Big Island Hawaii

My family of 4 landed and went to Costco and grocery shopping! No grocery stores near this house so stock up. There was a gas station and produce stand 10 minutes away from the house for limited emergency items. The rest of our party arrived later that evening.

https://abnb.me/rOveKtdUaV

Day 2

The next day we drove to rainbow falls where we had a picnic lunch! We then we ate at Kula shaved ice and walked around the town of Hilo which I recommend! There is a nice farmers market and souvenir shops here. We then drove to Waipio Valley viewpoint which was breathtaking and worth it. At night we had to go pick up my cousin from the airport so we ate at Kona Brewery, again food was decent but good beers!

Day 3

We drove to Volcano National Park and checked out the view from the volcano house across the street from the visitor center. We then did a short hike called destruction path which you drive to. A lot of things are closed from the eruption last year. After we drove to Punaluu black sand beach, not a real swimmable place but we were able to see sea turtles. Before driving back home we stopped at Punaluu bakery for yummy treats. I highly recommend packing lunches and snacks during the day as food options are limited everywhere.

Day 4

We relaxed at the house for the day and in the evening drove up to Mauna Kea for the sunset. For those who have a 4 wheel drive vehicle you can drive to the top. For those who don’t you can do a precooked tour or do what we did. We hiked sunset hill, short easy trek which took about 20 minutes to watch the sunset! It gets very cold so come prepared. My grandfather did not hike or drive to the top, both of my kids (ages 4 and 2) managed the hike with some carrying. This was my favorite activity!

Day 5

We hit up Hapuna beach which was only 15 minutes from our rental and $5 entrance fee. Family friendly beautiful beach, we took food and drinks but they did have a little place which had some foods/drinks available for purchase. A few people went to green sand beach for the day which was basically at the southernmost point of the island. Best if you have a 4 wheel drive car but there are locals who will drive you down for a few. Our group had a Jeep which allowed them to go down to the beach themselves. I’d probably avoid it with elderly folks and young babies.

Day 6

We just relaxed on our last day in our rental. We hit up the Kona Boardwalk before going to the airport to catch our red eye flights. It was a fun cute place which I’d recommend but parking was limited. There was a street market set up and make sure to hit up One Aloha Shave Ice! We did grab a bite at paradise brewery, food was okay but good beers and water view.

Banff

We joined friends over Labor Day weekend to visit the stunning Banff National Park!

We flew into Calgary and rented a car to drive the 1.5 hrs to Canmore. I highly recommend staying in this cute mountain town and our Airbnb was ideally

located near grocery stores and restaurants.

Condo we rented was awesome and had everything:

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/23648765?eal_exp=1527948328&eal_sig=d38924d91b6c4f732c0e741f63ab8e4aebfbafa7ef3eae10b798fde73401c654&eal_uid=53972702&eluid=2&euid=4b9bbae7-0762-4b17-aab1-430ffc775be3

Day 1: We drove to Lake Louise at 7am to get parking right in the lot. If you go late you will have to shuttle it in from overflow parking. We got a 4 day park pass when we entered Banff National Park, therefore the days after we were able to skip that line. Half the group hiked to the tea house trail and lakeside trail while the other half rented a kayak on the lake. We also hit up the Fairmont for hot chocolate as it was freezing. I recommend packing lunches like we did as the options are limited, expensive and crowded. We later drove to the overflow parking off Hwy 1 to take paid shuttles to Lake Mouraine. That evening we ate dinner at the Flatebread Pizza Co in Canmore which I recommend!

Day 2: We again left by 7:30 and drove to the beginning entrance of Jasper National Park to do the Glacier adventure. We did not buy tickets ahead of time but were able to purchase tickets when we got there and had to wait about 1 hr. While we waited we ate our packed lunches and walked around the visitor center. I highly recommend the Athabasca Glacier Walk, you could skip the skywalk if you are pressed on time. On the way back we stopped at Peyto Lake which was really neat to see the wolf shaped lake, it was a easy 10 minutes walk which we did with the kids too. That evening we ordered food in from Spice Hut which was good also!

Day 3: We started with breakfast at the Community Cafe which was excellent. The kids enjoyed the play area and we got to eat in peace!! Then we headed to Johnston Canyon first, luckily we got parking right in the parking lot but it was already really full. We did the 1/2 mile hike to the lower falls then drove into Banff Town to ride the Banff Gondola which is $65 for adults and free for kids under 5. It was lovely to be on top of Sulphur Mountain, you could also hike it if you have time. Again we got really lucky and got parking however there is a free bus service you can look into which leaves from a hotel in town. One thing we learned getting places early is best! After the gondola we drove back into town and grudgingly found parking. We ate dinner at Block Kitchen and Bar which I recommend also. We walked around for the souvenir shopping. I recommend buying the glacier tour ice explorer bus as a souvenir which I ended up finding at Totem Souvenirs for your little ones who love trucks! They also sell it at the Glacier visitor center. I can take no credit for planning this fabulous vacation, so thanks guys for all the work!

