A day at Legoland

Legoland, the world of plastic bricks' magic, brings a lot of memories and emotions.
I remember the first time we discovered Legoland with little Sasha who was about 4 and a half years old. I look at the old photos from the days when photos were still regularly printed and not just stored digitally, and his beaming smile tugs my heartstrings. He was such a cutie.

Sash in Legoland

Our lovely boy was entranced with the Miniland and enjoyed the rides for younger kids. He was small and portable then.
We returned there two more times, the last time, when he was 8 years old, growing more and more autistic and having sensory issues, and I was pregnant. That trip was so stressful, with Sash getting a sensory overload, and becoming frustrated with the queues, that I vouched never to step there again.

Until last Monday, when we took Eddie to Legoland for the very first time. He's been talking about it for years, but I just couldn't see how we could make it a fun event if we went as a family of four.

This week Sasha's class went on a residential trip to Butlins Minehead, and we decided to take Eddie out of school for several days to do things with him, which we cannot do otherwise.

The school trip ended for Sasha earlier than planned, as unfortunately his anxiety went through the roof. We had to change plans, but Monday was all about Eddie and Legoland.

The tickets are £47 per person, which is a total racket. I had a voucher for one free ticket (you can find these vouchers on boxes of cereals or chocolate - look for them in Poundland for the best value).

And they are making money out of everything. You would expect them to have some discounts on LEGO sets and minifigures, but no, the prices are not competitive at all. 

And I totally resent paying £2.20 for a small bottle of water. That is a rip off. We had a bottle of water with us, but it happened to be a very hot day, and the water didn't last long. 

Maybe because it was Monday, many food stalls and ice cream booths were closed, and the choice of food was very limited. 

We visited most of the areas, but as we had to travel by bus, train, taxi to Legoland, we arrived at 12.30pm, and that didn't leave us much time until 5pm, when the park closed. We couldn't leave home earlier, as we needed to get Sasha to school first for his trip.

We started with the Land of the Vikings and the Vikings' River Splash, which thankfully didn't last long, as it made me utterly queasy. While I moaned, Eddie enjoyed the ride and deemed it too short.

Eddie loves Ninjago characters, and the second area we visited was Lego Ninjago World. He admired all the statues around the Ninjago pavillion.

The Ninjago ride was quite entertaining, with digital interactive screens.
We moved on to the Kingdom of the Pharaohs, and the fun Laser Raiders ride. Am I being too childish to rejoice at the fact that my score of shooting the baddies was the highest?!

By then we were a bit on the hungry side, and hoped to get something to eat at the Heartflake City area. We have picked the wrong time, as there was a singing performance going on the stage in front of the cafes, with music blasting at the top level, and the most talentless singing from the crew who, I presume, were supposed to be the Lego Friends characters.
We had a quick peek at the Heartflake cafe, but all the pastries and donuts seemed to be covered with half a pound of sugar each.

Adventure Land has a cool boat ride called SQUID Surfer. We queued for about 20 minutes in the heat. The boy in front of us was too short to be allowed on the ride, even with his father, and he was inconsolable. While I appreciate the safety reasons, I still think there should have been someone measuring children at the entrance to the ride, so that people didn't waste their time or have their hopes dashed.

Eddie went on his own, and had a fabulous time.

Someone at the church told Eddie about the young drivers' course, and he was intent to drive a car.

While they were queuing and driving, I did a bit of plane-spotting. The planes were crossing the sky, one after another.

I thought we'd run through the Duplo Valley, but Eddie begged me to let him into the Drench Towers.
There is a shop next to it, where you can buy towels and swimming trunks. We got the trunks, and off he went to splash in the cold water and going down the slides. He was wet from head to toes, but so-so happy. A pity we couldn't stay longer there, as we had half an hour left til the closing time, and he wanted to build a minifigure at the Imagination Centre and have another look at the shop.

We walked through the Miniland, which is the most creative and beautiful area of Legoland, with the famous landmarks from around the world built from Lego bricks.

There were scenes from picturesque Italian towns...

Italian piazza in all its glory

I loved how the Dutch homes got colourful reflections in the water.

Magnificent Belgian architecture... I believe this is Leuven.

I loved the ruins of the abbey in Scotland (does anyone know what is it? We were running by then and I had no chance to read all the plates).

We found St Basil's Cathedral, representing Russia (and looking at that photo, I realise I so need to go on a diet).

London's landmarks took a whole big area.

And it being less than a month after the Royal wedding, you couldn't escape it in Legoland either.
Having arrived at the train station in Windsor, we saw this rather excellent piece of Lego art.

Meghan and Harry appear as Lego characters, leaving the Windsor after the ceremony.

I wish we had another couple of hours to see more of the Miniland, and also visit the Knights' Kingdom, but it was time to leave.
Eddie did build his minifigures and bought a set of Lego Minecraft figures as well.
He's been talking about it all the week, and says he wants to go back there.

