Hello Singapore!

Tokyo to Singapore was our first long flight (7+ hours) not flying to or from home.  I wasn’t at the top of my game forgetting items we normally use like the kids’ head phones for movies.  Thankfully they slept the majority of the air time so it was still an easy flight.  It was after midnight when we landed so a quick Uber ride and check in was helpful!  The JW Marriott fixed us up with a suite so there was plenty of room for a roll away bed and crib both in a separate room for the kids to sleep! 

After a short night’s sleep, the kids were up at their regular time for breakfast at the hotel and to taxi to the Jurong Bird Park.  It was a hot and sunny (which was nice after so much rain in Tokyo) day to be outside to see beautiful, colorful birds.  We watched a show first showcasing macaws, toucans, hornbills, pelicans, flamingos, etc.  They also had about eight different kinds of penguins.  Ice cream was a necessity on such a hot day!  We’re in transition with Teddy and naps.  I stayed a little too long at the bird park so there were tears and tantrums.  Sorry buddy!  Everyone took a 2.5 hour nap when we got to the hotel.  So we were ready to join Cory for supper adventures at Glutton’s Bay.  We enjoyed a variety of food stall options by the water.  What a great first day in Singapore!

Everyone got up way too early on Friday but we made the most of it and joined Cory for breakfast.  Then the kids and I went to Singapore Botanic Gardens to see the beautiful foliage and enjoy a really fun kids area with a maze, bridge and cave until it began to pour!  We didn’t melt but we got pretty soaked!  After we regrouped, we taxied to Chijmes, an 19th century convent and orphanage that’s been converted to eateries.  It still has the chapel and we even saw a wedding; Bea loves getting to see a bride!  We had a relaxing afternoon playing in the room with no naps.  Instead Teddy fell asleep almost as soon as we strolled out the door to supper and never really waked up.  He was quite hungry the next morning! 

Happy vacation to us!  Saturday starts the beginning of nine straight days of play with Cory!  So we didn’t mind when we had a full bed at 5:30am but luckily we didn’t really wake til 7:30.  Today was all about animals!  The Singapore Zoo was supposed to be one of the best in the world and it definitely was!  We watched a sea lion show where, of course, Cory volunteered to participate in a trick for the sea lion!  We saw all kinds of different monkeys, Pygmy hippos, zebras, white rhinos, Timon and Pumba, cheetahs, leopards, (too many) reptiles and more.  We also packed our swimmers to enjoy the water area; unfortunately, it was closed for renovation.  What a bummer!  This tends to happen when you travel in the off-season though.  Instead the kids went for pony rides (Teddy’s first) and a carousel ride.  After much needed naps (a morning in the full sun and sweltering heat will take it out of you), we went for a double dose of animal fun with a trip to the Night Safari.  Here we enjoyed a show full of owls, binturong, a huge snake and baby otters.  Then we strolled to see spotted and striped hyenas, lionesses, golden cats and more.   I have only ever done a night animal tour once before in the Australian rain forest.  If you ever get the chance, take it!  We had lots of sunscreen and bug spray to shower off tonight before bedtime. 

On our last day in Singapore, we found that most families enjoy indoor playgrounds as it’s quite hot and steamy outside.  We joined them at the mall play area while Cory shopped for shoes and I for children’s clothing at The Playfair.  Of course, we also rode Paw Patrol character scooters!  On to the more (extreme) cultural part of our day…Little India and the Arab District.  Cory said Little India was pretty spot on to what he saw in Bangalore.  We saw a temple where everyone had to take off their shoes to enter.  There was a strong smell in the air and I felt a bit out of place with all the stares…very different cultural norms.  There was one of every piece of gold jewelry, cell phone, trinket and more being sold.  We also enjoyed lunch at Mustard where we ate tandoori and butter chicken, dal makhani and naan bread; we love Indian food!  Cory started fixing some dishes at home after his trip there last year.  On to the Arab District to see a mosque and a much cleaner part of town.  It was so interesting to have such distinct and very different areas in the same city.  

Back to the hotel, we packed up and showered before making our way to the airport.  During supper at the airport, Teddy fell asleep.  Luckily we didn’t have to wake him (as he didn’t wake til we landed) through security as it was at our gate.   

Next stop, Phuket, Thailand for a week of family vacation!