Tips: It was about 30 degrees colder at the top of the mountain so definitely layer. Also wear hiking shoes if you have. Rent GPS it helped in a lot in areas with no cell reception. Pack lunches for the day. Get places early! In order to see more of Jasper National Park we would’ve needed another 2 days to see.

Thanks for reading my quick and dirty guide to visiting Banff over a long weekend!

Spain

Madrid

Hotel: AC Carlton Madrid, a Marriott property. Friendly and helpful

Staff. 10 minutes walk to the Atocha Train station and also close to another train stop to get you around the city. Rooms are a good size, we opted to just eat breakfast at the hotel. You need the least amount of time in Madrid I think.

Activities:

Retiro Park-it turned out to be a beautiful evening after a day of rain so we rowed boats on the lake after seeing the beautiful Palacio Del Cristal de Retiro which I recommend and it’s free.

We also did the Sandemans free walking tour with tour guide Sebastian who really accommodated our stroller and the rain! Well worth the time but get ready to walk a lot.

Restaurants:

Takos Al Pastor was delicious and recommended by Foodiechoo

http://foodiechoo.blogspot.com/?m=1

We got a lot of restaurant recommendations from Nili and she did not disappoint.

Tinto y Tapas was also a more Italian flare restaurant that was good

Chocolateria San Gines for churros and chocolate

Side note lunch is usually open from 1-4pm and dinner 8pm onwards so plan your meals accordingly

Seville

We took the train from Madrid, we did pre buy these tickets just so we got the time we wanted. The train stations are organized and everyone is so helpful.

We rented an apartment which was about 1km from major sites. Our host met us when we arrived and explained things to us very nicely. This place comfortably fit 8 people, only downside was we needed to buy more paper goods, they had everything but not enough for 5 nights and 8 people. The AC worked amazingly!

Activities:

We ended up doing the Hop on and off bus tour as it was raining

Definitely do the hot air balloon ride booked through viator with the company Gloobo. They picked up from our apartment and dropped off as well. This was a big highlight for my sister in law, she finally saw her sunflowers!!!! 😊 I wish we had planned to do it on the other day and Kaavya could’ve stayed with the rest of the family as kids under 12 aren’t allowed.

https://m.viator.com/tours/Seville/Seville-Hot-Air-Balloon-Ride/d556-6037SEVILLE

We also did the 40 minute tour of the bull fighting ring, fights are on Thursday nights for those that are interested. It’s a good tour if you’ve got time to kill-no pun intended 😂

Check out the Flamenco Show at La Carboneria which starts at 9:30pm, it’s free, traditional and we highly recommend it! There are drinks and snacks you can purchase. I’d get there by 8/8:30 to get a good seat!’

Definitely tour the cathedral but if you are pressed on time Royal Alcazar Palace could be skipped.

Restaurants:

Al Sultan- chicken schwarma was amazing

La Brunilda-everything was amazing and veggie friendly

Gusto had amazing veggie paella

I Oca Giuliva had excellent Italian fare, we went twice and got the truffle mushroom fettuccini both times. It’s the sister restaurant to Gusto.

We also went to a place next to the Mercado Fiera. The restaurant was okay however if you are a seafood eater I’d eat in the market itself, it looked very cool.

Bring CRP if you like things spicy, we usually do but forgot.

For the most part we walked the city. It’s not as small as I thought but definitely walking radius for all the main sites and areas. We took a cab to and from train station and airport. If you have an early departure I’d recommend calling 954-580-000 to arrange a taxi ahead of time, they were very punctual and spoke English!

Day trip to Granada

We took the train to Granada from

Seville. It happened to be half train and half bus ride, we believe there was maintenance going on. Anyways what I’d suggest is to just do 3-4 full days in Seville and then 2-3 nights in Granada.

Buy tickets to Alhambra early!!! I looked 3 months prior and all the dates we could’ve gone were sold out. Apparently the gardens are free to roam. I highly recommend visiting Mirador San Nicolas, a bus also goes there too but we walked up and bussed it back down. It was a beautiful scenic viewpoint where we took photos of Alhambra and had drinks at the cafe right below. We ate lunch at Restaurante Libanes Samarcanda in the area where there was a big Moroccan influence. We even bought lanterns from one of the shops and had them shipped home!

We ended up just walking around the rest of the day before taking the train back to Seville.

We flew from Seville to Barca on Ryan Air the next morning.

