I just returned home from an incredibly overdue girls trip to Belgium with my friend Jenna. If you read my post Thai Islands in One Week, it’s the same Jenna that motorbiked with me down Thai back roads to find a Buddhist temple in the hills. We did Thailand and Vietnam together in 2018 and had an entire backpacking trip planned for China when Covid hit in 2020. It’s almost exactly 4 years to the day since our canceled trip and here we are crossing off another country.

Our trip was a short one.. two days in Brussels and two days in Ghent. Creating a travel plan wasn’t a top priority for either of us however, and it didn’t come together until 4 days prior. Ben and I are no strangers to last minute plans.. we once booked our hotel while standing in a customs line.. but typically, I’m quick to have some sort of itinerary in mind simply because I enjoy planning trips. When it came to this trip though, I was tired. Covid hit our house mid December, and although we were mostly okay for Christmas, the aftermath for me was exhausting. My energy was zapped, I had constant headaches, and the sinus pressure from congestion was intense. It also lasted weeks. Between not feeling well and pulling off Christmas for two small kids, hosting, and visiting family, I felt shot. Using my brain was the last thing I wanted to do.

Time doesn’t seem to slow down when you need a break though, does it? Luckily, once I sat down to plan, it came together pretty quickly. The process I use not only allows you to plan an efficient trip, but it also helps you stay organized and keeps the planning from feeling too overwhelming. Plus, it’s quick! Below, you’ll find exactly how I plan my trips and stay sane while trying to fit in all the things.

What Is an Efficient Trip

Planning an efficient trip in my opinion means squeezing in everything you’d like to do and experience and not losing or wasting time. It’s important to note that relaxing is not wasting time. You can plan a busy itinerary that includes all the “musts” and zero down time or plan a trip that focuses on some down time and relaxation. It’s mostly about deciding on how you want to spend your time and carving out a plan to execute your vision. Personally, I like to do all the things.. so I try to find a balance of fitting in as much as I can without feeling stretched too thin.

1.Read & Watch All the Things

One of the very first things I do when I decide I’m going somewhere new is start following tourism accounts in that city/country. Often enough, I do this before I even start to plan anything. It typically happens at the first mention of a possible trip. This way, as you begin to see things pop up on your feed, you start to create a vision for your trip. You’ll be able to picture certain sites you want to see or restaurants you want to try. On instagram, I bookmark a lot as I scroll. When you’re ready to sit down and make an actual plan, you can go back and see anything you may have saved for later. I also love to read other blogs and travel sites. I’ve found that even if you have a lengthy amount of time somewhere, it’s helpful to narrow down the “musts” by reading 24 hour, 2 day, or 3 day recommended itineraries. This is where you’ll find highlights and all the big ticket sites crammed into a short amount of time. Reading through a handful of different blogs, you’ll quickly find the same places and know what not to miss. You’ll also find worthy lesser known experiences that made on impact on that writer. These are the gems and where you get to decide what fits your interests and trip style. This first step is essentially building your own “must do” list. Starting it sooner than later allows you to see more possibilities and come up with a solid itinerary.

2.Bookmark Everything on Google Maps

My google maps is absolutely littered with color coded flags all around the world. You can choose to organize yours however you choose. I simply have everything saved in one color that I’d like to do -whether that’s sites or food- and then once I experience it, I change it to a different color. So when I look at my map, I have places I still want to visit and places I’ve already been. This is particularly helpful if you’re writing about your travels or often sharing recs with friends. It’s much easier to reference and scan. One thing to note- Google maps does limit your yellow starred places. You have about 500 before they start deleting in chronological order. I discovered this the unfortunate way. Use the green flag marker if you know you’ll be using this frequently.

3.Decide Where to Stay + How You’ll be Getting Around

When I have shorter trips planned, I aim to stay in the heart of everything. For a lot of European cities, that’s in the Old Town. This will cut down your travel time significantly to different sites since a lot of what you’re exploring will most likely be here. Longer trips, we sometimes will stay further out. When it comes to getting around, I tend to take public transportation everywhere with the random cab here or there. Since I usually rely on trains and busses, I always book my hotel/airbnb with an idea of how far I will have to walk from a train/bus station. Walking 10-15 minutes with bags is a lot easier than 25-30 minutes. This may not apply to you, but it’s something to consider. By having your bookmarks already on your map, you’ll be able to see where you’ll be spending a lot of your time. If you’re taking public transportation, it’s definitely convenient to be closer to a station.

4.Start Grouping Sites By Location

Bookmarking food and sites is helpful when starting to plan because you’ll be able to see where everything is located in relation to each other. Even if you don’t have a strict itinerary and all the details planned out, you can still reference your map and see what’s nearby. Exhausted and looking to rest and grab a coffee? Oh look, you’re right near that coffee shop you starred. Your fellow travelers want to stop for a bite? Oh look, that cute lunch spot is right around the corner. For me, it’s certainly been handy. Most importantly though, planning an efficient day becomes a piece of cake when you can see what’s close together. I bookmark picturesque streets I’d like to stroll down, graffiti alleys, famous statues, and so on. Especially if you’re doing a lot of walking, this helps with planning your route. Sometimes you walk a few minutes out of the way and are able to see so much more simply because you’re aware of your location and proximity to things. Google maps will show you your gps location and saved bookmarks with or without service and wifi. So even if you’re offline, you’ll have access.

5.Add in Your Meals

The difficult part about adding in your meals is there’s more of an emotional decision in what you’re eating.. and then certain places will be strictly breakfast where others will be dinner. This part takes both a bit of juggling and flexibility. To be quite honest, this is where having restauarants saved in your maps will be especially handy. I always find it’s best to have a plan and something in mind, but also accept the fact that it may change. Hunger doesn’t always strike at the appropriate time and what you’re craving could change as well. I usually have my top places I’d like to go, finagle them into my schedule, and then sometimes change the plan completely once I’m there. Maybe food isn’t particularly important to you and your itinerary and if so, I envy you. That makes your planning a lot easier. Food is a top priority while traveling for Ben and me and although we’ve found some gems by wandering, there’s something comforting in having a back up plan. It also adds to the efficiency of your day when you don’t have to spend extra time on the lookout.

Enjoy your efficient itinerary

This April will be 5 years in our home and I’m not sure if it feels like a lifetime or we just moved in. We’ve certainly put a lot of work into the house over the years, but it’s been the expensive, behind the walls type of work. The big stuff that no one is excited about kind of work. Recently, the previous owner stopped by to see if we had made any changes to the house and when she said it looked pretty much the same, I wanted to die. Granted, she didn’t live in the house for years when we purchased the home and had no idea the state it was in.. but still, it was like a stake through my heart. We’ve cut down trees, got a new roof, fixed radon, changed out piping, got a new HVAC, new boiler.. all the stuff no one sees or cares about. So although it stung when she said that, I just kinda shrugged my shoulders and chose not to enlighten her. But anyway, nearly 5 years here and we’re finally approaching the fun projects. The noticeable ones. We have a pretty big home renovation this year that probably won’t be finished until the very end of 2024. Between that, and doing our own updates in a few of the rooms, I expect the house will look completely different for 2025. I love our house, but I also love practical and efficient use of space. Our house lacks that. We have a pretty large house, but weirdly, not a lot of privacy. A lot of square footage, but no areas for storage. And the kitchen is incredibly cramped compared to the rest of the overly spacious rooms. This year we hope to fix the majority of that by carving out purposeful spaces, plenty of storage options, and actually relocating some rooms. It’s going to be a big year for this house and we’re super stoked about it.

Future Playroom

New Playroom

First up is the playroom. We’ll be completely relocating this room. Our house has undergone a few additions through its history, but the original farmhouse from 1800 remains at the heart of our home with a lower level room and an upper level room connected by a spiral staircase. The downstairs room has become our temporary junk room since it’s kind of tucked away, while Izzy’s bedroom occupies the upstairs room. We’ll be moving Maggie in there with her in the coming months though and that will become their shared bedroom. Downstairs, will become the playroom. We currently have the staircase blocked off in the bedroom, but once we don’t have to worry about them on the stairs, it’ll be nice for the girls to have direct access to the playroom right under their room. Also, since this is the old part of the house, the floor/ceiling isn’t drywalled so you can hear anything happening above or below very easily. We had initially had a little lounge/library/bar room downstairs, but quickly realized we couldn’t go in there when Izzy was sleeping. By putting the playroom under them, we utilize the space without having to sacrifice any conveniences.

The future playroom is a very frustrating space to work with. There’s two closets taking up corners, a weird angled wall that jets out like a triangle (we think it had to be a fireplace at one time), three entrance doors, and two sets of stairs that come into the room (one being the spiral staircase and the other being two horizontally long steps leading to the original farmhouse exterior door that we do not use). If the room was a shape it would be whatever has 15 sides. No lie. I was stumped with what to do for awhile, but decided to add some built ins for toy storage and possibly build a little stage over the long two steps to utilize the space. We’ll add some fresh paint, a dress up wall and probably keep the rest simple. I want the space to be able to grow with them overtime and be able to make little changes instead of a full redo when they’ve outgrown it.

Built In Bunk Beds for the Girls

Maggie will be joining Izzy’s room in the coming months and I would love for them to have built in bunk beds. I don’t plan on necessarily using them right away for both girls.. Maggie is still in her crib and will transition to her own twin bed while night potty training before starting in the bunk beds. But I do love the idea of having them already built and ready for them. Izzy willl be 4 this year and although it’s still early, I think it’ll be nice having an extra bed for any sleepovers that may start happening. Obviously not a pressing project, but it is one I would like to do this year. We’ll be going with a standard stacked twin bunk with steps instead of a ladder and spindles placed from bed to ceiling around the top bunk so there’s no chance of accidents. I promise it won’t look like a cage, lol. I plan to take a classic approach with style so like the playroom, it can grow with them and not feel too childish down the road. And if they decide they want their own rooms in the future, I would like to use the bunk beds for a guest room anyway.

After Vine Removal, Sanding Residue, Patching Cracks, Repairing Stucco, Repainting Exterior & Changing Trim/Windows From Red to Black

Paint House Exterior

If you’ve been following along on Instagram for awhile, you know this has been an ongoing project. In an effort to save our house from excessive moisture (and insects) we ripped down all of our beloved ivy, climbing hydrangeas, and wisteria. With that, we needed to sand the vine residue and repair some of the stucco that was underneath. From there, we repainted the exterior and changed the trim/window/door color from red to black. We probably have about 2/3 of the house done, and luckily, we have the most challenging wall completed, so there’s that. Sadly, for practicality sake, we won’t be finishing the entire exterior this year. The largest wall we have yet to paint will be getting a couple new windows during our big reno.. so it doesn’t make sense to make it pretty if we’ll most likely just have to do it all over again. I do hope to complete everything minus that wall by fall though. As we make our way around the house we’ll be changing out the gutters for black as well. So by the time we’re finished, the entire house will only be green and black instead of green, brown, and red.

Master Bedroom with New Master Bath and New Main Joint Closet

Master Bathroom

Adding a master bath has been on the “one day” list since we moved in. Off the master bedroom there’s already a framed out room that I believe the previous owners had planned to do a master bath as well. In it’s current state, it’s a giant cedar closet with zero windows. It’s actually been perfect for storage, but more importantly, little Maggie has become quite comfortable in there. It sounds terrible and we joke that it’s her Harry Potter closet, but in all seriousness, it’s been amazing for a baby space. It’s dark and quiet and couldn’t be closer to our bedroom. Her crib, dresser, bookcase, and reading chair all fit in there with room to spare. We plan to move Mags out and into Izzy’s room in the coming months and then our bathroom Reno should be starting in June. Our bedroom currently has two closets.. one that you walk through to get to the cedar closet (Maggie’s dark cave), and another on the other side of the room that connects to an entrance into Izzy’s room. For the future bath, we’ll be using the cedar closet and adjacent closet. We’ll then transform the second closet into our main joint closet by reconfiguring the layout. The bathroom will be getting two windows put in, feature a 6.5x3.5 shower stall, 6 ft tub, 6 ft vanity, and a privacy wall next to the toilet.

New Kitchen Location off Patio With Walk In Pantry & Pocket Bathroom

New Kitchen with Pocket Bathroom

Initially we had planned to do the master bath first and change the kitchen in the future.. But with both rooms essentially stacked on top of each other, it made sense to do everything at once. Currently, our kitchen is located right off the driveway. The main door we use to enter the house (the side door) even opens into the kitchen. It’s convenient and it’s not. It’s typically a giant mess, everything gets through down on the counters and the shoes/coats/bags are all over the floor. Ben put it perfectly when he said that out current kitchen is a mudroom, office, and kitchen all in one. I think that’s normal for most homes, but it’s a little extreme over here. We plan to move the kitchen to the farthest side of the house to occupy a much bigger space and be right off the patio. Even though it’ll be further from the driveway for taking groceries in and such, it’ll give us direct access to the patio for grilling and hosting, and the room already has a giant closet attached that will act as our kitchen pantry and storage. Additionally, we will be able to fit a dining table into the new kitchen, which I absolutely love. We currently sit around our counter, which again, usually has piles of stuff and random things on it. We do have a dining table in our sunroom that we love to use, but it’s not something we use for every meal. For starters, it’s not right off the kitchen.. but also, since it’s in the sunroom it gets super sunny during the day, hot in summer, and cold in winter. So we wanted to make sure we had a reliable, designated space for our meals. The kitchen will have an 8 burner stove with double oven placed on an angle against our current fireplace, a large 3 ft sink located in an “L” shaped island, and a tiny hall that leads to a pocket bathroom and big walk in pantry.

Current Kitchen Transforms into Mudroom/Storage Room/Office

Old Kitchen

The kitchen and master bath are our major projects this year, but I have to admit, I’m ecstatic for the old kitchen transformation. We’re planning on dividing the space into three areas/rooms. Through the side door, which we currently use as our main entrance into the house, will be our new mudroom. We’re doing built in benches, cubbies and hooks so everything can stay organized and the kids can have their own areas for their shoes, coats, and bags. Off the mudroom will be a giant storage room, which I am so excited about. The two places in our house that we’re currently storing things are in our soon to be playroom and soon to be kitchen pantry. So we’ll need a place for everything and having a designated storage room will be huge. I believe the plans have the room measured at 7’ by 7’ and will be lined with shelves for storage totes, the Christmas tree, and random odds and ends. On the one side of the room there will be space for our bikes as well and the kid’s outdoor toys. Considering we don’t have a garage, this is huge. The last area included in our plans is a little pocket office. It’s about a foot longer than the storage closet and will be set up with a simple desk and filing system. No more papers and piles everywhere.

1. safety

Italy is definitely a safe place to bring your family. The main thing to worry about here is petty theft, which can be avoided by staying vigilant and smart. Big cities and touristy areas are where you’ll hear of most pickpockets and bag snatching, but it’s important to exercise caution and beware of your surroundings in any new place. Traveling with kids can definitely make you vulnerable.. being a mom of two small kids I feel like I’m constantly digging through the diaper bag or rifling through a snack bag for something or other..it’s easy to get distracted when you have littles to constantly accommodate. I just try to be extra cautious about making sure all of our belongings are zipped up and tucked away. Throughout our entire month in Italy with the kids, I never felt unsafe or targeted though.

2. Italians love kids

I have never seen anything like it. Everything I read online before our trip said the same thing about how Italians love kids.. nothing prepares you for this actual reality though. The very first restaurant we dined out in, the server took Maggie (our 9 month old at the time) out of Ben’s arms and bounced her around while chatting. I remember being completely caught off guard and thinking something like, “..omg do not touch my kid.” It was hard to stay annoyed when he spent the entire duration of our meal doting on both kids and trying to make them laugh though. We realized very quickly that is what everyone meant by Italians love kids. It was constant throughout the entire trip too. Izzy would be given snacks while we waited for takeout, Maggie was given a free baby sized gelato, total strangers would come up at train stations to talk to the kids, and everyone was quick to help us. We do a lot of public transportation when we travel and Italians do not ask if you need help trying to lift your bags or stroller onto the train.. they just do it. Every city we were in someone would just casually grab the front of the stroller and help us off the train and then continue on their way. It was quite shocking initially, but by the end of our 4 weeks in Italy, we really appreciated how kind and helpful everyone was to us. Traveling with kids can certainly be tough, but everyone loving on our kids took an incredible amount of pressure off and was a huge reason why we loved our trip so much.

3. Italian food is super kid friendly

Pizza, pasta, focaccia, cheese, salami, GELATO.. not sure I need to say more. I know these aren’t the foods we want our kids eating everyday, but vacation isn’t everyday. To be completely honest, one of the main reasons we ended up in Italy for a month instead of anywhere else, was the food. We had initially thought we were going to Germany and then changed our minds maybe a month before leaving for Europe. Italian food was already something they were familiar with and loved.. taking them abroad for a month was already daunting, it was nice to not worry about a possible food struggle.

4. Great Climate

This was the other reason we changed destinations. Of course it depends on where in Italy you go and when, but for the most part, it’s going to be warmer than several other European countries. We were going for the month of May, so it was a pretty big swing from the beginning of the month to the end. But when comparing average temperatures, Central Italy was 5-10 degrees warmer than Germany that month. We aren’t generally a family that needs warm weather, but for our first international trip with the kids, we wanted to make sure we could spend a lot of our time outdoors comfortably. We rode bikes, explored new cities on foot, visited beaches, did scenic hikes.. anything to keep us outside.

5. Variety

Whatever kind of vacation you and your family enjoy, you can find it in Italy. You like skiing? Head north to the mountains and shell up at one of the numerous ski resorts. It’ll be incredibly cheaper than surrounding countries and Italy’s laid back ski resorts are known to be super family friendly. More of a beach person? You’ll find the most gorgeous and world renowned beaches throughout the south and up the coastline. Delicious food, wine, art, culture, history, the outdoors, the list goes on. Italy absolutely has it all.

6. Italian wine

Family vacations are not actually vacations for parents. They’re just parenting in different places. And in a lot of ways, they’re even more labor intensive with busy itineraries, long travel days, an upside down routine, and if you normally have help at home in the form of daycare or grandparents, on vacation you’re at it alone. Totally worth it, but it’s still a lot. Wine definitely helps, lol.

7. Public Transportation

You can totally pull off an entire Italy vacation without spending time in a car. Not saying you want to, but it is possible. The train and bus system covers a lot of ground and it’s nice to know you can rely on it for most destinations. They’re also very easy to navigate and kids under 4 travel free on Trenitalia. It doesn’t guarantee your toddler his/her own seat, but the trains don’t usually book up. We only had our toddler on our lap maybe once and had loads of travel days. Most trains do offer a child rate from ages 4-11 as well. One thing to note: if you’re mostly thinking about small, Tuscan villages, they most likely won’t have train stations or bus routes. You can do organized tours or hire a driver if need be. Check with their policy about car seats beforehand.

8. walkable

Italians walk everywhere and Italian cities are absolutely set up for the pedestrian. A lot of small villages in Italy don’t even accept cars into their Old Towns. It’s pretty great if you plan on doing most of your exploring on foot. You don’t realize the luxury of not worrying about cars until you have a very active toddler on your hands. If you’re planning on using a stroller most days, keep in mind that a lot of the roads are old cobblestone, which can pose a challenge depending on your stroller. We brought a single jogger for both our kids and couldn’t be happier with the decision. You can read a post here detailing how and why it worked for us.

9. Old Cities feel like Giant Playgrounds

Small kids might not care about history, but they do care about castles, piazzas, fountains and fairy tales. Our toddler loved exploring “hidden” alleyways and stairwells throughout villages and running after pigeons in the open piazzas. I’d be lying if I said my husband and I didn’t enjoy it just as much though. It was so much fun wandering through medieval roads and feeling like we stepped back in time. We definitely appreciated experiencing a piece of history while Izzy enjoyed how many Elsa castles there were.

10. Museums

Museums are everywhere in Italy and loaded with the most fascinating things. Since we were traveling with small kids, we were hesitant to visit them though. Expensive entrance fees and bored/cranky little ones make for a giant waste of time and money. However, the cool thing about Italian state museums is that kids under 18 are free. You still have to obviously pay for your own entrance, but it makes museum visits more affordable and less of a bummer if you need to end your tour short. Keep in mind this is only for State Museums.. “Museo” and sometimes city owned museums.. “civic” or “municipal”. Privately owned museums most likely will not offer a discount.

