A weekend at Cotswolds

Walking up to  Broadway Tower

To my mind, one of the things you miss the most after becoming a parent is the weekend. Those two precious days that you spent the entire week waiting for; those 2 days when you let go of routine and discipline and gave in to guilt free binging; those two days when you were out partying later than Cinderella; those two days where having woken up at noon, you then decided you didn’t want to cook or run any errands but just lay in bed, lazing the whole day; or maybe caught up an afternoon movie after a late brunch with the hubby or took off for the weekend to a some destination like Goa or Bali where you spent two blissful days just lying on the beach and sipping some chilled margaritas and reading a book….those two beautiful, almost perfect days that just passed by even before you blinked and always left you craving for more.

These days, come weekend morning, the clock strikes the unearthly hour of 7 in the morning and I find myself being rudely woken up by little hands stroking my hair or pulling my cheeks, and not too gently may I add; or with a rendition of “I’m a little turtle, my name is Tiny Tim” being yelled right into my eardrum; or worse, V1 and V2's very own version of WWIII, happening right on top of me while I desperately cling on to the last few moments of sleep before the madness of the weekend begins! And then the days are spent in a mad rush of stocking up for the week ahead, planning visits to museums or farms or movies or parks or restaurants that the boys might enjoy and cooking up new dishes that I hope they will love, which I can then add to our weekly repertoire.

Now in the midst of all the rush and the frenzy of activity, when I think back to those days of lazing around, doing nothing; there are times I am not even sure if they were for real and not a fantasy conjured up by my  now exhausted brain.

Don’t get me wrong.

I enjoy my weekends now as much as I enjoyed those. Probably more.

I cannot believe I am saying this but I actually look forward to each weekend of frenzied activity!  I love the trips we take; I love watching my sons’ faces light up with joy when they feed the geese or cows or make a sand castle or watch a movie and chomp on chips or take a boat ride; I love listening to them chatter non-stop, strapped to their car seats, singing songs, reliving their favourite part of their day;  knowing that someday they will (hopefully) look back fondly on these days of their childhood and that is one thought that always makes the running around like a headless chicken worth the while!

But still, I'd sell my soul if I could have a day, just to myself each month, where I can go somewhere on my own, sleep in till noon, sit on a balcony and stare at the sea and sip some wine, order my pick from the room service menu, treat myself to a sea-weed body wrap or a Dead Sea mud bath without having to check my watch every ten minutes, eat in bed, have the remote all to myself and watch mindless slasher movies on TV…..

OR...... 

Or I’d probably sit there wondering what the 3 men in my life are doing, whether the Dad has kept his sons on a diet of chocolates, cereal, ice-creams and lollipops, whether he has given in to their demand of endless cartoon programs on TV, whether the boys are speeding off on their scooters instead of stopping when he asks them to, and I know I’d probably end up calling every 10 minutes, or probably every half hr, if I were to exercise iron self control! And then I know this fantasy of mine is not coming true any time soon! 

But still, it is a nice dream holiday to have, even if the only place and time it is going to happen anytime in the near future, is inside my head!

For now, sharing pictures of a trip taken with the boys to the picturesque village of Bourton-on-the-water in Cotswolds.

Cotswolds is full of these beautiful little villages; names of which sound straight out of an Agatha Christie or a P.G.Wodehouse book – Moreton-on-the-Marsh, Chipping Camden, Shipton-under-Wychwood, Stow-on-the-Wold and many more such fascinating names! Of all of these, Bourton-on-the-Water is considered the most picturesque!

And when you reach it, you realize why. With pretty little cottages made of the honey- gold stones that makes Cotswolds famous;  a little stream running through the equally little village, filled with ducks and geese; pretty little restaurants and tea shops on either side of the stream and beautiful little bridges that go over the stream at regular intervals; it looks straight out of  a story book. Or a travel brochure!

And it also has more than plenty to keep children occupied – from a little Model Village to a beautiful and surprisingly large Bird Park and a couple of working farms, it makes for a day really well spent with the kids! And the best part, it is just a short drive from London!

Here are some pictures of Bourton-on-the-Water and the breath-taking countryside around Cotswolds. 

Little bridges that run over the stream. And plenty of ducks and geese to chase.

Little stream with restaurants and shops on either side

The beautiful village of Bourton-on-the-Water

Flamingoes and swans in the bird park

Breathtakingly beautiful countryside covered in fields of yellow and green