Jurong Bird Park

Glutton’s Bay

He requested a picture with the gorilla every morning!

Singapore Botanic Gardens

Singapore Zoo
 

Night Safari

Mall fun!

Flower Mart in Little India
Arab District 
Edit

Sleepy Teddy

Kon’nichiwa again!  

We all got up early Monday after nine beautiful hours of sleep!  Cory did some laundry for us (at 5am while getting a head start on work) as they had a washer and dryer in the hotel which was so nice and quite rare.  Cory got to eat breakfast with us before heading to work.  That was nice as the kids wouldn’t see him again til the next evening.  This morning’s adventure was to the Mitsukoshi.  It was the first department store in Japan.  It hosts lion statues reproduced from the lion statues in Trafalger Square in London (Teddy’s favorite) and a four-story, colorful statue inside the building of Magokoro, the goddess of sincerity.  Sincerity can also describe most every Japanese person we met.  They are some of the hospitable, helpful and genuine people you will meet.  As we walked through the store, I was a little nervous taking two little ones with me; however, every staff member (and there were a lot) smiled and oohed and gooed over Bea and Teddy.  If I was one of the staff, I would’ve been nervous these two kiddos might break something in the art gallery or mess up a pristine display of kimonos.  When we went to the basement for lunch (that’s a thing here), we were treated to “tasters” of chocolate and candy too.  What a lovely morning!

Next, we walked on to the Kite Museum to find a tiny little place packed with unique and delicate kites.  We were the only ones there besides the one worker.  She too was lovely!  On we walked to the Imperial Palace to find it closed for the day.  I’m still not sure why!  So instead we went to a playground.  Right?  While we waited for our Uber, I had to hold on to Bea and Teddy (in the stroller) so they wouldn’t blow away; Typhoon Lan brought us some crazy winds!  The kids enjoyed the playground to themselves.  Back at the hotel we rested for a bit before I found a sushi restaurant for me.  The kids haven’t eaten too well (aside from white rice) in Japan.  This is a first for our travels and it has been challenging for sure.

This spring, we took the kids to Disney World for the first time and boy was it magical!  Who would’ve guessed that by the end of the year we would also have gone to Disneyland Paris and Tokyo Disneyland.   It doesn’t get any less magical either!  I actually liked Tokyo over Paris.  It was so fun as they still have classics like Toon Town and Minnie’s house like Disney World used to when I was little.  We also had amazing people watching as they encouraged you to dress up for Halloween.  Luckily, our dress up loving queen Bea wore her Moana costume; it was the most compact to pack dress up we own!  Funny enough, the amount of adults dressed up outweighed the kids!  Bea’s head was on a swivel spotting all the different princesses and characters.  Sweet Teddy asked to ride its a Small World; but, unfortunately it is under renovation.  You cannot win them all.  It was an amazing day with a bonus of no rain!

Wednesday was our last day in Tokyo so we packed up before heading to the Drum Museum.  Again, we were the only ones at the museum.  They had drums from all over the world and most the kids could play and boy did they!  While Teddy enjoyed an instrument that you cranked to sound like rain the most; Bea happily wrote a thank you note in the museum’s book.  

Here are a few tidbits we’ve noticed and learned in our week in Tokyo:

• No one uses a jogging stroller (even at Disney); we got lots of looks.  And if they have a double stroller, it’s a tandem, never two-wide!  
• We also saw school kids in uniform on Saturday and Sunday…what!?!  
• There are vending machines on every corner!
• Their toilets are so high-tech with multiple buttons for different uses besides just flushing.  My favorite is when Teddy said “this potty is hot.”  They were heated even at Disney!
• We stuck out like sore thumbs for wearing raincoats instead of carrying umbrellas.  They especially love clear ones.
• And last but not least are the masks.  The Japanese people wear, what I would call surgical, masks when they’re sick to keep away the germs or to “protect” them from pollutants.  We probably saw every third person with a mask on.  

We had a wonderful time in Tokyo and feel like we just tipped the iceberg for all there is to see and do.  Hopefully Cory’s work will bring us back again some day!  Now Singapore, here we come!

Mitsukoshi



Kite Museum

Imperial Palace
Myamoto Playground 

Tokyo Disneyland

Minnie’s house

Drum Museum

Ubiquitous vending machines 

Mask and Umbrella

Kon’nichiwa!

We’re off again on another overseas adventure! 

