travel Archives | Page 2 of 27

snapshots from london

August 27, 2018

jumpsuit // crossbody bag // sandals // floral dress // jon jons // sandals // crossbody bag // sunglasses // strollers

It’s long overdue, but we wanted to share some pictures from our trip to London. Jean’s dad and step-mom (Papa Clare and Gramma Cathy) have lived in London since the 80’s, so it holds a special place in our hearts and continues to be one of our favorite cities! The last time we visited in the summer, Stia was studying abroad for school.

After being there this summer, we can’t imagine not going back next summer. There is just something about London in the summer. The days are long (the sun doesn’t set until 9:30/10) and it just makes you want to stay out and explore all day long. We’ve visited London a lot, but William was adamant on seeing all the sights that he knew from his book! It was so much fun for us to do all the touristy things again with William and Henry!

Snapshots from London

|being tourists|

floral dress // jon jons // sandals // crossbody bag // sunglasses

|charming streets in notting hill|

snapshots from london walking the streets

|walking around piccadilly circus|

eyelet dress // sandals // crossbody bag

|more from piccadilly circus|

|a stop at trafalgar square|

|iced coffee and a favorite gingham dress|

gingham dress // crossbody bag // sandals

|views of the London Eye|

|a stop at Buckingham Palace|

|love shopping along bond street|

snapshots from london babies sleeping on the bus

|sleepy boys on the bus|

polos // striped shorts // bubble

snapshots from london strolling bishops park

|walking around bishops park our first day in london|

gingham dress // hat // strollers

snapshots from london babies sleeping strollers

|our first day there and the boys were such troopers with their stroller naps!|

strollers // blanket // security blanket

|our favorite hotel – the milestone|

black jumpsuit // crossbody bag // sandals // tank // maxi skirt // sandals // crossbody bag // sunglasses

snapshots from london drinks milestone hotel

|always stop at the milestone for drinks|

|the perfect front door|

|we had to stop at elan cafe|

striped dress // crossbody bag // sandals // eyelet dress // sandals // crossbody bag

|first pub stop of the trip|

strollers // jon jons

snapshots from london sunset in back garden

|the prettiest london sunset|

snapshots from london wimbledon tennis championships

|champagne at wimbledon|

striped dress // crossbody bag // sandals // sunglasses // tiered dress // crossbody bag // sandals // sunglasses

|such a fun experience!|

|made it to day one at wimbledon|

striped dress // crossbody bag // sandals // sunglasses

|the cutest brothers at wimbledon|

polo // striped shorts // hat

snapshots from london champagne wimbledon

|the best time at wimbledon|

Cheers,

Stia, Jean and Katherine

a day trip from london to windsor castle

August 13, 2018

// up close with the guards – William didn’t want Gigi to get too close! //

London is one of our favorite places to visit for so many reasons! We love to visit our family there, there are one million things to do in the city and so many wonderful places to go and things to see just a short train ride outside of the city.

Windsor Castle

One of our favorite day trips from London is Windsor. It’s just a short train ride which, if you have children, is an adventure in itself for them! The train is such an easy and relaxing way to travel and before anyone realizes it, you’ve arrived at the station in Windsor and Eton Riverside. Our first stop is usually Windsor Castle which is at the top of a charming street through the village of Windsor. Touring the castle is fairly short; William was interested in everything we saw and all of the stories behind the different rooms. Seeing Queen Mary’s Dollhouse is usually a highlight, but this time it was closed for repairs. Just means we’ll need to go back on our next London trip. The other neat thing about visiting Windsor Castle is seeing the guards up close! They do the official changing of the guards every so often and you can get close enough to take a picture.

St. George’s Chapel

Within Windsor Castle is St. George’s Chapel, which is the place where Prince Harry married Meghan Markle… so of course we had to go see it. The Chapel is fairly small and intimate, holding only 800 people, and it’s absolutely beautiful! Sunday services are held in the Chapel and they are open to the public. We would love to go to a service the next time we’re in London.

