So for my birthday this year Baby Z and Daddy treated me out to a long weekend in Newquay, Cornwall. As we had never been down that far south, we thought it was best to treat it like a holiday even if it was in mid-October and the weather was cold. Our main day trip there was to the Eden project and wow was it amazing. As it has been a trip that we have had on the, to do list for a while it was perfect to complete it with baby Z around.
A wide vast ground created in 1999 from Clay canyons. The Eden project lives on recycled and reusable waste to create homes for wildlife, growing vegetation as well as establishing plant life from around the world.
Our day started very early, all wrapped up, Baby Z was excited as ever to go on one of her adventures. When we first entered, there was a stage display of how important plants were to the world and if we did not change our ways how the world would be destroyed. It was a brilliant display that moved and changed with each description from a couple at the table and a cat on the floor drinking milk. We all stood there intrigued watching it all come to life, Baby was so amazed at the live display… that was until the end when all the plants disappear which leads the people to die… she didn’t realise that the people fell but the one thing she did notice was the cat drop dead on the floor. All Baby Z could say was … “Cat… What happened to her?” with a very sad expression, like she was about to cry… so our sudden instinct was to wheel her away very quickly and tell her the cat fell asleep! Eek not the best first impression on death for a 22 month old.
Once the tickets were bought, we headed out into the project grounds. What I personally loved about it was that they made you walk through the entire ground before you reached the Biomes. As well as this the place was empty!! Perfect for us as we could let Baby Z walk around on her own and run like the wind without a problem that she would get lost amidst a crowd.
She explored the small corridors with daddy, jumping down steps and discovering the sights through trees and plants.
In the first Biome they have set up an educational area with a play area as well as lots of interactive displays. I was quite glad that they had a good few things for Baby Z to do even at her age. We showed her the big Honey Bee and she went crazy in the play area. This was nice as I could leave her with daddy for a bit so I could go and check out the interactive displays in peace. Then it was my turn to play hide and seek whilst daddy went to learn about the planet! I have to say this Biome is perfect for any age especially for children who are learning about flora and fauna in primary school.
By the time we were done in the educational dome it was hitting lunch time. As we had researched beforehand on the different restaurants Eden had to offer, my heart was set on the Mediterranean restaurant in the Med Biome as they were making fresh paella!! Yum yum… especially as it was a hit for all of us when we were in Spain the month before, we couldn’t resist. After exploring the Med biome, which took us through the wonders of Spain, into Greece and parts of America. We sat down to order our food… sadly, the paella was a meat one (not very impressed about that one), so we ended up opting for a vegetarian Italian pizza and delicious bruschetta with oil and balsamic vinegar. We couldn’t fault anything we ate as it was all so fresh from the produce in the Eden.
After a hearty lunch we excitedly wandered into the Amazonian Biome (one that daddy was very much waiting to visit). Funnily enough Baby Z was the first one in, running through the doors into the tropically heated dome. When looking up all you could see was different plants and trees some as tall as the dome itself. In the background you could hear waterfalls and the sounds of different exotic birds. It really transformed you to another dimension where you believed you weren’t even in Cornwall at all. We travelled through Malaysia, into Indonesia, the Americas and parts of East Asia. Honestly it was the best short trip around the Amazonian jungle I could have wished for, especially as there aren’t all the extra bugs or crawlies that I’m fearful off.
Baby Z found that her she loved the water, the gushing of the stream left her speechless to the point where she didn’t really want to wander anywhere else. We could have left her at the waterfall and walked off to still find her standing there when we would return. (Of course we wouldn’t do that, but man was it tempting when she wouldn’t budge).
After trekking through the whole jungle, Daddy climbed the tallest viewing point so he could take lots of Birdseye view pictures. We showed Baby Z the different fruits, some that she hasn’t seen before to others that she loves that she never knew grew on trees… bananas! We actually got a squeal when we showed her the growing bananas.
The days excitement really got to her that after we left the dome, she was so tired she missed the fresh ice-cream that was being sold. But at least she had a fantastic day with a good few goodies to take home! Not only that; she also learnt a few things. As everywhere we went that day we explained to her the different plants or things she was looking at. Even though she is only 22 months we hoped certain things stuck from such a busy day.
We definitely will be bringing Baby Z back when she is slightly older as it is a brilliant place for a hands on exercise to teach kids on the cycle of life as well as the importance of looking after the planet. Now my only wish is to make the journey time from home to Cornwall shorter… as six hours each way in a car makes it a little hard to get to such a beauty in the south of England.
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