Barcelona

Upon arrival we took a cab which was 40-50 euros to the Melia Barcelona Sky hotel. I’d spend the most time in Barcelona. The hotel was great, had a pool and a nice breakfast place around the corner. Continental breakfast is offered but will cost you 16euros/person. The L4 train line is close by and gets you to most sites and train connections. We bought the 4 day unlimited bus/train pass which was 28 euros/person which I recommend. They have different length passes.

If you are craving some Indian variety, Surya Pau Claris and Rangoli were both great. Another place was Rasoterra-all veggie place, call ahead for reservations-they do not respond to email. We were going to go to Traguluz however when I looked at their menu they did not have the truffle pasta we wanted and did not look as veggie friendly. Hit up La Fermata de Provence for pizza, and SOCO if you want American style food.

Buy tickets to Sagrada Familia and Park Güell at least 1 week before to get the right times and dates. I didn’t realize this but Park Güell and Gaudi house museum are separate tickets-so buy tickets accordingly. We personally liked Sagrada and Park Güell. Definitely check out the dancing water fountain show in front of Plaza España every evening from 9:30-10:30. Half the group toured FC Barcelona stadium which they really liked too. Barcelona is where we bought most of our souvenirs and did our shopping. Get the VAT if offered, always ask. We also did the Picasso museum when it was free, check site for details.

All in all this vacation was definitely one of my favorites. We took along our 3 year old and she did great with food and traveling. Definitely take a stroller but one that will hold up against cobble stone roads. Our barely made it back and it was brand new-I am currently trying to get a new one lol through summer lite. Check the weather and pack accordingly, we had varying temperature and rain! If your cell phone enables data, use it, it’ll get you places way faster! We found cheap airline tickets on Norwegian air. I’d definitely go back to Barcelona and maybe next time Mallorca!

Canon Beach

We took a Memorial Weekend trip to the Oregon Coast with friends and my sissy!

Shrina reserved a condo at https://www.vacasa.com/usa/Sand-and-Sea-Seaside/?utm_source=gmb&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=GMB=Rental

Which was located in Seaside, about 15 minutes north of Canon Beach. The condo was simple, clean and had all the necessary items. Great location right off the beach, has a indoor heated pool and easy check in/out process. We ate dinner the first night at Seaside Brewery, the food was okay but the Marionberry Hefeweizen was delicious, we also got our growler filled to go!

The next morning after we swam and got ready, we headed to Canon Beach. We ate lunch at the Canon Beach Cafe which was great! Parking was pretty full but we were able to find a free spot quickly around town. After lunch we walked onto the windy beach to see the famous Haystack Rocks.

We then headed to Tillamook which was about an hour south to the factory for ice cream and cheese! The new facility is opening up at the end of June but they’ve built a nice temporary building where you can eat fresh foods, buy souvenirs/food and have ice cream.

Our trip was from Saturday to Monday but the condo did require a 3 night minimum during the holiday weekend. When planning a trip to Canon Beach in the summer try booking early to get a good location. Packing for the weekend, well always a mystery in the PNW. Basically always have a thick jacket, sweater and a few types of footwear for the varying weather!

All in all, it was a great weekend; now driving home before heading out to Spain! Stay tuned….

Gig Harbor

This past weekend we ventured to Gig Harbor, a quaint town on the water about an hour south of Seattle. We parked the at the Kimbal Park and Ride and took the trolley for a $1 downtown. Here we walked around the Harbor front in and out of shops. A few of us enjoyed some hot beverages at Java and Clay Cafe and lunch was a bit at Gig Harbor General Store. Tides Tavern was where we originally planned to have lunch but they didn’t allow minors. I recommend this town for a nice day visit even with the kiddos!

United Kingdom

We took a holiday to the United Kingdom with Binal, Anjani and Kevin. We arrived into Gatwick and pre booked a taxi for 73 GBP to Kevin’s parents home in Wembley. That night we arrived home late so ended up eating dinner at Blue Ginger near Kevin’s house where we had an amazing Indian meal. The next day we bought day passes on the underground tube to tour the city. We visited Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Tower bridge and Oxford street. We ate lunch at Rock and Soile Place fish and chips bar in Coven Garden which was delicious! We tried to go to the Sky Garden bar however you need to reserve it ahead of time online for free passes. The next day lunch was at Kababish on Ealing Road in Wembley, then we headed to Coulston and ate at Spice and Ice (very tasty Indo-Chinese food) We took a taxi for 100 GBP, note to reader: take the train, way faster and cheaper. 

The next morning we had an early flight to Glasgow where we were visiting my cousin Jugal who is studying at the University of Glasgow. We took Easy Jet airlines which had cheap fares, but they are very strict on baggage allowance, check the fine print and get there on time! Once landed we took a 25 GBP taxi ride to the Marriot on Argyle Street. Overall the hotel location, price and service was great but the rooms were older and had minor issues. If I had the choice, I would stay again if we got the same rate otherwise I would look for another option. Jugal met us and gave us a nice walking your around the city center after having lunch at Nando’s that first day. Dinner that night was at Mother India; reservations are needed and definitely  recommend it.

