Our 4th Annual Summer Adventure Plans…
Good morning!!! Happy happy happy Wednesday!!! Although it is only the second “real day” of the week since the girlies were out of school Monday, for some reason I feel like it should already be Friday! Monday was super busy between having the girlies at home, carting them around to playdates and then having back to back meetings about exciting things coming to my brick and mortar store… so I guess all of that added up to like five days worth of brain power. LOL. I know I keep hinting around about something Abigail and I have in the works and I PROMISE we will share soon! We are just getting the final things situated before we share. Let’s just say that it involves wine and fun and food and all the things. So. Freaking. Excited.
Last night I got to see my man and I have to admit that I am kind of already counting down the hours and the minutes until I get to see him again this weekend. As I have mentioned lots before, I have never ever even remotely liked cooking. Like whatsoever. But for some reason we have started this little tradition of cooking together almost every evening we are together and it has become something I so look forward to every week. We crank up the music and sip some wine and it’s so so so fun. He’s so darn cute involving the girls who both love to help. We have started kind of trading off choosing recipes and getting everything together. Since I am not really a meat eater, meat and veggies has never been my thing so I love trying fun recipes that are different and fun to cook. Plus, he’s Italian and you can never ever ever go wrong with pasta! We are actually looking into doing some cooking classes together too. So if you’re local and know of any, do tell! Last night was his recipe night and it’s one of my favorites!!! It’s like a garlic shrimp scampi linguine dish he has made a couple of times before. I will write everything down and share the recipe on IG stories soon!
My goodness… just like that three Summers have gone by and it is officially time to plan our FOURTH ANNUAL SUMMER ADVENTURE!!! Four years ago now I dreamed this crazy dream (chatted about it here… “Our Crazy Summers”) to travel the world every Summer with my girls. I cannot even tell y’all how AMAZING these Summers have been. Healing and refreshing and something I will cherish forever and ever and ever. Six solid weeks experiencing the world with the two little people I love most. Here is a peek back at our last three Summers…
This Summer I decided to give Addie a little part of the planning and OF COURSE she chose to make it into a Harry Potter Summer! LOLOL. She has been dying to go to England and Scotland to see some filming spots and such and of course y’all know that I LOOOOVE the show Outlander so I agreed and got to planning! Last year I shared how I plan such a big trip (“How to Plan the Ultimate Long Summer Trip Adventure”) and on that blog post I mentioned that I always plan around selecting the first and last cities based on direct flight options. And since y’all know I LOOOOOVE France, I chose Paris, France as our first destination. Although I have been quite a few times and the girlies went two Summers ago, there is still lots I would like to do there and honestly I just love the city so so much. I want to bike through Versailles and tour the Catacombs… Sigh, counting down the days! From there, we will be taking a train to Bruges, Belgium. I visited Belgium a little over a decade ago now and freaking LOVED IT! Bruges was literally Disney World come to life. LOL. From the colorful buildings to the architecture and flowers, I have been daydreaming about going back ever since. From there, I am honestly not sure which city in Belgium to visit next! I was thinking Brussels but would LOVE any and all ideas! From the Brussels airport, we will then be flying into Edinburgh, Scotland. I have never been to Scotland and I am sooooo excited! I will definitely need all of your recommendations for that stop! After Edinburgh, we will be either training or flying into London. Once again, I visited London forever and a day ago but I plan to re-visit lots of the same spots to show my girlies. Addie of course also wants to see all things Harry Potter so I would love some ideas on that! And finally, we will be flying into Dublin, Ireland from London for our very last destination. I have never been and I am soooo excited! We have a week in every destination so I am up for staying in more than one spot for each city/area so I would love to hear any “countryside” recommendations as well!
Here’s a peek at our full travel map for Summer 2020!
First Stop… Paris, France
Although I have been to Paris quite a few times, I still need your recommendations! We have done all of the touristy stuff except for Versailles and the Catacombs which we will be doing this Summer so I would love to know what your faves in Paris have been! I have also never had good luck with restaurants there as crazy as that sounds. Would love some hidden gems and local secret stops!
Bruges, Belgium
I visited Bruges years and years ago but I don’t remember so share away with your recommendations!
Then… Brussels, Belgium???
I need your help!!! Should we do Brussels, Belgium? Or maybe just for a night or two? We have one week between Bruges and Edinburgh, Scotland so I need to know your Belgium faves!
