What do we do in London

If you asked me if its tough travelling and living overseas for short periods with a kid, I would say that this is our best trip so far. Discounting holiday trips, of course.

Not that its not difficult. Faith has her moments of crankiness and being naughty.

Perhaps she's getting older and slowly learning to be independent. Perhaps its becos we have made more effort this trip to make the hotel room as familiar as possible to home with her toys and DVDs and other knick-knacks. Perhaps its also becos London is one of those cities that is very livable and easily adaptable. Maybe its a combination of all the above that has made this trip actually pleasant. That is if you set your expectations right.

When my younger SIL knew that we were headed towards London, she said that I could go back to Paris, which she knew I love. If it was just Louis and me, without a doubt, we'll take the Eurostar to Paris and spend days reliving all the things and food we enjoy in Paris.

With a toddler on hand and a routine that we try hard to adhere to, the 2-hour train ride to Paris and the huge load of things we have to chug along just made the whole idea seem daunting.

Still, don't get me wrong. Its not that London is not fun for us. But instead of thinking about hitting the Oxford Street, Knightsbridge, SOHO or all those shopping areas to make the best of the summer sale that's ongoing, I've tempered most of my shopaholic inclinations.

Instead of going shopping, I now check out if there are farm visits, parks or other toddler-friendly activities that we can go to. Not that we managed to go any of these yet. Largely becos we spent last weekend with the Wenkans and also going heavy-weight groceries.

Whatever the weather, I make it a point to bring Faith out for a walk everyday. Be it a trip to the nearby cafes, the grass patch by London Eye, cloudy or sunny skies. Cos its hard to contain her within the four walls of the hotel room everyday. So, the time out serves for Faith to get her daily dose of exercise, especially when she's so enthusiastic about walking these days. In fact, the trip out usually tire her enough that I don't have to fight too much to put her down for an afternoon nap.

Perhaps, we might take a short trip this weekend, weather permitting, to a nearby craft village and farm centre for a visit. Hopefully, there's lots of open space and grass where Faith can walk to her contentment without us having to worry that she might knock a tooth falling on the hard floor.

During the time that we're here, hopefully, we will eventually make it to one of the many parks in London e.g. Hyde Park, St James Park etc.

Even as I'm posting this piece about moderating shopping expectations, I brought Faith out to one section of Oxford St today. Originally, I had planned to head out with her after our lunch -- I wanted to check out some lightweight tights for her and also get some Clarks shoes (they have more designs here). As with all plans, Faith was cranky during and after her lunch, so I ended up letting her sleep first.

After she woke up nearly an hour later, I made her a bottle of milk and got her to drink it in record time. The time was nearly 4 pm by then but I still determinedly headed out with her, desperate to catch some shopping before dinner.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find the the specific H&M outlet (kids clothes are only in a few) nor the Clarks shop cos I went to the wrong tube station. So, I ended up buying her some t-shirts and a pair of jeans on sale from Marks & Spencer. Also managed to get a top for myself from H&M.

I went out without the stroller cos I wasn't sure how stroller-friendly the tube station along Oxford St would be. Luckily I didn't -- the tube's not stroller-friendly. Hence, I ended up carrying her for the most parts and for the rest, I partly held her hands or dragged her along -- cos Faith decided that she wanted to stop somewhere, go in some other directions, climb the stairs or escalator or pull out all the knee-height displays of clothes and accessories.

I must be a sucker for trouble becos I'm actually contemplating to go to Piccadilly Circus tomorrow becos I badly wanted to check out those Clarks kids shoes! I've done some homework and more or less memorise the rough location.

Wish me luck!