That night Jugal booked our train tickets to Edinburgh on scotrail.co.uk for our day trip the next morning. We took the 9:38 am train and arrived at 11am. The return ticket was for 6:40pm, but you can take any train after that time which was pretty convenient. Note: if you travel between 4pm-6:30pm the prices vary due to peak traveling hours. We got off at the Waverly station and found the hop on hop off bus tours to take for the day. It was a great way to see a lot in a short period of time and only 15 GBP per adult. The tour runs from about 9am to 6pm and the ticket is valid for 24 hours. We stopped for lunch at Pizza Express before heading to our first stop, the Edinburg Castle. Tickets were bought ahead of time to avoid lines online. Edinburgh is a beautiful and historic city, in retrospect it would’ve been nice to spend 1-2 nights in this city. We did a scotch tasting at the Scotch Whiskey Experience which was fun.  Dinner was at Jamie Oliver’s Italian restaurant which was decent enough before our trip back to Glasgow. 

The next day we hung out in Glasgow again visiting the university grounds and  having tea at Cup Tea Lounge on Reinfeld St. We suggest you do a brunch tea time on an empty stomach because they give a lot of food. We opted out of the 22 GBP per person tea menu because we were really still full from lunch. We ate lunch at Where the Monkey Sleeps which was very close to our hotel and delicious! After a day of walking we had pints at Brel on Ashton Lane which was a quirky area close to the Univwrsity. Dinner was at Ketchup burger restaurant across the street which was okay, the best part was the vanilla milkshake with Nutella. 

For our last day in Scotland we rented a van from Enterprise on Oswald St to visit Fort Williams. We opted to return it at the airport the next day before our flights which worked out conveniently, we did have to pay to park at the hotel overnight however. Kevin braved driving for our countryside excursion and did a great job, we did get a GPS system through Enterprise which I highly recommend even if you have cell phone capabilities. We drove to the city center of Fort Williams and had lunch before driving to the Glennfinan Monument. Our biggest reason to go there was to see the Jacobite Train go over the Glennfinnan viaduct. This is the same train used in Harry Potter as the Hogwarts Express. The train passes around 15:20, we made it just in time. There are two trains that pass twice a day during the season. We were also told the scenery behind the Glenfinnan Monument is where they superimposed the Hogwarts School. This definitely was a highlight of the trip and if you are a Harry Potter fan I totally recommend either riding the train or watching it pass over the viaduct. Before heading back to Glasgow we hit up the Ben Nevis scotch distillery  for a quick tasting in Fort William. We ended our trip with dinner at Opium a very good Asian restaurant in the city center. 

We had a fantastic time in the United Kingdom, a special thanks to Kevin and Binal for touring us around London and giving us a place to stay! Another big thank you to our cousin Jugal for showing us around Glasgow, we are proud of you! Cheerio till our next trip. 

Napa for the weekend!

We took a weekend trip down to the Bay Area to meet up with our friends and family. Everyone met two days earlier to check out the city sites and stayed at the Clift Hotel which was a lovely hotel in a good location. My little family came up Friday and  rented a passenger van through Ace Rentals and picked up the rest of the group. Our first stop was lunch at Burnese Superstar which we highly recommend! We got there as they opened and waited for a table, they don’t take reservations and are pretty busy. The rest of the group ate dinner the night before at Stinking Rose which we have had in the past and it was quite tasty. After lunch we made the drive to Sonoma to stop for a wine tasting at Viansa winery. With the group size we had, we had to make reservations at all the wineries and most would only accept cash or 1 credit card. After a little tasting we headed to the Westin Versara where we stayed in a two bedroom suites. Great location and great hospitality, recommend it. Dinner that night was at Tarla Grill which was very tasty Medettaranian food, also very close to our hotel. It was located in a shopping plaza with lots of other restaurants and a wine bar. The next day we had breakfast at Model Bakery, walking distance from our hotel, before we were picked up by Pure Luxury Transportation for a day of wine tasting.  The tour bus we rented did not take care of arranging reservations but our driver did go and get our boxed lunches from the Yountville Deli. For $13 a piece it was nice to have some food to eat in between wineries as a lot do not allow outside food.  We hit up two wineries in 6 hours, it was hard to get reservations at lots of wineries because the size of our party. We also did a tour at Castello de Amoroso which took about two hours including the tasting; I would recommend walking around enjoying the scenery and doing a tasting at the bar They also don’t allow children on the tour. At Paraduxx we just sat back relaxed and drank vino, and enjoyed the wonderful hospitality from our host! I overall recommend the tour company, they were accompanying and easy to work with.That night we just hung out at the hotel and ordered in pizza from Papa Joes , which was good enough after a day of drinking. The next morning we stopped for breakfast at Bouchon Bakery, a wait of 30–45 minutes, but worth it, loved the artichoke mushroom panini and quiche of the day. We enjoyed some champagne tasting at Domaine Carneros and for $40/person you get four full glasses, well worth it, and the weather was perfect for their outdoor seating. We made a pit stop at the beautiful Golden Gate view point before heading back into the city. We had a late lunch at Curry Up Now, a Mexican Indian fusion place. Overall good food but terrible service at the downtown location. We had an amazing weekend with friends and family which always goes by way too fast. Napa was definitely kid friendly, and we had plenty of babysitters!! Cheers to our next adventure!