Edinburgh, Scotland
We’ve never been to Scotland so I need all the help we can get! Plus, if you have any Harry Potter must sees, do tell!
London, England
Once again, I am going to need your recommendations! I visited London once many moons ago but would love to show the girlies the main sights plus Addie wants to see all things Harry Potter.
Dublin, Ireland
We’ve never been to Ireland so I need all the help we can get! I am also up for staying in the countryside some too!
Cannot WAIT to take you all along on our Summer travels once again!
XOXO, Brittany Hayes
Bev says
So exciting! I’m originally from the UK and have lived all over the world with my hubby, now living in NC. We love to travel and I plan our trips myself . Do you do that or use an agent? It’s very time consuming and I research to death lol. We are going to London and Scotland in 2 weeks, I noticed they do small coach trips that are the Outlander tour of HP tour that take you to all the places . We are staying at the Glasshouse in Edinburgh. Oh and in Dublin stay near St Stephans Green it’s so lovely! Enjoy!!
Heather Monroe says
Hey there. First I want to say how much I truly admire and respect all that you have put out there over the last year, it could not have been easy. As a mom of three girls I cannot even imagine the stress and the heart ache you’ve been through just where they are concerned – so kudos to you!
I have wanted to reach out for over a year but then I thought is that weird? Is that too much! But I am tired of giving my girls advice but not taking my own advice so I just decided what the heck. I’ll ask.
I have wanted to start a blog for some time. Not anything design or fashion related – just mom girl daughter – just life – stuff. I have several articles in raw form – but I am just not sure the best way to go about starting a blog. I’ve done some research – and honestly it’s overwhelming. As starting out – what would you suggest or where would you guide a first time blogger? I love to write and at 48 in an unfulfilled marriage I am ready to finally do something for me – and follow my passion and love.
Thanks in advance for any help or guidance or suggestions you can offer. I promise to pay it forward.
All the best
Heather
Michelle says
In Scotland, Culross is a pretty neat old town to see. The Dunmore Pineapple is super cool (and you can even stay there!). Falkirk has the Kelpies and the Falkirk Wheel. These are all very neat Edinburgh too.
Christina says
We just did London/Paris/Amsterdam with my 3 kiddos last year. We did a bike tour through the grounds of Versailles and the kids loved it. Seeing Marie Antoinette’s Hamlet was so picturesque. Our favorite city last summer was Haarlem, Netherlands. Such a beautiful, historic, dreamy city. It’s slightly off the beaten path but easily reachable by train and totally worth it.
Daisy says
I have to travel to Amsterdam for work in the fall and spent the weekend in between in Bruges and fell in love! But I also love Amsterdam, so how about there instead of Brussels?
Liz D says
We took our girls, who look to be about the same age as yours, to London, Paris and Belgium this past summer. We LOVED Bruges and actually opted to skip Brussels so that we could spend an extra day in Bruges. You MUST stay at the Grand Hotel Casselbergh…get the family room with loft. Rent bikes and ride to Damme.
Trisha says
Love to read about your summer travels with your girls…what a dream! I went to Dublin a few years ago and actually stayed in Trim (maybe 45 mins outside of Dublin?). It was lovely and everything you would want from Ireland. Lots of castle tours! I remember especially loving the Boyne Valley Gardens – it was breathtaking. Enjoy!
Lauren says
Not much to see and do in Brussels. I lived there for a summer and on can see it all in a day. I’d suggest checking out Amsterdam for a day or two. Easy drive or train from Brussels and would be fun to bike around, see Anne Frank’s house, The Hague and some great museums. For paris, my absolute favorite thing to do is the Fat Tire bike tour. I did this the first time last year m. I’d visited Paris numerous times before then and was a unique way to see the main spots. Would be a blast for the girls!
Kylie says
Paris! My fav city to visit. I love the area around the Tuileries and the Louvre. The opera is gorgeous and some great cafes around there too. You also must visit the Galleries Lafayette while in that area. Such a beautiful shopping space. I also love a little neighborhood just north of the Eiffel Tower. Cute cafes and some nice air bnb’s for rent. Have so much fun with your girls in that amazing city!
