Stephanie Howell

Exploring Italy : Day Trip to Asiago

On Sunday we decided to take a day trip to Asiago. The reasons were twofold.

1. CHEEEEESE. Duh.

2. It is 20 degrees cooler up in the mountains. Yes, please.

 

We'd also heard about a cute little park called Gnome Village and we thought the girls would enjoy it so we got in the car and headed up the mountain. It's about an hour away.

NOTE: If you drive to Asiago make sure to take Dramamine with you. The switchbacks are pretty brutal and I always have one or two girls with a white face and a tummyache.

 

The first thing on our itinerary was Gnome Village. Or in Italian...Villagio degli Gnomi.

In short? It was adorable. I don't know how much fun it would be for anyone much older than Harper's age, but the girls loved it.

We hiked through the woods for a bit. There were balance games and mini adventures along the way. At the end of the hike we found the gnome village.

The scenery was magical. It reminded me of the PNW (we lived in Washington State years ago.)

These little houses were so cute. One had a troll trap around it, one had smoke billowing out of the roof...

And according to the girls, the best ones were the homes that talked to you. Seriously. There's a dude hanging out in an office somewhere with a microphone and he talks back to kids all day. Bahaha!

You should have seen Cate and Lucy's eyes when he said Ciao and asked their names. Good thing they know Italian!

Cate! Lucy! SIAMO GEMELLE!!! (Cate, Lucy, we are twins!)

So cute.

After we explored the village, we drove through some beautiful countryside (see all the cows everywhere?) to find Mom and Dad's magical village...a cheese factory!!!

We stopped in at Caseificio Pennar and spent some time sampling cheeses and decision making. And it was NOT an easy decision to make! We ended up with some fresh milk, butter, and a big ole wedge of traditional Asiago.

The guys there are so friendly and helpful...they were concerned about me being pregnant and waved me away from the cheeses I shouldn't be eating.

You need to know some Italian to visit here, no one really speaks English. I know you can call ahead and schedule tours, too.

After the cheeeeeese we just walked around and explored Asiago.

All in all it was a perfect day trip. Nice and cool, beautiful scenery, gnomes, and amazing cheese.

What more could a girl want?? :)
xoxo

S

Exploring Croatia : Dalmatian Coast

A week ago we took a little family trip to Croatia. It's super easy to get to from Italy (in the car)...parts of Croatia are only a couple of hours away.

The part we went to was about 7 hours away but honestly - it still blows my mind that I can drive out of one country, through another, and to another in 7 hours. I grew up in a state where if you drive for 7 hours...you are still in the same state!

We decided to rent a house in the Trogir/Marina area- about an hour from Split.

As we got close to our destination, I was super interested in the terrain. All rock + olive trees. I'd never seen anything like it, and Jimmy said it really reminded him of the time he spent in Isreal.

 

We stayed in a little apartment (pretty much all Croatia rentals are apartments) about 100 meters above a little cove. This is what it looked like walking down to the cove:

And then...BAM. Turquoise ombré waters and not another soul around. I couldn't believe it.

We LOVE the beach but we are not an elbow-to-elbow Italian beach kind of family. So this was absolutely perfect.

The water was super COLD the first night but we went swimming anyway!

The next morning we headed down to the beach again and we couldn't believe that the water was even more beautiful.

Note: Most Croatian beaches are ROCKY. Water shoes are a must. Sadie stepped on a sea urchin the first night (her shoe fell off) and it was a disaster. Jimmy had to tweeze forever and she spent most of the night and next morning vomiting and having an upset tummy. :( So if you head to Croatia good water shoes are a must.

These are the super steep stairs that led down to our little dream beach. You can't really tell how steep they are from the photo, but trust me. :) They were really fun to go down - especially with beach anticipation aiding us - but not so much fun to go UP. But my little European troupers didn't complain.

'

The next morning the owner of our apartment (such a lovely family) took us out on his boat. He drove us to Old Trogir and a small SANDY beach!

It was wonderful. Lots of snorkeling and skinny dipping.

Not really, but funny story. A LOT has changed since I moved to Europe. One of the many changes is that I no longer make my girls wear one pieces. I no longer wear a once piece. It's just not done here. And it's NOT a big deal. It is not sexualized. Just like breast feeding isn't a big deal and isn't sexualized.

You really won't see a little girl five or under (or ten or under!) wearing a top at all. Their mentality is...they don't have anything to cover, why would they wear a top?

At first I found this shocking. Now I don't. It's the way of life over here. And the girls took to it like a fish to water. Three of the four (the littles and the maniac Sadie) love it. Harper, not so much. She's my modest girl and I love her.

Cate and Lucy asked my why my top wasn't off. Ummmm?

