Dave is a high school friend of Justin’s and current star of Flashpoint.  There will be a few Hollywood types at the wedding so should be an interesting week!

For all you  Canuck’s fans, Trevor Linden cleared security with us.  Great guy.  But boy is he skinny to have played hockey!

The flight from Vancouver was pretty uneventful.  We bought Stella her first seat this time as my growing belly and increasing “uncomfortableness” made this a wise decision.  Stella was her usual good traveler and even had a nap.

Her favorite part of the trip so far was the landing, she kept saying “more” after we landed as she wanted to do it again (squealing with delight) and riding the transit trains and elevators.  All very exciting for a 19 month old.  She’s also quite excited about her new “Dora” wheely suitcase that she can barely push through the airport.

Unfortunately she just fell and got her first major “bo-boo” with a fat split lip and then banged her head.  Ahh growing pains.

We flew Continental Airlines for the first time in a long time and first time with a child.  Nothing fancy and nothing major to report.  Usual flight.  Pleasant staff and they even served us some breakfast…

We took advantage of our American Express Platinum membership and are enjoying the President’s Club Lounge in Houston.  We are in their newest lounge in Terminal E which has a family room with TVs and a few toys.  Very nice to just get away from everyone and let Stella decompress.  Highly recommend it for any long layover with children in Houston.  No food really but complimentary internet and drinks.  Apparently, Terminal E’s Lounge is the best one so if you have the time the nice Continental employee we met said it’s worth the trek.

I’d say Houston airport seems pretty family friendly.  They have companion bathrooms and the family lounge in the President’s Club seems that they are thinking family comfort in some designs.

We will be in Mexico until next Sunday and then off to Vegas for work.

More to report over the next few days I’m sure.

Tips:

If you are pregnant and traveling with another child, spend the money, get an extra seat!

If you have the ability to utilize the lounges in the airports during long layovers they are a nice break and make a long day of travel not seem so bad.

HYDRATE!

Pack along books, crayons and plenty of paper for toddler entertainment.   We still don’t have a DVD player…

This was our first flight since Stella has been completely weaned.  We were a little nervous as she had a very good routine of as soon as we got on the plane and the bells rang for take-off she’d lie down in my lap, nurse and fall fast asleep for much of the plane ride.  We bought her some nice freshly squeezed OJ and I had tons of snacks to keep her occupied just in case.   No issues on the “back-peddling” of weaning but an entirely new host of things arose that makes flying completely different from before.

1.     Kicking the seat in front of us.  With her on my ever growing belly/lap the seat kicking was inevitable.  Every time I told her to stop, she thought it was funny and kicked harder.  Can you say “stink-eye” from the people in front of us?  We turned her sideways on my lap and tried desperately to keep her entertained.

2.    No more “one-two knock-out punch” with the nursing.  She only fell asleep for the last half-hour of the 2.5 hour flight on the way to LA and did not sleep at ALL on the way back (even though we timed her nap so she’d be exhausted…could be due to the Swedish fish I allowed her to eat to entertain her before we got on the flight – I broke one of my big rules…limit sweets intake!).

3.    Entertainment.  I still haven’t broken down and bought a DVD player as I don’t even think she’d watch it but she definitely needs more entertainment than before.  She could care less about the toys I bring her on the plane (so note to all those parents who think a new toy will occupy your child on a long flight…not so sure that one will work).  She is more interested in our magazines and newspapers and just about anything she can fiddle with on the plane.  She is entertained by pens (not her crayons mind you) and any paper that looks official (custom cards anyone…).

4.    I need to bring TONS of food on board.  I brought quite a bit of healthy snacks for Stella (fruit, nuts, cereal) and she ate just about all of it.  If we had been delayed I think maybe I would have run out which could have been a mini-disaster.

So “simple baby travel’ in 2009 will have some adjustments as Stella is now clearly a toddler.  There is no way we can fly with her on my lap, especially with my getting more pregnant by the day.  Stay tuned for more details and tips as we have plenty of travel planned for ’09, even with baby #2 on its way.

