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Brittany McAnally

Photographer and Virtual Assistant

London, England with Two Children under 4!

London was sooooo much fun! I’m not one to like the normal “tourist sites” or the “big cities” that everyone visits! I tend to enjoy the more low-key, small countries that don’t get much credit. However, London threw that all out the window, and I’m so glad that it did! I LOVED it! 

Where do I begin… Let’s see we flew out to London on Wednesday, and Tyler arrived on Tuesday which worked out great because he got to see and do everything he wanted to do before we arrived. The boys and I arrived very late on Wednesday due to our flight being delayed two and a half hours! (Yes I survived a delayed flight, with two children under the age of 4 wayyy past their bedtimes! Barely) We were a hot mess! 

When we arrived we had a 1-hour drive to our hotel. (The airports are both about 1 hour away from central London) I wouldn’t suggest taking the train from the airport with kids, because of the luggage, and the stroller (aka buggy). We took a cab from the airport to the hotel, and although it was a bit pricey it worked out well because both our children were DONE! 

The next day Thursday, Tyler had to work so the boys and I ventured out to London on our own! I originally planned on not bringing a stroller and making him walk/ carrying him.  I made it all day on Thursday we walked 25,000 steps (Thanks, Apple watch) and I didn’t have a stroller!! Which made life easier on the train (since not all train stations have an elevator) But really stinks when you have to get off the train and walk a mile to your destination. 

Our first stop was the Natural History Museum when I was researching places to visit in London with children The Natural History Museum kept popping up and I now get it! It was AWESOME and FREE!!! The boys and I spent 3.5 hours in this museum and I still think we didn’t see everything! It was AMAZING and completely breathtaking. I didn’t bring my camera since I was carrying Heath, so all my images are from the iPhone… (yes I know!) 

We then headed over to the Science Museum it’s FREE too! Added bonus it’s right next door!  We spent about an hour in there looking around, Heath fell asleep so I ended up sitting on a bench while Tyler and Nolan did the most exploring. 

We then headed back to the hotel to rest! When we all woke up from our nap we decided to hit up the parks, and see the palace! We ended up walking around the park and hitting up the BIG landmarks in Westminster. 

Here’s a picture of Heath and I at the Palace! 

Right beside the palace is a park that you can walk through and get a GREAT view of the London Eye. Below is probably one of my favorite pictures from our London trip. 

The next day the boys and I explored the city alone, we mostly played in the parks but I got brave and decided to take them to Covent Garden! It was well worth the trip alone with two kiddos, lots of WONDERFUL entertainment! My children had a BLAST! Below is an image of our favorite performers we saw that day. 

The next day was our last day in London and I had read a TON of blogs about the Portobello Market and I knew I wanted to spend my Saturday morning looking for a unique souvenir! 

BOY did I find the most unique, special souvenir that I will keep for forever! I love bags, and I especially love small businesses that also give back to people too. I fell in love with Vida Vida I love their story! Below is a picture of my the backpack that I purchased, the picture is from their website and if you click on the image it will take you to where you can purchase the backpack for yourself! I encourage that you read about their story first, It will definitely give purchasing a bag a GREAT story and purpose. (Which I LOVE!) I LOVE buying things that I can tell a story about! 

Isn’t she lovely?! Seriously I just bought two more bags on our trip from Italy and I haven’t even touched them because I’m so in LOVE with this bag! It’s seriously the perfect mommy bag! I can stuff diapers, clothing, buckets (for the play areas at coffee shops) Wipes, basically everything along with the kitchen sink! Oh it also has a TON of pockets (two on the side, and two inside!) 

After the market, we decided to head over to the London Bridge, because you don’t go to London and not go to the London Bridge. It was very surreal visiting the bridge less than one week after the London Bridge attack, but we did it and it was very safe, and BEAUTIFUL! I just remember walking across the bridge humming the London Bridge’s Song. 

