London For Kids: I Need Your Help!

So much to do, so little time! Smix & I have booked an overnight stay in London for Easter time. I've been three times since he was born, but he's never came along with me. 

Micromachines London Bus

Zero gravity car

Because I went a few times (blog award trips), he has always associated London with fantastical toys. This is because I would bring him a quirky toy each time, something he couldn't see in the shops here. 

So I knew he would be excited at the idea of going himself, but I wasn't quite ready for the reaction I got. we were driving away from school and he wound his window down and yelled 'I'm going to London' to anyone he knew. You'd think no-one had ever been on holiday before.

Then he came home and built some London landmarks in Minecraft PE. I've also been bombarded with questions such as, 'How long are days in London?' & 'Do they use paper money for £1 or coins like us?'. Godlovehim.

This is why I DO have to take him places. We never travelled as a family before the separation- we went to Paris Disney paid for by my parents for a huge trip for my Dad's 60th, 4 1/2 years ago, and any local overnights were sought by me in a blogging exchange fashion. I remember my parents took us to Portugal every year for a fortnight- it seems everyone's families could afford that back in the 80s. Travel broadens the mind they say, so one of my attempts of being a good parent is to make sure Smix gets to see more than just NI. My circumstances don't allow for more than two days mind you. The M.E. is going to hit me like a tonne of bricks after this, I know that. But Smix's knowledge is worth it, and I'm hardly complaining about having a holiday either! 

So I have some ideas of tourist attractions to definitely include, but locals or other parents- I would love any advice or tips offs on lesser known events or novelty restaurants. Let me know on Twitter @rudedoodle or just shoot me a mail kitschandink@me.com 

Oh! Also is The Shard suitable for kids or would they be bored?

Thanks! 

Duck Bus tour for all the sight seeing. No time to visit each individually. 

Ripley's Believe It or Not. My spiritual home

I would be a terrible parent if I skipped out this

Not 100% on going on this- how long does it take and is it any good? 

Anyone have a review about this? 

Wed night simply MUST include a novelty restaurant

Breakfast here on Thursday morning for sure! 

Happy European Languages Day! Here's My Son Dressed As a Pizza!

Michael was a pizza and his friend Connie was the Italian chef! They won first place in their class for their inventive national dress.

Our Summer 2015 Dublin Trip, The Good & The Bad!

On Sunday, Michael and I drove down to Dublin for one last trip of the summer. We started off early and stopped at Fiveways Diner in Newry for breakfast. Because it was Sunday morning in Northern Ireland, nowhere else was open! 

Unfortunately our visit left a bad taste in the mouth. The espresso tasted terrible, and my order, an omelette, took twenty minutes. I think they actually forgot about my order, as by the time it came Michael had long finished his cupcake, and my coffee was gone too. But we hit the road again and our next stop was our accommodation, Phoenix Park Travelodge.  

I booked the room back in June and got it for only €40. The hotel was quite easy to find, even without Satnav. Round the M50 ring road and exit on the N3. The Travelodge is on the side heading into Dublin. 

We arrived at about noon, and I'm not sure when check in was, but they said our room was already ready if we wanted it. As it was we just checked in and asked directions to get a bus into the city. The car park at the Travelodge is a good size, and free, so we just caught a bus at the stop outside the hotel. Dublin buses aren't like Translink buses on a Sunday, we caught one within 3 minutes. There's a bus along so frequently that the longest time you'd have to wait would be about 9 minutes. Plus it only cost €2.20 for us both to get the bus, which took about fifteen minutes to get into the city centre. 

The city was buzzing, and everything was open, not like a Sunday afternoon in Belfast which can be a bit like a graveyard. We tracked down the city centre branch of Yo Sushi! and were excited to see it was unlimited dishes from the train for €20 for adults and €10 for kids. 

Michael brought his own chopsticks that Gill kindly sent him last week! 

