Mr. & Mrs. Vandebilt + kids

We needed to stock up on a few more supplies to make it through the rest of the trip and the small Primark was not cutting it so we set off for the Monks Cross Retail Shops Saturday afternoon. I love a good Primark shop and this one did not disappoint. A couple of hours, several hundred quid and many shopping bags later we all left with some new things to round out our wardrobe.

After shopping coffee and snack were in tall order so we nipped into Costa. Madeline’s day was ruined by the missed cookie opportunity so we finished our snacks and headed for home. When we took a quick look at the travelling options and realized that an Uber was going to be expensive with a long wait. When I figured out that the bus option included a double decker bus (sadly not red) the decision was easy. The kids got a great kick out of being on the second level and we made it home just in time for Sunday dinner and some board games.

Apparently the shopping trip was too much excitement as everyone had a hard time falling asleep Sunday night. Monday morning was slow to get going and despite having reservations to A Hole in Wand two of the three kids were foul. I will say, it was not a super pleasant day to be out wandering around. It was cold, damp and windy and there were people all over the place. The Viking festival is happening so spirits lifted marginally when we eventually made our way there. The kids got to try on Viking helmets and pose with weapons. The real treat though, was the face painting. While not strictly authentic, it was the highlight for most kids.

By this time I was in desperate need of a coffee and some reprieve from the cold. We attempted to find a smaller coffee shop that wasn’t just one of the main chains but quickly abandoned that idea when we were all getting impatient. We grabbed a latte and a cookie to share, dashing Madeline’s cookie dreams yet again. Now that I’ve been suitably caffeinated and the kids have been appropriately scolded for the constant whining it was time for mini-golf.

Keeping with the wizard/magic/Harry Potter theme that York seems so attached to, there is a 9 hole indoor mini-golf course cleverly named A Hole in Wand. It comes complete with your own potion drink and a puzzle that you need to solve while playing. The decorations were so well done, sadly they seemed to have forgotten that you would actually need room to maneuver while playing, and that it’s nearly impossible to play golf on linoleum. The kids mostly had fun, or at least I’m going to tell myself that. It’s hard to tell between the whining and arguing. At least we successfully solved the riddle and found the gargoyle, so the day wasn’t a total bust.