Where To Lay Your Head on Holiday - Touring Tuesday

On previous holidays we stayed in hotels because Matt had oodles & oodles of hotel points that made our stays cheap or even free.  Now that the points are gone, we decided to rent apartments on our trip to Lisbon & Barcelona.  

It was the best thing we ever did.

Renting an apartment afforded us the opportunity to choose exactly where we wanted to stay.  We could be out of the city center or right in the middle of the action.  We had a kitchen to have breakfast each morning and even made a few dinners.  On the days we spent a little too much time together, we appreciated the space in the apartment have our own space.  I say that with the most love and adoration for my family possible.  

The apartment in Lisbon was nestled in a neighborhood just two streets from the busy restaurants of the Barrio Alto.  The kids slept on the pull out sofa, which was actually more comfortable than I anticipated.  It had sliding doors that we used to separate our bed from the kids at night.  The apartment building had a shared garden in the back and an amazing view from the Juliet balcony.   

In Barcelona, our apartment was in the heart of the action in La Rambla and right across the street from La Boqueria Market.  This apartment did not have a separate room between adults and the kids, but that was not a huge problem as the kids were exhausted at the end of the night.  This apartment had a washing machine, which we made use of so we didn't have to pack as many clothes for our carry-on suitcases.

Be an informed consumer when booking an apartment.  Here are some things to keep in mind:

• Be picky about your location and think about what you want to get out of your vacation.  Your goal might be to relax in the peace of the country.  That choice might limit your access to cafes and markets.  Small towns might close up shop on certain days of the week (Sunday is typical).  Or as in the case of some European cities, shopkeepers head to the beach for the month of August.  If you plan ahead to do a big grocery run you will be fine.  Alternately, staying in the heart of the city can be loud until the wee hours of the morning.  Check out reviews of the apartment as former guests will leave comments about the noise.
• Check the description to ensure the apartment comes equipped with basic kitchen tools if you plan to do some cooking.  Typically you'll get pots, pans, silverware, and dishes.  We lucked out in both apartments with a Nespresso machine.  Don't expect to cook a huge Sunday roast on the two burner stove, but you can certainly get by with a basic meal. 
• The apartment might provide small amounts of dish soap, dishwasher tablets, and dishtowels.  I like to pick up a small package of napkins and paper towels at the grocery store, too.
• You will not get daily replenishment of shampoo, body wash, or fresh towels as you would in a hotel.  Each apartment has a cleaning schedule, which is usually every three days.
• If you purchase toiletries at your destination, be aware of the bottle size.  Airlines restrict bottle sizes to 100ml if you plan to fly with them beyond your apartment stay.
• Be sure to bring a few reusable grocery bags along as the shops will charge you a few cents/pence/crowns/yen for bags.

Enjoy your apartment rental, you will get to live like the locals!

#our41daysofsummer

Our first summer in London, affectionately known as #our41daysofsummer, is over.  The kids went back to school on September 2.  They were both so happy to play with their friends again.  It was surreal how everyone seemed to scatter across the continent the moment school let out.  On a personal note, I was thrilled to see their friends' parents again to catch up on the summer.  I sure missed spending leisurely mornings with them at the coffee shops.  

Our summer was only 41 days compared to the 79 days our American compadres scored (but who is counting).  No one can tell us we didn't try to squeeze 79 days worth of fun into our 41 days.

Sometimes our fun was in London

Other times it was outside of the city

For just a bit more fun, we took trip to Lisbon & Barcelona

And then there were just some days we had to be home

We made many memories during #our41daysofsummer.  Now it's back to real life and plan the next trip!

The Tiles of Lisbon

The family embarked upon a ten-day holiday to the Iberian Peninsula.  

We started off on the west side of the peninsula in Lisbon, Portugal.  I quickly realized the strong sunshine was something my children had not experienced in quite a while.  However, Matt was more than happy to take on the part of Solar Sponge.

Youngest Kiddo didn't know what to do in the sun

I did not know a lot about Portugal when we booked our holiday.  Research online told me that Lisbon is one of the places to visit in 2014.  I'm not sure what credentials the list makers have that give them the authority to make such an edict, but I can see why Lisbon made those lists.

Lisbon is beautiful - its beauty is unlike other cities I've visited

Lisbon is old - Paris & London are old, but Lisbon's old is different.

The city's architecture is unspoilt.  The tiny delicatessens, patisseries, art shops, tapas bars, and neighborhood markets fit into existing spaces.  The shops are mixed in with family homes.  The only differentiation between a shop and family dwelling is a small squeaky sign above the door.  Or maybe a chalkboard listing the special of the day on the wall.  Laundry billowed from window-hung clotheslines against original tiled exterior walls.  Ladies talked to each other across from their balconies.

As we walked the city, we could see families and friends having a bica (Lisbon's version of espresso) at the sidewalk cafes.  Families had conversations in their houses with the doors and windows wide open.  The doorsteps of many shops retain the tiled name of the original shop.