Special shout out to my book club friends who inspired me to get back to writing.

It’s been 5 long days of non-stop information overload and learning at the Dan Kennedy Information Summit.  A room full of 900+ information marketers.  We learned a ton but now to really try to find the time to do something with it.

I continue to struggle to be a good mom, wife and entrepreneur… times like these (that is, incredible learning and networking opportunities) I realize how hard it really is to balance it all and do them all well.

Thankfully, my ever social husband, handled all of the networking for us.  Being pregnant did not really allow me much energy for socializing after the events ended each night around 8/9 pm.  And, Stella needed a little mommy time (and mommy needed a little Stella time) each night.

Granddad and Stella

We were blessed to have Justin’s Dad here to help us out.  His girlfriend Teresa also came for a few days and helped spoil Stella rotten.  They made her fresh hand squeezed orange juice each day…need I say more.

I have been to St. Louis several times when I worked for Senator Bond from Missouri but this time I actually got to see the Arch, it was beautiful and we were lucky to have gorgeous and warm weather the day we checked it out.  The downtown area continues to be a ghost town which is quite sad considering that it seems to hold a lot of potential.

The St. Louis Arch

The travel is beginning to wear on us a bit but we were lucky and had a suite for the week here in St. Louis – which is one of my baby travel tips I’ll share with all you families out there.  When you check into your hotel, ALWAYS ask if they have a bigger room.  Quite often you will get a free upgrade.  We actually didn’t even ask in England and got a bigger room as they said we’d be more comfortable with the crib if we had a bigger room.  It never hurts to ask.

If I’ve learned one thing while traveling, overall, you get a lot of free upgrades, pass the line, etc. when you have a baby.  It’s a nice perk given how exhausting travel can be sometimes, especially with children.

Another tip is during cold weather months, is to be sure to bring a large carry-on bag to put all your coats in.  On our flight over from England, the bag I had only had room enough for Justin’s light coat and Stella’s so I just put mine in the overhead.  Well, 8 hours later and exhausted, I left mine on the plane…never to be seen again.  And it was new…nothing special but a bit chilly without it.  I’d actually recommend tucking a lightweight collapsible bag inside of your carry on that you can pull out after you get through security, etc. to store all the coats.

We are off to Pittsburgh in the morning to visit Seth and Jen Holst and their 2 little boys as well as Chris and Stacy Dee and their 2 boys.  We haven’t seen them in ages and we are looking forward to our visit!

This week has been spent visiting Justin’s family and hitting Manchester so Justin could see a Manchester United game (a missing item on his “resume of sports events” that can now be “ticked”).  While the week had its challenges with poor little Stella having a pretty bad cold, it was a nice trip.

Francesca and Stella

We started out at Eden and Janine’s house in Stratford Upon Avon.  Wellington, Justin’s Dad, had arrived there for a visit so we met him for dinner with Eden, Janine and Francesca (Justin’s cousin).  It was a nice visit and good to catch up.  We had not seen them since 2005 when we were over for a visit.

We then headed up to Manchester so Justin and his Dad could go the match.  We stayed in a really nice hotel, Yang Sing Oriental Hotel.  I highly recommend it if you are going to Manchester.  Free breakfast, mini-bar and very nice/ornate rooms.  There’s also a great Chinese restaurant attached where we had a nice dim sum.

Stella and I spent the evening shopping and then hanging out in our hotel room with room service and a movie.  It was very nice mommy/daughter time which was quite fun for me as she’s finally old enough to relate to  – well sort of – and “hang out” with.

I even picked up a pair of proper English riding boots!

Manchester is a great city, shopping, culture and a variety of ethnic cuisine.  And of course they have teh best footy team Man-United!

Helen and Stella

We then headed back to Liverpool to visit Justin’s Grandmother Alice and also see some close family friends (and Justin’s Mum’s long time childhood friend), Helen, Charles and their lovely three boys.

