I stood in the bathroom, let out a few tears and asked myself, "Why do you keep doing this to yourself?" And "this" is me taking my kids for field trips out of state as part of our home education. You see, there is something called "Vacation personality" that makes something that's supposed to be fun, relaxing and adventurous become so annoying and stressful. Anything regarding children in general tends to cause stress. I warned, spoke to them before we left home, not to fight, not to stress me, and right from the train ride, they were fighting. Sigh! I want to still explore more places with my kids, but minus the vacation personalities, please. 

How do I go about that? Epp me pleaseeeee.

I had planned to visit Ibadan primarily because I wanted to see my cousin's child, who had already turned 2, and I had never seen. I also wanted my kids to know her as well. Growing up, our parents made the effort to visit family so we could know our cousins, and that's dying in our generation. Anyhoos, using the opportunity to explore Ibadan while we visited was the perfect 1 bird 2 stones moment. 

They hung out!

We booked the train to Ibadan from Yaba, and I had an itinerary that included visiting 2 places for the 5 days we were there. It seemed packed, but for Ibadan, which doesn't have so much traffic, it was doable. I shared here how much it costs and the process to book the train. Check it out. 

Here is our Ibadan itinerary and a mini review of my review: 

Day 1: Travel day 

Day 2: National Museum & Agodi Gardens: I recommend both places.

More people need to know about the good work the ministry is doing regarding our national museums. You will be pleasantly surprised. While we need to upgrade the facilities and all, they do a good job with the curation of all the artefacts, and you will see how rich our people and culture are. You can see more in our review of the National Museum of Unity, Ibadan. 

Agodi Gardens has become an emblem of low-cost fun in Ibadan, and they are really flying the flag high, not so much as changed since the last time we came a 4 years ago, it's well maintained - except the pool, it needs cleaning - there are various options of things to do at very affordable rates. I wish you could just have a system to pay once and cash out at each of the points but they are not thinking that far.  You can see more on our review of Agodi gardens.

Day 3: UI Zoo, Cocoa House & Bowers Towers  

UI Zoo: Don't go there. I don't know if you're really starved of animals, but they've also currently increased their prices for a zoo that is not well-maintained. I guess if you have to settle, then know you are doing it because you don't have any other option and maybe for the Girafee. Every other animal there is not worth it. If you have another alternative, then you can skip this one.  It's since not maintained it's standard since the last time we came 4 years ago. 

Bower's Tower: Bower's Tower is a tower where you can view the famous "brown roofs" of Ibadan from a vantage point. It's on the outskirts abit but not too far from Cocoa house, however the road is bad. I would recommend going there for a picnic instead of just visiting to see the brown roofs. Get a cab that can either come back to pick you up, stay with you or drive to the place. You might find it difficult to get a cab that is willing to go to the place. Cost 1,000/ Adult and 500/Kids. They also don't maintain the surroundings of the place, but the tower seems solid. We enjoyed the short climb, it might be difficult for someone who is chostrophobic. 

Road to Bower's Tower

Day 4: Odunlade Art Gallery 

Day 5: Booksellers Limited, Eleyele Lake & Ace Mall

I found out about Booksellers Limited from our travel buddy Omon, she shared her Ibadan trip and as a lover of book stores I was drawn to this one place. I only wanted to visit just to smell the books, feel the vinatage store and just bask in the euphoria of books because let's face it, they don't make bookstores like that anymore. I ended up buying books because they had a wide array of books that cut accross various genres. I absolutely loved that they kids were allowed to look through books, read without us buying them. Click here to see the books we bought.

Eleyele Lake: 

We got here and found out they don't allow kids to do the kayak, that was a bummer. The only option for us was to book a 25k speedboat that would take us for 10 minutes around the lake. I didn't feel it was value for money. This is a place you go with other adults in a group where you can have fun together. I don't recommend it for kids. 

Ace Mall: 

The other place we went was Ace Mall. We didn't go to the arcade but the play ground at the back of the mall. They have a swimming pool and the play area. They charge 3000/child for 2 hours for the play area and sepately for the pool. It was so hot because it's outdoors. I advise going in the evening so you don't have to deal with the heat. 

We used the hotel names Asake, which is the annexe hotel for Davis hotel. We got good service, and the place is really central and not too far from different places. 

Total cost for our Ibadan trip, which includes transportation, food, 2 nights hotel stay and entrance fee:  N345,400

We headed back home on Saturday morning on the 2nd train, and booking for this train made me aware that they move 3 times in one day from Ibadan to Lagos, and that's so impressive. I was so excited to be back; my body needed the rest. 

My current dilemma: 

Last week, I just wanted to survive. LOL, I still have to decide how I want to put out my new products.

My music this week: Alagbara by ty Bello