Birthday 2018_Part 2

One of the dads was very thrilled to find a all day £2 parking which was so steep that as soon as we opened the door we almost rolled out sideways. Not wishing to rain on his parade, we all praised his resourcefullness and made our way to King Arthur's Cafe. Like all health conscious women, I ordered a tame chocolate milkshake and was happy with my lot while one of the mums ordered a sinful Butter scone with clotted cream and strawberry Jam. Not content with indulging herself she offered that calorific spoonful of heaven to us and that was it. There was a collective quick visit to heaven and back.

We then made our way by walk downhill to Merlin caves. The caves themselves were quite rocky and the kids and us enjoyed stepping on the stones to the other end of the cave to view the sea. Though we all wet our shoes while slipping into the water int he caves, we loved the adventure. We came out and built some cairns(stacked stones). There was something very peaceful about the process. The young one as usual was adamant about being original and did a three column stack instead of a single one.

There was a thin waterfall that was tall and elegant to look at and the kids played by the beach again. We then made the uphill hike back, were very pleased with ourselves and went straight back to Aruthur's cafe to order ourselves some scones! We also bought their famous cornish pasties from Pengena pasties. We had also packed some briyani and curd rice and those were dutifully consumed as well.

We then played some lovely music and drove through some extremely scenic routes to Dartmeet. Once again there were stepping stones and we had a lovely time listening to the playful brook through the stones and playing amongst the slippery stones. Unfortunately it was getting dark and we did not have the time to spend in the park nearby.

So, we all made our way back to Gloucester services, had our supper and said our good byes.

Reached home around 1 am and K impressively started at 7 am the next day to drive 3 hours to work as he had an important meeting.

Thus we wrapped the young one's last one digit birthday!

Birthday 2018_Part 1

As always for the young one’s birthday we had planned ahead to go to waterside Cornwall with two of our friends and their families. On the Friday, we took the young one to the Birmingham temple, had a good darshan (as it was also varalakshmi vratham on that day..), rushed back and packed for the 4 day trip.

In the morning, the  three families started together apprehensive of the traffic we might encounter over the bank holiday weekend. However the traffic was surprisingly smooth. We had a lovely stop as usual at the Gloucester services. I bought two Victoria sponge cakes for the birthday celebrations , one for the young one and another for one of the mums. The three girls were in the same grade ( but in different schools)and enjoyed themselves while the 4 year old boy and the 3 year old gi and rl trailed their older sisters wistfully. A usual, my young one being the naughtiest, was a hit with the little ones!

We then drove to the Weston-supermare pier. The children rode on the ponies by the beach and then made their way to the fair ground. The young one went on her first ever giant roller coaster and screamed non-stop but got down with a grin.

We all stopped at a near by diner for lunch and then the mums went on a long walk by the beach while the kids built their sandcastles.

We then made our way non stop to Cornwall, this not being a problem as the route was quiet scenic. The three girls came in our car and talked incessantly. I just plugged my imaginary headphones in (as the real ones were tragically left behind in a hoodie at home!)and enjoyed the view.

With some difficulty we found the place and it was a pleasant surprise. It was a lovely  huge accomodation spread out in separate lodges by the lake  and amongst a forest of  trees.  We had 2 houses booked, one with 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms and the other with 2 beds and baths. Those who live in europe would understand what a luxury it is to have a bathroom for each bedroom!

The place was furnished very well as well. The other two ladies were expert and extremely fast cooks and I was their able assistant. In no time they made fantastic sambhar to go with the piping hot idlies.

One of the mums had just returned from India and had brought vegetables from her organic farm. The flavour was unbelievable.

The kids took charge of one bedroom, one of the mums with her little one the other bedroom and I took the other bedroom with the other mum.

All the boys including the little one went to the other house. Both the houses had a fantastic jacuzzi as well.

So, I made sure I got up early and enjoyed the Jacuzzi. The dads readied their house for the young one’s birthday party by dutifully festooning their house with balloons and other party decorations. In the meanwhile, we all had toasts, chocolate milk and omelettes so the kids could go for their morning swim.

The young one already received her Harry Potter backpack from one of her friends and was thrilled. The mum said went for a lovely walk in the drizzle, watched the kids and dads swim and came back for a chat,some tea, pulao and egg masala. The dads were not expecting to have cooked food so were delighted. We all then dressed up and went to the other house for the birthday celebration , cakes , photo sessions and a lot of presents. (invluding a harry potter lego figurine, which alas, turned out to be Voldemort!)

We then drove  to kiz world. The dads and kids had a great time climbing ropes and roller skating while the mums went for a lovely walk in the woods nearby. 

We all then returned home to a sumptuous dinner  of egg masala for me, Maggie noodles for the kids and apparently fantastic chicken gravy for the rest of the crowd with cake to finish things off. We also had lovely  chocolate milk for the kids while they cosied up and read books or watched television in their room.

The kids formed a band called the jewelettes,named themselves after jewels and introduced a password for us to enter their room! Great fun for them but very annoying for the rest of us!

The next day , once again after bread and weetos and a birthday celebration for the mum with yet another fresh cake, we set off to land's end.

The weather was sunny and pleasant though with a slight wind. Post a photo session at the cliff edge, the kids and dads went for the 4d show of the dinosaurs and aruthur's quest while the mums went for a cliffside hill walk. For me, this was the best part of the trip as I really enjoyed the views from the cliffs, especially at the far end where the green and blue waters clashed and swirled down below.. The walk was good fun, especially with all of us chatting and snapping pics where we could.

We did not realise how time flew and with the sudden realisation that the dads may not exactly be enjoying themselves we rushed back, only to see that the kids were all fed, entertained and were now happily shopping for knick knacks that the mums would have strictly said no to!

Us mums then went off to have the famous Cornish pasties and returned for some scrumptious clotted cream icecreams bought by the dads ( milkshake for me!)

We made our way from Land's end to Portho beach. The kids had a good time playing in the waters though it was getting slightly chilly. As always, they found yet another dog to pet and play with.. We then changed the kids quickly, made peace with all the sand in the car and then made our way back to the lodges.

I was quite knackered from the day and went straight to the jacuzzi. The other ladies and one of the dads made Chicken Briyani and rasam. I made a quick egg burji for myself and the young one. Quickly we finished our dinner first and I made my way to bed. The others stayed up till 1.30 am sipping locally sourced liquer and chit chatting away. When did the kids go to sleep - none of us have any idea as the door was firmly closed and password protected!

The next day, we ladies chatted with tea for a while and then quicklye used up as much of the the left over food as we cooked and packed just in time for check out. Sadly, this is when we discovered the biking trails with the bikes for hire, the boats available in the lake , the table tennis table and the tennis court. The kids played table tennis for a while and then we left for Tintagel Castle at Tintagel.

..to be continued