The Jurassic Coast, UK

 We tried to fit in another quick holiday the week before school starts so off we went to the Jurassic Coast. This was a bit different from the other holidays as not only did it involved the husband coming but also some friends and their kids!

Off we headed to Weymouth all 8 of us. It was a sunny and warm day, thankfully! We got there after 2 after a slight delay en-route. Once we settled in our respective hotel rooms (no AirBnb 😑😑😑😑😑!!!), we went to Weymouth SeaLife. It was a nice walk by the Weymouth beach. All the kids and the husband in particular were excited about this as they are all fish mad. What caught my attention were the teeny penguins. So cute! The playground was amazing. Theres not much to say about SeaLife. It des what it says on the tin. 

Right opposite it was Sandworld. This is an attraction with sculptures made of sand. It was amazing to see the sculptures and the talent it took. The sculptures vary every time and is worth a visit. Theres also a sand art area where the kids wanted to create their own sand magic. It was at an extra cost but worth it.

The following day we headed to the Jurassic Coast which i was dying to go for a year now. My aim was Durdle Door, Man O'War and Lulworth Cove. We were lucked out with really nice weather! First stop, Durdle Door. It's stunning. The photos don't translate the beauty of it. We headed down the stairs which wasn't pushchair friendly at all and a bit steep. It wasn't as busy as we would have thought and found a space quite close the the arch. As soon as we set up, the kids got to their swimming suits and jumped i the water. The water was clear aquamarine water. I didn't know you could get aquamarine water in the UK!!!! The water was cold but it didn't stop the kids or me. I braved the cold water and jumped in there too. I even swam all the way to the other side of the arch and touched it. Apparently if you touch it, you need to make a wish. The water was a bit rough so I would recommend swimming that far only if you are water-confident. We spent a good portion of the morning there before we headed to the other beaches. That walk back was hard! We had to stop a few times to get back to our starting point and head back to the other beaches. We saw Man O'War but didn't get down as the kids were tired so missed it but took plenty of photos. There were no places to eat here. Next, we walked to Lulworth Cove which took us about 20mins. The views, oh the views, were indescribable. This is the place where there was lots of places to eat, visitor centre, boat rides and gift shops. the cove itself was beautiful. Again beautiful water and more places to discover. I recommend hiking shoes or solid trainers to do all kind of climbing! I discovered a new nook everywhere I turned. I wished I packed another set of swimsuit because the setting looked so inviting. It's absolutely stunning and you can fit it all in 1 days. Just pack a few bathing suits and good slippers as everything was shingles.

The next day was our final day there. We headed to Dorchester to do a few museums. The first one was the Dinosaur Museum for my paleontologist. It was a small museum but kept the kids busy. Next we went to my and Lucky's kind of museum, the Tuthankamun museum. It was all replicas but mind-blowing. There also had mummies which we we had to pay extra to see but we couldn't miss out on the mummies. The kids were totally creeped out! Next, we had a stroll around the market stalls in the town centre and relaxed before heading back to Weymouth. We had fish and chips while the kids played in the sand and water. Once we finished lunch, we went crabbing. We went to the old harbour and took us a while to catch our first crabs. 2 were caught by the husband and 1 by Mahi. The other kids and adults were very patient and tried very hard but couldn't catch anything unfortunately. On our way back, we watched how they made ice cream rolls and it was mesmerising. We bought  a few and you have to eat them quickly as it melted quickly. But delicious!

Another action-packed holiday but more beautiful memories made! Will definitely recommend even as day trips!

Our first ski holiday - Bulgaria

 Every year, I try to introduce my kids to something new whether it’s activities, places, food, etc... So last year, before the pandemic hit the world, I wanted the kids to experience something they never tried before but always intrigued them... skiing. I've done skiing back in France but its been 2 decades since then so I was beginning again too! I was very nervous as I hated ski lifts!but I have to be brave!

 Next which country? As you know I love going to countries which aren't too touristy so I can still experience the people and culture! One of my close friends recommended Sofia so upon reading around the capital and the country, I decided that this is where we will go for our half-term!

