Hello?

Yes, I'm still around!  I've been back at work full time since October and time is just flying by.  I never even got around to writing about our trip to Door County, Wisconsin, which was wonderful!  I'll write more about it later.  I think this post is more of a reminder to myself to keep up with the blogging.  Especially since we just booked our big trip for 2012.  Itinerary is still up in the air, but our trip will include Germany, the French countryside, Paris, Belgium and Switzerland.  It will also be Isabelle's first big vacation.  For now, I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!

Family photo from our holiday party and fundraiser for ItMustWork.org

Isabelle's first ornament

And Baby Makes Three

It's been awhile since my last post and my how life has changed! In late June Isabelle entered the world and life now revolves around our baby girl.  We love it!

Just one day old!

When Isabelle was just four weeks old, we went on our first family road trip.  The destination was Bettendorf, Iowa for my sister's wedding.  It took us about three hours to get to my parent's house and all I have to say is thank goodness for The Happiest Baby on the Block DVD.  When Isabelle was just a week old we watched the DVD at the advice of our lactation consultant.  We put many of the techniques into practice, but the one that worked best for our car ride was shushing.  I perfected shushing on the ride to and from Iowa.  I think I might have hyperventilated at one point, but at least it calmed Isabelle down!

Isabelle's first trip to Iowa

The three of us  did really well on our first road trip as a family.  We even kept her in cloth diapers, which was easy to do since we were staying at my parents' house.  They even bought a pack and play for her to sleep in.  One less thing to lug along - thank you!

In fact, the trip to Iowa went so well that we made our second road trip two weeks later - a five hour drive to Detroit, Michigan to visit Tom's parents.  Six-week-old Isabelle slept most of the way there.  When she did wake up, ready to eat, we just pulled into a rest stop and took care of business.  Tom's parents also had a pack and play waiting for her and she slept really well.  She did have a major meltdown on the ride home...when we were stuck in traffic.  The shushing did NOT work, because she was just past the point of no return. Lucky for Tom, when we finally got to an exit, the Round Barn Brewery was waiting for him. I got to feed Isabelle and Tom got to take home a growler.

At Eastern Market in Detroit

Now the big test comes.  We're planning our third road trip to Door County.  Just the three of us for four days and three nights.  I'm just glad we're driving.  I have become a major over-packer!

Where to Stay in Paris

Our friends are planning a trip to Paris and asked us for some advice on where to stay.  I must admit, my husband has much more experience in this area, so here is the advice he gave:

First, pick a neighborhood.  The 5th and the 7th are really the best out there (location, food, stuff to do, etc).  If you are going to be in Paris 4+ days, we really recommend trying out two different neighborhoods.  If Stephanie and I were going, we would try to pay less than 100 Euro a night. 

7th - Rue Cler, Tour Eiffel, etc

This is the best street in the best neighborhood around and there are like a zillion awesome little 10 table restaurants.  The main con here is that the only sights within walking distance are the Tour Eiffel and Les Invalids (Napoleon’s Tomb).  Well that, and there tend to be many Americans around. There are metro stops... but they aren't on the best line and not super close.  

Hotel Champ du Mars - I stayed here with my buddy ages ago and it still gets awesome reviews, better price.  Review on TripAdvisor, click here.

Hotel L'Eveque  - On the best street in Paris, lots of Rick Steves' readers, my family has spent a lot of nights here, looks like it has gotten more expensive.  Review on TripAdvisor, click here. 

5th - Marais, Basitlle

This has the best location, near stuff and very good Metro access. This is also where all the French people want to live (especially as you move back from the main drags).  Less of a neighborhood, but you can walk to a ton of sites.  Stephanie and I stayed here the last time (in a not great hotel, everything else was booked).  

Hotel Castex - Awesome location, they have made it much nicer, cheap, my family used to stay here (late 90s) but there was a bad change of ownership... seems to be resolved now.  Review on TripAdvisor, click here. 

Hotel Jean D'Arc - always pretty nice, looks like people love it, still well priced, my parents liked it.  Review on TripAdvisor, click here. 

Other Tips

Whatever you do, don't get breakfast at a hotel unless it is free.  Paris has the best cafes in the world and you will get a much better value sitting in some awesome cafe eating much better food.  Back in the day, breakfast was always free, but now that it is not it is no longer worth it.  

Rick Steves' book and website are the best, but given the number of people using them, for hotels I would give credence to tripadvisor.com, Orbitz.com, Venere.com, etc.

Classic Andalusian Gazpacho

Summer is here, at least that's what the thermometer says.  It's a whopping 94 degrees in Chicago!  The perfect temperature for a cool bowl of gazpacho.  I just whipped up my first batch of the season.  One of many I've made after my first trip to Spain in 2007.  I'm addicted and fully admit it!  After trying many different recipes, this is the most authentic recipe I've found and my favorite!