This itinerary is 3 full days and hits all the highlights that are doable and enjoyable with small kids. There’s a strong focus on being outdoors, visiting parks, castles, and lots of walking. Additionally, it does not include any of Copenhagen’s famous Michelin starred restaurants. Eating out with littles can be tough enough and I was all about being practical and realistic with this trip. If your little one can swing it though, it’s definitely something you should add in. Don’t forget to make the reservations!

The arrival day is your free day.. I usually like keeping this open in case anyone needs time to recover. If you land and have the energy though, you can either explore your neighborhood, start day 1, or just choose a sight or two to knock out and visit. We stayed in both the Nørrebro neighborhood and Old Town during our stay. Nørrebro is Copenhagen’s most culturally diverse district and considered to be the city’s “coolest” area. Considering this itinerary only covers 3 full days however, I recommend staying in Old Town. You’ll be closer to the must see sights and save time traveling between them.

Day 1- Kompa9, Nyhavn Harbor, canal Boat Tour, Amalienborg Palace, Kastellet, Little Mermaid Statue, Mormors, Kronprinsessegade and Nyboder, Rosenborg Slot, The Round Tower, Strøget, Sporvejen

First stop is breakfast at Kompa9. It’s adorable, the food is great, and it’s right in Old Town. You can see their menu on their Facebook page here. They have outdoor tables too, which was nice for us with our stroller. Next up is the famous Nyhavn Harbor. Different colored buildings and gorgeous anchored boats line the harbor and make for the best photo op. I definitely suggest starting off your first full day here and taking a canal boat tour. This is a great way to kick off your Copenhagen experience and also get a handle on where things are located throughout the city. You can book this ahead of time or buy tickets right at the harbor. Most tours are an hour long, but I believe there is an hour and a half option as well. If you have a stroller you may have to leave it at the harbor. I was reluctant to do so, but there’s an actual stroller area and it’s pretty typical in Scandinavia to leave strollers outside. The tour will give you a lot of great information and point out numerous sights that you won’t feel obligated to then go see. The Opera House for example is such a cool building, but seeing it from the boat tour is enough. From the harbor, head north to Amalienborg Palace and see where the current Queen resides. You can walk through the courtyard of the four seperate palaces and even see the guard change at noon if you hit it right.

From the palace, you’ll continue north to Kastellet and the Little Mermaid Statue. Kastellet is the star shaped 17th century fortress. Instead of stone walls however, incredibly steep grass walls surround it. The barracks are inside at the ground level, but you can walk along the walls and see the windmill. The Little Mermaid Statue is located outside the fortress along the water.. many would tell you it would not be a trip to Copenhagen without paying a visit to her. If you were paying attention during the canal boat tour, they give you some decent history of the statue. Unfortunately, you will only see the back of her from the boat. If this is enough for you, feel free to skip it. Before leaving the area, stop at Mormors for lunch. Mormor means Grandma and it certainly feels like your grandma’s house inside with the cozy atmosphere, knick knacks, and loads of baked goods. The sandwiches are delicious and will definitely hit the spot.

After lunch we’re heading to Rosenborg Slot. Take your time meandering your way over though and make sure to find Kronprinsessegade and Nyboder. These are really just streets where you can see distinctive rows of yellow houses from the 17th and 18th century. Once you arrive at Rosenborg Slot, make sure to explore the gardens. The grounds are free and feel mostly like a public park, but it’s definitely beautiful and worth spending time in. As for the castle, I highly recommend buying tickets for a tour beforehand. You can purchase them here. Next, we’ll be heading to Strøget, Copenhagen’s famous shopping street. If your little one is into legos, make sure to check out the Lego Store. They have little building stations and a cool Copenhagen city scape made completely out of legos. The Round Tower is right around the corner and our next stop. It’s a 17th century spiral ramp tower with city views at the top. Horses used to climb up and down the tower, hence the ramp instead of stairs. Children under 5 are free, otherwise tickets are 40 DKK- or $5.85. Our toddler loved it. Sporvejen is our dinner spot. It’s done up to feel like an old tram car with both design and decor. The menu is simple and super kid friendly with options like burgers and omelets. They even have an actual kid’s menu and coloring sheets for little ones.

DAY 2- Rug Bakery, Hillerød, Posen Playground, Frederiksborg Slot, Cafe Havehuset, Restaurant Karla

Day trip to Hillerød to visit Frederiksborg Slot! This was such a fun day and our 3 year old loved running around and exploring the gardens. Public Transit takes about 45 minutes from station to station. The easiest option is to take the “A” train from Copenhagen Central station. The train will take you straight to Hillerød without having to connect. Before getting on the train, grab some Danish baked goods for the ride. Rug Bakery is a great option near the station and they also have hot food and seating in case you want to stay for a proper breakfast. You can also just grab something on the way to the station.. you’ll pass plenty of bakeries. Once arriving in Hillerød it’s about a 20 minute walk to the castle. You can take the bus if you’d prefer, but I recommend walking. There’s a path that hugs the lake with views of the castle and it’s just too good to pass up. Posen Playground is a perfect stop for the kids along the way too! Once you arrive at Frederiksborg Slot, you can go straight to the entrance or hang a left from the front courtyard and head to the incredible gardens behind the castle. Tickets to the indoor tour are 90 DKK, which converts to about $13 and change and children 0-18 are free. The gardens do not require a paid ticket or entrance fee. One thing to note, a lot of places in Scandinavia will have you leave your stroller aside and use their rentals. The castle is one of them. You’ll only be allowed to use your own stroller outside. Take your time exploring the castle and gardens and when you’re ready for lunch, head to Cafe Havehuset. It’s located behind the gardens and pretty much incorporated into the grounds..so you can really just continue on the path right up until lunchtime. Feel free to wander the town if you’d like and get a coffee. There’s definitely some cute shops worth exploring. When you’ve had your fill, hop back on the train and venture back to Copenhagen. Take whatever is left in the day to recoup before heading out to dinner. When you’re ready, make sure to load up on traditional Scandinavian food at Restaurant Karla. They even have a kid’s menu with affordable prices.

Day 3 - Grød, Torvehallerne Food Hall, Assistens Cemetery, Nørrebroparken Playground, Mikkeller & Friends, Superkilen Park, Bæst, Tivoli Gardens, Tivoli Food Hall

Today is all about the kids! Cool playgrounds, parks, and an amusement park will have them in heaven and absolutely spent by the end of the day. Start off the morning at Grød for some porridge breakfast. Porridge is a pretty big deal in Scandinavia, and I’m telling you, Grød does it well. It’ll be delicious, decked out with awesome toppings including caramel sauce, and it’ll hold you over until lunch. There’s a few Grød locations in the city, but the one you’re heading to is inside Torvehallerne food hall. Food halls tend to be our favorite places to eat with kids. It’s a relaxed setting with loads of options and easy exits. Reffen is Copenhagen’s most popular food hall, but the location isn’t ideal for our schedule and it’s only open seasonally.

After breakfast, head to Assistens Cemetery. It’s a beautiful place to walk around and locals actually picnic here. Before leaving, make sure to see Hans Christian Andersen’s final resting place. Other famous Danes buried in the cemetery include Søren Kierkegaard and Niels Bohr. From here, head to Nørrebroparken Playground (only 5 minutes walk) to let the kids run off some energy. It’s a great space with cool climbing gyms, swings, sand, and our favorite part.. bikes, trikes, and little wagons. My toddler loved cruising around the painted track in the wagon with her little sister on the back. It was hysterical and they were so happy. Make sure they wear themselves out a bit and head across the street to Mikkeller & Friends for a couple of beers. They open at 12 on the weekend and 2 during the week. Our next stop is Superkilen Park. It’s a rather unique park that was initially designed to promote diversity and create a space of unity for immigrants and locals. The park is broken into three main areas, the black market being my favorite with the painted white lines against the blacktop. It’s such a great place to take photos. There is a small playground for the kids and the green area is a great spot to run around in the grass. For lunch, if it’s a Saturday or Sunday definitely head to Bæst for some delicious pizza. Everything they serve is made in-house and it’s all really well done and super tasty. If the days don’t line up and you can’t swing lunch, I highly recommend saving it in case you can squeeze it in for a different dinner. It’s important to note that this restaurant is the “nicest” one on our itinerary and on quite a few restaurant lists for Copenhagen. It’s not “kid friendly” per se, but we somehow managed with both of our kids so it’s doable.

The second half of the day and the grand finale of the 3 day itinerary takes you to Tivoli Gardens. My toddler absolutely loved her time here, and I was pleasantly surprised that my husband and I did as well. It’s definitely not just for kids. The grounds are beautiful, it’s clean, ride lines aren’t too long, and there’s alcohol. It’s great all around. After you had your fill of rides and fun, check out the Tivoli Food Hall next door for any last snacks/meals before turning in for the night. You’ll find literally anything you could possibly be craving. I recommend the sushi or smørrebrød stall.

jogger/carrier

Instead of bringing a double stroller, we chose to bring a single jogger stroller and our Bjorn baby carrier. The decision to do this really couldn’t have been any better for us. The jogger was mostly used for our toddler, while the 9 month old usually sat in the carrier. However, we planned on using the stroller for whoever needed it at the time. For instance, if our baby was due to nap or getting fussy in the carrier, we would shift her into the stroller and have our toddler either walk with us or carry her on our backs. Having the jogger with us instead of our other strollers was especially nice too. I loved having it because it wasn’t too big like our tandem would have been, but it was also big enough to take on cobblestone and uneven terrain. The bottom basket was super convenient to have as well (think grocery shopping and carrying things back) and the sturdiness of the stroller in general was a life saver during travel days. It allowed us to attach our diaper bag to it or even pile up our backpacks when the kids weren’t in it. I considered buying a travel stroller for awhile, but after bringing our jogger and having such success, I don’t think we will. To read more about why we chose to bring our jogger and how it worked for us, you can read my blog post here.

Clip on highchair

This is definitely not for everyone, but it certainly was a game changer for us and one of the best things we brought. Maggie turned 9 months a few days into arriving in Italy. She was at a point where experimenting with food was important, so I wanted to make sure she could easily feed herself and reach food on the table. A clip on highchair was the answer for us. I was initially hesitant because it seemed bulky and extra, but it was actually super easy to pack and didn’t take up much room. It breaks down into pieces and depending on which one you buy, you may even have one that’s entirely collapsible. and lies flat. Ours had a metal bar that fit snug in between clothes in a suitcase, and two push up locks. It ended up being quite compact. We brought this specifically for our airbnbs. Once we checked in, we would set it up and keep it in place until we checked out. It was the perfect set up for us. You can always request highchairs through airbnbs and a lot of times, if they offer cribs, they also have access to highchairs. But in my experience, requesting a highchair will always narrow down the search results that much more. So I prefer to bring our own and maybe have a better accommodation.

bed bumpers

We transitioned Izzy to a big girl bed before our trip abroad on purpose. We were planning on staying in airbnbs and not traveling with our own travel crib. So this meant narrowing our search down to listings that had cribs/travel cribs available. If we had to find two cribs, we probably wouldn’t have had much luck. So about a month before our trip, we moved Izzy to a twin bed to get her ready for 5 weeks away sleeping in big girl beds throughout Italy. I specifically ordered inflatable bed bumpers so we could deflate them and take them with us as well. This is something I am so glad we did. She obviously needed bumpers in her bed at home, and these killed two birds with one stone. They were so easy to travel with and blowing up took less than a minute. We actually got away with only taking one as well. Most the beds in our airbnbs were up against walls so we opted for one and saved room in our bag.

wash cloths

Sounds ridiculous, but with kids you will always need something to wipe them up. With traveling in Italy especially, we were eating plenty of red sauce and I wasn’t about to stain someone else’s towels or wash cloths while cleaning up my kids. I’m partly considerate, but also, people will charge you for messing up their linens, lol. This is even true in some hotels if you remove your makeup and ruin their towels. Just not worth it in my opinion. We brought maybe 3 wash cloths and will definitely be bringing them again on our next trip.

familiar snacks for first week

You can obviously load up on snacks once you get to your destination, but familiar snacks from home are key. Both our girls ate pretty well in Italy, but the first week was trial and error. We were so lucky we brought plenty of pouches and baby snacks with us. The first couple of days were quite the adjustment and our kids clung to anything familiar. At one point, Izzy was even refusing to eat pizza, which was so unlike her. It took Ben figuring out that she wanted the pizza slice she could “fold in half like at home” and he went half way across town to get her a different pizza that she devoured. Having something that feels/tastes like home helps ease into being away. Side note- you can bring liquids through security for your small kids. I even had a few juice boxes in our bag.

Thermometer / Tylenol

If you’re traveling far with a baby and/or toddler, chances are a thermometer and Tylenol are already on your packing list. And if not, add them. They’re those items you bring and hope not to use. We used both the very first day we arrived in Italy. We don’t use Tylenol often, in fact, we’ve only really given it to the kids when they have had fevers. Sure enough, as soon as we got to our airbnb in Rome, we took Maggie’s temperature, she had a fever, and we gave her the Tylenol. We used it that one time and didn’t have to use it for the rest of the trip. Soo glad we had it when we needed it though.

What We Didn’t Love

Cloth highchair

We brought two highchairs to Italy. The clip on one I mentioned above, and a cloth one that straps to chairs and is super portable. The intention with the cloth one was to keep it in the diaper bag for restaurants and on the go. We had read that most Italian restaurants don’t have highchairs and we didn’t want to risk limiting her to our laps. If we were going for a week we would have taken our chance and fed her on our laps or in the stroller.. but a month was too long to have her potentially too distracted and not able to feed herself. Plus, if you read my post, Why We Didn’t Dine Out in Italy, you know absolute chaos would have ensued with her on my lap. But anyway, don’t take a cloth highchair. The only time we used it was at our one airbnb when the table couldn’t accommodate the clip on.. In the end, we made it work on a different table anyway. The cloth highchair was useful for the day or two in between, but that was honestly it. The idea behind it is great, but it just fell short for us. Since it straps to a regular chair and she sits on the seat, she isn’t able to feed herself because she’s sitting so low. Also, the few restaurants we dined out at did in fact have highchairs. So we didn’t need it anyway. Luckily it doesn’t take up much space in your bag since it rolls up.. but even so, I won’t be taking it on any future travels.

formula

If your baby is flexible with formula and you’re spending significant time away, you can buy formula in Europe. You won’t find it at the grocery store, but rather the local pharmacies. I wouldn’t recommend this though if you’re staying off the beaten path in smaller towns. I’m sure they would have something, but the risk is much too great in my opinion. Maggie transitioned to strictly formula not long before our trip. Of course, this coincided with starting to eat more solids. We transitioned her to a hypoallergenic formula since she was having some issues with eczema and we were starting to suspect possible food allergies. Because of this, we wanted to make sure she had everything she needed, and packed enough bags for the entire month away. As the end of our trip was approaching though, we decided to extend an extra few days, making the entire trip 5 weeks. We were short on formula by only a day and a half maybe, but we were also ending our trip in a bigger city and knew we could find everything we needed. We even surprisingly found a much greater variety than we expected. If I had known that I could very easily find such a variety of formula ranging from organic, hypoallergenic, dairy replacements, and so on, I probably would have only brought enough formula for half the month and picked up what we needed when we arrived in Rome. Side note- the European brands Holle and Hipp that a lot of American families are familiar with were not at the pharmacies we visited. This is not to suggest you wouldn’t be able to find it, but just an observation.

carrier for toddler

This was just dumb. The thought behind this was that we were bringing a single stroller for two kids to take turns in and having a carrier for those extra tiring days would be helpful. Plus, we had one destination that was going to be a lot of stairs, both getting to and from the airbnb, but also all around the town. We were staying there for 6 days and planned to mostly leave our stroller at the house during the day. So we thought both carriers would come in handy. Turns out, we used the carrier for our toddler only once and that was in an entirely different town. It also lasted only 10 minutes before our toddler wanted to get out and walk.. so we were stuck wearing it even though we weren’t using it. In the end, it’s just way easier to pick them up and hold them when they need to be held. It would have been better to bring a carrier that worked for both of them, but sadly, our little one doesn’t do as well in the carrier that can accommodate her older sister. And since we knew we would mostly be carrying Maggie, we had to bring the carrier best suited for her. It’s not a terrible thing to have certain items for ‘just in case’ moments, but considering the space it took up in our bag, it was not worth it.

Too Much Clothing

I never used to overpack when I was a flight attendant or backpacking solo.. but every time I go somewhere now I seem to bring a couple things I don’t need or never wear. Maybe it’s age or becoming a mom, but I always have “just in case” items now. We left for Italy early May and came back mid June, which meant we were arriving in 60 degree weather and leaving in closer to 80 degree weather. I mostly focused on layering for this reason, but I was still worried the kids wouldn’t be warm enough initially. Rain was expected the entire first week as well, which had me remembering the constant chill we’ve experienced in some European airbnbs. That all being said, I brought lots of options. It wasn’t crazy, but I still wish I left a few things at home. If you’re going somewhere with a washing machine or do hand washing while traveling, you really don’t need all the extras. I am happy we brought our toddler’s rainboots and raincoat, but extra sweatshirts, onesies, and bibs were unnecessary. If your kids are messy like mine, chances are you’ll be constantly washing things anyway.

Last week I flew to Barcelona for a 3 day girl’s trip and it was the absolute best. It was my very first trip away from Ben and the girls at the same time so it was a lot.. but in a refreshing, “I need to feel like a human, not just a mom” kind of way. It was my friend’s first time to Europe and although I have been trying to convince her to travel for years, it was Harry Styles in the end that got her overseas. So needless to say, attending a Harry Styles concert was pretty much the main event of the entire trip. We did all the Barcelona things we could fit in of course, but while I was mostly excited to knock out sights I didn’t do last time I visited Barcelona, she was mostly excited when she saw other “Harries” wandering through the city. I learned a lot about Harry Styles on this trip if you didn’t guess, lol. I should also admit that I have in fact been listening to more of his songs since getting home. I’m sure my friend would be so impressed. But getting back to it being my first trip away from Ben and the girls, I was weirdly emotional at the strangest times. Like, for instance.. I cried the entire concert. Legit cried. Whole concert. It wasn’t ideal, but it happened. There was a mother and young daughter seated right in front of us and I just could not shake mom energy while there. I kept watching these two have the time of their lives dancing together, singing, and hugging each other and I was standing behind them creepily tearing. I kept thinking about how I hope I’m that mom with my girls some day. So anyway, if you’re looking for tips to combat mom feels while away, I do not have any. Except maybe skip the 3 stadium sized vodkas. I do however have a few tips on making a short European trip much easier on you though.

Take a later flight

THIS! Okay, so this may be the most incredible recent discovery for me in awhile. I know it makes total sense, but if you travel often, you’re probably aware that later flights are actually scarce. I feel like they’ve been starting to pop up more recently for U.S based airlines though and I do hope it continues. I’m mostly used to taking afternoon flights, landing in Europe in the morning, not having slept much at all, being insanely tired, and having to wander around and kill time until I can check in at my hotel. Sound familiar? Well, last week I flew to Barcelona on a 10:10PM flight on Delta and it was an absolute dream. No, I did not sleep the entire way, but I did sleep for maybe half the flight, which was about 4 hours. This alone doesn’t sound too exciting, but paired with arriving later in the day, it’s a game changer. Since we arrived later, we were able to shoot straight to the hotel, drop our things, freshen up and head out! We managed to get a whole extra half day of exploring and crossing off extra sights too. By the time evening rolled around we were ready to crash and viola, we were synched up with Barcelona time. Especially with shorter trips where time already feels like it’s fleeting, I definitely suggest trying to find a later flight to your destination. It’ll not only give you more productive time, but it’ll help you get on track for the rest of your trip. When later flights aren’t an option, you can even consider upgrading your seat if it’s doable and an affordable option. Getting that rest is just so important.

Stay Regular

Bring something to keep you regular if a disruption in your routine easily throws your system off. You might be thinking, “oh, I’m like clockwork.. I’ll be fine..” But you’d be surprised how fast a shift in hydration, different foods, and an upside down sleep schedule can impact how you feel. Short trips are absolutely amazing for so many reasons, but not if you’re uncomfortable the entire time. Three products I definitely recommend would be Oxy-Powder, Dulcolax Suppositories, and Calm products. The Oxy-Powder is great and will definitely help you when you haven’t gone in awhile. You take it before bed and by morning, you should be all set and feeling loads lighter. I recommend testing it out before your trip though. The directions range and you may have to find the right number of capsules for your body. “Dulcolax suppositories” may have you wondering what you’re doing reading this blog post. I get it. But these suppositories work pretty instantly and if there’s something I’d like to have control of while traveling it would probably be bathroom time. Unlike the oxygen capsules, you don’t have to wait around hoping you took enough of a dose.. but also terrified you may have taken too many. There is no wait time at all with the suppositories. So in my opinion, they are king. A more natural approach would be the Calm products. This is powder that you stir into water before bed and by morning you should be making your way to the bathroom. It’s a magnesium powder that is also used for many other issues, including stress relief. I started using this when I was pregnant to help with constipation and it was super helpful. It even comes in different flavors and capsules as well.