Next, to decide how many days, where to stay, what to see and how to get around: 

• Accommodation - We found a 2 bed-flat airbnb right in the capital about 15mins walk away from the centre of the capital with mountain views! I love airbnbs as they are considerably cheaper and you get to live and shop like locals. I love going to local grocery shops with the kids and play with the money, read the signs and learn some words that way too! You'll only find us in a hotel if absolutely desperate!
• Ski - Next a ski resort quite close to Sofia. Vitosha mountain range was literally on our doorstep and they offered skiing lessons too. Through several emails and what exactly I was looking for me and my kids, we were assigned a ski instructor, Yasen (who looked like Gino D’Campo) who will be transporting us there and back for the whole weekend! It was such a fuss-free process! Ski equipments were to be provided too so we only needed the appropriate clothing.
•  Travelling around the country -  I was told that the transport system was a bit dodgy and to get a car if possible. I don't drive, which was never an issue anywhere, and I wasn't going to let this be an issue either. As I planned my itinary and where exactly I wanted to go, I contacted the tourism office on Facebook and asked them for reliable chauffeurs. They have given me a list and after reading reviews, I zoned on 1 taxi firm who again were so nice and professional. They gave me exactly what I needed and very patient with my back and forth as I was amending my itinerary. The chauffeuring service was again very cheap.
• Activities - on top of skiing, we also wanted to experience some other activities. Airbnb was my saviour who listed me a range of activities. We found a couple of things we really wanted to do and so contacted the different hosts and arranged a few things.
• Preparing for the trip - we have 0 ski clothes so off we went to Trespass for some clothes and boots. It was so fun! I had a colleague who goes skiing every year so she gave me a list of what I need but also gave me some of the stuff that her kids outgrew which saved me quite a bit of money!

The trip:

We arrived in Sofia on Friday before lunch and hit the ground running. We were picked up by our chauffeur and off we went to our first destination in Bulgaria which was Bayona church in Sofia. This is a church known for its medieval art! It was absolutely stunning. With snow and the sun hitting, the art was beautiful and one-of-a-kind. The kids, due to their ages, couldn't appreciate the art so they were just snow fighting outside the church. Next, we headed 2 hours away from Sofia to the Rila Monastery. It is 'known as one of Bulgaria's most important cultural, historical and architectural monuments.' It is located in a part of Rila Mountains and so this monastery was in the middle of the mountains and covered in snow. There are no words to describe the place. The church inside the monastery had such vivid coloured paintings. We couldn't make any noise in the church which gave me so much peace. Definitely needs to be on your list to visit. Next we headed back to Sofia. It was evening time by the time we came back so unpacked (yes, I wasn't joking when I said we hit the ground running) and went to do some shopping and also see the centre of the Capital city. In the night, with the lights, it had such a majestic aura! The  Cathedral Saint Aleksander Nevski, which is another must-see in Bulgaria was breathtaking! As a woman of colour with 2 kids, walking around at night, I wasn't scared at all (I don’t do holidays with the husband. It’s too stressful!) The people were very friendly if I needed to find my way again.The interesting bit for me was one of the subways had some preserved ruins of the old Roman city. It had information in English so it was easy to follow what they were.

The weekend was here so our skiing lessons started. Our instructor, Yasen, meet us at our doorstep and took us to the ski resort in Vitosha. He gave us a running commentary of the monuments and places we saw en route!  The weather was great! It was snowing on Saturday but Sunday was sunny and beautiful. Yasen was very patient with us. Mahi loved it more than Lucky. Lucky completely gave it up on Sunday! Skiing wasn't her thing. Me and Mahi got the hang of it and loved it despite falling several times! After we wrapped up our skiing weekend, that evening, we wanted to cook traditional dishes. So Yasen kindly dropped us there. Our host for the night welcomed us with music, warm tea and Banista, a pastry made of cheese, which was absolutely divine and needed after a whole of skiing. We then make Bulgarian meatballs which the kids loved getting their hands stuck in. We loved how our host explained the meaning of each food, spices and the Bulgarian  culture. We finished off the meal with some delicious Baklava. As a parting gift, our host gifted us homemade Bulgarian spices! How nice?! To this day, Mahi still remembers the meatballs and reminds me if I miss a step when we make it!

