Make lemonade . . . ” or so the saying goes.

Well, we’ve tried but the lemons keep being too tart (or rotten), the sugar is infested with ants or the water is tainted.

The truth is, it’s been a rough road since we landed in England.

Justin and I finally had a moment of truth and confessed that this just hasn’t been the trip we had planned.

I could give you a run down of all the hurdles and issues we’ve had in the past month but you would not believe it.  We are pretty certain most people would have given up at this point.

And we can’t say we haven’t tried really hard to make the most of it.  Each day we wake up and think, “oh, this is going to be a better day,” but something inevitably happens…yesterday it was our kitchen sink overflowing, raw sewage in the backyard (we apparently aren’t supposed to put toilet paper in the toilet – or any toilet on the island for that matter…no one told us) and a hour drive to the airport to find out Justin’s brother (Brandon) missed his flight…it was an hour back at 11 PM as well.

We’ve also been trying to stay on top of work.  Using a dial-up connection and cell phones that don’t always work have made this rather difficult.  And also means we are working way more than we had planned.   Just more frustration that we don’t have any control over.

So this morning we decided let’s just try even harder to make the most of it.  We’ve put some limitations on ourselves with the email/interenet (only when Stella is asleep and we are also going to have one of us go to an Internet Cafe a few days a week to be more productive).  Visits to the beach are mandatory at least every other day (if you can believe it, we haven’t even spent more than 20 mins. on a beach yet…I had planned to go every day but with all the headaches we’ve had and running around it’s just not happened).  And not so concerned with trying to have meals in.  Stella has done really well going out for dinner and lunches (even a 9:30/10 pm dinner) that we can now pretty much go out anywhere and anytime (within reason).  It helps that she is on a later schedule and takes massive naps and that in Greece it is perfectly acceptable for your child to crawl all around the restaurant and half of the diners to pick her up and play with her.  (VERY CHILD FRIENDLY here)!

We went for a great long late lunch on the beach today and spent some time at the beach playing in the sea and sand (Stella the little prima dona did not like the sand at all and squealed everytime it got on her and refused to put her feet down…).

And I’ve tried running in the afternoons which has been great.  A little break for me away from it all and some great scenery.  I guess I’m getting used to the heat finally.

On a lighter note…we thought we’d give it a try at potty training Stella while we were here.  She seems to “get it” if she has her swimmer on that she has to go the bathroom now so we’ve been leaving her in that to get her used to knowing when she has to go.  Today we took her swimmer off for a bit and let her run around…well, actually, we did this twice…and both times we had quite a mess to clean up!  Not sure how much more we will try this tactic but she seems to be catching on a bit.

So on to happier days.  We have 3 1/2 weeks left here and we fully intend to enjoy them.

Baby Tips:

Bring something to the beach that keeps the sand off of baby for her/him to play in (we’ll be taking Stella’s inflatable boat next time).

Bring plenty of liquids (water!) to the beach for baby to drink.

Don’t forget to reapply sunblock and stay in the shade or under an umbrella as the suns rays are very hot and you’ll still get sun from the reflection of the water.

Finally settling in and doing some sightseeing, having some meals out (we are already tired of Greek food actually and going to likely brave it and try the one Chinese restaurant…) and enjoying our villa pool.

We drove by to see the villa we were supposed to have had yesterday.  Fantastic view, nice garden.  Didn’t get inside though but it looked really nice and was in an area where we could have walked to a few things (shops, restaurants, beach).  So it was  a bit disappointing.  However, our villa is more private so we are looking on the bright side.

Since Nanna has been here we have done quite a bit of sightseeing.  We got to visit the Old Town of Rhodes and hit the weekly farmer’s market on Saturday in Rhodes Town (always a highlight of any trip I go on being a “foodie”).  I think we were the only non-Greeks at the market which was a lot of fun.  The Old Town is absolutely amazing and definitely something to see.  We hear that it is a lot like the old walled city of Dubrovnick so we are looking forward to that.

Justin and I were even able to go out for a few drinks in Lindos (a World Heritage site and very pretty) after we put Stella down to bed.  Nanna kept an eye on Stella which was nice.  It was great to take some time for just the two of us.  As parents I think it’s really important to nurture your marriage once children arrive.  Happy parents make for happy children.