We flew out Wednesday from Birmingham to Detroit to Tokyo.  Our flight was not our best effort with the kids only getting three, out of thirteen, hours of possible sleep.  We still made it and they were happy as could be when we landed. Who can complain!  Customs and getting our luggage was so quick; the kids and I packed in the same suitcase this go around.  Only having two suitcases and a stroller is awesome!  We’re still living and learning as we continue to go!  The airport is an hour away in Narita so we luckily slept on the way to our hotel.  They drive on the other side of the road here which I did not realize…fun!

In booking our hotel, it was challenging for Cory to find one room to fit all four of us.  Hotel Niwa Tokyo was able to accommodate us with three beds: 

2 “double” – Cory in one and Bea and I in the other

1 twin – Teddy’s bed (this is his first time not being in a tent on our travel!)

We walked to supper where I enjoyed Udon soup.  It’s fall here and soup tasted delicious!  As we ate, we overlooked a big, lit ferris wheel at the Tokyo Dome park and Teddy said “it looks like the London Eye.”  So nice to know some of our adventures are soaking in to his young mind. 

Friday started early with Teddy waking at 2:30am; however, we took advantage of this, got dressed and taxied to the Tsukiji Fish Market Auction.  We got the last two spots of the day to get in on the tour…only 120 people get in daily!  It was crazy, cool to see such huge tuna and watch the buyers compete for the fish and take them off!   Back to the hotel for breakfast #2 at 7am!  We got in a little downtime before our next adventure to the Owl Garden.  Here we got to pet different kinds of owls and hawks.  One didn’t appreciate my attention and bit me.  Thank goodness for my most recent tetanus shot!  In Tokyo, everything is built up many stories tall (30% of Japan’s population live in Tokyo) so we found a great lunch spot on the second floor of a building where we had delicious gyoza and white rice for Bea.

On to the next adventure…Hedgehog Cafe where Teddy was elated to be able to hold hedgehogs.  They’re much pricklier than I expected them to be so the kids put on gloves.  After an early morning, everyone was in need of a nap.  However, we had to wake both kids for the Kabuki show at the National Theatre of Japan.  As it turns out, Teddy never really waked up to see what turned out to be a four hour play!  Bea enjoyed it but when Act Two was over and the play wasn’t, we headed to the hotel.

It was a happy Saturday as we headed out for another fun day of sightseeing.  Of course, it’s all been in the rain as a typhoon is heading toward Tokyo.  Cory navigated the train for us (which isn’t easy when the English is written very small) to Senso-ji Complex in the Asakusa area.  This area has a rich tradition starting with the pagoda gate and temple along with lots of market vendors down the walkways.  Now they sell souvenirs and food but we imagine it would’ve been mostly meat and produce years ago.  Back at the hotel, we participated in an Autumn Tea Ceremony.  Every part of the ceremony had a meaning with a lot of bowing.  Teddy didn’t care for the green tea but I love that he tried it!  Tonight we had a relaxing evening that ended with a trip to Yodabashi Camera, a seven story electronic store.  We went for Cory but he’s the only one who didn’t buy anything! 

One of my personal favorite parts of traveling is getting a hot breakfast and espresso without having to fix it!   Sunday morning was no different.  Today we went on a tour to see Mt Fuji.  Even though it was cloudy and pouring, they didn’t cancel the tour so on we went.  As you might expect, we couldn’t see a thing so we settled for hot chocolate and Mellon bread in the shape of Mt Fuji instead.  Unfortunately, the rest of the day’s plans were canceled and we got alternative sites, which was disappointing.  Luckily, our evening ended on a dinner with a bullet train back to Tokyo.  We typically do not take tours and today might’ve been exactly why we don’t, but again you live and learn.  

Now on to Cory working and me navigating the city with my kiddos!  Wish me luck!

Before the flight 

And after

Tsujiki Fish Market Auction

Owl Garden

Hedgehog Cafe
Bea is going to eat her weight in white rice! Senso-ji Temple

Mt. Fuji 

Go With Daddy started back in May of 2013…before we even realized it was happening!  Our first trip was to Delafield, WI only an hour and half away from where we lived in Chicago at the time.  Our daughter was nine months old and we went along as it was my first Mother’s Day.  We stayed at The Delafield Hotel one of the most quaint, old hotels.  Delafield is located in the Lake Country (as they call it) of Wisconsin and has such small town charm!  Unlike the south (where we now live), it was quite chilly in May but we enjoyed walking along ‘the beach’ here and window shopping around this picturesque downtown.