The next day, we went ski mobiling in Rila Mountains. The organisers picked us up from our flat and took us to where the activity was taking place. The instructors were great and taught us exactly how to do it. The kids jumped with each instructor whereas I had a snow mobile of for myself. I was petrified but acted brave. I thought I was going to be driven around!!! And to make things a bit more challenging, the route we were going to use wasn't smooth apparently as overnight some big vehicles left deep tracks in the snow therefore there’ll be holes to avoid. So off we went. It was scary but i did it without losing control and in 1 piece. I remember there was this particular rough spot and I thought I was going to lose control but thankfully, I still have some grey cells remaining which helped me manoeuvre the ski mobile! Everyone was so impressed and me the most. It was such a thrilling experience! My kids each had turns of their own too in a safe place and Mahi wouldn't let go of the snowmobile. We spent half a day there and we have no idea how the time went. Next stop, after some food, we headed down the mountains to Bansko where we jumped  in natural thermal mineral springs! Unfortunately, i didn't take my phone but with the mountains in the background and us swimming in the hot springs, wow, I couldn't actually believe it! It had several springs and our body needed it after so many days of sporting! The kids loved it and wouldn't come out. 

On our departure day, our chauffeur from our first day, picked us up again for another heavy day. We were heading to Plovdiv, an ancient city built between hills! It is the oldest city in Europe. You can see the Greek influence from the ampitheatre to the ruins. With its cobbled streets and charming houses and workshops, we enjoyed it thoroughly. We visited different museums as part of the same tickets too!  Please visit this city. It has so much to offer! After lunch, we headed to another must-see place, Asen's Fortress. It was built in the medieval times and an important place in the Bulgarian history. The climb was scenic with some amazing views! I cannot comment more on the views as you had to be there to see it.

Unfortunately, this was our last destination before we headed to the airport!

Bulgaria will be a country which we will visit again as we need to do the other side of it as the kids call it! It wasn’t crowded with tourists meaning you can experience the local culture! This country is so rich in history so do visit! 

Whitby

 I first heard of Whitby through my work colleagues and just 1 word attracted me to the place. Dracula! Me and kids love anything paranormal, blood and gore so off we backed our bags again to explore another part of England. We've never been to Yorkshire so I was  very excited. However, the weather wasn't on our side but that didn't stop us!

As we do, we literally dropped our bags and off we went to walk around the town. We were right by the beach so that's where we headed. We didn't swim because it was cold and windy  but had a nice stroll by the beach. We then headed to the arcade games to loosen up a bit before the Ghost Walk that I booked. The kids never got to play in the arcades as they are usually quite expensive but these games were just £1! We had so much fun! After dinner, we went on a  Ghost Walk around Whitby. The leader was great and was very kid friendly and walk was quite easy. . We heard lots of ghost stories! It took 1h30 but we learnt so much about Whitby. 

The next day, we did all the touristy things. We climbed up the 199steps and did a bit of grave hunting on top of the hill. We were especially looking for Humpty Dumpty's grave which funnily enough was there in an egg-shaped grave.

We then headed to the Dracula Experience. It was alright, more for the kids. My youngest was a bit scared but a good way to learn about Dracula.

We did couple a couple of museums too which didn't take us long. The Captain Cook museum was alright. We especially like the Hand of glory in the Whitby Museum. However, I enjoyed the Whitby Jet Museum which had some beautiful jewellery made out of jet.

We wanted to do some crab catching but it started to rain so much that we had to miss it.

We had dinner on the Endeveaour Experience which is the replica of the boat that Captain Cook went on to his voyages. The food was good and the portions were huge. It was an experience nonethless.

