Tag: Baby Travel

Explore the Eastern Shore

Posted in DC-Maryland-Virginia, Free Kids Fun, Read Them All, United StatesTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
Red playground | TeamTravelsBaby

From our condo in Silver Spring, Maryland it takes us about 45 minutes to cross the Bay Bridge (make sure you have an EZ Pass for the toll) and then there are a lot of choices for exploring Maryland’s Eastern Shore. When we first started venturing to the Eastern Shore, I only thought of Assateague and Ocean City, Maryland. Let me assure you, there are a lot of fun places – ice cream shops, cute towns, playgrounds, beaches and art to see! If you prefer staying on Instagram, I have a highlight reel, but I have many more details here and it’s searchable. Some of my hyperlinks below will also take you to my Insta with pics.

Berlin

This is a cute historic town with ice cream, a thrift store (cash only), a coffee shop and some shops. If you pass through on a Sunday, there’s a seasonal market and stores are open too. This is very close to Assateague and Ocean City.

  • Island Creamery is located downtown and will let you split a single scoop so you can enjoy two flavors for just over $5. There’s often a line here but it moves fast and you can enjoy seating in the alley next to it.
  • Chesapeake Bay Farms is one of the stops on the Maryland Ice Cream Trail; this is directly off US 50 West so it’s an easy stop without adding too much time to your journey
    • You can learn more about it here and the possible prizes!
  • The library has toys and is a good stop if you need a clean bathroom.
  • The beautifully painted pumpkin scavenger hunt in October was so much fun! It’s free, the town is happening with music and activities for kids. See our reel here.
  • About 10 minutes from downtown is Wal-Mart which is a great place to stock up before the beach. We’ve also slept in this parking lot to save money!

Ocean City

This is a destination for many and it’s super fun with the ocean, the bay, a long boardwalk and many other family friendly offerings. We recently found a last minute deal for $92 for the Blue Wave Inn which was like a Motel 6 but with an incredible pool and parking that lasted until 3 pm on the day of check out. It was only 2 blocks from 9th street at the boardwalk. I would stay again.

  • No name park is new and a must visit near the skate park and views of the bay.
  • Check out CertifiKID* to see if there are any deals for Jolly Rogers Amusement Park (we saw some in June 2024). Many places, like miniature golfing offer deals if you look in hotels at the pamphlets.
  • Ocean City is fun in various seasons. We loved visiting in October for the enjoyable weather and the off-season pricing (see what we paid here) at the Francis Scott Key Family Resort which has an indoor pool, putt-putt, free popcorn and a movie room. Insta pics here.

* CertifiKID is very similar to GroupOn. If you’ve never used it, please consider using my referral link as it’s no extra cost to you and I will receive a small credit from CertifiKID. In the DMV, we have found deals for places like DoodleHatch (Columbia), Jolly Yolly (Westfield Montgomery) and HyperKidz.

Bivalve

Cove Road Beach is the only reason we came here which is on a river and very relaxing. It’s about 25 minutes from Salisbury.

Cove Road Beach | TeamTravelsBaby

Cambridge

Located along the Choptank River, this is a great halfway point to stop and stretch on the way to the Atlantic Ocean. It also makes for a fun day trip from the DMV area (90 minutes from Silver Spring).

  • Sailwinds Park has a great playground and is located along the river
  • Chick-fil-A is about 1 mile from Sailwinds and has a small play area
  • There is a downtown with coffee, ice cream and art! Set your GPS for Black Water Coffee Shop and you’ll be in the heart of it all. IG post here.
  • Dorchester County Library is a place to escape the heat but still let your kids stretch. They have kids toys.

Chestertown

This is close to Rock Hall and Betterton Beach. I definitely recommend combining all three for a great day trip away from the DMV. Chestertown is the biggest town and is fun for wandering in and out of shops like the bookstore.

  • Betterton Beach is one of those ideal beaches for littles! Check out my IG post. It’s under 2 hours from Silver Spring, MD and we’ve enjoyed this as a day trip.
  • Rock Hall – grab a treat at Sweet Cheeks Bakery, grab coffee from Java Rock and look for ospreys at Blue Heron Park.
  • Lockbriar Farms for ice cream is part of the Maryland ice cream trail and has delicious fruit flavored ones. The owners had a sweet cat who sat with us and then we took a little tour to see the chickens and flowers blooming.

Easton

Less than 90 minutes from Silver Spring is an Amish Market, indoor play space and great park! It can easily be combined with Cambridge.

  • Be with Me Playseum is an indoor playspace with different areas for pretend play, real animals and art. Be sure to check their hours here. This is located on US 50 West. There’s also a location in the Columbia Mall and one in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
  • Idlewild Park is an amazing wooden park that’s mostly fenced in, has a tot lot too and bathrooms! There’s also a book box and a really pretty court. IG reel here It’s only a couple of minutes off US 50 East, so it’s another great park on the way to the beach.
  • Amish Country Farmers Market – Check their hours and know that it’s closed Sundays. This is a great stop if you just need a quick outting and perhaps some affordable and delicious treats! We love Amish markets and have enjoyed exploring many in the DMV like Annapolis, Laurel and Germantown.
  • Chick-fil-A here has a small play area.
Be with Me Playseum | TeamTravelsBaby

Grasonville

The Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center is a great place for getting outdoors, especially if you enjoy walking/hiking or getting out on the water with paddleboards or kayaks. It is exceptionally affordable (like $20/day) and first come first serve. Read more on their site. Grab coffee from Dessert First Dockside Coffee and make sure to check out the marina.

Kent Island

This makes for a great trip and is great when the weather is comfortable for hiking and spending time outdoors.

  • Ferry Point Park – Park and check out the Chesapeake Heritage and Visitor Center, then go for a leisurely walk and enjoy the small beach.
  • Terrapin Nature Park – This is also a great place to walk and enjoy a small beach.
  • Pair with Old Love Point Park or other fun from Stevensville or Grasonville.

Oxford

I could come here just for the uniqueness of the ice cream! There is a small town along Main Street, a playground with shade near the water and a small beach.

  • Scottish Highland Creamery is so cute and right on the water!
  • Main Street has a little museum, a cute store of 30+ local vendors called the Treasure Chest, a market, Mystery Lovers Bookstore and my personal favorite was my iced lavender latte at Oxford Social Cafe. There’s a playground on the water and a little beach too.
Main Street Oxford | TeamTravelsBaby

Salisbury

This is the great stop to break up the drive to or from the ocean or to enjoy as its own trip.

Two Scoops Ice Cream | TeamTravelsBaby
Ben’s Red Swings next to the free zoo | TeamTravelsBaby

Stevensville

Will travel for ice cream should be our middle names. You can have a great day between the beach, ice cream and playground all within a short distance of one another.

  • Historic downtown Stevensville is small, but worth visiting for the Tasty Toucan which has a very kid friendly outdoor space. Check out my IG post.
  • Matapeake Beach is a small beach nearby. Parking is limited so get there early or come later in the day.
  • Old Love Point Playground

St. Michael’s

There’s a Saturday morning market and the library has toys if you’re visiting with a young child. It’s a fun town by the water. Grab coffee at Blue Crab and check out my IG post here.

So much to do on the Eastern Shore

If you have time and like birding, bring your camera and check out Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge and the nearby Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center. And why not venture all the way to Delaware! You’re almost there anyways. Here’s our day in Rehoboth. I also have a beach highlight on Instagram that some of the beaches we’ve been to within a reasonable drive of the DMV.

Let me know in the comments what you love about the Eastern Shore or somewhere we should visit on a future trip!

Gotta Catch Them All!

Posted in Canada, National Parks, Read Them AllTagged , , , , , Leave a comment

U.S. National Parks

We love our national parks and have made it our decade goal to finish seeing all of them before 2030. We have twelve U.S. national parks to visit as of July 2024 and you can read about many of the ones we have visited below.

Canadian National Parks

Mount Rainier | TeamTravelsBaby
Moraine Lake | TeamTravelsBaby

Memorial Day Mountains (Great Smoky Mountains)

Posted in National Parks, Read Them AllTagged , , , , , 2 Comments

Great Smoky Mountains

The Smokies | TeamTravelsBaby

Thinking about the upcoming Memorial Day weekend during quarantine, I figured I would reminisce on our road trip from last year. We made our way through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park from the Asheville side (NC) by Cherokee to the Gatlinburg side (TN). It was a perfect long weekend getaway from the DC area. We were able to do some hiking, see some beautiful scenery and explore downtown Asheville.

Sunset in the Smokies | TeamTravelsBaby

Asheville, NC

Love seeing well done street art | TeamTravelsBaby

Asheville is known for being an artsy city. There’s a cute walkable downtown with the mountains in the background. If you’re looking for a unique coffee experience, I recommend checking out Double D’s Coffee & Desserts. It’s situated inside a double decker bus. There is also street art to walk around and find. From a previous trip, I can also recommend Tupelo Honey for breakfast or brunch – just be prepared to wait if you don’t get there early.

Exploring a city with street art is one of my favorite things to do | TeamTravelsBaby

Oconaluftee Visitor Center

This visitor center has a huge parking lot and a nice trail around a large field. We found tons of elk grazing in this area and turkies! There were quite a few onlookers who brought pop-up chairs and their long lenses to relax, enjoy the sunset and take pictures here. Plus, we had to get our national park passport stamp for Addy’s book!

Chimney Tops

Chimney Tops trail | TeamTravelsBaby

This was a fun and challenging trail in the Smokies. Distance wise it’s only about 2 miles, but there is quite a stair climb and general incline to the trail to make it to the overlook. Carrying Addy (our 7 month old), made it a bit more exhausting, especially with the warm and humid weather. The view from the overlook was beautiful and we saw many people eating their picnic lunch. On the way down, we were lucky someone pointed out the sleeping black bear to us! We didn’t get the best shot, but we could definitely see him as he tried to camouflage in.

Our “big” hike of the trip | TeamTravelsBaby

Mingo Falls

Mingo Falls | TeamTravelsBaby

We found a parking spot in the very small lot. We loaded up with sunscreen and started our walk up the stairs. This is a beautiful waterfall to hike to and we find it’s always most rewarding to hike to a point of interest.