Usually we would be in our element, but this branch isn't owned by the same group as our favourite Belfast restaurant, and the sushi just didn't taste good. The restaurant was quite warm and I think maybe some of the dishes had been circling for some time. Between us, in the end we only ate four plates! That's unheard of! The final straw was when I picked a plate of raw salmon, opened it, to be hit with an awful plastic smell. I tasted it, spat it out and called the waiter. He apologised and said it was the garnish that smelt like that, but it doesn't smell like that when I get it in Belfast. We asked for our bill and left. 

In Grafton Street we stopped at the huge Disney Store, it has three storeys & a big Disney Princess section. I forced Michael to pose with Anna, as you can see by the face! 

From Grafton Street it's only a short walk to the national museums. As they are closed on Monday, that swayed our decision to do the city centre on Sunday and the zoo the next day. The museums are free, and the natural history one is heaven for me- the most taxidermy I've ever seen. 

After the museum we did a bit of shopping, bought some massive cupcakes and snacks for back at the Travelodge, then caught a bus back there. We got back about 5pm, but we couldn't have kept going without being too tired to do the zoo the next day. 

The restaurant & bar at the hotel opened at 6pm, so we went there to eat. The menu was basic and straightforward, with a kids' option for €6.50 for two courses. You can eat in or take the food back to your room. 

After we ate we headed back to the reception to buy access to wifi. This is via a BitBuzz voucher for €5 which you'll need PER DEVICE, and which lasts 24 hours. This was fairly annoying, as I had reckoned wifi would be free. It was all the more annoying that my ipad couldn't find the network at all. I finally got registered with my iPhone, but found the wifi didn't work while I sat in bed, only when you sat at the table in the room, which made it totally useless. If you're going to charge for wifi, at least make sure it works in all the rooms.

The second problem was the noise. We were in an end room, on the ground floor. We fell asleep crazily early due to our busy day, and I woke up at 930pm to hear someone stomping about upstairs. It went on and on, to the point where I was baffled to what they were doing that you'd need to walk about so much and for so long. About 10pm I went to reception to complain. The receptionist apologised but said they had no other rooms we could move to, but that she would immediately go speak to the person in the room above. I told her it didn't seem like the person was making noise out of badness, or having a wild time, but that it was stopping us sleeping, even with pillows over our ears! The noise died down a bit and we fell asleep. 

Until 230am, when the person was up and about again, walking and walking. Off to reception again in our pyjamas to ask the receptionist to knock their door again. The noise stopped and we slept. 

The Travelodge we stayed in was the Phoenix Park branch, so in the morning it only took us ten minutes to drive through the park and to the zoo car park. We arrived about 1030am and because of the beautiful weather, it was already becoming quite busy. There was a very short queue for tickets, then we entered the zoo. A handy hint to avoid crowds, everyone heads off to their left when they enter the gate. We chose instead to head to the right and visit in an anticlockwise direction. It meant the first hour it was very quiet, even though the zoo was packed.

Inside the Meerkat Restuarant

Dublin Zoo is a completely different experience to Belfast Zoo. The animals have bigger territories, more places to escape from the public eye if they wish to, and just a lack of moments where you think 'that poor animal shouldn't be in somewhere like that', which I'm afraid happens more and more often walking round Belfast Zoo.  

Also there are barely any hills! To walk Belfast Zoo you have to tackle Cave Hill, which can be exhausting. Dublin Zoo also has more toilets, cafés, vending machines etc along the way. We stopped halfway around at The Cove Cafe and got two kids' meals of chicken strips, chips and a drink for €6.50 each. They were quite greasy, so if you want a healthy option I'd bring a picnic. 

Another point to note is you'll need coins for the vending machines if you want to buy drinks on your way around. The zoo doesn't have any ATMs, but you can get cash back in the Meetkat Restaurant. 

So we had a lovely time at the zoo, then around mid-afternoon we headed back out of Dublin and hit the motorway, stopping at Applegreen's for coffee of course. We also stopped in Dundalk at Marshes, then arrived home about tea time, tired but happy. 

