To Great Grandmother’s house we go…  Heading to Liverpool in a few hours to visit Justin’s Grandmohter, Alice, (and Stella’s Great Grandmother).  Alice turns 93 in November and is strong and full of life as ever.  We are very much looking forward to seeing her.

We originally planned to take the train there and back.  But now changed our mind and will be driving up and training back.  The short of it is things are really expensive here in England and we realized driving would be the best bet.  Unfortunately we couldn’t cancel our return portion so we will be training back.  It will be fun to train as we really enjoying traveling via train.

England is VERY expensive.  They are feeling the same pressures that the US and Canada are in that food prices have skyrocketed.  There was a study in the paper that said that the cost of food has doubled since last year.

And don’t even complain about the cost of gas in the  US or even Canada….It’s $9 a gallon here…but it’s always been high so people aren’t as affected by the fuel cost as much as N. America…but mostly because there are tons of public transportation options and you can walk and get just about anything you need in most villages.

Nanna and Stella in Marlow

Nana arrived last night as well. We had a nice meal and are headed for a Sunday roast in a bit.

On to some packing tips for traveling with a baby to someone’s home:

I find it more difficult to actually pack to go to someone’s home to stay (unless of course they have or have recently had children or know someone with children that you can borrow things from). I often try to have the person I’m staying with ask around to borrow a pack and play, high chair, etc.  Anything that I won’t have to worry about bringing.  It’s usually a big help.

Though when you are driving you can just pack the car full of anythingh you might need!

Car tips:

A lot of my friends swear by the DVD player.  I haven’t broken down yet and gotten one.  Mostly because Stella stilldoesn’t watch TV (well, except Mommy and Daddy’s programs!).  Talk to me in a few years though and I may have changed my mind.

Plenty of toys.  But only give them to baby one at a time so as not to overwhelm (we’ve done this so trust me..) and to also have some reserves as the trip drags on.  (Same tip for flying!).

Healthy snacks.  Don’t rely on what you can grab at the gas station…same for you parents.  Take something healthy and big bottle of water so everyone arrives happy and healthy.  Ofcourse a bit of chocolate along the way doesn’t hurt…

Sun shades for the windows can be very helpful as well.

Take a break every hour or so as baby will get restless in the car.

Also try to plan the trip for when baby usually goes down for a nap.  That way, most of the trip is spent sleeping in the car.

Now, I can’t say I’m an expert in car trips as we hate driving anywhere but these are a few that we have found helpful.

Off for some Sunday Roast…

We have a new villa. Bigger actually than our old one but apparently the view isn’t as nice and still no internet.

Justin is working hard to find a solution.

Rhodes Villla Damage

Here are some pictures of the damage from our old villa. We feel terrible for the owners as buying this villa was a family dream and now they are having to go through all of this in a foreign country.

I always say things happen for a reason and workout in the end…

Here’s the new villa, Villa Angelika: http://www.sapphirevillas.eu/171/villaangelika/details.cfm

So on to some baby travel tips.

I like to try to find free and easy things to do when we are on vacation. Justin and I feel that we have done a ton of traveling and now when we visit a new place the fun of the trip is trying to live more like a local. The first thing I always do before I even arrive is find out if there is a local market and the best places to eat. By now you should know my priorities…my belly leads the way!

The second thing I always want to find is outdoor activities. Nice walks or hikes in around our destination. To walk off all that food we eat.

And the third main thing is a place to get a good drink. Here in England it is fantastic as we can bring Stella along for a pint and she can run around in the pub. Some pubs are baby friendly more than others so we search those out.

Now that we have Stella I try to look for a few other things as well.

Libraries, farmer’s markets, playgrounds, festivals, etc. All free and usually some sort of child friendly activities going on.

Taking a Walk Along the Thames

In Marlow we have been very lucky to be close to a lot of nice and free things to do with Stella. We’ve gone on a walk at least once a day along the toe path on the Thames. She loves seeing all the swans, geese, ducks and dogs. Thank goodness we brought the Mountain Buggy or we wouldn’t be doing have the walks we have done so far. I believe as the trip goes on we are going to be even happier we brought it. I found a store here to get a back-up tire as my only complaint with this stroller is all the tire issues I’ve had. But as much as we use it I don’t think I should complain.

We are also right on Higginson Park which has the best playground I’ve ever seen. Tons of play gym equipment and a soft surface. Stella loves going there and every time we walk past she points and shrills as she wants to go to the park.

Enjoying Higginson Park

The Marlow library is only 2 blocks away so we’ve been there several times to get books.

TIP: when you are traveling see if there is a local library that you can go to and check out books so you don’t have to bring a ton with you. Not that I’m a fan of the TV but if you must (it is vacation after all) you can likely rent or check-out child friendly DVDS. The library here also has a great magazine collection that you can check-out for free.

Yesterday I took Stella to their story time. She enjoyed seeing all the children and pulling all the books out more than the actual story but it was a nice interactive experience for her. Especially in a different country with different stories and accents.

Enjoying Story Time at the Marlow Library

Finally, we hit the farmer’s market in Higginson Park as well this week. Stella enjoyed seeing all the different foods and sampling the yummy sausage pie! (She has been living on pork products since we arrived).

"Yum Yum," Sausage Rolls from the Farmer's Market

Tomorrow Nana arrives (Justin’s mother). We are looking forward to seeing her and I know she can’t wait to see Stella.