Have you recently visited Legoland? What was your favourite part? 

Photo diary: week 24, project 365

This was one rollercoaster of a week for us. Sash was leaving on Monday to stay for five days at Butlins, Minehead, and we took Eddie out of school to do things together which we cannot do as a family of four any longer. It didn't work out as planned. Sasha couldn't cope with a new place and everything being out of his normal routine, and was too distressed, so he came home earlier.
Disappointing, yes, very much so, as we were looking forward to having a little break and devote all our attention to Eddie, but life is life, and that's what it means having a family member with a serious disability - life usually revolves around their needs.

At the weekend I made one last dash to the shops to get ready for the next days' trips. Walking through the flood fields, we saw this pretty skyline with clouds which looked like dinosaur ribs.

On Monday we waved Sasha good bye, and jumped on the bus to Oxford. Three train changes later and a taxi ride, and we were in Legoland at 12.30pm, which didn't leave us much time.
We managed to cram as much as possible, but still didn't quite make all the rides.
Eddie's absolute favourites were the Splash park and the Squid surfer ride at Adventure Land.
His smile really says it all.

On Tuesday morning we packed our bags for a two nights-stay in Brighton. We booked a family room at Jurys Inn Waterfront hotel. When we arrived, we got the keys to the room which overlooked the back, with a smelly fish shop. Eddie was so disappointed, that we went to the front desk and asked if we could be moved somewhere else. We explained that two years earlier we stayed in a family room on the side, with a partial view of the sea.
They offered us a room with a view at the front, but we'd have to pay more for the pleasure. We agreed. Eddie thought it was the best view in the world. We could see the beach and the Brighton Pier from our window.
Here is Eddie, chillaxing after a walk on the beach, eating breadsticks.

The next day I got a phone call from Sasha's teacher that he was too distressed and they were bringing him back home. They knew we were staying away, so asked when I could possibly be back.
There was not much I could do but grab my bag, and say Good bye to Eddie and Federico who stayed for another day/night. Eddie was pretty upset, as we had big plans for the day, including having fish and chips on the pier and long walks on the beach, and playing in the arcade. Alas, it was not meant to be.
On top of that, while on the train, I got messages and calls from Witney friends that there was a huge fire in our area, and our street was closed, and some of the houses were evacuated. I was worried that we won't be able to stay at home that night, and if Sasha were distressed after his trip, staying another night elsewhere would have been a nightmare.
But the angels were listening and took pity on me. The fire was put out by the time I came home, and when Sasha arrived later, his transport was let through the cordoned area.
When I went out in the garden, there was a muntjac deer, jumping around in panic. I managed to take one shot of it, and it scaled over to the neighbours' garden, first on the compost frame, then over the wall. Don't know how he would manage to get out of there, as their garden is on a much lower level than ours, and is surrounded by high walls on all sides.

Tomatoes in the greenhouse are just beginning to take shape. These are the yellow plum tomatoes.

Walking into town, we met this cat. It must be living locally, as we see it often enough.
I liked the silhouette of his head's shadow. Looks totally like a  Batman. So, it must have been a Catman.

There is a photo booth frame in the Co-Op. I guess there is some comp going on. Of course, Eddie had to poke his head through and giggle.

Mummies galore

Meresamun, the singer

A couple of days ago Eddie and I were browsing the shelves of the "pre-loved" DVDs in Poundland, our favourite place to shop for snacks and plastic tat treasures. I have spotted all three The Mummy movies (the original ones, not the latest film with Tom Cruise which I haven't seen).
I couldn't resist buying them, to revisit my youth and introduce my child to the pleasures of the trashy horror.

We have watched all the Goosebumps on Netflix, and of course, the Goosebumps film. While enjoying the scary parts, Eddie tends to sit next to me, just in case, and if I need to pop in to the kitchen to brew a cup of tea, he would pause the film and wait for me.

We watched The Mummy, hiding behind the big cushions when the scarabs were taking over, but quite often giggled too and said Eww, that's gross!
Eddie thought it was the best film ever.

After watching this masterpiece, I thought it might be a good idea to visit The Ashmolean and see the real Egyptian mummies. Earlier this year we went to the National History Museum and saw some of the glorious sarcophagi.

Temple singer Meresamun, The Ashmolean Musuem

Sasha had a day of activities with Barnardo's, so Eddie and I hopped on the bus to Oxford and enjoyed our time together, just the two of us.

The Ashmolean Museum is a splendid place to visit, and there is so much to see and learn. It is the most visited British museum outside London. Several years ago, it has reopened its Ancient Egyptian collections.

You can argue that displaying the human remains to the public is not ethical, but at the same time the museums spend vast sums of money to preserve them for the eternity. I'm in two minds about seeing mummies in the museums.

