Things I write about on this blog
Daily life. I write about the daily grind of two working parents (me and my partner). Sometimes it’s great, sometimes it sucks. Parenting. The joys and the burdens of parenting, solo parenting, parenting while working full time, kindergarten and second grade. Kids’ after school activities. New Jersey. We are in central NJ so it inevitably…
Paris: the last stop
I started typing this post from a chair in the Luxembourg Gardens, and wondered how beautiful this place might be in the fall. I finished it two days later, in New Jersey. We are back home! The kids and I handed in our car last Thursday, in Strasbourg, and took a train to Paris. Two…
Alsace: slowing down
We had six nights in Alsace, and that was long enough for me to lean into relaxation. I noticed that I did not feel as rushed and took it easy on the kids and activities. I also did less driving and drove shorter distances. Just about time, since it was the very last region before…
Burgundy: wish we had more time…
The reason we only have three days in Burgundy is this: Alsace is too far to drive to in one day from Loire: 7+ hours. And I just cannot spend more than 5 hours in the car with the kids… Three days is nowhere near enough to see the region of Burgundy. But I guess…
Loire valley: a few castles and some rest
On 07/25 we drove which seemed like alllll day from Dordogne to the Loire valley. A long drive of about 5 hours with a stop in a village called Colonges la Rouge where all buildings are made with red brick/stone hence the name! Loire looked different from Provence and Dordogne. I don’t wanna say less…
Dordogne: prehistory and truffles
Dordogne is named after the river Dordogne, but another name to the region is Perigord. Subsequently, Perigord is divided into four parts, by color: green, white, purple, and black. Perigord as a region is huge, basically, one can spend a month just there. So we only stuck to Perigord Noir (Black Perigord). In this area,…
Downtime
The total time of our adventure in France is 33 days (including travel from and to the US). That is a long time to be away from home but it also fulfills my life goal “to see France, slowly and thoroughly.” We have five regions that we will visit and we are currently on region…
routine, lavender, cats, beach
Routine. Since my last post, we wrapped up our adventures in Provence and, after about six hours, made it to Dordogne. After the initial shock of jet lag cleared up, the kids and I fell into sort of a routine. I wake up, then my son, he hangs with me while I have coffee, then…
Provence: first impressions
I don’t wanna start the post with OMG but I will. OMG. Provence is beautiful. The cypress trees, olive trees, rows of grape plants, yellow grass, stone houses with violet or blue shutters. Very bright, almost blinding sunshine. It is gorgeous. We made it to Provence by way of Brussels then Marseille. This was the…
Spring break 2025: the drive+PA+Longwood Gardens
On Thursday was the longest leg of our roadtrip- we drove for 6+ hours. We stopped every hour: to get coffee, to get lunch, to stretch our legs, to get some fresh air. We drove from the Outer banks, North Carolina to Brandywine, Delaware. Why there? The Longwood Gardens. A lunch stop in Virginia revealed…
Spring break 2025: Outer Banks, NC
From Chincoteague we made our way down south. We had a four hour drive but it seemed like 8. It was much warmer than VA, which is nice but the kids were a bit fed up I think. We stayed in OBX (Outer banks) for a total of three nights. T booked us a room…
Spring Break 2025: Chincoteague, VA
We left New Jersey on Sunday morning, and after about 4 stops in different states we arrived on Chincoteague (pronounced cheenkoteegh) island. There is Assateague and Chincoteague part of this nature reserve. We were on the Chincoteague side in Virginia. Assateague entrance is in Maryland and we didn’t go to there. The reserve itself is…
Spring breaks of years past
How I went down the rabbit hole of looking at pictures of last spring breaks is a mystery but here we are. Spring break holds a special place in my heart. As a teacher it’s a guaranteed week off, at least. A vacation or a staycation, it is an excellent opportunity to set your head…
The day before Thanksgiving + France trip *almost* finalized
Today was a really good day! I had early dismissal, meaning that I was home at around 1PM. The kids had a day off school so they drove T crazy while he tried to work from home. After dismissal, I drove home, and had some time with L while R was taking a nap. She…
PA Road Trip Lessons
1. I brought my electric kettle, instant coffee, and powdered cream from work with us to PA. At the farm cottage, I filled it up with water, boiled it, and had my coffee at 5am when I was up. The house had a full kitchen, but there was no need to go out into the…