A few months later (in November), we flew with Cory to Seattle, WA so we could play while he worked!  Of course, our trip started out with a true rookie mistake.  We forgot a stroller!  And not having brought a car seat along, this new momma wouldn’t put my 15 month old in a taxi without one.  So, we walked a mile to the nearest Target to purchase an umbrella stroller.  Whew!  After that we enjoyed all the Seattle highlights including Pike Place Market and Seattle Aquarium which were both as unique as I had imagined.  We also patronized Cherry Street Coffee House with comical looks from the other customers.  With Cory, we enjoyed Bea’s first Ferris Wheel ride overlooking the harbor and Woodland Park Zoo.  What a neat zoo they have!  It’s segmented based on the continent of where each animal would live in the wild.

Our third trip was back to our former city of Chicago, IL.  Even Bea and I mixed business with pleasure this time as she had a doctor’s appointment.  Luckily, it was only a short part of our trip.  The highlights were getting to attend a good friend’s first birthday party, have a play date and hug a lot of friends’ necks!  We had moved away less than three months prior.  Bea and I hit the Shedd Aquarium as well as Bea experiencing her first taste of room service!

Just before our son was born in May 2014, we accompanied Cory to Dallas, TX where we hit the jackpot!  His family is from the northern suburbs of Dallas; so, while he worked, we played with family.  Bea loves playing with her older cousins as it makes her feel like the biggest girl!

In April 2015, Teddy (10 months old) took his first “Go With Daddy” trip to Franklin, TN.  Living in Birmingham now, it made it a no brainer for a road trip.  We stayed in the same hotel where Cory had his first key note speaking engagement.  The kiddos made an appearance at the conference which was super fun!

Who knew this beginning would lead to so many what fun adventures in our future!
Delafield

Seattle Ferris WheelPike’s Place MarketWoodland Parks Zoo

Chicago Valentine’s datesChicago friendsTouring the aquarium was exhaustingFirst room service 

Cousins in Texas

Sporting the conference t-shirt in Tennessee

Are you planning an airplane ride with little ones soon?

Is it a really long overseas flight and you kinda worried about how you are going to keep your kids entertained (and you sane)?

Don’t stress. You’re not alone and you can do it. We are here to help!

My family and I have successfully completed several overseas adventures from the US to Europe and Australia…not to mention 50+ domestic flights with our little adventurers.  These international long haul flights have been from 7 to 17 hours and we’ve managed them happily with  kiddos from 15 months old to 4.5 years old; it obviously gets easier to entertain them the older they get.  Every trips has not been perfect, but with the right preparation you can easily avoid the nightmares you might imagine.  Here are our tips to help you have just as much fun on the journey as you do at the destination!

First let’s start with the kids packing list:
Each child had a Skip Hop backpack with the following items in them.

Stickers
2 books
1 coloring book
Crayons
favorite doll or small toy
Tiny flashlight
Stainless steel water container
Headphones

If you need extra entertainment, don’t hesitate to ask the flight attendant.  Most international flights have coloring books or some activity packet to help
keep kids happy.

What we didn’t already have at home, we went to the Family Dollar Store so we
wouldn’t mind as much when a toy inevitably disappeared.

Buy a super cheap toy that you are willing to throw away for every hour of the flight.  During the waking hours onboard, give them a toy to enjoy.  When they get bored with it, replace it with a new one and throw the old ones away.

Now on to the parent’s onboard packing list…here are the kid-centric items in my
bag:

Sleepsack (For the little ones who us them at home…replicate bedtime experience)
Pajamas and Socks
Melatonin
Diapers and Wipes
Old wash rag
Plastic grocery sack
Snacks
Old iPad and iPhone (loaded with some movies and doubles as our sound machines)

The reality is that only so much of the preparation for long flights is about packing lists.  A lot of our prep has to do with communication and setting our minds to the task at hand.

Your attitude will dictate their experience.

We prep the kids by telling the exactly what would happen on the trip so they knew what to expect!  Kids are awesome and capable of doings awesome things if you help them and traveling well is no different.

Overnight flights are your friend when traveling abroad with kids.  Hours pass faster sleeping than doing anything else onboard!