They are, of course, an incredible study of culture and history, but they are also dead bodies.
In one of the rooms, you can see a mummy of a two-year-old child. Though it happened thousands of years ago, the death of a child is a tragedy.
Next to it there is a glass installation created by Angela Palmer. The scans made on the little mummy have revealed that the child had a twisted hip and a deformed skull. The artist was so touched by these facts that she visited Hawara, the place where the little mite lived his short life. She brought back with her a handful of sand to place next to the mummified remains.
It feels poignant but also reverential.

The mummy of the 2-year-old boy from Hawara

We loved the Pharaoh Taharqa's shrine, which was once a huge temple. There is a statue of Taharqa inside. We looked for his name written in hieroglyphs outside the shrine, inside the frame called a cartouche.

Pharaoh Taharqa

Pharaoh Taharqa

As canopic jars with preserved organs feature quite prominently in the Mummy film, I pointed them out to Eddie in the museum.

This is the Ram of Amun, he is keeping Pharaoh Taharq safe.

If you've seen The Mummy, you might remember how scared The Mummy was of the cat. Ancient Egyptians revered cats and mummified them as well, so that they could live in the afterlife too.
Seeing this mummy of the cat brought back memories of my childhood and visits to the Pushkin Musuem of Fine Arts in Moscow, where you can find a mummified cat as well.

mummified cat

This is a sarcophagus of Ptahhotep, steward of the treasury.

Ptahhotep, steward of the treasury

We only studied the Ancient Egypt collections and didn't venture beyond that.
I wanted Eddie to learn something from ancient history, while his memory is still fresh after watching the film.

As you enter the Egyptian rooms, you can find a little chest of drawers with activities for children. We picked two of them - Ancient Egyptian Survival Guide (what you need to know to journey safely through life and into the afterlife) and Ancient Egyptian Animal Adventure (which invites you to find amazing and magical animals in ancient Egypt). They are cleverly done, and make a visit to the museum more fun.

One of my favourite pieces in the Ancient Egypt collections is this delicate spoon.

I also admired the Mummy with perky boobs, which is on display as you leave the Egyptian collections and move onto the Fayum mummies of the Coptic period.

It was better not to cram as much as possible in one day, and not visit the other ancient worlds. We came home and looked at the book An Egyptian Pyramid.
And that was our foray into culture for the moment. We are ready to watch The Mummy Returns.

Visiting Oxford University Museum of Natural History

"There are moments when one feels a desperate gratitude for museums, whatever their own ambiguous histories. Their objects from lost cities lead us back to who we are".
Amy Davidson

Eddie has been asking me to take him to the Natural History Museum for a while, so during the last Easter break we jumped on the bus to Oxford for a visit. Sash had an activity day with Barnardo's, so it was just two of us who went to the museum.
Oxford University Museum of Natural History was founded in 1860 as the centre for scientific study at the University of Oxford. It holds amazing significant collections of geological and zoological specimens.

In the days when a lot of children-friendly venues cost a lot of money, you appreciate places like Museum of Natural History, which you may attend for free. There are donations boxes at the entrance, but nobody pesters you to pay.

When a couple of weeks ago Eddie mentioned to a family friend that we planned to visit the Museum, she asked if he knew what he would see at the entrance hall. He was curious to know, but I said "Wait and see". It was worth the wait.

The room as you enter is truly magnificent. The layout of the Museum is unique, all the exhibits are well displayed. What is even more exciting for children, a lot of these exhibits can be touched.
Eddie was thrilled by everything he has seen.

The dinosaurs' skeletons make you think of The Night at the Museum movie.
If your children love dinosaurs, this is a great place to visit.

Eddie's recent hobby is collecting minerals and rocks. Going to see the extensive geological collection and buy a few minerals was our big plan. Regrettably, this fossil was not on sale. Eddie was much taken with it.

He loved the fluorescent minerals in a small dark room with curtains (a pity about the smell inside).

The layout and displays are quite old-fashioned, it's like stepping back in time. There are modern gadgety displays around as well, with interactive screens, but they are discreetly tucked into corners or appear in the first floor galleries.

Natural History Museum would appeal to children and grown-ups alike. If you are interested in history and science, this is a must visit.

The architecture of the building and the interior design are worth a separate mention. The ornaments and iron pillars are exquisite. The building itself is an outstanding example of Gothic Revival.

We spent around two and a half hours in the Museum, with a quick run through the Pitt Rivers Museum (which should be explored in a separate visit).
When we visited the Museum, it was very busy, thanks to school holidays and swarms of tourists.

After the Museum, Eddie begged me to go to McDonald's to buy a Happy Meal. It's a big treat for him, as we rarely happen to go there. We also met with a friend for coffee, and bothered Papa in his office.
Papa was happy to take a break and have a game of table tennis with Eddie.

It was an eventful day, and on the way back home, Eddie nodded off on the bus.