Thursday, August 21, 2014
La vie en rose - a weekend in Paris
After our amazing trip to Lyon for a few days, we headed to the city of lights, Paris, for a few days before heading back home. Being in full-on "travel mode," we were traveling pretty lightly and were fairly oblivious to the people around us. Paris in early August was fairly devoid of Parisians and we had the place to ourselves and a few other European tourists.
We had Jon's cousin, Melissa, on hand to speak all of the French for us and steer us towards the best cafes in the city. Not only is she an awesome travel partner but Calvin loved playing with her and they became fast friends. We joked and said that everyone should
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
Efficient packing tips for family travel
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We generally never pack clothing for more than 5 days and plan on doing laundry along the way. We stay at airbnb apartments that usually have a washer on site and a kitchen. This has transformed our traveling experiences with children.
We prefer to use backpacks to keep our hands free for wrangling and carrying our children. Roller bags are good but you lose a hand and dragging it through Europe can be extra difficult. They call it, "backpacking through Europe" instead of "roller-bagging through Europe" for a reason.
Most of my time packing is spent during the pre-packing phase - taking the time to consider the types of events (fancy dinners - haha, these are family packing tips. Nobody's enjoying a fancy dinner for a while), modes of transportation (train, bus, car), city vs country landscape, number of days and the weather for the trip.
We pack our clothing into our favorite Kelty backpack (large) and our immediate necessities into our medium backpack. We keep bribes/toys in a handy front pocket for the inevitable meltdown after a 17 hour travel day. I prefer the rolling method for packing clothing:
Tips for kids and babies
We also only pack enough diapers and snacks for the travel day and buy diapers and other large liquids (e.g., sunscreen and toothpaste) on site.
Kids and babies look cute in everything and can get away with wearing the same thing day after day. Most days, my 3 year old demands to wear the same shirt day after day so there isn't a need to pack a gazillion different outfits.
I wear our 10 mth old in a baby carrier, the Ergo, and she and our 3 year old swap out time in our travel stroller. It folds up easily and is super light.
If your toddler will wear a backpack, put their light toys and books in that. Time to earn your keep, kid!
Tips for women
Pack colorful scarves to dress up plain tops and/or to cover your shoulders if visiting religious sites or fancy dinners
Pack tops that can mix and match with all of your bottoms. Steer away from "outfits" that only match each other. Being able to recombine your clothing means you don't need as many separate items.
Never pack one-off clothing or even worse, clothes you may never wear on your trip. Your goal should be to wear every article of clothing at least once. Space is wasted packing for events that are unlikely to happen. Do you need those bulky rain boots for one day of rain? Probably not.
Go light on toiletries and makeup. My hair never looks the same as it does at home - the water and humidity are different so I don't worry about hair products. Hotels always provide those little soaps - just use those or pack a small bottle of conditioner. My hair can withstand any shampoo but the right conditioner helps to keep it tamed.
Tips for men
Your clothes are probably the largest in the group so be strategic in your selections
Mix and match your tops and bottoms
Pack only one pair of shoes
General tips
Wear your largest, bulkiest clothing and shoes on the plane
Baby cribs can be checked for free along with your travel stroller (on Norwegian anyway). You can stuff some small things into the baby crib bag if you need.
Print off all tickets, itineraries and receipts before your trip and place them in a folder. I print off our overall itinerary (day by day) and tape it to the front of the folder for easy referencing train coach numbers, seating arrangements, etc. I get very nerdy and label everything with sticky notes that are in chronological order for when we will need them.
Remember, the less you pack, the less you need to keep track of and repack at the end of your trip.
I know "pack less" is kind of a flippant tip but it really is an exercise in restraint. I used to pack "something for every occasion" or an extra "just in case" item but found that it was rarely ever used and just took up space. Most airlines charge for checked luggage so traveling lighter saves you money that you'd rather spend on dessert or wine.
At the end of the day you aren't going to care about what clothes you wore on your trip. However, lugging less stuff means you are physically less tired, resulting in less stress during your travel. It will enable you to enjoy your trip while you are actually on it.
Now, if only you could pack an extra pair of hands that would be great! Enjoy your trip!
Sunday, August 10, 2014
Roman ruins, water fountains and incredible food - Lyon, France is perfect
Ahh, Lyon. Only Lyon.
I sigh every time I think back to our time in Lyon, France and can't help but smile as I reminisce about Calvin exploring the Roman ruins with boundless enthusiasm and squealing with delight as he splashed in the fountains with the other children - all running around in their underwear.