Lancaster Central Market
We are back from Lancaster, Co., PA! This morning, we were up early as per usual. I read, they played, watched cartoons, did Legos. After breakfast (a lot of NJ people staying on the farm!), we packed up the car and explored the Central market in Lancaster-city. The Central Market is a big farmers market…
Morning Chores
We are staying on a farm in Lancaster Co., PA. The description said “kids will have morning chores.” Me: “we’ll be there, not a minute late!” The chores are VERY hands on. L milked a cow: Both kids fed the chickens and gathered eggs: Then the kids gave the pigmy goats their minerals And mixed…
Weekend recap/Mid Week check in/Summer Plans
On Friday night… we had hayrides and campfires. It’s a reservation event that we go to every year. In essence, they have a singer, a big campfire, marshmallows, hot chocolate and a hay rides pulled by a tractor throughout the dark and spooky reservation. I love the event because it has everything you’d want: sweets,…
Italy, day 15: going home
As I type this from my bucolic spot in New Jersey, I feel immense gratitude for this trip. I am grateful that nobody got seriously sick except a few soar throats for the three of us; no trip interruptions occurred; no one was in danger at any moment; and we benefitted from the Italian infrastructure…
Italy, day 14: a day in transit+Naples
I am SO tired. Today we made a train journey from Capo Vaticano to Naples. It took about 5 hours. The whole story below. We first took a car to the train station, spent an hour and a half getting to Lamezia. In Lamezia, we changed trains and spent about 3 hours on the train…
Italy, day 11 and 12: routines!
To remind myself as I look back at this time next year of how our days were at Capo Valicano… Although we are at the Capo Vaticano apartment for only one week, we have fallen into a routine of sorts. In the morning I have coffee, the kids have their cereal, brush their teeth, have…
Italy, day 10: Capo Vaticano
T texted me earlier today: “what did you guys do today?” Me: “feels like absolutely nothing.” It was a good day but we didn’t go anywhere. We stayed here, at the villagio, and did the beach in the morning, bummed around the apartment for a bit, went to lunch, took a nap, walked to the…
Italy, day 9: Tropea
This morning we took a train to Tropea – a town on the sea with amazing views, local architecture and places to eat. I initially wanted to stay in Tropea but it was SO expensive – think 2K for one week. Our accommodation, with a kitchenette, air conditioning, and a fabulous view was $1200 for…
Italy, days 7 and 8: Calabria!
Day 7 was our communing day: Minori on the Amalfi coast to Capo Vaticano in Calabria. We left early in the morning, took a taxi to the Salerno train station. I expected Salerno train station to be big but no, it was a very manageable size. Just 7 platforms. Lots of stairs but one elevator.…
Italy, day 6: a visit to Ravello
Today was our last day on the Amalfi coast! Tomorrow morning, we are taking a train to Calabria, and T is catching a plane back home. The kids are I were up relatively early to visit Ravello, a village up in the mountains. We took a bus to Amalfi, then another bus to Ravello. While…
Italy, day 5: visiting other towns
This morning we took off quite early with an objective to visit Cetara and Vietri sul Mare. Amalfi coast has many towns, and it’s not possible to visit them all in one week, but two, in addition to your base, is totally manageable. From Minori, we took a ferry boat to Cetara. Thirty minutes later…
Italy, day 4: Solo day + Path of the Gods
Today was a Path of Gods hike. I was initially supposed to bring L but I’m glad I didn’t – the hike is for more resilient kids. I meant it with absolute love but she could not have done it. The basics: 1. The hike is about three hours 2. The trail is manageable- not…
Italy, day 3: heat, struggles, beach
Today we slept in… To my horror, the kids woke T and I up at 9:45am! We bumbed around the apartment, the went out for a very salty breakfast. The omelette was salty, the bacon was salty, the tomatoes were salty. Everything was salty! I drank a gallon of water afterwards. R was having a…
Italy, day 2: the Walk of Lemons + Beach
This morning we did a Sendero dei Limoni- the Lemon Walk. It runs from Minori to Maiori, two neighboring towns, and takes about one hour to complete. For us, it was close to two hours. Stairs. So many stairs. It makes sense because you are going up and down the side of a mountain. It’s…
Italy, Day 1: a haunted Airbnb building and holy jet lag
It is 1am Italian time, and T and I are wide awake because we are still on the New Jersey time. What is better to do than to update the blog? Will only give the highlights of day 1. 1. Our Airbnb building is so old, is definitely NOT up to code 🤣, and it…
Mom of Children 