are rare too, when you can feel like a couple again 🙂 It was a lot of fun, and I was so happy! We left Windsor around 2 pm, and stopped for some bubble ice teas on our way back. My daughter napped the entire way- poor kid must have really been tired, and then it was almost the end of a beautiful and sunny long weekend:)

P.S.: All three of us had next day workday/daycare blues, by the way..lol! How was your long weekend?