When we’re at the airport before our flight, we eat a big, healthy meal and change into pajamas if we grabbed one of those overnight flights.  The big, healthy meal was a recommendation from our pediatrician as younger children will sleep better on a full stomach.  We also try to run a few laps in the airport before boarding!  This gets some looks from other travelers but pays off to have gotten our wiggles out before sitting for a long, long time.

Once we’re on the plane, we get everyone situated in their seat with their pillow and blankets.  Because we try to book night flights, we usually go right to sleep.  Then their reward for sleeping is watching a movie when they wake up.  Depending on your children, that will only last so long.  That’s when the backpack items come out!  So far, these few items have done the trick for successful international flights.

Check your stroller at the gate, not at the ticket counter if possible.  If not, get clear instructions from airline staff.

We also travel with a stroller which at most airports you can check at the gate and pick up as soon as you get off the airplane.  Having the stroller to get kids from security to the gate is a life saver.  It also doubles as a nice shopping cart if you have time to pick up some goodies at duty free.  Not all airports will let you take the stroller all the way to the gate, so check with your carrier upon check in.  Example…the Berlin airport not only didn’t allow the stroller to go to the gate, we had to take our stroller to a separate building to check it.  Amsterdam was also different as we picked up our stroller in oversize baggage in the baggage claim area after having checked it plane side.  When in doubt, ask lots of questions of the staff around to be sure.

There you have it…the Go With Daddy plan for having an awesome flight with kids.  Don’t be scared, be prepared and make the journey as awesome as the destination.

Here is my packing list as I prepared our family to take a six-week trip to Australia back in 2015.  For trips short or long, I keep a running packing list handy so that I hopefully won’t forget any basic necessities!  Good thing is, you can mostly buy it when you get there just in case.  Here’s a link to my husband’s packing list from our most recent six week European trip this summer.

This is the actual packing list from our trip Australia.

Non-Clothing Items 

• Passports
• Baby Carrier (if you’re taking an infant)
• Car Seats and Bags to hold them on flights
• High chair and Food bib
• Stroller (we take a single jogging stroller that doubles for both kids)
• Kidco Peadpod Plus bed (they also have a smaller version) with toddler pillow and blanket
• Raincoats
• Puddle Jumpers (in summertime)
• Mosquito stickers, Insect repellent for your clothes and Afterbite
• Any meds especially for kids that you might not be able to get
• Stain stick (will last a family of four for three washings)
• Stainless steel water containers
• Bendaryl or Melatonin for kids and adults for flights (and a few days into a long trip)
• Electrical adapters
• Airplane items
• DSLR camera (or just use your iPhone?)

My Clothing Items 

• 2 sets of pajamas
• 7-8 mix and match outfits (pick a color scheme so it’s easier to mix and match your outfits)
• 2 pair of comfortable shoes (at least)
• 10 pair of Undergarments
• Hat and Raincoat
• Toiletries…travel toothpaste lasted 2 weeks, travel hair spray and shaving gel lasted 3 weeks (including anything specific you use that you cannot buy more of
• Rx
• Compression socks (for the plane)
• Layers/Coats (depending on the weather)

My Kids’ Clothing Items

• 5 pair of pajamas (including one for the plane ride)
• 2-3 loveys
• 8 mix and match outfits (with kids too it’s important to have a color scheme so you can mix and match attire)
• Hair bows
• 14 pair of Undergarments and/or Enough diapers for 2 weeks
• 2-3 pair of Shoes and 10 pair of Socks
• Hat and Raincoat
• Toiletries (again take specific items you must have in case you cannot purchase them when you get there)
• Layers/Coats (depending on the weather)
• iPad and/or iPhone (for movies and doubles as sound machine)
• Costume (or whatever is your child’s favorite thing that they will miss while they’re away) and a few more toys

Italy Continued…

With two great Italian cities down, Venice and Milan, it was time for us to roll on to our next two; Pisa and Rome.

On our way from Milan, we traveled through Tuscany and just had to stop for some wine tastings on our way.  Cory found a few off the beaten path options and we had quite the adventure.  First stop had us crossing a tiny brick bridge then we drove up a gravel hill to Greo Winery; we found a lady in her night gown who ended up being the proprietor.  I didn’t see that coming!  She met us at the top of the hill to let us taste her wine.  She spoke no English but she definitely could make wine!  On our way to another winery, I read that we should’ve scheduled tastings in advance.  Oops!  The owner of Valle del Sole Winery was also ready to call it a day but was kind enough to offer a great tour and tasting of his family’s wine and olive oil.  When you own it, you stay longer!

