The Biggest Playground in the World & London!

No, the biggest playground in the world is not in London. It's in Alnwick and it's called Lilidorei. The play structure is massive and impressive but the favorite thing for the kids and us was painting and finding these rocks that were hidden throughout the playground. We brought a few of the rocks home as souvenirs. After a few days in Northumberland with family, we arrived in London! Hearing the kids recognize and callout the big sights was pretty cool. I often come across questions from adults questioning why travel with kids when they won't remember much? Here's my take.. while they may or may not remember (although my kids seem to remember), it's about the experience and how the experience will help them grow emotionally and mentally. Being in a foreign city and not being afraid to take public transportation, walk the unfamiliar streets, see different walks of life, eat various foods, and all that experience will help shape them into being more well adjusted humans.

Anyway, London in the summer is unsurprisingly crowded and you really grasp this visiting the Natural History Museum. We had reserved tickets for the 10:15am time slot (they open at 10am) and still the building is at capacity within 30 minutes. It gets so crowded that you actually just want to look for the exit, so first time visitors, keep that in mind! 

On our list was also the Transport Museum which the kids ran through the place trying to complete their scavenger hunt. They were quite successful at it but not without being asked to "slow down" from one of the security monitors. We had some really good meals while we were in London and hands down, our favorite was a restaurant called Dishoom. They have various locations and we frequented the Covent Garden one nearly every day. They open at 8am for one of the best breakfasts in town! 

For lodging, we stayed at the Park Plaza Hotel across the Thames River with a view of Big Ben and all the surrounding glory. Traveling with a family of 5, the challenging part is finding a property that would allow 5 of us in one room as the kiddos are too young to want to stay in their own and neither of us are interested in single parenting in the evening. I wish the property was a bit closer to the tube lines but it more than makes up for it in the view! Until next time, London!

Amsterdam With The Fam!

I was a bit worried that 8 days in Amsterdam would be too much but as it turns out, it was just enough! Weather was on our side.. what looked like rain throughout the week that we were there turned into mostly sunshine with increasing warmth as our time went on! We were picked up from the airport by an uber driver who did quite the sell for his tourist business and perhaps we will hire him again on a return trip! We stayed at the Lloyd Hoxton Hotel in the docks neighborhood of Amsterdam. They have an amazing room there called Gather with a huge bed that slept 5 but really could have slept 7-8 people! It's housed in a century's old building that started as a hotel for immigrants heading to the States and after, a quarantine hotel during the Spanish Flu era and lastly, art space before the Lloyd family bought it and turned it into a hotel which the Hoxton group then took over. The location was great as it was a few minutes walk to the bus, tram, and the underground metro. It was easy for us to get out and about everyday without much effort. Across the street from the hotel was a grocery store, laundry shop, restaurants, and the kids favorite- a splash pad playground!

We spent our first two days getting acquainted in Amsterdam. I had been there many years prior and it's always interesting to see what stayed the same and what has changed. Coming here with the added perspective of the kids is also always fun! One thing was definitely the same: get away from the crowded Amsterdam central zone as fast as you can! We explore all the quaint canals, visited the highlighted playgrounds, had some delicious meals which one of them was a 90 minute chef's menu multi-course ramen dinner that the kids did wonders at! The playgrounds here did not compare to the ones in Stockholm that we visited the previous summer but it served it's purpose. We also made a few trips to the Mouse Museum and did the canal cruise that the kids were asking about. If I were to do a canal cruise again, I'd avoid the large commercial ones that only cruise the main canals because by day two, you''ve seen and walked by all the main canals. Instead, hire a smaller boat and cruise the neighborhood canals. We also visited the NEMO Science Museum for kids which I would definitely recommend as it's housed in a beautiful building and stunning views. 