Hydration

I usually bring a reusable water bottle on all my trips and completely forget to refill it. One day I’ll be better, but in the meantime, I’ll emphasize how important it is to drink water to everyone else. Seriously though. Staying hydrated will benefit you in all the ways. Flights dehydrate you immensely. So loading up on water during the flight is huge. When I was flying regularly for the airlines, drinking enough water was my daily goal. And honestly, airlines do not hand out enough water to passengers. So this is the main reason I always have a water bottle with me for trips nowadays. It’s really the only part of the trip that I’m good about finding water bottle fill stations and making sure I have enough. Depending on where you’re heading though, you can even fill up at outdoor fountains in certain cities. When we stayed in Lucca, Italy there was a giant fountain outside our airbnb and we would line up with locals to fill all our bottles. Barcelona was rough last week though. It was hot and humid and we were often realizing too late how thirsty we were. So I definitely recommend planning ahead and having even a small bottle in your bag with you for those hot touring days.

Make an Itinerary

Having an itinerary is not for everyone, but if you’re heading all the way to Europe, chances are you’re someone that already has a plan in mind. Especially if you’re going for a short few days. My friend and I had a plan for each day we were in Barcelona, which checked off most the things we wanted to see and do. We also left a little wiggle room though in case we were jet lagged, hungover, or just wanting to chill. I think it’s important to leave room for some downtime and then make the decisions in those moments. If you decide to rally instead of rest, you have your backup sights you can visit. This happened to be the case for us the day we arrived. We left the evening open to relax, but did some sightseeing instead. This allowed us to essentially squeeze in two additional activities over the 3 full days we had. It’s always nice to feel like you got in some bonus sights instead of falling short of your too packed itinerary. So make a list with all the things you want to do/see and make a realistic itinerary prioritizing your top picks.

Maximize Your Time

This is something that varies from person to person and definitely goes hand in hand with having a plan. In my opinion, there are two ways to best maximize your time while traveling. The first is efficiently squeezing in more sights and activities. The way I like to do this is by mapping out what I hope to see and do and grouping things by location. It’s also nice seeing what else is around when you pull up google maps. You may realize a beautiful cathedral you saw on instagram is right around the corner from a museum you have booked. Or maybe certain sights are near the brunch spot you found and you can go to brunch and then bang out all the nearby sights before the afternoon caffeine/cocktail fuel up. It sounds easy enough, but planning efficiently is sometimes challenging. The other way to maximize your time isn’t so much squeezing in all the things, but rather focusing on a smaller list of things and spending more time appreciating them. This could look like guided tours or even guided experiences. Airbnb has a great selection on their site and they’re typically done by locals. In Barcelona, we maximized our time by doing both. We efficiently squeezed in everything we could, but also chose to add on a couple audio tours and take our time in certain places.

Which stroller we were bringing to Italy was probably the hardest decision we made for the entire trip. Not destinations, or what accommodation to book, but strollers. We currently own two strollers- the Baby Jogger City Mini GT, which is a single jogger, and the Mockingbird double stroller, which is a tandem. I had thought about purchasing a travel stroller for our trip, but I was reluctant to buy something without having enough time to use it beforehand. Sounds funny, but you don’t realize how obnoxious a stroller can be until you’re pushing one with a crying baby, the wheels are getting caught, the ride is bumpy, and the seat doesn’t recline enough. Plus, we were going for a month. So whatever we were bringing, we were stuck with for awhile.

In addition to our two strollers, our friend also offered up her Evenflo tandem double with carseat. This was tempting since it would open up some options for us. We hadn’t considered taking a carseat.. Maggie would be listed as a lap child on the flight, and we planned on taking public transit while traveling. But with a carseat/stroller combo, we could potentially take a Flixbus, which requires a carseat (flixbus is essentially like a greyhound bus in the US.. larger charter buses for longer trips), we could pop it in and out of cabs, and also already have our own for a possible rental car while in Tuscany. So it was intriguing. In the end though, we decided against it. It was just too much to take and we were trying to simplify.

Our decision to take our single jogger basically came down to sturdiness. Both strollers had great wheels for cobblestone and uneven ground, but the tandem aspect of our double had me doubting it’s durability. It’s a solid stroller for sure, but seats that clip into attachments worry me with the flight. Something could just easily snap if mishandled. And then we’d be stuck with a broken stroller or a seat that doesn’t clip in securely. The single jogger was way smaller than the double as well.. still big for European standards, but loads smaller than the tandem double. Which looking back is hysterical that we even considered taking the tandem double.. it would've felt like maneuvering a cruise ship there. But anyway, the jogger worked beautifully for us and we plan to take it again on our next trip abroad in September.

This is also not by any means a post to deter you from purchasing or using a travel stroller. People love them.. they were honestly everywhere in Italy, and there’s a reason they’re called travel strollers. I’m only sharing our thoughts and experience because I don’t want you to feel obligated to buy a travel stroller if you already have something that can easily work for you. I included below the four big reasons why and how the single City Mini GT worked for us as a family of four going to Europe for 5 weeks.

The Flight Over

One of the big sells of a travel stroller is that it’s lightweight and collapses small enough to fit in the overhead bin of an airplane. People love this. I’m actually not into though. Traveling with children means we’re already traveling with more bags, which means we need more overhead bin space already. Securing that extra space means getting down to the plane in the earlier stages of boarding. This is typically easy to do when you have small kids in tow by the way.. gate agents are usually pretty accommodating when they see you have littles. If you aren’t able to get down though, you risk losing out on those overhead bins near your seat. Not a huge deal, but something to consider. I very much dislike finding and making room in overhead bins so adding a travel stroller sounds miserable to me. Instead, I like to use our stroller through the airport and then gate check it at the plane. You literally drop it right outside the boarding door and once you land they unload it for you and hand it back as you’re deplaning. You don’t have to check it at the check in counter outside security or get it at baggage claim. Of course, this is an option, but I prefer to keep it and do plane side checked.

The WHEELS

Jogger stroller wheels are king in my opinion. They’re always bigger, the ride is smoother, and I never have to worry about any kind of terrain. It’s a win win for parents and baby. Yes, I know we’re talking about strollers and not cars, but keeping a baby happy and sleeping while on the go is such a beautiful thing. We even took the stroller on trails outside San Gimignano and it was a huge success. At one point, Benjamin was pushing the stroller up a rocky, dirt trail. I highly doubt anyone else has taken a stroller up this stretch, but it worked for us!

Storage

The basket underneath the stroller was so helpful! To be honest, our double stroller’s underneath basket is even bigger and it was one of the few reasons we were considering taking it. But our single held for for sure! Traveling for such a long amount of time means we are going to grocery stores often. And in addition to groceries, we’re grabbing diapers, giant water bottles, and wine (lol). Having a decent sized basket to stow the bigger and heavier items was a total game changer.

Additionally, since the jogger is bigger than a travel stroller, it holds more in general. You don’t realize clipping a diaper bag to a stroller is luxury until you are lugging extra weight around with you at all times. On travel days, we moved through towns and on/off public transportation with two large backpacking backpacks, a diaper bag backpack, a jansport backpack, a roll abroad suitcase, the stroller, and two kids. While on trains, and sitting in train stations, we had Maggie in the baby carrier, Izzy hanging out in a regular seat or bench and we were able to stack a few bags in the stroller. This was so helpful just to keep better track of everything. Touristy areas in Italy are known for pickpockets so consolidating our things was a bit relieving.

One Stroller Two Kids

Having one stroller for two kids was the main thing we were worried about and it didn’t even come close to being an issue for us. Obviously all kids are different so I can’t say you’ll have the same experience.. but hopefully you do. Our toddler was mostly in the stroller and our 9 month old was mostly in a carrier. When our toddler insisted on walking or exploring, we would move our baby into the stroller for a change of scenery. If we were out and nap time hit for the little one, she would take the stroller and Izzy would either walk, or one of us would carry her. Basically, whoever needed the stroller, got the stroller and there seemed to be some weird understanding about it.

When most people think of Italy they immediately think of the food. Sitting out with an aperol spritz and a bruschetta board or twirling pasta with a glass of chianti. I’d be lying if I didn’t think of that too. In fact, when I first started planning our month in Italy, I envisioned doing mostly that. So it’s still funny to me that it was not our reality. In an entire month away in Italy, we counted 8 times that we attempted a dine in situation. That includes simply sitting out in a piazza with a drink and appetizer too. If we sat somewhere and relied on table service, it counted. And honestly, out of all 8, only 3 were very.. not good, lol. But even “only 3” can have a lasting effect on your anxiety and have you rethinking your next meal out. Don’t worry.. I’m going to share those three experiences throughout this post.. and hopefully not deter you from taking your small children anywhere ever again. You may be shaking your head thinking that sounds absolutely insane. Insane to only dine out 8 times in Italy, and insane to let 3 not great experiences impact the rest of our trip. Yeah, me too. But when you have a 9 month old and a 2.5 year old, things get tricky. Sure you can do it, but it’s not fun. And vacation is supposed to be (sorta) fun. So we tried our best to accommodate all of our needs and once we shifted our expectations, we were all a lot happier.

One of the reasons we chose to do our vacation in Italy was the food. You can read more on why we chose Italy and how we decided on our destinations here. Of course there were other factors, but it mostly came down to the food. With a baby and a toddler, Italian food is king. A week before we left on our trip, our toddler was telling everyone that we were going on vacation to eat pizza. She wasn’t wrong. And she was quite pleased as she shared the news. Of course she didn’t include where we were going, and we didn’t bother to add it in either.. so I’m still wondering what people must’ve thought. But oh well, who cares. We went on vacation and did eat an incredible amount of pizza. So there’s that. Pasta made up the other half of our diet, lol. Izzy fell in love with gnocchi and both the kids now love pesto. We stayed in the pesto region for awhile so it quickly became a staple. Maggie was obsessed with focaccia and I swear that baby ate more than we did every morning. It was so nice to be in a new country for the first time with the kids and not have to worry about food. If you have small kids, you know what I mean. New food can be tough.

Our Children

All that being said, eating out in restaurants was not our favorite. Small kids get bored, they choose to be picky right when you think you’ve nailed down their favorite foods, they get distracted, and it can just be chaotic. The very first meal out we did was in Siena. It was the most typical Italy restaurant experience you could imagine. In a good way, of course! The server was all about the kids, checking in on them and making them laugh, we ordered more food than we needed just to try all the things, everyone was in a good mood, and we also somehow didn’t get caught in the endless rain that day. It was as if the sun came out for just the amount of time we needed to get to and from the restaurant, creating this beautiful illusion that we were meant to be a family who dines out. We were elated. And then we went out a second time. We sat outside at a cafe for lunch, which turned out to be super distracting for a toddler. Instead of eating, Izzy kept hopping out of her chair and wanting to explore and stare down any passerby. That would have been totally fine had we been in a somewhat confined patio space or something. But instead, the cafe’s few tables sat along the main walking street. Lesson learned. Trying to keep an eye on Izzy and keep her nearby meant I was distracted myself.. and like a bandit, Maggie swiped my cappuccino off the table not 5 seconds after the server placed it down. Unlike our first server, this one did not like our children. Or us. And this sad wasted cappuccino marks the start of a trend that lasted the entire 5 weeks of our trip. I swear her wingspan grew an additional foot whenever I had any sort of beverage in my hand, on a table, or really anywhere for that matter. She whacked countless drinks out of my hand while in the carrier.. including a giant 6 Euro cappuccino that I hadn’t even taken a sip from yet. WHACK. All over the floor at the Monaco train station, which was maybe the most pristine, quiet, and least crowded train station I have ever experienced. And did I mention it was huge? Like, American size. The biggest caffeinated beverage we found during our whole trip.. all over the floor. So that happened. But back to the cafe.. this really doesn’t sound overly dramatic, I know. But picture this: Service is taking forever, Isabelle is losing interest and starting to slink out of her chair, Maggie is starting to fuss, server drops beverages, said beverage is swatted all over the table and my lap, server is pissed, Ben is trying to clean up, I’m trying to make sure coffee won’t stain the only jeans I brought, IZZY COME BACK OVER HERE, Maggie starts screaming, Izzy won’t listen, sandwiches are placed down, Izzy isn’t hungry anymore, I get up to pace with Maggie, Ben is shoveling sandwich in his mouth as fast as possible, a car turns down the one way, tiny, mostly pedestrian street our table is on and comes head on with another car, they’re yelling in Italian at each other, the one driver tries to inch over and starts driving over the potted plant next to our table, IZZY SIT DOWN, I have Maggie in the carrier trying to move the plant, more yelling in Italian, Maggie crying, Izzy.. where is Izzy? Izzy has to go pee pee, Ben takes Izzy inside, I’m pacing with Maggie, hopefully no one steals the stroller, my pants are still wet and brown, why the ef did we do this? That mostly sums it up.. I hope you read it in your head very quickly like the giant run on sentence it is.. because that’s how it felt. That was the first not fun experience.

Nap Time + Wake Windows

I read something the other day about considerations when traveling with small kids. It basically talked about if your child has a strict nap schedule or cant’t sleep in a stroller they would recommend not taking said child to Italy. Well that’s rather harsh, but I do understand the hesitation. Although we struggled with Maggie’s sleep schedule and refusal to sleep on the go, we wouldn’t have chose to skip our trip. It did make things more challenging though. At 5 months old, we did sleep training with Maggie and it’s been the biggest blessing and biggest curse. The girl loves her sleep more than anything and her naps are like clockwork. Up two hours, down two hours. If she doesn’t get her quiet, dark room for her nap though, she refuses altogether and will make a point to let you know she’s not happy about it. She’s okay if she’s moving in the stroller or carrier, but if we’re sitting somewhere it’s game over. It took some time to figure out a routine that worked for us. Trying to squeeze getting out of the house, getting to a restaurant, eating, and wrapping it all up into a 2 hour window is not the easiest. We tried our best to be ready to leave as soon as she would wake up, but with a 2.5 year old sometimes it just didn’t happen. Our second failed lunch out happened in San Gimignano. Again, we sat outside. This is usually the safe option for us. If we need to walk away with one of the kids, outside is always easier than being stuck inside. Our lunch here was similar to our lunch in Siena in that the chaos of many moving parts and trying to move things out of Maggie’s reach is pretty much the base line of every meal out. But instead of a spilled cappuccino, angry server, and drama with drivers, we had smashed plates, Izzy insisting on eating pizza off the ground, and a very crowded seating area with judgey customers. To top it off it was raining and although there was a giant awning, we didn’t realize we placed the stroller under a hole in the awning and by the end of our meal the entire stroller was soaked. We were definitely jiving the first half of the meal.. we even got to the actual eating part before it took a quick turn. Maggie started to get tired and frustrated and again, somehow ninja’d us. We specifically made sure she couldn’t reach Izzy’s plate, but did not consider the placemat. Like a magician pulling the tablecloth out from under a set table, Maggie ripped the placemat out from under Izzy’s plate and water glass. Except it wasn’t a skillful execution. Everything smashed onto the ground and we were immediately those people making a mess and causing a scene. Luckily the server was so sweet, but Izzy was devastated because the only piece of pizza she was interested in was now on the ground. I had to take Maggie for a walk and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t on the verge of tears.

Italians Eat Late

Before we set off on our trip we already knew dinners out wouldn’t be happening and we planned on either doing carry out back to the house or cooking. Italians eat later dinners and most restaurants close after lunch until about 6-7 PM. Considering Maggie goes to bed at 7 and Izzy between 730-8, this would not be an enjoyable or realistic option. However, our Airbnb in San Gimignano happened to be located right next to a restaurant with the most incredible views of the Tuscan hills. And as it would turn out, our Airbnb host’s family ran it. He offered to make us a reservation and since we were staying literally right next door, we figured we would give it a shot. Our reservation was set at 6, right when they opened. We were a bit anxious about how things would go down, so we tried to line up Mag’s naps as much as we could to get her waking up right at our reservation time. We even went as far as Ben and Izzy going down to get situated at the table and letting Maggie sleep a few extra minutes. We had already decided on our meal and were going all out with first course pasta dishes, followed by mains. SO MUCH FOOD. I woke Maggie up, got her ready, and we set out to join Ben and Iz. Our host made sure we were totally set up with one of the best tables on the outdoor patio. The view was absolutely gorgeous and the patio was packed by the time Maggie and I got there..which was only a few minutes after they opened. We order some wine, put in our food order, Maggie’s just chilling in the stroller with some toys, and Izzy is snacking on French fries while we wait for our first course. It honestly felt magical. I mean, panoramic views of the tuscan hills with a glass of chianti, content children, and Ben and I just sitting there taking it all in and feeling so grateful. It was perfect. Pastas were brought to the table and we all dug in. We were all in absolute heaven. Everything was so delicious and Maggie was still just hanging out, totally content. Mains were brought and right as we were about to try them, Isabelle vomited all over the table. Over and over and over. At one point Ben had his hands cupped in front of her mouth and vomit was piling up so high it was spilling out of his hands. I was scooping vomit into cloth napkins and hiding them in the under basket of our stroller. I tried my best to clean up what I could while trying my hardest to be super discreet. Eventually I just grabbed Izzy and ran back to the Airbnb leaving Ben and Maggie behind. Ben paid the bill and 120 Euro later we were emotionally destroyed and still hungry. The entire time we were on edge about Mags and didn’t even see this coming.. I still wonder how many people saw and were absolutely horrified.

What we did instead

Counter service, picnics, carry out, and cooking back at the airbnb! There were actually quite a few options and we didn’t feel we missed out on much. We ate in parks, on beaches, at playgrounds, on the go, back at the airbnb, and so on. A lot of places we went had counter service and tables though. So it felt like we were dining out, but we were paid up and could leave if we needed to. It was a win win. A typical day depended on what town we were staying in at the time and what the plan was for that particular day. We usually did breakfasts at the airbnb.. it was faster than going anywhere with the kids and it’s also a great way to save money. Such an easy and inexpensive meal to accommodate with items from the grocery store. However, one of our airbnbs during our trip was three doors down from a bakery. So for instance, that stay we did breakfasts out. We literally woke up, dressed, and immediately headed to the bakery. We took breakfast to go and would immediately start our day. That stretch of the trip was obviously earlier starts, which was nice too. Lunch was almost always out. We would grab something and have some sort of picnic, or score a table outside where we picked up lunch. My favorite was bringing food to the playground. Eating delicious food and watching your happy kid run around a playground pairs nicely as it turns out. Dinner was a mixture of carry out and cooking back at the airbnb. Like mentioned earlier, our kids are in bed between 7-8, which is when a lot of Italian restaurants are opening for dinner service. We typically would cook something up for the kids and then some evenings, Ben would run out for carry out for us while I did bedtime. This is how we were able to still explore the cuisine, check off some of the restaurants we thought we wouldn’t be able to experience, anddd get some date night energy into our family trip. Note that not all restaurants in Italy will accommodate carry out though.. we struggled a bit in San Gimignano and were screwed 2 different nights without dinner because we hadn’t planned ahead. So just keep that in mind.

Had I known we would’ve only dined out 8 times in 5 weeks I probably would’ve thought the quality of our trip would have greatly suffered. We love eating and that’s mostly what we do when we travel. Truth be told, it really didn’t impact our trip much at all. Sure, it would’ve been nice to go out more here and there, but it’s not really something I’m still thinking about or wishing we could’ve changed. We did what was best for our family and it worked. Lowering expectations with two small kids was probably the key.

The Leaning Tower of Pisa receives over 5 million visitors every year from all over the world. Although there’s more to see in the Piazza del Miracoli, it’s the tower that everyone knows and thinks of when they hear “Pisa”. The tower was completed in 1399 and started leaning way before it was even finished. Architects noticed the slant in 1173 after only 3 of the 8 stories were completed. Soft soil and a shallow foundation were the culprits. However, after the tower settled for some time, the project was continued and the slant was compensated with shorter upper floors. This created a curve as well as the infamous lean we all love. Architecturally, the tower is a bit of a disaster, but that’s what makes it so unique, interesting to see, and globally recognized. Even my toddler knew about the Tower of Pisa from Little Einsteins.

