by Anna Green
This year my family and I decided to spend our summer vacation in some local areas here in England.

So after spending hours trawling the web for hotels and places to go we chose the Midlands.

As with all road trips each member in my family has a task to do. I do the packing and unpacking, prepare food and drinks to take with us in the car just in case we get stranded for a few minutes and I die of starvation (that’s the Pinay in me). My son is in charge of taking his own entertainment i.e. portable DVD player, books, audio books, DS lite, etc. so we don’t hear those famous words, “Are we there yet?” at the back of the car. Then my husband does the driving, he figures that since it’s the most stressful and tiring part of the journey, it’s me who has to do the rest.

Day 1: We set off to Cadbury World in Birmingham which is about 3 hours drive from where we live, the Southeast of England. As ever the Girl Scout motto embedded in my brain, I have already purchased the tickets online so we didn’t have to queue. Still it took us 20 min. in the queue (for those with reserved tickets) to get the pass and brochure to get inside for the tour.

All in all it was very interesting to see how they process the chocolates and the packaging, which for me was the most fascinating thing ever. I was so engrossed watching the robotic arms lifting and sorting out the boxes. Part of the tour also included getting freebie chocolate bars in some stops and this yummy liquid chocolate they give you in a small cup at the end of the tour (although that put me off eating chocolates for at least a week).

Then, at the souvenir shop, I saw the mother of all pasalubongs, the biggest chocolate bar ever, which weighs 5 kgs and costs £30! I had to be persuaded not to buy it as that alone takes a third of my luggage allowance.

Day 2: After staying the night at a hotel, we drove off to Warwick Castle which was half an hour from where we lodged. This time, we decided to let our son share some responsibility with the navigation, as in modern day navigation… changing the settings of the satnav or GPS in our car. Whilst driving away from the hotel, my hubby asked for the post code of Warwick Castle which he scribbled on a piece of paper attached to the map and which my son gladly read out to him.

So driving along listening to the directions of the GPS, we noticed that we were heading out to a different town but we kept on driving just in case it was showing us a short cut. We entered this town and the GPS voice said, “After 300 yards turn left and you’ve reached your destination”. We turned left and there in front of us was a big sign – ASDA car park! Of course we found out later, after my hubby and son stopped blaming each other (and me just sitting there with a big grin on my face ;), that my son misread his dad’s writing and mistook a number for a letter.

We got to Warwick Castle in the end and spent the whole day watching the shows i.e. jousting, bird shows and exploring the castle and its towers. There were intermittent rain showers during the day but since this is England, we always take our waterproof coats with us even during summer.

Day 3: We decided to spend our last day at Stratford-upon-Avon. It was still pelting with rain but sunny in between so off we drove. Since we only had a day to explore the area, we opted for a tour on an open top sightseeing bus and went around the town and saw the houses where the famous residents used to live i.e. William Shakespeare, Anne Hathaway and the others.

During the last quarter hour of the tour, there was a heavy downpour of rain and none of us wanted to chicken out. So we bravely sat it out until me and my son and the other passengers on the upper deck couldn’t take it anymore and we scrambled down to the lower deck, all except my hubby! Talk about that stiff upper lip!

We also took a cruise along the canals of the Avon River on a boat and it was a good experience that should not be missed by visitors. We planned to have a peek at William Shakespeare’s house but looking at the queue put us off. So I had to settle with having my photo taken outside the house.

My hubby and son said I looked like a combination of a paparazzo and a Japanese tourist! Another old building we ventured into was the eerie museum of magic and spells, the place resembled a Harry Potter movie set. In their souvenir shop one can buy different spells for different maladies or any wishes. But the one that apparently is a constant sell out is the spell for winning the lottery, surprise, surprise, ha ha !

All in all the short break was a fun time spent with my family. Getting lost with a misguided GPS was part of the package, too, I guess.

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