A Week in England

We're lucky to have some family in England and took advantage of a week off of school and work to go visit them. Paul's sister and her family live about 40 minutes outside of London in Chelmsford, which is in the county of Essex. They have two little kids, a boy who just turned 2, and a baby girl who is now 7 months. We really enjoyed spending time with them, getting to know the kids, and going to parks and shops. 

We also spent a day in London. Now Paul and I have been to London a couple of times before and while I certainly haven't done everything, we don't have the pressure to go and DO a lot. Which is not really ideal with two little kiddos. So we focused on what would be easiest and asked Julia what she wanted to do--which was ride a bus. :) A great activity in London with their iconic doubledecker red buses!

So we caught the train in, enjoying the views of the countryside, and started from Liverpool Street Station. From there were caught a bus for a 15minute ride to the Borough Market. We wondered around there and found some snacks before catching a bus back to the Spitalfields Market. There were food trucks and restaurants as well as market stalls to explore. After we ate, found some cupcakes, and explored the market, the kids were tired and ready to head back. We were probably on in London for 4 hours in total, but that was all we needed and we had a really fun time! 

One day we also drove over to Weston-super-Mare and visited Paul's grandma, we call her mum. She looks like the queen of England and has a little two bedroom apartment in the downtown area. From there we could walk around downtown and to the waterfront. They have a pier with a big arcade center with rides and games. Julia also talked us in to letting her ride a little donkey on the beach. 

Both kids did pretty well with the car ride and the ferry trip between Calais and Dover. The crossing over was rough waters and delays, but going back it was smooth and quick. We loved having a break and relaxing with family for a while.