What Ana Does

Alice is our huge Swiftie. And we tried but failed to get Taylor Swift Eras Tour tickets when she rolled through the USA last summer. And the secondary market ticket prices were absolutely ridiculous. $5,000 a ticket? Even the $2,000 was out of the question. So when she released dates for her European tour, it made sense to try for tickets. We had planned to go to Europe this summer for Leah's graduation trip and we knew we would spend less than $2000/ticket, even with the flights and hotel.  It was a very stressful experience, but I got GREAT tickets in Milan for the three of us to last summer for less than $500/ticket. We just had to wait 12 months before the big night.  We watched the Eras Tour movie on Disney, watched all the videos on social media from other fans at the concert. I studied the lyrics all year and ran on the treadmill so I was in fit for the 3.5 hour show. We picked out outfits and made 60 friendship bracelets to exchange at the show. We needed those 12 mon...

California here we come!  I planned this family summer vacation to California like it was a European vacation -- minus all the cultural and ancient sights. And more driving and modern shopping malls. We wanted Leah to see LA with us first, a city she may someday end up in if she continues to pursue directing. And we wanted to show the girls where we lived in the Bay Area and the beauty of Muir Woods. So, California for our summer vacation it was!  Our general plan was the fly to SFO, spend a few days in San Francisco visiting Muir Woods, Sausalito and a little of the city. Then take a few days to drive the 6 hours to LA, stopping a long the way. And then a few days in LA before enjoying two days in Disneyland.  In hindsight, it was too much moving. Not enough lingering in places we wanted more time to explore. But it was all of us together, so it was perfect, too.  Stop 1: San Francisco  We stayed at Hilton San Francisco Financial District Hotel that was close ...

(Ok, so the title is an obvious pun, forgive me, I had to.)  After two years of being home, we were delighted to be able to head back to Europe and fulfill Alice's wish to see the Acropolis after becoming fascinated by Greek mythology at school.  Dave had a meeting in Madrid for a week, so we tacked on our vacation to his trip, picking him up in Madrid and flying together to Athens and then to Santorini.  MADRID  We've both spent time in this cool city, but it was the first time for the girls. I was so excited to show them Plaza Mayor and how singularly wild and cool the capital of my "homeland" (as my dramatic father calls it). I have a whole itinerary here . It's a walkable city that's pretty easy to navigate. We only had a half-day to explore but it was enough to sample all the flavors.  From Plaza Mayor to Plaza Del Sol to Gran Via to the Corte Ingles and, the best spot, Marcado San Miguel. Spain is just the best.  ATHENS It was our first time in this v...

Our last stop on our RV trip was Colorado. I found a newer RV campground/glamping spot in Granby and it looked just like our speed.  But first, we stayed a night in Laramie, WY and spent a day in their downtown. It felt so good to walk around and explore a town, do a little shopping and we even ate out for the FIRST TIME in since the start of this crazy pandemic. And we had the BEST PIZZA ever.  We've been on a hunt for a new bike for Alice, since she's outgrown hers'. We had high hopes at this bike shop, but because of the pandemic, you can't buy a new bike anywhere ... even in a small town in Wyoming.  When booking the trip, I thought ahead. I imagined we'd be DONE sleeping in an RV and want a little comfort, so we booked a small cabin at this Colorado RV park, and the golf cart to drive around in.  It was a luxury to be in one place with a REAL bed and laundry and no where to drive for a few days.  And the kids enjoyed driving lessons in the golf cart!  ...

The trip from Sioux Falls to the Mount Rushmore KOA was a challenging one. The wind blew the RV around on the planes and through the Badlands, and it's not a very easy vehicle to keep in a straight line on the best of circumstances.  But, how fun was it to take the family to the world famous Wall Drug! I went in 1991 as a preteen with my family and it looked pretty much the same -- from the miles and miles of roadside signs to the actual building full of the strangest and oddest stuff.  Leah got a cowboy hat (obviously) and Alice and I found gems and minerals, including a very neat pipestone necklace on a leather band. We also spent $16 on donuts ... because we were there and the line for ice cream was too long. (Don't worry, we wore our face masks while browsing around, like nearly 75% of the other customers.)  Wall Drug The campsite at Mount Rushmore was our stop for three days and the site was a popular one -- since it was so close to the monument. Hundreds of RVs and ...

RV campgrounds vary widely, depending on the state and area. Some were gravel and some had grassy spots. Some had pools and activity rooms (which were closed) and some didn't.  We did our best to pick campgrounds that broke up the drive and had some amenities. Showers were always welcome. And laundry rooms soon became key. And we read reviews and filtered compliments and negatives through our lens -- do we care about certain complaints? Did we really need good shower pressure, as long as the bathrooms were clean?  We also quickly learned that this kind of vacation was a lot of work. Cooking the evening meal was an ordeal of planning, moving supplies out of the RV, cooking, then the long task of cleaning up. It was far from the relaxing vacation we'd have preferred.  In Sioux Falls, South Dakota we were lucky to get the pool (almost) to ourselves for a few hours. And could bike to the Sioux Falls falls for lunch and to explore the park. We're so glad we brought our bikes! ...

