Showing posts with label travel guide. Show all posts
Showing posts with label travel guide. Show all posts

August 13, 2020

Our First International Trip with a Baby: London!

This post is coming to you exactly one year after we hopped on a plane with Aurora and went to London.

Better late than never, right?

Before Aurora was born, I heard a million different iterations of how we would never travel again. 

"It's so great that you've done so much traveling already, you'll never travel again once you have a baby!"

"You say you'll travel but once you realize how much you have to bring, you'll never bother again."

"Traveling with a baby is just parenting elsewhere."

Undeterred, last August, we took Aurora to London for our first trip abroad as a family of three. We chose London for a few reasons. Not only is it one of my favorite cities but it's a short flight, and we had been there so many times that we knew we wouldn't feel pressed to do or see anything and everything. We could take the trip leisurely and just enjoy ourselves for a long weekend.

I've always been a light packer and knew that with a baby, I didn't want to bring anything more than what we would need. We brought one suitcase for the three of us, a carryon, diaper bag, and travel crib. We gate checked our stroller and brought everything else on the plane with us. We also brought a baby carrier which proved to be essential for the whole trip, especially since we had to fold up our stroller on public transportation. 

Aurora was 10 months old when we went to London and crawling so I knew that we would need to give her time to roam around every day so she wouldn't get too antsy in the stroller. 

We had a pretty rough flight over to London (more on that later) but once we landed and checked into our flat, we were all able to take a long nap to refresh ourselves. We woke up, showered, and went for a walk to explore our neighborhood and then made our way to Oxford Circus to shop and get an early dinner. 

The next morning was Saturday and we took the tube to Knightsbridge to do some more shopping. Aurora was still breastfeeding at the time and one of our stops was in Harrod's which had an incredible Mother's room with a very comfortable rocking chair and cushy changing table. I was pleasantly surprised to find how many places in London had changing tables or nursing rooms - these were much easier to come across in London than I've found in the US.

For the afternoon, we made our way to the South Bank to walk around and then took the River Bus to my favorite pub for a round of Pimm's and fish and chips. I had never taken the River Bus before but loved it! It's on the same travel system as the tube and the buses so you can use your Oyster Card and it's a great way to get off your feet while still getting in some great views of the city!

On Sunday morning, we headed to Covent Garden for my favorite part of our trip - the London Transport Museum! I had always wanted to go and had heard it was great for kids and it was! There was a great kids' area with little tools that Aurora could play with. We spent maybe 30 minutes just letting her crawl around and play with the toys before we left.

Aurora was getting tired and it was close to her nap time so we took the long walk to our next stop - Buckingham Palace - so that she could take a good nap along on the way. 

I had thought we might have to take trips back to the flat we were staying at for Aurora to nap but she did really well napping in her stroller. We have the Uppababy Cruz which lays completely flat and we I could easily pop my nursing cover over it to keep it dark so she napped really well the whole trip!

I had taken a tour of Buckingham Palace on my first trip to London but The Pilot has a thing for castles and really wanted to go, so we did. They don't allow strollers inside so we popped Aurora into the baby carrier and made our way through the Palace. 

After Buckingham Palace, we went up to Camden Market and then wandered around Granary Square before calling the night on our first successful trip abroad with Aurora! It was a short weekend but we had such a good time! After what had been a busy summer of moving and stressful real estate transactions, it was so nice to get away and take Aurora some place new. 

The flight home was a breeze and overall, the trip was seamless. Honestly, the worst part of our trip was the flight over but it was pretty circumstantial. We had been upgraded to first class but when we tried to board, it took them 45 minutes to figure out that children under the age of 6 aren't allowed in first class - which meant we were now the last to board and were given the last row of the plane next to the bathrooms. Every time Aurora fell asleep, someone got up and grabbed her seat back, bumped into us, or started a conversation with the flight attendants, which kept all of us from sleeping on the flight! 

I loved being in London with Aurora. A few weeks later, we decided to go to Copenhagen and that was an even better trip! I found traveling with a baby pretty easy and you definitely don't have to bring a million things! I bought some new toys for Aurora to play with on the plane and you know what her favorite thing to play with was? The plastic cups that the flight attendants hand you with your drink. 