We made it to Pisa and Cory and I had an unexpected date night.  It’s nice to discuss the past few weeks of travel and talk about getting back to normal life in less than a week.

Cory worked at the University of Pisa the next day while we hit the sights.  I drove the big, diesel van down the narrow streets and even managed to parallel park (with help).  Again, I found a cute cafe for breakfast…that was closed at 10am!  What time do they eat breakfast?!  We found somewhere else to get pastries and coffee.  It was down a cute pedestrian street with a market at the end….of course, we bought some items.  Onto the Leaning Tower where we had to get pictures holding up the tower.  Bea proceeded to do this in all pictures the rest of the day!  The Baptistery had a beautifully carved pulpit and the best acoustics when an employee demonstrated it.  Pisa Duomo was just stunning as most all European cathedrals have been.  There were also so many people selling their wares there (and all throughout Italy); they don’t take no for an answer very easily!

Fun side note of Pisa is that the author, Tony Wolf, of Pinocchio is from there.

We had a late lunch so we stopped at a grocery for fruit, cheese, crackers and jelly for a picnic supper in the hotel lobby.  It was a nice change of pace.

On Friday, I drove us into Lucca, the town next to Pisa, and had a spread of pastries, cheese and olives at Cafe Monica for breakfast; I love a “grazing” meal! Lucca is an adorable little town with quaint shops.  We found the cutest book shop (Italian of course) to peruse and a Gelatarium that had swings to swing in while we ate.  When Cory was done working, we picked him up, packed up our luggage and drove on to our final destination of this trip…Rome!

Marriott for the win in Rome!  We had a big suite where Bea could have her own room and Teddy’s tent fit easily in the closet.  Bea cried the first night as she wanted her brother to sleep in the same room with her.  Wonder if their separate bedrooms at home will be sad or a nice welcome.

We only have two days in Rome so we waked early to see as much as possible.  We were told to buy tickets online for the Vatican Museum (which was necessary unless you want to wait in the longest line) and it was great advice!  I have never seen so many sculptures in all my life!  The detail of these figures, paintings and tapestries were exquisite!  Sistine Chapel was the last thing we saw which was a perfect crescendo to the museum!  The artistry of Michaelangelo was astonishing!  We also pre-bought tickets for St. Peter’s Basilica.  When you do this, you are given a designated meeting point to pick up your tickets then they parade you in passing the line.  It’s a brilliant concept!  The history of this church (and all we saw in Europe) was just amazing!  After a much needed lunch, we got on the hop on hop off bus to see the Colosseum.  Wow; this ancient sporting venue is massive, beautiful and wild to think they built it in 75 AD and hosted games for 500 years there!  Times sure were different then! No day in Italy is complete without some gelato and today I tried Nutella; yum!!!

On our last day of sightseeing we decided to take it a bit easier.  We found some markets to leisurely shop and enjoy.  At the first one, we let the kids have a few dollars to spend and they picked out a couple of toys.  We told Bea she only had enough money for the doll so she put the bracelet back that she had wanted also.  Then the shop owner gave her the bracelet too.  What a fun lesson in picking and choosing as well as kindness.  The second was Campo de Fiori which has been around for 400 years.  We bought fruit, saw lots of dried pasta and tried the water pump…called the Nasoni, which means big nose because the fountains look like a big crooked nose.  If you put your finger over the spout, the tiny hole in the top shoots water out to you like a drinking fountain.  Brilliant and there is more than 300 around Rome!

On to sightseeing…the Pantheon; it’s the oldest (built in 27 BC) ancient ruin that’s still in tact.  The only light in is a hole in the ceiling!  It is a must see! My third favorite restaurant in Italy was next up at Papa’s Cafe.  It was down a cute cobblestone side street. We did a lot of walking today including to the Spanish Steps.  They’re very picturesque! However we walked up to the top of them and then walked down.  We were fine but my sweet husband had to carry the stroller down.  Kids!  More walking to the Trevi Fountain to let Bea (Teddy was asleep) toss a coin over her shoulder.  Last stop was for gelato.  The amount they give you mixed with the heat makes for sticky fingers as it drops down from your cone or cup.  We waked Teddy (as promised) so he would not miss out on his last gelato opportunity.  Back at the hotel, my momma and aunt watched the kids as they played on our giant patio and we packed while we waited on our room service to cater our last dinner in Italy on our brilliant patio.  It was a great ending to an unbelievable trip!