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Classic-Andalusian-Gazpacho-106874

Gazpacho "El Faro"
The classic Andalusian gazpacho is found all over the region with surprisingly few variations, except for the addition of cucumber and onion — ingredients that have fallen out of favor with chefs who prefer to allow the pure taste of the tomatoes, Sherry vinegar, and olive oil to shine through. In this version, cumin lends an intriguing, subtle flavor.

yield: Makes 4 servings
active time: 30 minutes
total time: 3 1/2 hours

Ingredients:

• 1 (2-inch-long) piece baguette, crust discarded
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 tablespoons Sherry vinegar (preferably "reserva"), or to taste (NOTE: I bought some at Williams-Sonoma.)
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin (optional)
• 2 1/2 lb ripe tomatoes, cored and quartered (NOTE: this equals about 8 medium tomatoes and I don't core them.)
• 1/2 cup mild extra-virgin olive oil (preferably Andalusian hojiblanca)
• Garnish: finely chopped red and green bell peppers

Preparation:

Soak bread in 1/2 cup water 1 minute, then squeeze dry, discarding soaking water.

Mash garlic to a paste with salt using a mortar and pestle (or mince and mash with a large knife). Blend garlic paste, bread, 2 tablespoons vinegar, sugar, cumin, and half of tomatoes in a food processor until tomatoes are very finely chopped. Add remaining tomatoes with motor running and, when very finely chopped, gradually add oil in a slow stream, blending until as smooth as possible, about 1 minute.

Force soup through a sieve into a bowl, pressing firmly on solids. Discard solids. (NOTE: I don't usually do this part.)

Transfer to a glass container and chill, covered, until cold, about 3 hours. Season with salt and vinegar before serving.

Gazpacho can be chilled up to 2 days.

Loving Spain!

Traveling with a Baby - Websites and Blogs

Baby E is due in 6 weeks and in the midst of DIY home improvement projects, preparing for baby’s arrival, birthing classes and oh yeah, work, I started thinking about what it will be like to travel with an infant.  Granted, this isn’t the first time I thought about it.  In fact, in March on my way to Florida I started quizzing other moms in the airport and during our 2+ hour delay on the way home from Florida I tried to enjoy the free time I had to just read, because the next time I fly it will probably be with Baby E.

So this week I decided to start a list of baby travel websites and blogs to check out. 

Websites:

• Flying with Kids
• Traveling with Baby Checklist
• 18 Tips for Traveling with Baby
• International Travel with Infants
• From the TSA: Important Information on Traveling With Formula, Breast Milk, and Juice
• BabySafeTravel.com 
• TravelingBaby Company - Baby Equipment Rental Online

Blogs:

• Have Baby Will Travel
• Traveling with Baby

I’m sure I’ll be adding to this list!

 

Babymoon in Florida

Our babymoon in Florida was wonderful!  It was 80 degrees and sunny the entire time - dream come true after our seemingly endless winter in Chicago.  This was my first trip to Fort Lauderdale, Florida and I don't know why I haven't gone before.  You see, since spring of 2010 Tom has worked down there for about a week each month and we always talked about spending a long weekend there, but things always came up.  Never again! Baby E. and I will be meeting Tom in the future for some long, relaxing weekends.    

For this trip I flew out on Thursday after work, also St. Patrick's Day, and arrived in Fort Lauderdale to see everyone whooping it up. You could tell a lot of people were on spring break!  The next morning Tom and I had breakfast by the beach before he dropped me off at the Westin Beach Resort & Spa. We switched hotels for the weekend and since I couldn't check in, I made due with lounging by the pool and then getting a massage in the afternoon.  It was rough!  That night we skipped dinner and just did appetizers at the hotel bar while we watched the March Maddness games (Go Marquette!).  After the game we had some scrumptious desserts at the Atlantic Hotel. I'm still drooling over their key lime pie.

Tom and I spent the next morning at the beach and then met up with his parents.  The rest of the trip was spent relaxing on the beach, eating at some great restaurants, drinking fruity beverages, checking out South Beach in Miami, driving north to Boca Raton and taking a boat tour to see all of the amazing multi-million dollar homes and boats along the canal and beach in Fort Lauderdale.  We had a GREAT time and I can't wait to go back!

Here are a few tips for the Westin Beach Resort & Spa:  

1) If you put the "green" card on your door, they won't clean your room and you get a $5 voucher in return.  If you need clean towels, extra soap, etc., just ask!

2) Their brunch is amazing and if you just want to order off the menu, I highly suggest getting the blueberry granola pancakes.  Outstanding!  

3) Chairs by the pool and beach go fast, so get there early!  

Hanging out at the beach

South Beach in Miami

Enjoying a fruity beverage in South Beach

House from Miami Vice

Gearing Up for Florida...Literally!

I’m gearing up for Florida!  Over the weekend I did some shopping and I was really disappointed that Gap won’t get swimsuits, shorts or capri pants until the end of March.  I found this really surprising considering Old Navy already has them.  I did manage to spend my gift card on a stretchy black skirt and a few t-shirts – one that says “Baby Blooming” and a favorite of Tom’s. 

