A brilliant and disastrous day

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We had a superb day in London. We spent plenty of Rands, yes, but we’re on holiday and so we’re allowed to do that, apparently. And that’s good, because nothing is cheap here.
London Eye, ice skating outside in the sunshine under the wheel, and then on to the (rather divisive among Trip Advisor users) Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park. Expensive, but absolutely amazing.

The disaster occurred on the train on the way in to do all this. A dropped phone, a smashed screen, some internal tears. I’m going to see if I can get it fixed tomorrow, or I might cry some more.

Photos (and there are plenty) are on the camera and will be uploaded from Sheffield upon our return.

Train thoughts

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Three hours (and four minutes) from Sheffield to London on board an East Midlands train would maim anyone through boredom. But with two kids in tow, it’s a killer. And the scenery isn’t exactly riveting through Leicestershire: power stations, wet fields and dirty horses. Then, to add insult to injury, you end up in Bedfordshire, which seems like some sort of post apocalyptic wasteland.
Suddenly, Leicestershire seems picturesque.
There’s a tip for the Leicestershire Tourist Board, right there. Compare yourself with Luton.

Still, as with many places in the UK, there’s free, fast wifi on  board, so the kids are kept amused watching NatGeo videos. Although, there are only so many NatGeo videos you can watch before you get tired of watching NatGeo videos.

There’s a French Bulldog just across the aisle from us. It’s off to a French Bulldog meet in London. It has its own Instagram account. It’s standing on the table that people need to eat their food off. Ugh.

Nearly there now. Just passing through St Albans. Also nicer than Luton. I’m going to go and help my daughter colour in Spiderman now, so I’ll be back later. Sorry for the rambling, but it was surely worth it for that Leicestershire tourism tip. Right?

Icy

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It’s been a cold few days here, but we didn’t realise quite how icy some of the roads are until I read this article in the local paper.

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That’s a gritting lorry, full (previously, anyway) of salt to put on the road to prevent the ice from making the road slippery.
It doesn’t always work.

We went for a walk in the frosty valley this morning. I’ll try to get the photos up soon.

Tomorrow: London.

York

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Busy, chilly day in York, walking walls, visiting Vikings and climbing castles.

York is great. So much to see, do and learn. It’s even better when the weather is crisp and clear:

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We’re grabbing a quick pizza before the kids fall asleep in the car on the way back to Sheffield. This will happen, because I have marched them all over the city for the past eight hours.

It has been fun though.