So chances are, Pisa may already be on your bucket list. The best way to do Pisa, in my opinion, is as a day trip. If you happen to have extensive time, go ahead and make a night of being in a new city. But honestly, I did not fall in love and wish we had stayed to explore more. So that tells me a day trip was perfect for us. We did the Square of Miracles, meandered down side streets, crossed the river, had lunch, found a carousel for our toddler, and jumped back on the train. It was a short and sweet day and I would probably do it again as a day trip rather than an overnight.

Pisa is near the west coast in Tuscany and super easy to add into any Tuscan itinerary. We stayed in Lucca and it really couldn’t have been any easier. I like to use the trainline app for all my tickets and definitely recommend it. We usually rely strictly on wifi while traveling, so I’ll buy tickets on my phone before leaving the airbnb or wherever we may be before heading out. It’s so nice strolling into the train station and not worrying about tracking down a ticket machine, hoping it’ll take your credit card, and anxiously doing it all before the train gets there.. especially when you have kids with you.

Opening Hours

The tower is open everyday from 9am - 8pm.

Summer hours are 830am - 10pm June17th - August 31st.

June 16th closes early 830am - 530pm.

Getting to Pisa From Lucca

If you’re staying in Lucca, Pisa is an absolute must. Whether it’s for a couple hours or a full day, it’s definitely something you should squeeze in and see. It’s only 30 minutes on the train and the train runs for the most part every 30 minutes or so, with an exception for a two hour lull between 10am-12pm. The train will run you $4.26 per person with children under 4 riding free. Most directions have you going all the way to Pisa Centrale, but we actually got off at Pisa San Rossore and much preferred it. It’s only an 18 minute walk to the tower and it’s much quieter and easier to maneuver and navigate. If you have a stroller you’ll appreciate this. If you continue onto the Pisa Centrale stop, it’s only a few minutes more of a walk, but it definitely felt longer to us. Instead of walking down the wide sidewalk, making a right turn and seeing the tower in the not so far distance, you’ll have to walk through the busier town, cross more streets, go over the river, and then continue on more narrow sidewalks. Of course, if you plan to get a meal or coffee beforehand, Pisa Centrale is your best bet.. much more going on.

Getting to Pisa From Florence

From Florence, the train takes about 50-60 minutes depending on the train and it runs on average, about every 20-30 minutes. One ticket will cost you $10.25 and again, kids ride free in Italy until the age of 4. From 4-11, tickets may be discounted though. If you decide to get off at the Pisa San Rossore stop, it’s the next stop after Pisa Centrale. The train ticket costs the same regardless what stop you get off at though.

Tickets

Tickets to the tower are done by reserving a specific time slot. You can do this at the ticket office in Pisa, but I recommend purchasing tickets online before you go. There’s nothing worse than arriving at your destination and realizing you have to wait around longer than you had hoped.. or worse, completely missed your opportunity. You can reserve tickets online up to 20 days ahead of time. If you decide to buy tickets in person, you can find one ticket office in the Sinopie Museum, and the other at the Palazzo dell’Opera del Duomo. A ticket solely to the tower will cost you 18 Euro, whereas a complete visit to the tower, Cathedral, Baptistry, Camposanto, Opera del Duomo Museum, and Sinopie Museum costs 27 Euro. This can be broken up and you can pick and choose what you would like to see though. Whether you’re purchasing tickets strictly for the tower, or adding the Baptistery or Camposanto, tickets to any of these will automatically get you into the Cathedral. AS LONG AS YOU HAVE A TICKET TO ANYWHERE, YOU CAN VISIT THE CATHEDRAL FOR FREE. A break down of all the prices can be seen here. I’ve read that the official website can be a bit wonky and people have had trouble with payments and confirmations. For this reason, I would recommend booking through a third party site such as Viator to avoid any potential issues. Their prices are never outrageous and there are always different options.

Things to Note

• Children under the age of 8 are not permitted to climb the tower.

• It’s a total of 294 steps. They are slanted and can be slippery.

• Arriving 20 minutes before your scheduled time slot is recommended.

• Bags/belongings are not permitted up the tower. There is a free bag drop though.

Most write ups on visiting the tower suggest getting there right as it opens to beat the crowds that show up closer to 10am. However, we arrived at 9:20 and the entire piazza was already filled with people. Obviously it all depends on the day, but that was a Thursday morning in late May. Additionally, at that hour (and time of year), the sun is sitting riiiight behind the tower, which made not only photos difficult, but admiring the tower wasn’t so easy either. I kept thinking I was going to go blind, lol. Our two year old mostly hid in her stroller with her sun shade all the way down while I tried to wear her sunglasses and sunhat. Ben had mentioned that if we did it again, he would have us enjoy our day in Lucca and then head to Pisa in early evening. The sun wouldn’t be so harsh on our eyes, our kids wouldn’t be melting, we could get beautiful pictures in much better light, and then finish off our visit with dinner in Pisa. This is honestly a plan that excites me and I think we will try it out next time we’re in Tuscany. One thing to keep in mind with day trip destinations is that day trippers typically leave in the afternoon. So this plan would shave off plenty of tourists and slim down the crowds quite a bit too. Otherwise, if that’s too late for you, I would recommend getting to the tower much earlier than the 9am opening time to beat the crowds. You won’t be able to climb the tower yet, but you can wander the Piazza and snap photos before everyone floods in. Then just grab breakfast and head back for your scheduled time slot.

Traveling with little ones is tough. It doesn’t matter how prepared you are, literally or mentally, a toddler or baby will always bring the element of unpredictability. We’re currently just shy of three weeks into our 4 week vacation, and although everything is going relatively smoothly, every time I seem to let my guard down, chaos ensues. Isabelle seems to have an accurate radar for when I’m starting to feel comfortable and confident.. and every time, she has a meltdown to even me out and keep me on my toes. It’s absolutely infuriating. We knew this “vacation” would not be a leisurely one, or relaxing in the slightest.. but I didn’t think my anxiety would be this revved up. Don’t get me wrong, the good has outweighed the not so good, and I would and will (possibly regretfully) do this again, but the tension I feel some days waiting for the shoe to drop is definitely present. We traveled from San Gimignano, Italy to Lucca yesterday with a bus ride, two train rides, and a 40 minute trek through town. It was a long day to say the least, leaving one airbnb at 10am to arrive at our other at 330pm. If you’re new here, we have a 9 month old and a 2.5 year old. So it felt extra long to them, I’m sure. They actually did great though! That is, until my husband and I started discussing how they killed it and how lucky we were.. then, like clockwork, Izzy erupted with a gigantic meltdown. The best part was we were already in Lucca when she melted down. We literally had just gotten off the train and stepped into the elevator at the train station when she screamed the most horrific blood curdling scream ever. We legit thought the elevator door had ripped her little arm off and started to freak out ourselves. Both of us, wearing double backpacks, front and back (except my front was a 9 month old in a carrier), a stroller with a big ole diaper bag attached, a suitcase, and the frantic 2.5 year old were crammed into a shoebox elevator with zero room panicking and yelling and trying to figure out what the ef was going on. But don’t worry, her arm was fine.. we just forgot to let her push the elevator button. wtf. The meltdown did last awhile.. it mostly carried on during our 40 minute trek through town.. but it was a pretty big mistake on our end so who could blame her. Totally kidding.. toddlers are the worst. But it was a long day, she was totally out of routine, we were traveling through lunchtime and nap time and it was just too much for our little one. Definitely wasn’t fair, so even though she was a bit dramatic, it was totally understood.

Although it’s not always the perfect execution (is it ever with children?), we try to do a few things differently on travel days to make it easier on all of us. It mostly comes down to throwing expectations, limitations, and any kind of schedule out the window. And sometimes, no matter how hard you try and prepare, you fall short anyway. You just have to go with it.. put your head down, grit your teeth, and just keep moving forward.

Snacks

The biggest thing that always works for us is snacks. On a typical day we try to do healthier options and will limit quantity as to not impact their next meal. Travel days are different. You want 487 cheese poofs? You got it. Not our finest snack time, but those cheese poofs are currently acting as comfort food and their little world is upside down right now so.. choose your battles. Both our little ones feel much better with a snack in hand and that’s enough for us. We’ll even it out when we get where we’re going.

Screen Time

Another cringe. We bought our toddler headphones for this trip and I’m still side eyeing myself about it. That said, it’s been amazing having her content with her show on. She knows the headphones only come out on travel days and that adds to the novelty. It’s unlimited screen time when we’re dealing with planes, trains, and automobiles and she totally knows it. It gives her a sense of responsibility too since we tell her she’s in charge of making sure she has her own headphones with her at all times.

Stimulation

Such a no brainer, but easy to forget. Something new and different is always engaging. Even if it’s only for 5 minutes. Before our trip, I had packed Isabelle a big activity folder and didn’t let her see it until we boarded our flight. It had three small puzzles, a coloring book and crayons, stickers, etc. Separately, I stashed different stickers, action figures she had never seen, and coloring pads with the invisible marker (no mess!) Eventually we were circling back on activities and coloring pads, but the new aspect lasted well through our first week. I clearly held onto the goods as long as I could. Our current go to is “I spy” though and it’s quite effective.

Break up the Day

Pit stops, lunch breaks, transfers.. anything to break up the day and get them standing or walking. Not only can they stretch a bit and move their body, but the stop/change of scenery creates a bit of stimulation as well. A direct train or bus always sounds like the best option, but if you’re stuck on that form of transportation for an extended period, it could feel never-ending. We’ll always stay longer on a train since you can move around a bit and there’s usually a bathroom. A bus however, consider your options. Our bus ride yesterday was 20 minutes to Poggibonsi train station from San Gimignano.. it was short enough that neither kid was phased and I don’t think Izzy even had her headphones on. From there, we had two 1.5 hour train rides with a transfer in Florence. The transfer was short, but it at least got them off the train.

Sounds

Some people swear by using a sound machine on the go and I think it can really be a great tool. We’ve used ours on our stroller for our 9 month old, but not so much elsewhere. I’m very apprehensive to intrude on other people’s peace and space.. so I tend to stick to the less offensive and usually more tedious way of dealing with things. Bouncing and shushing is my go to unless our little became inconsolable.. then I think people would vote for a sound machine lol.

Timing

Obviously you are the only know who knows how to navigate this one, but it’s an important one to remember. Depending how we’re traveling that day will dictate when we’re heading out and if we’re squeezing in a nap beforehand or matching up our start time with naptime. Maggie will sleep in her carseat, but not so much in the carrier or our laps.. so if we’re planning a roadtrip, we usually plan to leave right at nap time so Mags will sleep during the ride. For trains and buses, we’ve been trying to squeeze in a nap before heading out. Even if we have to cut her nap short, we know she’ll be loads happier with having had a little rest beforehand.

The best way to totally prepare for a travel day though is to just lower your expectations. It’s going to be what it’s going to be and either way, you’re doing it and you deserve a pat on the back. It’s not easy and you already knew that when you decided to do it. So keep killing it and offering cheese poofs.

ONE MONTH IN ITALY WITH A BABY + A TODDLER

It’s been a minute since I traveled.. let alone wrote about it. To say it’s been a pretty crazy couple of years is a bit of an understatement. I’m not quite sure where all the time has gone and how it’s 2023 already. The last time I traveled internationally was January 2020 and it feels very strange even writing that. Obviously 2020 was weird and hard and devastating for most of the world, and when I remind myself that, I can’t really complain. But it was a dark time none the less. I started the year like everyone else, naive and so unprepared for what was to come. I had just found out I was pregnant and had a trip to Vienna with my best friend planned. The following month, February, I even had a 3 week backpacking trip with another friend worked out. Full itinerary and everything booked and set. China. Of all places to have booked for February 2020. I remember sitting watching the news days before I was scheduled to fly out, texting my friend and monitoring our flight. “Should we go?” “There’s no way this Coronavirus is going to be a big thing.. Can it?” I was a week outside the second trimester mark not only preparing to backpack through China, but about to embark into the epicenter of a virus that shut down the entire world. Obviously we ended up canceling. And then days after our initial flight plan, all flights to and from china were halted. I have no idea what our trip would’ve looked like if we had flown over there. Not to mention, again, I was pregnant. I did get to Vienna in January however. That was my last trip overseas and I suppose my first with Isabelle.

The rest of the year was an absolute disaster. But we did meet our little girl, so some good came out of it for us. We’re lucky. Cut to 2023.. we have two beautiful little ones (Marjorie *Maggie* joined us in 2022), we’ve updated quite a bit of our house, life feels really good, and now we’re looking at doing our first family trip abroad. I’d be lying if I said we’re totally pumped to bring a 9 month old and a 2.5 year old overseas, but we’re mostly excited. So there’s that lol. I’m focusing on the actual trip experience and I think that’s what is propelling me forward and motivating me to plan and brainstorm all the ideas and read all the things. Ben, I think, is focusing on the 8+ hour flight with two little ones, the actual getting to the airbnb with two little ones, moving around between cities with two little ones, and probably all the in between.. with two little ones. See the trend? There’s definitely loads to consider.. especially if you want to not only have an easy enjoyable time in general, but you also want your spouse to be up for another European vacation in the not too distant future, lol. So I have to make this look easy is what I’m saying.

TIME

The first thing we considered is time. How much time do we have to make this trip worth it. This question is different for everyone. I should actually preface with the fact that what worked for us may or may not work for you. I’m just sharing what helped us get into planning mode and made us feel a bit more confident (sorta?) to travel abroad with two little ones.

Now, we have time on our side for this trip. Ben’s job allows him to take a bonding leave for our second baby anytime within the first year of life. So we’ll be spending a month of his leave away. In my opinion, there’s nothing more bonding than long flights and uncomfortable train/bus rides. This time will either fly by or have us wishing we cut the trip in half. But for now, we’re super grateful for the time and hoping it’ll allow us to get to know a couple different cities and not feel rushed. I think time is the most important thing to consider when planning a trip with little kids. Especially if it’s your first big trip. You want to give yourself wiggle room for things to not go as planned. Or even just time and space to watch how your kid adapts and thrives in a different setting. I’m not suggesting taking an entire month to travel.. I know that’s not realistic. But “considering time” could simply translate to spending your vacation in one place. It’s mostly about not stretching yourself too thin and trying to cross too many things off your list. It’s also about considering jet lag and transportation once you get somewhere. Both of these cut into your time tremendously. Even though we’re spending a month traveling, we plan to land in Rome and stay in the city for three days. It’s not so much about seeing Rome as it is about getting ourselves and our kids into a bed as soon as possible. I have no idea how my kids will deal with jet lag.. it could be a day of misery and then totally fine for all I know. But three full days will allow us to recharge and rest a bit before continuing on. At the end of the day, you know your kid and if they’ll be pretty flexible and down to go with the flow or not. Having a toddler and a baby, this is our trip to test the water.

LOCATION

This sounds like an obvious one, but you’d be surprised. The more planning and reading I do, the more I want to throw a curveball into our itinerary. For example, will it be an absolute disaster bringing my kids to the Almalfi Coast? Probably not. Will it be super enjoyable bringing my kids to the Almalfi Coast with lots of cliffs, steps, cobblestone, etc? Again, probably not. And since this is our first trip it’s about setting ourselves up for success and not making things more challenging.. we’re trying to keep it simple. Our initial plan was Germany. We love it there, the people are always friendly, and if we’re shelling up with small kids, a place with good beer on tap sounds great! The more we tried to nail down cities and towns though, the more I was just overwhelmed and unsure what our actual days with the kids would look like. We wanted places we could hunker down for at least a week. We were hoping to get to know different towns and relax instead of being constantly on the move. We wanted to have a bit of breathing room, but be close enough to a downtown for essentials (and stimulation). A grocery store/market, park, a couple of restaurants, and a pub were on our list. There are so many cute German villages that hit all the marks and would leave us quite content. But something was just missing and neither Ben nor I were getting super pumped about the trip. It was almost like there were too many small towns to choose from and there was a hovering pressure to pick the right ones. I think we were both scared to park ourselves somewhere that maybe didn’t have enough going on and would leave us bored and feeling stuck. The key to choosing the right location for us came back to picturing what our actual days would look like with the kids. I wanted us to spend most of our time outside. Whether that was exploring, going for walks, hitting up the local playground, it didn’t matter. I just saw us out in sunshine. I started thinking about Italy mostly because it was more south and a bit warmer. From there, everything just seemed to fall into place. We were both pretty excited about it too, which was the biggest clue that it was the right decision for us. Not to mention, Italian food! Izzy is already telling people that she’s going on vacation to go eat pizza, lol.

When it came to narrowing down our itinerary, we knew we wanted to start in Siena. Benjamin has childhood memories of a summer in Siena when his Dad was teaching a law program at the University in town. He remembers spending his days eating gelato and heading into the market with his mother to gather fresh ingredients for dinner. His description of these memories are not only the most quintessential Tuscan experience, but also exactly what we wanted for our first family trip with the girls. This was pretty much everything we were picturing and the theme for finding places we wanted to visit. Big cities were out (with the exception of a couple days in Rome when we arrive and Milan when we depart) and quaint, pretty towns were in. Since we aren’t renting a car, we do have to rely on public transportation to get everywhere. This helped narrow down our search of not only ‘where to next’ but also, how long we want to spend on a bus or train between destinations. So keeping this mind, we started researching towns that could accommodate our vision, but didn’t have us sitting on public transit for too long of a stretch. Although absolutely stunning, we crossed out cliffside villages and places that have lots of stairs, hills, etc.. nothing is more annoying than carrying a stroller up a bunch of stairs.. except maybe a toddler screaming “I CAN DO IT” and taking all the time in the world to walk up themselves. That’s not to say we won’t visit these places at all.. it’s possible we may venture out to Cinque Terre for a day trip or something.. but knowing that we aren’t lugging all of our things and children up steps and hills and cliffs only to dread leaving the Airbnb with our little ones make all the difference.

OUR ITINERARY

So! After considering all the things, Italy is where we landed. Rome, Tuscany, Italian Riviera, Milan. We will be initially flying into Rome and staying 3 full days. Delta flies into FCO, but once the warmer months come around, flying standby in and out of FCO gets a bit difficult. Flights definitely do book up and last time I was in Italy I had to buy a ticket to Edinburgh, Scotland and then catch a flight home from there. I’m hoping that leaving in the beginning of May is early enough to get there without any issues. If not, that’ll be a whole other experience to be had with the kids. We can take our chances circling back to Rome and leaving out of FCO, but we figured since we’re heading North we could just continue on and leave out of Milan. After Rome, we’ll be heading to Siena for 8 days. Our Airbnb is right outside the city walls, but only a few minutes walk to the wall. There’s a yard for the kids to play in, a beautiful ivy covered pergola casting shade over the patio table, a grill set up, and a playground basically right across the street. From Siena, we head up to San Gimignano for 6 days. The medieval hilltop town is about an hour and a half outside Siena, which I think will be a nice and quick ride for the kids. And once we arrive in town, our Airbnb is only a 6 minute walk from the bus station. San Gimignano is one of the more well known Tuscan villages, but a lot of tourists tend to do day trips into the city. We’re hoping that staying there for 6 days will allow us to get a better feel for it. And to be perfectly honest, staying in Tuscany without a car I was a bit worried we wouldn’t get the full effect of the countryside view. I’m dying to see rolling green hills as far as the eye can see, cypress trees perfectly spaced apart stretching into the distance, rows of olive groves and vineyards layering the hills and just blowing my mind with their elegance. Well, San Gimignano delivers that. The medieval village is plopped right in the middle of exactly all that. The view from our Airbnb and obviously throughout the village is Tuscan landscape for miles and I cannot wait. Lucca is the next stop on our trip and we’ll be there for 5 days. Still considered Tuscany, Lucca can be found on every family friendly Italian city list. I’m still a little unsure what there is to do there.. everything I read really only talks about renting bikes and riding along the city walls.. but it looks cute, we like riding bikes, and it’s on the way to our next stop. Plus, it’s location also makes it a great spot to take day trips to Pisa and the beach. Not sure if that’s the plan just yet, but it’s nice having the option. From Lucca, we’re heading to the Italian Riviera and staying outside Genoa in a town called Sori. We’ll be there for 7 days. It’s only a 25 minute bus ride into the city, which will be nice being so close, but also much more relaxed and quiet. Our Airbnb has a nice sized outside space that is partly covered and overlooks the sea. This is where we spend the last stretch of our trip before heading up to Milan. We have 3 days in Milan, but will be traveling that first day and flying out the third. So it’s really only enough for the tiniest taste of the city before heading home.

