Cuisine & Culture the Chinese Family Way
If you are looking for things to do in the Midlands this summer, then you must not miss out visiting Conkers! Conkers is a great family attraction at the heart of The National Forest, with indoor and outdoor play areas, interactive discovery zones, 4D cinema and an amphitheatre. Also not forgetting the Vertigo Adventures which was opened three years ago! Note that some activities will require booking at the Discovery Reception and extra fees may apply.
Last weekend, we were delighted to be part of the 10th Anniversary of Thomas Land press celebration which has been open at the popular Drayton Manor Theme Park since 2008! Did you know that since its installation, the Thomas engine, which journeys from Knapford Station to Tidmouth Hault, has travelled an incredible 13,799 miles in total? This is the equivalent to travelling from Scotland to London and back nearly 15 times!
Where would be the best place to learn about the history of brewing and what does Burtonisation mean? The answers can be found at the National Brewery Centre Museum! Not only can you learn about the history of brewing but you can also sample some of the best local ales on your way out. The National Brewery Centre also hosts a variety of live music and other events, including weddings throughout the year. Do check out their website for more details.
This Easter, Warwick Castle is celebrating their 950th anniversary and they had asked their visitors to send in their pictures of visits to the castle. Using all these images, they turned it into a mosaic of the castle’s founder, William the Conqueror. This special artwork installation is currently on display in their State Dining Room over the Easter holidays along with a host of other celebrations. This is a very beautiful mosaic indeed and there are so many photos that we didn’t manage to spot ours!
Finally, I have time to pick up where I left off when I blogged about our trip to Palma, Majorca. One of the things we did during this trip was a road trip and sightseeing! Having being brought up in a big city, sightseeing is always a luxury thing for us to appreciate the scenery and to enjoy the fresh air.
Not long ago, I blogged about our fun sightseeing trip to Palma and now I share our trip in more detail! This was a family trip that we had planned a year ahead. It did take us awhile to decide the location but once we did, my sister found a villa that could fit all 11 of us at a reasonable price. Best of all, we could cancel anytime without any costs.
When you think of dream holidays before kids, it probably looked slightly different to a dream holiday now with kids. For us, before kids, a dream holiday would have been a long haul destination to a paradise island with beautifully clear, sandy beaches and relaxing while sipping cocktails. Now, with kids, we’re happy to have any holiday where we can keep the kids entertained.
However, there’s no need to give up on that dream holiday even with kids as there are some fabulous villas and vacations that will tick all the boxes. For example, the luxury beach house in Turks and Caicos can sleep 8 of you and would provide all of you the holiday of a lifetime! The exotic, paradise setting coupled with plenty to do will sure keep all of you entertained and create memories for life.
To celebrate the launch of The Great Oreo Cookie Quest (an on-pack competition and interactive cookie quest), we were invited to create a family fun-filled “cookie quest”. We chose to go on a fun sightseeing trip in Majorca! Thanks to Oreo and BritMums for this opportunity!
When you visit Osaka, you may wish to pay a visit to Universal Studios Osaka! It is easily accessed by their local transport and very clearly signalled from the train station.
Japan is foodie heaven, from fresh sushi to cotton soft cheesecake and from matcha ice cream to cotton pancakes. I am not a big fan of sushi (I’m not keen on raw fish) but I am a huge fan of their desserts! I know it’s a bit silly to not try their fresh sushi products from their sushi chef! The best places to eat sushi are the sushi restaurants near the fish market in Tokyo.
Anyway, this trip is all about desserts and their yummy Wagyu beef! I am a big sweet tooth and had researched extensively to try out their delicious desserts! These are the few desserts I had tried during my trip in Osaka!
The Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum is an interactive museum dedicated to instant noodles and Cup Noodles, as well as its creator and founder, Momofuku Ando. They open daily except Tuesdays. Do plan well before you travel. It was very easy to access by train and is within walking distance from the train station to the museum. We took the express train and reached there in 20 minutes time from the main station, Umeda station.
One of our highlights for our Osaka trip besides checking out the Pokémon centre, was to experience Japanese culture, in particular, learning samurai. I found out about this class while researching for things to do in Osaka and was so pleased that we tried a lesson!
One of the things to do with children in Osaka has to be a visit to the Pokémon Center! Both of my children love Pokémon and this was their top thing to do when we planned our holiday in Japan. This center, in fact, is a department store selling all the Pokémon items like soft toys, trading cards, shoes, clothing and many more. Just remember to bring lots of money if you’ve got big fans of Pokémon as it can get very expensive!
Kids Stop is an interactive centre designed for children aged 18 months to 8 years old by exposing them to science in their formative years. This was our first time visiting this place which is located next to the science centre. It is well worth going if you are also visiting the science centre. There are two types of admission fees: Singapore/PR or Foreign. I do think their fees are quite ridiculous especially if you are foreigner. The whole place is well designed with hands-on activities and programmes but the whole place is quite small and confined with not much seating areas for adults and there are two different opening times.
Let ’em Play is an indoor obstacle course and Augmented Reality climbing hub located in the West of Singapore. It is suitable for both adults and children. We travelled there by car and managed to park quite easily as there are a lot of car parks available on a Sunday afternoon. It is located at Tradehub21 (around industrial buildings) surrounded by furniture shops, restaurants, fast food, offices and many more. Their nearest MRT is Clementi station.