We also did a few hikes too but literally had to drag the kids. We took the steam train to Goathland which appeared in the Harry Potter movies. The journey there was beautiful with some picturesque views. We did another hike to a waterfall called the Mallyan Spout Waterfall which was absolutely stunning. The kids loved the moderate climb up the rocks to see the waterfall. 

Finally, we visited Whitby Abbey which was exquisite. Part of the English Heirtage so free for members. What enhanced the visit was the kid-friendly Dracula show. It was so good that even my pre-teen and I enjoyed it. It was not a sit-down performance but took us through and around the Abbey.

One thing about Whitby was it was very cheap. From the food to attraction, everything was cheap! Another great place to visit with kids!

Lake District

 I never knew that the train journey to Lancaster to Windemere was going to be as beautiful as it was. It was so much green and instantly felt calm and relaxed. I also underestimated how stunning Lake District was going to be. I am going to apologise in advance for repeating how stunning the views were! 

 Despite the long train journey, me and the kids were buzzing. The weather was great and we didn't want to waste any time.  Our B&B  was close to Windermere station so we dropped our suitcases and off we went to our first activity which was the Beatrix Potter museum. The walk to it was idylllic and close to  Winderere Lake.

The Museum was so cute and my Peter Rabbit fan was over the moon, explaining everything he saw (eventhough I watched the movies a million times with him!) I particularly enjoyed the bit about the life of Mrs Potter. If you got little ones, I will highly recommend it. Prices were reasonable and can be done under 1 hour. 

We then took a stroll around Windermere Lake. Again, you have to see it to understand the beauty of what we saw. The beautiful waters against the green surrounding you... It was just stunning. There were numerous paths to walk around. After dinner by the lake, we decided to watch the sunset from a high point so off we went to Orrest Head. The clim up was only 20-30mins with lots of beautiful views. When we reached the top, the sun was setting and the colours it threw was so pretty!! Its places like that where you appreciate nature so much. No matter how many photos I took, it doesn't quite capture the actual beauty of what we saw!

Windermere is such a cute town with lots of places to eat from. We were spoilt for choices.

After some good rest, the next day we spent the day in Brockhole further up Windermere lake. This is an adventure park. There was so much to do for kids. There was a Go-Ape inspired activity. I had a great time chasing the kids up on The Treetops Nets. What a workout we got! The kids had a go at Krazy Karts which looked so fun that I wanted to join in but it was kids only. There was archery and clay shooting. You can also do lots of water sports but kids weren't keen on it so they just swam in the lake. We also walked around the grounds to enjoy the views.

Rydal Water was another beautiful place. I loved the climb up. The highlight of the Rydal water was a cave. The way to get into the cave was by stepping stones through water which was filled with fishes. The walk up was longer than Orrest Head. We stopped so many times to admire the views and take photos that I don't actually know how long it should have taken us.  Another beautiful hike that I would highly recommend.

Keswick is another place we went to before we headed home. The weather suddenly turned a bit chilly so it's a good thing I had a museum booked. The Puzzling Place was so intriguing. It had such cool things to see and experiment! It was dead cheap too. We then headed to Derwent Water for another hike and a picnic near another lake. Again, absolutely stunning. 

We will go back and visit Lake District for more hikes and stunning view. This has now become my favourite place in the whole of Britain!!!

Hastings

 We were looking for  a place to stay near the seaside, not busy  and little so easy to get around. Hastings popped up and off we went on the train journey there.

Didn't take long from London and we thought we will also fit in another town before we got there. Looking at the route, Rye stood out. I heard that Rye was beautiful and had a nice beach so we did a quick stop. Rye was such a cute town with cobblestones. We didn't stay long in the town. We went to the Camber Sands where we spent our afternoon. This was during the heatwave so we coudn't wait to get into the water and it was so refreshing. We don't know how long we stayed in the water but we stayed for a very long until early evening. It was a pebble beach which was the downside off it and there wasn't may cafes to get any ice cream or snacks! 

We then got back into the train to go to Hastings. When we came, it was the beginning of dusk. I always wanted to go to the beach at dusk and so we literally dropped our bags and went to Hastings beach. It was another pebbled beach much to our chagrin. We didn't  swim but we did do some rock hopping and the scenery was stunning. 