Clingman’s Dome

Clingman’s Dome | TeamTravelsBaby

Clingman’s Dome was a nice paved path, albeit a little steep. We took in lovely rolling hills from the top and popped into the cute bookstore at the bottom.

The view from the top | TeamTravelsBaby

Newfound Gap Road

Great place for a quick pop out to get a picture with the state line sign! There are a lot of different areas in this park to explore! You could definitely return again and again for a good time here!

Sunset in the Great Smoky Mountains | TeamTravelsBaby
Until next time, night night | TeamTravelsBaby

While you’re here, feel free to check out some other recaps like AZ Much As We Could (Arizona National Parks) and Cascading through Washington National Parks.

Cascading through Washington National Parks

Posted in National Parks, Read Them All, State CapitolTagged , , , , , , , , 2 Comments

Every year for Mike’s birthday (when there isn’t a worldwide pandemic) we go on some type of getaway and it usually involves a baseball game. In June 2019, we found a deal to Seattle, so we got on a plane for a 5 day trip filled with Washington’s three national parks, its state capitol in Olympia, a baseball game in Seattle and a few other adventures tucked in. At 8 months old, Addy was already a super traveler having recently returned from her first cruise and European adventure in April. (Check out our trip recaps: Breathe in Barcelona, Sète on a Nice Yacht, Crank It Out While Cruisin’ Italy and Loopin’ London.) Our trip throughout Washington state was so photogenic, it inspired me to write one of my first children’s books called Where Are You, Mount Rainier? which you can find on Amazon.

Olympia

State Capitol in Washington | TeamTravelsBaby

After arriving to Seattle airport and getting our rental car, we headed to Olympia, which hosts the gorgeous state capitol building and campus. We started with a view of it from Port Plaza Park and walked the Olympic Farmer’s Market. I got my first vacation coffee treat nearby at Dancing Goats Espresso. Once at the Capitol building we joined a tour so we could get an insider’s look into the chambers. There’s also a gorgeous Tiffany lamp that hangs from the dome. Of course we couldn’t leave without getting Addy’s picture on Mike’s shoulders as this has become a tradition for us. ­We also made a pit stop to nearby Tumwater Falls for a pretty waterfall.

Addy and Daddy at the Capitol | TeamTravelsBaby
Tumwater Falls | TeamTravelsBaby

Mount Rainier National Park

View of Mount Rainier at Reflection Lake | TeamTravelsBaby

Initially worried about rain, we lucked up and enjoyed beautiful weather where we could get out of the car and see Mount Rainier. We stopped at many of the different view points to take in the scenery, including an unbelievable reflection of snow-covered Mount Rainier. We managed to find one great hike to a waterfall too. This park has multiple entrances (of course check if they’re open before you go) so we didn’t have to backtrack. We entered from the west and exited near the southeast.

Views from Mount Rainier National Park| TeamTravelsBaby

Mount St. Helen’s National Monument

Mount St. Helen’s after the fog lifted | TeamTravelsBaby

Nearly to the border of Washington and Oregon, we made the trek beyond gas stations to visit Mount St. Helen’s. Pro Tip: Get gas when they warn you it’s the last station! While we had a foggy drive up the mountain (plus the fear of running out of gas), we got a fabulous view at the top where the visitor center is located. Don’t miss the reflection on the visitor center or the hike nearby.

Mount St. Helen’s National Monument | TeamTravelsBaby

Olympic National Park

Marymere Falls | TeamTravelsBaby

This park is huge and boasts many different environments. We started in the south through Lake Quinault and visited the Hoh Rainforest. We found lots of weird looking caterpillars. From here we saw the seastacks for sunset at Rialto Beach before a night in Forks. We drove past the gorgeous Lake Crescent and then hiked to Marymere Falls, which I would definitely recommend. We ended at Hurricane Ridge which still had snow. While we didn’t see any bears, we had fun hiking near the visitor’s center here as well as the drive. We popped down to Port Angeles which had some cool street art and a really cool coffee bar called Bada NW where I indulged. On our drive to Seattle we spotted Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge, which is home to a variety of birds. Since we have the America the Beautiful pass, we didn’t have to pay the nominal fee here either.

The different landscapes in Olympic | TeamTravelsBaby
On our way into Dungeness NWR | TeamTravelsBaby
Street art in Port Angeles | TeamTravelsBaby

Seattle

Downtown Seattle behind us| TeamTravelsBaby

Mike and I celebrated our one year wedding anniversary in April 2016 with an Alaskan cruise out of Vancouver and then a few days in Seattle. So on this trip, our sole purpose was to see a baseball game where the Seattle Mariners play. Luckily it was an evening game, so we walked the park while it was still light out and we could see downtown and the Space Needle, Mount Rainier and then eventually a beautiful sunset.

Views at the game | TeamTravelsBaby

Snoqualmie Falls and Leavenworth

Snoqualmie Falls plus a beautiful rainbow | TeamTravelsBaby

After leaving Seattle we made a pit stop at Snoqualmie Falls. It’s a beautiful 268 foot cascading waterfall. We continued our journey to an adorable mountain Bavarian town called Leavenworth. It reminded me of another cute Danish town called Slovang that we visited with friends on our Santa Barbara trip that you can read about here. Leavenworth is home to a huge nutcracker museum if that’s your thing. Nearby, I got a yummy treat from the Gingerbread Factory before we walked along Waterfront Park.

North Cascades National Park

Diablo Lake view | TeamTravelsBaby

As part of our journey to get to North Cascades National Park we took a 52 mile scenic road that runs between Darrington and Granite Falls. This road apparently closes often since there’s a 14 mile section over Barlow Pass that is unpaved. Fortunately it was open and a nice drive with places to stop along the way. Before entering the national park we spotted the Cascadian Farms roadside stand. MAKE THIS STOP! There are delicious milkshakes sold here – I tried the raspberry and loved it! On the way into the park, the official NPS sign is really cool! The snow on top looks legit! Since we arrived close to sunset the first night, we went to the Diablo Lake viewpoint. We stayed one night relatively close to the west entrance of the park in a place called Mount Baker Hotel for under $100. It was a really nice hotel – we had a separate living space from the bedroom. One word of caution is there is no cell phone service in this area, so I didn’t know the front desk person called to check that we were still coming since there is not 24/7 concierge service. Fortunately she waited for us and we got the key without issue. We found a cute drive-thru coffee shop the next morning and then explored the park with a hike up to Pyramid Lake. Similar to Glacier, there is a scenic road that runs through the park. It’s about an hour drive from the west entrance to the Washington Pass Overlook which is definitely worth it on a clear day. I only wish we had more time to hike in this park.

Washington Pass | TeamTravelsBaby
Hike to Pyramid Lake | TeamTravelsBaby

Sum It Up

We arrived to Seattle on Saturday, June 1st in the morning and knocked out Washington’s three national parks, a national monument, the capital city and a few other spots before flying home on Wednesday, June 5th in the evening. The secret to a great national park trip is to get up early to enjoy the sunrise whenever possible and to stay out until at least sunset and dusk. The other secret is, showering can be totally overrated and a time waster…so unless you really have to, it’s worth skipping to pack more into your day! Spritz yourself with some Febreeze and you’ll be golden! If we find another good deal to Seattle, I would definitely want to make it to the Columbia Gorge and Portland, Oregon and/or use it to explore places like Victoria and Vancouver Island.

We’re so glad you checked this post out! See you next time! | TeamTravelsBaby

While you’re on my site, I hope you’ll check out some of your other trips and leave your thoughts/share your experiences.

Yoohoo! Yoho is Where It’s At! (B.C. National Parks)

Posted in Canada, National Parks, Read Them All, State CapitolTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments

As part of our epic road trip to see Banff and Jasper, we also managed to see other nearby parks in British Columbia to include Mount Revelstoke, Glacier, Yoho and Kootenay. We also squeezed in the Montana State Capitol on our way back to Jackson Hole airport by way of animal-centric Yellowstone. Leave a comment at the end and let me know what you thought!

Mount Revelstoke National Park (British Columbia)

Giant Cedars | TeamTravelsBaby

We left Golden early in the morning and drove to Mount Revelstoke National Park. We started with a short easy boardwalk hike called Skunk Cabbage followed by the Cedar boardwalk trail. The real highlight for us was the Meadows in the Sky Parkway up to a parking lot near the summit. From here we had an option to take a shuttle, but opted to walk instead. We find that hiking to a destination makes it more rewarding than taking the easy way. Before heading to Glacier National Park of Canada, we stopped in the little town of Revelstoke so I could get a coffee treat at Conversations Coffee House.

Glacier National Park of Canada (British Columbia)

Great Glacier hike on a foggy day | TeamTravelsBaby

Easily combined to make for a full day with Mount Revelstoke, we opted for the Great Glacier hike. Round-trip this hike took us about 3.5 hours to hike (approx. 5 miles round-trip). There is quite an ascent going up and once the skies started to clear, gorgeous views of the mountains, a waterfall, and running water in the valley below. We also passed the remains of Glacier House on our way out. I was so tired from carrying Addy a good portion of the way up that once we switched, I had to stay out of eyesight of Addy so we could make it back down without switching again. It was fun listening to Mike entertain her with descriptions of everything he saw from rocks to trees to mushrooms.  

We stayed in a Ramada Limited Hotel in Golden, which was a nice hotel and ideally located between Glacier and Yoho. As a bonus, I got 10% off with my key card at Bear & Bone Burger, which was walking distance from the hotel. The gunsmoke burger and yam fries were absolutely delicious and I would highly recommend it!