Eton

Eton is a quick walk from Windsor Castle, just across the River Thames. It’s a special place with lots of memories for us – we used to always head down to see/feed the swans since we were babies! During our visit this time, William and Henry had their first experience with the swans and they loved it. After seeing the swans, it’s a nice stroll across the river into the town of Eton. The George is a favorite pub there and it’s kind of a tradition for us to stop in for a drink. It was such a beautiful day, so we sat out in the garden for bubbles and beer before hopping on the train back to a London! The perfect ending for a day to trip to Windsor.

on stia: embroidered top/skirt // white jeans // crossbody bag // slide sandals // sunglasses (similar for less)

on jean: denim jumpsuit (more sizes here) // crossbody bag // bow sandals // sunglasses

|the village of windsor|

// walking up to the castle //

|walking up to the castle|

|the viallge of windsor|

|view of the castle from the village|

// in front of St. George’s Chapel //

// celebrating the Royal Air Force 100 year anniversary while we were at Windsor //

// visiting the swans on the river on the way to Eton //

// carrying on the tradtion with the boys //

// he is the happiest little guy //

// a perfect stop after a visit to windsor castle //

// pub stop at The George //

on stia: embroidered top/skirt // white jeans // crossbody bag // slide sandals // sunglasses (similar for less)

on jean: denim jumpsuit (more sizes here) // crossbody bag // bow sandals // sunglasses

Cheers,

Stia, Jean and Katherine

visiting the algarve

August 6, 2018

champagne toast with a view of the sea tivoli hotel algarve

| spectacular views from Sky Bar at the hotel |

// eyelet maxi //paisley maxi

Last week we shared our side trip from London to Lisbon with you guys and we mentioned that we also visited the Algarve area in Portugal as part of that trip. We were so excited to see another part of Europe and being able to incorporate a stay in a new city along with a beach vacation seemed like a win/win to us- and it was! When we read about the Algarve in this Vogue magazine article we were really intrigued (the beaches looked simply amazing!) and decided that’s where we would spend our beach vacation. It’s even more beautiful than the pictures, the food and wine are top notch and the people are so warm and welcoming. It’s also fairly unspoiled and there is even a bit of a language gap between English and Portuguese, which in our opinion only adds to the unique experience. After our time in the Algarve, all we can say is… You guys need to go now!

view of pool and sea tivoli hotel algarve

| views from the hotel lobby and mare bistro |

| first beach day |

Where to Stay

Tivoli Carvoeiro

We chose Tivoli Carvoeiro solely based on this article in Vogue and we are so happy with our choice. The sea views from everywhere in the hotel are fantastic! Now that we’ve been there, we can assure you the views are even more breathtaking in person than what we’ve seen in pictures (if that is even possible!).

Rooms: Tivoli Carvoeiro has a great set-up for families. They have a “family room” which is essentially a one-bedroom, two-bathroom suite with a pull out bed in the living room. We booked a family room with terrace, which gave us a huge outdoor patio and views of the amazing coastline and sea. Jean & Bill were in a one bedroom room, with the same terrace size and view. The rooms are spacious and so light and bright- perfect for a beach getaway.
Breakfast: Breakfast was included in the hotel room rate, so we ate there every morning before heading to the beach. It was a buffet breakfast with so many food items to choose from – plus, a champagne and mimosa bar!
Pool: We spent time by the pool each day after returning from our beach adventure. The views from the pool are spectacular too! There is a full bar and food service at the pool as well.
Sky Bar: The hotel has a rooftop bar with more amazing views. It is such a perfect place to start the evening with a cocktail before heading to dinner- we went here every night.

| beach on day two |

blue & white gingham two piece // coral coverup // eyelet coverup // blue & white one piece // blue & white sun hat // wide brim sun hat // round sunglasses (similar) // tortoise sunglasses

cocktails on the rooftop tivoli hotel algarve

| pre-dinner cocktails at Sky Bar |

// rainbow striped maxi // tortoise sunglasses

babies with view at breakfast tivoli hotel algarve

| views from breakfast at mare bistro |

// sailboat pjs //

| cliffside beach adventures|

Where to Eat

We had such great food and wine in the Algarve. Fortunately we all like fish, including William and Henry, because seafood is abundant and we ate it every day- except our husbands had steak on our last night. Also, the local wine selections are just so good. We tried wines that we’ve never heard of and loved them all. The level of service and cuisine was a pleasant surprise to us and again, everywhere we went William and Henry were warmly welcomed.