The next day, we went for a walk around Hastings Town. We went to Hastings castle. The road to the castle was very steep so if you are on feet, take care of kids. The backdrop of Hastings against the sea was stunning. They also had musicians playing and made the atmosphere very merry. The history was great as the kids learnt about the Hastings battle at primary school so for them it was great to see the place where they've read about it in books only. It's part of the English Heritage so free if you are members.

The crime museum is a very interesting museum looking at some of the famous crimes and the psychology behind it. It had interesting exhibits. Children are also allowed and it wasn't too expensiive. It took about an hour to look through the whole museum.

Next stop, behind the castle was the Smugglers adventure. The walk to it again was very scenic. This was very exciting as it was underground and we learnt a lot about the smuggling history. It was very intereactive and even had games inside it. Some areas were dark so beware. Entry prices were reasonable and it had a great gift shop.

For lunch, we headed to the pier. We took the cliff lift to take us down. It didn't have big rides  but suitable for younger kids. There's also a mini railway around the pier. On the South side of the beach, there's a maritime museum which detailed some shipwreck which occurred around the area but also other famous ones. It was so informative  and free to visit. Just in font of the museum is the aquarium. We didn't visit it this time but worth a visit with younger kids. Another museum round the corner was the Fishermen's Museum. Another small but free museum to visit which documents the history of fishermen in Hastings. Very interesting for someone who likes to learn new things!

Hastings could easily be done in a weekend and has something for everyone!

Reading on a budget

 I'm a bookworm. Reading is my happy place where I can escape for a few hours in another world, another life. I read during my commute and before I go to sleep. However, I can't afford to buy books all the time. So how do I still read without having to spend a fortune on books?

Libraries - We don't appreciate libraries enough. Library for me was also one of my favourite places since I was a child. It's free to sign up and every town has a library. If your library doesn't have the book you want, you can always request it. What's not to love about libraries?

Charity shops - I love to find hidden gems in charity shops. Yes, it's time consuming but when you find a good copy of a book you've been looking for everywhere, the feeling is something else.

Community mini-library - These are popping up everywhere now. I'm in the process of setting up one too. These are mini libraries (built out of shed or just books in a plastic box) where people give away their books and you can just take them home. Some mini libraries request you to swap books i.e you have to give some books to take some books. It's also a great way to bring people in the community together and get to know each other.

Book swaps - There's an annual London Children's bookshop which happens. We usually take a bag load of books to swap for other ones, Sometimes you can take adult books too but it depends on the place where you are swapping. 

Markets - my favourite book market is on the Southbank under the bridge. It's one of my favourite place. i cannot come empty-handed if I go past it. Some great gems to be found at a reduced price.

Abebooks - this is a second-book selling website associated with Amazon. The price is so reasonable with free postage on most books. You can find some hard-to-find-books on this website. 

Do you know of any other cheaper ways to get books?

'The Happiness Project' book

I never written a blog post about a book or it's effect on me but I will make an exception for this one because this book has made me a better person and made me more aware of myself.

How I came across this book? As you know, I have a reading list and this book was part of the must read books before you die. I don't like self-help books or books with lots of advice about how to live our lives but I made an exception for this one to see what the fuss was about. I'm so glad i bought it. 

The Happiness Project book was written by Gretchen Rubin who's mission is to be more happier over a year and how she introduces or changes things in her life. I had to have a notebook next to me to write down all the tips and fabulous quotes that I came across.

So I'm going to try and summarise what I changed for the better.