   
    
    
    
 

India and Thailand

We took our first international trip with Baby K this year to India and Thailand!

My sister in law and brother in law came with us, which made this long journey bearable. We flew on Emirates Airlines which worked out nicely as they came out to be the cheapest multi city itinerary. My husband chose bulk head seating for us since it gave us the bassinet. I recommend bulkhead as it gives the little ones an area to play, but try and get the middle two seats as the arm rest will go up. If you pick any of the other bulkhead seats the arm rests don’t go up and then it makes it hard if the kid wants to sleep on your lap. You cannot keep them in the bassinet during takeoff/landing and if the seat belt sign is on. Overall we had a great experience with the airline. Dubai airport provides complimentary strollers as they will check in yours from departure city. 

 We went to Gujarat to visit family and grandparents and pretty much kept it low key. Baby K adjusted to the time within 2-3 days and luckily did not get sick at all on this trip! I had her on malaria pills but otherwise did not do anything else different from our routine. It was hard to maintain breast pumping while on the trip, so just nursed. One thing I do suggest, if you are not into co sleeping with your little one, don’t let them get into the habit even on vacation. Baby K was 10 months and was well aware she got to snuggle with us, which made it tough transitioning her back to her crib when we got home. Luckily for us she is a great baby and did fine after a few days, phew! A few things to pack: bug spray, sunblock and all medications.

My sister and Keyur’s two cousins met the rest of us in Thailand to finish off our world tour! We arrived into Bangkok and took taxis to the hotel. One thing I would recommend is if you do stay at the Sheraton Royal Orchid and have a big group, just book the shuttle they provide which was 2250 thb. We ended up doing that on the way back to the airport. However to get a taxi big enough to take us to the hotel was a big pain. You have to get a ticket at a kiosk however they machines would never work, anyways after 30 minutes we were on our way to the hotel. We all funnily enough paid different amounts to get to the airport, ranging from 500-1100 thb. All the hotels we stayed at in Thailand had great concierge who helped us with restaurants, cabs and locations of places we wanted to visit. They guided us to the laying Buddha, but luckily my sister had already visited as she got in earlier so she was our personal guide was great!

We only spent one night in Bangkok and then were off to Chiang Mai. A friend suggested Na Arron restaurant to eat at but we didn’t end up having enough time. Here we stayed at Le Meridian which was 260 thb from the airport, another great hotel, smaller rooms but great service. Wifi wasn’t always that great in our room but my sisters room was fine.I do recommend getting the included breakfast but dinner wasn’t anything special. In this city is where we did the bulk of our tours, which I recommend all of them: http://www.alotofthai.com/ http://www.elephantnaturepark.org/ and http://www.travelhubchiangmai.com/budget-tours/Btour_suthep.html. We ended up paying for all of it in advance and I had great email contact with all places.

I felt that Thailand was overall safer and cleaner then even India. We took our car seat and used it almost all the time. We weren’t able to use it only a few times in India and Thailand. Chiang Mai was also a great place to get Thai Massages done and they were around the corner from our hotel. Thai Massages are offered everywhere and really cheap, $6-$10 for 1 hour of service, definitely a must while in Thailand. We ate at Whole Earth restaurant and Miguel’s Mexican place which I recommend. We also had dinner at Boutique della Pasta, an Italian restaurant, which also wasn’t too bad but nothing to rave about. We bought all of our souvenirs from Chiang Mai, the night market was literally outside our hotel doors and here we bought elephant pants and few other knick nacks. We bought Kanokwan brand curry paste from RimPing supermarket which was recommended by Yui (chef at the cooking class). Lastly we made a last minute decision to go to Bo Sang Umbrella Market, which we loved. Here we had photos on our phones of images the artists painted on paper umbrellas for us. We ended up buying quite a few and had them shipped home. We were there for ~2 hours but they painted the umbrellas in no time at all. I recommend going here if you want something created before your eyes for your home. It was 600 thb roundtrip from our hotel and the driver waited for us at the market, go before the tour buses show up. The market opens at 8:30am and closes around 5 pm.