Everyone has been on a flight where a baby has screamed the entire time and I think that scares a lot of people from traveling but don't let it! We've had some really good flights with Aurora and some that weren't great but traveling with a baby can actually be really fun!

Have you traveled with kids? Where was there first big trip?

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September 24, 2018

4 Magical Days in Lisbon, Portugal

Lisbon, Portugal. My first trip to Lisbon was planned on a whim. My mom and I had plans to go somewhere else that didn't quite work out and we wanted to go somewhere new and different. I don't remember what I read or saw but I texted my mom one day and said, "How about Lisbon?" And a few weeks later, we landed in a city that I have since referred to as the city that spoke to my soul.


I can't really put into words what makes Lisbon so magical. When The Pilot and I were planning our biennial trip to Paris this year and realized that the likelihood of us getting on a flight to Paris on standby was slim, we shifted gears and decided to go back to Lisbon. We were planning a babymoon and I really wanted to go to a place we had been to before so that I could take it easy when I wanted to and wouldn't feel the need to constantly be doing something!


I admit I was nervous. What if I didn't love it as much the second time around? What if it felt different? But the minute we landed, I knew that wouldn't happen and I was so happy to be back in this place that I've been dying to go to back to since before I even left the last time.


We landed in Lisbon on a Monday morning around 9:30 after the most miserable flight I had ever been on. We were on a super old plane (no TVs ashtrays still in the armrests!) and the seat in front of me was broken and reclined so far back that I had no leg room...not fun when I was getting up once an hour to use the bathroom! I was so grateful when we touched down! Lisbon airport is a breeze and we cleared customs in no time and were on the metro to the Airbnb we had booked in the Santos neighborhood of Lisbon.

We got to our Airbnb by around 11 and luckily, were able to check in right away. The Airbnb was lovely and the neighborhood was quiet but I wouldn't recommend staying there. It was more out of the way I thought it would be. I wanted something away from the hustle and bustle of the main city but this was a little too out of the way. It was about a 15-minute bus ride from central Lisbon but the buses weren't very reliable and came pretty infrequently.

Exhausted from our flight, we planned to take a nap and ended up sleeping until almost 3:00! Normally, I would have been upset about this but we were on our babymoon and I knew I needed the rest, so I embraced the long nap, took a nice, long shower, and then headed out to explore!

Having been to Lisbon before, our agenda was pretty slim. I was 22 weeks pregnant when we landed and had felt pretty miserable up until that week. We almost canceled our trip a few days before because I was still so sick but I'm so glad we didn't because this trip ended up being exactly what we needed. Although, as we explored the city revisiting some old favorites, I quickly learned that on our first trip, we had barely skimmed the surface! Here's what we got up to:

Seeing
Jeronimos Monastery. This 16th-century monastery is absolutely worth a visit. The cathedral and grounds are absolutely stunning. There isn't too much to do there other than to see the cathedral and the grounds but the grounds are stunning enough to warrant a visit.




Torre de Belem. The Jeronimos Monastery is in Belem, which is a neighborhood on the outskirts of Lisbon. When getting there from central Lisbon, you hit the monastery first and then it's a short walk to the Torre de Belem, a tower overlooking the water that was used as part of the defense system guarding Lisbon during the 16th century. I didn't go up to the top because the steps were narrow, slippery, and steep but The Pilot did and said the views weren't much different than from outside the tower. The architecture and intricacy of the tower are impeccable though and it's in unbelievable condition for being as old as it is!




Castelo Sao Jorge. The Tram 28 is Lisbon's iconic Lisbon tram line that takes you across the city and up the steep hills. It's also the best way to get to the Castelo Sao Jorge if you don't want to walk up a mountain. When you get to the top, you have to walk a bit to get to the castle entrance. There are street vendors and souvenir shops and a few coffee shops leading the way up the hill. It reminded me a little bit of Montmartre in Paris. As soon as we entered the castle grounds, I was shocked that we missed it the last time we were in Lisbon. The views of the city are unreal! The castle grounds are pretty cool to walk through too. We didn't spend too much time there because it started raining as soon as we got there and the castle is really just ruins, but it was pretty cool to explore!





