Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum

A must see in London!

We've already been there twice, spring 2008 and autumn 2009, and in the relatively short period they did put new wax figures- MJ and Obama. There are probably others but I could not recall which was not there the year before.

MJ

A chance to tell him off in his own office

Eat your own breakfast

Just to elaborate on this point, in case you are wondering.

We are a family of 5. So if we stay in our favorite hotel, none other than Travelodge (maybe one day I will write on the Travelodges that we stayed), the breakfast set is 7 pounds per pack/head. If we take 3 packs then it will be 21 pounds per day.

What we usually do is, before going back to the hotel for the night, we readily bought ourselves bread, brioches, croissants, spread, muffins, sometimes cereal and juices/ milk at nearby Tesco / Asda or convenience store. Altogether will cost us not more than 7 pounds. This covers for everybody. And they usually last till supper too.

Just another way to save money while traveling :) because our priorities are petrol, admission tickets and fridge magnets!

p/s I have some tips for lunch and dinner too but it is only safe to be revealed to close friends, not here!

Bring your own snacks and drinks

This is a simple but really effective way to cut cost in your holidays, especially family holidays. When we go to theme parks, or any tourist attractions for the matter, the snack bars or cafes always sell things at higher prices.

So we usually go prepared. Cartons of kids juices, packets of multiflavoured crisps and chocolate bars can be bought in bulk from hypermarkets. We stocked these in the boot of the car, and when we arrive at the places, I just fill up the boys' bags with goodies and everybody will be happy!

We have been doing this for every trips and the plus point is, the boys never ask us to buy anything from the shop (this can be a source of tantrums if you refuse them). They will  just look into their bags and choose what they want.

London Eye

We rode on the British Airways London Eye twice, the first time it was spring 2006 (without the kids) and the second time was autumn 2009.

Situated at the banks of River Thames, it is a ride that will give you the bird's eye view of central London.

London Eye at night

Buckingham Palace

It was autumn 2009.

Buckingham Palace is the London official residence of the British Monarch.We went there to watch the famous Changing of the Guards. Too many people were there, but after much effort, we managed to snap some nice pictures. Not to be missed if you are in London!

the crowd..

Barony Castle

It was summer 2009.

We were on route to the Scottish Highlands and we stopped here for the night to rest. The castle is situated in the countryside of Peebles, away from the hustle bustle of a town. I don't think we would have found it without the help of our SatNav.  

The front

Blackpool Pleasure Beach Theme Park

It was February 2009.

We were desperate to start having fun outside again after a very harsh winter. We chose Blackpool Pleasure Beach Theme Park  because it is quite near to our house (1 hour drive).