Betsy says
I love that you have built this tradition with your girls! I did a trip with my best girlfriend to Brussels, Bruges, Amsterdam, and Paris 3 years ago. My advice is similar to most of your other comments…do Brussels for only a day. When you are there sign up for a Belgian Chocolate tasting tour. So much fun and you will never look at American chocolate the same again! I would definitely add Amsterdam to your itinerary. It’s only a 2 hour train ride from Brussels. I think people have a misconception that you can’t do Amsterdam with kids because of the Red Light District, but there is SO much more to the city than literally like 2 blocks of debauchery. The Anne Frank house has a ton of history. Biking all over the parks and canals (you’ll get practice on your Versailles bike tour). The museums are amazing too.
I did Edinburgh and London last summer. For Edinburgh, we did the Harry Potter tour on Viator. Definitely cool to see the sights. Also, hike to the top of Arthur’s Seat. It’s basically like Edinburgh’s Stone Mountain with MUCH better views! In London, we did the Mike’s Bikes Tour and visited Wimbledon whole the tournament was going on. If you are into tennis, it’s like going to the Masters.
Hope this helps!!
Melinda says
Hi! We just visited London. So much fun. We loved the following: Harry Potter Walking Tour for Muggles, Fully guided tour of Warner Brothers Studio (take the train)!, seeing Bath, Stone Henge and Windsor Castle. The British Museum is beautiful with a scavenger hunt from THATMuse. Lots of shows!
Kristy Porterfield says
Call me crazy but we had the same trouble in France finding amazing food?!?!? Who would have thought. We live in a very foodie town so we truly struggled! My daughter and I loved the onion soup ironically at a restaurant called Cafe Pairs London. It didn’t get the best reviews but we did enjoy it. We are headed back to tour more of France (she’s in French 4 now) summer 2021 with the whole family! I went with just her last go round and our absolute favorite memory was RIDING THE BIKES on the Palace of Versailles grounds! I literally stopped her and told her, lets smell the smells, feel the breeze blowing in our hair, look all around us and savor this moment we are making together so we never forget. I still remember everything about it! I see her smile, her hair blowing (under the helmet), the joy exuding from her, the sheer pinch me expression she carried…it was a once in a lifetime feeling…that memory!!! Stop in the middle of the moments to truly take the memory and store it forever! XOXOX
Jan says
I agree with the recommendation to consider Amsterdam rather than Brussels. We spent 3 nights in Brussels last fall (2019) — it was just OK, but we would not go there again. Amsterdam is an easy train ride from Brussels. In Amsterdam, I highly recommend touring the Anne Frank house. You must pre-purchase your entry tickets, or you will not be able to get in. Check the website. Tickets are released something like 30 or 60 days ahead. You’ll also want to pre-purchase tickets for the Van Gogh Museum. Also, Haarlem is a charming smaller city, about 15 minute train ride from Amsterdam. There are a lot of cute restaurants and shops. In Haarlem, we enjoyed touring the Corrie Ten Boom house. If you are not familiar with her and the role her family played in WW2, read up on her to see if that interests you for your girls. In Holland, you’ll probably want to look into tours of windmills and tulip farms.
We did spend a day in Bruges, and we enjoyed it. However, just a word of warning, it has become a VERY popular tourist destination. The town itself was quite crowded on the day that we visited — it was a weekday in the off-season. The train we took from Brussels was packed; we had to stand for the entire ride (1 hour +). But it was worth a day trip.
In London, there are Harry Potter tours that you can take. You can also easily find on Pinterest lists of locations that you can locate on your own. Visit the Tower of London, see the Crown Jewels there and take a tour led by a Beefeater. Visiting and touring Tower Bridge is fun. If you like Broadway shows, you might find something you like in London’s West End. The shows are the same quality as Broadway in NYC, but it is a smaller and easier to manage area than the NY theatre district. We Uber in some cities, but not in London. They are restricted where they can go, and they really don’t have a great reputation. Use the London Taxis — they are very professional and are reasonably priced. And, of course, the Tube is great.
Have fun!
Sherri Blakely says
We were just in Brussels this past September. I would suggest just 1 or 2 days in Brussels. We were in Paris September of 2018. If you plan on visiting the Catacombs, purchase your tickets ahead of time. We decided not to purchase ahead of time because we weren’t sure when we wanted to go. The day we went to get tickets, the line was down the street and was a couple hours long, so we decided to skip it. Also, I would suggest that you check into taking the Eurostar train to dome of your destinations. It’s a wonderful way to travel and a lot less hassle than flying. Have a great trip!