Yoho (British Columbia)

Emerald Lake in Yoho | TeamTravelsBaby
If you couldn’t tell, I absolutely loved photographing the reflections here | TeamTravelsBaby

If you take out Banff and Jasper (which both live up to the hype), Yoho was my favorite Canadian national park that we visited this trip. We ate our free hotel breakfast and then headed to Wapta Falls. This waterfall is a gusher! It was a relatively flat hike out, with some mud and rocks to the view point. Then we continued down in order to get a better view. Next up was one of the most stunning lakes of the trip (not quite Lake Louise or Moraine Lake, but definitely up there) called Emerald Lake. It was a stunning greenish turquoise color. We walked part of the lakeshore path, took in the reflection views and had a memorable photo shoot with Addy. On our way back to the main road, we stopped at the Natural Bridge. This was a nice spot to pop out and take some pictures. The park’s visitor center is in Field – we made a pit stop for our stamp before going to see our last waterfall. From the parking lot, it’s a very short walk to Takkakaw Falls. This narrow and tall fall (the second tallest in Canada) is really cool because you can go down to the rocks along the water for pictures without people. There’s also a spot with one of the “red chairs” that are scattered throughout the Canadian national park system.

Wapta Falls | TeamTravelsBaby
Natural Bridge near Emerald Lake | TeamTravelsBaby
Takkakaw Falls | TeamTravelsBaby

Kootenay (British Columbia)

Olive Lake | TeamTravelsBaby
Wider view of Olive Lake | TeamTravelsBaby

The Paint Pots hike toward Marble Canyon was the only hike we did in this park. From the pot holed parking lot, there’s a bridge with stunning views of the mountains and a river below. Hiking boots are definitely necessary as there are small boards you walk on to stay off the electrified looking water. The ink pot here is unique and we found this hike virtually to ourselves.

As we made our way toward the exit of the park we stopped at Olive Lake. It was a pretty lake with reflections and fish. It was a short drive from here to the exit by Radium Hot Springs. If we had more time, we would have stopped to check these out. The drive is definitely worth taking this route.

Paint Pots hike in Kootenay | TeamTravelsBaby

Crossing the Border

This time we checked the hours to ensure we wouldn’t have any issues. We found the border crossing virtually empty, but we were the random selectees to pull over and have our car inspected. We hung out in the station while they checked everything out. For sunset, we made it the small town of Whitefish, Montana. This town is adorable and I only wish we had made it before the small independent shops had closed.

We found a Wal-Mart in Kalispell to load up on more snacks and then found a hotel here for the night. Check out my article called, On the Border of Glacier and Waterton Lakes to read about Glacier National Park which we primarily explored on the front end of our trip.

Addy taking us over the border | TeamTravelsBaby

Helena, Montana

Montana’s State Capitol | TeamTravelsBaby

As we made our way back toward Jackson Hole, we stopped in Helena, the capital of Montana. The inside was stunning and multi-floored. We joined a free guided tour so we could see inside the chambers. One of my favorite parts about taking Addy to a state capitol building is we’ve started a tradition of taking Addy’s picture on Mike’s shoulders in front of it. We explored the little downtown and found an adorable coffee shop, General Mercantile next to an independent bookstore called Montana Book Company. We don’t really collect any souvenirs on our trips, but one thing I do like to buy is a unique and locally written or illustrated book. On this trip I bought The Chumiss and the Micken, which is an incredibly adorable and beautiful book about the age old question about which came first – the chicken or the egg. It is a children’s book that I enjoy reading to Addy and would recommend to others.

Addy and her Daddy doing their thang in MT | TeamTravelsBaby

Yellowstone National Park (USA)

Big horned sheep | TeamTravelsBaby
Pronghorn, the fastest animal in North America | TeamTravelsBaby

When I was pregnant with Addy (June 2018), we crushed Yellowstone National Park. (I hope to write about that trip soon.) Since we were merely passing through for sunset and the following morning on this trip, we weren’t there to see it all, but rather to try and see animals. We took the scenic Beartooth Mountains drive. Then before even entering the park through the Gardiner, Montana entrance (to the north), we spotted a ton of big horned sheep, a herd of elk and pronghorns. Once we finally entered, we found a HUGE male flaunting his rack in anticipation for the fall rut.

Lamar Valley is a must drive if you want to see animals in Yellowstone. Of course, sunrise and sunset also happen to be the ideal times. The people who have scopes and follow the wolves were out in the morning and were generous enough to let us have a look. We could see wolves way out in the valley surrounding a bear trying to feed off the same dead bison carcass. My one non-animal pro tip is to stop in one of the stores and try the $1 huckleberry ice cream sandwich – you will be yearning for a second one!

Lamar Valley has a ridiculous number of bison | TeamTravelsBaby
Red-tailed hawk | TeamTravelsBaby

Grand Teton National Park (USA)

On the short list for our future retirement home | TeamTravelsBaby

The drive is so scenic from Yellowstone and throughout Grand Teton. We literally only had a few minutes to jump out for a few pictures of the mountains and another huge elk. There is one gas station close to the extremely small airport. It was very easy to return our rental car and get through security here before walking on the tarmac to our plane. It’s also really interesting that this airport offers bear spray rentals! This is definitely something to consider for a future trip as bear spray is more expensive that I thought and you have to properly dispose of it. And in case you’re wondering why we picked Jackson Hole, it’s because Frontier was offering tickets for $249 each! This was a steal for this airport!

Returned the car without issue | TeamTravelsBaby
JAC, the prettiest airport to fly in and out of | TeamTravelsBaby

Notes for Next Time

  • Revelstoke: A longer hike in the Summit Area
  • Glacier: Balu Pass
  • Yoho: Lake O’Hara alpine area which needs to be booked WAY in advance and looks absolutely unreal.
  • Kootenay: Radium hot springs (the actual hot springs) and Juniper-Sinclair Canyon

On the Border of Glacier and Waterton Lakes

Posted in Canada, National Parks, Read Them AllTagged , , , , , , , 4 Comments

Glacier National Park (Montana, USA) and Waterton Lakes National Park (Alberta, Canada) are considered an international peace park as they share the border. As such, a passport is required if you want to see both. The Many Glaciers section of Glacier National Park was definitely a highlight and where we saw black bears. Waterton’s Prince of Wales Hotel is one of the windiest places in Canada and has a beautiful lake behind it. We also got out and walked around Calgary for about an hour or so and would definitely return to the city again in the future. Plus, as one of the few cities we visited, I actually got my treats here! While we were very non-traditional, starting and ending our trip in Jackson, Wyoming (home to the Grand Tetons), most people probably would have used Calgary as a jumping off point.

Ready for our adventure recap | TeamTravelsBaby

Going to the Sun Road (Glacier)

Lake McDonald | TeamTravelsBaby

We arrived through the west entrance by Lake McDonald on a very overcast and rainy day. Going to the Sun Road is supposed to be extremely scenic and a big part of the reason Glacier receives high rankings amongst all of the national parks. It’s approximately 50 miles long across the main section of the park and takes nearly 2 hours to drive without stops. Unfortunately for us, we didn’t have that top-ranking experience, but we did still really enjoy this park.  We did have the fortunate timing of finding a group of big horned sheep hanging out across the street from the Logan Pass Visitor Center and the street to ourselves to enjoy the drive-through tunnel.  At the end of our trip, we were able to dip back into the park and actually see Lake McDonald, the largest lake in the park and the colorful IG worthy stones. There’s also a cute gift shop here.

Going to the Sun Road Tunnel | TeamTravelsBaby
Big horned sheep across from the visitor center | TeamTravelsBaby

Hidden Lake Trail (Glacier)

Our first hike of the day was by the Logan Pass Visitor Center. We geared up with our rain coats, rain boots, waterproof pants and poncho to cover Addy in her on-person carrier. There is a long stair climb and then a nice path, even with the rain. We found colorful stones, a waterfall and a good hike overall. The only bummer was because of the rain and fog, we couldn’t see the view intended for the end point of this 3 mile round-trip hike.

Colorful stones along the Hidden Lakes Trail | TeamTravelsBaby
Hidden Lakes Trail on an overcast day | TeamTravelsBaby

Virginia and St. Mary’s Waterfalls (Glacier)

Virginia Falls in Glacier | TeamTravelsBaby

This was the only other hike we did in the park. It was a relatively easy round-trip 3.6 mile hike that took us to two beautiful cascading waterfalls. There are also beautifully colored rocks here to see if you don’t have time to stop at Lake McDonald.  

Virginia and St. Mary’s Hike | TeamTravelsBaby
St. Mary’s Waterfall | TeamTravelsBaby

The Many Glaciers Section (Glacier)

Entering the Many Glaciers Section of Glacier NP | TeamTravelsBaby

This section of the park is totally separate from the Going to the Sun Road portion of the park. Once we exited the main road on the St. Mary’s (east) side, we headed north about 45 minutes. There were tons of potholes on the road, but the views were incredible. We could see glaciers on our drive in. We eventually spotted cars pulled over and got out to watch a mommy and baby black bear foraging. While watching these bears play, Addy made a noise and we turned to see a black bear cross the road behind us, probably less than 50 feet! Scary to think he was hiding in the bushes so close to us. I’m convinced Addy knew something was going on! From here we drove to the Glacier Park Lodge where we came across a female big horned sheep walking on the sidewalk. Something about how the Lodge looked and the setting on the reflective body of water with mountains in the background reminded me of Switzerland, which made sense considering it is a “swiss styled lodge”. There was a musician playing inside and the view from the back porch was the perfect way to end our time in Glacier.

Black bears in Glacier | TeamTravelsBaby
SO many good photos of Addy and her Daddy | TeamTravelsBaby
View from the parking lot of the Glacier Lodge | TeamTravelsBaby
Glacier Lodge and the View | TeamTravelsBaby

Border Crossing to Canada

My little munchkin | TeamTravelsBaby

We wrapped up our evening in Glacier, drove down a long road with free range cattle warnings, until we made it to the border crossing booths. Did you know that not all border crossings are 24 hours? Well, we learned the hard way as we arrived to find it closed. My advice for next time, check the border crossing hours. It’s also smart to keep your phone on airplane mode anywhere near a border to avoid potential international fees. We made a U-turn and found our way to another border crossing that was fortunately opened and uneventful to cross.

Waterton Lakes National Park (Canada)

Cameron Falls | TeamTravelsBaby

We started our morning super early on a mission to find a restroom. We found one by the beautiful Cameron Falls near Waterton (town). Even though it was really overcast and slightly rainy here too, we decided to try the Bertha hike to Bertha Falls. There were black bear warning signs everywhere, so we had that ounce of fear during our hike, but didn’t see any bears here. We did get great views of the Prince of Wales Hotel. We eventually made it to lower Bertha falls before returning along the same path (3.3 mile roundtrip hike).