We were fortunate to have the most perfect weather imaginable - around 29C, sunny, no clouds and a light cool breeze. Lyon is one of the few European cities to have 2 rivers surrounding it, La Saône and La Rhône, so it has double the waterfront space, double the number of tree-lined walks and so many gorgeous bridges to cross. At night, the rivers reflect all of the beautiful lights and I wonder why Paris is called the City of Lights when Lyon is just as entitled to it. Lyon also boasts its own, though somewhat smaller, metal (Eiffel-like) tower, that is up next to the Fourviere basilica and is all lit up at night.
We wandered through the old town of Lyon. So charming with it's quaint street, cobble stones and boutique shops. Some might call it a tourist trap but it is so beautiful that you can forgive it a bit and still enjoy your delicious ice cream while watching the street musicians play in the shade, slowly dragging on their lit cigarettes in their mouths. Lyon also boasts a strikingly high number of playgrounds sprinkled throughout the city. We had no issues finding playgrounds for Calvin as it seemed there was one around every corner. There were two large playgrounds (one for older children and one for smaller children) that preceded a string of fountains and wading pools. It felt so warm and welcoming, that we couldn't resist taking off our shoes and wading in. While perhaps very un-French of us to do so, we really didn't care. After a day of lazily wandering the city, we felt so relaxed that standing in the water and letting Calvin splash on a hot day seemed like the best idea of all.
Lyon is most known for its delicious food and a Lyonnaise special is the quenelle. I can't describe it well and the Wikipedia link doesn't do it justice. Basically it is delicious and worth a try. I had the poultry quenelle and it was so rich and creamy. Lyon specializes in offal (organ meats) and while I was a bit put off, Jon was brave and tried and LOVED pressed pig's head tureen (head cheese). If you are going to ever try it, Lyon is the place to do so.
The Roman theatre that sits atop Fourviere is also a must-see if you are in Lyon. Anytime I see Roman ruins, my mind is just completely blown by the mastery of their construction. The site is still used for cultural events and the stage crew was working busily while we were there, adjusting the lighting and stage platforms for an upcoming performance.
Only a 2 hour train ride away from Paris, I would return to Lyon in a heartbeat to spend more time. The weather was consistently beautiful for our entire stay, the people were extremely friendly and helpful and it was the perfect place to roam for a family with young children.
We were fortunate to have the most perfect weather imaginable - around 29C, sunny, no clouds and a light cool breeze. Lyon is one of the few European cities to have 2 rivers surrounding it, La Saône and La Rhône, so it has double the waterfront space, double the number of tree-lined walks and so many gorgeous bridges to cross. At night, the rivers reflect all of the beautiful lights and I wonder why Paris is called the City of Lights when Lyon is just as entitled to it. Lyon also boasts its own, though somewhat smaller, metal (Eiffel-like) tower, that is up next to the Fourviere basilica and is all lit up at night.
We wandered through the old town of Lyon. So charming with it's quaint street, cobble stones and boutique shops. Some might call it a tourist trap but it is so beautiful that you can forgive it a bit and still enjoy your delicious ice cream while watching the street musicians play in the shade, slowly dragging on their lit cigarettes in their mouths. Lyon also boasts a strikingly high number of playgrounds sprinkled throughout the city. We had no issues finding playgrounds for Calvin as it seemed there was one around every corner. There were two large playgrounds (one for older children and one for smaller children) that preceded a string of fountains and wading pools. It felt so warm and welcoming, that we couldn't resist taking off our shoes and wading in. While perhaps very un-French of us to do so, we really didn't care. After a day of lazily wandering the city, we felt so relaxed that standing in the water and letting Calvin splash on a hot day seemed like the best idea of all.
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| Running through the old town |
Lyon is most known for its delicious food and a Lyonnaise special is the quenelle. I can't describe it well and the Wikipedia link doesn't do it justice. Basically it is delicious and worth a try. I had the poultry quenelle and it was so rich and creamy. Lyon specializes in offal (organ meats) and while I was a bit put off, Jon was brave and tried and LOVED pressed pig's head tureen (head cheese). If you are going to ever try it, Lyon is the place to do so.
The Roman theatre that sits atop Fourviere is also a must-see if you are in Lyon. Anytime I see Roman ruins, my mind is just completely blown by the mastery of their construction. The site is still used for cultural events and the stage crew was working busily while we were there, adjusting the lighting and stage platforms for an upcoming performance.