It’s hard to believe we’ve been gone for six weeks!  It’s always bittersweet to go home. Until our next time “going with Daddy!”

Tuscany
Leaning Tower of Pisa

Grocery shopping

Vatican City 

St. Peter’s Basilica

Colosseum

Nasoni

Pantheon

Spanish Steps

Trevi Fountain

Last gelato

Bye Europe

Buongiorno!

Italy is our second new country (after Greece) this trip to explore as a family.  It is so fun to experience new places together!  We landed and had a minor issue of someone else taking one of our suitcases.  This has been our only flight issue so we cannot complain.  Luckily, the man who took our suitcase brought it back before we left the airport.

First stop in Italy is Venice so of course we took a water taxi.  We got off the Vaparetto (think bus but a boat) and walked straight into St. Mark’s Square; that was so cool!  All the streets are narrow walkways (when not in the water) as we got to our apartment.  It was a late night and hot!  One of the two portable air conditioners wasn’t working either so we had an even hotter night’s sleep.

On Saturday, we jumped in with both feet to sightseeing. St. Mark’s Square was a beautiful sight!  We took the lift up to the top of the bell tower (Campanile) and the view of Venice was breathtaking!  You could see the water way, all the boats, red roof buildings and all the people filling into the square.  St. Mark’s Basilica was next (with a €2 skip the line ticket) and again it was unbelievable!  The detailed architecture was unreal…all the different tile floor patterns and how well it had stayed in tact especially with the flooding Venice gets on too regular a basis.  The highlight was the angelic choir we heard and saw singing while in the church! After lunch, we took a gondola ride.  This was so picturesque!  Those gondoliers work really hard!  We walked through the Doge’s Palace, which was the center of government during the height of the Venetian empire. The courtyard was my favorite here.  Of course, Italy isn’t complete without some leather bag shopping.  We were also spoiled with a date night (thanks to Patty and G-Jan) walking around the town and our first Aperol Spritz (we tried them, but not a fan).  What a fun, packed day!

We enjoyed breakfast in the square at Cafe Quadrai on Sunday before taking a leisurely stroll to through the city.  It rained off and on today but we didn’t melt!  We took a water taxi to Peggy Guggenheim Collection to see her amazing artwork.  Teddy missed all of the art but we knew better than to let him sleep through supper.  One of our best meals was tonight at Vino Vino.

Side note: all Italian public transportation was scheduled to strike on Monday, Wednesday and Friday of the next week and we had planned to train.  Instead we hired a car.  However, we got the pick up date wrong and rentals were being snatched up at a rapid pace so Cory went on a wild goose chase to finally get us transportation.  That’s how he spent Sunday afternoon and evening.

On Monday morning, we hired a porter to help get our luggage to the water taxi.  The porter definitely earned his money as there are plenty of bridges with stairs all over Venice.  One last water taxi ride before getting in our van.  As travel is always an adventure, there was so much traffic that our 3 hour drive turned into 6+!  Luckily, it was beautiful countryside to look at as we drove.  On to Milan…

After we arrived in Milan, Cory had to get to work so we were on our own for supper.  Yet another time we are so thankful to have my momma and aunt with us.  Bea also got an extra treat there being able to sleep in the room with her Patty and G-Jan.  Europe loves to have three people max in a room so Bea slept in the 3/4 bed already set up in the room.

Tuesday was our only day to sightsee in Milan so we bought the hop on hop off bus ticket.  First stop was Milan’s Duomo.  It is a beautiful gothic style cathedral with tons of marble, stone carvings and stain glass!  I wore shorts so I had to cover my knees with my raincoat.  This is pretty standard in all European cathedrals.  The highlight of this day for me was the La Scalia Opera House.  We watched rehearsal which must’ve been for a ballet which was a big hit for Bea especially.  We had a quaint lunch outside Giardini Pubblici before letting the kids run free and take a little train ride in the park.  Most afternoons in all of Italy, we needed gelato and today was no different.  For supper, I found a restaurant with amazing reviews but when the taxi pulled up in front, the garage door was down.  Agh, it was closed!  We went to supper too early (aka 5:45pm) which was typical all over (Greece and) Italy.  So we punted to a cafe; they’re always open.

