Fallen Monuments Park

Brandon and I both remembered really enjoying the Monument Graveyard when we visited 10 years ago, so we thought the kids would like it, as well.  They have totally fixed it up since then so it looks hip and like it belongs there.  The kids loved running around finding their favorite statues.

Visit Izmaylovo

A couple of Brandon's co-workers wanted to visit Izmaylovo and asked Brandon to come be their guide/interpreter.  We hadn't been yet since we moved here, so we brought the kids and made a day of it.  Izmaylovo is a giant flea market where you can find any Russian-type craft or antique you could possibly want.  And it's surrounded by crazy architecture!  We ate a delicious shashlik lunch, and wandered around finding all sorts of treasures.  Brandon ended up getting a Soviet belt buckle, Kiddo a Pokemon matryoshka, and BG a bunny-shaped purse (ok, that's not a Russian thing, but it's randomness totally fit).  We had a great time!

A Non-London England Vacation: Royal Pavilion, Brighton Beach and Pier

The next day we went to the Royal Pavilion--the only palace in England that is now publicly owned.  The kids received booklets showing things to look for in each room.  It made it fun for us all to try and find different patterns and sculptures amid the crazy rooms' decor.

We went back to the hotel to change into swimsuits and then went to the beach.  The pebbles weren't very comfortable, but we loved playing in the sea!

Afterwords, we went to the Pier.  We ate fish and chips and ice cream, let Kiddo and BG each pick a ride, played arcade games, and wore ourselves out!

It was a great way to end our time in Brighton and in the UK!

A Non-London England Vacation: Seven Sisters

We made it to Brighton!  Our hotel was right across the street from the beach and the kids couldn't wait to check it out!

We met up with Chelon and decided to visit Seven Sisters.  We took the double-decker bus....

 ....had a nice hike up....

....had a picnic lunch at the top of the cliffs....

....and then hiked a different route back.  It was a great day!

A Non-London England Vacation: Warwick and Motor Museum

Since we spent our first day of our vacation at the airport, we really only had one full day in Birmingham before we drove to Brighton.  But we had some things planned along the way!  First we went to church in a lovely old building with equally lovely people.  (Seriously, we had a dinner invite by the end of sacrament meeting.)

On our drive south, we stopped to see Warwick Castle and walk around its cute little town.

Our next stop on our journey south was the British Motor Museum--the largest British car museum in the country.  There happened to be a Ford car rally happening that day, as well, so there were cars everywhere.  We picked this stop for the kids, so it was a good thing the museum was super interactive; our favorite part was getting a tour of the double decker bus and being told all about how it was used over a hundred years ago.

And then it was on to Brighton!

A Non-London England Vacation: CADBURY WORLD

When we were looking for things to do outside of London (but close enough to London so Brandon could go to his meetings--that he ended up not going to), Birmingham caught our eye for one simple reason: Cadbury World!

We went to Hershey, PA several years ago, but it was mostly an amusement park, with a small factory tour and chocolate store.  With kids so young, we only did the factory tour and left feeling a little disappointed.  Cadbury, on the other hand, was predominantly a chocolate factory tour with rides as a part of the experience.  There were 4D rides, play grounds, interactive programs, and loads of activities for the kids.  And at the beginning of the tour, everyone in our family got three full-sized candy bars!  (Which makes Hershey's free mini-sized bar seem super lame.)  At one point in the tour, we watched a demonstration on how chocolate molds were used a hundred years ago.  While we were watching, they give us our own cup of melted chocolate with whatever candies we wanted mixed in.  It was almost too rich to eat!  (Don't worry--we managed.)  It all ended with us buying even more chocolate at the "World's Biggest Cadbury Shop."  Kiddo and I made sure we loaded up on our new favorite candy bars (and a few others for variety).  All in all, we spent almost five hours at Cadbury World, and it was awesome!

We got some amazing Latin American food for dinner (how we've missed good Mexican!), some necessities for the kids (My Little Pony socks for BG, and more books for Kiddo), and the rest of the day was spent wandering around Birmingham, trying to fight off our chocolate coma.