Masthead header

Category Archives: Travel

We arrived in Dala-Järna, Sweden on the 11th and have been having a wonderful time. We spent our first evening meeting the lovely neighbors, eating a simple dinner, and heading to bed for some much needed sleep. Gigi didn’t sleep on the flight except for maybe an hour long nap. She finally passed out when we landed in Sweden at about 4:00am U.S. time which means the little stinker stayed up all night long. Despite this, the flights were much easier than we anticipated. She watched some movies, colored, walked the aisles and was generally pretty happy. The timing actually worked our perfectly. She slept in the car for the four hour drive from Stockholm to Dala-Järna, got up and played with the neighbor kids, and went to bed at her normal bed time. She slept 12 hours and only woke up once in the night, nursed and went right back to sleep. We all recovered from the jet lag pretty quickly because we were able to get onto Swedish time right away.

There was a big air show here when we arrived so we spent our first day staring straight up into the sky. There were fighter jets, an F16, trick planes… it was pretty impressive.

 

The house that we’re staying at is a sweet little farm. The boys that live here are working to make it into a working farm with a possible CSA kind of program. Gigi is in love with the chickens. She walks out to see them every chance she gets and says, “Hey bac-bac-bac-bac!!!”

 

dala jarna sweden family travelPIN

dala jarna sweden family travelPIN

dala jarna sweden family travelPIN

I’m getting really excited about getting set up with chickens when we get home… well next Spring anyway. We’ve been so spoiled with farm eggs from our friends. It will be fun to get chicks and raise them. The life here is pretty sweet.

 

Gigi is also in love with her darling Uncle Ryan who, for some reason she has been calling Uncle Mow! I think she’s means now? Even in her still waking state, or when she sits up in the middle of the night, the first words out of her mouth have been, “Uncle Mow? Uncle Mow? Oh, hi!” It’s incredibly sweet.

 

This weekend we escaped. Invited by our good friends, Jeremy and Tara, to their family’s lovely vacation home in Birch Bay, we loaded up the car and headed North. After so much hustling around the past couple of months, it was hard to leave again. But the promise of R&R beckoned so off we went.

We arrived in Birch Bay fairly late on Friday evening and got quickly settled in. I love the feeling when you walk into a new place and get to take it all in and say, “This is going to be my little home for the next 24 hours”. After getting Gigi cuddled up in bed, we made dinner and played board games.

Our darling girl woke us up early on Saturday morning and I felt like I was in a swamp. The thick comfy mattress and sleep deprivation from the last few weeks had an unexpected effect on me. I spent the whole morning rather, the whole day, in a haze of muddled half-sleep. I’m pretty sure I wasn’t forming my sentences properly. Kyle, always the early riser, headed down the stairs to the beach with our on-the-go-girl, and I followed, bed-head and all. Is there anything more enticing than a wooden staircase leading to the water?

Travel Birch Bay, WashingtonPIN

Travel Birch Bay, WashingtonPIN
Travel Birch Bay, WashingtonPINTravel Birch Bay, WashingtonPIN

One of the best things about spending time with our friends is seeing how much they love Gigi. They embrace her, love her, snuggle her, and play with her. It makes both Kyle and I so grateful to have such amazing friends. “Aunt” Tara and “Uncle” J hold an extra special place with me because of their love for our daughter.

Travel Birch Bay, WashingtonPINTravel Birch Bay, WashingtonPIN
Travel Birch Bay, WashingtonPIN

Since Gigi naps at 9am everyday, we were able to spend some time relaxing with our friends while she caught some zzzs. During her nap the clouds burned away and we were blessed with an outpouring of sunshine. When Gigi awoke we were all playing cornhole and relaxing in the sunshine. I loaded that girl up with sunscreen and proceeded to spend the next hour battling with her that she must keep her sunhat on! She just loves hats so, so much that she wants to hold them and present them to everyone around her. Jeremy had bought her some bubbles at the market and unwittingly, with the first blow of tiny bubbles, became the royal bubble master for the afternoon. Who can deny a sweet “more more more” from a child who adores you and thinks your bubble blowing skills are spectacular?

Travel Birch Bay, WashingtonPIN

I could hardly wait for the tide to recede so we could take G out to explore the shore. When I was in L.A. with her she couldn’t get enough of the water and the waves. In Birch Bay, the shoreline is quite shallow so when the tide goes out you can walk out one hundred or so yards. We took off her shoes, rolled up her over-alls and trundled down the stairs with four dogs in tow to see what we could see.

Travel Birch Bay, WashingtonPINTravel Birch Bay, WashingtonPINTravel Birch Bay, WashingtonPIN
Travel Birch Bay, WashingtonPIN

Travel Birch Bay, WashingtonPIN

By the time we walked back up the stairs from our long explore Gigi was nodding off. We rinsed her feet, stripped her of her wet clothes, kissed her sunscreened head, and plunked her into bed. The sun was high in the sky and everyone was sipping beer that Kyle had provided. Since I’m not much of a beer drinker I eventually accepted a glass of red wine, kicked my feet up, picked up my book, and ignored the clock that said it was only 2:30 in the afternoon. I’m in the middle of reading Very Fond of Food by Sophie Dahl. I’ve lately found myself reading cookbooks instead of novels. I am obsessed with the stories behind the recipes, the photography, the ingredients. Cooking has really become my main passion in life… other than being a mom it’s what I derive the most joy and satisfaction from.