After two days, we picked up our rental car from the central train station and drove a little over an hour to Efteling- a place that I had discovered on instagram and wanted to take the kids to since they were born. Our first turn out of the car rental was into the bike lane but after that, it was pretty much smooth sailing! We had an overnight stay at the Wonder Hotel inside the park, two day park passes with breakfast for just under $600! I told Steve that we never had to go to Disneyland.. we can just fly here, come here, and it might still be cheaper than Disney! Efteling was a charm of a place. We spent the afternoon of the first day exploring their fairytale land which was basically a village full of houses for every childhood classic fairytale thar you can think of. We ended our first night watching their show called Caro. After a comfortable night's sleep and an abundant breakfast, we took on the rides of the park for the day before heading back to Amsterdam. 

We spent our remaining days visiting one of the oldest and beautiful zoos in Europe: Artis and also did a day trip to the former capital, Utrecht. Prior to visiting Artis, I had wondered why the entry was so expensive and then I understood... they upkeep of the stunning place had to come from somewhere! You can spend an entire day there and I am not sure that it would be enough. Utrecht was a charmer of a city. Canals everywhere lined with restaurants and quaint shops. It was also the city where I caught my obligatory European video of musicians performing on a bridge. We visited the Miffy Museum and after years of trying to get my kids to be fans of Miffy, I succeeded!

Next up: England!

Lyon.. did not disappoint with it's food & architecture.

Lyon has been on my list since I discovered Bernachon chocolates over 10 years ago. For the longest time, the only two places that you can purchase their chocolate bars was from their flagship location in Lyon or this chocolate shop owned by the cutest lady in the Pigalle district, Paris. While I had the option to connect from SFO to CDG to LYS, I chose to take the 2 hr direct train from CDG instead for two reasons: I didn't want the 3-4 hour layover and also, the airport is an hour away from Lyon center. I arrived in Lyon by mid-day, checked into the Intercontinental Hotel which looks to be a museum of a building and took the metro to Bernachon chocolates.. seems to be one of the few shops that was opened on a Sunday outside of the Old Town.

Day 1.5 in Lyon, I spent roaming the cobbled streets of the Old Town. Peaking into various shops, spending probably a bit much at a particular toy shop for the kids, and marveling at the quietness of the town itself. Lyon is known for their food and architecture and neither disappointed. The best meal I had was at a chef's menu multi course vegetarian restaurant, Culina Hortas. I unknowingly walked in without a reservation and luckily, they had a table for me. Note to everyone: reservations recommended! 

Day 2.5 was spent in the main part of town in between the two rivers but first, a trip up to the Basilica of Notre Dame. An architecture gem seem across from all of Lyon sitting on a hill. It's the only thing that's opened in the early morning other than boulangeries. Walking the quiet streets lined with shops reminded me of Le Marias of Paris. Lyon feels that way.. a quiet and peaceful Paris. I remember seeing a youtube video not that long ago of a solo traveling gal who was in tears because she said people in Lyon was mean to her. Luckily, that was not my experience at all. The funniest encounter that I had was probably a shop owner letting me know that I can speak English when I was attempting to communicate with the very few French words and phases that I knew. Pastries are divine in France but I will say, America has chocolate chip cookies down. France tries but their cookies are so subpar to their croissants and pastries.

My fourth time in Paris and it never gets old! Although, it was a bit of a sensory shock going from quiet and relatively empty Lyon to a crowded Paris full of moving humans! Every time I come to this city, there's always something new that's developed. When I was here two years ago, there was one cafe offering matcha. Now, you can find it on just about every other block! This time in Paris, I decided to focus on Le Marais which now has one of my favorite shops, Merci and the Latin Quarter which is full of architectural gems itself. It was also my first time exploring Place des Vosges. The great thing about having gone to Paris multiple times is that I can now just explore the more local gems vs the tourist gems. There's a cute little street that reminds me a lot of London in Rue Cremieux. There's the most charming little lane called Commerce Saint-Andre that is lined with restaurants and shops.  I did visit inside the newly renovated Notre Dame as they had just reopened after closing due to the fire five years ago. I had planned to just walk by since I had read about the long lines of people trying to get into the cathedral but on a random February Thursday morning, there were no lines to enter and so in I went. The next time I return, I will definitely spend more time in these areas as I discover more local gems and maybe I'll finally make that visit inside the Louvre.

Brugge...Charming Before the Crowds!