In the world of COVID-19 and isolation we made a family decision: We still want to go on a summer vacation.  We are desperate to get out of the house. We need a break from work -- both our jobs have been super busy. We love travel. We just need a vacation. BUT we had to be thoughtful and careful. No unnecessary risks or no additional chances of exposure to the virus. So .... No airplanes. No hotels. No reliance on restaurants. No crowded spaces. It didn't leave much.  I'll spare you the discussion and research and just tell you ... we rented an RV and traveled to Colorado by way of Mount Rushmore.  Main stops along the way were gas stations and grocery stores -- so no different than the public places we're going to now. We booked RV campgrounds and planned to enjoy the outdoors, away from indoor spaces and crowds.  And we didn't post a lot of photos on social media, just to respect the decision of those who are staying home and safe. And not let anyone think we don'...

I'm finally getting this post together with all the details from our Hawaii adventure. It's almost too much to put into one post, but I do love to document the places we stayed and ate so I can pass it on to the next adventurer. Let me preface by saying David booked the whole thing (he did a fab job) and he choose family-friendly resorts. In fact, I think his search keyword was "resorts with water slide" in Hawaii. Monday - Friday: Oahu After an 9-hour flight, we checked into the Hilton Waikiki Beach , which is on the island of Oahu , in the city of Honolulu and a block away from Waikiki Beach . Honolulu  has a bustling main street with shops, resorts and restaurants. This was great, because we had lots of choice for meals and could wander and shop -- but not the relaxing, tranquil vacation I was looking forward to. However, Waikiki Beach is known for great surf and watching surfers catch waves quickly turned into my favorite pass-time.  We would recommen...

While we were in Milan last weekend, strolling around Sforza Castle, I remembered so well the last time I was walking around this ancient castle. Flashbacks! Nine years ago, when Alice was just 2-years-old and Leah was 4 we visited this castle and I was enthralled by the history, but Alice wasn't impressed and she ran around like a nut -- or a toddler. Whatever. I talked her in to standing still for just a few minutes so I could take a picture. So, last weekend, I asked Alice to take the same picture on the same spot (ok, one bench away) in the courtyard and it came out pretty cute.  Alice: Oct. 2010 --- VS --- March 2019 Here are the two original pictures: Alice, Being 2, and Just the Top of Leah's Head Alice at 10!  This is just another perk about traveling Europe with little kids; these are such special memories that I'll have forever. And even get to revisit them. Related posts: Traveling with kids

It was a quickly planned and quickly done weekend trip to Milan. It was our second trip there, as I mentioned here , so we had some familiarity with the city and what we wanted to do. Plus, it's Italy, so we mainly just wanted to eat and eat and eat. Saturday We arrived around 10am after a one hour (YES ONE HOUR!) flight from Paris. The airport is one hour from the city and taxies are about 100€, so the train was recommended to us. It's an hour-long ride, but no traffic and much cheaper. Bonus, our hotel was three blocks from Central Station, so it was perfect.  We checked into the Sheraton Four Points , I found a small suite at a pretty good rate, given we booked a few weeks from the trip. Breakfast included! I had already picked out a lunch place called SoulGreen , an easy walk from the hotel. We love plant-based, fresh restaurants (hello Flax & Kale in Barcelona!) and this one was very excellent, too! Specifically, the ginger-carrot-apple juice was just what I ne...

Last summer, as Leah's bestie was moving away to Milan, we promised Leah we would go visit her pal before we left the continent. Well, seeing our time here dwingling, I quickly booked the airline ticket. Originally, I was just going to fly with Leah, or we'd bring Alice and David would stay behind, but we all decided to go enjoy Italy for the weekend, and who could blame us. We have been to Milan once before in 2010 while we were living in Germany for that short time. And it's always so rewarding to go back to a city after some time and re-experiencing a few things and getting to see more. Kinda of like watching a movie again .... you get more out of it. Plus, the kids are now older so that's a whole new element. Once we dropped off Leah to her friends house, we walked over to the Duomo and shopped in the area. I had planned a museum visit but that was quickly rejected and mutiny ruled the weekend. Oh well. With Leah off at her friend's house, it was just Alic...

In conjunction with the Berlin travel post, here's all the nitty-gritty details, in case you're planning a trip to Berlin (and it's an excellent, walkable, interesting city to visit) and want to follow some of our footsteps. Friday Arrive! We stayed at Art'otel in Mitte. It's a bit off the beaten track, as we wanted to be near where our temporary 2010 apartment was but it's a lovely hotel, our room was huge and the people were very friendly. It's equidistant from Alexanderplatz and Gendarmenmarkt, which had the big Christmas Markets   we most wanted to visit.  Our first meal was at Momotaro Tavern just under the TV Tower. Burgers and Asian dishes seems like a strange combination but the food was spectacular. The girls ate chicken burgers and I got a yummy pho!   The Christmas Market was just around the corner and was the largest we walked through. It had an ice skating rink (ring) in the center, too.  We walked back to the hotel because it was ...