Travel Birch Bay, WashingtonPIN

By the time Gigi woke from her afternoon siesta it was pouring rain and we were all taking shelter inside. It rained on and off for the rest of the evening. There was a lot of cuddling, cooking and eating to be done so perhaps it’s a good thing that the rain came down.

Travel Birch Bay, WashingtonPINGrilled ArtichokesPINTravel Birch Bay, WashingtonPIN

We stayed up late playing games and drinking wine and whiskey, oh my. The sun didn’t set until nearly 10pm and when it did we were surprised with the most bizarre moonset! We tried to figure out why the moon might be setting, decided it may or may not be the apocalypse, bid each other goodnight/it’s been lovely to know you, and headed for bed.

Travel Birch Bay, WashingtonPIN

On Sunday morning we woke up early again, but this time I was ready. Ready for coooofffffffffeeeeeee!, for reading books on the couch, for walks on the beach. We were planning to head for home during Gigi

‘s morning nap so we spent the morning caffeinating and packing up. Gigi is in love with Who Will Comfort Toffle? which was a gift. It’s from Sweden and it’s beautifully illustrated. She spent the morning in her cozies, finding and comforting Toffle with kisses.

Travel Birch Bay, WashingtonPIN

We got dressed and headed down the waterfront to say goodbye to the great blue herons who flew by and the tiny little crab we discovered. When I was a kid I loved turning over “big” rocks to reveal scores of baby crabs living underneath. Despite my unshakeable fear of spiders, these eight legged creatures amuse me. I found this little guy living in a shell. Which, incidentally, is how Toffle’s story ends too.

Travel Birch Bay, WashingtonPIN
Travel Birch Bay, WashingtonPIN

Travel Birch Bay, WashingtonPIN

 

 

After draining our coffee, we saddled up and hit the road. We spent almost as much time in the car this weekend as we did in Birch Bay, but it was totally worth the trek. I love nothing more than spending time with my family.

Travel Birch Bay, WashingtonPIN

Nothing more.

I get asked, several times a year, by my friends and family, for my Paris List. It’s no secret that I love Paris. It’s my favorite city in the world. I fell in love with Paris when I was 18, on a trip with my Dad and Stepmom. There’s just something about that city, the bridges, the bakeries, the parks, the restaurants, the shops, the neighborhoods, the metro, the wine, the Eiffel Tour… I just love it all.

Paris Champs de MarsPIN

I decided to put my Paris List into a series of posts for anyone who’s lucky enough to be traveling to Paris. Over the next couple of weeks I’ll be writing about my favorite museums, restaurants, cafés, parks, things to see and do, and more. I’m using photos from our Honeymoon in Paris, along with quotes from a travel journal I kept while we were there.

To get things going, here is my list of 10 things you absolutely must do when you find yourself in Paris…

Champs de Mars park parisPIN
The Champs de Mars is the perfect evening hang out. It’s a wonderful place to have a little picnic and take in the view of the Eiffel Tower when it lights up late at night. There are lots of people camped out along the Champs de Mars all through the spring and summer. It’s the perfect spot to share a bottle of wine and talk, and talk, and talk.

Bread and Cheese parisPIN

Bread and Cheese paris

Whether you are in Paris for a few days or a few weeks it’s so much fun to find “your own” little bakery, wine shop, cheese shop, etc. Paris is grouped into little neighborhoods so you can easily make an area feel like it’s yours.

PARIS TRAVEL TIPSPIN
We used our map everyday to make our plans. We marked all of the places we wanted to see with letters and the restaurants were marked with numbers. That way we could easily pick an area to visit that had sights and good food nearby. Paris has great transportation. The buses are great and since they’re above ground you can take in the sights while getting from place to place. The Metro is really efficient and easy (watch out for pickpockets though)! My favorite way to get around Paris is to walk as much as possible. Often Kyle and I would walk “there” and take the Metro “home” after a long day of sightseeing.

PARIS TRAVEL TIPSPIN
There are so many great bridges over the Siene River. When we were picking an area to explore we would try to cross a new bridge on our way. I love Pont Alexandre III but there are so many to choose from.

Where to Stay in ParisPIN
We are lucky enough to have family in Paris which means we always have a great place to stay. I know a lot of people that love using Airbnb, or other vacation by owner type sites. It’s so wonderful to stay in an apartment because they are usually less expensive, and a little bigger than hotels. It’s also a wonderful way to make yourself “at home” while you’re traveling. It’s a lot easier to pretend you’re French when you’re coming home to a cozy apartment.

Best Travel Tips ParisPIN
It’s so much fun to get caught in the rain in a city as lovely as Paris. But the effect would be ruined if you had an umbrella. It’s much more fun to take shelter in a nearby museum or café. As Audrey Hepburn said in Sabrina, “Never a briefcase in Paris, and never an umbrella”.

shakespeare and co bookstore parisPIN
Last time we were in Paris I read, My Life in France by Julia Child. It made the trip (and the book) so much more rich because I was reading about the streets we were wandering down, the parks we were staying in, and the restaurants we were eating in.

PARIS TRAVEL TIPSPIN
I love the Parisian sky, and skyline. You really get a sense of the incredible architecture when you look up.

PARIS TRAVEL TIPSPIN
Eat your heart out. We at so much when we were there. We’d have five course lunches, three hour long dinners, croissants every morning, and wine every night. We ate so much incredible food. Make sure not to get on any scales while you’re there… ignore the ones at the Jardin du Luxembourg. For that matter only bring dresses and pants that won’t make you feel guilty by getting tight.

Best Travel Tips ParisPIN
Paris is a wonderful city, enjoy everything about it (even the ridiculous things)!