ACCOMODATION

All of our accommodation is already booked for the entire month! We have 6 different places we’ll be staying and chose to do Airbnb for all of them. Airbnb has been hit or miss for us lately, but it made the most sense for this trip. We wanted an entire home for starters.. a full kitchen, living space, an outdoor balcony/terrace, and separate bedrooms. We want it to feel like our home away from home. We’ll probably be eating most breakfasts in our airbnb and cooking a lot of dinners as well. Both kids go to bed for the night between 7-8 and although we aren’t sticklers and know some nights will be later, we plan to stick to our normal routine for the most part. A balcony/terrace will allow us to put the kids to bed and sit out with a glass of wine or late dinner and still feel like we’re doing something out of the ordinary for us.. something that still feels special and like we’re on vacation. We’ve done plenty of road trips with Izzy and having an outside space has always been a game changer. Having separate bedrooms is huge for us too. Maggie will most likely be in our room, but we would like to keep Iz in her own room. She’ll be able to sleep uninterrupted and it won’t be too different than at home. Izzy has been sleeping in a twin bed recently so that allows us a bit of freedom in that we only need to request one crib for Mags. Initially we were thinking we’d have to take our travel crib, but decided against it. It narrows down the Airbnb search results needing a crib, but the luxury of not lugging extra stuff is so worth it to us. A few other obvious things we considered is where in town is it located.. we don’t plan on renting a car so we’ll be walking from the train/bus stations with all our bags and the kids. All our accommodation is within a 15 minute walk and we have some kind of idea what the walk entails.. hills, busy road, etc. For the exception of 2 of our stays, we made sure to have a washing machine as well. After living in Thailand for a bit, I’m no stranger to hand washing my clothes, but with two kids this will save us time and energy for sure. A couple other less obvious things we considered when picking our accommodation was lighting and decor. Before children, both of these were high on my list also.. but for different reasons, lol. As a parent, I’m considering lighting for nap time and decor is mostly about ‘less is more’ these days. I do love big windows and natural light does wonders for a space, but not so much in the bedrooms when my kids are trying to nap in the daytime. I found the cutest attic apartments in Genoa with gorgeous skylights and then remembered the children, lol. There would be no way for us to cover those windows. You won’t find many Airbnb listings that advertise black out curtains, but we managed to randomly find one, which was great! There are travel black out curtains you can buy and bring with you and also travel crib tents that block out light as well. I haven’t decided if we’ll be bringing any of these yet, but they are nice options to have. I’ve linked them below. I think we’ll assess closer to our departure date and decide. The less is more on decor is hard for me. I love a beautifully styled room and I’m definitely a sucker for plants and art and all things pretty. But I also don’t want to worry about my children touching or breaking things in someone else’s home.. Let alone helicoptering them to make sure they’re handling things with care. Lastly, if you’re in an apartment building check on the elevator situation. A lot of times in older buildings lifts only go up a couple floors and you have to walk 1-2 stories.. or sometimes there is no lift at all. A few of our Airbnbs are like this, which is fine.. I just like knowing what I’m walking into.

PACKING

We obviously haven’t done any packing yet. Dealing with a baby under 1 and a 2.5 year old, I can’t really let myself plan too far ahead. They develop so quickly that what they may be needing/wanting one month could be totally different the next. So for now, I’m doing as much reading and preparing as I can and then will assess my kids closer to when we’re leaving. I’ll be sure to post an updated summary of what we’re bringing when the time comes. That being said, Ben and I both plan on bringing our backpacking backpacks and a roller board suitcase.. our backpacks will be for us and the suitcases for the kids and all of their essentials. Also, as of now, we do plan on bringing a double stroller, a travel highchair for Mags, a fold up booster seat for Iz, no travel crib, and no car seats. We’ll be bringing a baby Bjorn carrier for Mags and possibly some sort of carrier for Izzy as well. Items that have been intriguing me however are: Tushbaby Hip Carrier, Travel Blackout Curtain with suctions for the window, Toddler Inflatable Bed for the flight over, and a Blackout crib tent for Maggie’s naps.

Prague. Or “Pra-ha” when in the Czech Republic. And actually- the country has most recently been referred to as ‘Czechia’. I wouldn’t be too concerned about offending any Czechs by not being in the know of this recent nickname. But I would be conscious of not referring to their homeland as ‘Czechoslovakia’ though. This would be to point to a time in the country’s turbulent history when the Czechs and Slovaks were joined together to become one united state. This was at the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the end of World War I in1918. Czechoslovakia was prosperous during this newfound freedom, but sadly, it was short lived. In 1938, Nazi Germany came in and occupied the state until 1945. Shortly after, Czechoslovakia was under Soviet control which lasted until 1989. It wasn’t until 1993 that the Czech Republic and Slovakia separated and became independent countries. Considering I cut Czech history down into three sentences, if you’re interested in history at all or just curious to learn more, I highly suggest you read an in depth summary. The Britannica obviously has one, which you can read here, but you can also find plenty of information online. ( ..in case you didn’t know the internet existed.) But it’s all very fascinating and in my opinion, having the knowledge adds to your experience while visiting. So to put it plainly, to refer to them as ‘Czechoslovakia’ would be to not only ignore their long-awaited freedom and independence, but also to disregard the hardship and challenges they faced for so long. So let’s not do that and you’ll be good :) Besides that, the Czechs are very nice people. They may not wear an excited expression or give off an overly warm welcome, but don’t be alarmed by it. As Americans, we kinda overdo the kindness a bit and expect it in return.

The Czech Republic is not on the Euro

That’s right. Leave all your leftover Euros from last trip at home. Unless of course you’re traveling throughout Europe. In that case, they may come in handy. But the Czech Republic actually has their own currency and it’s called the Czech Koruna. Or Czech crown. At the time of writing this post,1 US dollar equates to 23 Crowns. Read that one more time. And one more. Yes, the crown is going to be the reason you don’t go broke while gallivanting around Europe. It’ll definitely be a breath of fresh air if you’re used to converting your money into the Euro. But that’s not to say that the entire country is super cheap. In the last 10 years, Prague has become quite the tourist destination. And it just continues to drawl more people in each year. With this, obviously the cost of experiencing the city has also risen, but food and drink are two things that remain relatively affordable and will help your budget for sure.

Avoid Money Exchange Places

Money exchange places do not usually offer the best exchange rate- even when they claim they do. Some places even promise incredibly low rates to only give you back currency that is no longer accepted in the country. The Czech Republic changed out their currency nearly ten years ago, but old bills are definitely still floating around. And sometimes they tend to land right into tourist hands by scammers promising low exchange rates. An easy way to avoid this happening to you is simply using an ATM. The fee and international charges end up being less than what you would pay to exchange anyway. And you also don’t have to worry about getting ripped off.

Be aware of pickpockets

Like many busy European cities, pickpockets are a thing.. especially in crowded areas where tourists flock to and are oblivious to their surroundings. The only thing you can do is be aware and keep your bag close. Just common sense stuff. I’m not that person that tapes my passport and cash to my torso under my clothes (do people really do that?) but I am that person that sits at a restaurant with my bag on the ground and my foot placed into the strap loop. If someone decides to run by and grab it, they’re taking my foot with them.

Airbnbs probably won’t have air conditioner

If you’re an avid Airbnb user and plan on traveling to Prague in summer, you may want to keep this in mind. A lot of Airbnbs in Prague tend to be lofted with a tiny living space/kitchen below, and a bed elevated above, up a ladder or narrow set of stairs. This is a great option for travelers looking for their own space but also on a budget. But, remember, heat rises.. and summertime can get quite warm. This is not to say opting for hotels over Airbnb is necessary, OR that all Airbnbs are the same, but just something to keep in your back packet.

Everything is Easily Seen on Foot

Prague is most definitely a walking city. Old Town is compact and easily explored on foot- so you don’t have to worry about sites being too spread out and not having enough time to see it all. The must see attractions are in close proximity and you can most definitely cross quite a few sites off your list in an afternoon. Just plan your day (and route) efficiently. A lot of the roads in Old Town are little cobblestone roads that weave around old buildings, which make the wandering even more of an exciting experience.

Get to Charles Bridge Early for Photos

Getting photos of the famous Charles Bridge without an insane amount of tourists is not going to happen easily. I was there at 6am and multiple groups were already glammed up and taking pictures. So get there earlyyyy. If this already sounds annoying, I suggest heading to the Old Town Square instead. Getting photographs of the square quiet and empty is not only a peaceful and powerful experience in its own, but its also doable. Ben and I cut through the square one early morning for the train and not one person was there.. The architecture was stunning as usual and having it all to ourselves for a moment was pure magic.

Opt for Public Transport or Rideshare over Taxis

Although you can easily do Prague on foot, you do have options if youre exhausted and can’t do anymore walking. There are subway and tram car stops all throughout the city, making getting from point A to point B a breeze. Taking public transportation will save you quite a bit of money and they’re super easy to figure out. If you much prefer hopping in a car, choose rideshare over taxis. In Prague, taxis have a tendency of ripping off customers and overcharging on rides that would be much cheaper with uber or Liftago. Liftago is the Prague version of Uber and you can easily download the app and see the cost of your ride before committing.

Beer is Cheaper than Water

It’s true. Ben did study abroad in Prague way back when, and insists that everyone in his program drank beer over water since it was so much cheaper. I’m going to go ahead and make the assumption that the cost was probably only half the reason ..and that being reckless college students may have had something to do with it. Either way, if you’re a bottled water person, it will cost you more than a pint. That being said, if you’re out at a restaurant or pub, you can always ask for table water- don’t worry, it’s safe to drink. Water isn’t always brought to the table though, so you will have to ask for it. Ben and I tend to track down grocery stores and load up on water. It’s cheapest this way and you can always throw a bottle in your bag for the day, making sure you stay plenty hydrated. In Prague, there are a lot of bodegas, which you can pick up water, snacks, beer, and even fresh fruit. They’re perfect when you’re in a pinch, but these places can run you just as much as eating/drinking out. So try to find the actual grocery stores.

How to Order Beer

If you’re going to old school Czech pubs or a beer hall of sorts, typically one main beer is on draft and it’s assumed you’re there to consume it. Waiters walk through with a tray loaded up of beer steins, place one down in front of you and mark a tally on a scrap of paper, and walk away. Usually, without even a word. This scrap of paper is left with you and essentially is your receipt. When you’re finally finished, you wave over the waiter, hand him the paper, which will tell him how many beers you drank, and pay your tab. It’s really as easy as that. One thing to note though, if there are coasters on the table, make sure to place one in front of you. That basically indicates that youre ready and waiting for your brew. If you’re looking to stray from the norm and order something else, just speak up and catch the waiter before he blows past you. Servers aren’t overly friendly, but that doesn’t mean you have to feel bullied into drinking something you don’t want.. I can’t tell you how many beers I drank because I was afraid to ask for anything different.

Dumplings are not what you’re thinking

If you’re like me, seeing dumplings on a menu immediately seals the deal. You all of sudden can’t concentrate on the rest of the menu because you’re salivating thinking about juicy, oily, plump dumplings and how you can’t resist them. It’s a sickness, I’m telling you. And although Czech dumplings are delicious, they are absolutely *not * like Asian dumplings/potsickers/gyoza or any other dumpling like creation that you’re picturing. Instead, they are more like a dense slice of bread. They look like bread, they kinda taste like bread, and they are primarily used to scoop up gravy and sauce JUST LIKE BREAD. I think you get it. They’re delicious and you must try them, but also, know what you’re getting into ;)

Oddly, the more I seem to know a city, the harder time I have writing up 24 hour itineraries. It’s almost this feeling of guilt having to decide if a place is going to “make the cut”or not. Edinburgh is definitely a challenge for me. Being my favorite city, I want to tell you to never come for just 24 hours. But I also know that’s just how it works sometimes and if you only have a day, you want to make the most of it. In my 24 hour itineraries for European cities, I typically recommend places mostly in the Old Towns. I feel they have a lot of character and the history alone is a giant wow factor. That being said, if you have longer than 24 hours, I highly suggest exploring outside Old Town. Wander through New Town, down to Leith, check out the charity shops in Stockbridge- there’s really so much to see and explore. But since we’re on a time restraint, we’ll be spending most our time in the Old Town. It’ll give you a feel of the medieval city and staying put in Old Town will help you see more instead of wasting time with taxis and public transportation. I suggest booking yourself an Airbnb or hotel in the area so you can do your exploring on foot. If you come into the Waverley train station, you can easily walk up to Old Town via one of the few alleyways of stairs or simply head up Cockburn Street. If you’re coming in from the airport, just head outside Arrivals and catch the Airlink 100 bus into the city. Tickets can be purchased from the booth next to the bus and will run you 4 pound 50. The bus will drop you off right at Waverley Train Station.

If you don’t have time to read the entire post, here’s the short list and top recommendations. The itinerary doesn’t fit all of these sights in, but rather, may give options:

To Do / See:

Princes Street Gardens

• Scott Monument

Wander Old Town

• Royal Mile

  • St. Giles Cathedral

  • Heart of Midlothian

• Cockburn Street

• Victoria Street

• Grassmarket

Greyfriars Kirkyard

• Greyfriars Bobby

Edinburgh Castle

Mary King Close

Arthur’s Seat / Salisbury Crags

• Palace of Holyroodhouse

• Scottish Parliament

Calton Hill

• National Monument

• Nelson Monument

Free Ghost Tour

TO Eat / Drink:

Edinburgh Larder

Elephant House

Under the Stairs

Devils Advocate

Amber

Royal Oak

Morning

Rise and shineee! You’re in the most beautiful country in the world and have the entire day ahead of you. Okay, so I’m biased.. doesn’t mean I’m wrong ;) Lace up your sneakers -there’s going to be lots of walking- and head over to the Edinburgh Larder for breakfast. It’s one of my favorite spots to start the day. It’s tucked down Blackfriars Street, a side street off the Royal Mile near the Radisson, and surprisingly, not overtaken by tourists..yet. The space is small with only a handful of tables, so try to get there early. If you’re lucky, you’ll score a window seat. I’ve spent quite a few mornings nestled up in here with a book while enjoying my morning coffee and breakfast. They have a great menu and source their produce locally.

Once you finish up, take some time to explore Old Town and its many side streets and closes. A close is a term referring to an alleyway and Edinburgh is littered with them. They shoot off the Royal Mile, allowing alternate shortcuts throughout the city. Creeping down alleyways doesn’t sound particularly inviting, but in Edinburgh- it’s magic. The city is an absolute maze and it’s so much fun finding your way through it. At some point, make sure to head down Cockburn Street to the Princes Street Gardens and Victoria Street into the Grassmarket. Cockburn Street can be found almost directly across the Royal Mile from the Larder. It’s a curvy, cobblestone hill lined with the absolute cutest shops. You may have already walked up it from Waverley Station, but this time, you can actually enjoy it without dragging your bags and wishing hills and cobblestones were outlawed in cities. Once at the bottom, you’ll see the train station on your right and the gardens on your left. The busy street straight ahead and parallel to the Royal Mile behind you, is Princes Street. This street starts New Town and like you can probably guess, has a lot of modern shops and some “newer” architecture. If you’re interested in some shopping, this is the area. You can find anything from cheap souvenir shops to H&M and Apple stores. And don’t forget to swing through Jenners, a posh department store that’s been in its current location since it was founded in 1838. -But back to the gardens. The Princes Street Gardens actually divides New Town and Old Town and was once a lake of the town’s sewage. Now it’s a gorgeous, amply fertilized, blossoming garden. Funny how that works. Not only is this a beautiful and peaceful walk, but it also allows you to get some great views and photos of the Edinburgh Castle. As you wander through the garden, you’ll notice the Victorian Gothic Scott Monument up against Princes Street and actually across from Jenners. The monument honors the writer, Sir Walter Scott, and it’s 288 steps to the top can be climbed for an entry fee. If climbing the tower is high on your list, note that strict crowd controls have been implemented, restricting the entry to 24 people an hour.

Continue making your way through the garden and eventually follow the trail that winds around, hugging castle rock. This will spit you out onto the backside of the Grassmarket. Saves you a bit of time from backtracking and avoids the hill back up Cockburn. Grassmarket is a little open square just off the Royal mile with an array of restaurants and pubs. Depending on the day of week, an outdoor market may even be set up. If you’re a fan of thrift shops, don’t leave Grassmarket before stopping into Armstrongs. It’s my personal favorite shop in the city. For more on Edinburgh Thrift Shopping, check out my post, Edinburgh Charity Shops. Victoria Street is the sweetest little winding road with colorful shops linking the Grassmarket and the George IV Bridge Road and it’s an absolute must. It’s one of my favorite streets, and although every other tourist may feel the same way about it, I still can’t shake my love for it. You’ll feel like you’re wandering Diagon Alley with your back to school check list- In fact, it’s actually said to have been the inspiration behind the famous wizarding alley. Pro Tip: Before leaving Victoria Street, head up the small passageway of stairs near the Oink Restaurant. This leads you up to a landing of restaurants and the Royal Mile just ahead. But I’m sending you up for the view of Victoria Street. It’s a great spot for photographs. Continue on to the Main Street, George IV Bridge, and hang a right. Hope Victoria Street got you having all the Harry Potter feels because next stop is lunch and we’re going to Elephant House.

Afternoon

Elephant House is the location where JK Rowling wrote the second and third Harry Potter books. It’s become a pretty big tourist trap with lines out the door, but I always end up stopping in for a pot of tea and some sort of delicious treat. The cafe is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner- so if lunch doesn’t work for your schedule, you can try stopping in another time. Get in line to place your order and make sure to be seated in the back. Since it’s become a popular destination, you may end up sharing a table or being sat at one of their couches. If you’re lucky, you’ll get a table by the window. Out the window is the most perfect view of the Edinburgh Castle high above the city with Greyfriars Kirkyard and the Grassmarket below. If you have time afterwards, wonder the Greyfriars Kirkyard and keep a look out for some Harry Potter names. I’ve found the Moodie and McGonagall graves, but haven’t seen the Thomas Riddell one yet. Take note of the little statue of the Skye Terrier outside the cemetery entrance as well. Known as ‘Greyfriars Bobby’, the pup become known in the 19th century when he spent 14 years guarding his owner’s grave until he finally died himself. To find Bobby and the entrance to the cemetery, turn right out of the Elephant House, continue down George IV Bridge Road for just a few minutes and you can’t miss them. If you aren’t a big Harry Potter fan, I’m sorry for all the HP suggestions.. and that you’ll never know true joy. But, anyway.. skip the Elephant House and go to lunch at Under the Stairs. It’s become one of my favorite spots after a local brought me one night. It’s a great place for evening drinks, but they have terrific food and open at noon. It’s right under the Elephant House actually. Hang the sharp right at Greyfriars Bobby and head down- it’s on the right tucked under some stairs if you didn’t guess that already.

At this point, you may be exhausted. If so, head back to your airbnb to chill or head to Bow Bar on Victoria for a proper pint. Hey, it’s afternoon and you’re in Scotland! If you’re still full of energy, head back to the Royal Mile. Turn left from George IV Bridge Road and head up to the Edinburgh Castle. I’ve been to Edinburgh maybe 12-13 times with each trip varying from a day to three weeks. I probably shouldn’t admit this, but with all the time I’ve spent there, I have never toured the Edinburgh Castle. Initially, I think it was the cost of the tour that deterred me. I was backpacking my first time around and being frugal with whatever money I had. Then, I think it was a time thing, and then choosing between different tours, and I just kinda never did it and never thought about it again. But if you want to do a tour of the castle, now is the time. You can book online via their website or buy tickets at the castle. It costs 19 pound 50 and the tours go every half hour in summer and every hour in winter. Otherwise, simply head up to the sloping Esplanade (the forecourt) for photos and a view overlooking the city. You can access the Esplanade for free. When you’re ready, head back down the Royal Mile for The Real Mary King Close tour. You’ll pass the St. Giles Cathedral on your right and be able to get some photos and spit on the Heart of Midlothian. Yes, spit. The Heart of Midlothian is a heart made up into the cobblestone out of cobblestone. So it’s definitely easy to miss. And spitting on it when passing is a tradition going back centuries. Supposedly, it’ll bring you good luck. When you’re mouth is all dry and you can’t muster up anymore spit, continue down the Royal Mile until you get to The Real Mary King Close storefront- it’s not far from the cathedral. The tour is very organized, professionally run, and completely staged- all of which typically deters me. But there’s something about this tour that has me coming back nearly every time I’m in Edinburgh. Remember what a close is? If not, it’s a small alleyway. Although they’re throughout the city, there used to be even more of them. Some were demolished for roads and building, and others, such as the Mary King Close, were sealed up, forgotten, and buildings went up on top of them- basically, leaving an underground city. Today, the famous close is open to visitors and I’m completely fascinated every time I take the tour. The guides, dressed in 17th century clothing, bring you underground into a labyrinth of rooms and alleys, talking about their lives and way of life within the close. You learn about the Black Plague and the impact it had on the city, and how Mary Queen of Scots was arrested in the very close itself. It’s just super cool. Tickets run 16 pound 50 and tours start every 15 minutes. If you’re visiting in summer, you may want to book ahead. You can do it online 24 hours out as well.