Hump day was travel day!  Back in the van, we drove through lots of tunnels which are Teddy’s favorite.  Another one of our favorite restaurants was in a little beach town on the drive called La Speiza.  At Osteria del a Corte, we had an delicious cheese plate, pasta dishes and fish tartare; and, the kids were given cloth finger puppets.  Europeans love to give kids goodies and the kids certainly don’t mind!

Next stop, Pisa (then Rome)!

View of Venice from Campanile

St. Mark’s Square

Gondola riding: Rialto Bridge, large canal and small canal

Doge’s Palace (she obliged and he slept)

Peggy Guggenheim Collection 

Riding the water taxi

Thank goodness for the porter

Backseat riding in the van

Duomo in Milan

We’re back in Germany!

We were also back in Frankfurt at a familiar hotel (from our trip in the fall) the Westin Grand and were lucky enough to get upgraded to a large suite!  This is always a fun bonus when it happens and a nice break from a one room living situation.  We hit the ground walking to one of our favorite restaurants, Zu den 12 Aposteln for lunch.  It was even better than I remembered!  The chicken schnitzel and house rolled sausage were amazing along with the atmosphere of the outdoor bier garten!  As is true of a long trip, laundry day keeps coming back.  While I did laundry, the rest of the family rested.  I went to a laundromat I had been to before but I must’ve had too many loads as I left one behind on accident.  Luckily it was still there when I went back for it.  We hit another favored restaurant for supper, Paulaner am dom and had delicious turkey schnitzel with chanterelles.  After we got kids to bed, we organized the place (with laundry drying everywhere) as it’s nice to settle in when you’ll be there for the week.  It was a full day even if we didn’t do any sightseeing.

We waked up Tuesday and the kids enjoyed a morning to play with their toys in the open space we had.  Our mission today was to order a birthday cake for Teddy so we set out to a couple grocery stores.  However, I thought more about it and knew we didn’t have plates or utensils in our room so I changed gears and just purchased balloons instead.  We met Cory for a quick lunch then hit the Drachenburg Spielplatz (playground); it was a super cute, wooden playground…with lots of sand!  I had to dump sand from their shoes (again) before nap time.  Cory found a Bier Garten on the river for supper with an amazing view overlooking the Eisener Steg (Europe’s oldest suspension bridge).  There were colorful flower boxes all around the boat which I love!

On Wednesday, June 21, Teddy turned 3!!!  We had balloons waiting on him when he waked as well as a lion figurine and lion mask.  Before we could hit the zoo to see the animals (always his request), we rode the train to pick up my momma and aunt at the airport.  They joined us for the last two weeks of our trip!  We didn’t waste any time tossing their suitcases in the hotel room and heading to the zoo.  We especially enjoyed seeing the lioness and watching all the monkeys.  When we got back to the hotel for naps, we found a surprise dessert plate with Happy Birthday written on it and a note!   We also celebrated with party hats! Who doesn’t love a good party hat!  We went back to one of our favorite restaurants Atschel for supper.

We learned the sweet ladies from the executive lounge had arranged the surprise birthday dessert and they hadn’t even known I was looking for one.   It was so very thoughtful!  We taxied to Palmengarten for the morning and it was so lush!  Beautiful, colorful flowers were everywhere.  With my momma and aunt to tell the different kinds (since all signs were in German), it was even more enjoyable!  Of course, we found a train to ride and playground which suited the kids!  We hit our favorite Frankfurt restaurant again for lunch with Cory.  Tonight, we walked to Frankfurt au Main via the Cathedral and a wooden toy shop to hear the bells of Alte Nikolaikirche.  We patronized another favorited restaurant Paulaner Dom for supper.  When you find good food, it’s hard to not go back again and again.  Frankfurt is such an unassuming city.

Next stop, Venice!

Overlooking Eisener Steg then standing on it

More travelers arrived

Happy Lion

Navigating the zoo  

He’s 3!!!

Can you guess who threw in the ball?!

Palmengarten: flowers and fountains

My favorite girl and favorite restaurant