Packing for a Baby

It's no secret that Dan and I love traveling, and we're bringing Zahara along for the ride. Thankfully, she's a great traveler and really enjoys seeing new places and meeting new people. She's one of the most social babies I've ever seen!

Making friends in Istanbul

We are often asked for tips and tricks about traveling with a baby. It's actually not so bad. It is definitely different from traveling pre-baby, when you could just pop in some headphones and watch a movie on the plane. Flights aren't as relaxing, and packing takes a bit more time, but with a little preparation trips can still be low-stress and lots of fun.

Obviously, different trips require different items, but here are a few staples.

One Week Vacation Packing List:
Clothes:
7 short-sleeve onsies
7 shirts and pants/dresses
7 socks
4 pajamas
sleep sack
sun hat/winter hat
jacket
a headband

Essentials:
25-30 diapers (4/day)*

wipes
2 small muslins

nursing cover

Entertainment:
1 book
1 toy (Captain Calamari is our favorite)

Transportation:

Ergobaby (baby carrier)
car seat (if needed)

Miscellaneous/Medicines: [small travel size]

sunscreen

baby Calpol (Tylenol)

diaper cream 

medical history

baby nail clippers
comb

Food:

Cheerios

If we are traveling somewhere with a small kitchen, or at least a fridge, I'll often bring some cooked food for her. Easy options are roasted carrots, home-made broccoli muffins and clementines.

We rarely travel with our stroller any more. I find it much easier to navigate new cities with the baby carrier. My suitcase is almost always a large backpack. I can toss that on my back, Zahara on my front and I'm ready to go.

Usually hotels or apartments will have a travel cot for Zoey to sleep in. It usually works really well, but rarely Zahara will have to sleep in our bed with us.

This packing list has served us well so far; Zahara is on track to see 13 countries by the time she's a year old! What did I miss? Anything you can't travel without?

*If we are bringing a car seat, I can stash diapers in the car seat bag. If we aren't bringing a car seat, I'll buy diapers when I get to my destination. It is cheaper than checking a bag.

Eurovision Party

Last weekend my friend Kathleen hosted a Eurovision watching party. Before moving to England I had never heard of Eurovision before, but it is a huge deal here. Once a year more than thirty countries come together to compete in a singing competition. Each country has one entrant, which can be a solo act, a duet or a group. 

The competition started in 1956, making it one of the longest-running shows in history. Over the years, some big names have competed--Abba, Celine Dion and Julio Iglesias, just to name a few. Interestingly, Eurovision was how ABBA was discovered. They won in 1974 with their song Waterloo. Mostly, though, the acts are really kitschy with cheesy costumes and staging. I absolutely love it!

Kathleen invited people over to watch the finals. We each represented a country by bringing food and drink associated with that country. As the host, she chose England and made a lovely Victoria sponge cake and sausage rolls. Irish stew and soda bread represented Ireland. A delicious almond cake was Ukraine's offering. Dan and I made falafel to represent Israel. Yes, Israel competes in Eurovision. Weird.

Victoria Sponge Cake

I really loved several of the acts, and absolutely hated others. Dan loved Poland's semi-pornographic act, as did most of the UK. I enjoyed Belarus' song called "Cheesecake." I also liked Switzerland's really weird song.

The most controversial act of all was Austria's Conchita Wurst. Known as the "bearded lady," she certainly caused a stir. I was expecting her to be a joke act, but actually, her song was beautiful. I could see it as a James Bond theme. It has that kind of sound. To everyone's surprise, she won the contest!

Thanks Kathleen for hosting such a fun night!

P.S. There are a couple of videos in this post that may not show up on mobile devices. You can see them on my website though.

My First Mother's Day

Once again Dan proved that he is the world's best husband. Today he went above and beyond to celebrate my first Mother's Day*.

Dan took Zahara in the morning while I relaxed in bed. Then he made me an outstanding breakfast of eggs benedict with smoked salmon; french toast; and a berry salad. 

He bought me fresh flowers and gave me a gift card to the Turkish Baths in town! I feel like I won the husband lottery. 

So, that's how we celebrated my first mother's day. Not too, bad, right? A girl could get used to this.

*Technically I kind of celebrated British Mother's Day, though Dan made it clear that it was not "our" holiday. 

More From Paris

There is so much to see in Paris that in a week you can barely skim the surface. Nevertheless, we made the most of our time and saw many of the top attractions. Here are some places that can't be missed:

The Louvre:
Last time I was in Paris I spent 8 hours in the Louvre. Since I was by myself, I didn't have to consider anyone else's interests and was able to take my time exploring the masterpieces--and I still didn't see even a fraction of the museum! This time, Dan and my mom took Zoey while my dad and I relaxed. You don't have to spend a full day there, but while in Paris you have to go visit Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo.

View of the Louvre from the Tuileries Gardens

Luxembourg and Tuileries Gardens
One of my favorite places in Paris is the Luxembourg Gardens. The park is huge and features sculptures, water fountains, tennis courts, a playground and tons of lush grass. It is also the home of the French Senate. On a sunny day, there is no better place to be. A close second though is the Tuilieres Gardens. Located just outside the Louvre and with a great view of the Eiffel Tower, it's a lovely place to relax.

Notre Dame
This is one of the most beautiful cathedrals I've seen. It absolutely amazes me that it was built in the middle ages before heavy machinery was invented. And, did you know that many of the people who built the Notre Dame worked for free? They did it as a labor of love. Thanks to Rick Steve's audio tour for that titbit.

We managed to find ourselves touring the cathedral right in the middle of Palm Sunday mass. It was a little awkward taking photos while hundreds of people were praying, but we tried to remain respectful.