We rounded out the sightseeing by renting a boat and after we dropped Nanna at the airport on Tuesday we circumnavigated the island and visited some more

ruins and Embona (the wine producing region).  The drive on the west coast was very nice and very different in topography (mountains and a lot of pine trees).

Justin and I are getting caught up on work which is nice but still enjoying ourselves.

Now, since this is a baby travel tips blog I must share some more insights.

Here are a few of my packing tips for traveling to the beach with baby (you will find others throughout the blog):

1.  Tons of sunblock.  I try to get organic/all natural as possible as babies are so small and all the chemicals in other sunblocks are quite harsh.  Of course, you can always pick up more sunblock at your destination no matter how remote, in most cases.

2.  Sunhats, swimmers (non-disposable), sunshirt:  Anything to protect baby from the sun.  I also have a great muslin blanket that is great for keeping the sun off of a sleeping baby.  I am not a fan of the disposable siwmmers as they are just another pile in the landfills.  I have now found that the reuseable swimmers you can find at Target and just about anwyhere else these days are fine.  They keep “everything in” and you can reuse them (saving precious packing space and the environment).  A word of caution here though is that I have heard that some resorts REQUIRE disposable swimmers and a swimsuit over top.  Enquire with the place you are staying first if you are concerned with this.

3.  Beach toys, umbrella, raft, life jacket, etc.:  If you are flying you can likely pick all of these things up when you get there and pretty inexpensively (again though, if you have it, bring it I guess so as not to increase the plastic waste buy buying new…you can always hit a second hand store for these sort of things at your destinations, some are easier to find than others.  I actually bought a table cloth at a charity shop in Marlow to use as a play blanket for Stella on the trip).  And if you are lucky your resort, condo or house may already have them.  Ask before you go.

4.  All natural bug spray if you are going to a climate with nasty bugs and where you will not speak the language (harder to find mild sprays in another language).  I also try not to put this directly on Stella but rather we wear it (I don’t even like wearing the harsh stuff on myself or Justin as it always rubs off on Stella) and put it on her stroller, etc.  I have also heard that some people place a lady bug pen on the baby’s stroller which is suppossed to keep bugs away.  We are having a terrible time with “buzzy bees” at our villa and are desperate for any recommendations on how to keep them away.

5.  Baby toiletries:  most you can buy at your destination but if your baby has sensitive skin bring some from home.  I also sometimes use Stella’s toiletries myself as they are great for dry skin and saves me transporting a lot of toiletries.  Baby sunblock is all you need as well.  No real need to buy adult and child unless you plan to do a lot of water sports then you’ll want something that is waterproof for yourself.

So we are finally here in Greece. The entire trip had been planned around these 5 ½ weeks. Can’t say that it has been an easy road getting here (the planning alone was exhausting) and it seems that each step of the trip since we hit England has been one problem after another.

If you’ve been reading you know that we’ve had a lot of issues and road blocks along the way. I can’t say that arriving in Greece has been much easier. Not to dwell on the negative here but I’ll just say that if something could go wrong, it has.

The good news is our replacement villa is brand new. The bad news is that the villa is brand new. If you’ve ever bought a new house you know that it takes nearly six months to work out the “kinks…” We are only the second group of people to stay here so we are working with the management company to fix all the issues. They are trying their hardest but it is an island mentality here and a country in Europe where they still take siestas and consider them almost sacred.

The owners (the Sleepers) of our previous villa actually met us when we arrived and brought over loads of food and drinks for us. They really helped us settle in and were very apologetic about what had happened. If you are ever going to Rhodes I’d recommend the Sleeper’s villa.

On the positive side, I’ve been checking email poolside and we’ve had some nice meals out and been exploring the island of Rhodes quite a bit. I’ve also caught up on a lot of sleep which has been really nice. Justin and I finally seem like we are almost in our “travel groove.” For anyone who has “traveled” for a few months to a year you can relate. It takes nearly a month to actually shed the mental baggage of home and actually figure out what your groove is. I think we are almost there which is really nice.

Some highlights so far are:

1. Our first night out in the town of Pefkos we stumbled upon a bar that actually had a playground…Stella was thrilled and we were able to have a nice cold beer while she played. Note that this was at 11:00 PM…Stella has adjusted to Greek nightlife very well! (She takes some serious naps now that we’ve been here due to a combination of the heat and much playing and activity – and is also able to stay up quite late).

