Sightseeing in West London: Hampton Court and Kew Gardens

We were starting to feel more comfortable getting around with all four of us and wanted to do some sightseeing. Before going for a real day trip, we decided to hit two spots that are just on the edge of London. Both happened to have events going on that turned into a bit of a scavenger hunt - which was great for keeping the kiddo interested when the subject matter really wouldn't do it. 

Hampton Court and Kew Gardens

Hampton Court
So Hampton Court Palace was basically stolen by Henry VIII from Cardinal Woolsey to become a royal palace. From what I gather, it was then sort of the main palace for the royalty from the 1500s-1700s  when William and Mary decided to move closer into the city and bought Kensington Palace.  This had been on our list to see for a while, and it turned out there was a special Easter event going on- so we decided to go for it. The event was really perfect actually - there were like a dozen bunnies hidden all over the palace and grounds that each had the answer to a question about the history of the Palace written on it - and if you got all the answers, then you could get a chocolate bunny as a prize. The only problem was that the last bunny was really hard to find, but we were totally entrenched at that point, so we schlepped all over the place in search of it. Turns out, they hid it behind an ice cream truck (cheeky bastards), but then we had them all and could proudly go get our chocolate bunny and head back home. On the one hand, we were so distracted by the bunny search and baby wrangling that I feel like I missed seeing everything else - on the other hand, it did force us to visit all of the key rooms and spots and learn just a few tidbits about the history that we probably otherwise would not have heard. I guess this place (like pretty much everywhere else we've visited in the last few years) will stay on my list, in hopes we can go back again and spend more time actually learning about it.

Hampton Court Palace

I gather this is an important clock

nice ceiling

searching for bunnies

hedge mazes are just the coolest

one of the interior courtyards

feels like Versailles

well-earned chocolate bunnies

time to go home

Kew Gardens
So - Kew Gardens is the big botanic gardens in the London area (royal, of course). We had actually been here before and wanted to come back. I read that there was a Dale Chihuly (the guy who does really cool glass sculptures) exhibit in place for the summer, my mother in law was in town, so we waited for day with nice weather and made the day of it. We had a quick picnic (a standard thing for us now), and then wandered the grounds looking for flowers and trying to find all of the sculptures, which were scattered around. After everyone was thoroughly exhausted, we hopped the boat for a leisurely ride back to town.

we never leave home without a picnic these days

quick stop in the children's garden

azaleas in full bloom

roses were awesome

little boy for scale - these things are huge

these were everyone's favorite

i really liked this one

massive thing hanging down from the ceiling

time for the boat ride home

boats are better with beers

boats. beers. baby.

So both trips were a success. One lesson we quickly learned was to bring our big stroller, and fill it to the brim. We had our picnic blanket, which gives the baby a place to roll around and everyone else a place to rest and refuel, obviously snacks, all the baby-changing equipment, and most importantly - a riding board that snaps onto the stroller so the kiddo can take a break when his legs get tired, as they inevitably do. Of course it's heavy as hell, and not easy getting it onto trains, buses, and boats, up and down stairs, and pushing through gravel and cobblestones - but the alternative - putting all the stuff on our backs, the baby in the carrier, and the tired kid on my shoulders - makes me want to cry (back pain is a real thing these days). So I think we kind of have this figured out and are ready to try some day trips a bit further from home. But I'm not sure what to do about international travel now, since we can't take this beast on an airplane. We'll have to figure that out soon though, since our next trip is coming up quickly! 

3 Days in Mallorca

Just after our big France trip last summer, I hit my third trimester, which meant I was no longer allowed to fly. I also quickly became huge and uncomfortable, so other than our short weekend getaway, train travel wasn't appealing either - so we were done traveling for a bit. Since the whole reason we moved abroad was to travel, I was desperately anxious to get moving again as soon as possible. It took much longer than expected to get the baby's documents together - we had to apply for a birth certificate, and then use that to apply for a passport, and then use that to apply for a resident visa - which just finally arrived when he was about 5 months old. So then we were finally ready to book our first trip with him. We just wanted to take it easy, so we started with a beach getaway to Majorca. 