From Chiang Mai we flew down to Phuket, where we were picked up by Naka Island Luxury Resort transportation. It was ~30 minutes to the marina and about 5-10 minute boat ride to this beautiful resort. We stayed there for 4 nights, and overall thought the service was spectacular in this quiet and clean resort. Upon arrival in our room we had a bottle warmer, bottle cleaner which I didn’t even ask for at our disposable along with a microwave in our sea view villa. The food at the two restaurants was okay but it did have a variety of options (Thai, Italian) to choose from. We opted not to go into Phuket because of the baby and time it would take to much time to do so. We ended up not going to Phi Phi Islands, we were planning to do a private excursion through the resort, due to weather. Overall we had a great time on Naka and recommend it for those who just want to relax.

Montreal

A post has been long over do, we have had some exciting changes in our lives! Moved back to Seattle from NC and having a baby!!!

We were in Toronto for my cousins wedding and planned a trip to Montreal before heading to Florida! Our good friend Binal met us in Montreal, it’s been awhile since we have spent so much time together and it was loads of fun.
We drove 5 hours with my sister from Pearson International Airport where we rented a one way rental. It was about $130 with gas through Hertz. We dropped the rental off at Pierre Elliot Trudeau airport and took a flat fee $40 cab ride to Le Westin situated in Old Montreal.

I totally recommend this hotel, great clean rooms, friendly informative staff and awesome location. We did end up seeing a better deal by a few bucks on Jetsetter for another hotel in the same proximity. I would recommend staying in this area regardless of which hotel you pick.
I made reservations for all dinners just in case but since we were there on weekdays it wasn’t too bad. Our first meal was at Modavie, overall good vibe and food was decent. I wouldn’t likely go back however. Service in Montreal in general was absolutely fantastic everywhere we went!

After dinner we walked through the square where the Notre Dame Basilica is situated before heading for drinks at Suite 701 inside Hotel Place D’Arms.

The next morning after much needed rest we had brunch at Gross Jamon, which we enjoyed minus the poutine. One knows when visiting Montreal you must eat poutine. We did find a place later on called Montreal Poutine that satisfied our desire!
We decided to tour the city via horse and carriage ride, being 6 months pregnant my energy level isn’t at it’s norm. The ride was $80/hour for all four of us, the guide gives you tidbits of info when you could hear him. Overall it was a nice use of time and fairly inexpensive, I believe that was my first ride!

After our ride it was time for happy hour and we hung out at Accords for some wine and beer for them and water for me! Dinner was at Damas which was a $20 cab ride to the “newer” area of Montreal. I highly recommend this Syrian/Mediterranean restaurant and definitely make reservations. We could have eaten the foutosh salad all day!

Binal was scheduled to leave the next day and our itinerary consisted of brunch at Olive & Gourmando which is a must! We then took another $20 cab ride to the top of Mount Royal for spectacular views of the city. You can also get up there via bus and train but we opted for cab for time reasons. There are cabs that can bring you back down you will just have to wait by the bus stop.

After Beans left we relaxed yet again at the hotel before heading out for drinks at St James Hotel XO bar, a popular hangout spot of Madonnas apparently. Dinner was at Venti Osteria, a nice little Italian restaurant situated right near Olive & Gourmando. We decided to go to Suzette’s for crepes, utter disappointment, DO NOT waste your time, money or stomachs!!

All in all our visit to Montreal was lovely, we got lucky with the weather too as a week later they had tons of snow! I would say two nights is a good amount of time to get in all the main sites and eats! We headed to Florida afterwards for our family baby shower hosted by my in laws. We had a great time with friends, family and food during our lovely week off!

Italy

Venice

We arrived into Venice airport, after collecting our bags, we headed to the water taxi stand stand to purchase tickets, which is located inside the terminal.

Tip: If you have a lot of luggage, the walk to the water taxi is about 5 to 10 minutes, so If you need to use the carts, they are 1 euro and you can return at the dock where the water taxi departs. We took the Agilguare for 15 euros per person from the airport to San Marco Square. There is a faster way to get there for 110 euros for a private water taxi.