2. Exploring the village of Lindos. It’s a beautiful old Hellenic village that is traditionally whitewashed and tucked into the hillside with winding streets. We plan to explore the Acropolis there this week as Nana (Justin’s Mom) arrived today and she wants to check it out.

3. Attending a wine festival in Lardos. Very quaint town that we’ve actually been to three times. Our favorite town so far and quite Greek. We already know quite a few of the locals there already which is nice.

4. Rhodes Old Town. We only got to explore for a bit today on our way to the airport but it looks amazing. We plan to go back a few times to the walled city when we pick up or drop off family at the airport.

5. Our pool at the villa. We love just hanging out there and playing with Stella in her little boat. She loves the water and now crawls along the edge faster than I can swim to keep up.

Some lessons I’ve learned along the way traveling with baby…

I’m still not organized enough. I thought I was a very organized person and had everything sorted but it seems we keep losing things or realizing we should have brought something.

Things we wish we had brought:

Backpack carrier: We never bought a back-pack carrier thinking we’d get one in Europe… no luck finding one so all we have is my one small sling. This would be fine but with some of the sightseeing we want to do it really is making things difficult.

Mountain buggy tire pump: See problems below.

Aqua socks: While the Mediterranean is my most favorite place to swim most of the beaches are rocky. It’s really hard to get out into the water on your own without having aqua socks but to also carry Stella is almost dangerous.

Extra baby sunblock: Thanks to Nanna, we have a big supply now.

Beer huggies: I know, pathetic, but do you know how hot your beer gets here before you even get a sip…

Things we really didn’t need:

Baby clothes: We have way too many. For the most part Stella is in her swimmer or running around in her “birthday suit.”

Disposable Swimmers: I only brought a handful but realize they are completely unnecessary. The cloth swimmers you can buy are great for the pull and reusable and when she’s at the beach it just seems silly to even bother with one.

Half the clothes we brought for ourselves: We really didn’t bring a lot but I’m realizing we aren’t even going to wear half of them. But this is usually the case anyway.

Workout clothes: It is entirely too hot to actually think about running. But I do hope to get a run in here or there in September if it cools down a bit.

Unforeseen Problems:

Mountain Buggy…still my favorite stroller and glad to have the all terrain tires and shocks but it has been an utter nightmare dealing with the tires. So far this trip I’ve had to change out 4 inner-tubes…We have now realized the heat here is making the tube expand and bust inside the wheel…We think the solution is to not leave it outside or in the car when we aren’t using it and to deflate the tires a bit so they have room to expand. If anyone has any suggestions PLEASE pass them along. This has become the biggest pain of our trip in many ways.

Losing things…I never lost anything in my life really until I had a baby. Now add to the mix traveling thru 4 countries in less than 4 weeks and you can imagine how hard it is to stay organized. I’ve now started putting things into bags and organized for different outings and Justin and I have now designated each other in charge of keeping up with different things (he’s got the camera, I’ve got the passports…).

Translating detergent, cleaning supplies and washing machine instructions (just to name a few) into English. This is the first time I’ve actually “lived” in another country where I don’t speak the language. I didn’t even think about the little things of “living” in a different country that we’d have to deal with and figure out. It’s definitely been fun and all a part of the adventure.

A final word on traveling. Justin and I love to travel. We’ve learned how to meld our tastes, desires and interests into a mutually enjoyable adventure. I love traveling with Justin. It’s honestly our most favorite thing in the world to do. I think that experiencing life on the road with your partner – especially a long-term trip- has to be the biggest test of your relationship. We’ve always come out stronger and happier.

However, this trip is different. We are now a family with little Stella. It’s funny how your priorities change. Last night it wasn’t trying to find the best restaurant and club to go to but rather picking out the best balloon to buy Stella at the wine festival…

I know that Justin and I both have amazing memories of trips the two of us took on our own and sometimes look back longingly for those days (especially as we passed all the hip bars in Lindos tonight), but watching Stella take in all the new sites and experiences I get so overwhelmed with happiness that we are doing this together as a family.

If anyone is contemplating a long trip with your child or future child/children, I highly recommend it. It takes a lot of patience, planning and flexibility – and I mean a lot – but you will be richly rewarded.

