Category Archives: travel

canal st. martin with kids

kids-canal-st-martin

 

Believe it or not, I still have content to share from our Paris trip…too much goodness! We dedicated a morning to Canal St. Martin in the 10th arrondissement, one of my favorite neighborhoods. We stopped at Ten Belles for our caffeine fix – don’t miss it if you’re in the neighborhood. From there we strolled down to the Canal and set the kids free. As I’ve said before, their favorite places (as toddlers) are where they can run and play freely, such as Jardin des Plantes + Palais Royal. As luck would have it, a picture perfect barge was docking right as we arrived. Paris can be such a show-off, am I right?!

 

playing-canal-st-martin

henry-canal

marieatcanal

 

They (attempted to) skip stones à la Amélie, frolicked, giggled, and talked to pigeons. As snack time approached and they became a bit more rowdy, they took a serious interest in the rails along the canal. As dirty as we knew they were, we just couldn’t resist their cuteness and laughter so we let them slide and crawl along. Sometimes you just have to let them be little. We strapped them back into our stroller (so glad we brought it with us) and made our way to (nearby) Du Pain et Des Idées for a morning treat + my favorite children’s boutique, Centre Commercial Kids. A perfectly Parisian morning!

 

paris-with-toddlers

 

Canal Saint – Martin | 75010 Paris

jane’s carousel

janes-carousel-nyc

 

I first learned of Jane’s Carousel when I was pregnant with Henry + Marie, and have been wanting to take them there ever since. We made a day of it last weekend after being in the city to attend the #citykidpopup! Situated in the most beautiful spot in the Brooklyn Bridge Park – the views are incredible. You can add this to the long list of why I (we) love Brooklyn so much. I’m sharing the full story (and many more photos + video) on Steller – if you don’t yet have the app I highly recommend it, but you can also view it online (follow the link below). Since it’s open year-round, we can’t wait to return!

see the full story on steller

travelogue: san francisco

walking-the-golden-gate-bridge

After our time in Los Angeles, we drove up the coast (taking the 1, the 5, and the 101!) to San Francisco. We arrived at night so we rested and had a busy first day. As you can imagine, the first thing on the agenda was seeing the bridge (shocker). I’m thankful for mr. fleurishing sneaking this shot, as I stood in awe of the bridge. Finally getting to the city was a bit emotional for me…my grandfather loved coming here, and waxed poetic about the city. When he decided (at the age of 70) to learn to play the piano, the first song he chose was “I left my heart in San Francisco”. We played (and sang) it together, and to this day it’s the one + only song I can play on the piano. I get teary eyed every time I hear it. Seeing the Golden Gate Bridge for the first time took my breath away, even with the fog, and brought back very special memories.

golden-gate-bridge-fog

The enormity of the bridge really is awe-inspiring, and the fog manages to make it even more spectacular. It is incredible how you can’t even see it, and then as you drive across, the ghostly towers emerge as you pass under them. The view from Vista Point is stunning, and getting on the other side of the fog in the sunshine, and watching it roll across the bay is so fascinating. I find fog to be simultaneously freaky and amazing. After exploring and walking a bit of the bridge (holy wind and noise) we drove back down to the base of the bridge, for the view from Fort Point. The kids were having a minor (hangry) meltdown, so I jumped out of the car to get these photos quickly. Ah, the reality of traveling with toddlers. I managed to avoid getting wet while taking these, although a few other people didn’t have the same luck.

golden-gate-bridge-fort-point-view

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our poconos getaway

dockandsky

steamy-lake-sunrise

 

I’m feeling pretty blissed out after spending last week and Labor Day weekend in the Poconos. After basically an entire month of moving and hard labor, the timing was perfect – we’ve never needed a break more. The Poconos has become a summer tradition for us…last year we rented a home at Lake Naomi after my good friend Chanee spoke so highly of it, and loved it so much we made plans to return this summer. We were fortunate enough to stay at Chanee’s beautiful vacation home there (#kodailakehouse), as her + her husband recently moved to California and are renting it out! As a textile designer, her design aesthetic is amazing…the lake house is cozy and comfortable, but modernized + luxe thanks to her touch. Every morning I walked down to the dock to watch the sunrise, often with Henry by my side. With steam rising from the lake and the peaceful, soft sounds of the water and wildlife, it was just what the doctor ordered.

 

kodai-lakehouse

followtheferns

henryetmarieatlake

playing-on-the-beach

 

We developed a relaxing rhythm of heading down the fern path to the our little beach, playing in the sand, snacking on the dock, and kayaking. Henry and Marie hadn’t stopped talking about kayaking since we first did it last year, so that was a priority for us. We managed to kayak every day, and even worked in a canoe ride (which lasted all of five minutes due to my anxiety over the kids possibly tipping us). One morning we drove to Bushkill Falls and hiked as a family to see “the niagara of Pennsylvania”…it was fun for the kids to try a more difficult trail this year, and the main waterfall is quite impressive. I highly recommend a visit if you’re in the Poconos, especially with kids.

 

bushkill-falls

lookingatfalls

 

S’mores just had to happen. While the kids are a bit too young to fully participate, we let them spear the marshmallows and watch as we roasted them. Surprisingly, they weren’t that into eating them, but that just meant more for us! I hadn’t done it in years, but thankfully mr. fleurishing remembered some crucial s’mores skills. I was reminded during this vacation that relaxing is a skill, and I had *almost* perfected it by the time we had to leave, ha. It’s always hard to go back to reality after vacation, but we left feeling refreshed + rejuvenated. We’ll be returning next year for sure!

 

making-smores

smores

 

farewell summer!

travelogue: los angeles

echo-park-lake-lilies

 

Please pardon the blog + social media silence…we are still in the midst of moving but I’m back with a recap of our time in LA! I’ve never actually done a typical “travelogue” before – I usually prefer to break up our explorations into individual posts. However I feel this approach works best for our CA trip, so here goes nothing. Pardon the length, as I’m covering Los Angeles all in one. Upon arrival (and after a stop at In-N-Out Burger), we checked into our airbnb rental….a modern craftsman in Echo Park. I wasn’t familiar with the neighborhood, but was pleasantly surprised at how family-friendly and welcoming it was – I could totally imagine us living there. Our first outing was to the nearby Echo Park Lake, which enticed us with it’s beautifully groomed landscape, playground, and paddle boats. The kids especially loved the paddling part, of course. Despite the heat, the lack of humidity + predictable sunshine made for a real treat for our entire visit.

 

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