Europe 2015- Weston Super Mare ( Part One)

Stuffed on chocolate from Cadbury World, we hit the road for the seaside town of Weston Super Mare. When we visited in July, Weston Super Mare had not yet hit the news, but shortly after we returned home, we learned that it was the town where artist Banksy had created Dismaland. Dismaland was a temporary installation and it opened just a month after our visit. I wish our timing had been better!

We stayed at the Premier Inn Weston Super Mare, located right across from the beach. The location was ideal and the room was good, in line with our other recent Premier Inn experiences. The family rooms are large, with three beds and plenty of room to sprawl out.

We had a view of the city, rather than the ocean.

Last two nights of the vacation, and I was thrilled that everyone finally got the shoe routine down.

We had a ferris wheel in front of our hotel! How cool is that?

The Grand Pier was closed, but we still walked along the beach, making plans for the next morning.

We headed to town in search of dinner. Weston Super Mare is a tourist town, filled with souvenir shops, casinos, arcades, ice cream stands, and the obligatory "American" cafe.

My favorite thing in town were these...

Arriving just a week before British schools let out for summer holiday, we found Weston Super Mare to be a complete ghost town. We were the only people eating at Danaa, and they gave us the royal treatment. The food was fantastic. I hope that they got tons of business during the summer, they deserve it.

The sun was nearly gone as we walked through town and by the beach to get back to our hotel.

A shout-out to Glendale!

And an ominous teaser for my for part two of my Weston Super Mare trip report.

Europe 2015- A Heavy Dose of Travel Advice and Cadbury World

With every vacation, there is a lesson to be learned.

For example, in 2014, we learned that boating holidays = glorified camping with mold and more spiders.

On our first trip to Utah, we learned the importance of filing our tanks in remote gas stations and to be thankful for PB&J.

On this trip, we learned the need to pre-book hotels in England.

When it comes to traveling in England, don't attempt to "just wing-it" or "play-it-by-ear." This equates to certain disaster or a dodgy hotel room; same thing in my book. We left London near eleven at night, heading to Birmingham, with two sleepy kids in the back seat. Luckily, Zoe and Felix slept through the mayhem of stopping at sixteen different hotels, all no-vacancy.

Road works caused chaos, creating a domino effect of people getting off the roads to seek shelter. Exhausted, we had ceased to be picky, and just wanted out of the car. I felt like we won the lottery when we snagged the last room at a Travelodge near the Birmingham Airport.

It was 4am and the day had been exceptionally long. I could overlook the unsavory loiterers in the lobby, the stained carpet, and itchy sheets. I just wanted to crawl into bed, thankful to not have to sleep cramped in the car.

The next morning, we had happy kids and the stress of the previous evening had melted.

Even the lobby looked sunnier.

Why didn't we use our iPhones to find a hotel?

Travel lesson #2, just pay for the international plan. Dan's cell, which has worldwide data, had gone flat, so my phone was our only source. I had not planned on using it for the trip, so we dug it out, and turned on the data. Knowing it would be expensive, we did this when things got desperate, which is how we found the Birmingham Airport. When we returned to the states, we found out that we had incurred a bill of over seven hundred dollars for using it that one time.

OVER SEVEN HUNDRED DOLLARS!!!!!!

Luckily, the rep at AT&T was awesome. Scratch that, she was beyond awesome. Since our billing cycle had not ended, she was able to dismiss the charge and back-date the international plan that we should have purchased before our trip.

We ended up paying thirty dollars and had sushi to celebrate the bullet that we dodged. Whether or not you think you'll use your phone, just pay for the international plan. It's better to be safe, than to pay OVER SEVEN HUNDRED DOLLARS!!!! Seriously, I can think of so many better ways to spend that money.

We left the hotel mid-morning and went in search of a place for brunch. Although all of us would have happily eaten nothing but Cadbury chocolate, Dan and I had to be adults and insist on a proper meal.

First, we found a Toby Carvery.

Toby Carvery is the Big Foot of British chain restaurants. I've spotted them, I've even walked inside of them, twice, but I'll never eat here. The "Colonial Williamsburg-esque" signage and promise of carved meats is highly appealing to me. I want to eat here. I really do. I give them a longing gaze as we drive near, but unfortunately, they offer zero options that appeal to the kids. I mean nothing. Zilch,

We ended up at this pub.