Charles and Samuel with Stella

It’s been nice to let Stella spend some time with family and experience the life and culture of her roots here in England.  We look forward to the next few months as well where we will be taking her to Pennsylvania, NYC and of course VA to visit and experience some of my roots and places where Justin and I both have many memories.

That is the one thing about travel.  Outside of experiencing new things (which we love to do), it’s also nice sometimes to go back to your roots and explore and remember who you are and where you came from.

Back to Marlow for 10 days and then off to St. Louis for work on November 5.

Some Baby Tips:

Make sure you travel equipped with a few relief medicines, balms, etc. for baby in case they get a cold and you find yourself unable to get to a market.  Stella unfortunately picked up a really bad cold last week at the little daycare/play time we took her to.  I had a few things that I knew helped relieve her cold with me and picked up a few other things here.  At her age there isn’t much you can do but Vicks balm and menthol vaporizers really help.  Unfortunately I was unable to find a cool mist vaporizer in England.  Apparently no one uses those here.

Another thing to think about if you are traveling in Europe.  Don’t run out of diapers on a Sunday (and in some places, any day for that matter).  We were rationing out our last diapers last Sunday as I didn’t realize I was out until 5 pm on Sunday and every shop was closed.  Thankfully we made it with the last 2 diapers until morning but we could have been in BIG trouble!

Marmaris, Turkey

Getting to Know the Locals in Another Bike Shop

We were lucky enough to have yet another flat tire on the Mountain Buggy and got to rub elbows with the locals even more.  We now see the flat tires as a way to meet the locals and have just embraced it and laugh!

It was a very long day for us all…up at 6 AM and not home until 8:30 pm.  1 hour drive to the port, waited for customs to decide if they were going to strike for 45 mins., 1 hour ferry and then we did it all again (minus the strike) on the way back.  We’ve decided no more day trips for us until Stella gets much older.  It’s just too much for a baby and to be honest…I didn’t follow my “Golden Rule” of baby travel which is to get plenty of sleep before you go…Justin and I were out (not too late but too many bottles of wine) the night before for a little alone and uninterrupted dinner time.

But worth the trip just to see Turkey and experience the culture (which was much easier to find than here in Rhodes).  We had a nice lunch in the port, walked around town, experienced the call to the Mosque several times and Justin even indulged and got a proper shave and haircut at the barbers.  He loved it, he said it was the best haircut and shave ever (and I have to say, they gave him quite a “scrub…” never seen him so shiny!).

Justin Getting a Real Turkish Shave and Cut

So onto the title of my post.  I got a chance to chat with some of the local Turks.  You don’t really see many women out and about in Turkey so my conversations were with men mostly.  While Justin was getting “polished up” I started chatting with one of the vendors of a “leather coat stand.”  He’d joked with me and asked where I was from (“you from Canada, you need warm leather coat”).

Stella was asleep in the stroller so I sat outside the barber shop waiting for Justin and taking it all in.  Just observing daily life in the bazaar and watching the vendor try to convince people to come into his store.  His “schtick” or line was always, “are you rich?”  He even said to two girls, “if you aren’t rich I don’t want to talk to you…”  Not sure how that was supposed to get people in his store but he must have some psychological magic up his sleeve I just couldn’t grasp.

We also talked about Turkey.  I told him how beautiful Marmaris was and that everyone I’d met so far was very nice.  He asked me to take him to Canada.  I said, “why, you don’t like Turkey?”  He then said, “No, I love my country.”  From what I’ve read the Turks are a very proud country.  But, he continued, “I hate the people in Turkey…”  I found this interesting because for me, the people are the country.

So as we chatted more he looked into the barber shop and pointed to Justin and said “is he rich?”  I looked at him and thought for a second.  We had been told on the way there by our bus driver that the highest paid people in Turkey made about 1000 – 1500 Euros a month.  Not really much if you think about as these are the doctors, lawyers, architects, etc.  So compared to the local income of Turkey I’d say, yes maybe we are rich by his standards.