Of all the travel days we had, I was most nervous about this. We had to a 630am flight from Stockholm to Brussels which meant that we had to get the kids up at 3:30am. They were troopers though and got up excitedly in their travel pajamas that we had put on them the night previously. If anything can make a 630am flight, it would be flying business class. We flew Brussels Airlines and at the time at which I purchased tickets, business class was a fraction of economy, so business class it was! The looks that the twins were getting in their row 1 seats was pretty entertaining by all the passerby's.

We arrived to a sunny Brussels airport and then took a direct train to Brugge. An hour later, we arrived to an equally sunny Brugge. We reserved an apartment hotel room at the Hotel Aragon and the kids were going nuts playing with all the doors and cabinet doors. Word to the wise, bring your own childproofing! Our hotel wasn't ready yet and so we dropped off our luggage and headed for lunch at the markt square. We spent the rest of the day on a self walking tour of Brugge which we found to be entirely too crowded for our liking when it's prime time. Another observation that we had of Brugge, it's not nearly as kid friendly as Stockholm was. 

The next day, it was rainy but we managed to make it out to breakfast at what turned out to be one of our favorite places, That's Toast. We got to enjoy quiet and serene Brugge before the day trip crowds came in. With the sprinkles, we found it to the perfect opportunity to take a covered horse carriage ride which the kids had been asking about since we arrived. If anyone is thinking of doing a horse carriage ride in Brugge, it's cash only and they expect a tip above the 70 euros. 

On Day 3 and our last day in Brugge, we once again headed to That's Toast which we found to be one of the more kid friendly places to dine at. We then walked out to the charming outskirts of Brugge to the moat and windmills before rounding back inland to a playground called, Astridpark. Just before 3pm, it was time to take the train to Brussels where we would overnight before an early journey on the Eurostar to the UK.

We arrived in Brussels and checked into our transit hotel. Shortly after, we uber'ed to the Palace square for a quick tour before having dinner at Chez Leon where coincidentally, kids under 12 eat free. I don't know that we have to return to Brugge again although their waffles were quite tasty and we definitely don't have to return to Brussels but there are a couple of cities in Belgium that I'd like to visit in the future. One big learning that I had was that not all Uber XL's are the same. In Stockholm, when you reserve an Uber XL, it's a 6 passenger vehicle with room for luggage. In Brussels and the UK for that matter, it's just a vehicle for 6 passengers and no luggage or vice versa. 

Next up, onto the Eurostar to Alnmouth!

Stockholm... Most Kid Friendly City!

Stockholm has been on my list as a destination because I've once been told that it's a very cool city. A cool city it was but what I didn't know was how child friendly the city truly was. We didn't specifically seek out child friendly restaurants but every restaurant we went to offered child size portions of items on their menu. Every crosswalk was assessable making it very stroller friendly. In fact, there are so many strollers roaming around Stockholm that I bet they have the highest ratio of strollers per capita! Wherever you are in Stockholm, search playground in googlemaps and there'll be a handful within 10-15 mins of where you are. Speaking of playgrounds, many of the playgrounds we discovered wasn't on any "best playgrounds" list in guides and so definitely venture off of guides so find some gems. Below is how we spent our days!

Day 1- We arrived in Stockholm and hopped in what was probably an overpriced taxi ride into the city but when you have 3 tired toddlers, the cost of convenience is worth it! After a 30 or so minute ride, we arrived at our hotel, Hobo Hotel where we had booked the executive suite for our family of 5. The hotel could not have been more conveniently located. After getting settled in, we walked across the street for pizza and then off to an early bedtime. Stockholm in the Summer at least hardly gets dark but my kids are used to not sleeping in total darkness and so that was not a problem for us. 

Day 2- Our exploration day begins! We wandered down to Gamla Stan witnessing the changing of the guards band along the way and then made an impromptu decision to hop on the ferry to Skansen, an open air outdoor amusement playground.