Lisbon Under the Stars. This was a short-lived exhibit in Lisbon that has already ended so I was hesitant to write about it but since it was such an amazing experience, I had to! Hosted in the ruins of the Convento do Carmo, Lisbon Under the Stars told Lisbon's history - from the city's founding to the earthquake and tsunami that wiped out the city to Portugal's independence - through a multimedia presentation featuring art, music, and performance. I've never quite seen anything like it and I'm so glad we had the opportunity to go because it was incredible!



Sailboat cruise on the Tagus. On one of our nights in Lisbon, we booked a sunset sailboat cruise on the Tagus River through Airbnb. Set up on a vintage sailboat, the 3-hour cruise was a perfect date night. We were able to get off our feet and see the city from the water. There were only about 8 other passengers so it was small and intimate and the boat had wine, cheese, and bread for us to nibble on. About an hour into our cruise, it started downpouring but we still managed to enjoy ourselves despite being cold and wet on the water!


Eating
When people think of good food in Europe, they always think of France and Italy, maybe Spain but I think Portugal really needs to be on the map for excellent European food. I have yet to have had a meal in Lisbon that I didn't absolutely love. Here are a few highlights of places and things we ate!

Pasteis de Nata. No trip to Lisbon is complete without feasting on these delicate pastries. Just before we went, Martha Collison (famously of The Great British Baking Show) had been in Lisbon and went on a mission to find the best pasteis de nata in the city. Having let her do all of the work, and having already tried natas all over Lisbon on our first trip, we made our way to her top pick, Mantegenaria and we were not disappointed. The pastry shop only serves pasteis de nata and coffee and they're one of the very few places in Lisbon that serve the treats warm. Top them with both powdered sugar and cinnamon and you're in for absolute divinity. Alcoa was a close runner-up but they weren't served warm. I would skip the insanity that is Pasteis de Belem (where they were created), as they were warm but the egg custard had curdled and they weren't very appetizing. If you're planning a trip to Lisbon, try out a few different places but I think you'll come to the same conclusion that Mantegenaria's natas cannot be beaten.


LX Factory. The LX Factory isn't necessarily a place to eat - it's more like an outdoor market with little shops and restaurants. It's got a really cool hipster, industrial feel and is definitely worth checking out. While I typically stick to local cuisine when I'm traveling, I was also entertaining pregnancy cravings in Lisbon and jumped at the chance to have tacos when we spotted a Mexican restaurant, Mez Cais, in the LX Factory. Built to look like a wrestling ring with luchador masks adorning the walls, this was a pretty cool spot with fantastic Mexican food!



Santini. If you like ice cream or gelato, you need to stop by Santini. Get the nata flavored ice cream and mix it with something delicious like chocolate-hazelnut. You won't be disappointed.

 Ribeira Market. The TimeOut Ribeira Market was definitely a favorite during our last trip to Lisbon and worth repeating. I had some kind of bacalhau (codfish) deliciousness at a spot called Felicidade that was honestly one of the best things I've ever eaten. I keep a very short list of some of my all-time favorite meals and this was easily one of them. The Ribeira Market has just about everything you could want and is perfect if you're eating with a crowd since everyone can get their own thing. Bonus: There's a Mantegenaria AND a Santini ice cream shop there!




Pharmacia. On our last night in Lisbon, we went to dinner at Pharmacia, a restaurant located in the Museum of Pharmacy with exceptional views over the city. While the interior of the restaurant is gorgeous, we opted for a table outside to enjoy the views. I didn't realize until we got the menu that that Pharmacia is run by the same chef that I had raved over the night before at Felicidade, Susana Felicidade. The food was just as excellent as the night before and my only disappointment was in not being able to enjoy a glass of Vinho Verde alongside my meal!


Our second trip to Lisbon was even better than the first! I fell in love with the city all over again and it was the perfect spot for a babymoon! We learned on our first night there that Portugal recently passed a law exempting pregnant women (and women with children under 2, seniors, and people with disabilities) from having to stand in line. We didn't want in line for anything, anywhere...ice cream shops, tourist sites, customs at the airport...it was amazing! As soon as I got on any form of public transportation, half the people would jump up to give me their seat. It was great!

I also really loved that we had been there before and could really just do one major thing a day and spend the rest of our time just being in the city, having long, leisurely meals and just enjoying each other's company. It was wonderful! Oh, and one of my favorite things was watching the World Cup in the Praca do Comercio. I always root against Portugal in the World Cup but I had to support the home team just this one time!