Another Day Trip Destination: Kilbroney Park Narnia Trail

Two weeks ago I shared with you the new family forest trail at Slieve-Gullion . My friend Karen tipped us off about a similar destination, The-Narnia-Trail at Kilbroney Forest Park. We hadn't been to Kilbroney before, but we had driven past the entrance to it several times whilst staying down in that direction. It's situated right outside Rostrevor, near Warrenpoint, which means if you are Bangor or Belfast based, like us, it is a bit of a hike, but given that it's summer you can take a day and maybe fit in Slieve Gullion too. We were staying not too far away, in Teepee Valley one night and Hanna's Close the next, but I shall tell you about them shortly.

Kilbroney Park has a large carpark which is free. The set up is a bit like Carnfunnock in that there's a good sized, free play park, and a multi-level restaurant/cafe. Plenty of free to use toilets too, and by the looks of things mountain bike trails and rentals. The day we were there there was a guy doing horse drawn carriage rides, I think it was about £3 an adult, £1 a child.

As for the Narnia Trail itself, it's great. I love any sort of sculpture walk, so these trails are right up my street. It's worth asking directions, as there are signs all over the place, but to actually get to the trail from the carpark you have to go down through the building and then down to your left, past where the outdoor gym equipment is. 

The trail then begins with a giant wardrobe, of course, and it's well signposted throughout. It's a lot shorter in length than the Giant's Lair walk; I'd say the Narnia one is only 1/4 mile in a small loop. You do go off road so to speak, down through wooded areas & over lawns. It's definitely worth a day trip however, with the added bonus of one of the citadels looking a little like Elsa's castle! 

Our Anniversary Getaway at The Causeway Hotel, Bushmills.

Last weekend we celebrated seven years being married, and spent a wonderful night away staying at The Causeway Hotel, Bushmills.

Owned in part by The National Trust, this pleasant hotel has the prime location on the North Coast, settled right on the cliff tops, literally a stone's throw from the Giant's Causeway. From the free car park you have views of the world famous landmark, and if you look at the far right of the photo below, you'll see the entrance to the visitor attraction. You really can't stay closer, and as a guest of the hotel you and your family have free entry to the Causeway and centre automatically.

The rooms are airy, spacious, clean and tailored to take advantage of the jaw dropping views. Our room welcomed us with fruit and bubbly, as they knew we were celebrating, a lovely touch. 

You may guess for such a prime location you'd pay top dollar. Well I've just checked room prices for this weekend coming and you can stay in a double as a couple for as little as £99 a night. 

The best part about the room is that the doors open out onto your very own little outdoor terrace, where you can sit for the evening and chat.

Last summer we attempted a visit to The Giant's Causeway as part of the blogging trip I wrote up for Tesco Living. As soon as we jumped off the little bus the heavens had opened, so we had to scramble back onto the bus and just take in the new visitors' centre instead.

This year we couldn't have planned any better weather. We got the bus down to the stones from the centre, explored them then climbed the 160-something cliff steps to walk back to the hotel along the cliff tops. 

Again, this is how close The Causeway Hotel is to the visitor centre. It's in the background, I'm standing on the roof of the centre.

After all that trekking we were pretty hungry, so we drove the ten minute journey to Portstewart and had burgers and ice cream in Morellis. There was also a new doughnut shop along the front.

The day was so beautiful we decided to stock up on snacks and just spend the evening at the hotel. Just beyond the visitor centre is a quaint little country pub called The Nook. We dandered over and had pub chips sitting at one of their outside picnic tables overlooking Port Ballintrae & Portrush beyond. It was so relaxing.

Of course I can't finish a hotel blog without sharing with you their Ulster Fry breakfast! My husband had that and I had pancakes and bacon.

It was definitely the most 'get away from it all' hotel stay I've ever had, and I'm pencilling in a stay for our 8th anniversary next year. It could become a lovely little tradition. Thanks for having us, Causeway Hotel.