O Pescadar Benagil: This restaurant is a very short distance from the hotel in a small village overlooking the sea. The atmosphere was wonderful and the seafood freshly caught and so delicious. Chef brought us the catch of the day to select from and we chose the 4-pound snapper to share. This was our favorite restaurant in the Algarve- authentic, local, charming and it was unbelievably delicious!
Restaurante Rei das Praias: This charming beachfront restaurant is a must for lunch or dinner. The views out to sea are fabulous! The service was wonderful and the food was delicious.
Onze: This restaurant is located in the village of Carvoeiro and has a great view from the open air terrace. We had dinner here on our last night and our husbands had had enough fish, so they ordered the rib eye. They said it was one of the best they’re ever had! And that’s coming from two big Texas steak lovers.
Mare Bistro and The Med at the Tivoli Carveiro: On our first night we had a lovely dinner in Mare Bistro in a private room with a sea view to die for! The seafood was excellent and we had the opportunity to try some “new to us” wines. We enjoyed late afternoon snacks and drinks poolside at The Med. The cocktail selection was great!

|a walk down to the beach|

|pre-dinner drinks at the sky bar|

// floral maxi // tortoise sunglasses //

|gigi and the babies|

// eyelet coverup // blue & white sun hat // tortoise sunglasses

|picture perfect|

Beaches to Visit

There are so. many. beaches. in the Algarve! We were so happy to find the local area of Lagoa published a small handbook guide to the beaches near Carvoiero. It would have been hard to find many of them without the guidebook! And even with the guide, finding some of them was a little challenging, but so worth the effort once we arrived!

Praia da Marinha: This was the first beach we visited and it was beautiful. There are places to buy an umbrella/sunscreen and some food options, too. It was named one of the top beaches in the world – so it was also very busy.
Praia da Carvalho: You enter a tunnel through the rocks and once you make it down the steps, you are greeted with a breathtaking beach! There were people cliff jumping and great areas for the boys to play.
Praia De Vale Centeanes: We stopped by this beach after lunch one day and William loved exploring the caves!
Praia de Albandeira: This was the beach we visited on our last day and it was our favorite beach. It was quiet, and a huge rock separates the beach into two.

|kisses from henry|

// coral coverup // white ruffle two piece // wide brim sun hat // round sunglasses (similar)

baby boys with sea view algarve portugal

|the best little travelers|

|took these stairs and tunnel down to the beach|

|soaking up that algarve sun|

//eyelet coverup // lemon print one piece // blue & white sun hat // tortoise sunglasses

// blue & white one piece // blue & white sun hat // tortoise sunglasses

What to Wear

The Algarve is a beach area, so the dress code is basically casual, but definitely resort casual for dinner. During the day swimsuits and coverups were our uniform. At night we would freshen up and change in to a casual maxi dress or sundress. It is definitely a more relaxed vibe than Lisbon.

// coral coverup // white ruffle two piece // wide brim sun hat

|dinner at our favorite spot|

|sunset from the hotel|

|aperol spritz – cheers!|

Things to Know

Our hotel provided towels for the beach which was very convenient.
Bring plenty of sunscreen – we went through 1.5 bottles while we were there!
Buy a beach umbrella in town or from one of the local vendors near the beach.
We also bought a bucket and shovels for William and Henry to play in the sand.
Bring snacks and water. Many of the beaches don’t have any food services or food nearby. The guidebook to the beaches indicate which beaches have services and which don’t, so there aren’t any surprises when arriving at the beach.
Some of the beaches are challenging to reach. Some have a lot of stairs to reach the beach, some have no stairs but a climb. We had more fun walking through caves and tunnels to reach some of the beaches, but we also were worn out from some the hikes back up from the beach! And, be aware if you are traveling with kids – there are beaches that aren’t stroller accessible.