One thing I didn't include in this post is our day trip to Sintra - that deserves its own post so check back later this week for that!

Have you been to Lisbon or anywhere in Portugal?
If you took a babymoon, where did you go?

PS: You can check out my posts about our first trip to Lisbon here, here, here and here!

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January 18, 2018

A London Travel Diary: Part 1

The minute our plane touched down in London this past November, I was home. London is not only my favorite city but it's my favorite place on earth. I can't believe I let five years go by without a proper trip to London and that definitely won't happen again. We're already planning a trip back later this year.


As with almost all of our trips, this one was pretty last minute. We flew out the day after I got home from Seattle. We booked an Airbnb in Notting Hill and landed bright and early on a Monday morning. Heathrow is always a bit of a disaster when it comes to clearing Customs so by the time we got out of the airport and made it to Central London, we only had about 90 minutes to kill before we had to check in, so we popped over to Granger & Co for breakfast. We had eaten at one of Bill Granger's restaurants in Sydney and loved the food! I don't know how it's possible that he makes such good eggs but seriously, his restaurants have the best scrambled eggs you'll ever eat!

We checked into our place, took a quick nap, and freshened up before heading out for the day. I never shop back home but when I'm in London, I always start my trip with shopping! Some of my favorite pieces are from my last trip to London (yes, five years ago!). We started at Primark (and splurged on their new Harry Potter collection!) on Tottenham Court Road and then made our way down Regent and Street. 


For dinner, we went to Wagamama and ate so much food! I know Wagamama is a chain but when I was living in London, there was one right in the High Street that my friends and I used to go to. Wagamama is full of memories and damn good food and I wouldn't skip it!


After dinner, we walked down Carnaby Street and eventually made our way to Piccadilly Circus. We did some shopping at Lily White's, Waterstones (book), Fortnum & Mason, and Hatchard's (more books) before calling it a night and heading back to Notting Hill for a round of pints at the neighborhood pub, the Prince Alfred. 

The next morning, we woke up to a fairly typical rainy fall morning in London. 

Our first stop was the Tower of London. I had visited the Tower on my first trip to London (when I was 16!) and had just finished my first Phillipa Gregory book (and didn't really know anything about British history) but The Pilot had never been and I really wanted to go back!




From there, we decided to check out the newly opened Sky Garden. While it was really cool up there, I don't recommend going on a rainy day. The whole point of the Sky Garden is the view and, with rain and low visibility, it wasn't really worth the trip. It's free so it wasn't a total disappointment but I would try to plan for a better day!



We left the Sky Garden and made our way to Borough Market to wander around. 
Borough Market is definitely better on designated market days but it's also super crowded. It wasn't a market day so there weren't as many stalls open but I love wandering around this market! It's one of my favorites!



Next, we made our way the Strand and bought some tea at Twinings. We had banoffee crepes at Creme de la Crepe in Covent Garden and listened to live music. We stopped at yet another bookstore, Foyle's (we, ok fine, I bought SO many books on this trip!) and then we bought tickets for the West End production of An American in Paris (which, I didn't actually like). After the show, we had a late night dinner at Byron. 

It was the perfect start to our London trip and I couldn't understand why we had let five years pass between visits. We've both traveled a lot and while I have a lot of favorite places, London will always be "my place." I love going back and pining for the city that always feels like home the second I land!

Stay tuned for with more details our trip!


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October 23, 2017

Exploring Dubrovnik, Croatia

When we decided to go to Croatia, I knew I wanted to start our trip in Dubrovnik. I wanted to be on the water and see Mediterranean Croatia. If you missed my last post on Croatia, you'll see that it wasn't quite what I expected but that doesn't mean I didn't love our time there.


We originally planned for two nights in Dubrovnik but our plans got derailed when we missed our connecting flight from Munich. I have another post on this planned for another day but Airbnb doesn't have the most flexible policies so we had no option to change our travel plans, which was really disappointing.

Our flight landed at 4 pm and we had booked a 6 pm food tour so we were definitely in a time crunch! We deplaned, got our bags, and took a taxi to where we were staying. We checked in, freshened up, and ran to Old Town to catch our tour! I went on my first food tour in Paris on our honeymoon and since then, food tours are my absolute favorite way to explore a city!