But really, we aren’t.  So I said, “no, not rich….rich in life, but not in money.”  This really sort of made him think.  He said he liked that and walked away.

This conversation made me think more too.  I feel so lucky to have the experiences we’ve had and truly do feel “rich in life.”  It’s not the money you make or the things you buy that make you rich but rather the experience you have and memories you make.

Granddad and Teresa leave tonight and I know he’s going to miss his little Stella.  They have giggled non-stop since he arrived.  Teresa has been a really nice help and Stella has really enjoyed playing with her.

Playing with Teresa

Enjoying the Pool with Granddad

Anyway, back to the post title. The amount of trash I’ve seen around the island is absolutely appalling. The majority of it is bottle caps and plastic bags. If you got to a beach maintained by a hotel or someone renting beach chairs and umbrellas it’s still full of cigarette butts and bottle tops.

And we thought when we got here there would be tons of fresh seafood and I had these great plans to go visit the local fisherman and get some yummy fish for our BBQs….well we visited him and he went into the freezer and pulled out this frozen tiny fish…all he had for the day. I still haven’t gotten a clear answer on where all the fish have gone … the guide books say overfishing. We do see some small ones swimming around in the sea occasionally.

But where have all the fish gone? Why aren’t we cleaning up our trash or at least trying to not produce so much? I know it’s not just this island (however, I don’t remember past trips to the Mediterranean being this destitute when it came to the fish or this dirty when it comes to the trash).

When I think about this it makes me really worried that Stella and Stella’s future children won’t have clean beaches to visit or fresh (and yummy) seafood to eat.

I know there are some out there who disagree with global warming theories, etc. But can’t we all see the harm we are doing to our environment? Forget about melting ice caps. Just look at the trash we produce? Where does it all go? Even my brother, who often calls me a “big hippie,” has said, if we don’t do something about the trash problem we are going to be living in trash. We are running out of places to put it. And he’s an expert on where the trash goes. He works for the largest company in the US that tries to find a place for all our trash, Waste Management.

And what about the overconsumption? We are fat in the Western world because we over consume. And I don’t just mean physically. Look at our debt…fat! Look at our trash cans…fat!

So what does this have to do with simple baby travel and what can you do when you are traveling to do your part in helping ensure there are clean beaches and fish in our seas for our future generations?

1. Probably the number one thing every traveler does is buy bottle after bottle of water. We are just as guilty. We did make a conscious effort when we got here to not buy bottled water and use the tap water. That was until we found raw sewage in our backyard and thought maybe that wasn’t such a good idea anymore. But we are buying large jugs of water now and pouring the water into glasses. When you are traveling try to bring along water bottles and re-use them. Especially if you are in the Western hemisphere where water is very clean.

2. I’ve commented on the whole packaged food thing before…but please…don’t. It’s not only bad for you but it’s wasteful. Perimeter shop (that’s shopping along the edges of the supermarket—no packaged goods there for the most part) and teach baby that wholesome good food is best. This will be good for your waist, your wallet and reducing waste… Justin and I have coined it “W3.” That is if you shop on the perimeter of the grocery store you won’t buy packaged food so you won’t gain weight (#1 diet buster) which is good for your “waist.” You won’t spend money on a ton of food you don’t really need which will be good for your “wallet.” And you won’t be buying a lot of food with packaging which will be good for reducing “waste.”

3. Try to walk when you can. See “W3” above. You are on vacation, relax, you don’t need to be in a hurry to get somewhere and baby will love taking all the new sights in while in the stroller (this might also allow for you to avoid the rental car which will really save on the wallet…and help you lose some weight or counter the vacation 5 lbs. so good for your waist and of course great for reducing waste).

4. Re-use your towels when staying in a hotel. While one of my favorite things about staying in a hotel is a fresh crisp clean towel each shower, I’ve even changed my habits and re-use our towels several times before we request new ones. This is especially important in countries where water supplies are already really low.