The Spanish island of Majorca

Getting There

The part I was most worried about was the travel, of course, but it turned out to be pretty easy. We wanted to avoid carrying a huge baby carseat with us, so we planned it to ensure that he would never need to get in a car. We split up, so that I took him in the carrier to the bus stop, which took us to the train station, while Spouso and the kiddo took an uber with all the bags. Once at the train station, it's a quick ride to the airport. He was happy as can be in the carrier and fell asleep through all of the airport security chaos. They were both fine on the plane- the baby mostly stayed asleep or happily watching the window, while the kiddo has become an expert, and knew that if he waited until the plane reached cruising altitude, he could watch a show on the iPad. Then, once we landed, we had arranged a car to pick us up with two carseats, and take us to the resort. Easy peasy.  

at the train station - ready to go!

happy baby on a train

happy baby on a plane

this looks worse than it was.

Sunny Days at the Resort

The first day was lovely. We were able to switch between spending some time at the massive pool and playing on the beach. It was chilly to be in the water, but the kiddo jumped right into the pool, and even took his first attempt at swimming in the sea - riding a few waves and splashing around. The baby put his feet in the sand for the first time and the kiddo made some sand castles (we made sure there would be a sandy beach not a pebbly one). All in all- just lovely and what we were hoping for. 

view from our room

too cold for me - but you go right ahead

exploring the sand for the first time

so much better with sand than pebbles

almost quiet and relaxing

sand castles!

Rainy Days at the Resort

Well - that part ended quickly. The next day we woke up to cold, rainy weather, that stayed with us till it was time to go home. We did our best to make use of the indoor facilities at the hotel- we found an indoor pool and had it almost to our selves until everyone else had the same idea. Then we explored the kids' room, which turned out to be for younger kids, but was fun for a few minutes. Mostly, we just killed time from one meal to the next, and were glad we'd brought some games along with us. 

children's play room - not sure which age group this was meant for

a quick break in the rain - but stormy clouds ahead

a quick walk while the rain stopped

playing games in the hotel bar

The Food
So, when we travelled to Spain a few years ago (pre-kids), we were blown away by the food. The tapas, the seafood, it was all just lovely. So part of planning our trip to Majorca was assuming that we would get nice Spanish food. Not so. It turns out we sort of accidentally booked an all-inclusive family friendly resort, which meant there was just this massive cafeteria that had a huge buffet of pasta, french fries, and lots and lots of ice cream. It was as loud as an elementary school lunch room and felt about as sophisticated. We learned how to find the better options, but basically the food was just disappointing at every meal. Except of course, for our preschooler, who was just as happy as can be.

ice cream

ice cream

and more ice cream

Splitting it Up
It turned out to be really hard to get anything done around the baby's schedule - mostly because he likes to eat every 2 hours and take a nap every 2 hours - and wouldn't nap anywhere but in the room. Fairly quickly it became easier to just split up - one of us would stay with the baby in the room while the other took the kiddo to get food or go to the pool. Unfortunately, there wasn't any room service, so sometimes the room-parent would miss out and have to scrounge for snacks. Of course, the alcohol was also all inclusive, so that ended up being a saving grace.

double fisting while wearing a baby. 

Conclusions/ Lessons Learned

So the part I was most worried about - the travel bits - turned out to be fine. Instead, I should've worried a little more about what we were going to do during the day. It didn't occur to me that there could be rainy weather and we'd be stuck in the room. I'm so glad I threw in a few small games (dominoes and memory), and will definitely bring more the next time. As far as the food thing goes, I think we've learned our lesson not to stay at an all inclusive again. I wish instead we had stopped at a grocery store to pick up a few small things for breakfast and lunch that we could eat in the room together. For dinner, these guys are fine at a restaurant, so that would have been much nicer for us. I think the whole goal of this trip (other than to relax, which clearly never gets to happen) was to get confident with traveling all together - and I think that part was a success. So, we have some short day trips lined up and our next international trip already booked.