England 2018: Week 2 Review

My family and I are in the middle of our one month visit to England. My husband is from England and moved to America when he was 18 to play basketball. The rest of his family and his closest friends still live in England so every year we return to visit them. This week we stayed Monday-Friday with his dad, sister, and brother. On Saturday we stayed with his mom and went to the beach.

The longest heatwave in decades continued this week in the south of England. Since our arrival it has been warm and only rained over night. This weather is not typical of a summer in England, but we are taking full advantage of opportunities to be outside.

Being from Ohio this weather doesn’t bother me so much, however, the English are having a difficult time adjusting to temperatures in the high 80s. One challenge the warmth is causing in England is that the country is not equipped for the heat. Air conditioning only exists in supermarkets and large shops. The air is warm and stagnant at times and going inside to escape the heat doesn’t have the same effect as it does in Ohio.

Please don’t mistake my words. I am not complaining. Being able to go outside everyday has been a huge blessing. I prefer this weather to the usual cold and rainy summers we experience while visiting England. This is my twelfth visit to Eastleigh and we are doing so many things I’ve never done before since the weather is so gorgeous.

To see what we did the first week of our stay check out my post England: Week 1 Review.

Some things we did this week:

-Sam performed a Leavers Assembly at his old primary school.

-Went bowling as a family at Hollywood Bowl.

-Shopped at West Quay in Southampton

-Attended my sister-in-law’s graduation from the University of Portsmouth where she earned a degree in Graphic Design. We also had a barbecue that night with her friends.

-Played at an indoor soft-play area called Gambados

-Attempted to fly kites at Fleming Park, but it was a fail.

-Walked at Itchen Valley Country Park until we all nearly melted from the heat.

-Took our girls for a play date with their English besties.

-Met friends for lunch and coffee in Winchester (my favorite town here!)

-Went to the beach at West Wittering

-Attended church with my mother-in-law at Thrive Church in Eastleigh

-Completed a scavenger hunt activity at Manor Park

Some foods we ate this week:

-All You Can Eat buffet meal at Cosmos World Kitchen (Southampton)

-Kebabs (aka gyros)

-English breakfast

-Carribbean Jerk Chicken and a Passionfruit cooler at Turtle Bay (Winchester)

-Americano and brownies at the Coffee Lab (Winchester)

-Fruity waffles and ice cream

-English Roast Dinner

Milestones:

This week Aleah has perfected her roll from back to belly. She is now five months old! She also visited the beach for the first time and absolutely loved it. Both of my girls love the water! Arianna has been working on reading and getting better each day. I love watching her sit on Grandad’s lap reading books to him. Both girls also had alone time with each grandparent this week. This is something that is so special to them. Since they don’t see their English grandparents for eleven months out of the year it is so critical that they get time alone with them. Arianna cherishes the memories she makes with them and talks about them often when we are home.

The Ameri Brit Mom