Okay, I realise this is confusing being part 2, when part 1 hasn’t been written yet, but I’m trying to be chronological here and haven’t had time to do yesterday.

So – the in-laws are over from Australia and we’re sightseeing – however, I don’t agree in paying full price for anything if there’s a way you can get it cheaper, so this is essentially what this is about – especially when it involves kids.

Today’s trip was over to London’s South Bank – The London Eye, a wander along the river, a trip to Wahaca and loads of free things along the way (with more that we missed).

So, the London Eye. At £18 each it’s pricey – but don’t let that put you off. If you head over here you can register and sign up for a 2 for 1 voucher – which for us was an almost £40 saving (4 adults, one under 3 went free). All you need to qualify is a Railcard travelcard (Oyster cards are no good, nor are Underground issued ones) – check the T&C’s for more information, but it’s worth it if you’re getting a travelcard anyway. You can also buy a ticket for the London Aquarium which is worth a visit as a combined price saving you a little more – and is only a couple of minutes (even at toddler pace) from the London Eye.

When the London Eye isn’t busy you can walk on, so we had our tickets and were on within  ten minutes which was good too – no waiting around or arranging a time to get on – which considering it’s the day after the Olympics finished, you’d expect it to be a bit busy. Save yourself some money too – get someone else in the pod to take a photo of you with a good London Skyline and avoid the ridiculously expensive ones you can buy there…!

After that we wandered along the South Bank – where the Festival of the World is going on (until the 9th September) – so you’ve crates you can climb into, rides (which cost £2 per person – the carousel would need an adult if your child is less than 1m30), a fabulous Lego World, and the utterly fantastic Rainbow Park – a huge sandpit which starts in plain until it works through the colours of the rainbow – it’s sand you can’t build a sandcastle from, but that doesn’t make it any less fun. Don’t leave it too late! It rained a bit today but we were fairly sheltered under the trees.

There’s so much to do that we missed the Amaze Me maze built from books, and didn’t get to explore properly really – it’s definitely somewhere to go back to – but best of all it only costs you the price of your travel (and food) to get there!

Food-wise, I tried a free trial of a Tastecard, but couldn’t use it anywhere for 5 people (and FourSquare let me down too) – so we ended up going to Wahaca who have a pop-up store – they’re not cheap, but there is also a small stand for street food which does all the same things as in the restaurant – and Wahaca are yummy (and have plenty of vegetarian choices) – and very filling. Plan in advance and Pizza Express often has good deals – and free WiFi, plus if you have an iPhone or an iPod Touch their app is extremely useful.

All in all, our South Bank Trip did pretty well as far as not spending money goes! I’m not sure what’s in store tomorrow…