Hiking to the Sanctuary on the Summit of Monte Isola

On our last full day in Italy, we decided to end it with a hike to the sanctuary on the highest point of Monte Isola. If you missed the post all about Monte Isola (Europe's largest lake island), you can read it here. While a relatively easy afternoon hike for Adam and I, the elevation and distance was going to prove to be a hurdle for our three year old. Our original plan was to take the bus most of the way, to the last stop on the island for the shuttle in the town of Cure. From there, it would be about a 20 minute walk along the trail to the sanctuary. 

Our plan started to get a bit muddled when we started to plan out the details. Information on the shuttle schedule is very confusing (remember, not a touristy place) and the sign on the ferry made it seem like the shuttle to Cure was a continuous thing. Turns out, we missed the first shuttle and then found out it would be over an hour for the next one. The real kicker? The next shuttle was also after the sanctuary gates closed at 6pm, defeating the whole point of the hike. The good news was that I had packed my Omnibaby kid carrier and we also had or Cybex Libelle travel stroller and just decided to hike a bit, enjoy the view, and turn around when we felt like it.

Lake Iseo and Monte Isola - Italy's quiet lake and Europe's largest lake island

You probably know the saying, popular places are popular for a reason. Sometimes I embrace this as I head out to do something "touristy" - packed with extra patience and high expectations but often, I try to find the quieter options, stay in the smaller towns. and choose the lesser known attractions. 

When we headed to northern Italy, I got the normal questions "are you visiting Milan? Lake Como? Venice?" and the answers surprised everyone. While I'm sure these places are lovely, I want to travel and not see American tourists, I want to find the local spots and more hidden places. So on my first trip to Italy, we drove right past Milan, decided to skip Como, and saved Venice for another time. 

3 Days along the Costa Brava in Spain

Our trip to Barcelona was loosely planned meaning, we really didn't have much of a plan. If you read my first Spain post, you knew that we did little prep for this trip thanks to the overwhelming exhaustion and sleep deprivation that comes with raising young kids. We knew we were going to spent the first three days in Barcelona but the next three days we had a hotel a little up the cost in Santa Susanna and no real plans besides relaxing at a beach resort.

After talking to our tour guides in Barcelona who were born and raised in the area, it was clear that we had to rent a car and travel up the coast along the Costa Brava. They told us of crystal clear water, quiet fishing villages, beautiful towns, and glorious beaches where we could soak up the Spanish sunshine. That was all I needed to hear and we quickly headed to the rental counter and eventually north along the Catalan Coast. 

A Week in Spain: Part 1 - Three days in Barcelona

My taste of a Spanish summer went a little like this:

A week of eating whatever I wanted, not a care about a calorie. A week of actual rest and relaxation, the kind I haven't felt since having kids, that feeling of being my "old" self before kids, while fiercely missing my kids. It started with a few nights in the city, riding the metro, eating and walking our way through one of the best restaurant scenes, covering double digit miles a day. We tasted the city on a walking food tour, stopped for a catamaran sunset sail sipping cava, and met some locals with tango lessons at their house. We left the city behind to see the famous monastery set into the mountainside. After three nights, we traded our train tickets for our European sized rental car and realized first hand the trouble with the EV system in Europe. Our car, quickly renamed the go kart, left Barcelona behind and took us an hour up the coast to the cute little touristy beach and boardwalk town of Santa Susanna. From there, things slowed down as we sat by the beach or walked the boardwalk at night. We took little day trips to the most beautiful little Spanish fishing villages and beach towns nestled in coves along the rocky coast known as Costa Brava. Little beach shops sold snorkel gear and floats, the most quaint shops and restaurants, and gelato shops could be found around every corner. The beach is a full day affair where you can find kids diving of rocks, topless bathers evading tan lines, couples snoozing on the pebbled beaches, and families playing in the sun.

Tour Paris by Boat - Seine River Cruise

Paris is a dreamy city.  Actually, it's a gilded, ornate, historic, romantic, beautiful, river bound dreamy city.  

You hear about it all the time, about just how beautiful and magical of a city it is.   And then you step off the plane and onto the train and after about 40 minutes, you are there - walking along with this iconic city that pulses along the river.  

During the day it's blue skies and sidewalk cafes and statues.  But at night - it comes alive - the River Seine being the epicenter.  People pack picnics and drink wine with their legs dangling over the riverbank; they dance, they walk hand in hand and they kiss.  It's the kind of city you need to experience for yourself, walking over symbolic bridges, strolling with a baguette past historic buildings many of which now house beautiful museums, and sipping wine along one of the thousand street cafes.  Baguettes, historic buildings, and ornate bridges - welcome to Paris.  

Walking over one of Paris' 37 bridges

One of my unexpected favorite parts about Paris was the bridges.  Lucky for me, there was no shortage of bridges to gawk over.  Thirty-seven to be exact.  Some are gilded while some are decorated with ornate sculptures, but they all have interesting names and a story behind their construction.  Some of the bridges were built for World Fairs, some were built to symbolize relations with other countries, and some were built for the people themselves.  Walk over the bridges and along the river Seine and it's easy to imagine Paris back in the day of World Fairs and War.  It may be obvious but one of the best ways to see these bridges is by boat.  So how did I start my stay in Paris? With a trip down the Seine of course.  

All About Icelandic Horses- riding tours and fun facts

Riding horses is something I rarely do on vacation.  It seems silly to pay all this money to go ride a school-broke lesson horse that usually involves 95% walking on a dirt path with 20 other people who have never ridden a horse before.  BUT, Iceland was going to be an exception to this rule.  Icelandic horses are so unique, and the countries landscape so insanely beautiful, that I couldn't pass the opportunity to tolt (more on that later) around the Icelandic countryside, taking in the views of Iceland from the saddle.  If I go back to Iceland, I would certainly sign up for one of the more advanced overnight tours instead of the 2 hour session open to all groups.  I have so much to tell you about our tour, who we used, how much we paid, and why we went riding but first, it's time for some fun facts.