Two nights of three we went into Trogir for dinner. Some of the best meals we've had in Europe. Truly. And y'all...Croatia is SO CHEAP. It's perfect for a family vacation.

Here are some shots I took while walking around Trogir:

Guys- this is NOT what I expected when I ordered fried fish!!!

Sponges and Lavender everywhere:

This was a wonderful trip. I recommend Croatia whole-heartedly. It was family friendly, inexpensive, and everyone was so NICE. Mostly everyone speaks English too, which was weird! But easy.

I had big plans for day trips. Split, Dubrovnik, maybe even an overnight trip to Montenegro. But nope. It was so nice where we were...we just stayed. And chilled. That's hard for me sometimes and I need a reminder to just be at times. It was perfect.

One more story...we drove through Slovenia to and from Croatia and ate lunch there both times.

Every restaurant in Slovenia either has a pig on a spit or a billboard of a pig on a spit. I had to record how the girls felt about this. Please look at Harper vs. Sadie. BAHAHAH!

Looking back at the past 2 years and looking ahead here's a little list of the travel we've done.

Places We've Been

1. Italy (obviously)

2. Germany

3. Austria

4. Switzerland

5. Liechtenstein

6. France

7. Monaco

8. Spain

9. Slovenia

10. Croatia

 

And the other places we haven't made it to:

Places We Still Want To See:

1. Hungary

2. Czech Republic

3. Malta

4. San Marino

5. Vatican City

6. Poland

7. Belgium

8. Ireland

9. Scotland

10. England

11. Greece

12. Montenegro

13. Netherlands

14. Portugal

 

Hmmm. Don't think we can make it to all of those in the next 9 months to a year, but don't think we won't try!

Thanks so much for stopping by today and reading my ramblings. I hope you have a beautiful Monday!

xoxo

S

Exploring Normandy Days 2 and 3 | Honfleur + Étretat

On Friday we woke up, left Rouen and headed to Honfleur.

We rented this adorable fisherman's cottage through Airbnb...I literally squealed and clapped my hands when I saw it.

We spent the day walking and exploring the quaint little town. We ate lots of bread (of course), seafood, and ice cream.

The girls definitely had a favorite part of our trip to Honfleur, and it was the 2 story carousel:

Honfleur at night:

Sadie tried her very first oyster on this trip. HA!

On Saturday we took a day trip to Étretat to see the famous cliffs. I made sure to show the girls Monet's paintings before we left, they thought seeing the cliffs in real life was SUPER cool.

 

We spent several hours just exploring.

Can you find the girls?

On the way back to Honfleur we took a detour and found this house as well as some WW2 bunkers. Jimmy was super pumped about one and I was super pumped about the other. Want to guess who liked what the best? Hehe!

Whew! Days 2 and 3! Tomorrow I will share our time in Bayeux.

Have a beautiful Thursday.

xo

S

Exploring Normandy Day 1 | Rouen

On Thursday we left Venice bright and early and flew into Beauvais Airport in France (about an hour and a half outside of Paris).

This was a trip that we'd been waiting to take for a LONG time. Especially J, Mr. History Major. We sprinkled fun day trips in with the heavy historical stuff and I recommend this trip to everyone. It was wonderful.

We picked up our rental car and drove directly to Rouen, where we were spending one night.

We flew into France smack dab in the middle of a transportation strike. It delayed our flight about an hour and then the metro completely shut down in Rouen so we just walked the entire town.

It was quite lovely. I was worried about the weather on the trip, but we totally lucked out on almost all the days. It was just beautiful.

Here are a few of the things we saw:

 

macarons for days!

her idea, love this girl:

amazing cathedral:

Where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake:

the girls danced for a LONG time to this guy's piano music.

Whew! That's a lot of pictures! But I can't help it. I want to share every moment with y'all. :)

Tomorrow I'll be back with days 2 and 3- Honfleur.

 

xoxo

s

 

Exploring Antibes, France

Last weekend we went to Antibes in the South of France.

It was our second time in the French Riviera and our third time to France. I can tell you, hands down, that my favorite country I've visited is France. I wish I could live there forever.

I love visiting tourist destinations in the off season. I am not very good at sharing spaces with large crowds of people.

We stayed in Old Town Antibes and it was a laid back weekend full of exploring and shopping at the farmer's market.

And bread. Copious amounts of straight out of the oven. Pain au chocolat every morning? Yes please.

Here are some of my favorite snapshots.Enjoy!

xoxo

S

Airbnb Overview

Hey guys! I hope you had a beautiful weekend! We spent some time in Antibes, France and it was wonderful. I'll share more later this week!