5. Use re-useable bottles and bring toiletries in these bottles from home. Buying travel sized items only creates more waste. But in all honesty with all the baggage weight restrictions these days I often buy the travel size…I’m not perfect, just some guidance and ideas, not preaching! It’s on the top of my list to buy some nice travel size bottles to bring along toiletries in the future (I did bring a few but they were plastic and I thought they needed a good cleaning and put them in the dishwasher…they melted).

6. Choose low energy use activities (that’s electricity, not low energy use for you!). Take a walk or hike versus going to ride a roller coaster every night.

7. Use public transportation when you can.

8. And definitely forgo the disposable swimmers. I blogged about this before. You can buy the reusable swimmers just about anywhere now. Use them. They work and are way better for the environment (check with your resort as some REQUIRE both a disposable and a swimsuit on top).

Hope this helps and hopefully we can all do our part to try to make sure our children have as many opportunities to enjoy this beautiful world we live in as we have.

And what a great name for a restaurant. Who doesn’t want to go home to “Mamma’s Kitchen” and have some comfort food? I guess “Mamma’s Kitchen” translates in any language. I can remember many anticipated trips home and being excited about having some of my Mom’s home cooking.

There’s something about the familiar tastes of home to make you feel better. I know for Justin it’s a nice cha shao (that’s Chinese BBQ pork) or a big English breakfast “fry up.” And a bag of “Hoola Hoops” or a packet of English sweets (black currant “Fruit Pastels” anyone) always puts a smile on Justin’s face.

For me it’s apple pie, pinto beans and corn bread with a side of collard greens or some slow cooked BBQ ribs or homemade fried chicken!

It’s funny because the things that Justin I bring to our new family in regards to favorite foods from our childhood and backgrounds are turning out to be some of Stella’s favorites (if it’s pork, she’ll eat it…).

When you travel (or at least when we travel) the highlight of our trip are the meals we eat and the farmer’s markets we visit. In just about any culture you encounter, fellowship (whether friends or family or both) centers around food. Food has an amazing way of really showing you about a culture. For example, in most Asian countries meals are served for sharing. The table is a communal event.

Baby Travel Tip: Don’t be afraid to let your baby try what you are having when traveling (it’s not necessary to pack a suitcase of prepackaged “safe” foods…). The best way to get your child to eat a variety of foods is to expose him/her to different things and often. For example, we’ve been trying to get Stella to eat grapes since she was able to eat them (they are a great travel snack food after all) but she’s refused. Last night they gave us a plate of beautiful small green grapes after dinner. I gave her one and she just played with it. Then her Dad and I started eating them and saying how “yummy” they were and she finally had one, then another and then ate the entire bunch. So keep trying with new foods and you have to show your children how much fun it is to try new things. We hope Stella’s pallet is as broad and adventurous as her experiences are. We let her try everything (pickled ginger, she loves it; spicy sausage, gobbles it up; spinach pie (spanikopita), hidden greens that she has no idea she is eating).

Mommy's Little Helper

I’ve always enjoyed cooking and entertaining for both my family and friends. I am passionate about food and find meal times one of the most pleasurable times, especially when shared with good company. As a mother now, I take great pride (and pain sometimes) in making sure Stella is “well fed.” I hope that someday she’ll too find comfort in her “Mamma’s Kitchen.”

]]> http://simplebabytravel.com/mammas-kitchen/feed/ 0 http://simplebabytravel.com/when-life-gives-you-lemons/ http://simplebabytravel.com/when-life-gives-you-lemons/#comments Fri, 29 Aug 2008 14:38:03 +0000 Dreama Lee http://simplebabytravel.com/?p=189 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.

Enjoying the Pool in the Boat!

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.

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.

Stella and Great Gran Alice

Justin and Gran Alice

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.

Shelia and Billy playing with Stella

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!

Stella's First Lollie - She Loved It

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.