Paris!

Finally getting to the Paris post.  I have been out on medical leave and had high hopes to get through to a Whitefish, MT trip.  However, I've read 5 books in 3 weeks and working on backing up 4 years (roughly 6000) photos...with the promise that I will in the future stay on top of this!

Ok here we go Paris! As I mentioned in previous post I flew Aer Lingus and did a stop over in Dublin.  Flights I always look for the most direct route and that was an excellent choice! The hardest part for me about Paris was actually deciding where to stay.  Paris is divided into 20 arrondissements, starting with 1 at the very center.  1 being the oldest part of the city, right where Notre Dame is located the going around that in a circular motion as the city was built out.  My main objective was to be able to walk everywhere.  From 1 to where the Eiffel Tower is 7.  In searching I did a lot of google maps to figure out distances.  My kids are use to walking a ton on vacation, but 2 miles out is about the furthest I like to be from one particular destination, because we also want it to be as efficient as possible.  There is Uber and taxis, but Paris is much like NY, either taking the train or walking is faster than being stuck in a car.  I ended up choosing the 6th and staying at the Hotel Bel Ami.  This is a smaller boutique hotel, and knowing European rooms I upgraded to a slightly bigger room, the deluxe room since we would be spending a week here.  I also did the breakfast.  I know Paris has amazing cafes, and trust me we still enjoyed them, but I like doing hotel breakfast when I travel.  My breakfast of choice is always fruit and coffee. I like not having to put thought into that part of my day while on vacation. While not giving thought to it, it also allowed us time while down there to plan/map out our day.  Their breakfast was great.  A pretty standard European breakfast, with cheese, breads, meats and eggs, along with fruit and delicious pastries.
I do not plan days out ahead of time, because until you are actually in the city you can't really plan how much you'll be able to cover in a day or not.  The day we got in was relatively early and we only had an hour time change coming from Dublin, so we grabbed a handy paper map. At this point I had not activated my international phone plan (however it was set up ahead of time), in Dublin everything was so easy to get around I didn't need it.  Paris is confusing, two days later I activated it to be able to use google maps! We went on a walk down the Siene, crossed over on a bridge that happened to be the bridge of locks, traveled down the Tuileries, ended up at the Louvre, decide to go in and see the Mona Lisa and a few other exhibits (this place is HUGE and crowded, this you should maybe go in with a plan, we did not and I couldn't wait to get out), realized we were close to making a loop so headed back to the hotel.  After a quick change went around the corner and ate at Cafe de Flore (as a Hemingway fan this was a must), the french onion soup and hot chocolate were great, but keep in mind there are only a few smoke free restaurants in Paris, and this one seemed to be one with a lot of smokers. 

You'll see a lot of this type of photo, by the end of the trip she got it pretty close to perfect!

The room that the Mona Lisa in was likely filled with at least 100 people. You just had to swim your way to the front to snap a photo. I have a photo of this, I will try to find and share, it was CRAZY!

Back to the map

In Dublin her eye got really infected, thankfully we found medicated drops at the airport heading to Paris but this is why her eye looks all wonky here, no contacts for her.

Surprisingly they did have a vegetarian club on the menu, it was ok.

In the next few posts I'll share a few of our favorite stops while staying in Paris.

Dublin, Part 3

Clearly blogging in a timely manner is not my forte! I am working on several other writing projects, so my personal blog has been put on the back burner.

When in Dublin touring Guinness is a must. You will also learn quite a bit bout the Guinness family while on the double decker buses.  The family has a long history in Ireland and known for treating their workers very well.  Early on providing housing and healthcare to all employees.
It is recommended to book your time online here, this is very easy and lots of available times.
We did the tour, learned to pour the perfect pint, took it to the top floor bar and enjoyed!

 

I do love whiskey, Irish whiskey in particular.  There was no way I would visit Ireland and not go on a whiskey tasting/tour. There are several in Dublin. Teelings Whiskey Company looked great and is a stop before Guinness on the bus tour.  We didn't do this one, but did bring their whiskey home. There's the famous Jameson Distillery, but I opted out of this and plan to visit next year at the distillery in Cork.  We opted for a smaller one called Pearse Lyons.  It was wonderful, it's located in the part of Dublin called the Liberties neighborhood, and our guide gave a fabulous history lesson about the liberties.  The distillery itself is set in the former Church of St. James, which also has an impressive history.  We tasted 5 whiskeys and their Irish gin, which was actually my favorite. On our tour there were only 8 of us.  Lo and I were the only Americans, which to me is part of the fun, chatting with people from all over!

