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Last weekend was a busy one! I travelled down to London on Friday morning – the train was delayed but it was ok and I had a lovely journey down in the end with Colette from Going on an Adventure and met up for lunch with some of my blogging besties Bonita, Caro, Jess, Julia, Amy, Sarah and Detrice Matthews who I met for the first time!

I was heading down to London to spend the evening at the Tots 100 MAD Blog Awards at the Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington.  I was defending last years title as Best UK Family Travel Blogger and I was lucky enough to win again for the second year running.  Competition was tight so I was thrilled to win and had a fantastic evening with some good friends and met some fabulous bloggers I’d not met before.

I also decided to take advantage of a child free weekend in London and decided not to head home on the Saturday morning but stay, meet up with some more friends and spend a but more time exploring London Town.  I had also been challenged by  Luxury Flooring to spend – ‘A Weekend on my Feet’. This has been inspired by the Instagram account ‘I Have This Thing With Floors’ whereby people share photographs of themselves standing on different and interesting flooring.  Challenge set and I was off!

Unfortunately the flooring in the part of the hotel we were in on Friday night wasn’t that interesting, although I did miss an opportunity to take photos on the red carpet leading into the hotel, so the challenge really started for me on Saturday morning.

When I’d woken up and left the rest of the girls I was staying with I made my way to the Victoria and Albert Museum to see the current Undressed (underwear) exhibition and meet my lovely friend and bridesmaid.  The V&A is an incredibly amazing building with some wonderful architecture, an amazing shop, and fab floors!

The Undressed exhibition @vamuseum was fantastic, beautifully curated. I adore the building and the floor! Sharing a #footselfie for a challenge with @luxuryflooring.co.uk #london

A photo posted by Karen Beddow (@mini_travellers) on Sep 18, 2016 at 2:25am PDT

We loved the exhibition and can highly recommend it. It’s on until the 12th March 2017 and costs £12. Entry to the rest of the museum is free. After a wander round the exhibition and the shop to buy treats for the kids it was time for lunch.  We ate lunch just round the corner from the V&A in a fab Lebanese canteen Comptoir Libanais which served excellent meze and some well needed home made lemonade.  It also had fantastic tables and a very pretty floor!

Have you ever eaten in @comptoirlibanais? They do Lebanese meze in canteen style and the one we went to was just near the @v_and_a_shop and museum! #Kensington #floorselfie @luxuryflooring.co.uk

A photo posted by Karen Beddow (@mini_travellers) on Sep 20, 2016 at 6:34am PDT

Well fed and watered we wandered down to Sloane Square, with a coffee in hand putting the world to rights whilst we looked in the window of pretty shops. We stumbled upon Sloane Square farmers market, possibly the fanciest I have ever seen. Oysters, sushi and champagne all on one stall, and the best cheese display on another. We took a little time to wander around and found this map in the floor! I thought I’d better stand in Chelsea!

Love this road map in Sloane Square, London really interesting. Popped myself in Chelsea! #footselfie @luxuryflooring.co.uk #ukexplore

A photo posted by Karen Beddow (@mini_travellers) on Sep 19, 2016 at 1:03am PDT

A cheeky wander round Zara to look at the new season clothes was followed by a glass of champagne and more gossiping in the Gallery Mess restaurant at the Satchi Gallery. They have some fabulous artefacts just in the restaurant and of course a lovely floor!

In the Satchi gallery whilst exploring London this weekend with a friend, have you been? #London #ukexplore #footselfie challenge @luxuryflooring.co.uk

A photo posted by Karen Beddow (@mini_travellers) on Sep 20, 2016 at 12:57am PDT

At 3pm it was time to say goodbye to one friend and hello to another, so as I made my way to Victoria station and took a train to Peckham Rye, I found some interesting sights in the station. Surely we are the only nation that would have “queue here” signs stuck onto the floor so that people can queue appropriately for the cash machine!

Meeting my friend meant more bars and more floors! More prosecco and more good food!

And then it as only time to go home. To go back on the train and home to the beach. To spend some time with the kids and to feel the sun on my feet.  It was fun to be away for the weekend but there is no place like home!

NB: Post has been created as a collaboration