After London Bridge, we decided to over to say goodbye to Nolan’s personal favorite Big Ben! He loved Big Ben so much he asked if I could buy him a book on the clock! If you’d like to purchase the book for your kiddos before your trip to London it’s called Big Ben (Building on a Dream Kids as Architects and Engineers) 

Nolan wasn’t in a big picture taking mood during our London trip! Heath however LOVED getting his picture taken. 

London was a HUGE surprise! I didn’t think I would enjoy such a touristy town but I LOVED every second that I was in that city. I want to go back one day, and do everything I didn’t have a chance to do on this trip. If you are planning a trip to London and have any questions please post a comment below! I love helping others out and I espeically love talking about all the trips I’ve been on. 

 

Amazon Clothing for the WIN!

AMAZON CLOTHING FOR THE WIN! 

I love easy! Who doesn’t love easy? Shopping with children…NOT so EASY!  Read below and you’ll find out why I’m screaming AMAZON CLOTHING FOR THE WIN!!! 

One day I was procrastinating….  and was on Facebook… and then magic happened, I had a newsfeed FULL of Amazon clothing in BEAUTIFUL photoshoots (thanks to a couple of wonderful Photographer Facebook groups)!! The one thing in life that stresses me out the most is clothing shopping for family pictures! (Yes I know I use to be a family photographer…but still) I’ve always been a HUGE fan of Amazon! I mean what other websites will deliver to your house in 48 hours, or in some cities in a couple hours! Talk about convenience! As an added bonus you don’t even have to take the kids or husband out of the house! (Mommy win). 

I’ll be honest I buy almost everything off Amazon right down to my T.P, but I NEVER thought to buy clothing from Amazon. I guess it’s because I’ve been burned! Let’s be honest for one minute, we’ve all had that one burn from an online store, where you purchase what you think will be “The Perfect Outfit” only to get an outfit that will fit your toddler perfectly! Amazon, for the most part, is okay I’ve never really had a huge Opps off Amazon but I have had my fair share of foreign websites, where I think I’m getting a killer deal only to realize the joke is on me.

No worries friends! I’ve done all the research for you! I have gathered some amazing photographers, and their pictures to prove to you that you too can look GREAT in a photo shoot, date night, or even at work and never leave your house to go shopping! (Winning!!) 

Before we get started all these amazing pictures belong to a photographer, all you have to do is click on the image and you will be directed to their website. Please make sure you take some time to show them some love and visit their sites! 

Below all the images is a link to the item in the picture. Enjoy!! I hope this helps your online shopping experience! 

Clothing For Mom: 

 Melansay Beautiful Bow Tie Summer Beach Chiffon High Waist Maxi Skirt

{The sizing is based on the length of the skirt, not the normal size}

 

 Babyonline® Sexy Lady’s Deep V-neck Sequins Top Chiffon Long Prom Dress Ball Gown

Women’s Summer Chiffon Mopping Floor Length Big Hem Solid Beach Maxi Skirt

 Milumia Women’s Button Up Split Floral Print Flowy Party Maxi Dress

 Milumia Women’s Boho Deep V Neck Floral Chiffon Wrap Split Long Dress

 Maternity White Gowns Split Front Photography Dress for Photo Shoot

 Missord Women’s Sleeveless Bra Mermaid Party Dress

 JL Store Maternity Chiffon Gown Split Front Maxi Photography Dress for Photo Shoot

{This entire outfit is Amazon}

Shymay Women’s Shapewear Panties Seamless Tummy Tucker Firm Control Hi-Waist Brief

iHeartRaves Open-Front Sheer Chiffon Maxi Skirt, Summer Beachwear Cover Up for the Pool, Raves, Clubs, or Festivals 

Lace Top: FPT Womens Waist Length Long Sleeve Lace Mock Neck Top BLACK MEDIUM

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B014KN8JL4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

 Simplee Apparel Women’s Sleeveless Backless Satin Strappy Maxi Dress Pajamas 

         Lisong Women Knee Length Bowknot Layered Tulle Party Prom Skirt 8 US Nude

If you love the numbers this mommy owned business sells them Magnolia Bloom (Note: these are not the EXACT balloons in the image, they are very similar)

 R.Vivimos Women Summer Deep V Neck Long Dresses

 

Let’s be honest, I say I’m going shopping for myself and ONLY myself and somehow I find myself over in the children’s department!  (ALWAYS! It’s like I’m a magnet for cute kid clothing) So Below you’re find everything for your kiddos too! Enjoy!

