Trips with Grandmas and Kids

We have now hosted both Grandmas (Larissa's and Michael's Moms) here in England, and we've all had a wonderful time with them. Many terrific memories have been made. As far as daytrips go, Warwick Castle seems to be the general favourite for our North American guests. However, we've also looked elsewhere for local daytrips which the whole family can enjoy--including Grandmas. We've found two such destinations within the Birmingham city limits.

Cadbury World provided the local excursion for Grandma Down's visit (pic 1). Cadbury World is the site of the original purpose-built Cadbury's chocolate factory, just a few minutes walk from our flat. George Cadbury established the factory in 1879 along with his brother Richard after the retirement of their father John from the chocolate business. The village that grew around the factory was called Bournville after the brook that flows through the area. The village was deliberately created to provide high quality housing for the workers, with lots of green space and recreational areas, and today Bournville is one of the most coveted places to live in Birmingham. This history was described in the tour of the factory in a combination of stage sets, films, holograms, and interactive displays. We also learned about the chocolate-making process, had a Disney-like train ride through a chocolate fantasy world (the kids's favourite part), and got to watch chocolate being made with some yummy taste-tests of the end product (pic 2).

The National Sea Life Centre was the destination of choice for Grandma Pahl's visit. This is located in the city centre right by the old canals (pic 3). As one might expect, the Sea Life Centre has cashed in on the recent Nemo craze (pic 4), and the kids enjoyed finding all the different sorts of sea creatures one sees in Finding Nemo. One of the favourite tanks was that with the small sharks and rays. We also enjoyed watching the bigger rays get fed, seeing them come to the surface and flap their "wings" right in front of us. But the feature attraction was the ocean tunnel with all kinds of tropical fish and two huge sea turtles swimming over, under, and all around us. Quite an amazing sight!

So, if you're ever in Birmingham with a Grandma, some kids, some money in your pocket, and nothing to do for half a day--make sure you stop by Cadbury World or the Sea Life Centre!