Evening

Out of the dark, maze-like underground and straight into open spaces and fresh air! We’re heading down the Royal Mile to hike up Arthur’s Seat. Make your way down the Royal Mile until you reach the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the Queen’s official residence. If you have time, you can schedule a tour and go inside! From here, hang a right and head towards the base of the hill. You’ll find the trail. Take notice of the Parliament building as you hang that right. It sits across the street from the palace and contrasts Old Town with its super modern style. There was quite a lot of uproar from locals about the architecture when it was first built and seems to still be a controversial subject.

If you haven’t been to Edinburgh, the north and east of the city is surrounded by a body of water known as the Firth of Forth. It’s what links Edinburgh to the North Sea. If you head east from Old Town, you’ll hit Arthur’s Seat and the Salisbury Crags before reaching the water on the other side. North, leads you through New Town, down Leith Walk and into Leith, the city’s port. The geography briefing is only to give you an idea of the view you’ll be staring out at once you reach the top of Arthur’s Seat. Don’t worry- you aren’t being quizzed. Arthur’s Seat is the hill and the Crags is the cliff. Most people (probably just tourists) refer to the entire area as Arthur’s Seat- and if you ask my sister, she’ll tell you it’s “Arthur’s sofa”.. and she’s not joking. The hike is straight forward- it’s not an easy stroll, but definitely doable for anyone. I’m not the slightest bit in shape and I’ve done it a handful of times. The view is worth the occasional huffing and puffing- I promise. Once at the top, you’ll look out at Edinburgh Castle and the gorgeous old rooftops of Old Town. You can see out to Leith and the Firth of Forth bridge crossing the body of water. And you may have past the Palace of Holyroodhouse on your way up, but you’ll also be able to get a good view of the Queen’s official residence from above. You really just feel on top of the world and it’s amazing seeing Edinburgh from this angle.

If you’re interested in walking, but this sounds a tad strenuous, you can head up Calton Hill instead. Calton Hill sits just north of Arthur’s Seat on the New Town side of the city- you can head east down Princes Street and straight up the hill from there. It’s a shorter walk (which means more time to play with) and a bit easier on the ole knees with a cobblestone street and stairs (with handrails!). The hill is home to several important monuments in Edinburgh, including the National Monument and Nelson Monument- both of which are gorgeous and prominent features of the Edinburgh skyline. Much like the view from Arthur’s Seat, the view from the hill is breathtaking. I really urge you to fit one of these walks into your schedule. And if you have the time, do both! Although similar, the views are slightly different and allow you to see different parts of the city.

Hope you worked up an appetite! If you summited the sofa, head back up the Royal Mile and look for a close just past Cockburn street on your right hand side called “Advocate’s Close”. Head on down. If you opted for Calton Hill, head back to Cockburn Street, just passed the train Station. As you start up Cockburn, Advocate’s Close will be on your right hand side, starting with steps. Whatever direction you’re coming from, The Devil’s Advocate is hard to miss. If you’re a whisky fan, you’re in luck. If you’re a cocktail fan, this place has you covered. If you like good food, a nice atmosphere, great service, and simply want to drink, here.you.areeeee. Considering it is a great place, see about making a reservation- especially in summer or on weekends. Before being sat upstairs, check if one of the few tables to the right of the steps is open. It’s a small hall back to the kitchen and bathroom, I believe, but it’s dimly lit with candles and feels cavelike and romantic. Last time we were here, we ordered quite a few whiskies. Our server was awesome to chat with and even recommended us checking out Amber Restaurant afterwards for an even bigger whisky selection. Turns out, Amber Restaurant is the Scotch Whisky Experience restaurant located on the Royal Mile, and you don’t have to do the experience to go sit at their bar. They have A BOOK of all their whiskies and it’s impressive and amazing and AFFORDABLE. So, if you’re a whisky fan, head there after dinner. Amber closes by 9, so don’t dilly dally.

Close down the bar and run down to catch the FREE Ghost Tour starting at 9:30. The tour meets at 154 High Street (same road as the Royal Mile) and although it’s free, please don’t show up without enough money for a tip. The guides lead you through the city at night for an hour and a half telling ghost stories and tales that’ll make your skin crawl. It’s definitely one of my favorite things to do.

Once you've had your fill of scotch and ghosts, it’s only appropriate you end your night in a proper Scottish pub with music. And The Royal Oak is the place. Located on Infirmary Street- riiiiight off South Bridge, the pub is a cozy spot with limited seating, but the best kind of atmosphere. The bar is maybe 15 feet right inside the door with a few tables, chairs, to the left. Musicians sit amongst customers singing and strumming to old Scottish folk songs, while drinking their beers in between breaths. There’s also a room downstairs with its own bar. It’s not always open, but worth checking out- especially if there isn’t any music upstairs. Get a real ale at the bar and by the end of the night, you’ll be singing along! For a full list of my favorite bars, check out my post, Where to Drink in Edinburgh!

When we told one of our recent Airbnb hosts that we were heading to Bratislava, he just looked at us and said, “…why? what’s there?” To be honest, initially we had no idea. I had run across an article in the Times about Bratislava’s rising cafe scene and I think that’s when I made the logical decision that we would go to Slovakia for some coffee. Ben didn’t need much convincing. He’s usually down for anything, and even if he’s reluctant at first, he typically ends up going along with my irrational ideas anyway. Plus, he’s a sucker for European cafes. I should be clear, we didn't just fly out to Central Europe for a cup of Joe. Instead, we just incorporated it into a bigger 10 day trip we were already planning. We usually like to stay put when we travel. Get to know the city, sprinkle in some day trips, and really just get a full, well rounded feel and experience. But this trip was a little different. See, this past year, we decided to get married, renovate our condo in Chicago, sell it, and buy a house in Pennsylvania. Definitely a big year for us. And the reason our avid traveling lifestyle was taking a bit of a breather. Well, we were coming up on a year since we had been abroad and when we decided we were going to pull off a trip to Europe, we kinda went nuts. I’m always telling people to be careful of adding too many moving parts to a trip. Hopping around too much is never enjoyable and you end up wasting precious time. But, after not traveling for a year, I can say, I GET IT. All of a sudden Ben and I were both so anxious to fit everything in cause “what if another year goes by?” or worse- “what if we never get back to Europe?” I’m currently rolling my eyes and cringing as I replay my illogical reasonings for trying to fit 26 European cities into 10 days. 26 is being maybe dramatic, but who knows how far I would’ve went if I didn’t get ahold of myself. We settled on 4, which we were still concerned was too much. At least for us anyway. But it turned out to be the perfect amount to get a taste for each place without feeling rushed. I’ll write about the whole trip later.

But anyway, back to Bratislava. Considering the size of Bratislava’s Old Town, 24 Hours really can be enough time here. If you’re visiting Vienna, Budapest or even Prague, a day trip or overnight can even be done. Trains and buses are quick and cheap.

If you don’t have the time to read through the post, here is a quick list of the covered suggestions:

TO DO / SEE:

• Man at Work

• Bratislava Castle

• Blue Church

• Wander Old Town

• Michael’s Gate

• UFO Tower

WHERE TO EAT / DRINK:

• Urban House

• Reštaurácia Hrad

• Bratislava Flag Ship Restaurant

• Zeppelin Cafe and Souvenirs

• Bratislavsky Meštiansky Pivovar

• UFO Tower

Morning

Although Bratislava isn’t a hot European travel destination YET, you’ll be surprised that they still get their share of tourists- especially if you’re visiting in summer months. That being said, you can most certainly avoid the crowds. The only place there really seemed to be a bit of congestion, was during the day on the Main Street, stretching from Michael’s Gate to Man at Work. And speaking of Man at Work- that should be your first stop in the morning. Also known as ‘Cumil’, this bronze statue of a sewer worker peeking out of a manhole is a big drawl for passersby. Throughout the entire day, there will be a crowd of people posing with him. So the earlier you go, you can grab a photo in peace. Our Airbnb was actually right across the street from Cumil. It was 8:30 when we left for breakfast and not one person had flocked over for pictures yet. After you get the right shot, head over to Urban House for breakfast. Everything in Old Town is super close, so it won’t be a far walk. Urban House is a trendy cafe that seems to be very popular with locals and tourists alike. They have quite a few tables set up outside along the cobblestone Main Street, but also, an adorable cozy inside. If you’re looking to get any work done on a comfy leather couch, this is your place! From avocado toast to green smoothie to pancakes- it’ll satisfy your breakfast needs for sure. Even their Bloody Mary is made with pressed tomato juice in case you’re looking for that liquid morning start ;) From Urban House, head up to the Bratislava Castle. Chances are, you’ve already spotted the castle. Located above the city on a hill, the castle dominates the skyline with its large white rectangular shape and 4 terra-cotta colored corner towers. Use google maps to sort out a route or simply just head up the hill. You’ll reach a flight of steps on your left at some point or you can just continue to the Vienna Gate entrance at the very top, which we preferred. Entrance to the grounds is free. If you choose to do a tour, you can purchase tickets or use the Tourist Bratislava Card. We opted out however. I read quite a few reviews that said it wasn’t worth it and much of the tour is just explaining renovations. Instead, we wandered the courtyard and garden and that was enough for us. Don’t forget to head up to the lookout level in the courtyard for views of the Danube River, the UFO Tower, and even Austria and Hungary. Before leaving the castle, stop over at the Castle Restaurant, Reštaurácia Hrad for a cappuccino and the view. From the outdoor patio, you look out onto the Old Town rooftops and surrounding vineyards in the distance- It’s definitely worth the stop. They have good food too if you’re needing a pick me up or something to nosh on after your liquid breakfast.

Afternoon

Once you’re ready to head out, make your way back down the hill and across town to Blue Church. Again, Bratislava is pretty compact, so across town means a 20 minute walk. Blue Church is the commonly used name for Church of St. Elizabeth. And once you get there, you’ll see why. Spoiler Alert- ITS BLUE. It’s also the cutest little church ever and I want to live in it. Completed in 1913, the Art Nouveau architecture is completely blue in color- everything from the facade, the mosaics, and even the roof! If you choose to go inside the church, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to see the blue trend doesn’t stop outside. It’s definitely a special place in Bratislava, a favorite among visitors, and a great addition to your instagram feed. I’m hoping you’re hungry at this point because next we’re heading to “One of the biggest restaurants in Europe” for lunch. I’m not so sure if this statement is true, but considering they have a sign that actually says that, it must be. Bratislava Flag Ship Restaurant is a great spot for traditional Slovak food and local beer. They do have an outdoor eating area in the front, but I recommend venturing inside and finding the giant beer hall. It may seem like you wandered into a ridiculous tourist trap a few times, but just keep going. If you’re lucky, a man wearing a cloak of sorts will be playing a harp at the top of the stairs. You’ll see him later playing the same harp in business wear on the outskirts of Old Town. Anyway, the menu is huge and has pictures- typically something we try to avoid, but I’m telling you, it’ll be alright. We went for the Slovak Platter for 2 and a side of sausages to share. The platter consisted of an outrageous amount of potatoes. And it was DELICIOUS. There were three different kinds- dumplings with sheep cheese (a traditional Slovak dish), dumplings with cabbage and bacon (my personal favorite), and pierogis with sheep cheese. The dumplings have a consistency and texture similar to a Wisconsin cheese curd, but tastes almost like noodles. Don’t forget to order a local beer, and save room for dessert at Zeppelin Cafe and Souvenirs back in Old Town. Zeppelins is located on that busy street I mentioned earlier and they’re known for their desserts. As soon as you walk in, you’ll be greeted by the cutest little souvenir shop and the friendliest staff. If you’re there for the cake and not messing around, head straight back to the cafe and marvel at all the beautiful treats. We decided on the blueberry cheesecake THAT HAD MERINGUE on it. A cheesecake in Europe is quite different than the US by the way. The cheese they use for pastries and cakes is more of a cottage cheese, which makes it less sweet and creamy but oh so good!

Evening

Making time to explore Old Town is an absolute must. And walking off that cake probably isn’t a terrible idea either. Make sure to check out Michael’s Gate, which is the only preserved City Gate dating back to Medieval times and one of the oldest buildings in Old Town. Today, a museum of medieval fortification is located inside the tower and luxury stores line the street below. You can also check out the Old Town Hall, which used to be the residence of the mayor in medieval days. When you’ve had your fill, head back to the Airbnb for some downtime and/or freshen up for your evening. One of the best meals we had on our entire 4 country trip was at your dinner destination- Bratislavsky Meštiansky Pivovar. Serving up some delicious food and brews to mostly locals and the occasional visitor, it’s no wonder Bratislavsky Meštiansky Pivovar is still in business since it opened in 1752. We had initially planned on scoping out the brewpub and ordering some beer before finding dinner, but we ended up staying for food and boyyyy, I AM SO GLAD. Ben ordered the ribs and I ordered the duck leg confit. Both of us were blown away and definitely in our happy place. Ben’s dish came with pickled mixed vegetables and mine came with stewed red cabbage, Slovak Loksha, and Carlsbad dumpling. The loksha is a Slovak potato pancake thats super thin and similar to roti bread and the Carlsbad dumpling was almost like hash browns. I can’t rave about this place enough. Try to sit outside in their beer garden. Last stop for your fully packed day is the UFO Observation Deck for a nightcap. When I initially read about the UFO Observation Deck I didn’t actually think it would resemble a UFO.. but rather, just a name for a 360 degree bar/restaurant. But then, from the castle lookout level, I saw a flying saucer looking structure on top of the bridge and immediately knew why it was coined the UFO. Take the elevator to the top or if you’re motivated, you can walk the 430 steps. Once there, order a cocktail and sit back. Take in the panoramic views and just enjoy. It’s not everyday you get to look out on three countries from your barstool.

Soviet rule in Slovakia lasted for 4 decades and evidence is in the architecture. Many buildings reflect a futuristic post modernism style while others relay an almost post apocalyptic vibe. When you see these buildings, you experience a mix of wow factor and terror. As you wander the different areas outside Bratislava’s Old Town, take notice of the architecture.

Here are some things we love:

• Slowing down and enjoying the little things.

• Listening to the creek and croaking frogs as we fall asleep.

• Realizing housework can actually be enjoyable.

• Natural light in every room and looking out and seeing green everywhere.

• Discovering paths and trails throughout the property.

• Making a house a home.

Here are some things that are new:

• Bugs come into your house even though you lock the door

• Glass ceilings are freaking cool. Until they leak.

• If something starts to smell like sewage.. it’s probably sewage.

• When you lose power often enough, don’t bother resetting the time on the stove

• Weeds regrow as soon as your back is turned.

It’s been 3 months and a week since we moved our life to the East Coast and decided we were going to be Pennsylvania residents. Not going to lie, it’s been an adjustment. Although I grew up in the area and am quite familiar with small town living, I did spend most of my adult life living in a busy city and getting used to certain conveniences. Ben and I have pulled into more than a couple local establishments to only realize not everything is open every day of the week. Frozen cauliflower pizzas from Costco have been our saving grace a few times. One morning, my girlfriend and I met at 7am for a walk along the river with coffee. Except the coffeeshop wasn’t open that early. She looked at me with her *full* travel mug from home in hand like I was an absolute diva expecting the coffee shop would actually be open in mornings.. when people typically drink coffee. My bad. But honestly, besides businesses not being open when *I* am hungry or needing a coffee, life has been really good. We’re both learning how to take care of a house together and pretty much digging the overall experience. It’s funny how much we both are changing and taking on independently and together as a couple. It’s easy to forget that we spent the last 9 years living in 900 square feet sandwiched between neighbors, sharing walls, ceilings, and floors with other units. And now, we’re plopped on 12 acres in a 3500 square foot house with a septic tank and a well. Very new territory to say the least. But it’s amazing how much you learn and figure out when you actually care.

The history of our house is quite cool. The original structure was a stone farmhouse built in 1800. I’m unsure how the house was divided, but today, the original part of our home consists of one room downstairs and an old spiral staircase to one room upstairs. The home belonged to a mason, and to this day, we can find remnants of the old mill on the property. We don’t know much more about the house in its early days, but eventually it was inhabited by Josephine Herbst and her husband John Herrmann in 1928. Both, were writers and said to be involved in political radicalism. The Erwinna farmhouse became their haven for creativity and a gathering place for their friends and fellow literi. Ernest Hemingway was known to be a friend of Josephine Herbsts- so who knows, he could have very well been on the property. The couple eventually divorced, but Josephine remained in the house until her death in 1969.

After Herbst, Herbie Ward bought the property. Originally from Indianapolis and an artist, Ward settled in Bucks County to paint. He described the area to others as ‘the most beautiful place on earth‘. He had acquired the Black Bass Inn in the 40’s and had basically saved the business, renovating the space and making it an ideal stop for tourists visiting from NYC or Philadelphia. Ward had gone on to construct homes and gardens throughout Eastern Pennsylvania and he eventually did the same with the Tinicum house. Adding onto the original stone farmhouse, Ward had designed an addition not just onto one side of the structure, but 3 of the 4 sides. The add on consisted of a kitchen and dinning room on one side, a living room on the other and a giant sunroom in the back, connecting both the new sides of the house. Slate flooring was purposefully used in the sunroom to act as a natural heater, while the other rooms typically remained cooler. Upstairs, above the kitchen and dining room were two spare bedrooms and the master was over the living room on the other end. One can simply walk over the grated catwalk in the sunroom to get to the other side of the house, orrrr walk through the original house’s second level, which not only has a door to the master, but a doorway leading to a back hall, connecting the additional bedrooms. It’s a a maze of nooks and crannies for sure. Herbie Ward unfortunately did not get to see his plans for Tinicum completed before his death. However, the design had been executed at this point and although the home was in rough shape, the right person could appreciate Herbie Ward’s efforts and finalize the project.

That person was John Langdon. A graphic designer living in Philadelphia with his family. The Langdons bought the Tinicum house as a weekend retreat from the city in 1994. They renovated the home and brought Herbie Ward’s design to life. A small, 19th century farmhouse was transformed into a 3500 square foot contemporary home that featured original stonework with additional natural elements such as slate flooring and wooden beamed ceilings throughout. Although the house had originally been a country retreat, John Langdon began to spend more time at the Tinicum house and eventually lived on the property full time until relocating to the west coast.

When Ben and I had first found the house online, we were lovestruck. It was our dream home- totally unique and quirky, but beautifully done and cared for at the same time. Initially, I didn’t think we were actually ready to be packing up and leaving Chicago, so when Ben suggested we fly in and see it, I was a bit surprised. We met with a Realtor relatively quickly and I just remember thinking, ‘oh, god.. we’re going to buy this house, aren’t we?’ Well, yeah. We loved it. And I think our hearts were invested pretty immediately.

The buying process went as smoothly as one could hope for with a contingent offer and a home that’s been vacant for years with its owner on the other side of the country. You can read a brief overview of that process here. But there were definitely difficult moments.

We realized very quickly how we weren’t just buying a new house. We were buying a piece of living history that had been a haven for creative energy for over 200 years. Writing, painting, designing, discussing- the house was a space for intellects who appreciated art and nature and living. I’m not sure if it was learning of the history, or simply communicating with the previous owner and experiencing firsthand his emotional attachment to the house- but I realized if we were going to buy this house we needed to give it everything we had and truly love it and honor it. And that’s what we’re doing. But that’s not to say we haven’t faced challenges already.

Since we moved in, we had an abundance of cave crickets coming up from the basement. LOADS of them. And they’re the creepiest things ever if you haven’t seen them. Ben somehow swatted not one, but TWO! out of his beard at one point. They’ve dwindled quite a bit, but we usually find a couple dead ones every few days. Maybe about a week after we moved in, I came downstairs to a living ant farm in our kitchen. Little ants everywhere. It was horrible, but we got traps and the ants went away. A couple days later, I followed a trail of ants through our sunroom to a turquoise plant stand I have. It was no longer turquoise, but black. ALL ANTS. I believe they were draw to the kind of plant I had perched on top of it. Maybe a week afterwards, carpenter ants. Wasps. Spider webs in EVERY corner.