Only a 2 hour train ride away from Paris, I would return to Lyon in a heartbeat to spend more time. The weather was consistently beautiful for our entire stay, the people were extremely friendly and helpful and it was the perfect place to roam for a family with young children.
Happy to take part in:
Saturday, August 9, 2014
Fjording in Bergen, Norway
Bergen, Norway is known for being extremely beautiful, extremely rainy and extremely expensive. Somehow, we didn't let reasons 2 and 3 scare us off from experiencing Bergen's natural beauty and we booked a quick (4 day) trip with the plan to picnic our way through Bergen to save some pennies.
Bergen is right on the water and for the weekend we were there, its harbor held beautiful tall ships in addition to some old WWII ships. Calvin felt like a salty sea captain when he was allowed to man the wheel and "steer" the docked ship in the high seas.
Though we didn't have much time, we managed to squeezed it all in - a trip to beautiful Flåm on the Flåmsbanan, 5 hour fjording boat ride, the touristy fish market, funicular to a spectacular view of Bergen, a troll forest and a few requisite playground stops. We were very fortunate and managed to have 3 sunny days out of 4 - quite remarkable, actually. There is a joke that it rains 275 days a year in Bergen. The locals don't laugh but they make a ton of money selling ponchos to the tourists.
If you want any tips on how to do the Bergen-Flåm-Bergen trip, let me know. There are about a gazillion different ways and TripAdvisor reviews were only partially helpful and mostly confusing.
In short, Bergen is extremely kid friendly (though the cobblestones were rough on the stroller) and can be done on a budget (kind of) if you buy local groceries and bring your own picnics everywhere. It is a small enough place to explore in a few days and is well worth the natural beauty - just don't forget your umbrella. We rented an Airbnb apartment which was very centrally located and on one of the stops of a walking tour. It doesn't get much better than that!
We happened to be on the Flåmsbanan at the same time as the professional photographers who were updating their new catalog. They took a picture of me and the children sitting on the bench under the Flåm sign so we may be the new poster family for Flåm in 2015!
The fjords we saw during our 5 hour boat ride back to Bergen were absolutely breathtaking. I love being on the water and there is no feeling like the wind rushing through your hair, sun on your face and breathing the cleanest air Norway has to offer while looking out onto the bluest sky and water. If we had more time, we could've explored a World Heritage Site fjord Nærøfjord but our boat only drove past the opening. I managed to get a picture of it (see below) and it is probably as close as we will ever get. In short, Norway is majestic, impressive and breathtaking.
Bergen is right on the water and for the weekend we were there, its harbor held beautiful tall ships in addition to some old WWII ships. Calvin felt like a salty sea captain when he was allowed to man the wheel and "steer" the docked ship in the high seas.
Though we didn't have much time, we managed to squeezed it all in - a trip to beautiful Flåm on the Flåmsbanan, 5 hour fjording boat ride, the touristy fish market, funicular to a spectacular view of Bergen, a troll forest and a few requisite playground stops. We were very fortunate and managed to have 3 sunny days out of 4 - quite remarkable, actually. There is a joke that it rains 275 days a year in Bergen. The locals don't laugh but they make a ton of money selling ponchos to the tourists.
If you want any tips on how to do the Bergen-Flåm-Bergen trip, let me know. There are about a gazillion different ways and TripAdvisor reviews were only partially helpful and mostly confusing.
In short, Bergen is extremely kid friendly (though the cobblestones were rough on the stroller) and can be done on a budget (kind of) if you buy local groceries and bring your own picnics everywhere. It is a small enough place to explore in a few days and is well worth the natural beauty - just don't forget your umbrella. We rented an Airbnb apartment which was very centrally located and on one of the stops of a walking tour. It doesn't get much better than that!
We happened to be on the Flåmsbanan at the same time as the professional photographers who were updating their new catalog. They took a picture of me and the children sitting on the bench under the Flåm sign so we may be the new poster family for Flåm in 2015!
The fjords we saw during our 5 hour boat ride back to Bergen were absolutely breathtaking. I love being on the water and there is no feeling like the wind rushing through your hair, sun on your face and breathing the cleanest air Norway has to offer while looking out onto the bluest sky and water. If we had more time, we could've explored a World Heritage Site fjord Nærøfjord but our boat only drove past the opening. I managed to get a picture of it (see below) and it is probably as close as we will ever get. In short, Norway is majestic, impressive and breathtaking.
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