I had a Travelodge voucher to use from a pillows-felt-like-rocks refund, and we had a hankering to go to Bristol for a weekend to hang out with friends and explore the city a little, so we booked in at the Central Travelodge over bank holiday weekend at the end of August. We were all ill in the week running up to our break, but thankfully we were all (just about!) recovered by the time Saturday morning rolled around.
We packed the weekend full of fun and friends. We started off by spending the morning at England’s biggest soft play area which was immense and really awesome. It has to be the best organised soft play I have seen in terms of preventing older kids from running riot over the smaller kids areas, and all the staff were really friendly and helpful. A friend of ours met us there and got a good workout by climbing and bouncing all over the place with the girls, before we all decamped to Frankie and Benny’s for a well deserved lunch!
After lunch on the Friday I got to meet another friend’s baby boy who is still in NICU (he is being let home very soon, yay!) which was so lovely. He is super cute and has done SO well since being born prematurely months ago at 26 weeks gestation. It was amazing to get to meet him and also to catch up with his mum & dad in the hospital coffee shop after (although Georgie totally monopolised the conversation with imaginary frog scenarios).
Sunday was spent rambling around the city centre, spotting Shaun in the City sheep which the girls really loved, and enjoying a really nice lunch at Mackenzies.
We browsed the Harbourside Market and let the girls choose a toy each (Lydia now has her very own Shaun), and then visited Bristol Cathedral and popped into the Museum too.
Georgie did really well as we walked around 5 miles that day – she definitely earned her Rocotillos milkshake! They are just the best ever, if you are ever in Bristol they are not to be missed.
On Monday we headed to M Shed with another friend – Becky, who was one of my bridesmaids. The girls monopolised her the entire day which was a nice change for me, to be honest! The M Shed was fascinating and we even got to have a ride on a steam train which we all love doing. We found another handful of Shauns too, including Lydia’s favourite pirate one. The weekend was finished off with a trip to Ikea before heading home exhausted!
It was a lovely weekend away and it was so nice to catch up with friends and also spend some quality time as a family. The girls thought sleeping at the Travelodge was so exciting, and were delighted when housekeeping made their beds – with Lydia’s toddler bedding all laid out and their soft toys arranged too!