Day 3- With the recommendation from our hotel, we walked to Ralis Parklek playground. Bring a change of clothes if you're coming here for the summer as they have a pond. This playground covers all as they have a bit of everything for everyone (ie:soccer field, wading pond, zip line, climbing wall, etc). After hours of play, we did the enjoyable walk back along the water and ended up at the main commercial shopping street, Vasagatan. For convenience, we had dinner nearby and this is where I discovered a way to ruin a fish taco. The restaurant we went to sadly used smoked salmon for their fish tacos vs fried or pan fried fish which actually brings me to another point. When the menu describes something as deep fried, it actually means sautéed.

Day 4-  Weather looked amazing today and so onto a boat and a cruise on the archipelago (in the Baltic Sea) we went with Vaxholm as the destination. There, we found another great playground, Lekplats and the kiddos spent hours there. To end the evening, we had a delicious meal at Tradition in Gamla Stan. A recommendation from our hotel and one we would recommend as well for a traditional Swedish meal. Kids size portions available here!

Day 5- We ventured to the Sodermalm area and there was another great little playground called Bryggartappen. We lunched at Meatballs For the People but it should really be called Meatballs For All Types of People as there were meatballs that I wouldn't venture with (ie: Bear).

Day 6- Rain was in the forecast today and so headed to the Vasa Museum. How often do you get to see a real ship from the 1600s?! What a tragic story as it's life ended in just seconds after setting for the first sail. The museum is captivating in that it was able to attain so many artifacts from the sailors that were on the boat. The lightlight of the day for me was finding a hidden Fika spot that isn't in any yelp review. The day wouldn't be complete with a playground! This time, we went to Krubbans Lekplats in the Ostermalm area. We later explored the entire Ostermalm area including a walk through of  Saluhaull. We picked up some very expensive fruit here but again with 3 toddlers, you might be ok with paying $15 for 3 apples, 1 cup of raspberries and 1 cup of strawberries.

Day 7-  Today we explored Ivar Lo Park. It's not known to many but one not to miss with the view points from this park! On our way back, we explored the side streets of Gamla Stan which we hadn't yet had a chance to do. Dinner was where we had lunch the previous day, Bar & Bistro in Gamla Stan next to Tradition. It's a more casual and much smaller version of Tradition and equally delicious.

Day 8- Our final day here was a bit rainy but we were able to up to another playground in the Ostermalm area, Humlegardens. 

We couldn't have been happier with Stockholm as our first international destination for our now family of 5. The hotel we choose, Hobo Hotel is where we would choose to stay again if we ever returned. Their morning breakfast which was included in our rate offered the most complete spread of American breakfast items with a Japanese influence. For example, they offered varied juices including green juice, donburi, miso soup among many other items. 

One of the things that we contemplated on the most was our stroller situation. We were going to bring the Zoe Twin and then decided to just bring the Babyzen Yoyo and the ride along board instead but ended up with a last minute decision to bring our Babyzen Yoyo, the ride along board and our Cybex Libelle. We found it to be essential to have a stroller solution for every kiddo, even our 5 yo as we were covering 8+ miles of walking a day. Besides, one thing that we hadn't considered was how much our young kiddos relied on the stroller as a safe space whenever they felt overwhelmed. Car seats wise, we brought two Safe Rider Vests, 1 Wayb and 1 Hiccopop inflatable booster. While we had it just in case, many times in cabs and Ubers, the kids were fine just sitting in the car for the short ride.

From SFO to ARN, KLM was our airline and they couldn't have been more friendly with our family! We had 8 days in Stockholm and felt like we could have lingered longer. It's such a cool and stunning city. We liked that fact that it didn't feel overly touristy, evern for Summer. Everyone just blends in and cost wise, it was on par with where we live in the Bay Area, CA. If anything, I would say plan for some rainy days as we did have 1.5 days of rain which isn't bad considering we were there for 8. And with that, onto Bruges!

London Is Calling

Would you believe that I've been all over Europe but had never set foot in London proper?! I've transited through the Heathrow airport many times but had never spent anytime in the grand city just outside of it. This year, for what seems to be my annual winter birthday trip, I had decided that it's time to check London off the list and my friend Noreen from NYC was up for meeting me there. 

