Trip Advisor Review - Home For The Holidays

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️  A Lovely Holiday Stay

date of stay 23 December-31December

Our family booked a stay at Nana & Papa's Inn during one portion of our repatriation adventure. We arrived on a cold Northern Illinois evening to warm hugs and kisses for the whole family.  Nana immediately bombarded our family with offers of fresh Christmas cookies and milk.  

Our two room booking provided enough space for our family of four. The adults cozied into a full size bed with a television connected to satellite TV. The children shared the second bedroom with two twin beds, which was a welcomed sight since they hate sharing a bed. Both rooms overlooked a nicely landscaped front yard. However, we didn't see much of it since we thoroughly appreciated the blackout curtains.

The shower always had an ample supply of hot water & fresh towels.    

The cuisine at Nana & Papa's Inn was American fare. Each morning Papa provided a lovely hot breakfast and plentiful coffee. We dined on eggs, breakfast burritos, and french toast. During the day the pantry was stocked with crackers and chips. The family had dinner at the Inn just a few times because of holiday obligations, but when we dined it was delicious. The Christmas cookies continued throughout our stay with a fresh batch baked midway.

The common area of the Inn were so comfortable! Nana always had a huge supply of quilts for everyone to stay warm and cozy. The internet connection was a bit slow so binge watching YouTube videos was difficult. However, it allowed us to have more personable conversations. 

One day Papa was very kind to drive me to the Drivers License Bureau to renew my license. I was impressed with his above and beyond spirit as the office was out of town, and we needed to wait for the office to open.  He kindly treated me to breakfast at a nearby cafe while we waited.  

My husband and I enjoyed a night out with complimentary babysitting. They said the kids went to bed on time but we are suspicious of that report.  

The surrounding area provided easy access to the expressway to zip into the Chicago suburbs or just over the Wisconsin border.  The Inn had plenty of self-parking. The driveway was promptly shoveled after an icy snowstorm. The staff were extremely helpful with the luggage.  Onsite laundry facilities were a major plus.

Overall our stay at Nana & Papa's Inn was a memorable holiday experience.  I highly recommend you book a stay any time of year.  I hear there's a great garden in the summer with plenty of samples if you help weed the tomatoes.  

   

Weekend in Stockholm Day 2- Touring Tuesday

After Saturday's epic walking adventure, we were pretty tired on Sunday morning.  Of course not too tired to partake in breakfast.  Once we were fueled up on carbs & coffee, we were back out on the street.  The goal for our day was to visit the Vasa Museum, which was a thirty minute walk along the waterways of Stockholm.    

The Vasa Museum is all about a boat - a seriously impressive boat.  The story goes that King Gustav Adolf commissioned the building of four boats.  Hundreds of men work tirelessly for almost two years to build the first one, and everyone turned out to watch the launch of the ship in August 1628.  

The ship was delivered with 68 cannons and over one thousand trees were used on the hull alone.  It was a celebratory affair with families and friends of some of the craftsmen on board for the maiden voyage.  

As the ship was on her way out of Stockholm Harbor the supporting cables from shore were released.  To everyone's surprise the ship started to list (tip!).  Water entered the gun portholes and the darn thing sank!  It only ventured approximately 1300 meters (about 4000 feet).  It is stated that around 30 people died on the ship.  

Obviously the Swedes wanted to find out what caused the disaster.  The final verdict was that the lower hull of the ship was too small to compensate for the weight on the top; the ship had two levels of gun portholes which proved to be too much for the vessel. 

The next part of the story is quite unheard of - they forgot about the ship for the next few hundred years.  I'm sure it wasn't forgotten accidentally; the King's inner circle probably made sure no one spoke of it to avoid embarrassment for him.  Explorers attempted to locate the ship over the years, but it wasn't until 1956 that two men found the wreckage.  An immense effort was taken to release the ship from many years of silt, and it wasn't until 1961 that the team successfully reunited the ship with land.    

The brackish water where the ship rested for hundreds of years preserved it so well that only 5% of the ship's structure had to be replaced.  The overall lighting in the museum was low, I suspect, to protect the ship.  In person the detailed carvings on the ship is astonishing.

We continued to walk during our final hours in Stockholm.  It just so happens we ended up over by the cafe where Matt had his soup bowl of coffee the previous day.  I'd had my eye on the Prinsesstårta, and it did not disappoint.

I'd been pining for a piece of this cake after it was on The Great British Bake Off.  If you can get the You Tube video below to load, skip forward to the 22 minute mark to hear the master Mary Berry explain the cake.  

After that calorie-free snack we slowly made our way back to the airport for our trip back home.  

Did we see all there was to see in Stockholm?  Not a chance.  Warmer weather is definitely the time to see this country, unless you fancy time on the ski slopes.  Our short weekend in Scandinavia certainly gave us a taste for this region.  

The best part about our flight home?  We walked in just in time for the latest episode of Downton Abbey!

A4 Update - January 2015

Happy 2015!

It took us longer than expected to get over the jet lag from our Christmas trip to 'Merica.  Matt had quite a difficult time as he had to return to NYC less than a week after returning from Christmas.   

Oldest Kiddo performed a short singing solo in her class assembly.  She was nervous, but she sang beautifully.  

Youngest Kiddo signed up for two clubs this term.  He is still in football (soccer in 'Merica) and chose Spanish Club.  Oldest Kiddo did not like any of the offerings this term so we spend the time without her brother at a cafe up on the High Road.  

I quit my job.

Matt was on a roll last weekend and booked the family in for a few trips.  If our time is up in December then we must use every term break for travel!  You'll be shocked with one of travel destinations.  Stay tuned!

We got snow!!!  Well, it was really sleet that accumulated on our patio table.   I caught a little video of the snow the next day.  So happy it did not stick around.  

The good news about the end of January?  The amount of daylight we receive in London increases dramatically.  That's good news since waking the kids up for school is no fun right now.  

A4 Update - December 2014

Farewell to 2014!  December was all about Christmas....

• Our family took a chilly walk through Kew Gardens to admire the Christmas lights display.
• The kids had their Christmas programs at school, and Holly helped put on an amazing outdoor Christmas Fair with the PTA. 
• We traveled back to America for two weeks to celebrate the holidays with our families and friends.  
• Matt and I snuck away from the cold holiday festivities to spend five days in Cancun

The 4th of July in London

It was just a regular Friday to most Londoners.  

But to us it was a very patriotic holiday.

We were determined to celebrate the 4th in London, even if fireworks were out of the question.  An American family from the Chicago suburbs recently enrolled at our school, and we've become fast friends.  So there was no question who we'd invite over to celebrate the 4th.

The kids had school on Friday as it was just a regular day to the rest of the country.  As we walked out of the playground, one of the moms asked about the weekend's plans.  

"We are having a little 4th of July BBQ this afternoon," I shared.

"Oh, that's right.  Today is your big day!" the mom laughed.

"Is the 4th a sticky topic to discuss?" I joked.

"Oh, no," she said, "we'll let you have your freedom," the other moms chuckled.

We did our best to have a traditional 4th of July BBQ.  I decorated with streamers since there were no American flags to be found at the party shop.  Matt fired up the Weber to grill burgers and hotdogs.  The thing I missed the most was potato salad.  We ended the meal with apple pie & ice cream.  

The ultimate test of a good celebration?  The kids passed out at the end of the night.