At the end of last month, I went along to the Toy Fair 2020 – I go each year, mainly to check out board games for Big Boss Battle, a site I am one of the owners of. As we’ve been reviewing toys on this blog, I figured I’d spend more time looking at the Toy aspect of the Toy Fair. Sadly, on the day we were meant to go to the Toy Fair, our car’s catalytic converter was stolen while parked in a parking lot – what a wild ride. Because of this, I ended up only having part of one day to explore the Toy Fair, but I booked a few appointments and checked out a bunch of different toys. I wanted to share with you what I found to be the coolest toys of the fair!
We are big fans of light based art. Dann loves walking around, Jupiter loves looking at art, so Lightopia seemed like a great event to attend, especially after the amount of fun we had at Chihuly exhibition and the Ashford Illuminations. Lightopia takes place each year at the Chiswick House in London, as well as several other locations around England. This year, this is running from January 22nd until March 1st, giving everyone plenty of time to stop by!
We went to Lightopia with Claire (who wrote up her own review) and Staurt as a double date. We all purchased tickets a while back, and they were a bit strange to purchase. The tickets themselves have the same opening time, but you’ll end up needing to pick a preferred arrival time, which doesn’t actually get placed on your ticket. We didn’t get the email stating our preferred time, so we went at opening, which was listed on our ticket. We were still let in and nobody pointed out that we were an hour early. Anyway, onto the exhibition.
Before you even make it to ticket check, you’ll walk down a large path of flowers and numbers, making your way closer and closer to the exhibition. Once we got through tickets, we started down the path. Like the Chihuly exhibitions, lights dotted the path moving you from each major point to another. There was a lot to see, but surprisingly, there were also a lot of interactive areas designed for children and adults alike. Everything also had music, with quite a few exhibitions that actually were timed to the music that was playing. The flowers, butterflies, humans, all looked like they were made of wire and tissue paper, but clearly it was made of fabric which had lights under it. A few exhibitions stood out above the others.
[Ad- gifted experience] Our entire family was invited to check out LIV, a contemporary restaurant located in Belgravia, London. This venue is bright, spacious and offers a lovely menu of dishes from British artisanal suppliers. Very much relaxed fine dinning experience, the menu is one full of beautiful plates, interesting ingredients and higher end meals. It’s a pretty limited menu, allowing the chef to focus on the meals set and made. The food is really the star, even with such a wonderful, well decorated venue.
LIV now has a children’s eat free offer, on weekdays from 4pm to 7pm on weekdays. If you’ve got some adventurous children interested in trying new foods, this offer is amazing. The menu children get to pick from is the same as the adult menu for dinner, but there are plenty of side dishes and small dishes that fit well for kids. We have a picky eater and two who will try anything, but there was enough to accommodate all of them and allow them to try some spectacular new foods.
[Ad- gifted experience] We were invited to take on the new vegan options at The Lost Hour, a casual pub that has pool tables, a SNES, loads of TVs showcasing sports, and a friendly atmosphere. Offering a bunch of beers on tap and fruity ciders I hadn’t even heard of before, as well as a generously sized menu full of food, this pub is a step above your average Wetherspoons. They’ve added a few vegan specials to their menu and are encouraging those doing Veganuary by offering double points for vegan purchases made by people who sign up for their rewards card called ‘more’. They are also doing 25% off low-alcohol or non-alcoholic drinks if you are doing dry January and have a card! These reward points can add up to free food or drinks at The Lost Hour. The bar staff themselves were also really lovely, which is worth a mention. They spent time asking tables if everything was good, cleaned fast and efficiently, and had good conversations at the bar. It was just a really friendly bunch! Let’s get down to the food;
I’ve lived in London for a few years, but haven’t actually ever gone to a specific area to spend time and explore! Dann and I went out to the London Bridge area, with a budget in our pockets, looking to do whatever we stumbled upon. It was a long day out, and we ended up doing a mix of tourism and finding smaller gems that are within the area. If you want to do a day out in the London Bridge area, but unlike us, don’t live nearby, there are loads of hotels near the Shard to pick from.