The Prince of Wales Hotel is worth a stop. We thought the Lodge at Glacier was prettier, but it was fun to pop inside and also take in the views from behind the hotel. We got some great pictures here with Addy. At 11 months old, Addy brought her favorite animal at the time, baby panda (my old TY beanie baby) with her on the trip. She discovered her love for driving the car, turning on and off the radio and dancing to the music. We also realized that she loves pretzels! Lucky for her this is one of our favorite road trip snacks.

Calgary

Calgary was a quick pit stop for us. We figured we had to at least check it out and we took the scenic drive to it. We started with a drive through downtown and took some nice pictures from across the river of the city skyscrapers. We headed to Sidewalk Citizen where I got a delicious ginormous chocolate cookie with powdered sugar. We then found a metered spot downtown and took a nice walk along the Riverwalk and through Central Memorial Park. The flowers were blooming and if we had more time we would have walked to St. Patrick’s Island. We found a small mall and I was able to get a coffee treat at Good Earth Coffee House before we got back on the road and ready for our most anticipated park, Banff National Park. You can read all about this part of our trip in Banff, There It Is!

Bear Jammed in Jasper

Posted in Canada, National Parks, Read Them AllTagged , , , , , , , 4 Comments

Jasper National Park was our farthest destination for us (considering we started in Jackson Hole, Wyoming). From Banff (town) it is about 3.5 hours to Jasper (town) without stopping. Luckily, the Icefields Parkway, which connects the two towns is one of the most scenic drives. On our drive into the park, we spotted an elk with a HUGE rack…because it was close to the rut being September and all. We packed a ridiculous amount of hiking into less than 2 full days in the park. Similar to Banff, I totally get why people spend a whole week in this park.

Valley of Five Lakes

Our morning (which also happened to be my birthday) started off rainy, but we didn’t let that that stop us. We geared up with our rain clothes and headed out on the approximate 3 mile trail called Valley of Five Lakes. The early morning gave us beautiful reflection pictures and trails to ourselves. Something cool about Canadian national parks is they have red Adirondack chairs randomly located, which make for fun photo ops. Each of the lakes are labeled and there are signs between them so you won’t miss any on your hike. A good tip is to always take a photo at the trail head of the trail map (plus at this trail you can see where to find the red Adirondack chairs). This doubles for helping to keep track of what time you started the hike too.

Maligne Canyon and the Bridges

Roadside elk | TeamTravelsBaby
Maligne Canyon trail | TeamTravelsBaby

We parked near the Maligne Canyon Wilderness Kitchen for the Maligne Canyon hike after stopping to photograph some elk on the side of the road. The hike map is really helpful as there are a series of five bridges you have the option of seeing (remember to take a pic). The first two are relatively close and if you’re looking for a short hike, I would definitely recommend at least seeing the canyon and the first two bridges. Of course, if you want to see it all, it’s over a 4 mile hike. We really enjoyed the hike, but from experience and if you’re short on time, feel free to skip the last bridge. Instead of backtracking, we took the high path on our way back to the parking lot. We would highly recommend this (even though it was exhausting to climb) because the views at the top are incredible.

Small waterfall along the Maligne Canyon trail | TeamTravelsBaby

Pyramid Lake and Pyramid Island

Pyramid Lake | TeamTravelsBaby

Pyramid Lake is located relatively close to downtown Jasper. Near the Pyramid Lake Resort, you can pull off and get some incredible pictures of the lake with mountains in the background. It was so serene and I think because we were there after Labor Day, the lake itself was quiet. Past the Resort, we found parking for Pyramid Island. It’s a really tiny and walkable island connected by a bridge. It’s also a popular wedding spot. Some of my favorite pictures of Addy, Mike and I are from our time here.

Medicine Lake, Moose Lake and Bears

Medicine Lake | TeamTravelsBaby

Medicine Lake was not on my radar when I planned our trip. We arrived in the afternoon and the reflection view of this lake was one of my trip favorites and one I blew up on canvas for our condo. When we turned the corner, we found a black bear. We were in our first Canadian bear jam and amongst the leader cars! So I guess you could say, we actually started the bear jam with our sighting! The bear crossed right in front of us and then we continued to watch it as it went down into the valley. All national parks have at least a 100 foot distance rule with animals such as bears. After we finished watching this bear, we continued on our way and came across two more black bears! It was fun to watch one stopping to smell the flowers. From here we made it to the trail for Moose Lake (near Maligne Lake). It was a pretty muddy walk, so our hiking boots definitely came in handy! The view of moose lake was stunning. We made it to the car before dusk set in and on our drive back down the main road, we came across a moose! We were so excited!! Of course we couldn’t get the camera or the phone to take a good picture, but otherwise, we soaked in the moment. A few minutes later, we came across a black bear in the road (our 4th one)! I am so thankful we didn’t hit the bear!

Check out my first ever video | TeamTravelsBaby
Moose Lake | TeamTravelsBaby

Edith Cavell to the Summit

Cavell Pond and Glacier | TeamTravelsBaby

There is a recently completed parking structure here. Following the Path of Glacier trail, we quickly arrived at Cavell Pond less than 1 mile away. The glacial water is pretty and to this point, it is rather a busy hike. Continuing past here, through bits of rain, we followed a stiff incline, with Addy in tow well over 4 miles and up a 500 foot elevation gain to the summit. What was really funny is even though there were little yellow untitled signs, we weren’t 100% sure it was the end…so we kept going. We made it to another point where it started hailing out of nowhere, so we decided it was time to turn around. What’s amazing is how quickly the weather can change on a hike like this. The actual “end” where we should have stopped was a great vantage point with views of multiple glaciers, Mount Edith Cavell and the Cavell Pond from the bottom. People were amazed we did this with a baby and I’m so glad we did because it was super rewarding and physically exhausting. We also got to see hoary marmots, which are cute small mammals in the huge boulders. They blend in pretty well, so you have to pay attention for movement. This was the last hike we did in Jasper before making our way back along the Icefields Parkway back toward Banff.

The view when we went too far | TeamTravelsBaby
Our small mammal friends on the hike | TeamTravelsBaby

Other Jasper Sites We Enjoyed

The town of Jasper is so cute! The train runs right through town and it is extremely walkable. The flowers were beautifully planted around the visitor center (also has wifi) and public restroom across the street. Being my birthday and all, I got two coffee treats! First thing in the morning I got a delicious macadamia latte (with a real chocolate covered macadamia on top) from the Other Bear Paw Bakery. Later in the day a shopkeeper recommended the coffee shop in the laundromat (SnowDome Coffee Bar). I knew I had to try it and my drink here was also really good! After Maligne Canyon, we drove to Lake Annette. This lake has a play area and a beautiful recently completed walkway around the lake. We did have to dodge geese poop though.

Jasper is a fantastic national park and should be on your bucket list! September was a beautiful time to visit and I am so happy this is where we were for my birthday. I’ll write a separate post about our experience along the Icefields Parkway as there are quite a few points of interest worth stopping to gawk at. We found a reasonably priced hotel in Hinton (a bit of a drive north of Jasper) near a Wal-Mart. I mention this because I someone underestimated how many GBs of camera storage I needed for the trip and this place was our saving grace!

TeamTravelsBaby!

If we had more time, here are a few other things that were on my list: 1) Boat tour to Spirit Island on Maligne Lake; 2) Bald Hills Loop near Maligne Lake (6ish mile strenuous hike); 3) Sulfur Skyline hike to Miette Hot Springs (5 mile hike)

Don’t forget to buy the Parks Canada Discovery Pass if it makes sense for your trip! We definitely got our monies worth and are hoping to do a second big Canadian national parks adventure before ours expires. And if you missed it, check out our post, Banff, There It Is!

Follow us to our next adventure. Until next time. | TeamTravelsBaby

Banff, There It is!

Posted in Canada, National Parks, Read Them AllTagged , , , , , , , , , 7 Comments

While our approximately 12 day trip started in Jackson Hole (Wyoming), Banff and Jasper National Parks were our MUST sees on this trip. This post is about Banff National Park which is ideally located 90 minutes from Calgary in the Canadian province of Alberta and is where most people fly into in order to explore the park. We probably ended up spending close to three days in the park, breaking it up with other nearby parks and the Icefields Parkway (the amazing road that connects Banff and Jasper). We cannot recommend this park enough. It’s an absolute bucket list must see for outdoor enthusiasts and photo takers alike! Check out my other posts from this trip including Bear Jammed in Jasper.

Lake Minnewaka

Lake Minnewaka | TeamTravelsBaby

Early September was the perfect time of year for this trip. We arrived at Banff National Park shortly before sunrise from Calgary. After purchasing the Parks Canada Discovery pass (highly recommended if you plan to see multiple parks and drive the Icefields Parkway), we drove to Lake Minnewaka. On our way to the lake, we got extremely lucky and saw two wolves! They were so close and were gone nearly as quickly as they came. The only other time we’ve seen wolves was through a scope at Yellowstone National Park, so this was an incredibly unexpected treat. We continued to the lake, which was beautiful.

Lake Louise/Fairmont Chateau

Fairmont Chateau on Lake Louise | TeamTravelsBaby

The water is unlike anything you’ve ever seen. While I absolutely love so many of the photos we got, it honestly doesn’t do it justice. Banff is breathtaking! Next to the lake is the stunning Fairmont Chateau luxury hotel. While there are signs posted not to enter unless you’re a guest…we walked in the front doors, in our sweats, like we belonged and looked around for a few minutes. We took in the Lake Louise views in the early morning hours, from above on a hike and in the evening for sunset. Parking can be extremely challenging, so there is a shuttle service option if you miss getting a spot. We were really fortunate to always find a spot.