For The Littles: 

Bow Dream Flower Girl’s Dress Vintage Lace Peach 6

 G284 Gino Giovanni Baby Boys Vintage Knickers Outfit Suspenders Set (Medium/6-12 Months, Natural)

Baby Girl Dress, Toddler Pleated Tutu Skirt Children Sleeveless Princess Dress Black 98(24-36 Month)

 Bow Dream Flower Girl’s Dress Lace Ivory 4T

 

I really hope you enjoyed this fun blog post! Please feel free to message me if you have any questions!! 

Thank You, 

Brittany McAnally 

 

Parenting in Slovenia

If you love the boy’s shirts we Brand Rep for Pineapple Pancake Kids: https://www.etsy.com/shop/pineapplepancakekids

When we first moved to Slovenia in December one thing that Tyler and I noticed right off the bat were Slovenian’s have the most well-behaved children and dogs! I’m not even kidding, I had to search hard one day to see a screaming child. After many days of realizing that my children were the only children that were screaming, not listening, and or a total train wreck. I set out to figure out what they were doing right and what I was doing wrong. Below you will find what I’ve concluded on my research. 

  1. They aren’t helicoptering parents AT ALL! You will see children as young as 2 on bikes on the sidewalk right beside the road, feet in front of their parents. They let their children learn through experience, and they teach them as they make the mistakes not before they make the mistakes. (Make sense?) All of Nolan’s friends at school ride their bikes to school, right along side of their parents. I was AMAZED as I can barely get Nolan to walk beside me much less ride his bike on the street right behind me. Tyler and I decided to give the Slovenian way a try and decided to let Nolan ride his bike all the way to the City Center which is about a 10-minute bike ride, and you have to ride your bike on the street and cross a crosswalk to get there. To our surprise he did ok, we had to get on to him about not paying attention, or not keeping up with us, but all in all, he did really well. 
  2. They will leave their children behind in a second if they are throwing a fit! This my friends are keys to get a well-behaved child and it WORKS! Now I’ve been doing this for years however, I’ve been doing it all wrong I would always ignore the behavior and walk away and then turn around and stand there waiting. Now what I do when Nolan throws a fit is I don’t even bat an eye I just turn around and leave him there screaming and carrying on as tho nothing is happening! Works like a charm, he eventually stops screaming and realizes that I could care less if he’s throwing a fit. Works like MAGIC! 
  3. My child can put on his shoes, dress himself, and wash his own dishes! Yep at Nolan’s school, they make them do everything! If they don’t do it, they let them sit there and figure it out on their own. Yes, I’m sure he was frustrated in the very beginning, however now he can do it without any help! 
  4. They are VERY HONEST during our Parent Teacher Conferences they don’t sugar coat ANYTHING they will tell you like it is. I feel like in The United States teachers are too worried about upsetting the parents, NOPE not in Slovenia. They laid it out step by step, on what we as parents needed to do in order to get Nolan to where he needed to be, they told us what he struggled with, and they told us how they would suggest we fix it. It was definitely VERY HONEST and it was a BIG change from the sugar coating PTA meetings I’ve had in the past but it was REALLY REALLY good I felt that Tyler and I left there with a plan on what we could do at home to help Nolan be the best that he could be at school. 
  5. They let kids be kids- I recently took Nolan to a birthday party, and they had no theme, it was in a field in the park, and all the children had to play with were sticks and they had the time of their lives! 5 months ago if you were to tell me I’d be at a party with nothing but sticks to play with, I may have died. However Nolan, Heath, and I survived and I had the best 2.5 hours of peace and quite, and was able to talk to my mom friends without any of my kiddos running up to me every 2 seconds needing something. 
  6. I’ve learned to bring a shovel, and bucket EVERYWHERE I go! I started noticing other moms in Slovenia doing this, and I realized all the children gravitated towards that one child with the bucket and shovel. I started bringing buckets and shovels for the boys to play with while I sit outside and sip on coffee, and it entertains them and allows them to make friends rather quickly! 
  7. I’ve learned my children LOVE toast! Toast in Slovenia is kinda like a grilled cheese sandwich with meat, and not fried but toasted. It’s a popular food for kiddos and all the restaurants and coffee shops have them! 
  8. I’ve learned to slow down in life. Let the kids get dirty, let them make mistakes, let them figure life out on their own. 
  9. Vrtec (kindergarten in Slovenia) has it figured out! Nolan has been to MANY and I mean MANY preschools and he’s never been as happy as he is at his Slovene school. We recently gave him the option to attend the American International School and he cried and begged us not to switch schools. So we’ve decided to keep him in Slovene school and transition him to American Kindergarten when we return home. I think he loves the fact that they take field trips every Tuesday, and Thursday and they walk the city center and take hiking trips in the city park through all the trails. The teachers told me that they can walk as much as 7kms in one day! I think he loves the freedom and responsibility that his teachers give him. (I’ll also add I’ve never once signed a permission slip and I think it’s AWESOME! Why because I trust his school and his teachers and I know he’s being taken care of no matter where they are in a day!) 
  10. I love that children are allowed to be children! Last month it rained soooooo much! Tyler sent me a text that week and said guess who’s outside playing in the rain?? I said, Nolan! He said yep and he looks like he’s having a BLAST! The teachers at his school let them play outside in the snow, in the rain, in the sun. Doesn’t matter as long as it’s safe, and guess what! All the kids are HAPPY!