We booked the Old Town Food Tour with Dubrovnik Food Tours, which was a great experience! Our guide, Hamo, was born and raised in Dubrovnik but spent some time living in the U.S. We started with wine, cheese, and prosciutto at a fantastic little wine bar right in the Old Town.

We sat down for a full Croatian meal at a restaurant, Lucin Kantun, owned by a young couple, and not a single thing on the menu disappointed! We learned about the history of Dubrovnik, namely, how much it has changed since the war (for better and for worse) and I tried so many different foods that I had never had before, like octopus and cuttlefish to name a few!

We ended our evening with a stop at another wine bar, Matusko, and dessert at Pupica Patisserie, which is the only bakery left in Dubrovnik that makes authentic Croatian desserts, none of which disappointed!


Along the way, we explored all different parts of the city and got some great recommendations for restaurants and shops to check out while we were there.




When we woke up the next morning, I was excited to really get to dive into the city. I love starting a trip off with a food tour, usually within the first day or two, but I also like having some time on my own to explore beforehand!

This was the view we woke up to from our Airbnb.


We started our only full day in Dubrovnik back in Old Town to walk the walls! Dubrovnik is an old fort city and walking the walls is an absolute must! I recommend going early, we were one of the first people there and by the time we finished, it really started to get crowded! From the walls, not only do you get incredible views of the sea, but you can see all of Old Town while channeling your inner medieval sentry!




When we finished walking the walls, we took a ferry to Lokrum Island, which everyone had told us was worth seeing. The ferry ride was short but was definitely beautiful but once we got to the Island, I didn't really understand why it was so highly recommended.


There were a few restaurants, all of which were wildly overpriced, and the places where you could get to the water weren't exactly easy to access, especially the beach. We spent maybe an hour on the island before heading back to Old Town for lunch.

This was one of the beaches on Lokrum
I mentioned this in my last post, but I was really surprised that the food in Croatia was so different than in Bosnia! So when we found a Bosnian restaurant (ironically called Taj Mahal), we opted to go there so I could get my fix of one of my favorite cuisines!


After lunch, we wandered the city for a bit, exploring all of the (literal) ups and downs of the alleyways and side streets before heading to the War Photo Limited.


War Photo Unlimited is a photo gallery that chronicles the war in the Balkans in the 90s, which I really wanted to see and highly recommend. When I was in graduate school, I went to Bosnia and Serbia on a trip to understand the aftermath of the breakup of the former Yugoslavia. I was disappointed that I missed Croatia on that trip but I thought this museum would give a powerful insight into the Croatian side of the story, which it did. It was heartbreaking but also really informative and very well done. I highly recommend this Exhibit if you're visiting Dubrovnik. I think it's important to learn about a place you're visiting, especially given how recent the conflict in Croatia was and that some of the very buildings we were eating in or visiting, had been burned down during the war. 

It was super hot when we left the museum, so we made a pitstop at Dolce Vita for a repeat of the gelato we had had the night before on our tour. I'm telling you guys - this gelato is the best I've ever had! We took our gelato and headed to the beach.

Banje Beach was just a short stroll from our place but when we got there, it was mobbed and the beach was way too hot and stony to walk on without water shoes! The Pilot and I tried to go into the water which was ice cold. As hot as it was, it didn't even feel good how cold it was! He stayed in for a bit while I sat on a rock for a few minutes and read. When his lips turned blue, we headed back to our place to change for dinner.


For dinner, we went to a place that was highly recommended by some friends who had just left Croatia called Lady PiPi. If you make it to Dubrovnik, I'll leave it to you to find out why it's called that! The restaurant is tiny and only has about a dozen tables so we waited outside for quite a bit before being seated but it was well worth it - for both the views and the mussels!



When we left dinner, it was getting dark out but we headed to Mala Buza for a nightcap. This bar is amazing! It's literally built into the side of the wall and is a series of cliffs looking out onto the water. We listened to the waves crashing, watched the boats going by, and enjoyed a round of drinks before calling it a night!


Sadly, it was our last night in Dubrovnik. I'm disappointed that we were there for such a short time and didn't get the chance to leave the Old Town. While I wish we had been given the extra day we planned for, I still think we made the most of our time there!  
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