On a different note, it seems that a cloud of bad luck has been following us since we arrived in England (today it was my laptop that had issues that still aren’t resolved and everything little that could go wrong did).  Perhaps it has something to do with the cloudy/rainy weather and once we get to Greece things will start to look up.

On a positive note Stella is doing really well and sleeping like a champ and is such a joy.  We are very lucky parents.  With all that is going on she’s able to make us smile and laugh and forget the worries.

We just got word that a retaining wall of our villa in Greece has “collapsed.”  This is the worse case scenario of the entire trip.  We planned this entire trip around our stay in Greece so as you can imagine we are quite devastated.  We don’t have the pictures yet of the destruction but will post them when we get them.

We are awaiting more news and pictures of an alternate villa that the owners have tried to arrange for us.  However, we won’t have internet and this is greatly going to impact our business.  We are also going during the height of the season so finding alternate accommodations isn’t going to be easy.

Will post when we figure out what the heck we are going to do.  I guess this is a further test of patience and being flexible!  Two big attributes all parents need.

Here’s the note we received today from the villa owners.

Today was the first day in so long that I can say I sat down and said, “what should I do? ” I can’t remember a day when I didn’t have  a million things to run around and do.

Not that I don’t have a million things to do but for some reason I was able to actually sit and contemplate it.  Does leaving the country and being in a foreign land allow you to relieve yourself of these mental burdens?  All the lists of things you have to do, need to do, etc.?

I think part of it has to do with the simplicity of travel.  No house to clean.  No social calendar to fill.  No phone calls to return (OK, I have those since I am working while traveling but still).  No gym membership or yoga passes to use (or risk “wasting the money” – traveling is exercise enough).

This trip is a bit different from a 1 or 2 week holiday where the above mentioned “not have to dos” fit the bill.  We have a lot of “to dos” each day with running our business and we are in fact “living” abroad now.  So today there were errands to run for the flat, dry cleaning to get, letters to post, groceries to buy…and of course work to do whenever Stella napped or goes to bed, but for some reason things just seem simpler.

Maybe it’s because we are in a 1 bedroom flat so less to clean or keep up after.  (Don’t we all just dream of that big house….well, maybe a small quaint home is the way to go, less to keep up).  Or maybe it’s because there’s no car to fill with gas, clean or maintain.

Just some thoughts on a simpler life.

I love this quote from John Lennon’s Beautiful Boy”(Darling Boy) - “Life is what happens to you, while you’re busy making other plans.”

For the past few months I feel like life was happening while we were making so many plans.  Now we are “living life.”  I’m seeing Stella in a different light and we are enjoying her so much.  Just removing the “fog” of the routine days has opened up my eyes to a totally different life with her.

So I guess I should share some travel tips and not just wax lyrical since this is in fact a baby travel guide.

I guess my point of all this is when you are traveling with a baby take some time to just relax.   Don’t pack too much into the schedule.  We are finding that trying to do more than 1 meal out a day is a bit much (sometimes you can’t help it though).  If your baby is still taking 2 naps then planning only 1 activity a day is probably more than enough given that going out for a meal or two is activity enough.

Take walks, relax.  Read books.  Baby just wants to be with his or her parent(s).

John Lennon: Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)

Close your eyes
Have no fear
The monster’s gone
He’s on the run and your daddy’s here

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful
Beautiful boy
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful
Beautiful boy

Before you go to sleep
Say a little prayer
Every day in every way
It’s getting better and better

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful
Beautiful boy
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful
Beautiful boy

Out on the ocean sailing away
I can hardly wait
To see you come of age
But i guess we’ll both just have to be patient
’cause it’s a long way to go
A hard row to hoe
Yes it’s a long way to go
But in the meantime

Before you cross the street
Take my hand
Life is what happens to you
While you’re busy making other plans

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful
Beautiful boy
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful
Beautiful boy

Before you go to sleep
Say a little prayer
Every day in every way
It’s getting better and better

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful
Beautiful boy
Darling, darling, darling
Darling Sean.

Stella Having Her First English Sunday Roast, Two Brewers

It’s amazing what a little bit of sleep will do for everyone.

Stella had her own room last night and slept nearly 11 hours…down at 7:30′ish (her normal time) and up at 6:30′ish (her normal time). We all couldn’t be happier.

For parents sleep is like when you are a teenager and you are waiting for the phone to ring and can’t wait to gossip with your friends. Or when you are in your twenties and you are looking for the next big party and getting VIP access…Sleep is everything when you have a child.

Justin and I got over 8 hours  of sleep last night.

Today we had a Sunday roast at the oldest pub in Marlow, the Two Brewers. It was nice but I forgot how bland the English diet really is.  As my Dad reminded me tonight . . . meat and potatoes!  And a few steamed veg thrown in for good measure.

Stella is finally over jet lag and enjoying herself.  I think the big issue was sharing a room with us.

Having a Pint on a Lazy Sunday Afternoon

We even took her to a pub this afternoon as it was a dreary wet English Sunday (not what we had planned).  She was quite good considering.

And now to the title of this post “Mayor of Marlow.”

Stella sits at the back door of Angela’s flat which backs the Thames.  She must say hello to everyone who passes by.  Quite sweet and people have even stopped to take a picture of her.

She also “pants” at every dog that trots by (sign language for “dog”).  She also points out all the planes that pass overhead from Heathrow as her PawPaw taught her all about planes in Atlanta.

The Mayor of Marlow says Hello to Everyone along the Thames

The Mayor of Marlow

Tomorrow it’s back to business as usual as Justin and I must catch up on some work.