 

It’s funny that I wrote this draft on parenting in Slovenia over two weeks ago, and then this last week Slovenia was rated the number one place to raise children and I could not agree more! I’m so PROUD of this little country and putting itself on the map for the cleanest place in Europe, and the BEST country to raise children!

It’s truly amazing that a country with only 2 million people can do so much! 

Vintgar Gorge, Slovenia

Vintgar Gorge is located in Triglav National Park in northwestern Slovenia about 4km away from the famous Lake Bled.  Vintgar Gorge opened to the public in August of 1893, and continues to be one of Slovenia’s top attractions to this day! 

Vintgar Gorge with children review

Cost: 5 Euro for adults, 4 Euro for children the money goes towards the upkeep of the wood walkway. It’s so worth the money PROMISE! 

Total Time: 1.5 hours with kiddos, and time to stop and take a million pictures! 

Address:

Zgornje Gorje Rd., Bled, Slovenia
+386 31 344 053
If you feel like you might be going the wrong way, you are more than likely heading in the right direction. Before seeing the sign for Vintgar Gorge you will first see the sign that you are entering Triglav National Park, you will shortly see signs that are brown with arrows pointing you in the right direction. Follow the arrows and not your GPS at this point. 

I was a little hesitant to bring the boys with us on this trip! However it proved to be just fine, and they both had a BLAST! The gorge walkway is easy to walk, I DON’T suggest a stroller or wheelchair as there are steps and very narrow turns!  I suggest baby wearing or have dad carry the kids on their shoulders (that’s what we did with our 2.5 year old) Our 4 year old walked just fine the entire time! They both had a blast looking for fishes in the crystal clear water. When the trail ends you are stopped by a coffee/rest stop, and bathrooms (HUGE bonus with kiddos) you then will have to turn around and go back the way you came. 

Below are some of the images I took on our hike! 

