A Day in Wells Saves the Day

On tonight's episode of Family Travel Gone Wrong: A family pulls into a parking spot in the center of the small city of Wells in Somerset, England, a 20-minute drive from their campsite. They arrive very wet, having woken up to a soggy campsite after a torrential downpour all night. (Miraculously, our Coleman Instant Tent stayed completely dry!) They had spent the previous 24 hours stranded at their campsite when the matriarch of the family (me) locked both sets of keys in the trunk of the car, leaving them with only one wallet, a little bit of cash, a tent and some clothes. All other belongings including phones, food, camping supplies, books, etc., were locked inside the car. This family endured the drama of three different mechanics attempting to unlock the car over the previous 24 hour period.

True story.

Needless to say, we were in need of a hot meal and something (anything) to go our way if our weekend camping getaway was to be salvaged.

Wells delivered.

After refueling (oh, what two cups of steaming coffee does to an exhausted parent's disposition!), we embarked on a walk about town. It was raining again at this point, but we were so overjoyed to be out exploring with full, warm bellies that we barely noticed.

A York Kind of Birthday

I'll never forget Little Arrow's first birthday party. I held back tears through the entire night, not because my baby was turning 1, but because my husband and I had recently learned that we'd likely be moving to England. I was excited about the move, but we hadn't yet told our families, and as they gathered around our dining room table to sing Happy Birthday, I knew it would be his last family party for a while.

That's the trade-off on this expat thing. Leaving the life you know and love behind for a few years of incredible, exotic moments. We traded birthday parties with the family we miss so much for foreign museums and medieval gardens. Like Little Arrow celebrating his third birthday this past winter by spending the day in the beautiful, ancient city of York.

Our first stop (and quite frankly, what could have easily been our only stop of the day, as it's so big and so much fun) was the National Railway Museum. This is one of those museums that marries children's activities with adult fascinations extremely well. There was plenty for the boys to see and do that they found completely interesting, yet things my husband and I could learn from and enjoy also. Hands-on, but not in a way that deters grown ups without children from also visiting.

A Day in Windsor with the Queen

I'm currently participating in Mom vs. Winter Germs (Round IV for us this year... and the germs definitely have me beat.) So for my next few posts, I'm going to rely more on my photos to tell the story, and less on my words. (Perhaps that's a good thing?)

Our day in Windsor Castle last weekend was perfectly lovely. Beautiful building. Exquisite, ornate interior. Charming town. Pretty much exactly what I expected. I wrote all about our day at Windsor and neighboring Eton for Anglotopia, but I left out one big detail. We met the Queen.

Three Days in Lisbon with Kids

As I sat down to write about our time in Lisbon, I was trying to put into words why I enjoyed the city so much, what made our time there special and different from other cities we have visited. And upon reflection, one observation stood out to me.

We didn't go to a single park or playground. Not one.

I'm not really bragging about this... we love parks, especially ones in big cities. I'm a huge believer in the importance of some playground time when traveling with kids. It wasn't because we had lousy weather. It was quite beautiful for most of our stay, aside from the stray rain shower. And it certainly wasn't because Lisbon didn't have any parks to offer us. I had researched several in advance of our trip and I'm bummed we never made it to any of them.

So how did we fill our time? I'm outlining our itinerary below, and providing some tips and tricks to help you if you're planning your own trip to Lisbon with kids. (You can also see our week-long Portugal itinerary here.)

Day 1: Our arrival day. After a 4 a.m. wakeup time for our flight out of London's Luton airport, we got settled into our Altis Prime apartment (a full review at Ciao Bambino to come!) and let Little Arrow take a well-earned nap. Once he woke up, we took the tram to the Belem parish, an area of the city that celebrates the Age of Discovery in a big, beautiful way. We spent the bulk of our time there letting the boys run around while we admired the Mosteiro dos Jeronimos, a monastery built by Henry the Navigator, and the Monument to the Discoveries which is directly across the street. Then we grabbed a tram back, had a late dinner, and collapsed into bed.

Day 2: After breakfast, we took the metro to Parque das Nacoes. I know I said we didn't go to a park, but the name is a bit misleading. This part of the city was developed when Lisbon hosted the 1998 World Expo (the name translates to Park of Nations). It's full of shops, restaurants, stadiums, and several big tourist attractions. We went to the Oceanario de Lisboa, the world's second largest aquarium. It was really impressive.

After the Oceanario, we were drawn to the Telecabine dangling above our heads and hopped aboard. We opted to take it one-way, and then walked back to the metro/train station (Estacao do Oriente) from the other side. We had a quick lunch there before heading back to our apartment.

After the boys napped, we strolled around some of the historic streets and squares of Lisbon's city centre. (Essentially, our route was the Avenida da Liberdade south toward Rossio, and then the pedestrian-only Rua Augusta further south to Praca do Comercio, with a few detours along the way.)

Day 3: This was our big day trip to Sintra. It's about a 45 minute train ride out of Lisbon. Once in Sintra, we stopped for coffee and pastries while we waited for everything to open for the day. We then caught the bus for Palacio da Pena. We explored the palace for a couple of hours, and then headed back into Sintra's center for lunch. After lunch, we shopped for souvenirs while we waited for our train back to Lisbon.