The biggest.. I’ll call it, ‘moment’ we’ve had was a bit more of a umm.. dilemma than insects though. Our basement sometimes takes on a bit of water after rainfall, so Ben has been keeping an eye on the the sump pumps and making sure everything is continuing to run smoothly. I had followed him down into the basement and when I walked around the corner, I stopped. Puddles were gathering right outside our dirt crawlspace and I hadn’t seem them there yet. Something wasn’t right. Ben stepped over the puddles, not thinking anything of them and I just stood there confused. Then I noticed little poops.. much too big for mice, but a cat or raccoon possibly? Now, I’m yelling across our giant basement that ‘there’s cat poop over here!’..’BEN! There’s a cat or something getting in and pooping in here!’ He’s messing with the pumps probably thinking I’m crazy and tuning me out. Then I see white, partially dissolved chunks.. is that paper? What the hell is going on? So I did what anyone else would do and went upstairs and ignored it. Ten minutes later, I have to pee and head into the bathroom.. a little bit of water is pooling on the floor around the base of the toilet. Ben and I had just sat down to make our round of calls to different contractors- something we had been putting off for a few weeks. Roofers, basement waterproofing, electrician, window guy for the sunroom ceiling.. just general calls for quotes. I walk out of the bathroom and tell Ben he may as well add plumber to the list and that I was heading outside to go pee. You can probably imagine his face of ‘wtf is going on now and why is my wife peeing outside’. But anyway, the plumber was scheduled for first thing the next morning. Too bad our sweet house couldn’t wait that long. Ben tells me he’s got to go to the bathroom and won’t be going outside.. Cut to 30 minutes later, and he’s in the basement yelling for me to come down NOW. Turns out, when a house is vacant for long periods of time, the inside of the pipes can flake and cause clogs. Our house had been vacant for three years. So instead of doing his business outside (like I had gently suggested), he basically did it in our basement. And the ‘cat poop’.. well, that may have been more like.. kat poop. This is all very uncomfortable and awkward, but SHIT HAPPENS and this is real life. So, long story, short.. The pipe backed up and shot sewage into our basement. We had an emergency plumber come out that day, he fixed the clog and tried to sell us on a $3,000 clean up crew that could come out that night in basically hazmat suits and clean our basement. Sooooo, plumber man left and we were on our way to Home Depot for a shot vac, squeegee, scrub brushes, all the bleach, gloves, and anything else we randomly grabbed. As soon as we got home, we quickly made suits out of garbage bags and tape and set off into hell to save 3 grand.

There’s something really humbling about squeegeeing your (and your partners) shit around your basement floor. We were laughing through most of it.. pretty much in total shock that this is now our lives, but we also had our moments. And by that, I mean me yelling SCRUB HARDER at Ben and then him later lecturing me how we needed to finish the job we started after I was borderline having a meltdown… it was an absolute shit show- I suppose literally.

This sounds horrifying. And I promise you, it was. That being said, it’s done and dealt with. We survived the sewage shakedown of Tinicum and lived to tell the tale. We both know there will be loads more fun set backs or experiences along the way and we’re ready for them. Hopefully not any time soon, but I think you all know what I mean. We’re rolling with the punches and learning a little bit more about our unique home and how to be better homeowners each day. It’s pretty cool. We love our house and plan to let it thrive with the mentality that if we love it and take care of it, it’ll love and take care of us.

Btw, if anyone wants to come over and help me weed- that’d be great! I’ll supply booze and food- don’t worry, the house doesn’t smell like shit anymore and everything is sanitized :)

Okay, so trip planning can be super daunting. Even more so if you haven’t really done it before. Whether it’s the affordability aspect or simply the unknown, there’s lots of decisions that can leave you feeling overwhelmed and second guessing yourself. But honestly, try your best not to worry. Taking the leap and deciding you are in need of a trip or new experience is the biggest step.

When I travel, I’m all about creating a balance of all the things and nothing at all. I like to allow some room for my experiences to organically fall together as much as I can. The memories that always tend to stick with me are the ones I didn’t plan- so leave room for spontaneity. This doesn’t mean you should plan less however. I always have plans for the day and lists of what I’m trying to see and do- I just may wake up one morning and decide I’d rather sit in a cafe all day instead. And that’s what I’ll do. Without any guilt whatsoever. All about the options in my opinion and the more you have prepared and thought out, the more options you get to choose from. So plan the trip and then let your heart decide if you want to follow it.

But let’s get you there first. When to visit, where to stay, how to get around.. these are all things that can cost us precious time and money. So I’ve compiled my top tips to help you navigate through the tricky decision making. If you have questions or comments, reach out! If you need some help putting together a trip, hollerrrrr- I love a good trip planning project. And most of all- follow through and go!

Where you going

• Where and When?

  Don’t let the climate kill your good vacay vibes. Once you have a destination in mind, know what to expect weather-wise. Traveling during Summer is typically more expensive for obvious reasons. So if you’re on a budget but desperate for a trip, look at flying in the fall months- and if you’re really brave- winter is always a good option. But make sure you can still enjoy your vacation- don’t head to Barcelona in February if sitting outside with your coat and a blanket on sounds horrible. Likewise, Scotland tends to be rainy.. well.. always.. but slightly less in summer. So know what to expect during the time of year you’re planning on visiting.

• How Easy Is It To Get There?

  Depending on your time restrictions, you may not want to add too many stops. Same goes for choosing a destination that has you on multiple trains, a ferry, and then a 2 hour bus ride to your location. Keep in mind that adding too many cities or different hotels/airbnbs to check in and out of will suck up precious time. I know it’s tempting to squeeze in as many places as you can, especially when making a far trip, but sometimes you don’t get that much more out of the experience. A entire day can be spent just moving around- and that’s cool if you’re okay with that. Just make sure you’re accounting for the time.

• Is Your Flight Too Expensive?

  If you have your sight on a specific location, but those flight prices just won’t come down, there are two things you can look into and try. First, be flexible with your dates. Not only does the time of year play a key role in pricing, but prices also fluctuate day to day. If you can tweek your dates even just slightly, you can sometimes save money. It can literally be as easy as changing your flight to Wednesday versus your original Tuesday plan and there you have it- saved 200$. There are quite a few sites that help you compare prices day to day. Google flights is one of my personal favorites, but Skyscanner and Momondo are great too! Secondly, remember that flights throughout Europe are A LOT cheaper than flights throughout the USA. If your destination is looking a little pricey, I recommend checking out a European hub- Amsterdam and Paris (among others) are good ones to start looking into. Then you would take a European airline to your destination from there. Yes, you’ll have to connect, but you can potentially save hundreds of dollars. I once purchased a flight from Paris to London for only 60$ and Dublin to Glasgow for 38$. It’s crazy. You can do this for Asia as well, but it’s not always a big saver like Europe typically is. And South America- don’t even bother. Flights between South American countries are usually pretty high.

Where you staying

• Hotel or Airbnb?

  There are loads more options- hostels, couchsurfing, housesitting, the list goes on- more in another post about this. But! Typically, the main decision is- do you want to stay in a hotel with amenities probably located in city center or beach front orrrr do you want more of a local experience staying in a neighborhood WITH A KITCHEN (usually) and pretending you aren’t the tourist that you totally are. I think you know my vote.. a kitchen always gets me. But you do you!

• Read Descriptions Carefully.

  Once you decide on which direction youre leaning towards with accommodation, make sure you read the decription carefully. Hotels tend to range in more than just comfort level overseas. Some may have shared bathroom options similar to a hostel, some don’t have tvs.. just make sure youre getting what you want/need and don’t assume all hotels are the same. Bathrooms are definitely something to scope out wherever you’re staying however. They can be a bit different by American standards. And by different, I mean small. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but something to be aware of. One of my personal requirements is finding a shower that does not have a handheld showerhead. You’ll discover that these are quite common in Europe. Again, not a bad thing, but you’ll have to become skilled in lathering your body and hair with one hand and spraying yourself down with the other.. All while not spraying water all over the bathroom floor. It’s fun. Or not at all. During one visit to France, I stood on top of the toilet and held the showerhead above Ben while he was in the shower.

• Book Near Public Transportaion.

  If you’re staying in a city center, it’s always a bonus to book a place near a subway or train line. When staying in a new area, I always try to walk everywhere and get a feel for the neighborhood, but after a few days, having public transit zip you around is pretty nice and saves on time- especially that first day trying to find your accommodation. I’ve spent many hours over the years walking for what felt like miles with a giant backpack looking for where I’m staying and it’s exhausting. Some places are worth the trek, others, not so much. Either way, having public transit nearby is really nice.

• What Else is Near Your Accommodation?

  If you can, an area with a couple restaurants and possibly a grocery store or bodega is a plus too. This will be helpful on those late nights when you’re tired, but still up for a glass of wine or picking up quick food near home. As much as you want to think you’ll have energy every minute of the day, it sadly doesn’t always happen. This tip may sound a little unneccessary to mention, but sometimes we find the cutest place to stay and completely forget to check out if the location is ideal. So whatever you think you may want nearby, just remember to scope it out before booking.

What to Do

• Sights and Activities.

  Start with lists! What do you want to see and do? Museums? Vineyards? Walking tours? Cooking class? Whatever it is, write it down. Don’t feel obligated to see everything either. Only write down the things that truly interest you. Just because something is well known does not mean you have to see it. Unless it’s the Eiffel Tower in Paris or something. You should probably see that. But seriously, it’s your time, your trip, you can decipher between the must see and the not so must. After you have a list of what you want to do and see, start looking at a map and your calendar. Which places are located in the same area? Group nearby sights together and you’ll be able to efficiently get through your to-do list. Don’t forget to consider how much time you want to give these places. Is this a half day plan of just a few hours? If I’m visiting a couple places in a certain area, I will also look into what else is cool or worth seeing while I’m in that specific neighborhood. You may discover that an out of this world bakery is right around the corner from the museum you were planning on visiting.

• Food.

  When it comes to food, I start similarly with my lists. What is this country or city known for? What am I dying to try? And then where do I find those dishes. I usually look for hole in the wall places that locals frequent. In my opinion, you’ll find the best stuff. Certain restaurants/cafes will stand out more than others, and those, keep them at the top of your list. But I take every place that interested me (even just slightly) and save them in my google maps as “want to visit”. The App will work even when you don’t have wifi. And so this way, wherever you end up exploring, if you realize you’re hungry you just pull up your map and see what’s nearby. A lot easier than getting back to the hotel and realizing you skipped over one of your saved spots because you didn’t know where it was. I like to keep my lists in a notebook as well and will have it with me while I explore. This way, when I don't have wifi I can still reference my notes and see why I saved certain places. Nothing like swinging by a place for lunch and realizing it’s a gelato stand.

• Day Trips.

  Are there nearby cities or places you were hoping to see? And do you have the time to squeeze them in? Try to avoid cramming in too much, but if you have a free day without plans yet, consider adding a day trip here and there. Preferably somewhere that’s an easy train ride, no more than an hour away. When you’re restricted with time and only plan on visiting a place for a day or so, I find it’s easier to keep your initial accommodation as your home base instead of lugging your things from place to place.

• Tourist Cards.

  Check out if tourist cards are available in the city that you’re visiting. They’re super beneficial if you plan on doing a lot of sightseeing. Many of them even cover bus or train rides as well. If you already have your list of what you want to do and see, look online and see if any of your list is covered on the local tourist card. Sometimes it’s huge savings, but make sure it’s worth it for you. Don’t just buy it hoping you’ll use it.

Getting ArounD

• Public Transportation.

  Using the local bus and train system will not only save you money, but it will also provide its own experience and have you zipping around like a local. A lot of cities have their own card that you can put money on and tap yourself through every time you want to ride. Some destinations have public transit day cards geared towards tourists for unlimited rides for a certain amount of days. It’s usually a good deal and they will save you money if you plan on doing a bunch of exploring. If you plan on just using it once or twice a day though, you may be better off paying as you go. Make sure you pick up a map of the train and/or bus lines while in the station. I usually make sure to take a screenshot of this map from their website as well. This way, you always have access to the system map and can track your ride.

• Ride Share.

  If you’re an avid Uber or Lyft user, you may just opt for using ride share for your transportation. A lot of countries have the same app, but look into the local ride share as well in case it’s different. For instance, Thailand has the app GRAB and you can actually pay cash instead of it charging a card on file.

• Tourist Cards.

  Again, some Tourist Cards cover transportation- so before buying a train card or booking a bunch of Ubers, and thennnn realizing you may want the Tourist Card, look into what makes the most sense for you.

Additional Quick Tips

• Download APPs.

  You probably already have Google Maps on your phone. But if you don’t, go ahead and download that now. Look into what other apps are available for your destination. Local public transit and ride share apps, some places have free walking tour apps, Viator is good for tours, a currency converter is always handy, and a good ole translator app doesn’t hurt as well.

• Portable Charger.

  With all the apps, navigating, and picture taking, its always good to have your charger with you. I usually take a midday coffee shop break to recharge myself andddd my phone. But for the times that you’re amped and not looking to slow down, it’s always nice to have a portable charger. It took me years to finally buy one and it really has changed my life. There’s all different kinds to choose from, but I went with the Anker PowerCore on Amazon. It’s small and doesn’t weigh my bag down.

• Stop at the Grocery Store.

  This is more of a personal preference, but I find it really helpful to have a few grocery items in the house. I usually *try* to cook one meal a day at my airbnb, which cuts down on my spending and usually turns into my downtime for the day. I’ll go to the closest grocery store, load up on water, coffee, fruit, cheese, eggs, and a baguette. I mean, what else do you need? Oh, a bottle of wine and maybe a chocolate bar. Cadbury if you’re in the UK. Having the fixings for breakfast will help you get out of the house and start your day a lot earlier than heading over to a restaurant. The cheese and baguette.. well that’s good for your house snack. On nights when Ben and I have specific dinner plans, we’ll head back to the airbnb, relax with a cheese plate and wine, and then get ready for dinner.

We moved! We left everything our relationship has ever known and jumped into a new chapter of our lives. Traded in the big city for a small Pennsylvania town. A downtown Chicago high rise with a giant private terrace for a house in the forest with a creek and 12 acres. Are we fucking nuts? Or simply ready for change? I’m still not sure.

We’ve always lightly chatted about eventually leaving Chicago, so it’s not like it’s a total surprise. But I think we talked about it so often that it maybe became more of a story than an actual future plan. And then one day, almost out of the blue (how we do most our big life decisions) we met with a realtor, updated our kitchen and bath, and listed our condo on the market. We were under contract 6 days later. It all happened within a matter of weeks really and I don’t think it’s even totally registered yet.

I don’t believe we would’ve left our home of 9 years as fast as we did if we hadn’t found a house that just spoke to us. It was the second place we looked at and it was pretty immediate that we knew we were going to live there. I’m typically the impulsive one in the relationship and Ben is much more practical. So I was surprised when after our first viewing, before we even left the house, <and without talking to me!> Ben looked at our realtor and said, “I think we like it, how do we go forward from here?” There’s just so much about this that’s too funny. Like first, when did my city boy decide that he was ready for country living? Was mowing the lawn and dragging trash bins to the road every Tuesday secretly one of his dreams? Maybe. Secondly, the house needed (and still does) work. It’s not minor little things either. A new roof, a basement that takes on water, a few structural issues, you know.. the norm.. all came with the house. And still, we were interested. So interested that we started the process of selling our condo and trading in our lives for something else. Something totally new.

The purchase of our PA house was contingent on selling our condo in Chicago. For those of you who haven’t experienced that joy, I should mention that selling and buying at the same time is the absolute WORST. The amount of stress I was feeling was astronomical. People can be awful and you really have zero control, which is difficult if you prefer having a handle on things. Throughout the entire process, in addition to being stressed, we were both extremely excited and sad. And by the end of it, we were quite numb. Our new house came back with evidence of lead and radon during inspection, whereas our condo’s *first* buyer decided to not look into their finances before making us an offer. Needless to say, it was an experience. However, each person I chose to complain to over our three month experience all assured me, “thats what buying a house feels like.” Haha, so apparently, our process actually went pretty smoothly with the exception of normal hiccups, I suppose.

Bucks County, PA wasn’t completely random. Although, if you know us, you wouldn’t be surprised if it was. We moved back to my hometown-ish. And although it’s beautiful, I never thought in a thousand years I would move back. As a teenager, I was desperate to get out of this area. Small town charm is something adults appreciate- and apparently, I became an adult some time recently. It’s weird how you start to see things differently the older you get. The strangest part about moving back to your hometown though is probably the part where you bring your husband. Not only has Ben has never lived in a rural setting before, he has never had a septic tank or a driveway that would need plowing after a snowfall. Nor has he lived in a place that does not have one food delivery option and driving 30 minutes anywhere is the norm. And oddly, he was- and still is- all about it. Definitely more than I was initially, which was both interesting and terrifying. I kept torturing myself with horrible thoughts- “what if he hates it?- it’ll be all my fault.-Or what if he hates AND I LIKE IT?!- even worse! OMG.” We weren’t just starting a new chapter of our lives together, we were starting a new phase in a place that I had ties- a place where I had great memories and awful memories and if something went wrong, it could potentially further change the way I felt about my hometown. A lot of overthinking and unnecessary scenarios obviously overtook my thoughts. But honestly, what kept bringing me back to those good vibes was the fact that nothing has to be forever. If it’s not for us, we can leave.

April 6th, 2019, we packed up a 26 foot uhaul in downtown Chicago, hitched the Honda Civic onto the back and inched our way out of the city. PA bound! We’ve been in our new house for 3 weeks now and all I can say is that all those torturous scenarios I played out for 2 months were such a waste of energy. That boy is thriving and so is our marriage. I guess being scared of change is normal, but it’s definitely nice to be past it.

Here’s to change and learning new things! I’ll be adding more photos of the house and future projects along the way :)

Stonehenge was one of those places that I’ve always wanted to visit. Some think it sounds a bit boring- being a pile of rocks and all, but I’m a sucker for history and they fascinated me. My family originated from the UK, so add in some family tree genealogy and I can be a complete obsessive nerd. So, with a few extra days in London, it only made sense to finally make time to get to Stonehenge.

Stonehenge is located about 2 and a half hours southwest of London. Renting a car is definitely the most direct and (probably) cost efficient way to get there- especially if you’re going with a group. However, public transit is super easy to use and how I usually opt to travel. My favorite site to use for train and bus schedules and prices in the UK is Trainline. I suggest downloading the app! Hop a train or bus to Salisbury, then transfer to the Stonehenge Tour bus, and you’re there! It’s really as easy as that. The bus will run you £10-£15 one way, whereas the train can be as high as £40. Transferring to the Stonehenge Bus Tour acts as a shuttle bus, delivering you to the sight from the train, but will still set you back £15. Once you get to the entrance, admission into Stonehenge is £17.50 for advanced tickets and £19.50 for walk up. Assuming you go the least expensive route, you should expect to shell out over £50 pp getting to/from and into Stonehenge. Although this isn’t bad, I’m all about finding better deals while traveling. Organized bus tours aren’t typically my forte, but sometimes, they just make the most sense. Viator is a great sight for different tours regardless of where you are. (Another app I suggest downloading!) They offer an array of options, and more than often, you can find something that appeals to you. After adding up what the trip would cost, I pulled up Viator to do a comparison. Low and behold- a day trip leaving from London out to Stonehenge andddddd Bath for £65. I opted for adding in the Roman Baths admission and the total came to £76. Daaaang.

Obviously, there’s pros and cons to organized bus tours. If you’re like me, the possibility of feeling rushed does not sound appealing. I start to wonder, am I going to be stuck checking out areas I don’t care about and leaving out what actually interests me? Orrrr, do I haveeee to go with a bunch of people when I want to go off on my own? This tour really was a dream though. Honestly. There was a tour guide on the bus, but you were free to make the day your own and go off and explore. As we approached Stonehenge, she gave us some information and then basically told us when to be back to the bus. Same went for Bath. The drive from Stonehenge was about an hour and once we arrived, you had the choice to go do your own thing orrr check out a few sights with the tour guide. You was no buddy system or group activities- we were treated like adults and able to do what we wanted. #bless

It was really an ideal day and the tour not only worked perfectly for my schedule, but it also allowed me to see so much more for only 20 extra pounds! I even made a friend that I waved to while our bus pulled away leaving her behind in Bath. Don’t worry, the driver ended up stopping for her. But anyway, do what’s best for you, just remember that there’s options :) If you end up renting a car to get to Stonehenge, DEFINITELY add Bath into your day!