Also worth mentioning was the history of whiskey in Ireland. The Irish War of Independence and prohibition in the US cut off access to the two major markets.  Whiskey production went into decline, and out of the hundreds of distilleries, only a few remained open.  Now Ireland is once again the largest exporter of whiskey.

Now, I can finally blog about Paris!

Dublin Part 2

It's amazing what we were able to cram into 72 hours in Dublin, probably the reason we slept so well!
One of the highlights to the trip for me was  Kilmainham Gaol.  I learned so much on this tour.   From where we stayed in Temple Bar we used our Do Dublin card and caught the hop on hop off across from Trinity College and rode it there.  This is something else I HIGHLY recommend, getting on one of the hop on hop offs with a live English guide.  Some have the automated tour but the live ones are fabulous.  We rode this a few times as a mode of transportation around and each time learned a little more and always laughed!  The guides at Kilmainham go over a lot of history about the fight for Irish independence.  Most notably the Easter Rising in 1916 and the civil war that broke out a few years later in 1922.  Sadly those that fought for Ireland's independence in 1916 would be divided in the years to come.  Those led by Michael Collin and the pro-treaty provisional government, and those led by E'amon de Valera of the anti-treat IRA.  De Valera's history alone at Kilmainham is impressive.   If you can't tell I love history.  One tip book ahead, OR if you forget like we did, the morning of at 9:15 they release tickets for that day and you can get one of the open time slots then.

The original part of the prison known as the West Wing opened in 1796. This is where during the great famine people as young as 4 committed crimes just to go to jail to be given a meager meal.

 The more famous section that was added in 1860 know as the East Wing.  This area reflected the new ideals of Victorian prison theory.

 Stonebreakers Yard, this is the site where 14 leaders of the Easter Rising were executed in May 1916.

I had planned to blog in this post of beer and whiskey but that will be Dublin part 3!

Doing Dublin

The best decision on planning this trip was to fly Aer Lingus to Paris.  Much like flying Iceland Air they offer a free stopover in Dublin (likely anywhere in Ireland) for up to 7 days.  Lo and I had a total of 11 travel days, and I knew that would be too long for me in Paris.  I love London and Amsterdam so looked up doing either of those in combination with Paris.  The cost was double what we would pay for Paris.  For those that know me, I love travel planning and spend a significant time on it.  Searching out places and deals, followed by reading reviews.  After about 10 pages of notes and 20 open tabs I found Aer Lingus and couldn't believe how affordable it was.  Plus the flight times and connections were excellent, and it was on an air bus, which for long flights I find more comfortable.
We left Seattle around 8pm and took the 9 hour flight to Dublin arriving the next morning in Dublin. Super easy waisting no time.  The only downside (which there was none) was their onboard service was so good I hardly slept.

One thing I always heavily research ahead of time is airport transfers and the best way to do it.  I like affordability if it's easy, like the tube in London, otherwise a cab or Uber it is.
Per the recommendation of a friend that had just been in Dublin a few month before she suggested the Do Dublin card.  If I haven't mentioned yet, the Irish are amazing, so kind and helpful.  We followed the signs found the bus line, and asked how it worked.  I believe my ticket was 35 pounds (Ireland's currency is still the pound, except Northern Ireland which is the Euro) and Lo's should've been as well but the salesman gave her the child's price of 17 pounds.  This card was our transfer to our hotel as well as a 72 hour hop on hop off bus tour, which any new city I recommend!  Per another friends recommendation we stayed at Temple Bar Hotel.  This was a fabulous place to stay.  As the name states it's located in the Temple Bar area right on Fleet street. If you want to experience Irish music and nightlife this is where it's at.  The hotel does provide ear plugs because it's pretty noisy but I slept so go it didn't matter.

Around the corner was Trinity College.  Seeing the Book of Kells was high on my list as well as the long room.  This doesn't take long at all and very much worth the stop.  Buy your tickets online and avoid queuing up!

A short walk from here was Molly Malone's statue and of course you can't go to Dublin without grabbing a pint at the oldest bar.

This is all for part one of Dublin.  In the next blog I'll got over Kilmainham Gaol , if there is one must in Dublin this is it.  From this tour and jail you will truly understand why the Irish are so proud of the hard fought independence, and how relatively new it is.  I'll also post on the Guinness family and of course when in Ireland, it is a must to drink Irish whiskey.