Once we got off the boat, we took an immediate left and it was a path right next to the water, we then took our first right and at the next T-junction took a left. The rest of the directions to Hotel Torino were very good off their website. There was no sign, except on the ground of the entrance, but it is situated in a corner between a lovely mask shop on the right and glass shop on the left. Hotel Torino was a great steal in a good location. Venice is expensive, so we shared a family room, that could have fit 5 people snuggly with 1 bathroom, breakfast included. Italy is great when it comes to Wi-Fi, it’s almost offered in all hotels and most restaurants. The first day we arrived we just wandered around the streets of Venice, just taking in all the water alleyways, Rialto Bridge and San Marco Square. The next day we took water taxi line 4.1 to Murano Island to spend a few hours. We didn’t go in the museum but saw a free demonstration of glass blowing. So one thing we realized later was we didn’t validate our tickets to Murano, so we ended up using the ticket the next day to the train station. We didn’t see the validating machine, but I do recommend doing it as the fines as hefty if you don’t. All four of us did a 30 minute Gondola ride for 90 euros, we took the ride right outside our hotel.

When we departed from Venice, we took a left from hotel and we got on the water taxi at the Giglio stop, you take line 1 to the train station through the lovely Grand Canal. We got off the Ferrovio stop for the train station. I would recommend if you are going to Cinque Terre buy your tickets ahead of time to get the time you want. A friend of mine later told me they bought tickets the day before from a stand in Venice somewhere, we didn’t see that, but I am sure your hotel concierge could point you in the right direction.  The other option would have been to purchase them online on the Trentalia website.

Overall in Venice restaurants were decent enough. Osetria al Duomo on Murano was yummy! Ask for garlic oil and take your own CRP if you eat there.  Rosa Rossa was the best restaurant we went to in proper Venice, actor Johnny Depp went there too! Rossopomodoro was another option but it was like the OG of Venice. We loved the house wine and in Venice red wine is even chilled slightly, wine is cheaper then beer and water, so drink up!

If you plan on buying glass items from Murano, some of the expensive items are lovely, but some of the smaller items you can get on mainland Venice for a few euros more. Look for the “made in murano” logo.

Cinque Terre

We took the train from Venice to La Spezia which was 240 euros for all four of us, once we arrived there I found the ticket stand and bought tickets to Monterosso Al Mare. Just to orient one, train track 3 goes usually from north to south, and not all trains will stop at each of the five towns. We got to Monterosso and walked 15 minutes up hill to Hotel Porta Roca, there online directions were to the T, I would however recommend calling ahead for a ride, which they do for free. That’s where pre-purchasing train tickets gets you into the town at a specific time so they can pick you up. This hotel was great, amazing views and staff along with a newly installed swimming pool where we spent out afternoons. We had dinner at the hotel restaurant the night we arrived as we were too exhausted to venture back into town. The next day we hiked from Montero to Corniglia. I would recommend getting an early start a nd take water! The path literally starts from the hotel. It took us about 1.5 hrs to get to Vernazza where our sister and brother in law met us, we then kept on route to Corniglia which was another 1 hour or so. To enter the national park of CT, tickets were 6 euros/person, you can buy train tickets here too but its best to do that from the station. We hiked the Blue Trail. It is still closed after Corniglia, but there is another route you can take if you want to keep hiking to the last two towns. We ended our hike here and took a train back to Monterosso. The next day we took the train to Riomaggiore, just to explore. Just a side bar, always validate your tickets, or it’s a hefty fine if they catch you.

I totally recommend lunch at Batti Batti in Vernazza, along with Gelateria Vernazza for dessert, they are both situated on the main path in Vernazza. Once you leave the train station they are on the right hand side ~200 yards down. We had dinner one night at Cantina di Miky in Monterosso, very yummy and lovely place to sit outdoors to enjoy the views! I recommend buying water from the grocery store in town near the church, and if you want the local made Pesto, buy it from Entonca International, which is also near church. Pesto makes a great souvenir gift!

We bought our train tickets to go to Florence the day before at the main station in Monterosso as sometimes the ticket agents aren’t always there. You can always buy them from the kiosk but I had trouble with my credit card with those machines sometimes. Otherwise credit cards (Visa) were widely used in Italy. CT is a must, for future travelers, I recommend doing Rome and Florence first as those are busy cities and you can relax in CT and Venice.

Our friends Margi and Rucheet are in CT right now and highly recommended A Pie De Ma restaurant in Riomaggiore, esepcially the honey pear cheese platter! Thanks guys so much!!

Florence

In Florence we stayed in an apartment located on the corner of Aprile and Nazionale St, we booked through VRBO (reference # 401691) and were not disappointed. It’s a 15 minute walk up Nazionale from the train station, and its located where the Picadilly Hotel is. Matilda was always responsive to emails and questions and she arrived at the appointed time to give us instructions and the keys. The apartment is HUGE especially for European standards and was lovely. If you plan to stay in Florence for a few days, this is a great option as hotels get pricey.

