Family • February 3, 2015

A Weekend Break in Norfolk…

I am definitely a creature of habit.  I like routine and I can’t bear not knowing what the plans are.  I get a little twitchy if I don’t know what we are doing at certain times, and I just feel reassured knowing we have plans or a bit of structure to our day.  However sometimes the best adventures or memories are made when you step out of your comfort zone or do something on the spur of the moment.  So this weekend that’s exactly what we did….

We decided last minute to book an impromptu weekend away together.  We didn’t want to go far so had a little look online and found what looked to be a rather lovely place in South Norfolk, only about an hour and a half away from us.  We booked and paid, not really sure what to expect from this little cottage.  On Friday afternoon the girls and I picked Mr E up from work in our lovely XV and off we all went on our little adventure.  We arrived at the cottage after stopping at a supermarket nearby for essentials and the first thing I thought was wow.  The place I had chosen was absolutely STUNNING.  If I had an unlimited budget and lived in that kind of style of property, then it basically was exactly how I would style my home.  The interior was gloriously beautiful, so much so that I have taken a million photos and I thought I would write about it properly in another post.  We ate a quick and easy pizza dinner, put the girls to bed and then Mr E and I relaxed in the roll top bath.

Saturday morning we woke up, had a leisurely breakfast of chocolate croissants, and then headed out to nearby Southwold, a very pretty quintessential English seaside town.  We have been there before, when Mads was tiny, so it was nice to go back with both the girls.  Unfortunately though it was bitterly cold, I am quite bizarre in that I just never really wear a coat, but even I was freezing, so we had a quick play on the beach as it is compulsory, then headed inside to a brightly coloured little cafe attached to the pier.  The girls had ice cream, which was bizarre, but we put nothing past them and their quest for a sweet treat.

After a quick wander round the town we headed back in the opposite direction to Norwich.  Norwich is somewhere I have passed through, going to the airport once and to pick up my camera from there a couple of years ago, but I have always wanted to explore it properly.  Unfortunately by this point it was not only cold, but absolutely chucking it down with rain and it was windy as well.  So we did what we do best.  We ate.  We went to Pizza Express for lunch- pretty much nowadays that’s one of the only places we go with the girls, because we know that they love it and will gobble it all up.  We had a leisurely late lunch (if you haven’t tried the honeycomb slice for pudding there you have to try it now, it’s AMAZING!) before having a quick browse of the shops.  It was just too cold though and was dark by this point, so unfortunately we didn’t get to see Norwich at all.  We will have to go back again soon.

It was back to the cottage again, putting the girls to bed, before settling down for another lovely night in.  There was terrible signal there, meaning we actually kept off our phones for once.  We shared a bottle of prosecco, had another bath, and played a riveting yet slightly competitive game of Scrabble, before I got terribly excited as I realised the cottage had Netflix, and we could watch an episode of the Vampire Diaries. (my current obsession!)

Sunday morning the girls treated us to an 8am lie in, we had chocolate brioche for breakfast, before going back up to bed.  We all snuggled in bed for over an hour, playing and watching films on the iPad, it was so lovely not rushing around.  We then got ready, checked out, and headed to Bungay, a little, pretty market town with some cute shops.  Unfortunately yet again the weather was rubbish, meaning there wasn’t much open, but we went to a really cute little tea room for some lunch and a nice piece of cake.  Then it was time to head home, full of contentment and happiness at a lovely weekend.

That’s the thing.  We didn’t really do much.  In fact I joked to my Mum that we basically spent the whole weekend eating.  But sometimes you don’t need to do a lot to have the most fun.  I have come away feeling the most relaxed I have in ages and we really did have an adventure.  When you are four and one, an adventure can be anything.  Our girls love to go away, to experience new places and most of all to have their Mummy and Daddy’s undivided attention.

Here are some photos and a little video of our impromptu weekend to Norfolk…

Norfolk15 p

Having a chat over juice at the breakfast bar.

Norfolk15 m

A cheeky girl chilling out waiting for us to leave the cottage to go to the seaside.

Norfolk15 qa

My cheeky little monkey.  We are loving the XV for exploring new places.

Norfolk15 n

The sun was shining when we arrived in Southwold- but not for long.  Glorious British seaside weather.

Norfolk15 a

All of a sudden she just looks like a little girl- but she acts like a baby still- she hardly says a word and is so cuddly and cute.

Norfolk15 b

A cheeky pair playing on the beach huts.

Norfolk15 c

We headed to the pier for an obligatory go on the 2p machines- it wouldn’t be a trip to the seaside without them.

Norfolk15 d

It was absolutely freezing on the beach but we had to go and have a little run about.

Norfolk15 e

These girls have an obsession with stones.  It’s a little strange.

Norfolk15 f

We felt the wind in our hair and watched the rough waves lap up on the shore.

Norfolk15 g

A little red nose from the cold.

Norfolk15 h

Posing by some sandcastles.  I would love to say we made them but we aren’t insane.  It was far too cold for that kind of business.

Norfolk15 o

But it wasn’t too cold for ice cream.  It never is for these two.

Norfolk15 i

Concentrating hard on her colouring at lunchtime.  Oh to have those eyelashes.

Norfolk15 r

If you haven’t tried the Honeycomb Slice at Pizza Express, you need to get down there immediately and have one.  It literally is one of the yummiest things I have ever eaten!

Norfolk15 j

I adore this photo of them.  Her Daddy is her absolute hero.  I hope it always stays that way.  I changed this to black and white and I am going to get in a frame for Mr E’s side of the bed.

Norfolk15 l

A cheeky little girl drinking some juice.

Norfolk15 k

On Sunday morning we all snuggled in bed and watched/played with the iPads- it was so nice not rushing about and for the girls to actually stay in bed for once.

Here’s a little video I made of our lovely weekend in Norfolk…

 

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