Lake Louise | TeamTravelsBaby

Plain of Six Glaciers hike via the Tea House (Lake Louise/Mirror Lake)

We nearly slept in the parking lot by Lake Louise to ensure we found a spot for our early morning hike to the Plain of Six Glaciers. This hike is more than 3.4 miles each way and considering we took some detours on the way back down we ended up clocking nearly 10 miles with our 11 month old. The hike starts by the Fairmont, continues around the right side of Lake Louise and then the climb begins with ultimately 1,215 feet of elevation gain up to nearly 7,000 feet of overall elevation. We stopped at the cash only (Canadian or US dollars) Tea House. We climbed the stairs to enjoy a small breakfast of raspberry tea and tea biscuits in the tree house feeling tea house. This was definitely a highlight and a reward for the hike to this point. We continued on to the Plain of Six Glaciers. Once the clouds cleared, we got a beautiful glacial view. The hike was strenuous to the end and absolutely worth it. We kept hearing noises on our hike and realized we were hearing avalanches and actually spotted a few too. Right by the tea house on our way back we spotted a hoary marmot and its baby on the rocks before continuing to Mirror Lake. The lighting was perfect here in the afternoon for reflection pictures on the lake. The tea house here was packed and there were people eating picnic lunches on the large rocks. Of course, this attracted birds and squirrels too, which Addy found amusing. By the time we returned to Lake Louise, the morning fog was long gone and there were tons of other tourists enjoying the view too.

  • A hoary marmot and its baby | TeamTravelsBaby
Is it any surprise that this is called Mirror Lake? | TeamTravelsBaby

Moraine Lake

The color of this lake is teal – my absolute favorite color! There is a short hike called the Rock Pile trail which makes for a great photo op above the lake. As a bonus, small mammals called pika live in the rocks and we spotted one! A walk along the lake is a must. It was actually the walk back where the reflections on the water were perfect! I loved the symmetry of it. We came here during the morning hours and in the evening before dusk. The parking lot here is SMALL-way too small for its popularity. But they manage the road from the main road and only allow enough cars down that can fit which is good.

Pika on the Rock Pile trail | TeamTravelsBaby

Consolation Lakes hike (near Moraine Lake)

Consolation Lakes | TeamTravelsBaby

This 3.6 mile round-trip hike recommends a minimum of four people due to bear activity. While we planned to hike it anyways, our timing was incredible that another couple similar in age was ready to hike at the same time and didn’t mind hiking with the couple + baby. It was fun getting to know them along the hike. At the end, there are huge boulder-sized rocks. Another place with beautiful reflections pictures and the rocks were fun/scary to climb on since I was front-carrying Addy.

Johnston Canyon and Ink Pots Trail

This was the last hike we did during our time in Banff and we started it at sunrise. The canyon part is really cool with waterfalls, including one where you duck through a passageway for a better view. The boardwalk built right into the canyon is super well done. There’s a long section between the canyon and the actual ink pots which is merely hiking and changes in elevation. Then wham, you arrive at the ink pots and it is gorgeous! The ink pots themselves are really unique and the pictures won’t disappoint. It seemed that most people turned around after the canyon and waterfalls, so we didn’t have to share the ink pots with many.

The Ink Pots | TeamTravelsBaby

The Village of Lake Louise/Town of Banff

Morant’s Curve | TeamTravelsBaby

We were able to get our visitor center stamp at the Village of Lake Louise. The town of Banff is an adorable mountain town and very walkable. It’s definitely worth exploring, even if it’s late in the evening after a day of hiking. We also drove to see nearby Bow Falls. You’ll see an option to drive on Bow Valley Parkway and if you do, I definitely recommend a stop at Morant’s Curve.

There is no denying how incredible this trip was. I totally get why people spend a week or more just at Banff. It is breathtaking and the lakes are undeniably gorgeous. The tea house hike was my absolutely favorite. If this isn’t on your list, it definitely should be. My grandmother (90 years old at the time of this trip) told me that Banff was her mother’s favorite place and that she took the trans-Canadian train across Canada to see it. I knew I had to have this experience for her during her lifetime so I could share it with her.

If we had more time, here are a few other things that were on my list: 1) Lake Agnes and Devil’s Thumb via the Beehive to combine with Lake Louise; 2) Mount Norquay for a view of Banff at sunrise; 3) Valley of the Ten Peaks to Eiffel Lake near Moraine Lake; 4) Cascade Gardens near the town of Banff or cross the Bow Valley pedestrian bridge and 5) Try Wild Flour bakery in Banff which is supposed to have great bread and offers wifi.

Dusk at Lake Louise | TeamTravelsBaby
An extra hoary marmot picture – can you see the baby? | TeamTravelsBaby
Cover photo of Lake Louise and the Fairmont Chateau at Sunrise | TeamTravelsBaby

Breathe in Barcelona

Posted in Cruise, Europe, Read Them AllTagged , , , , , , , , 6 Comments
  • View from the MNAC | TeamTravelsBaby
    View from the MNAC | TeamTravelsBaby

Barcelona is the perfect sized city on the Mediterranean with gorgeous weather (this was April). Whether you have an extended layover, 24 hours or a few days, there’s something here for you as the central part of the city is easily accessible from the El Prat airport. On our two week European adventure with our 6 month old, we had about one full day before our Pullmantur week long cruise and two full days on the back end (we also visited Girona, about 100 km away).

  • View from the MNAC | TeamTravelsBaby
    View from the MNAC | TeamTravelsBaby
  • MNAC View | TeamTravelsBaby
    MNAC View | TeamTravelsBaby

Unforgettable View: From the front steps of the MNAC (Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya)

We love seeing any city by foot or by bike. With a baby, we found walking to be the most convenient mode and used the Tula carrier we were gifted for Addy.  It was ideal for carrying her since she weighed somewhere between 16-17 pounds on our trip and an American sized stroller is not as convenient (but I would argue still doable if you felt the need to have one). If you have limited time, I would recommend arriving to Placa d’Espanya by the Arenas de Barcelona (huge mall). From here head toward the beautiful archway and hill. Conveniently, there are escalators that will take you all the way up to the MNAC and even beyond it. First you’ll see the Montjuic magic fountain. Check to see which days/times it is turned on as it looks like it is spectacular! At the top of MNAC, take it the beautiful view of Barcelona. If you continue behind the MNAC, you’ll arrive at the 1992 Summer Olympic Annex. We didn’t find any Olympic rings to take a picture of like we saw in Innsbruck, Austria’s Olympic site, but it was still cool. If you continue on a longer walk, you can continue uphill through gardens to see the Montjuic Castle. There is a cable car (I read it’s a bit overrated/expensive), but I feel I can always appreciate a view more when I’ve worked hard to get there. While we didn’t visit inside the Castle (5 euros to see inside), we found the views from the outside were lovely and you can even look over the edge and see the cruise ships.

  • View from the Top of Montjuic | TeamTravelsBaby
    View from the Top of Montjuic
  • Addy in Barcelona

Unlimited People Watching: The famous street, La Rambla

La Rambla is a fun street to walk with a huge pedestrian walkway down the middle, lined with kiosks of sweet treats, souvenirs and restaurants. The section closest to the Mediterranean starts at the Columbus Monument and it continues to the Placa de Catalunya. The famous market, Mercado de la Boqueria shouldn’t be missed (it’s closed on Sundays)! If you’re willing to wander off the main block, head to the Gothic Quarter and find the Cathedral of Barcelona. It’s absolutely stunning and free to enter. If you want to climb it, head there between 10 am-12 pm daily with your euro coins! If you’re down by the water, cross the bridge and check out Maremagnum, which is a huge shopping mall (and a good place to find a bathroom).

  • La Boqueria | TeamTravelsBaby
    La Boqueria
  • Barcelona at Night | TeamTravelsBaby
    Barcelona at Night
  • Placa de Catalunya | TeamTravelsBaby
    Placa de Catalunya
  • Cathedral of Barcelona | TeamTravelsBaby
    Cathedral of Barcelona
  • Cathedral of Barcelona
  • Barcelona by the Med | TeamTravelsBaby
    Barcelona by the Med

Unlimited Sand: Platja de la Barceloneta is a huge sand beach and you can also stroll the paved promenade, check out the street sellers, view sand castles and take in the city.

On the way to the beach, you can pass by the old port (Port Vell) where lots of products for sale by street sellers. After a walk along the beach or promenade, we found the Parc de la Ciutadella had pretty buildings and a small lake with swans, herons and other types of birds. Like Paris, Barcelona boasts its own “Arc d’Triomf” (not quite the same, but still a great photo op) that is at the end of a nice broad pedestrian street that’s easily accessible after leaving the park.

  • Port Vell | TeamTravelsBaby
    Port Vell
  • The Beach | TeamTravelsBaby
    The Beach
  • Addy in Barcelona | TeamTravelsBaby
    Addy in Barcelona
  • Blue Heron | TeamTravelsBaby
    Blue Heron
  • Columbus Monument | TeamTravelsBaby
    Columbus Monument
  • Arc d'Triomf | TeamTravelsBaby
    Arc d’Triomf

Unlimited Photos: La Sagrada Familia is the famous church that has been a WIP for nearly 140 years.

A trip to Barcelona would not be complete without seeing it. You can walk around the entire church and there’s a small pond on the backside that gives you some decent reflection photos. The church is also lit up at night (check for the exact times – we saw it at 8:30 pm).

Pro Tip: If you know your dates, then book your tickets in advance if you want to see inside (try all of the ticket types to find available times).

  • La Sagrada Familia | TeamTravelsBaby
    La Sagrada Familia
  • La Sagrada Familia
  • La Sagrada Familia Up Close | TeamTravelsBaby
    La Sagrada Familia Up Close

Another Pro Tip: If you’re visiting Barcelona on a Sunday, check to see if the Picasso Museum is still free in the afternoon/evening.

Transportation: The T-10 card (10.2 euros) was perfect for our trip which we could share for the metro and Rodiales train (within Barcelona). Even though we had about 3 days in Barcelona, we typically walked everywhere and used exactly 5 trips each for a total of 10 on the card. If you’re coming from the airport, it costs one ride for the Rodiales (R2Nord) and one ride for the metro (to wherever you’re going). We found the public transportation to be very convenient. If you’re more limited on time, you may want to consider the AeroBus which is a coach style bus that drops off in Placa de Catalunya. There are other items like the Hola BCN travel card (primarily a transportation card by number of days) and Barcelona card that may be worth a look, depending on your particular trip and needs.