Later that afternoon, we took the boys swimming at the hotel pool next door to our apartment, which was a really nice break for them (and us) after a big day of sightseeing. We also watched the sunset from our apartment building's rooftop deck, cocktails in hand. A fitting ending to a perfect Lisbon getaway.

I'll be writing a post about each of our days in Lisbon in more detail in the weeks to come.

Tips:

• Lisbon is extremely hilly. Some of the roads and sidewalks are so steep they leave you breathless after just a couple of blocks (and especially when pushing a double stroller). Ask around to determine what metro stops or tram lines are best to use based on your accommodation location and sightseeing destination. A slightly indirect route might allow you to avoid some of the more difficult climbs. (For example, we took the Metro one stop past our apartment because it was a downhill walk from that station.)
• Trams are a great way to get around and fun for kids (especially the historic ones). You can buy tickets from the driver once on board (or the modern ones have ticket vending machines). Try to know your route in advance, as the driver won't typically announce each stop. If you can, sit or stand by the window so you can see the stop names as you approach. And plan to fold up your stroller, the trams get very crowded.
• Most people working in the hospitality industry will speak basic English. We had no trouble communicating with anyone during our trip. That being said, it's always nice to learn a few of the basics when traveling, like hello and thank you.
• Four days would have been ideal. There were several other big attractions I wanted to see but there just wasn't enough time without pushing the boys too hard.

Upon deeper reflection, I think we never made it to a park or playground for one simple reason: we didn't really need to. 

The boys played tag around various historic squares and spaces, climbed up turrets at Pena Palace, and got so much fresh air just walking around the city. There are portions of Lisbon that are tight and cramped (and charming!), like any European city, but for the most part, I never got that desperate need for space for the kids to run around that I sometimes get in urban areas. Plus, the Portuguese culture is so family centered and accommodating to young children that I also never felt unwelcome in the busier parts of the city.

If you have dreams of visiting Europe with young children, Lisbon would make a terrific starting point (and Portugal in general). It has so much history and character, all the amenities you could hope for, and a culture that adores children. Aside from the expensive flight across the Atlantic to get there, it's a relatively affordable destination once you arrive. 

Plus, it even has a few parks and playgrounds, or so I'm told.

Tips for Visiting Stratford-upon-Avon with Kids

When my mother-in-law came to visit this week, I had planned a day trip to Stratford-upon-Avon. Our conversation in the car on the way there consisted of the three adults naming every Shakespeare work we've read. It had been at least 15 years since any of us had read anything, and almost everything we had was forced upon us by a well-meaning high school or college English teacher. We could count the total number on our hands. The conversation was interrupted with questions like, "Where are we going again? Is there a playground? What's a play?," from 4-year-old Big Arrow. Oh dear.

So I was beginning to worry that perhaps we weren't the right group of people to be spending a day in Stratford-upon-Avon. But just like the twists and turns in a Shakespeare play, we had a wonderful day there.

0 Days in Paris, 2 Days in London

You've already heard the tale of our weekend getaway gone wrong in the Peak District. Since we're on a roll with the travel failures, let's move on to our canceled trip to Paris. Could there be anything sadder than that?

The thought of a long weekend in October in my favorite city in the world had been the proverbial carrot on the stick, enticing me to plow through the lonely summer months here and the stress of sending Big Arrow off to school in September. The icing on the cake was that my brother and sister-in-law were visiting us and had never been. I was so excited to experience the city again, and for the first time as a mom, and also with two of my favorite travel companions (they've joined us on trips to Arizona, Chicago, Michigan, and hosted us in Minneapolis).

We had even arranged a babysitter so that the four adults could paint the town red and live it up. I couldn't wait to see the City of Lights at night again.

Alas, as their visit approached, both Arrows became quite ill with a stomach bug. My parents were visiting at the time, and I was glad we hadn't made any travel plans for their visit. In fact, my mom and dad saw a lot more of my living room than they did of England. As they headed back to the U.S., the bug seemed to be lingering well beyond the normal 48-72 hour mark.

Exploring Peterborough

Our first two days in England were full of errands. Tracking down car seats, car shopping, unpacking our few belongings, finding a grocery store, etc. And negotiating with overtired kids, one of which was sick. But since we were in a very small temporary apartment during our first week, after a couple of days we were itching to get out and explore.

We still had a lot on the to-do list, so we didn’t venture far that third day. Our apartment was in Peterborough, a fairly large city by English standards. My husband’s company is in the process of opening an office here and he’ll eventually be commuting here. So it was a good chance to familiarize ourselves with the area.

The boys were up really early that day (thanks, jet lag). Naturally our first stop was here.

There should really be a limit on how many tantrums can be thrown before parents are properly caffeinated.

Fueled up and ready, then it was on to St. Peter’s Cathedral. Probably what Peterborough is most known for, at least from a tourist’s perspective. It dates back to the 12th century, although it has sustained some damage over the years. Henry the VIII’s first wife is buried there, and more recently Queen Elizabeth has visited on a couple of different occasions.