We recently spent two whole months back home in England and welcomed our new arrival. I was very glad we left a little bit earlier than originally planned because our son decided to surprise us a week early; so we avoided having a very dramatic drive through France. It all worked out very well and I was able to have the same doctors and hospital as the first time, even if it was a bit of a shocking timing. It was also really nice to spend such a long chunk of time in England since we moved almost four years ago, and have a lot of family and friends around for support.
This trip was definitely not like our usual trips back because of the obvious, but we still managed to squeeze in a few things other than cuddles, nappies and sleep deprivation. We had a few yummy meals out, mostly sushi, Chinese and Indian. This included the super tasty food at the hospital. We did not have any visitors this time and only stayed for 2 nights because I was eager to introduce them to each other, but it was such a better experience for me personally. I was way less anxious and crazy because it wasn’t all new and terrifying. I actually ate the food this time and enjoyed it! With my first I was basically force feeding myself because I had zero appetite and was just terrified of taking my eyes off the new tiny human in our care. Beyond the hospital room service, we managed to squeeze in a quick date night, take aways and a few lunches out. I never thought I would be saying ”I miss London Asian food” but here I am… (funnily when I first moved to London I thought the Asian food was awful compared to Vancouver)
It was also great that we had time to squeeze in a bit of sight seeing. We did a Thomas the Tank Engine steam engines day for our four year old’s birthday. We went to Bournemouth for a few days, as a little family getaway, and this included an Oceanarium visit. We also went to the London Transport Museum, and the RAF Museum. Being a boy mom I am getting used to a lot of vehicle enthusiasm. They were actually pretty cool to be fair, and I had never been before. It’s always nice doing new things when we are back, as it often feels like I have done pretty much all the tourist attractions in London.
It was also just nice being there long enough to see a lot of our friends, and going to the neighbourhood fete, and the parks and playgrounds. Usually everything is just a mad rush to see people and get things done, but it was nice having an extended visit. Even with 2 months we still did not manage to see everyyyone, but we tried our best. We basically just said to our friends whoever wants to come visit let us know, as organising a big gathering was beyond my capabilities this time round. We only have one other trip planned this year as we also have a big move coming up, so just Christmas in Romania, but I do love Switzerland in summer and fall so I don’t mind the lack of travel this year. We have plenty going on at the moment 🙂
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