  • Graffiti | TeamTravelsBaby
    Graffiti
  • Street Art | TeamTravelsBaby
    Street Art

Where We Stayed: We really liked the two hostels we stayed in – Pension Peiro (super close to the metro stop Paral-lel and convenient for embarking on a cruise or exploring Montjuic) and Primavera Hostel (super close to the metro stop Verdaguer and convenient for walking to La Sagrada Familia). In April 2019, we found both locations for under $100/night and stayed in a private room (shared bathroom) with our 6 month old. Both hostels let us drop our luggage/stroller off early without any issues. Primavera Hostel had a shared kitchen that was really nice with coffee and our room had a balcony! Use my booking.com referral link and we both get $20!

Cruisin’ from Barcelona: This is an awesome port city to start or end a Mediterranean cruise and we would recommend it! We found it was walkable from Pension Peiro to our ship (you can also pay for a bus that leaves from close to the Columbus Monument which I think was 5 euros round-trip). If you like cruising, check out our post about our Canary Islands cruise in February 2019!

  • Treat Time | TeamTravelsBaby
    Treat Time
  • Addy and Daddy | TeamTravelsBaby
    Addy and Daddy
  • Ready to Cruise the Med | TeamTravelsBaby
    Ready to Cruise the Med

Sète on a Nice Yacht

Posted in Cruise, Europe, Read Them AllTagged , , , , , , , , 2 Comments

The south of France (aka the French Riviera) and Monte Carlo, Monaco are even more beautiful than the pictures portray. Having the chance to see the smallest country, the Vatican and the second smallest country, Monaco, on the same vacation was incredible. The people in Monte Carlo were super friendly and the views from the Prince’s Palace of the coast and all of the incredible yachts were surreal. The train system between the port city of Villefranche-sur-Mer, Monte Carlo and Nice was extremely easy to navigate, inexpensive and the train stations were walkable into the heart of each city. Our second port city, Sète, was another easy “do-it-yourself” stop. Did I mention we did all of this with our 6 month old baby?! These stops were part of our week long Mediterranean cruise on Pullmantur. Check out this trip report as well as our time in Barcelona, Italy and London!

Overview

  • Villefranche-sur-Mer (Saturday, April 13, 2019) – Monte Carlo (Monaco) and Nice
  • Sète (Sunday, April 14, 2019) – Some use this as the gateway to Carcassonne (the walled castle), but we used the day to explore this seaside fishing town.

Our boat arrived to Villefranche-sur-Mer and we learned that we needed to tender into port. This means you go from the cruise ship onto a smaller boat that serves like a ferry to get you to the walkable town. Luckily, it also meant we had a gorgeous view of the coast from our cruise ship and also one from the smaller vessel. The only downside was it meant we had to queue when the cruise ship gave the “all clear” before we could start our day of exploring. But as they say in France, c’est la vie!

Monaco – So many yachts! | TeamTravelsBaby

Monte Carlo, Monaco

Getting to Monte Carlo from the port city of Villefranche was super easy because it is extremely well marked on the way to the little train terminal. Because a cruise ship was in port, there were many people ready to help us purchase our tickets who spoke a variety of languages. It was less than $4 to get our ticket to Monaco and less than a 20 minute ride (which ran about every half hour) with only three stops (Beaulieu-sur-Mer, Eze, Cap-d’Ail) before we would exit at Monte Carlo. I used this site to look up times before our trip: https://www.thetrainline.com/ . It’s hard to believe we planned trips before the internet!

Monte Carlo is also well signed and super clean. We followed the signs to the famous Casino first, knowing that many pre-booked excursions head here. On the walk, there are tons of high end jewelry stores (Carré d’Or). We enjoyed the picture opportunities in Casino Square then went in to the Casino lobby. It’s free to enter the lobby and they had a separate line for men and women. There are some amazing red dice in the lobby which make for a great photo op. After a few pictures (you have to pay to enter more than the lobby), we headed to the back side of the casino where we enjoyed a walk overlooking the water on our way to the Formula 1 race track that hosts the Monaco Grand Prix every May.

The weather was warm with a Mediterranean breeze. On our self-made walking tour, we got directions from the race track to Place d’Armes. This lovely square had an indoor and outdoor food market called Marché de La Condamine. While we didn’t have a chance to try it, I read somewhere that “Barbagiuan”, which is a deep fried pastry stuffed with Swiss chard and ricotta is popular in Monaco. We crossed the street and followed the signs to Port de Fontvielle. We cut through the humungous Fontvielle Shopping Center on the way there. We lollygagged along the boardwalk where we could see a ridiculous number of yachts and dream about our retirement to a place like this! In order to get what we believed would be the best view of the city, we followed the signs that took us up to the Prince’s Palace (be prepared for a steep, but not too lengthy walk). We made it just in time to see the changing of the guards (occurred at 11:55 am), which drew quite the crowd. We wandered the narrow streets lined with food and gift shops and mostly, stopped to enjoy the unparalleled view of the coast, yachts and heavenly place we were in!

View from the top of the hill by the Prince’s Palace | TeamTravelsBaby

We made our way back to the train station, bought our tickets from a machine and took the train about 25 minutes to Nice, France (we passed by Villefranche-sur Mer, where we started).

Nice, France

The Nice train station was pretty large and the tourist site has good maps. We exited the train station, hung a left, passed the Basilique Notre-Dame de l’Assomption and then turned right onto the Avenue Jean Médecin. This is the main street and you’ll notice the black and white tiled walkways. This street is lined with shopping options and is a straight shot into old town (Vielle Ville) Nice.

Really cool water display with a sick backdrop in Nice | TeamTravelsBaby

We didn’t have much of a plan for this city other than to wander and see what we could. Along the main street, we watched the water display before we found Cours Saleya, a lovely market in old town where I bought a small bag of lavender for ½ a euro. We walked to the beach, which was rocky, instead of sandy. There were many people sunbathing and relaxing. While we didn’t walk the entire 7 km (less than 4.5 miles), we really loved the Promenade des Anglais. After seeing tons of gelato places, I finally found one with lavender (yum!) and indulged.

On our walk, we found an adorable independent bookstore called Librairie Masséna and I was able to find a book for Addy with vibrant pictures. It made for a great souvenir and it will be a good test of my French as I try to read it to Addy. From here we grabbed a cappuccino and sat at an outdoor café before making our return journey to Villefranche and our cruise ship. Fortunately the train ride was less than 10 minutes and under $3.

If you stay in Villefranche or have additional time, here are a few places I had on my list that you may want to check out: Saint Elme Citadel, St Michel Church, St Pierre Chapel, Rothschild Estate and Gardens and Rue Obscure (Dark Street).

Sète, France

This city is a working fishing port city known for its series of canals (like a mini Venice) where you can find water jousting in the summer. We found the local tourist site to be extremely helpful for getting an overview of the city and what there was to see: https://en.tourisme-sete.com/sete-cruise-passengers-information.html. After taking the free bus to the port entrance, we walked to the central market called Les Halles on Boulevard Gambetta (opens at 6 am). Inside a really nice vendor gave me a free “nazette”, which is like a little oblong table biscuit. I really wanted to try a “zezette” or a “nazette” at Crèmerie Lou Pastrou, a shop next to Les Halles, but they had extremely limited hours on Sunday (9 am – 12:15 pm).

We made our ascent up Mont St. Clair (about 600 feet tall and the highest point in Sète). On our way, we found lots of amazing street art. The view from the top was incredible and it was great to do this first thing before it got too warm out. There is a huge cross at the top and also a fisherman’s church called Notre Dame de la Salette. This church is unlike any we had ever seen before – it’s small, but has unique paintings inside on every wall. There’s also a building next door where nuns live and you’re allowed to climb to the top for an even better view!

View from the highest point of Mont Saint Clair | TeamTravelsBaby

From here, we made our way down to Pierres Blanches National Pine Forest. It’s lovely to have so much green space in the middle of a city. We wandered a few paths and enjoyed views of the Mediterranean and Thau lagoon (Étang de Thau) before we started heading back to the rest of the city. We took a nice long walk along the water that eventually got us to the Théâtre de la Mer (we could only see the outside) and the Cimitière Marin, which is a beautiful cemetery with decorations on the headstones and the Mediterranean as the backdrop.

As we continued our walk we could see the Lighthouse of Mole Saint Louis at the end of a narrow peninsula (we didn’t go up it, but it’s around 3 euros to climb it). Nearby, we climbed some steps to Quartier Haut which also boasted some beautiful street art and views of the lighthouse (some say this area reminds them of a Little Naples). We made it back to Les Halles for a different experience since it was bustling with people compared to the early morning. We wandered through other streets, found a pop up market and wandered the canals searching for more street art along the way. This city was the perfect end to our cruise experience and I would highly recommend a half day or day in this city.

While we did not go here, I read good things about the International Museum of Modest Art (MIAM) in Sète. Many people on our cruise went to Carcassonne (UNESCO World Heritage site), which is about 80 minutes away and is a walled castle. We opted not to go here because there seemed to be enough to do in Sète and because it was going to be challenging to “do-it-ourselves” in the amount of time we had at port.

Thank you!

Thank you for checking out the France and Monaco portion of our Mediterranean cruise and European adventure! Do you get the article title now? We hope you’ll take a few minutes to browse our other trips or read about our time in London, Barcelona and nearby Girona (great stop for Game of Thrones fans) and our ports in Italy. Be sure to follow us on Instagram! Until our next adventure!

  • I’m sure you can see why we fell in love with Monaco (cover image)! | TeamTravelsBaby

Crank It Out While Cruisin’ Italy

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Pisa, Italy

Italy is a European country that everyone should strive to see in their lifetime. A cruise is the perfect way to get a taste of beautiful Italian cities like Naples, Rome, Pisa and Florence as well as the world’s smallest country, the Vatican. On our Mediterranean cruise we tried to “do-it-ourselves” as much as possible so we didn’t get crushed by cruise line excursion prices. Check out our trip report!