1) Understanding myself

This is a big issue for me. How can I explain myself when I can't understand myself? Till I had children, I was always compared to others which made me think that i was never good enough. My parents and husband always have high expectations of me and I always feel that I fall short of it. Being myself meant nothing to me. Since I was small, I always tried to be someone else. I based the way I dressed, spoke, behave, etc.... from girls which my parents were praising and comparing me too. It took me becoming a mother that i found out that I finally found myself i.e that I am as good as i am and there's only one of me!I can't please everyone and that is ok. How awesome is that?! It took me 21years to realise that! It doesn't mean that i don't  have those moments were I wished I was like someone else and doubting myself. My parents and husband are very good at reminding me that too. But I've developed such a good deaf ear for the past 11 years that I'm able to filter out their comments.. I also asked my best critics to describe me and the good things overshadowed the negative things. It gave me the confidence that I was good enough! i carry that list in my diary just in case i need a boost. Reading this book, reinforced that i was unique and if people don't want to accept me (my bad and goods), it is their loss!

2) Happiness to me

I've written a blog all about it here back in 2017 and looking back on it nothing much changed:

https://www.blogger.com/u/2/blog/post/edit/4124083420943040106/8167431094138906474

Reading this book made me also realise how hobbies are quite important and self-care. I've been investing more in taking care of myself over the last year. The hours after the kids have gone to bed are MY time. My commuting is strictly for reading or listening to song.  It has done wonders to my mood. If I wanted to learn something, I do it. I wanted to start making my own jewellery and lat year, I bought the tools and I have never looked back since! It also saved a lot of money. 

I loved creating memories but never had the time to document in a great way however after this book, I began scrapbooking and started making notebooks for everything off my interests. I have a reading book listing all the books I've read, a crafts book where I document all the crafts I've done with kids, a recipe book, a travel book, a notebook with topics that I want to learn about i.e. politics, inspirational women, the Eelam struggle, mythology, etc... since the kids 1st birthdays, i've been writing letters for the kids and emailing them frequently about things that i wanted to share with them here and there. I also want to start a photo album highlighting each their year and since this book, the daunting task of going through and organising my iCloud, usbs and mycloud has become a real joy! I've come across videos and photos that I've forgotten about and this is all thanks to this book. Imagine, the expressions on my kids' faces when they get to open all of these and see their memories being documented in such a manner! Lucky has already told me that if I die before I visit all the countries in my travel list that she'll carry my ashes with her and she'll make it a mission. Mahi has already claimed my recipe book to use when he's older! This gives me so much joy!

Not sure if this is because of kids but my artistic side has been flourishing. However, after reading the book, I thought I could become more braver with it. This year for Christmas I made my own personal gifts where I handprinted boxes and the kids loved that! They own mini keepsake boxes.

Traditions

The book emphasised on every family having their own quirky traditions as that's what makes us a family right?! It made me appreciate our family as a unit more. I love when my kids say for example "We don't do pancake day because every Sunday, it's our pancake day". Heres more of our traditions.

https://www.blogger.com/u/1/blog/post/edit/4124083420943040106/3257637408432528859

Living in the moment/making it count

I didn't need this book to tell me this as my job in cancer is a constant reminder that life is precious. However, sometime you forget and this book made sure that i remembered that life is fragile I don't like to think too much of the future as I don't know if I'll be alive or not. I enjoy everyday and make it count. I've come to a habit of praising a random person either on social media or in real-lie. For example, there's this lady on my commute who wears some beautiful skirt and I just went upto her and praised her on her skirt. The lady was so happy and that made my day. the feeling of making someone's day brings so much happiness. I have been doing that lately on social media too. On one of the FB groups, there's this lady repurposing old furniture and it is stunning. I just messaged her how stunning her work is and she replied with saying how it meant the world to her. That made me happy. Whether it's signing a petition a retweeting a charity/business, everyday I try to do something that will mean something to someone. I've become more conscious of using my phone around the house. I put my phone in my room and spend the evening fully focused on my kids. I started to hide all technologies over the weekend so we are not distracted. Little changes like this mades a huge difference.

Secure a future

Although living in the moment, some kind of planning the future is vital. When I talk of future, I talk of my kids futures especially. I try to make their adult life as smooth as I can. I've had life insurance for the past 8 years and savings for the kids.  The book reminded me to write a will although I have nothing in my possession and saving for myself too!!!! Thinking about others mean I forget about myself!

I've rambled on enough. Read the book! I assure you, you will learn something new in every chapter! We make our own happiness!