Things we did in Florence included vising the Uffizi Museum, which we bought a tour through Viator. The highlight of the trip for me was the Tuscany sightseeing Tour which was also purchased through Viator. The meeting point was the train station and tours were conducted through Walk-About Tours, our guide was great! I highly recommend this, it’s a all day excursion. Lastly, we did get to see the amazing David, which is at the Accademia Gallery, which was really close to the apartment. We didn’t end up getting a tour for this but got there at 9:00 am and stood in line for ~45 minutes, if you don’t get tickets get there early as the line gets long quickly. We otherwise wandered Florence, going through the Ponte Vecchio, seeing Santa Croce and the gorgeous Duomo. We didn’t end up going inside the Duomo because of the lines. Another tour we bought was a pizza making class, again through Viator. So the experience was loads of fun, the pizza, not the best, something funky about the cheese.

I do recommend going up to Piazzalle Michelangelo for a gorgeous view of the city you can see in the pictures below, but pick a prettier day, we just didn’t have time, apparently it is also stunning at night time. One day we rented a car from the airport to visit the Lamborghini Museum. From the train station it is 20 euros flat rate to the airport. Luckily we got a GPS unit last minute otherwise we would’ve been even more lost. Lamborghini is located outskirts of Bologna. The Ferrari Museum is located in Modena which is about 20 km from Lamborghini. Modena is also known for its balsamic vinegar, we did not end up going here. I would recommend booking in advance if you want to the factory tour, we it wasn’t available when we arrived. The museum is 10 euros and the tour is 40, discount available for students. Lambo is located in a very remote town and there wasn’t much there, so food wise either eat before or pack snack.

Restaurants in Florence were probably our favorite in all of our city travels. I recommend La Maremma, Casalinga, Quattro Lioni, Havelli indian restaurant and Tijuana Mexican. Another great lunch spot was All’antico Vinaio, fresh made focaccia sandwiches. Definitely make reservations at La Maremma and Quattro Leoni, and if you take any of my suggestions, GO TO LA MAREMMA, it was recommended to us by a friend and we ended up going twice because it was amazing!

It’s hard to get taxis from the city center, look for light on for a free taxi.

Some tips:

Museums and churches generally have a charge to enter, if you wear short sleeve or short shorts/skirt you have to wear a cover up or bring a shawl.

Shopping: right near Central Mercado there are a bunch of stalls, we ended up buying a purse for our bestie from the venders near the Merry-go-Round. My sister in law and I bought clutches from Cocinelle Leather Store which originated in Parma, Italy. We bought cute bracelets from Marinelle, located at the end of the Ponte Vecchio bridge on the right hand side, when going towards Piazzale Michelangelo.

We walked mostly everywhere, took pictures of locations/maps we wanted to visit on the iPad to help navigate. My husbands trip advisor app he downloaded before leaving was great and it does not require wifi. It isn’t always 100% accurate but it would get us in the vicinity and then we would usually figure it out.

Rome

In Rome we stayed at the Hotel Una, located 2 blocks from Termini Station. Book this hotel properly, apparently they sent me a cc confirmation email and I never got it, luckily they still gave us the original rate.  Of all the boutique hotels we stayed in Italy, this franchise one gave us a headache, but all in all it was a lovely hotel, and had a great breakfast. I always pre-map our hotel locations on Google maps and take a picture on my ipad or print it out before we leave home.

Upon arrival into Roma get the Roma Pass, which is now 34 euros, available at news stands or in Termini Station. It gives you unlimited train access for 3 days and two museums for free listed on the map.  It will also get you into the Colosseum and Roman Forum, and through the faster line. We did the Viator and I don’t recommend it, with the Roma Pass you can get in and then purchase for audio tour for a few euros. I do highly recommend the Vatican tour, the one where you get to go through the museum and Sistine Chapel. Don’t take any backpacks otherwise you have to check it in and it’s a pain to retrieve it if you want to continue the tour to St. Peter’s basilica. The tour doesn’t actually take you inside St Peters, you can do that on your own. We didn’t end up going into it as the line was long. We did go to the capuchin monk museum, don’t get the audio tour, it was boring, but the crypt was cool! Its 1 block from the Bernini train stop.

We loved the Trevi fountain, so much that we visited it 3 times, and I recommend seeing it both during the day and at night. We also went to the Spanish Steps and Piazza Novona, both lovely and busy tourist spots!

The train system is easy to figure out, also very busy so once you get to the platform go to the ends as it’s less crowded.

Restaurants in Rome we suggest Chianti Winery next to Trevi fountain. Colline Emmanuel is another popular place, definitely make a reservation, food was decent and typical for the region.

We had the hotel book our cab to the airport, 65 euros for four people. If you get a cab at the train station it is about 50 euros, but not sure if all four people and luggage would fit. Cheapest option is train but our flight was at 11 am and weren’t sure how long it would take. The faster train is 15 euros a person and the slower train between 8-11 euros a person.