I also made a trip to Target and found a cute one-piece black swimsuit that has a chunky wood wrap that ties around the neck.  Hey, I might as well look fashionable!  Target also had capri pants, so I bought a pair in gray. 

Now what will I put my new cloths in?  I got a new wheelie carry-on bag from REI that turns into a backpack.  This will replace my current Rick Steves backpack, which I use for overseas travel, and my current wheelie bag, which I use stateside.

Tom bought the same bag in 2008 at the REI flagship store when we were in Seattle for a friend’s wedding.  He’s been raving about it ever since, but I’ve been hesitant to buy it because it’s not as big as my Rick Steves bag. However with a baby on the way, I decided to give in.

So what’s so great about this bag? 

1. It’s lightweight. 
2. The wheels roll over everything.
3. There are tons of compartments for organizing. 
4. It turns into a backpack and a flap goes over the wheels so you don’t get dirt on your cloths.

Are there any drawbacks?  Kind of…this bag doesn’t expand to hold extra stuff, but this is also a benefit because I have a hard time carrying my Rick Steves bag when I overload it.  Solution? Tom and I will each buy a small backpack to carry baby necessities and for all of those souvenirs I never travel overseas without my trusty foldaway duffel.

Of course this will probably all change the minute we try to travel with Baby E!

Spain 2007

Morocco 2008

France 2009

Italy 2010

Babymoon

I’m 21 weeks pregnant today!  That’s right, I have a little bambino growing inside me right now and I can feel his or her little karate kicks as I type this. Tom and I are over-the-moon excited and can’t wait for the big day.  The due date is June 23, which seems ages away until I start thinking about everything we need to do, including taking our Babymoon.  So where are we off to?  Spring Break in Ft. Lauderdale baby!  OK, so we won’t be whooping it up, but we will enjoy the sun, sand and surf for a long weekend at the end of March.  Now I just need to find a cheap maternity swimsuit…

Thinking About Italy

Our trip to Italy last fall really was amazing and I'm thinking about it now as I sit in gloomy Chicago. September/October is the perfect time to travel there.  And we went everywhere!  We started out south in Naples and went to the pizza place from Eat, Pray, Love.  It lives up to its reputation and worth a trip to Naples just to try the pizza.  My husband is obsessed with trying to recreate it at home and I don’t mind!  

Delicious!

We made a stop to Pompeii on our way to the Amalfi Coast and it was really cool to see how people lived almost 2000 years ago.  They even had fast food restaurants.  The Amafli Coast is just breathtaking - cliffs, blue sea and lemons everywhere.  We did a lot of hiking up and down the endless steps that lead down to the sea and up to the hill towns.  On our way to Rome we decided to take a really scenic route that involved a boat ride and a stop in beautiful Capri where we did some more hiking.  With all the hiking we did, I worked up an appetite and the food did not disappoint. It was all so fresh!  

Amalfi

The next leg of our trip was in Rome where we spent a long weekend and saw all of the major sites.  It's such a vibrant city with amazing restaurants, architecture and shopping.  We stayed at a convent and, while convenient and affordable, the 10:00 curfew put a dent in our evenings.  It was like we were in high school trying to get home on time before our parents (aka nuns) locked the door. 

I made it to Rome!

Tom's brother (who lives in Belgium) met us for the next leg of our trip, which was driving around Tuscany. We made it to 7 hill towns in 2 1/2 days.  Quick trip, but we'll definitely be back.  I love the medieval feel of the towns and I'm kicking myself for not getting any of the pottery.  

Tuscan Countryside

Our next stop was Cinque Terre which is on the east coast and we hiked between the 5 fishing villages.  We stayed in Vernazza and they don't have any hotels, so you have to rent a room from a local.  We did it when we got there and outside our window was the drying rack where we hung our cloths out to dry.  I must have done it wrong, because the woman we rented the room from rehung everything for me.  We also had THE BEST focaccia bread and pesto there.  I'm still dreaming about it.

Vernazza

After that we went to Lake Como for a few days and just relaxed and took the ferry to the different towns. There are so many gorgeous villas and gardens there. Finally our last stop was Milan were we saw "The Last Supper" and had the best happy hours.  They serve tons of snacks for free with your beer or wine.  

I can’t wait to go back to Italy, but until we do, I have a lot of wonderful memories stored away.

Lake Como

Live Like a King...at Least for One Night!

When we went to France last year, we picked up the Paris Museum Pass.  We purchased the 2-day pass for 35 euros and saved a lot of money! We went to so many museums in two days, I felt like we were reenacting National Lampoon’s European Vacation. 

One of our stops was the Palace of Versailles and I was just listening to an NPR story about how one of the buildings will soon be turned into a luxury hotel.  The site is a mansion built in the 1680s to house the offices and home of the king’s treasurers.  It will undergo $7 million worth of renovations and is expected to be completed in January 2012.  Guests of Hotel de l’Orangerie will have the opportunity to experience a slice of life at Versailles and the views will be priceless.  Hopefully one day I’ll make it back to the Palace of Versailles AND stay there! 

Inside the Hall of Mirrors

View of the gardens