Europe
The time I took my teenage son to Frankfurt Germany by myself
June 7, 2024Ever since our twins were babies we’ve tried to do as much together as a family as we can. My husband had just started as an attending at a busy hospital when our guys were born and after years of residency and med school it now meant even more call, more presentations, and more responsibilities […]
If you love Italy, you’ll want to know about Dalla Fonte, a subscription box that will bring Italy to you
August 31, 2023This is a sponsored post on behalf of Dalla Fonte, an Italy subscription box based in Washington State that brings a bit of Italy to your home and as always the thoughts and writing in this blog are always my own. How many times do we think about special places we’ve been to and want […]
Because everyone needs to see the Rolling Bridge in Merchant Square near Padding Station in London
January 27, 2020Who knows when or where I first saw the London Rolling Bridge in Merchant Square but I am going to credit it to Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram. Isn’t it always social media that tends to inspire us nowadays for travel? It’s no wonder that there is always someone criticizing some ‘Influencer’ but really, I’m so […]
About high tea in the sky and being seated together as a family on Virgin Atlantic from London to Seattle
December 2, 2019I did not have high hopes for our return trip from London to Seattle on Virgin Atlantic. I actually didn’t have high hopes for our trip there either, but it turned out to be the nicest flight I’ve ever flown on. I started to panic after hearing about more families seated apart on airplanes because […]
Lovely things we will remember forever from our family trip to Italy
July 18, 2018Have you noticed that when you get back from a trip everything that you did kind of blurs in your head so that when people ask you what was the best thing you did on your adventures, it’s impossible to remember? I was looking on Google Maps the other day because someone asked about a […]
Planning for 10 nights in Italy with kids
May 29, 2018Isn’t family travel planning a little overwhelming? If you only have 10 days in Italy or any place for that matter, how are you going to experience everything you want to see and how on earth are you going to do that with kids in tow? This is totally how I felt when we ended […]
Family Travel done bold, bravely and planned on the fly with Verizon Travel Pass
May 7, 2018Remember in the old days when you plan a trip? Or even in the not-so-old days when you get a guidebook and plot out on a map all the interesting places you read about so you can find your way there. I used to have so much trouble reading maps properly I’d navigate us in […]
The time I had Shakespeare’s House all to myself and how you (maybe) can too
March 16, 2018A long time ago when I was a headstrong college student I decided that I would become an English major and that was that. Shakespeare in Love had come out around that time as well as the first of the Harry Potter novels and being able to read and write and get credit for doing almost […]
Do I need to book a tour to Zaanse Schans Windmills near Amsterdam with kids?
June 12, 2017Before you book a tour to see windmills in Zannse Schans near Amsterdam, you need to decide a few things. Are you a tour person? Do you like to travel in groups? And do you want to miss an opportunity to walk by a chocolate factory on the way? It is not hard to travel […]
Wind Warnings in Amsterdam and Finding unexpected Family Fun in Utrecht
June 5, 2017Travel plans don’t always work out. You know this. I know this. But it always helps to see this in writing as you carefully plan a trip because if you’re anything like me, I tend to forget that the unexpected is always inevitable. Right now I’m typing this from a canvas tent-like lodge in the Daintree […]
Bike riding in Amsterdam with kids at the Vondelpark
April 30, 2017With two 8-year old boys in tow, one of our favorite things to do is go bike riding both at home in Seattle and when we travel. When we went to Amsterdam in February, we were worried it would be too cold or that the weather would be too rainy but we really wanted to […]
Foodhallen and all the pancakes in Amsterdam
April 15, 2017Where do you eat with kids in Amsterdam? When we first arrived in Amsterdam, we stayed a few nights in a family suite called Hotel Roemer. It had a ground-level spacious room with a little outdoor garden to accomodate families and was very close to Vondelpark where I had visions of us riding bikes around and […]
Tea in the Smallest House in Amsterdam with our kids
March 31, 2017I’ve decided that tea is the most perfect meal one can have. There are sandwiches with no crusts, there are pretty pastries and there is unlimited tea. It’s the type of meal that you go to with the intention of enjoying yourself and the unlimited tea kind of commits you to sitting for a while. […]
Finding Nemo: where to stay to visit the Nemo Science museum with kids In Amsterdam
March 17, 2017Raise your hands if your kids are early risers! If you go to Amsterdam with kids and visit the Nemo Science museum, this is one more place where getting there early might just be the best thing ever. And actually if you have kids who are early risers, a hotel nearby the Nemo Science museum that […]
Why Hadrian’s Wall was one of our England faves for family travel
March 10, 2017As with most things travel these days I saw a picture on Instagram from someone I was following-I think it was North Idaho dad-shortly before we visited England in August and I immediately added a place called “Hadrian’s Wall“to our itinerary because of the curious ancient rocky rubble and sheep-filled hillsides that looked quite unlike anything I […]
National Football Museum (Manchester, England)
October 28, 2016As a teenager when I dreamed of my future trip to Europe, the National Football Museum was not on my list of places I wanted to see. I wouldn’t have known that football in England means soccer in the USA and I probably wouldn’t have cared about soccer here either. Fastforward to my real life; my […]
When you miss a chocolate factory and find a mill with famous roots instead (Sarhole Mill, England)
October 14, 2016Maybe it was all that Mr. Rogers I watched as a kid, with his soothing voice and his magic picture frame that showed where everything in the world came from. Crayons. Macaroni. Candles. He knew it all. And now I’m more than a little addicted to finding out where and how everything is made and I […]
Not-serve-yourself-pastries and almost losing my kid in Edinburgh
September 28, 2016First of all we did not have enough time in Edinburgh when we visited. I’m almost certain that people LIVING in Edinburgh don’t have enough time in Edinburgh. It is such an interestingly beautiful place that we’re chasing memories of it like we did with Iceland since we’ve been home; pointing out fields of cows […]
The World of Wedgwood, Free Roaming Monkeys and a lovely pottery town near London (Stoke-on-Trent)
September 15, 2016Take note of this name if you ever dream of England: Stoke-on-Trent. This amazing area known as “The Potteries” is where you might find the birthplace of some of the very dishes in your cupboards at home. We happened to be driving through on our recent trip to England and we needed a place to […]
Since I’ve been asked a lot about Iceland lately and I totally want to go back (Iceland with kids)
February 26, 2015I’ve been asked a bunch of times in the last week about Iceland, so I thought I better put all my trip-planning info right here so that it’s all in one place and I’m definitely wanting to get back there this year, so I know it’ll help me too. I first got intrigued about Iceland […]