I thought I'd do an Airbnb post for all of you - this is the ONLY way we travel in Europe and I often get questions/blog comments/emails asking me how it works and now and then I get requests for a blog post, so I thought I'd write one up.

If you have more specific questions, feel free to ask in the comments and I'll answer there!

 

What is Airbnb? Airbnb is an online community marketplace that connects people looking to rent their homes with people who are looking for accommodations.

 

Why does my family use Airbnb? We use it exclusively. Because of occupancy laws in Europe we would have to rent at least two hotel rooms for my big family. That is NOT financially doable for us. We need room to spread out and a kitchen. Renting an entire apartment/home is perfect for us. Not to mention SO much cheaper. You can rent an entire space for 100 dollars a night. That's not going to happen in the hotel world! Plus- we believe it allows us to see and experience new places in an authentic way.

(Top to Bottom, Left to Right): 1.Tremezzo/Lake Como 2.Antibes,France 3.Florence  4.Tuscany (Pontassieve)  5.Barcelona 6.Positano 7.Florence 8.Antheor,France (French Riviera) 9.Positano 10.Switzerland

 

 

How does it work?

 

1. Sign Up- HERE is my referral link. If you use this link, we will both get travel credit. If you don't want to give me travel credit, that's fine too. Just sign up directly at airbnb.com .

 

2. Search by Location/Date Range/Number of Guests - You don't have to be terribly specific on location. You can even enter an area.

 

3. Narrow it down - When you get to the next page, you can refine your search on the left. I ALWAYS choose "entire place" because shared room/etc wouldn't work for my family. You can also set a price range here, though I rarely do that.

4. Click on the map to zoom. Make sure that the "search when I move the map" option is clicked and look around the map of the city you are staying in. Do research on what the good/fun areas are and look in those spots. If those are too expensive then find an apartment that is close to the metro/public transportation!

 

5. Click on the geotags to see the homes up close. This will give you a thumbnail photo of the house. You can also scroll through the options on the left side of the screen, but I prefer using the map/geotags.

6. Click on the thumbnail to see all of the facts on the lodging- Photos are SO important. If there are no photos, no feedback, or there are 2 photos that are blurry/uploaded in the wrong direction then...NO. Shady. Really take your time. Read every word, every review. Look at photos. Trust your gut.

 

7. Read the reviews closely- This is the best way to get a true sense of what you are getting into. Note: Every airbnb apartment has to have a FIRST time rental. We were first time renters in the Positano apartment and it was probably our favorite. But just be careful. Make sure the owner is verified, etc.

 

8. Send the owner a message if you need clarification - don't be afraid to ask a lot of questions.

 

9. Request to book- Many times if you are messaging with an owner he/she will give you pre-verification. That means you can book as soon as you are ready. There are also instant bookings. But most of the time you will request to book, the owner will approve, and THEN it will be finalized. It usually takes time. Note: Airbnb does not authorize payment to the owner until you have been in your lodging for 24 hours. This is a good thing. :)

 

10. Enjoy your trip!

 

 

Tips:

 

1. Read the fine print. I can't stress this enough. Sometimes there are hidden fees, sometimes the host expects you to pay extra for bed linens (NO THANK YOU). Sometimes the house doesn't supply extra toilet paper or hand soap and you need to bring those things. How is the parking? Are there dedicated parking spots or a garage close by? Check cancellation policies.

2. Don't be afraid to ask for a better price. When you select the number of guests you will notice that sometimes the number really jumps the higher you go. If there is a HUGE price difference between four and six guests I will often email the host and explain that two of the guests are small twins and ask if they will count them as one (or not count them at all) and that we really want to come but we'd love some help with our budget. No one has ever said no.

3. Treat the homes with respect and clean up after yourself. Your host will review you after your stay (as you will review them) and good ratings are crucial for your airbnb experience. I always (even if the host doesn't request it) strip the sheets and place the towels in a pile. We always take the trash out.

 

4. Leave specific feedback after your stays. This will help other airbnb users. We LOVED our home in Switzerland but it smelled like smoke and this wasn't disclosed in the description. It wasn't a huge deal to us but would have been horrible for someone with asthma/allergies. I felt bad sharing that in the review but the host was SO nice...but it's important.

 

 

Okay- that's all I could think of. Hope that it makes sense and is hepful.

Happy Monday!

xoxo

 

Wordless (ish?!?!?) Wednesday | Hallstatt, Austria

Today's post will truly have very few words. Because I'm sharing photos of the most beautiful place I've ever been/seen in my entire life...Hallstatt, Austria.

I've been hearing about Hallstatt for quite a while. One of my sorority sisters lived there for a bit.