As usual our visit with Alice makes you ponder a lot of things.  A wise woman she is.  And to live to be 92 (almost 93), still living on her own and fully engaged is absolutely amazing.  If you think of what she’s lived through in history it’s pretty crazy.

My ‘take aways’ from our visit on words of wisdom and perhaps some things to ponder so you too may live to be 92 and see your Great Grandchildren:

1.  Live frugally (buy only what you need and don’t waste)–seems like pretty good advice given our environmental impact these days and the current economy

2.  All things in moderation

3.  Enjoy the finer things in life when possible (a glass of wine, and oh yeah, when we were there she said “‘ooh gah aye’ I’d love a nice piece of toast, a bit of egg and some gorgeous caviar”…you don’t have to be rich to enjoy nice things)

4.  Take care of your body:  eat well, get plenty of sleep and exercise as long as your body allows it.

5.  Remember, you only have one family so take care of them.

6.  Have a strong sense of faith (no matter your beliefs, believe in something and follow your beliefs)

7.  Do not judge and believe that there is a little good in everyone (you may just have to search for it…)

Off to Greece in a few hours.  We have a very long layover in Athens so we are going to try to hit the Acropolis.

We arrive in Rhodes around 2pm and will be getting a rental car for a few days to get ourselves sorted.

Very excited to be settling into somewhere for 6 weeks so we can just “live” a bit.

Internet update:  the owners of the new villa have offered their wireless card for us to use and the rental agency said we can use there office whenever we want.  Very nice and things seem to be coming together again.

Down to 3 bags now and already happier to be a bit “lighter.”

Planning to put together some packing tips in the next few days.

We are staying at Justin’s Gran’s house.  She’s lived her for over 60 years. It’s a Speke Council House as Justin’s Grandad (Tommy) was a Council Member.  This is also the house that Justin’s Mum, Angela, was born in.  It’s actually quite amazing to just be here with all the family history.  We are lucky to be able to have little Stella spend some quality time with her Great Gran.

Alice also lives just round the corner from where George Harrison of the Beatles grew up.

Alice has been living on her own now for 34 years.  The socialized health care system here is VERY good to the elderly.  She has a lot of help and still lives at home at the ripe old age of 92.

Stella also got to visit with her Great Aunt Shelia and Great Uncle Billy.  Shelia is very good and helps Alice out every Friday.  A very kind and gentle woman that Alice is very lucky to have in her life.  Billy is always good for a laugh and full of life.

Yesterday we spent a rainy day in the city centre and had the best curry dinner I’ve had in a long time.  Stella also had her first lollie…as many of you know I’m pretty hard core when it comes to making sure Stella eats healthy foods…but she absolutely loved eating the lollipop they gave her at the restaurant!

We leave tomorrow but will be back for a visit in October.

A word on road trips with babies…

Not sure I’ve made this disclaimer but by no means am I a baby travel expert…not yet at least.  Just sharing my wisdom, successes and pitfalls along the way.  Yes I have great ideas but often times my attempts to make things simple fail…

Our drive up to Liverpool was not as easy as we’d hoped and I think we were all wishing we’d been on the train.  We got lost, Stella couldn’t fall asleep and we failed to get her out of the car on our gas stop break…

We didn’t arrive until almost 8 PM on Sunday night and the last 30 mins of the trip found me in the back seat of the car contorted into all sorts of positions trying to breast feed Stella while we were driving…not the safest thing in the world but you have to do what you have to do when your child has been in a car seat way too long, has a very dirty diaper, you are lost and she’s very hungry…I know I’m not the first to do this as my good friend Lee Ann shared a similar tale before I had Stella.

However, we got here in one piece, Stella survived (well actually, we all did as for some reason we actually let a guy get into our car to direct us to Alice’s house as we were just tired of driving around…  And  you should know…Liverpool puts Pittsburgh to shame when it comes to the rough and tumble of a nation…god bless ‘em!:)

I will say that the rest stops in England are REALLY baby friendly.  There were 5 private changing/nursing rooms in the bathroom where we stopped as well as signs saying that the restaurants could heat up bottles and food upon request.  Very clean as well.

Today we hit a fantastic baby and maternity store, Mamas & Papas.  Wish I actually needed a few things but FYI for anyone heading to the UK.

We leave tomorrow around noon to head back to Marlow to spend a little more time with Angela and pack for Greece.