Creative Juice

Winter Break

This trip was perfection!

We are back from sunny Puerto Rico - a trip planned late last summer in anticipation of a cold winter. Turns out winter has been mild in DC but that doesn't change the fact that vacationing on a tropical island is a complete treat. Waaaarrrm. 

We stayed with friends at their beach house and alternated beach days with day trips. We visited El Yunque, Old San Juan, El Morro Fort, the Camuay Cave and the Arecibo Observatory. Each place was so different from the next but everywhere you see hills covered completely with dense green trees. We bought lunch and fruits from vendors on the side of the road and discovered mofongo, trifongo and, my favorite, alcapurrias. 

Beach days were completely chill. Thierry and I took turns waking up at the break of dawn with Lucien which was hard to do even on vacation! Other than that, the rhythm was perfect for everyone - trés important when traveling with kids. A morning swim. A trip to the grocery store. A game of cards. Reading in the hammock. Barbecues, piña coladas, gigantic avocados. Snorkeling, body boarding, kayaking. And watching the Oscars.

Smartphone or camera? This was the first time (I think) that we didn't take our digital SLR on a trip and I didn't miss it. Andrea and Maxi each took their cameras. All my photos were taken with the iPhone 4s using the Camera+ app. Totally practical. You can see more here.

Hello, Good-bye

Thank you everyone for all the birthday wishes. It's one of my favorite aspects of social media - the ability to celebrate good times with everyone.

Our summer vacation is over. I am so happy about all the nice things we got to do with friends and family. Also, I feel like we aren't traveling too far away and that makes it easier to say our good-byes. As it happens each time vacation comes to an end, I am ready to go home.

Later today I will board a plane with our three boys to our next adventure and new home - D.C! I am definitely happy and mostly excited. I know it will be great. But I am also stressed and a little nervous because of the few unknowns. Our temporary living arrangement still has a question mark on it. The container with our stuff has arrived to the states but has not cleared customs. And we haven't been able to get as much as a guess as to when we can expect it to arrive in D.C. And as happy as we are to already have our house, it's empty! Yeah. Our options are to rent furniture or live in a hotel.

In the meantime, our plan is to enjoy the last week before school starts by touring our new city. I also have to get us ready for the new school year. I love new school supplies! Don't you?

Travel + Kids : Layover in Schiphol Airport, Part Two

Here is part two of why I like stopping over at Schiphol Airport while traveling with our kids. (You can read part one here.)

The Baby Care Lounge is the place to be if you have a little one. It is right off of the living rooms. It's a dimly-lit room equipped with changing table, sinks and microwave. A microwave is sometimes the hardest thing to find when you're on the road. Again, considering the traffic this room receives, it is clean and spacious enough to accommodate many families.

There are also six or seven pods (top photo). Inside each pod there is a circle-shaped couch and in the middle there is a crib and a chair. The translucent curtain provides privacy for the sleeping baby and family. It is a very quiet place. Excellent for nursing, napping or simply providing some calm for the smallest travellers.

So there you have it. This place has my vote. There are also shops and restaurants and all the regular airport stuff at Schiphol Airport. And I love checking those areas out too. (There is even a Starbucks.) But what I like so much about the Holland Boulevard area is that it feels like the well being of the traveller has been wholly considered - and it's free! Isn't that a great feeling?

Happy Sunday! 

Summer in Panama, Part One

We've been in Panama for three weeks now and have definitely settled into a relaxed summer routine. It's so nice to plan our days around visiting with friends and family. It's even nicer to wake up everyday and know that our little family of five can spend the whole day together. Or not. We hired a nanny during our month-long stay so Thierry and I could do grown-up stuff too.

Las Cumbres is the name of my grandparents house. My grandfather built it for his young family upon returning from the University of Texas in 1949. It's thrity minutes from Panama City. This is where we are staying and spend a big part of each day. There is tons of space for our boys to stretch their legs and explore. There are dogs and parrots and toucans. There are even bats! Yikes.

Another feature at Las Cumbres is this scale. I know, not exactly vacation fare. But Thierry and I don't own a scale and since I'm not back to my pre-pregnancy weight I pretty much obssess about weighing myself every morning. So far, I've gained a pound. That pound came by way of serious effort on my part not to indulge in all the fried deliciousness that is available.

Instead I've been trying to eat the freshest fare available. Like ceviche. You can order it everywhere you go in Panama.

Another place we have been spending lots of time is at the pool. Eating fresh fruit. And some fried stuff too. Like this fish:

 

Tomorrow we baptize our little Lucien. (By the way, he turned a year old and I have a post about that too!) A celebration with friends and family is in order. Blogging is at an all time low this summer since I haven't scheduled time to write down my thoughts. Hope everyone is enjoying summer (regardless the weather!). 

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Free Old Sticky Tape Textures and PS Brushes used to style this post's photos from Fuzzimo (found via Pugly Pixel).

Travel + Kids : Layover in Schiphol Airport, Part One

We had a five hour layover in Amsterdam on our way to Panama two weeks ago. It was, again, a chance to experience Schiphol Airport with kids. We started taking this route a few years ago when KLM added a direct flight from Amsterdam to Panama. This airport has changed my travel experience with young kids so I prepared a two-part post to show why that is.

Although the 11 hour flight is a killer (you can read how we stay busy here), not having to changes planes in Miami or Atlanta is a plus. Another plus is Holland Boulevard, home away from home to weary travellers, smack in the middle of Schiphol Airport. 

The Living Rooms It was already rocking last year, but they seem to have re-done the living room area. Instead of one big area, they broke it down to create six little living rooms. Each one decorated differently with nice area rugs, comfy chairs, couches and a partition that has a screen and living room scene projected onto it. Some of the screens play video of a fireplace. It feels very cozy. (You can see the partition best on the top photo.) 

There is a grand piano in one of the living rooms with a hired musician (!) who takes requests and draws a serious crowd. While I was there, he invited a traveller who was carrying an instrument to play a duet. Pretty bad ass.

Right next to the living rooms is an open space library (with nice kids' books) and writing desks.

The Playroom, known as Kids Forest, is right off of the living rooms. There are three wood structures that resemble tree houses with slides. It's convenient because you can sit and check e-mails or put your feet up while older kids play right next door. I didn't get a good photo but you can see part of one structure in the photo above. And if you're a little germ-a-phobic (like I tend to be), I can say that the area is quite clean relative to the amount of passengers that pass through there.

Have you ever seen an airport like this? Meet me for more on Schiphol Airport later this week!