 

 

Pula, Croatia

When Tyler and I started to plan this year, we both decided that for everyone’s birthday we would make sure to travel someplace FUN! Lucky for us, we traveled so much the last couple months we earned a free hotel with hotels.com. If you aren’t familiar with hotels.com and travel ALOT you need to hop on over and start booking hotels, to earn free nights stay. 

Tyler’s birthday is March 27th, and I knew that it would be a lot to have just been in Serbia, to come home wash our clothing and head out the next day to Pula Croatia!  

We stayed at Ribarska Koliba it’s a hotel located right on the water, it was BEAUTIFUL! We went on off season so the pool was not opened, and it was a bit cold, but still well worth the FREE stay. It was also in a GREAT location. 

The first day we decided to hit up the Aquarium in Pula, it was very rainy and cold, and we thought it was a GREAT first stop on our trip. When we first arrived at the Aquarium the outside was not so beautiful, it doesn’t scream aquarium at all. 

It turns out this aquarium was once an old Austrian, Hungarian coastal artillery faculty. The inside was soooo cool! We loved how they used something old, and made it into something new. 

We then headed out to town, and found a GREAT pizza place so good we ate there two days in a row! It was called Marco Polo it was ranked the top 5 in Pula, and we totally know why!! AMAZING pizza the BEST!! 

Once we finished up the aquarium we headed to town, it started to rain again so we decided to check out this indoor play place called Peekaboo. This place was AMAZING it had a HUGE jungle gym and great coffee! What’s even better is it’s open until 10 pm! Just in case your children have serious jet lag.

The boys left this place EXHAUSTED! Which was perfect because they just fell asleep! The next morning we woke up and decided to head to the Pula Arena, we were the first people in the doors and we took lots and lots of pictures!! The picture below is my favorite but I took it the night before. 

 

After the Arena, we decided that the boys needed to do something fun! I randomly pulled up a beach called Valkane Pula. It was PERFECT and full of beautiful rocks, and tons of sea glass! If you love beach combing you will love Valkane beach lots of treasures to be found! Below is a picture I took leaving. I still can’t believe how clear and blue the water looked! I honestly always thought water looked like lake water in Tennessee (I know I should get out more) but really when you grow up around water that looks like Tennessee lake water, and then you see the water from Pula, Croatia it really gets you thinking. 

If you love little, quiet, and super close to water with lots to do! I HIGHLY suggest you head to Pula Croatia! 

 

Belgrade, Serbia

It’s beginning to get really hard picking a favorite city! I mean come on I LOVE Bosnia, I LOVE Slovenia, I LOVE Serbia, we really haven’t visited a place that I’m not in LOVE with! It’s a GREAT problem to have considering all these places are places we could live for three years. 

However, Serbia definitely left a special place in my heart! In Slovenia we have a nanny Natalija (really a good friend) that watches Heath during the day twice a week, so I can go out in town, run errands, have coffee with friends etc It also gives Heath some time away from me, to explore life away from momma for a couple hours which is good for him. Natalija also happens to be from Belgrade, Serbia and was traveling the exact same time we were, to visit her mom. PERFECT! She offered to show us around her hometown, and show us all the locals favorite things to do. (Which is normally very hard to come out of the tourist side of cities in the short period of time that you are visiting a city.)

She showed us around all of downtown, and walked us all around the city telling us stories, and pointing out historical landmarks etc Seriously we could not have hired a better tour guide it was AMAZING! The next day Tyler had to go to work, so the boys and I met up with our friend and her sister (who has children about the same age as Heath and Nolan) We ate at this place with a HUGE playground, and coffee shop by the water. If you’re in Belgrade you need to stop and visit this park, it was so much fun and lots of activities for the kiddos, and the adults! 

