I had this blog post, about my two day holiday without any kids in Athens, planned out two weeks ago. But then that horrible thing happened and I didn’t have the heart to post anything.
But I missed writing and blogging and I really wanted you to know that something even as short as a 48-hour holiday can do wonders for the soul. I desperately needed this trip, which was planned while I was still pregnant with Danny. My brother, a huge Iron Maiden fan, wanted me to go with him to Athens to see them play live. If you’ve been reading this blog then you know how much I love a good summer festival and live music so it wasn’t that hard to say no. Even though I knew leaving an exclusively-breastfed baby for a few hours can be hard let alone for two days. But I’m a lucky girl because my mum is a goddess and she looked after Danny, who screamed bloody murder the first night I was away. Heart breaking.
Thousands of miles away, I was pumping milk at midnight in a seedy hotel near Omonoia Square whilst waiting for my two other brothers who were also there for Iron Maiden. Along with their two girlfriends and after I pumped a bottle of milk, I grabbed my purse and we went out for drinks! For real! I couldn’t believe how easy it was to just cut myself off from mother duty and just be me. And have fun! I downed two Caipirinha that night and said good night to every single person on our way back to the hotel. Yes, I can be a fun drunk.
The next day -after I slept until 9.30!- I entered into shop-til-you-drop mode and hit Ermou Street. I made a beeline for Sephora and came out super happy with my purchases, which I hope to tell you more about in another post. I am so lazy and just plain awful at doing my make up but I’ve been making more of an effort lately and heard these few things I bought are perfect for women like me.
Lunch at Monastiraki and a quick coffee break and that same day we made our way to the RockWave Festival which is 30 minutes outside of Athens.
It took us TWO hours to get there that evening by bus. There were 36,000 people that night. All there to see Iron Maiden, one of the greatest heavy metal bands ever. I had a blast! And enjoyed it even more with my three little brothers who were simply ecstatic.
I got back re-energised, recharged and pleasantly surprised to discover that after three kids and a stay-at-home-mum lifestyle I am and most importantly FEEL that I am still so much more than mama. When I got back it was straight back to business as this little darling had drank all the milk deposits and was ready to be held by mama again.
We’re off to Spain next week! But this one won’t be so carefree as it is NOT child-free. We’re going with Georgie and James, which I like to think will be fun and not one major tantrum festival for James. I’ll be back in September with photos and tips on enjoying Madrid, Toledo and a Spanish wedding with kids. ha! In the meantime, if you follow me on Instagram tune in because I’ll definitely be posting boatloads of photos over there because as I said we’ll be attending our good friends’ wedding! See you soon! And have a great great safe summer x
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Check out my first music festival experience back in 2012 here.
I’ve flown with a child before. When we took Georgie to London and when we went to Vienna so I put together a post on tips for flying with kids.