The sidewalks in the entire city are cobbled and hilly, which makes them quite slippery.  We all wore trainers (British for tennis shoes), and each one of us had at least one sliding event.  Some hills appear to be straight up 90°, which makes the descent quite interesting. Can you imagine the man power involved in laying all of these tiles?  

Lisbon does not feel like 2014.  It feels stuck in time, and I get the feeling that they are OK with that. 

A4 Update - August 2014

Our #41daysofsummer are almost at the end.  I think we hit it out of the park with the places we saw.

Up a reeeeeaalllly big hill in Lisbon on the hottest day, ever

• The family took a ten-day holiday to Lisbon & Barcelona.  Watch for those posts soon; they are two gorgeous cities. 
• We played tourist in our own city to get use out of our Historic Royal Palaces membership with trips to Kensington Palace,  The Banqueting House, and Tower of London. 
• We also made visits to The Royal Mews, The Museum of London, and a night outing in the gardens by Parliament to see the WWI centenary light display.
• Matt and Oldest Kiddo went to the theatre to see Let It Be.
• On the last day of the month we rented a car to go to Stonehenge.  On the way we detoured to Highclere Castle (aka Downton Abbey) to have lunch on the South Lawn.
• A little school uniform shopping happened at the end of the month so the kiddos were ready for school in September!

Amazing Kids Travel Book For Barcelona

Traveling with kids requires a fine balance.  The adults want to see museums and cathedrals, while the children want to play at the parks & swim at the hotel pool.  

Oldest Kiddo is at the age where she can assist in the vacation planning.  I am not about to give her the most recent Frommer's Barcelona and ask her to plan out an itinerary.  I sought out blogs and websites with ideas for kids.  Let me tell you a secret.  Much like all souvenir shops sell the same thing, most cities list the same things for kids: the zoo, the aquarium, and the children's' museum.  For us, those are usually reserved as a last resort.  However, the NEMO Science Museum in Amsterdam was phenomenal.  

For this trip I found an amazing book that Oldest Kiddo loved.  

Book at amazon.com

Book at amazon.co.uk

Not affiliate links

The book is broken up by area with specific tasks listed.  She had to find fountains, plaques, and different pieces of architecture.  She was engaged on all of our walks around the city.  To be honest, her excitement about the book transferred to us.  We got excited each time one of us spotted what the task asked.

Another great thing about the tasks was that everything was not easy to find.  Some items were off in the distance that we had to search via a lookout point, or  we had to look extremely close at a piece of architecture for one little design.  One item that eluded us was discovered through the window of the office at our rented apartment.  

Sometimes we had to tell her to put the book away.  

The author also has a book for Paris & Rome, so check them out if you are taking the family on a trip!

Final Thoughts - Touring Tuesday - Museum Mile

I have visited all but one of The Museum Mile locations.  The Wellcome Collection is the remaining museum, but it will not reopen until later in 2014.  Yes, Wellcome is spelled correctly.  My short summary of each museum can be found here.  

I am thankful to my husband for alerting me to this collection of museums.  When I started my tour, we'd just moved to England, and our lives were not stable at all.  The kids were getting used to a new school, which thankfully was easy for them.  Matt and I were trying to settle a household to create a place of solace for our little family at the end of the day.  

It may sound crazy, but The Museum Mile was stability in my life.  When I needed a break from setting up telephone services, emptying boxes, and not making tea for the antenna guy, I knew a visit to any museum on The Mile would provide an escape.  

A beautiful thing about The Museum Mile, it opened my eyes to museums I might not visit otherwise.  The theme of a museum might not have piqued my interest prior to a visit, but I am happy that I took a chance on each museum.  Viewing specimens from previously living things at the Hunterain Museum was not on the top of my list, but it ended up being one of my favorite museums.  

I appreciated that fact when I toured some of the museums I was one of only a handful of people in attendance.  Don't get me wrong, I love, love, love the British Museum.  However, the crowds smooshed together to snap photos of the Rosetta Stone or the mummies makes the visit feel like you have to move along so as not to get trampled.  I will visit again and again after September when the kids are back in school and the number of tour groups is reduced.     

No two museums are alike on The Museum Mile, and that is what made it so appealing.  I viewed Egyptian artifacts, impressionist paintings, and literature dating back to the 1200s.  

I learned something on the Museum Mile.  Actually, I learned more than ever imagined, and my visits always prompted me to do further research at home.  I've spent time learning about artists (Grayson Perry & JMW Turner), religions (Sikhism), and social change (Thomas Coram).  

Thank you Museum Mile for providing stability in my life when I needed it most.  I am thankful for what I learned about my new city and the world along the way.  I am certainly a better person for visiting your wonderful exhibitions.  

Pick out your favorites and be sure to visit them when you travel to London.  Even though you saw my posts from the museums, I did not share everything at each museum so there is more to see!