The London Aquarium

We recently had a day out at the London Aquarium, and had such a brilliant day! We took advantage of a great offer – you can get 2 for 1 entry with your train ticket. You just have to print off the relevant vouchers by visiting the Days Out website – all you need then is a valid rail ticket for that day. I hadn't realised you could do this, and my monthly season ticket was valid for the offer which was fantastic. It really is worth checking out, there are lots of attractions available on the deal, including London Zoo. I will be using it again now I've found it, so I wanted to share it with everyone!

I've also spotted 2 for 1 Merlin entry on kids Tesco cereal packets and it's part of the Merlin group so that could be another option if you weren't travelling by train.

I went with my sister, her daughter and my little girl. The two girls were both free as they are under the age of 3, which meant between us we only paid about £9 each to get in. I had heard tales of huge queues but we went on a Friday morning and walked straight in.

I had visited the aquarium before but it was years ago when it had first opened and to be honest I hadn't been too impressed! It seemed quite small and dark and before I knew it I was out in the gift shop and Macdonalds cafe. I'd been hearing a lot of positive reports recently so I decided to give it another go! It has changed a lot and really has improved, this time I thought it was fantastic and the girls had a great time. There is so much to see including an impressive central tank full of beautiful fish, sharks and rays. My little one was desperate to see a turtle and luckily (or there may of been tears) she wasn't disappointed! First she fell in love the little turtles and then almost burst at the end when a huge Green Sea Turtle swam right towards her!

They both stroked a starfish and a crab, practised dancing like seahorses and found every fish they knew from Finding Nemo! Squiggle needed a lot of coaching to go through the glass tunnel with sharks swimming above but she did it in the end. There is a glass floor right at the entrance which we thought they would love but they were absolutely terrified, a strange sensation I suppose!

There is a lot to see: sharks, rays, jelly fish, a crocodile and even penguins! We were a bit worried about the ethics of keeping penguins in an enclosure with no natural light but I told myself they must rotate them with a lovely outdoor pool somewhere? They seemed very happy and the girls could watch them dive into the water really close up which they loved. If you can take advantage of one the deals it really is a great outing, we were there all morning followed by a picnic on the Southbank which is a really nice area to stroll along.

A big under the sea thumbs up from us!

From Ketchup to Sorrento

See I knew Heinz tomato ketchup was good for me... last year thanks to them, I won a holiday to Sorrento. Possibly the best email I've ever received on a Monday, I was shaking when I read that I had won! 

It was part of their secret ingredient promotion, they posted a series of recipes which used tomato ketchup as part of the ingredients and you had to make them and post a pic! I made a very tasty lasagna, posted it to their Facebook competition and crossed my fingers. 

Now I do love entering competitions but winning a holiday was a bit of a dream away! There's no way we would have been going abroad otherwise so I was very very grateful. I wasn't sure how it would work but they were so helpful in organising the trip and even used my spending money allowance to book Squiggle on to the holiday with us.

We flew out on a 6am flight which meant my little one had been up since 4am but she was good as gold on the flight. It was really quiet so we spread out and had the trunki packed with goodies. It was such a relief that now she's 2 she gets her own seat. She's very tall and last time we flew I could barely fit her on my knee! We got her a set of 'littlest pet shop' characters for a surprise and they kept her so happy. She was also told she could go and see the pilots in the cockpit as she'd been so good, her little face all lit up was a picture! 

Once at Naples we had opted to cancel our transfer so we could use our transfer money for more fun things and we took the €10 bus which was great value. It sent us all off to sleep and then I woke to a beautiful coastline. It's really dramatic, and not for the faint hearted by coach! 

We found our hotel 'Atiche Mura' without any trouble and were delighted when we did. We made it inside just before the heavens opened! It is a beautiful hotel, spotless, inviting, lots of Italian character, and with a fantastic central location. The staff were really friendly and went out of their way to be helpful, I think they cleaned our room about 3 times a day! It's a funny thing not picking your own hotel but we couldn't have chosen better ourselves. The hotel highlight was the breakfast with a view down over a ravine one side and doors to their orange grove gardens the other. The food was fantastic and so was the coffee... and you could squeeze your own fresh orange juice with a splash of champagne if you fancied. I have never tasted oranges so good, my little girl loved them we had sticky fingers galore. Every morning after her cereal and fruit she wad allowed to choose us each a Breakfast cake from the huge selection. 

