A couple of days away is always fun. This weekend we spent some time in London and then took a leisurely drive back through the south midlands stopping off at Stowe Gardens, just outside Buckingham. Certainly not the quickest way back home but far far more relaxing.

For many complicated reasons this was our first visit to London for over a year. I am happy to report that London is still, well, London. That means crowded, expensive and giving off a vibe you don’t get anywhere else in Britain.

Our first stop was at the Royal Academy to see the Victor Hugo exhibition: Astonishing Things: The Drawings of Victor Hugo. We also caught the ‘Brasil! Brasil! The Birth of Modernism exhibition. Of the two the Victor Hugo exhibition was the stand out. I don’t know why it is but I find some of the best exhibitions in the smaller Jillian and Arthur M. Sackler gallery. This was the home of the Victor Hugo show.

The Brazilian art exhibition was interesting and contained some stunning art. However, it just didn’t work on the same level as the Victor Hugo. Your views may be different and I am happy with that.

The next day Stowe was on its best behaviour in the last sun of the resent sunny spell period. This being Easter week the schools are off so Stowe was clearly a great place to take the kids. This didn’t ruin things for us. We got there early and left before it got too busy.

All in all a good couple of days.