After coffee in the park, our friend took us on a bus. You seriously can’t visit a town and not take public transportation at some point! I think public transportation is crucial to get the “real feel” for a city! Plus my kiddos LOVE taking the bus, Nolan compares it to a field trip haha 

We took the bus to my friend’s mom house, and we enjoyed chatting about the city, and the culture of Serbia. It was a great experience, I love taking a step away from the “tourist stops, and sites” and really getting to see the city, and the culture through a local’s eyes. It was lots of fun, and I wish we could experience that with every city we visit. 

Below is a picture of Natalie and the kiddos! Nolan and Heath LOVE Natalija she’s become such a great friend in the few short months that we’ve lived in Slovenia, we are truly blessed to have her in our lives. 

Podgorica, Montenegro

Oh Podgorica! I had very high hopes for you, but you came up a tad short. 

I’ve heard so many stories about how beautiful the Montenegran coast is, and well I thought the capital city would have something to offer… and well I was wrong. Don’t get me wrong we tried, and we tried VERY HARD! 

We stayed at an AMAZING hotel, Hotel Aurel I didn’t want to leave! The staff was sooo friendly, the room was HUGE, and the day spa was amazing and CHEAP! I had a full body massage for 25 euro, you can barely get your nails painted in The United States for $25 dollars much less a full body massage for under $200 dollars! 

The restaurant at the hotel was another huge bonus, restaurants in the city are hard to find. We found lots and lots of places to sip on coffee, but it was very hard to actually find a place in the city that had food for a meal. So the hotel was a huge win! Not to mention the food was AMAZING, if you wanted something that was not listed on the menu all you had to do was pull up the receipe and they would cook it for you. (huge plus when traveling with picky eaters). 

When we arrived at Hotel Aurel we were handed an informational paper with things to do in the city (not much ha). The thing that caught Nolan’s eye was lifesize Tranformers, made by a twenty two year old Podgorica man. He made all the lifesize Tranformers out of car parts from his families junk yard. Nolan was so EXCITED that’s all he could talk about. So we headed out to the city to find the Transformers… and well they had just left to “defend” the city of Milan, Italy, we barely missed them. So lucky for Nolan Milan, Italy is only 2.5 hours from Ljublijana, Slovenia so we are planning a birthday getaway to Milan in August for his birthday.  Stay tuned for that post. 

After walking around the city for a hour looking for any signs of Transformers, and being directed by many locals to every corner the Tranformers were once at, we finally talked to a tourist office that told us that they had moved to Milan. We were also asked by everyone why we were in Podgorica haha We said that we were on vacation and heard great things about the city and they all laughed, and said some vacation go to the coast! Well Well.. 

This is the only picture I took while we were in Podgorica, it was for my friend’s daughter who is studying about the world. She sent us Flat Stanley to take pictures with while we traveled Europe. Nolan enjoyed bringing the little guy out to take pictures with. 

This picture was taken in the city center with lots and lots of coffee shops to sip on some coffee. 

I’m hoping to visit the coast soon! 

Mostar, Bosnia with the Children!

It’s not a secret I LOVE Bosnia! I LOVE Bosnia so much I’m always trying to figure out ways to get back to Bosnia. So when I found out that we would be traveling by Mostar, Bosnia on our way to Podgorica, Montenegro I suggested to Ty that we take a slight detour and visit Mostar the home to the famous bridge Stari Most (Old Bridge) . It was so worth the detour for many reasons! (I’ll get to that in a minute!) 

When we arrived in Mostar it was your typical Bosnian town. We found parking very easy since it’s off season (Bonus for kids not in school yet) We all got out of the car and headed straight for the Stari Most. The water was BEAUTIFUL it was that blue/ teal color, you could even see the bottom of the water too! 

Below is the view from the bridge looking  to the right of the image is where I took the bridge picture, I think it’s equally as beautiful. The walk up the bridge to take this pictures was TRICKY the Old Bridge was made for looks and beauty, not for ease of walking over a river. Poor Heath couldn’t even walk over the bridge I had to carry him, and Nolan kept tripping. We looked like a HOT mess trying to walk over the bridge not once but twice! 