We only had a few days and a limited budget so we tried to fit in the things we really wanted to do whilst making sure we took our chance to relax. We spent time wondering Sorrento's cobbled streets, eating amazing ice cream and enjoying the cliff edge views with delicious takeaway pizzas. There is a small beach at the bottom which we walked down to but it was a bit grubby and not somewhere you would chose to sit for the day. Might be a different atmosphere in the summer though!

We took a great value bus across to the Amalfi Coast one day and got off at Positano. Still with steep cobbled streets, this town has a lovely holiday feel to it and a nicer beach where we relaxed and played with a very happy toddler! The trip was a great way to see more of the stunning coast. 

Positano in the clouds

Our other chosen day out was Pompeii which is a place I have always been desperate to visit. We took the train which, whilst not the most luxurious of carriages, ran on time and was a snip at €9, plus stopped very close to the entrance. We couldn't believe our luck when we arrived at the entrance to find it was the end of national culture week and free to get in! We all loved it, you can't really prepare yourself for how big it is, so amazing to see and very tragic when you stop and think about what you are looking at. Be warned though... it really is not the place for a pushchair!! I had some new found muscles and holes in my boots at the end of that day. 

Stopping to make a stick lizard in Pompeii!

Another part of the prize was a cookery class. We found Italy a very child friendly place and they were happy for us to bring our toddler. In fact, they seemed confused I felt I had to ask if we could. We planned it perfectly so she slept for 2.5 hours of the 3 hour course. Trouble is it actually went on for 6 hours in the end! A few people were staring to get fed up, especially when we all realised we had cooked all the food for the restaurant diners that night! It was great fun though, the chef was lovely and I learnt how to make proper Italian homemade ravioli so it was a fantastic experience!

The chef!

There was plenty more to see in the area that we couldn't fit in... further trips down the coast to Almalfi and Ravello, the boat to Capri and a visit to the top of Mount Vesuvius, would all have been next on my list.

I was worried before we went that it wasn't going to be a great place to visit with a little one in tow but while she may have enjoyed a beach holiday even more, she really loved it. Just the excitement of somewhere new and having mummy and daddy there together for days in a row meant she was happy as can be. And hills, there were lots of hills, and running down hills just happens to be her favourite thing! 

Thank you Heinz tomato ketchup, you have and always will be my favourite sauce!

Misty mornings

The theme for this weeks gallery over on the Sticky Fingers blog is mornings. You should really go and have a look at Tara's post for this theme, it will make you think!

Here is my entry – We have just been to Loch Lomond with my family and as my relatives kindly offered to watch our little girl for a while, my husband and I raced off (well I plodded) up Conic Hill. The views were just breathtaking and as it was morning the mist was just lifting off the sides of the mountains, so beautiful! We were the only people up there, pure tranquility.

The 2's (the age of negotiations)

At two and a half my little one now seems more like a little girl than a toddler *sob*. It is a truly wonderful age – her imagination is amazing, her dance moves are hilarious, her ability to learn is inspiring, and her giggle just so infectious. 

But what I have come to realise is that our days are now just one big negotiation.

We wake up, I negotiate her coming to take her bedtime nappy off (she says she likes it wet). Then I negotiate getting her downstairs for breakfast (she's not hungry). Then once downstairs she finds all her favourite things to play with so again I have to persuade her up to the breakfast table. 

Me: "oh but little giraffe says he really wants to help you eat your breakfast."
3:0 to mummy.


And so the negotiations continue:

Sit on the potty. 
Go upstairs again.
Get dressed. ("But your rabbit dress is in the wash and this one would be perfect for running really fast in.")
Brush teeth.
Go downstairs again.
Put shoes and coat on if you want to go to the park.
Hold my hand walking to the park.
Time to leave the park.
Hold my hand walking back from the park.
Sit up for lunch. 
Wear bib.
Use fork.Wash hands.
Just play a minute while mummy does the dishes.
Don't play with mummy's jewellery boxes.
Get shoes and coats on.
Get in car.
Sit in the trolley.
Persuade her to look after the bread rather than the eggs.
Stay on trolley at the tills.
 
...Oh you get the idea. I'm worn out writing it!

It's battle of the wills and I can just about outwit her with my clever negation skills at the moment. We get there in the end... but just once wouldn't it be nice to say "time to get our coats on" and hear "OK mummy here I come".


Those days are just around the corner right?