  • Naples (Wednesday, April 10, 2019) – Pompeii, Herculaneum, Mount Vesuvius.
  • Civitavecchia (Thursday, April 11, 2019) – The gateway to the Vatican and Rome.
  • Livorno (Friday, April 12, 2019) – The gateway to Pisa and Florence.

Naples

Naples Port of Call | TeamTravelsBaby

Naples was a great port city because you literally disembark and walk straight into town. This is the one port where we booked an excursion (outside of the cruise line) because after extensive research on do-it-ourselves transportation and talking with a good friend who had recently been, this ultimately was going to make the most sense. We opted to book an excursion through Shore Excursions Group that covered transportation from the ship to Herculaneum (impacted by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius) then to the famous Pompeii, onwards to Mount Vesuvius and ultimately back to the ship. It was decently priced and Addy, our infant (6 months) was free. As this was a transportation only service, we still had to buy tickets at each site. A car seat was unnecessary and a stroller was highly discouraged due to the uneven terrain at each location. We only brought our Tula carrier and we still think it was the best decision. I would also highly recommend this excursion because it ran exactly as promised, the guide in the car (separate from the driver) spoke very clear English and shared history and recommendations with us during our rides to each destination. Herculaneum is very doable in the 60-90 minutes given to view it as it’s much more compact than Pompeii.

Herculaneum

  • Overview: 11 euros each; must check your bags for free and this is a separate line from the tickets if you didn’t purchase ahead of time so divide and conquer if you can; bring some information to read (they ran out of English guides when we were there)
Herculaneum | TeamTravelsBaby
Herculaneum | TeamTravelsBaby
View once you enter Herculaneum | TeamTravelsBaby

Pompeii

  • Overview: 15 euros each; this place is HUGE so make sure you know where you are dropped off and are supposed to meet back up; tickets can be purchased ahead of time or at the gate; pick the top items you want to see (if you look at the map we focused on section I-II and VII-IX)
Beautiful view from inside Pompeii | TeamTravelsBaby
Pompeii | TeamTravelsBaby

Mount Vesuvius

  • Overview: Bring cash for your tickets which are 6.5 euros each; a jacket and good walking shoes are a must for hiking to the top and cross your fingers it’s not too foggy!
Mount Vesuvius under the mist | TeamTravelsBaby

Civitavecchia (gateway to Rome and the Vatican)

From our ship we took a short bus ride to the port entrance (there wasn’t a walking option). Once we left the entrance, this city was very well signed and it was about a 15 minute (almost perfectly straight shot) walk to the train station. Take it from us – you can absolutely get to Rome and back to the ship without paying for an overpriced cruise tour. While there is a new speed train, I would recommend the “slow” commuter train if you plan to go to the Vatican first. We looked up the schedule ahead of time so we knew we wanted to catch the 8:39 am, 8:55 am or 9:16 am train and anticipated a 40 minute ride to S. Pietro station. We were able to purchase the ticket from a machine with a credit card, but be weary as we had a staff person try to sell us the new train ticket, which for us didn’t make sense because we would have waited around the station for quite some time for the 9:35 am train plus it’s slightly more expensive.

Saint Peter’s Basilica | TeamTravelsBaby

We took a short walk from S. Pietro station and I read online that if you get in the line for Saint Peter’s Basilica by 10 am, it’s about a 45 minute wait. This was accurate almost to the minute for us, even with the line looking very intimidating. We didn’t have much time to look around once we got inside, but we are happy we got the few minutes we did. On the way in we saw the Statue of David and were amazed by the views inside. If you have more time, you may want to pay to see the dome or check out the Grottoes (it’s free, but make sure to do it last as you’ll end up outside afterwards). We had to hustle to the Vatican Museums for our 11:30 am confirmed ticket (BUY THEM AHEAD OF TIME, print and have your passport just in case). It was a good 20 minute walk from the exit of the Basilica to the Vatican Museums. It’s absolutely beautiful, but they herd everyone through, so do your reading ahead of time. The Sistine Chapel is lovely but unfortunately, you can’t take pics or videos. Adjust your expectations and expect to be “rushed” through the Vatican. Personally, my favorites were the room with paintings on the ceilings and floor to ceiling tapestries (Tapestries Hall) and Raphael’s Room.  

The view by Castel Sant’Angelo of Saint Peter’s Basilica | TeamTravelsBaby

We found we could always find someone to help us with directions. Even though it wasn’t recommended by most, we walked from the Vatican to Castel Sant’Angelo and then across the Tiber River (which also has a beautiful view of the Vatican) in order to see the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, the Piazza Venecia and ultimately the Colosseum. We were amazed by all of them and I was so happy the Trevi Fountain wasn’t under construction (like it was in May 2010). This was a TON of walking while carrying a baby (more than 3 miles), but a great way to see the city (versus finding and taking public transportation or paying for a cab). Luckily there was a metro stop right by the Colosseum and a guard there was able to give us directions on where to transfer so we could get on the commuter train back to Civitavecchia.

Livorno (gateway to Pisa and Florence)

View at sunset by our ship in Livorno | TeamTravelsBaby

Livorno…this is how cruise companies get you. First, we had to pay (well, we didn’t…but that’s another story) 5 euros cash or so for a roundtrip bus ticket to get from the cruise ship to a square in town (I believe the Piazza del Municipio). This annoyed me only because there wasn’t an option to walk. From the square, we opted for the approximately 1.5 mile walk to the train station (Livorno Centrale), where we crossed the famous Piazza della Republica to board a train for Pisa. (There is a bus option to Pisa too.) Even though it’s almost a straight shot, I definitely recommend bringing a map, asking locals (use the word “stazione”) or using the GPS on your phone if it works. Once we were at the station, it was super easy. Trains leave every 15 minutes or so, it’s a 15 minute ride and only $3 a person! Let me tell you, this is SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper than what you will pay with a cruise line AND the funny thing was when we arrived to the Leaning Tower of Pisa, it was about the same time the people from the cruise line tour were arriving by coach bus. After we arrived in Pisa (at Pisa Centrale, train station), it was about a 15-20 minute walk to the actual Leaning Tower of Pisa and the Square of Miracles. En route to the Leaning Tower, the bridge we took over the Arno River has a pretty view and lots of vendors were selling beautiful flowers. We also passed through two markets which were neat to browse. In my research, one thing I learned is infants (and actually anyone under 8) CANNOT go up the Leaning Tower. This helped us to stay focused on the view from the outside. We enjoyed taking lots of fun pictures, as one does when they’re here. (Having climbed up it in May 2010, if you have to miss out on going inside in order to spend more time in Florence, I think it’s the right call. Of course if you’re taking a land tour of Italy and not cruising Italy, definitely go up it!)

The Leaning Tower of Pisa and Square of Miracles | TeamTravelsBaby

We made the walk back to Pisa Centrale and took a train to Florence (stop: Santa Maria Novella) which is about an hour ride and about $11 per person. The ride was comfortable and once we arrived in Florence, we got a map at the Tourist Information center (across the street from the train station by a church) and started making our way toward the Arno River to see the Ponte Vecchio (bridge). It’s the bridge which houses tons of jewelry stores. From there it’s a nice walk down by the Uffizi Gallery to see the statues of famous men like Da Vinci, Giotti and Botticelli. At the end, it opens up and you can see the Piazza della Signoria, the Statue of David and Neptune’s Fountain. We walked to the famous Florence Cathedral (Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore) and waited in the very long line. We ultimately got in (it’s free) and saw Brunelleschi’s Duomo. At first it’s not obvious why everyone waits so long to get inside, but once you see the painting inside the dome, you will be amazed. It’s beautiful like the Sistine Chapel. We enjoyed walking around the leather market and inside Mercato Centrale (lots of food choices). Florence is a beautiful city with friendly people (in May 2010 I enjoyed a few days here with friends and highly recommend getting tickets to the Florence Cathedral to go to Giotto’s Bell Tower). We made the walk back to the train station, bought our tickets (about $13 per person) and got on our train back. Make sure to VALIDATE your ticket (any machine will do). We found that our train back to the port city was a long walk from the entrance and didn’t get a chance to. Luckily, a nice Italian women helped us and wrote our train number and time on the ticket for us and we didn’t get in trouble.

  • Ponte Vecchio Bridge in Florence | TeamTravelsBaby

Cruisin’ Italy

We went on a Pullmantur cruise out of Barcelona (check out my article about this awesome Mediterranean city) because the prices are extremely reasonable and kids are free (as in you don’t even pay port taxes or fees). And while we don’t drink, this is also an all-inclusive cruise line (think free house wines with lunch and dinner) AND they have an espresso bar which is also FREE! If you want to keep your trip affordable, take the time to plan it out and “do-it-yourself”, but also recognize that you can’t do it all. A cruise merely gives you a taste of each city so you know where to return to. Our biggest tip is to make sure to have the train schedules ready, your maps ready and not to be afraid to ask for directions! Happy travels and be sure to check us out on Instagram @teamtravelsbaby!

Loopin’ London

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Three days in London is the perfect amount of time to get a taste of this huge city that will leave you wanting more! We were lucky to experience the city with minimal rain and boy oh boy did we pack it in! Some highlights included the Tower of London, St. Paul’s Cathedral, the House of Parliament, Westminster Abbey and Camden Market. London has amazing public transportation and is also extremely walkable. Check out our trip report, pictures and tips!

  • Thursday, April 4 morning through Sunday, April 6 morning
  • Arrived via Heathrow (LHR) airport and departed via Stansted (STN) airport
  • Transportation: Oyster card, pay as you go for the Underground (subway) and buses
  • Accommodations: Excelsior Hotel, easy walk from Kings Cross Station; feel free to use my Booking.com referral link for any hotel accommodation and we each get money at no additional cost to you

Thursday (Day 1)

We picked a hotel near Kings Cross station because it’s a hub with lots of different Underground (aka “The Tube”, aka metro/subway/train) lines running through it. It was easy to get on the Piccadilly Line from Heathrow airport and take the Tube for about a 50 or so minute ride without any need to transfer. The Excelsior Hotel was conveniently located about 2 blocks away once we found the correct exit and allowed us to store our luggage early. 