This is what the view looks like walking up the bridge. I HIGHLY suggest you wear flat shoes, tennis shoes would have been GREAT, my poor TOMS made the bridge soooo slippy I felt like I was ice skating. Nolan, and Tyler both had their hiking shoes on and still had issues with slipping. I don’t recommend this bridge if you are pregnant, over the age 70, a toddler, or if you plan on babywearing. Babywearing would be a very very bad idea trust me! 

 

Once over the Old Bridge, it’s Markets and more markets! One of the reasons Bosnia is my favorite! I love all the textiles, and tea sets you can purchase for soooo cheap! If you know me I love unique and cheap and Bosnia is full of all of these things. I would get lost for days in these markets if Tyler would let me! I have learned that Tyler doesn’t mind the old markets of Eastern Europe tho for the simple fact that he gets lots and lots of language practice with the locals! 

After walking around the markets, and the bridge. We all decided it was time to eat. When walking to the bridge earlier in the day we saw a restaurant on the water/ by a waterfall. We thought that would be a GREAT location to relax and eat. The boys thought it was great, and the food was amazing. Below is a picture of the waterfall we sat right next too. I failed to grab the name of the hotel/ restaurant. (Fail I’m sorry!) 

After lunch, we got back in the car and headed to Podgorica, Montenegro….  

When I think about a 3rd world country and what I think the roads would look like. I think of our drive leaving Mostar, Bosnia, heading to Podgorica, Montenegro. One word WOW! Holy Moly, never would I have thought a “main road” would look and be in the condition these roads were in. 

Below are a couple of pictures that I took on our drive to Montenegro. 

I grew up in Tennessee where cows are on every corner (in a fence) What I have not seen in my life is “Happy Cows” that are free to go anywhere they want. 

I originally thought it was a sign…until…

We saw 16 cows on the road in an 80km radius  (Crazy Crazy) Below is a picture of what the houses and the roads looked liked. I really tried to get the best picture that would paint the best picture of BAD ROADS/ but it was hard. 

 

Sadly this is what most the buildings and homes looked like on our 4-hour drive to Podgorica, Montenegro. What’s even worse is I realize that the houses that looked abandoned probably aren’t even abandoned. I’ve also never been so grateful for Tyler being able to speak the language too, I’m not exactly sure what we would have done if we had a flat tire… I said I wanted an adventure and boy did I get one! The backroads of Montenegro and Bosnia are no joke.

If you must drive in Bosnia for long periods of time I suggest that you pack food, water, blankets (if winter), flashlights, and make sure you have supplies for a flat tire! We did not see a gas station for miles, and when we did see gas stations most of them barely had a bottle of water to buy. It’s truly an eye-opening experience living in The United States for 29 years and then moving to Europe and seeing how the rest of the world functions. I honestly can say now that I’ve been living in a bubble for sooooo long and I’m so grateful for this experience as it’s opened my eyes so much to the bigger picture of life. 

Stay tuned for my blog posts on Montenegro and Serbia! 

Spilt, Croatia

We stopped in the city of Spilt, Croatia on our way to Montenegro, and it proved to be a great decision! I’m so happy that we got to spend the day in Spilt or “The Spilt” as I called it all day haha It was driving Tyler crazy! I thought it was hilarious and I tried very hard to drop “the” but just couldn’t seem to drop “the” ha Poor Tyler. 

We stayed at Hotel Luxe it was in the perfect location and had a parking lot! If you plan on renting a car or driving yourself I HIGHLY recommend staying in a location that provides the parking. I also suggest staying in a hotel or location that you can walk to tourist areas. Hotel Luxe was about a five-minute walk to the city center, and about a 2-minute walk to the water, or boating dock for cruise ships. It also provided us a breakfast as part of our hotel stay for free! 

This image is what you see 2 minutes after you leave Hotel Luxe! Not a bad view! (Image created by yours truly, it’s one of my favorites I think!) 