Nothing could have prepared me for the beauty of this place. Everything is straight out of a fairy tale. It didn't even seem real. J and I bought ourselves a trip for Christmas and for J's birthday and Hallstatt did not disappoint.

Happy Wednesday! xo

 

 

 

Exploring Italy | Tuscany

 

I just wanted to share some photos from our recent trip to Tuscany. We rented a house about 40 minutes outside of Florence (in Pontassieve) and it was one of the best experiences of my life.

Airbnb came through and yet again I stayed in a dream home. I won't travel another way ever again!

I'll be counting the days until we can go back.

 

 

we explored San Gimignano:

And of course...our beloved Florence.

I dream of the truffle fries at Zaza's. Yum.

The best part of the trip was that we got to spend it not only with each other...but with another family that we love dearly.

Many late nights filled with wine, laughter, and so much talking.

It was a beautiful experience.

I know that we need many more trips to Tuscany in the next year an a half. Next I want to visit Lucca, Volterra, San Marino, Saturnia, and Siena. I think Tuscany officially has my heart and wins the "favorite part of Italy" award.

Happy Thursday, y'all!

xoo

Salzburg, Austria

I fell in love with Salzburg. I really did. I loved everything about it. The food (oh the schnitzel and the sweets!), the people, and oh my Lord the views. It's absolutely stunning. 

Two days was simply NOT enough for this trip.

We had to cut our trip a day short and there was SO much more we wanted to do. The famous coffee houses, shopping, Eagle's Nest, salt mines, a marionette show (they were not performing in October!- the things I want to see are endless.

I have no doubt in my mind that Salzburg warrants another trip. Next time we'll add Hallstatt to the itinerary. And DEFINITELY a Christmas trip.

Here's what we did manage to fit in.

Day 1- Window shopping, exploring Old Town Salzburg, and eating. oh the eating!

I'm so mad we didn't make it back to purchase these outfits I photographed. We got back too late from the tour on Saturday and of course everything was closed on Sunday.

This toy store was incredible. German + Austrian toy stores are my absolute favorite.

Walking, walking, and more walking. Salzburg is easily manageable by foot.

Day 2- Sound of Music tour from Bob's Tours. I would have preferred to do the bike tour but that's obviously not a good fit for our family right now, ha!

My thoughts- It was really fun and as a fan of the movie I thought it was pretty cool. It was long for the kids, I'd recommend it as an adults trip. They did love listening to the soundtrack in the van (they know most of the words) but the tour guide talked too much for Sadie. HA!

I totally get the disdain that Austrians have for the movie but if the tour guide talked about how "schmaltzy" it was one more time I was going to scream. Obvi I know it's cheesy and I'm a freaking American. WE LOVE CHEESE and musicals!

That said, I did really enjoy learning the history of the real Von Trapp family and hearing about the discrepancies between reality and the film. I learned lots of interesting tidbits.

 

The church where Maria and Captain Von Trapp were married in the film:

Mirabell - Yes, The girls sang "Doe a Deer" the entire time we were here.

Schloss Leopoldskron- the lake/exterior. This is where the REAL "Uncle Max" lived. His summer home if you can believe it!

Yes. They climbed the trees. No- they didn't have magical damask curtain play clothes!

The hills are alive!!!

And of course- the gazebo!

Hope y'all have a beautiful Monday!

xo

Barcelona | Meeting Gaudí

 

My favorite thing about Barcelona was the amazing architecture. I'm ashamed to say that I didn't know much (if anything) about Antoni Gaudí before this trip. But it's fair to say that I'm now in love (obsessed?!?!) with his signature whimsical modernism. We spent much of our time in Barcelona touring his creations, as well as creations that were inspired by him.

 

1. Casa Batlló -This was our very first stop on the first day we were in Spain. I had seen this crazy amazing building on Pinterest and knew it warranted a quick stop. It did not disappoint. All six of us sat on the curb in front and just stared for a while.

 

2. La Sagrada Família- Okay. I don't even know where to start. There are no words to adequately explain how beautiful this experience was. I have goose bumps thinking about it.

We opted to do the audio tour (all six of us) and I'm so glad we did. I learned about everything you can imagine. How the church was conceived, the story behind the stained glass, columns, and ceiling. Fascinating.

Around this time in the self guided tour, a choir started singing The Lord's Prayer on my headphones and I lost it a little bit. I just stood there for a moment with tears streaming down my face and then I collected myself.

How great thou art indeed.

How cute are the littles with their headphones? SO SERIOUS.

 

 

3. Park Güell- I felt like Alice in Wonderland at this park. It was simply magical. The girls kept saying they felt like they were in a fairy tale. And I must agree.

So there you have it. Our experience meeting Gaudí. I can't wait to go back again!

xo

Stephanie