  

I landed on an early Monday morning and fortunately, the Clermont Victoria Hotel was nice enough to allow me to check in early where promptly after, I hopped on the on/off London bus tour for about 3 hours while I waited for Noreen's arrival. I will say that the big streets that the bus tour takes you through is a very different experience than the quaint streets and lanes of the various neighborhoods. Once Noreen arrived, we set out on our first of many neighborhood self walking tours. First up would be Chelsea. The sun would start to set around 4pm and so our experience of Chelsea was seen during the settling in of dusk.

The next day, we ventured off to the neighborhoods of Kensington, Notting Hill, Primrose Hill and Camden. Kensington is what I would consider the old money neighborhood of London. The architecture and private gardens that surrounds the neighborhood makes this very apparent. While it lacked some of the charm of the other neighborhoods, I did speak regal. 

For the sake of time, once we were done with out 2 hour self walking tour of Kensington, we hopped in a taxi and headed to the infamous Portobello Road in Notting Hill. In my mind, I had these idyllic imagery of the neighborhood being quaint and cute after all, the movie is one of my all time favorites. Real life Notting Hill was a big grungier than I had imagined. Tragically, the corner book shop that was the main feature point of the movie has turned into a cheesy movie tourist shop. I wondered why the city or the neighborhood didn't enforce that the property stay a book shop? Meanwhile, someone must have thought the same and capitalize on the idea by opening The Notting Hill Book Shop down the street. While strolling down Portobello road, you'll also see shops featuring the Notting Hill jacket which is inspired by the jacket that Julia Roberts is wearing in the movie where she goes to William's sister's house for a birthday dinner. 

In the interest of time, after our time in Notting Hill, we hopped another friendly London taxi to Primrose Hill where we got a glimpse of the where seemingly many young families choose to reside with it's large park on the hill and quaint street of shops. Real estate was noticeably a bit lower priced in this neighborhood than the rest. Shortly after, we made our way to Camden and walked through the many stalls of the Camden market. What a night and day feel between Primrose which is literally down a canal to Camden. If I had to compare Camden to a neighborhood in San Francisco, it'd be a cleaner Haight Street or Pacific Beach in San Diego. It's definitely the grungiest part of London we had visited during our time there.

The next morning, we started off in Soho before venturing into Covent Gardens. How does this Soho compare to the Soho in New York? It's cleaner for a start and that is what I would say about all the neighborhoods in London. While it felt like New York in some aspects, it was definitely cleaner and classier. The picture above is of Neal's Yard which is probably London's current most instagrammed lane but in person, it's much smaller. 

I don't know how London operated before but current London is cashless everywhere. I paid about 95% of my transactions via Apple Pay and only took my credit card out twice. The tube was clean and people were respectable. While I am sure pick pocketing happens, you wouldn't really know it on the London tube. 

On our last full day in London, we decided to hit up the tourist spots. We started off at Kensington Palace where we visited the Princess Diana statue in the sunken gardens of the palace then made out way to Buckingham Palace. Noreen had seeing 10 Downing St on her list but the reality was a disappointment as access to anything outside of the iron security gates was blocked. We paid for two tours during our visit: The Churchill War Room which was quite an interesting tour. It'd be the first tour I had ever taken where I listened to almost the entirety of the audio tour. It's amazing how preserved the city has kept it. The other paid entry would be to Westminister Abbey where we were both dumbfounded at how small the steps actually were. You know, the main steps were the Royal Family is often seen standing on waving to the crowd (William + Kate's wedding). 

While our visit added some great memories, we've agreed that London is too expensive to do for a more prolonged period of time especially when it comes to eating out. Sitting at a restaurant is an automatic 20% tax and a 12.5% gratuity tip added on to the bill. We had our best meals at a place called Dishoom (definitely go there for breakfast) and Palomar but I can't tell you when I will be back. Maybe I'll transit for a day through London and stopped by Dishoom for one of their breakfast naan sandwiches! Maybe next time, I will look the right way of the street for traffic as somehow, I managed to look the opposite way even with a the direction painted in front of me!

On the flight back, I watched every movie that United featured London in: Notting Hill, Love Actually and Last Christmas. It was a delight being able to recognize the streets and locations now while watching some of my all time favorite films. Until next time...!