Playful Rooted

Our insanely fantastic trip to Ireland (<- I linked Galway there, but Cliffs of Moher and Ballyvaughan were incredible, too) was only made possible because Ben actually had a work trip to England. We decided to tack several days in Ireland onto the beginning of the trip so Luca and I could tag along and so we could take advantage of the great opportunity! So Ireland was definitely better because Ben got to be with us the whole time, and in England, he was working all week, so we were on our own for the most part. But England also had its bright spots, and it was an amazing experience being able to travel with our kiddo and see a little bit more of the world.

In England, we stayed in the location where Ben was working: a town called Reading (pronounced like redding; I feel like I need to mention that), which was like 40 minutes by train from London. Someone had mentioned to me that Reading was a big city, so I was sort of expecting something like Birmingham, England, which we had visited years prior and which I hated. 😉 (It was very much like any other old city with horrible traffic and zero local charm.) Luckily, Reading was delightful in comparison! I would definitely not call it a big city, more like a semi-large town. We were also smack dab in the center, so we could walk to everything, which was AMAZING. No worrying about trains or trams or buses or anything – totally the way to go!

(It was unfortunately dreary weather for the most part, but what can you do? It’s England.)

Luca and I spent two full days here while Ben worked. One was just to take a breather from Ireland, get some laundry done, buy a few groceries and unwind a little bit, and then the next we spent exploring the downtown “square,” (it wasn’t a square, but that’s the most similar thing I can equate it to in the US) and strolling through the park. It was actually quite cold, so we popped into LOTS of little shops that we might not have if the weather had been nicer. But that was a fun way to get to know the town and its charms.

This is Reading’s city hall building – a far cry from the new construction we have in the American suburbs! I really love the older established architecture across all of Europe.

My view for a while. 🙂 I let him run around most of the time, but it sure was nice to keep the kiddo contained in a stroller for a couple of hours!

Luca saw this escalator inside a Marks and Spencer, and we HAD to go in and ride it. Up and down and up and down, probably 40 times. Mama was a little tired of it. 😉

We popped into a sweet little book shop and bought these Very British Books as souvenirs. ❤ Books are one of my favorite things to purchase as keepsakes because they stick around for years and get solid use!

Luca definitely won’t remember this trip, but we’ll have these books throughout his childhood. I love that he’ll have the knowledge and evidence that we went on this exciting adventure together. Yay, books!

This is my favorite thing. 🙂 All he wanted in the whole wide world was to be best friends with a pigeon. (Also, if you’re judging me for holding onto my kid by his hood….that’s honestly one of my biggest tips for traveling with a toddler. I’ll never EVER again judge those people that keep their children on leashes! Those suckers are fast!)

Reading definitely isn’t a destination place in England, but it was a really decent place to stay. Great food options, good shopping, and some nice outdoor spaces – if only the weather had been nicer. And a huge pro was its central location, close to LOTS of day trip options! More on that coming soon. 🙂

xo!