Tower of London | TeamTravelsBaby

We were able to start exploring before 1 pm and headed to the Tower of London. We figured a weekday would probably be a little less crowded then the weekend and we were right. We walked up and bought our ticket without issue (you can also get a slight savings by buying it ahead of time). We took a free tour with one of the Beefeaters, saw lots of the notorious crows and the famous crown jewels. We brought our stroller here (plus our rain cover that we ended up needing), which worked out fine. We enjoyed walking along the top of the castle wall through each of the towers and just left our stroller until we returned for it. If you do this, make sure to go in the room that tells about the Royal Beasts (animals). We made one of the three offerings of the White Tower tour (when we went it was offered at 10:45 am, 12:45 pm and 2:15 pm) and ended up getting a PRIVATE tour because no one else came. We really enjoyed it. From inside and outside of the castle you can see Tower Bridge, which is beautiful and often confused as being London Bridge. It’s definitely worthy of a few pics! If you look up from inside the Tower of London you can also see the Shard (cool looking triangle glass building) which was completed around 2012.

View from London Bridge facing Tower Bridge | TeamTravelsBaby

From here we walked the River Thames and crossed the London Bridge. On the way we got to see the Monument to the Great Fire of London (you can pay to go up it). The view of Tower Bridge from the London Bridge is spectacular on a clear or semi-clear day. We stumbled upon a gorgeous church called Southwark Cathedral (the city’s oldest gothic church) and the Borough Market as they were closing once we crossed the London Bridge to the south bank. This area has some amazing street art that’s fun to find or stumble across in our case. We continued along the river past Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre to the Millennium Bridge where you get a gorgeous view of St. Paul’s Cathedral. Before crossing the Millennium Bridge, you may want to pop into the Tate Modern, art museum. While we didn’t have time to see any art, it’s free, so it makes a great stop for a bathroom and changing station if needed. Actually, many of London’s amazing art museums are free, just like the Smithsonians in Washington, D.C. If you do have time or can time it right to be here on a Friday or Saturday night when it’s open late (until 10 pm), you can look for work by famous artists such as Cézanne, Dali, Matisse, Picasso and Warhol. While you’re walking around London, don’t forget to keep your eye out for the iconic red telephone booths which make for another great photo op! If you decide to keep walking around, like we did, you can see additional places like the Royal Court of Justice, London School of Economics and Covent Garden to name a few. We ended up walking to Convent Garden because there was a Tube station here with a direct ride (8 minutes) on the Piccadilly Line back to Kings Cross.

Friday (Day 2)

We started our morning early with a Tube ride. When we got off the train, we wandered through the official Temple Bar Gate which signifies you are entering the City of London. Make sure to check out the cool dragon! Since we brought our stroller again, we were able to enter St. Paul’s Cathedral through the accessible entrance and then were taken to the ticket counter to purchase our ticket. It’s absolutely gorgeous inside the Cathedral and the tour with a guide is included in the price. After our tour, we left our stroller and moved Addy to our on-person carrier to climb the many stairs (very narrow in some places) up to the dome. This should NOT be missed! The views from the top are spectacular! You can also enjoy some time wandering the crypt. From here we made our walk to the Royal Court of Justice. It’s free to enter after you pass security and some people say it has a Hogwartesque feel to it. Unfortunately, they don’t want you to take pictures inside (good luck trying to do so incognito). Covent Garden was not too far around the corner and is super fun to walk around. There are tons of shops, restaurants and good people watching! If you have time to spare in this area, it’s a short walk to Neal’s Yard which is a super colorful hidden alley.

View from the top of St. Paul’s Cathedral | TeamTravelsBaby

Hopping on the Tube is super easy with the Oyster card. We rode the Piccadilly line from Covent Garden to Green Station. We enjoyed wandering Green Park, St. James Park (to see the famous resident pelicans; they are fed daily at 2:30 pm, but we saw them even outside of feeding time) and seeing Buckingham Palace (if you want to see the changing of the guard this happens around 10:45 am. Because we LOVE to walk and see it all, we continued to Hyde Park. This park has lovely flowers, tons of birds, and points of interest to see like Kensington Palace and Gardens. We exited on the south side of the park by the Albert Memorial and Royal Albert Hall. From here, we ventured to a street with many museums and popped in the Victoria and Albert Museum. Besides being a free museum, it also has late hours on Friday nights (open until 10 pm), which made it a great place to rest and again find a free bathroom.  If you are here earlier in the day, the Natural History Museum is on this block and is free too.

  • The resident pelicans of St. James Park | TeamTravelsBaby

As if our feet weren’t exhausted, we trekked on to Harrods, the must see humungous department store. We walked the main floor and then took the elevator to the kids section. The organization of each cubby-like room is by theme (stuffed animals, Legos, Barbie dolls, etc.) and fun to see…but forget about being able to buy anything. Take a picture, it’ll last longer. The baby furniture section and the creepy kids’ mannequins were also unique to see. Then right outside of Harrods we hopped on a bus heading in the direction of Piccadilly Circus and got off there (very short, less than 10 minute ride). It’s a fun area to see at night and we loved posing for pics in the Lego Shop at Leicester Square. They had a life-sized Tube train with characters to sit with and a map made entirely from Legos. Let’s just say we CRASHED after this day of exploring London!

  • Addy needs a giraffe | TeamTravelsBaby
  • Creepy mannequins | TeamTravelsBaby

Saturday (Day 3)

We woke up early and rode to the Embankment station which put us right along the River Thames. It was a beautiful walk with views of the London Eye. If Big Ben weren’t under construction until 2021, we would have had a nice view of the clock as well. Since we did not buy our tickets ahead of time for the House of Parliament (aka the Palace of Westminster), we had to go to the ticket booth located in front of Portcullis House on Victoria Embankment, which was actually on the way from the train station. If we had gone during peak tourist season, it would have been better to buy these ahead of time, but luckily we were able to secure tickets for later in the day.

In the meantime, we hustled over to Westminster Abbey (across the street) and got in line to purchase our tickets. Luckily, we were able to secure them here and go right in (it opened at 1:30 pm on Saturday). We got the self-guided tour headset and thoroughly enjoyed this beautiful church (if we were here during peak season, we would have purchased it ahead of time). So many famous people are buried here like Isaac Newton and Charles Dickens! Since my visit as part of my study abroad experience in May 2010, Stephen Hawkins’ ashes were buried in Westminster among other brilliant science-y people (think Newton and Darwin). When you get near the Poets’ Corner, you have the option to pay and climb up Westminster Abbey.  

  • Quick snap inside of Westminster Abbey | TeamTravelsBaby

From Westminster, we exited into Parliament Square (where there are tons of famous statues to see like Mandela and Churchill) and it was booming with people! It was like a bunch of tour buses opened their doors and the people flowed out to the streets! We crossed the street and entered the House of Parliament for our ticketed time. Touring this was an absolute highlight and getting a self-guided tour headset is included in the ticket price here too. We were only allowed to take pictures in the first two rooms, but the other rooms are gorgeous and I definitely wish I could have snapped away!

After we exited, we walked along Horse Guard Road between St. James Park (another chance to see the famous pelicans) and a lot of other beautiful architecture on our way to Trafalgar Square. We made it to the National Gallery, which hosts loads of famous work from artists we’ve all heard of like Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt, Renoir and Van Gogh. The beauty is, this place is FREE, so you don’t have to feel bad only seeing a few particular paintings and on Friday nights it’s open late (9 pm).

  • Guard
  • Monet
  • Van Gogh

To catch a breather, we hopped on the Tube and road past our hotel stop at Kings Cross up to see Camden Market. This area has tons of shopping, incredible street art and murals and is a must see area of town, very different from the sites we had seen up to this point on our trip. After a nice coffee break, we walked to Regent’s Park. We enjoyed the park stroll on our long walk back to Kings Cross. Other things in this area include: Queen Mary’s rose garden, the ZSL London Zoo (the world’s oldest scientific zoo) and Hampstead Heath (supposed to have great views) if you have the time.  

Camden Market Area | TeamTravelsBaby

Sunday

London is definitely a city that requires more than a stopover. There is so much to see that even with our three days, we know we could come back and see more. On Sunday morning, we took the Tube from Kings Cross to Tottenham Hale station. We then had to buy a separate ticket for the Greater Anglia Railway to take a direct commuter-type train for 35 minutes to Stansted Airport. Even with a baby and our luggage, we found this to be incredibly easy and worthwhile since we were flying on an inexpensive one-way ticket via Ryan Air to Barcelona, Spain to board our Mediterranean cruise to Italy and France. Check out those hyperlinks to read about those portions of our trip!

Trip Planning Considerations and Tips

  • For some, it may make sense to purchase the London Pass. Ultimately, we decided on the Oyster pay as you go card and purchasing individual attractions. This article may be helpful for your review: https://www.londonpass.com/london-attractions/
  • If you are looking for other ideas, perhaps free or inexpensive ones, this article may be helpful: https://www.visitlondon.com/things-to-do/budget-london/101-free-things-to-do-in-london
  • There are tons of other blog articles with ideas for stopovers, weekends and 3 day adventures. I also found reviewing the Free Tours by Foot, such as this article to be helpful: https://freetoursbyfoot.com/things-to-see-near-buckingham-palace/
  • Transportation: Make sure to have a map or a transportation app. If you’re not using your phone overseas except on Wi-Fi, I definitely recommend screenshots or physical paper maps for reference. Of course, you can always just ask a local! If you’re going to use your phone a ton, it may be worth getting a portable battery bank!
  • Accommodations: Our hotel, was really more like a hostel (Excelsior Hotel). We had a shared bathroom and a private room. Since we had our stroller, two pieces of small luggage and a backpack, plus a pack-n-play, there was virtually no room to walk in the hotel room. For us, this was perfect because it was the least expensive place I saw for 3 nights (because we didn’t want to have to switch hotels in the middle of our short trip) in a good central location. We also knew we wouldn’t spend any time in the room except for sleeping.
  • Often mistaken for “London Bridge”, this is actually Tower Bridge | TeamTravelsBaby