Ok and having an awesome travel partner is the best!

Traveling Abroad

To travel abroad, solo with your most precious cargo, your kids can be scary.  I do it, and according to social media it looks like with ease.  However I will tell you I have a moment each time when I am on foreign soil, and I do not speak the language I panic.  I mostly worry that I am not prepared enough for my children to keep them safe.  However, it is short lived.
I just returned from 4 days in Dublin and 7 in Paris with my 17 year old daughter.  I took lots of notes and plan to do several blog post.  I do this so I can reference, but also so anyone can gather my do's and don't as well.
I am often told by people they wished they traveled and did these adventures but it's overwhelming, to plan, let alone do.
I get it.  This started long ago for me. 2000 and 2001 I was a flight attendant for Untied Airlines.  3-5 nights a week I woke up in different cities around the U.S and abroad.  Rarely was I with people I knew and well before there was such a thing as google maps or smart phones.  I took full advantage of every place I landed to see what there was to see.  I used the free hotel maps, asked questions at the concierge and took all those free rack cards with descriptions and set out.  I learned to successfully navigate the "L" in Chicago,  the "metro" in D.C and the "MTA" in NYC.  Not an easy feat for a girl from central Washington.  The more I traveled the more I wanted to see.  I love people, culture and history, I was hooked on travel.  Things came to an abrupt halt in 2001, and my career as a flight attendant was over.
2002 I had a second child and 2003 started a business.  For the next 9 years I would focus on my little family and business.  We traveled but often to Hawaii, for easy relaxing vacations. However in 2011 after going through a devastating divorce, in an attempt to pick my self up I decided to revisit the things that used to make me happy. I realized that during that 15 year relationship I had lost so much of who I was.  I had become an "us" and zero clue who "I" was.  All I knew was I use to love to travel.  It was now just my children and I, so if I wanted to travel it would have to be them, because there was no way I was leaving without them, and it would have to be cheap.
We started with all the major cities in the U.S. I wanted to show them, and then branched out on a super cheap deal in 2014 to Iceland, from there the international bug came flooding back!

Hence where I am today.  The memories from all our travels are something I will forever hold close to my heart.  We have had a lot of mishaps along the way but I wouldn't change it.  We've managed to find our way, communicate, and walk miles and miles in every new place.  It reminded me of who I am, and that is a capable woman.  Stay tuned for Dublin and Paris blog posts!

Passport Anxiety

Does anyone else get mildly anxious after they've sent their previous passport in and have to wait for their new and old one to come again.
This is my 3rd passport and for whatever reason my new arrived and my old took another 9 agonizing days.  My daughters new and old arrived same day.
I love my old passports.  They tell a 10 year story of travel.  Those stamps are my favorite souvenir of a trip.

My first passport holds my first time to Europe when I was 17, it was stamped in Hungary, Austria and Germany.  I arrived in Hungary in June of 1995 while the Bosnian Serbian War was still going on.  We were unloaded on the tarmac, placed in a bus with armed guards.  I was 17 and had never been out of the country (with the exception of Canada), and just entered one that was rather close to a war torn country.  As well as being in a country that had only received it's independence from the Soviet Union 4 years prior.
This same passport would also go on to represent my time with United Airlines.  This one held a work visa for both France and China, as well as entries into Germany, Australia, Hong Kong and Japan.
My second passport is very much a representation of a time as a single mom traveling with my children.  The stamps in this one gave me courage, and a true sense of independence.  I have 3 stamps to Iceland, once with both my kids and the other 2 with just my son, multiple stamps to Costa Rica, a country I unexpectedly fell in love with and made me want to learn Spanish.  There's the UK, my son and I arrived in London the day after a terrorist attack, and experienced the unwavering love and unity.  We happened to be in front of Theresa Mays residence as she left to Parliament to deliver article 50, the withdrawal of the UK from the European Union.
All these memories are stored in that little booklet I waited anxiously to be returned.

Bliss

I love my house, and I LOVE being home enjoying it.

I got up early while it was still dark, with zero plans other than to take my dog for a run....at some point.  Sitting down with coffee and trying to get my spring trip all dialed in.  I had a brief moment where my thoughts drifted to using this day to put away Christmas decorations.  Then I reminded myself, its the weekend.  I don't have to be productive in all ways. I also love my decorations and now that the holidays are over, I get to enjoy them. Sitting and enjoying my coffee, geeking out on travel plans, that is what I would do today. No plans, just the moment.