Eiffel Tower
You'll see the tower from lots of parts of Paris, but it is worth a visit to see it close-up--especially at night when it's all lit up. Starting at dusk (9 pm when we were there in April), the tower is a sparkly beacon. It stays alight all night, but sparkles for five minutes on the hour until 1 am. It makes a great backdrop for romantic or family photos. So iconic. I personally don't think it's worth it to go to the top though. It's a great view up there, but obviously you won't see the one thing that clearly identifies the city as Paris--the tower!

Arc de Triumph and Champs Elysees
The Arc itself is pretty, but not overwhelmingly interesting. We didn't go to the top, but I imagine those are some spectacular views. We did enjoy window shopping along the Champs Elysees though. Louis Vuitton, Mercedes and Cartier all have stores on this famous boulevard. We stopped midway for a delicious matzah sandwich that we brought from the apartment.

Passover lunch on Champs Elysees

I also highly recommend the Musee d'Orsay and Versailles. If you have time, the Rodin Museum; Sainte-Chapelle Cathedral; and the small but effective Deportation Memorial are all fantastic. But really, the best thing to do in Paris is just walk around and take in the atmosphere. It is one of my all-time favorite cities, and I am so glad I was able to see it with my family.

Sainte-Chapelle

Read more about our time in Paris:
Sights in the City of Lights
Passover in Paris

Dear Zahara: 10 Months

Dear Zahara,

Happy 10 month birthday! Another happy month in the books! The highlight of this month was seeing G-mom and Pop Pop in Paris.

You are still really social and love being around people. Lately though you've been a bit clingy to mummy. You're perfectly happy to be around others as long as I'm holding you.

You never stop moving! You are crawling like a champ and can even make it up stairs; you haven't figured out how to get down though. You love pulling yourself up on everything--the table, bookshelves, the toilet (yuk!). This new-found freedom has give you a whole new outlook on life. There is so much to see and touch and yank! Current favorites are the TV cable cords, the vase on the bookshelf and the window curtains.

The only time you do sit still in when we read together. This is one of our favorite activities. We read all sorts of books, but every day we read the Gruffalo and the wonderful copy of Good Night Moon that Aunt Bradi made for you. You love looking at the pictures of her and mummy when you were in my tummy, and of you as a new baby.

Two more teeth are poking through your gums as we speak. You seem to be handling these teeth much better than the first ones. You're still sleeping well and we haven't had to give you medicine yet. I hope it stays easy for you.

Zoey, you are truly the light of our lives. We love you so much and are so proud to call you ours. Happy birthday!

Sights in the City of Lights

We had such a fabulous time with my parents in Paris during Passover. We did a ton of walking to counteract all of the eating we did. No matter how many times I see the Eiffel Tower, Montmartre and Versailles, it just doesn't get old. I could easily see myself living in Paris. Amazing food, great public transportation and beautiful sights---yeah. It wouldn't be so bad.

We spent one whole day in Versailles, which I highly recommend. We got so lucky with the most amazing, sunny weather. We took the train and listened to Rick Steve's free audio guide. I wish we had bought tickets in advance online so that we could have skipped some of the line. A good tip: if you aren't planning on using the free audio guide that comes with your ticket, and I wouldn't (it wasn't very good), you don't have to wait in the line at the door. That would have saved us around half an hour.

Though the inside of Versailles was stunning--especially the Hall of Mirrors--the gardens were the main attraction of the day. We took advantage of the beautiful weather and had a little picnic on the lawn. 

We loved exploring all the fountains and coves. In fact, though we had all day, it wasn't nearly enough time. We didn't make it to Marie Antoinette's hamlet.

We also spent most of a day at Montmartre. We ate the most delicious macarons at Maison Georges Larnicol before checking out the Sacre Coeur. All the macarons were delicious, but I especially loved the coconut; chocolate; and salted caramel flavors. The church was gorgeous; Dan even liked it more than Notre Dame. We did another Rick Steve's self-guided tour and saw the famous windmills, artist-filled square and Moulin Rouge.

Mom and I doing the can-can

This is just a small sample of the amazing things we saw in Paris. Stay tuned for more!

Read more about our time in Paris:
Passover in Paris

Passover in Paris

This year we were lucky enough to celebrate Passover in Paris! Even better, my parents joined us!

We spent a week in the city of lights. We went a few days before Passover so that we could fully enjoy all the delicious French food first. Though I absolutely love Passover, the only downside is that macarons, croissants, and baguettes are off-limits. Don't worry. We ate ourselves silly for those first few days. We even had a bunch of amazing kosher food that we can't get in Harrogate: Indian, Chinese, falafel and shwarma!

We stayed in an apartment in the trendy neighborhood of Marais. There was some last-minute drama as the owners of the original apartment we booked canceled three days before our trip. Thankfully, Airbnb worked with us to find another place. It wasn't ideal, but the apartment was beautiful and made a great place for us to hold our seder.

Speaking of seders, both were very memorable and very different. The first night we went to a community event sponsored by Chabad. There were more than 200 people there! It was run very efficiently. Each table of 15 had its own Chabad leader. There were English, French and Hebrew-speaking tables. Our table was mostly Americans, with one couple from South Africa. Zahara did amazing! The seder didn't start until after 9 and we left around midnight. Because it was a religious holiday, we weren't allowed to take any pictures, unfortunately.

The next night we had a much smaller, more intimate seder at our apartment. And wouldn't you know, Zahara did not do as well this night. We tried putting her to bed, but she cried and cried until we brought her back out and let her be part of the seder. Maybe she just loves the holiday as much as me and didn't want to miss anything.

Of course we did tons of sight-seeing while in Paris.

Read more about our trip to Paris:
Sights in the City of Lights