Stonehenge

Although winter seems like the most ideal time to go hang outside and take photos of stones, I suggest waiting for spring. I didn’t think this through when I decided I was going to make visiting Stonehenge happen. It wasn’t absolutely terrible, but it could’ve been nicer for sure. It was pretty darn cold and the wind was intense.. as seen in the gorgeous photo I included. I’m still laughing at myself for going when I did. But what you gonna do, right? I pulled my hood over my head, slipped on my gloves, and explored the grounds.

Stonehenge itself is magnificent. It’s just crazy seeing something that not only still exists from 3000-2000 BC, but is also STANDING. The ring of stones sit on a burial ground and stand about 13 feet into the air, while weighing about 25 tons EACH. And if that isn’t impressive enough, a few stones even lay across the top of different standing stones. Make sure to grab a headset when you enter for the self guided audio tour!

Along with the prehistoric stones, there are also mock up Neolithic houses to explore. You can go inside the homes and see tools and objects that were used during these times and what every day life really looked like. Wander the ancient grounds and take the time to appreciate how mind-blowing Stonehenge truly is. The welcome center is filled with loads of information, not only about the sight, but also general history of England. Afterwards, grab a pick me up at the cafe- or if you go in winter, warm up with a bowl of soup, like I did!

Bath

Bath is the quintessential English town. It’s super cute, loaded with history and culture, and sprinkled with charm. And what’s better is, it doesn’t matter the time of year you go! There’s loads of cafes and shops to dip into if you’re wandering in winter and get cold. So really, its a no brainer- just go!

Known for the Roman Baths and Jane Austen, Bath really does have a lot to see and do! The town is super small, so getting around is easy and you can see quite a bit in a short amount of time. When you arrive in Bath, you’ll immediately notice the Georgian architectural style and use of yellow Bath limestone that dominate the town. This came about in the late 1700s when Georgian style was huge.

The Roman Baths is a must when you get into town. If you decide to do the combined Stonehenge and Bath tour, I highly suggest you add on the Baths admission- it’s absolutely worth it! The Baths date back to 60-80 AD when the Romans occupied England and unearthed the city’s natural hot springs, creating public baths and established Bath as the spa town it is today. If you’d prefer to live the experience, head over to Thermae Bath Spa and enjoy the natural springs for yourself! The spa offers all kinds of treatments and has different packages to choose from.

After the Roman Baths, head next door to the Bath Abbey for a look at the gorgeous fan vaulting. The Abbey was founded in the 7th century, but has since undergone loads of restoration, including its latest remodel in the late 1800s.

While you’re in sight seeing mode, walk up the slight hill to the Royal Crescent and marvel at its grandeur. Dating back to 1774, the Royal crescent consists of 30 curved Georgian terraced houses stretching out into a 500 foot long half circle. It’s one of the best examples of Georgian architecture and definitely worth seeing! Take note of the 114 iconic columns perfectly spaced down the crescent. Two of the units serve as a hotel, so if you’re already planning your trip back to Bath, make sure to book yourself a room and stay in the iconic building.

If you’re a Jane Austen fan, you’ll want to check out the Jane Austen Centre located a few doors down from where the author lived on Gay Street. The centre acts as an exhibition allowing visitors to learn and see what life in Bath was like for Jane Austen. If you’ve read Austen’s novels Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, you’ll be able to pick up on the fact that Jane Austen definitely had a love/hate relationship with the quaint town. However, it truly did influence her writing.

Don’t leave Bath without stopping over at Sally Lunn’s for a famous bun and cup of tea! A tea room and restaurant now, this establishment used to be an ordinary home. Today, it’s known as the oldest house in Bath dating back to 1482. Sally Lunn was a resident in 1680 and used the kitchen as her bakery where she created the regional specialty, the Bath bun. The bun is a combination of bread and cake and locals love it!

Lastly, make time to explore the streets and pop in and out of the shops and cafes. Bath is such a cute place and you’ll experience it best just wandering and taking it all in. Keep in mind that there’s much more to see and do if you have the time and stay longer than a day. Not only are there numerous shows yo can attend, from theatre to comedy, but you can also venture off to the surrounding areas and explore the countryside! Whatever you end up doing, just have fun! :)

If you’re planning on doing some exploring in Bali, you’ll quickly realize that everything is not right next to each other. Although the island is relatively small, you will have to plan how you are getting around. A lot of people end up opting for motorbike or scooter rentals, which is probably the easiest AND cheapest. Whether this sounds right up your alley or not, you should note that driving a bike in Bali is complete madness. For starters, if you’re American- you’ll be in the other side of the road. This really isn’t that difficult, to be honest. But add in an insane amount of locals and inexperienced tourists riding up on your side, speed bumps all over the place, and absolute crazy roads, and it’s a bit hectic. This isn’t to say everywhere in Bali will be like this, but just something to be prepared for.

We made sure to have a motorbike in Canggu, which was helpful in exploring different areas and getting from point A to point B when it was just too far to walk. However, when we got into Ubud, we quickly realized a bike wasn’t necessary at all. There is an incredible amount of exploring to do just in town and everything is doable on foot. But if you’re itching to get out of Ubud for the day for some exploring, it’s definitely easy to do as well! You’ll see loads of tour vendors around town offering different packages and itineraries. They usually cost about the same, but like most things in Bali, they could be negotiable. You can go this route or even just book a driver for the day and do your own itinerary. This is what we did. Rather than do a tour catering to strictly rice fields, or temples, or coffee, we hired a car and did it all!

Pura Tirta Empul

We stayed at the Ubud Terrace Hotel and ended up organizing a driver through them. And even this was negotiable! Our driver arrived promptly the next morning after we ate breakfast and we were on our way!

If you don’t have time to look over the post, here is a list of covered suggestions:

• Tegallalang Rice Terrace

• Coffee Plantation

• Mt. Batur

• Pura Tirta Empul

• Pura Gunung Kawi

TegallalanG Rice Terrace

First on our itinerary was Tegallalang Rice Terrace. You know the stunning photos on instagram of pretty girls swinging over a mind blowing rice field? Their hair is perfectly curled and flowing behind them while they float above a vibrant sea of green? Of course you do. Okay, I have to admit, as I sat here rolling my eyes and mocking them, I was also recalling how I secretly wanted to take one of those photos. But instead of being ready for my glamour shot, I was sweating profusely, and my jumpsuit was so hot that I had pulled up the wide legs and actually tied them in a knot at my low waist. So I essentially looked like I was wearing a giant black diaper. Basically, it would’ve been too sexy for the internet. But anyway, the rice fields are incredible. The vibrancy of the grass alone is so striking you won’t even be able to look away. I was so captivated and kept thinking, “how in the world is this SO green?” And then the landscaped layers get you and your mind is completely blown. It’s just really a sight to see! You can wander around, grab a seat at one of the nearby restaurants (with a view, of course), or go take your glamour shots on the swing.

Coffee Plantation

Ever heard of civet coffee? You know, the most expensive coffee in the world that comes from civet poop? If you didn’t know it came from Indonesia, now you do. Called Luwak coffee in Bali, it’s absolutely delicious and a must try for sure. For those of you unfamiliar, civet coffee refers to coffee beans that have been eaten and digested by a civet, then harvested by people (not civets), cleaned, roasted, and brewed. There’s loads more to it obviously and the coffee bean IS stripped of a shell before being roasted and brewed, but it still sounds hysterical. And yes, I’m unsure how someone discovered this too. But the idea is, the civet picks out only the best beans and then, digestion further alters the bean, improving the composition. Apparently. Either way, exploring a coffee plantation and learning about the process is pretty cool. Definitely a plus when you can do a coffee tasting afterwards. We absolutely loved it and made sure to bring some home! There are loads of plantations to choose from, so depending on which direction from Ubud you head, you’ll most likely be able to check one out.

Mt. Batur

Located pretty north on the island is the active volcano, Mt. Batur. A lot of people choose to hike up and take in the surrounding views, but we did the opposite. We drove up a nearby mountain and looked at it instead. Where we ended up going was actually a viewpoint in the Kintamani area- so it’s not as lame as I made it sound (haha), but essentially, that’s what we did. It was actually an awesome experience though. The view is incredible- there’s a lake at the base of the volcano and you can see for miles. There are a couple restaurants nearby and some vendors too, so you can stop for a pick me up while you enjoy the view. We bought some snake fruit from a local, snagged a spot on a bench and just chilled for a bit. It was really cool being so high up and able to look out and see the volcano. So whether you want to spend some time, or simply see it and be on your way, I definitely recommend it if you’re in the area. Next time we’re in Bali, we’ll be hiking up Mt. Batur during sunrise and I cannot wait!

Pura Tirta Empul

After the viewpoint, we started our way back to Ubud. But that didn’t mean we were done with our tour! The next stop on our list was Pura Tirta Empul. It’s a beautiful Hindu Balinese temple known to others as the temple with the Holy Water. People come to the temple for the bathing area to purify themselves. It’s an incredible experience as a whole. You can walk around the grounds admiring all the traditional Balinese architecture that these temples are known for, or even partake in the purification ritual! If you’re lucky, your driver may even walk the grounds with you, telling you all about Indonesian history and culture.

Pura Gunung Kawi

Pura Gunung Kawi

My favorite part of our day! This was our last stop and hands down the best way to bring our day of productive touring to an end. Another temple, Pura Gunung Kawi is a totally different vibe than Pura Tirta Empul. People aren’t flocking here to stand in line and purify themselves- instead, the place was actually quite empty. Our driver dropped us at the front gate, telling us he was going to skip out on this one.. and we quickly realized why after walking up the front steps. The entrance to the temple grounds overlooks rice fields set below in a valley. And the temple complex is located at the bottom, reached by steep, very long, meandering stairs down and through the fields. It’s really not a bad walk and honestly, it’s totally worth it. The complex had a total of maybe 8 people in it. It’s very small, but magnificent. Known for its shrines carved into the rock cliffs, the setting is absolutely breathtaking. Theres so much foliage everywhere, making it feel like a secluded, secret garden. A little creek flows between the two shrines and it really is just magical. It’s a perfect place for meditation and reflection.

There’s definitely loads to see outside Ubud, but I wouldn't have changed a thing about what we decided to do. If you think organizing a driver sounds like it’s for you, definitely make up an itinerary- even if it’s a loose one. A lot of drivers tend to take tourists to certain places where they get kick backs, and although this isn’t always a bad thing, sometimes there’s just other places that may be better. For instance, we didn’t sort out a lunch place and relied on our driver for that. We told him we wanted to go somewhere local, and that it could even be a roadside food stand. He told us that he knew just the place and then took us to a super touristy spot that seemed to be involved with organized tour groups. It was absolutely fine, but just not what we had expected. So do your homework and if you find something that looks awesome, go for it!

If you’re planning a trip to Italy, chances are, you’ve also been mentally preparing yourself for the few extra pounds you’ll be taking home with you. And who can blame you? One of the best parts of going to Italy is the eating and drinking! The first time I visited Italy, I had JUST finished the whole30 1 day prior. I was a little apprehensive about diving back into gluten and dairy- not to mention, sugar and alcohol, and actually thought I would continue to eat pretty clean while away on vacation. After all, my tastes had changed after 30 days and all I craved was healthy, nutritious food. So in my head, even though I was going to Italy, I wasn’t going to overindulge. WRONG. It was maybe 3 hours after landing and I was sampling ALL the pizza and buying blocks of cheese to take back to our Airbnb.. as snacks. As I’m writing this I’m feeling slightly embarrassed by my glutinous behavior, but also, a little turned on by the thought of so much cheese. I may have overdone it for sure, but to be honest, the only thing I learned from this was that the whole30 would just be better if pizza was allowed.

But anyway, back to food. We stayed in the Sant Ambrogio district and a handful of places on my list are in that area. Although we did quite bit of exploring and eating throughout the city, for some reason, our favorite spots were right near our Airbnb. It was a less touristy area, so I suppose that could be why.

I included 13 places on my list- all places we went to and loved- some specifically for the food, others for the location and/or experience as a whole. Florence really is a magical place to explore and eat, so I hope you have fun and your taste buds leave happy!

I macci

First on my list is I Macci! Situated in Sant Ambrogio Market Place, I Macci is a great spot for breakfast! Like most europeans, Italians don’t do big, eggy breakfasts like we do in the States. In Italy, it’s all about the espressos and croissants or biscuits. We stumbled upon I Macci one morning and were drawn in when we saw the spread of pastries and baked goods displayed on their bar and down the side of the restaurant. Everything looked absolutely gorgeous and the cafe was really cute and cozy inside. We assumed it was just a breakfast spot, so when we saw it was hopping in the evening as well, we were certainly surprised. Needless to say, we stopped back in for some wine and snagged a table outside among the many locals. The atmosphere here was super lively and hanging out in the crisp evening air in October with Italian wine was absolutely perfect!

panini semel

This was one of my favorites. I had read that this place was great for grabbing a sandwich and that was honestly enough to sell me on it. I love me a good sandwich. It only got better when I realized it was maybe a 3 minute walk from our Airbnb. DONE. We decided to stop by for lunch one day and actually almost walked right past it. It’s such a small shop! You step in, take one more giant step and you’re at the counter facing a cheery man asking you which panini and red or white wine. There’s a tiny counter half a step to the left with maybe 3 stools and that’s it. It’s very cozy to say the least. Obviously, the shop is more of a grab and go type place. We snagged the stools at the counter while we scarfed our sandwiches, washed them down with wine, and listened to the owner chatting with all his regulars that kept stopping in for their usual sandwich. It was awesome. And the sandwiches- freaking delicious!

malborghetto

Our favorite pizza! And we ate A LOT of pizza while in Florence. It’s what you’re suppose to do, I swear! Well, we were heading back to our Airbnb one night- it was maybe 10pm or something- and decided we should stop for a nightcap. Except instead of a cocktail of sorts, we opted for an entire nightcap pizza. (Did I mention the few extra pounds you go home with?) This was one of those places we kept passing and knowing we couldn’t leave Florence without seeing what it was about. We sat outside since they only had maybe 4 tables indoors, and patiently waited for our pie. Me with a glass of red, Ben with a Dolomiti beer. I can still taste the pizza to this day- perfectly doughy in all the right places and thin and cheesy OH MY GOD. I’ll never forget it. I hope you enjoy my attractive photo- it captures my feelings perfectly.

Hostaria Del Bricco

Across the river, you’ll find an area heavily populated with antique shops, artist studios, and cute little cafes and wine shops. Much quieter than the tourist heavy city center, but still full of life and thriving. It was late afternoon when we were wondering and exploring random roads and came across Hosteria Del Bricco. We were already thinking about dinner and what we should do and something just felt right about this place. I have to give Ben all the credit on this one because he was the one that was totally drawn to it. They weren’t even open for dinner yet and he was in the window scoping it out. The owner came by at the right time and let us look at a menu. There it was! Bistecca Alla Fiorentina- Florentine T-bone steak. This is one of their traditional, Florentine meals that you must try when in town. We were sold and luckily, they were able to squeeze us in between reservations! We popped over to the wine bar a couple doors down, shared a burrata with some wine and waited for our dinner reservation. It DID NOT disappoint. The experience as a whole was wonderful and I’m still so happy Ben found it!

grom

GELATOOOO. Located right near the Duomo, Grom is the perfect place to stop for a gelato while you wander the streets. Their pistachio is dynamite, but I couldn’t just do one- so I went for pistachio andddd coffee on a cone. Absolute heaven. Ben went salted caramel in a cup and savored his wayyy longer than I did. There are loads of places to grab a gelato, but there’s definitely a reason why Grom is more well known!

santarpia

Another victim of our late night pizza stops, Santarpia is located right across from I Macci in the Market Place and serves up Neopolitan pizzas with unique topping combinations. We didn’t get too wild here, but we did opt for yellow heirloom tomatoes and smoked mozzarella and it was absolutely delicious! I’ve since read that Giovanni Santarpia, the pizza genius behind Santarpia left the restaurant this past summer. So unfortunately, I have no idea if these gourmet pies are still top notch, but I do think it’s worth scoping out!

trattoria mario

If the thought of being crammed in next to strangers in a hectic environment doesn’t scare you away, keep reading. This place doesn’t look like anything special- no-frills for sure, but it’s also an institution in Florence. Authentic Tuscan food with reasonable prices keep the crowds coming back for more! Most likely, you will have to wait for a table, but it’s worth it for the experience. We ended up ordering a random smorgasbord of food, including soup, pasta, and even a steak and it was all delicious! You will probably find this place on other various blogs and lists of where to eat in Florence as well- it truly is an experience.

Mercato Centrale

Quick and casual! Mercato Centrale is located in the San Lorenzo Market area, making it a great place to stop for a snack or a pick me up! Before heading inside, check out the outdoor market itself and do a little shopping. It consists of stalls selling leather bags, pottery, clothing, and various souvenirs- so make sure to explore! Once you step inside, into Mercato Centrale, it’s all about the food though! Specialty shops, fruit and vegetable vendors, cheesemongers, wine stalls(!!), and butchers fill the entire space- it’s like if you were to place Mario Batali’s Eataly actually IN ITALY- but better, cause ITALY! Basically, it’s just magical. Load up on truffle oil or balsamic glaze to take home with you and then pick a place to order some food! You really can’t go wrong with a charcuterie board or cheese plate! Wash it down with a glass of wine and you’re ready to take on the rest of the day!

mayday club

Located down a small, quiet lane, Mayday Club is a great place to stop and grab a drink! All kinds of funky decor plaster the walls and create a fun space to hang out and sip on craft cocktails. The menu is extensive and unique and their garnishes are on point! I mean, a strip of bacon was placed over my martini rim and it was an absolute perfect accompaniment! And any place that has free popcorn is a gem in my book! It’s cash only- so make sure to stop at the ATM.

Osteria Il gatto e la volpe

This place is perfect to keep in your back pocket if you’ve spent the day doing all the touristy must dos and are exhausted and starved. Located riiiight around the corner from The Bargello, Osteria Il Gatto E La Volpe serves up pizza and pasta that will satisfy your needs. We ordered a couple of pasta dishes and sipped on delicious house wine and it was perfect after a long day of museums and sight seeing. I do have to emphasize the location being really prime here. Finding a good restaurant in a tourist zone is tough sometimes and if you don’t have the energy to leave the area, this is your place!

entecA alla sosta dei papi

One of the coolest spots to drink wine and just hang out! A glass of house wine- and by the way, you can never go wrong with house wine when in Italy- will cost you 3 Euros and it comes with a few crostini. Seats inside are limited, BUT! just take your wine and little plate of snacks outside and sit in the road. Seriously. Enteca Alla Sosta Dei Papi is located on a quiet side street so everyone just hangs out in the street! There are a couple tables outside, but mostly, people stand or just sit on the ground. It’s definitely a place for locals and maybe why we loved it so much!

Locale

This is the place to either go and splurge orr simply grab a cocktail and dessert. (A cocktail can run you 25 Euros- but the atmosphere is worth it!) Located inside the enchanting Concini Palace, Locale Firenze is an incredible setting. You walk into the dimly lit space and are immediately struck with a gorgeous bar of glowing backlit liquor bottles and living walls of foliage. The ceiling is completely glass and emphasizes the modern touches without overtaking the medieval qualities that is the Concini Palace. The building itself has been around since the 1200s and during the 1500s, was tied to Florentine politics and the Medici family. Before you head out, ask a Locale employee to give you a quick tour of the basement- this is the best part! Check out the original rooms that existed 800 years ago and see where they kept all their wine.

il pizzaiuolo

MORE PIZZA. I know you must be wondering how much pizza we actually ate on this trip and all I can say is that, it really is no one’s business but our own, hehe. But I also may have just lost track myself. Il Pizzaiuolo was one of the first places we went. It wasn’t a late night stop like the others..*uncomfortably looks down at the ground* We actually went for dinner and had to wait a bit to be seated. And the entire time we dined, there were people waiting for tables. The restaurant was cozy and warm all while having a distinct, busy, fast paced, Italian pizzeria atmosphere. The menu had more than pizza on it, but I don’t think I saw anyone eating anything BUT pizza. And rightly so- it was absolutely delicious!

The amount of restaurants in Florence is absolutely insane and I encourage you to go with your gut when wandering and finding new spots. We love doing our research and having lists of places to try, but we also always incorporate places we find on our own as well. And sometimes we like them best :) So explore and have fun! And don’t worry about eating too much- it’s Italy!