Oh, how we loved Yorkshire! Inspired by James Herriot's tales of the windswept Yorkshire Dales, we had high hopes for our 5-day tour of York County. My one regret is our failure to bring along Herriot's audiobooks for the car! We'll have to fix that next time... We took this trip in August 2019, when … Continue reading A Grand Tour of Yorkshire
This is an incredibly fun, beautiful and family-friendly trip! Porto is a lively, colorful city with ornately tiled buildings, delicious food, cool bars and winding, cobbled streets... plus, it's surrounded by vineyards, so there's something for everyone. We took this trip with my parents in July 2018, when the kids were 1 and 3 years … Continue reading Porto and The Douro Valley, Portugal
If you read my first Tokyo post, you know that the culture shock hit me pretty hard. I'm not proud of that - as a seasoned traveller, the struggle really surprised me - but I blame the kids. After all, being a Mom is hard enough before you throw in any complicating factors! Being subjected to … Continue reading Kid-sploring Tokyo
Whether you're bringing kids along or not, there are certain uncomfortable aspects of travel in the developing world. It's obviously tougher with very young kids in tow because they always manage to find the dirtiest corner! But even as an adult, you need to know certain key rules. You cannot drink the tap water. Keep … Continue reading Travel in the Developing World
Major travel adventure: we took our kids to Sri Lanka! Matt's parents planned the entire trip and generously hosted us. This was my first time going on a vacation that I did no planning for, and it was a real luxury to sit back and let the itinerary unfold. We flew into Colombo, where we were … Continue reading Sri Lanka: Part I
Ten Days in Tuscany Who wants a family-friendly itinerary laid out for them?? This is the bare bones version, but if you're planning a trip and would rather not lift a finger, please reach out to me for the over-compulsive hour-by-hour version. Please note that every day should include a pre-dinner Negroni! Day 1 Arrive … Continue reading Tuscany: Full Itinerary
A travel journalist I know once bemoaned her assignment to cover "Secret Florence" -- obviously not because of the free trip to Florence -- but because every inch of Florence has been covered. It's so hard to plan in places like that, because there are a lot of tough choices. We only had 2 days in Florence, … Continue reading Tuscany: Florence
We couldn't have asked for better travel buddies than my brother Neil and his wife Asia. Our "travel styles" (our balance of gluttony and exploring) are totally aligned, and the kids got quality uncle & auntie time! We spent the first half of our Tuscan holiday based near Pienza. We also did a fun, kid-friendly … Continue reading Tuscany: Montepulciano, San Gimignano and Siena
One of my favourite things about living in London is having so many different countries just a short flight or train ride away. In two hours or less, you can hop over to Berlin or Budapest, Stockholm or San Sebastián. We take advantage of this proximity whenever we have a spare weekend! But when we … Continue reading In It for the Long Haul
The first solo trip I took was unfortunately also the hardest. I made the rookie mistake of taking a Virgin train on a Bank Holiday weekend. You should never, NEVER, NEVER take the Virgin train on Bank Holiday weekends, whether or not you have help with the kids. I've never seen so many bodies packed into … Continue reading Train Travel Alone with Two Babies