Caitlin says
You should check out The Elephant House in Edinburgh! It’s where J.K. Rowling wrote a lot of the first Harry Potter book. I also recommend the Warner Brother’s studio tour in London and stopping by platform 9-3/4 at King’s Cross Station. If you go there at night, once the store closes, you can take your own photos for free and don’t have to wait in a line!
The Ring of Kerry is also really beautiful in Ireland if you have time while you’re there!
Have a great trip!
Laure says
We went to London and Paris two summers ago, and it was amazing! One of our favorite things to do in Paris was to stop by a local market and grab some snacks in the evening and sit in the lawn by the eiffel tower.
We spent most of our time in London though. High tea is a must! Here are a few things we did and highly recommend: Tea at Fortum and Mason to tea, breakfast and tea at Westminster Abbey, globe theater, walk around the borough market (We ate at a place there called Fish and it was delish), take the tube to Greenwich, leaden hall market (this was in Harry Potter), platform 9 3/4, Hamleys toy store.
There are so many fun things! I looked at Alyson Haleys blog to find some ideas and read about the different areas of London.
Cas says
I too am doing an England, Scotland, ad Ireland trip this summer. I have been to England once before and did the London area, Stratford-Upon-Avon, Cotswolds and Southend-on-Sea (where my family resides). All lovely areas. I will definitely be reading all the recommendations coming your way to help plan my trip as well. There is so much I want to see and do!
Channing says
I’m so excited for you and your family! I just went to Paris and London for the first time last fall. I second the people on doing the Harry Potter Warner Brothers Studio Tour it was amazing! Don’t pick a tour time too late because it’s a long tour and you may not be able to get through it all. We had to start rushing towards the end. A place we ate that I loved was burger and lobster, it’s causal and they serve burgers and lobster lol, a reservation helps. In Paris we went to Versailles and that was a lovely time, it’s a full day though so plan on doing nothing else that day. We ate at Pink Mama and the pasta was delicious! Again make a reservation. The street food in general was pretty delicious. The hotel I stayed at had breakfast included which was yummy and a snack time which was nice when we got back from a long day, it was a part of the Hotel Astotel hotels highly recommend. Our room had a balcony which felt so french and lovely. If I think of other recs I will come back and comment again.
Mary Vander Beek says
Absolutely love your posts. What a wonderful trip you are planning. Lots of great suggestions above. Please book any Harry Potter tickets needed now as many days are fully booked early and we were unable to visit due to poor planning on my behalf Oxford and the Cotswolds would be a fun place to visit, try punting down the river, lots of walking and bike riding. Theatre/dance shows in London and don’t forget to check ‘concerts in the park’ in Hyde Park, London.
Donna Troyner says
I just returned from a London & Paris trip last week. I’ve been before, but this was the first time taking my 3 kids. I highly recommend taking private tours in both cities. I’ve used the same tour guides several times. It is worth every cent to be able to tailor the tour to your needs. They have thorough knowledge of the city, as well as the history. I also like that by taking the tour, you can get a quick overview, and then go back & revisit where you would like to explore further. The Crown Jewels in the Tower of London were fascinating! I love Covent Garden for shopping. We stayed in an row home this trip, but in the past I’ve stayed in the Pullman St. Pancras. It’s a great area, and close to the Tube. In Paris, we stayed at the Mansart hotel. It was in the 1st Arrondissement, close to all the sights, except the Eiffel Tour. Our guide took us through the Louvre. We just touched on a handful of the exhibits. I knew my kids would not want to spend an entire day (or more) there. It’s just too overwhelming. Be aware of the taxis there. The drivers can be quite shady, and some will take advantage of tourists by charging ridiculous amounts. We Ubered everywhere, and never had any issues.
cassie // hi sugarplum says
hey girl! we are planning our summer trip, and Provence is on the agenda…so I popped over to see if you’ve been and where you stayed! I love this trip you’ve got going this year, we’ve been to several places. Honestly, I’d skip Brussels (esp after being in charming bruges)…just a big city. We LOVED Copenhagen if you can make that work. Dublin is smaller and more walkable than we expected. The countryside of Ireland and Scotland is stunning, but fairly spread out! Just something to consider.
tamara campbell says
If you have not been to Monet’s Garden in Giverny, I highly recommend taking a trip there from Paris. It’s about a half day from Paris. You can tour his house and gardens. We stopped in the French country side at a wonderful restaurant by a stream, so authentic and not touristy at all. Bon Voyage!