The Hazelwell is a local pub, where we were very much the high maintenance non-locals. We all enjoyed our meals and it was cheap.

I tried a British BLT.

This one happened to be served as a wrap, rather than on bread, which was not the difference. The difference is in the bacon. In England, the bacon is thick and chewy, much more similar to what we think of as Canadian bacon. As a breakfast side, I much prefer British bacon. It's yummy. However, in a BLT, it's America for the win. Crispy bacon is far superior on a sandwich.

After lunch, it was time for the second "Happiest Place on Earth" ; Cadbury World!

I didn't take many pictures on this visit, because it wasn't our first time. Honestly, we were just there for the chocolate. Bring on the chocolate!!! We want chocolate!!! The only AMAZING addition this time around was a station where they give away cups of warm, melted Dairy Milk with mix-ins of your choice. I've never tasted anything so heavenly. If I could, I'd drink this elixir every day.

Click the link to see pictures and read about our first visit to Cadbury World.

I did take one snap that made me wonder.

Any guesses?

We bought out the Cadbury World outlet store, practically making the trunk (boot) of our rental scrape the asphalt as we drove off to our next destination. We actually saw another family bring empty suitcases to load their chocolate haul. My heroes. Brilliant.

On a non-Cadbury, but candy note...it was on the drive that I discovered the most addictive British treat.

Barley Sugar doesn't sound so nice, but trust me.

Europe 2015- Madame Tussauds

When we booked our tickets for The London Eye, we were given the option to bundle them with discount tickets to Madame Tussauds.

Madame Tussauds is crazy popular and extremely busy. We arrived in the early afternoon and we waited nearly an hour to enter. If I could go back and redo the day, I would have done Madame Tussauds first, before The London Eye, arriving at the museum before opening.

Why? The whole fun in visiting a wax museum is taking pictures with the figures. You're allowed to pose with them and touch them. Colin Firth! I'm grabbing some of that!

When we arrived, the whole museum was jammed. We had to wait to pose with each figure, but worse, it was often difficult to get a clean shot. Trust me, get there early.

I think of Madame Tussauds as a "Classy" wax museum. Oxymoron? Perhaps.

In the late 90's, I visited Madame Tussauds in Las Vegas and had a great time. The figures look very realistic. They are dressed in clothing worn and donated by the celebrities. These figures are approved by the celebrities themselves and they are usually flattering.

We have a Madame Tussauds in Hollywood, but I've never been. Here's the thing about Wax Museums in Hollywood...there is no reason to visit Madame Tussauds, when you can go down the street to visit the Hollywood Wax Museum. The Hollywood Wax Museum houses figures that look nothing like the celebrities. I mean NOTHING like them! They are falling apart, disfigured, and usually unflattering. I don't know how they haven't been sued. It's far more entertaining to play "guess the celebrity" and gawk at the terrible figures, than it is to view the "classy" versions at Madame Tussauds. It's extra fun if you visit a nearby pub first!

Click to read my review of our visit to the Hollywood Wax Museum

That said, we still had a great time running around taking goofy pictures. Here is a small sample of the offerings.

We were surprised to find a dark ride in the middle of the exhibit. The Spirt of London, took us on a journey through the history of the city. Here are some snaps of the ride.

In addition to The Spirit of London ride, Madame Tussauds also has a 4-D Marvel themed movie. We stayed for the entire show, but it was a little loud and intense for the kids. If you've seen a lot of 4-D movies in theme parks, this one doesn't rate. The story was terrible and visually, it was average. If the wait is long, like it was for us, skip it.

More pictures...

I spent many years working ride attractions at Universal Studios Hollywood. This picture was mandatory...

And I chatted with Steven on the set of Jurassic Park. I have some ideas for a ride...

When in England, who else are you going to meet?

But the best moment of the visit was when my seven year old Swedish step-daughter said - "I see President Obama!" and was super excited to have her picture taken with him. Isn't she the cutest presidential aide?

Madame Tussauds is enormous and we could have easily spent 3-4 hours exploring, but due to time constraints, we only visited for a few hours. We skipped the horror chamber, because I was too chicken! For the record, Zoe was very keen to check it out. Given the large amount of Historic buildings and museums in London, I wouldn't consider Madame Tussauds a "must-see", but if you've done it all, it's a fun way to spend a half-day.