When we arrived in Split we checked into the hotel, and then quickly went out and explored the city, we started off with walking to Diocletian’s Palace. The Palace is HUGE, and is actually now home to apartments and little shops. How cool would it be to live in one of those apartments and say you live in the Palace! I mean come on that’s AWESOME! We decided to eat in the center of the city, in the middle of the castle. The boys ran around crazy, and Tyler and I sat and ate while the boys chased birds (their favorite thing to do in city centers) Tyler mostly chased the children, and I mostly sat and drank my local wine if I were to be completely honest. 

The boys chasing birds. I sure hope they remember chasing birds, in all the awesome places they get to visit on this amazing journey! 

Spilt, Croatia is beautiful! So much history and I highly recommend visiting in March it was 66 degrees and very little people. Perfect weather to walk around and explore, and not have to worry about crowds. 

We only got to spend the day in Spilt, but on the way out I convinced Tyler to go off the “plan” and visit Kasuni Beach. If you know anything about Split, Croatia it’s on the coast, but we aren’t talking Flordia or California coast (No sand) Kasuni Beach,  was a beach of little rocks, and the water was shallow enough that the boys could play in the water.  

I fell in love with Split, Croatia and have decided to take a trip to Plitvice Lakes National Park for my birthday! I hope this post helped give you insight to our couple hours in Split. Stay tuned for my post in April about Plitvice Lakes too

Below you’ll find a couple more pictures that I took while sightseeing! Please let me know if you have any questions. 

I can’t stop laughing at Nolan in this picture! He’s the PERFECT little model it’s almost creepy how good he’s become at taking pictures. LOL I love my little traveling buddies! 

Part 2 Nolan and Slovenian school

It’s been almost 3 months since Nolan started school in Slovenia! (WOW I can’t believe it’s been that long already!) Nolan is doing AMAZING! I thought I would take some time to reflect on what’s going on with him in Slovenian school, in hopes that my posts will help other mommas see the unknowns in full immersion schools. 

I had my first parent-teacher group meeting. That was interesting… they only spoke in Slovene yep you heard me right only in Slovene. I’m decent at figuring out what’s going on with cue words, and body language, but one full hour in a full immersion meeting was exhausting! That meeting definitely opened up my eyes to what Nolan’s life in school is like, and I’m forever grateful they only spoke Slovene for that very reason. 

E-Mails, and updates. EVERYTHING is in Slovene. I’m on the Parent Teacher Board at Nolan’s school and they send me everything in Slovene. So you can imagine I’m getting really good at reading Slovene and operating Google translate, although I have learned Google translate isn’t always right. 

Nolan’s first field trip. I was informed that Nolan’s class will be taking a 3-night field trip in April to a farm about an hour away from where we live. As cool as it sounds to get to spend the night on a farm with all your friends, milk cows, get eggs in the morning etc Tyler and I have decided that I will drive Nolan the first day to the farm so he can experience a field trip with his class but he will not be spending the night. I don’t think that’s a good fit for him, and my mommy heart I don’t think could handle it. (Minor culture shock ha) 

Language! Nolan is definitely understanding 75% of everything his teachers are saying. His teachers told me that they only speak to him in Slovene, and he does everything that they ask of him. They said they are working on getting him to reply in Slovene instead of English. He says some words, and knows a couple of phrases, and is really picking up on counting, he came home today counting GREAT! I was so proud that’s what sparked this blog post.

Nolan loves to talk (He’s my child) so much so that the children in his class are now speaking English! They don’t start teaching English to children here until they are 8 years old, the parents to the children LOVE it, I think it’s hilarious. Every day when Tyler and I pick Nolan up from school the class starts to say Bye Bye Nolan, and then you hear the teachers quickly correct them and tell them in Slovene, and then you hear them say Adijo! (ah-DYOH!) Nolan. Tyler and I always get a little laugh out of that! 

All in all I think these 3 months have been really good for Nolan. Don’t get me wrong he has little slip ups, and gets in trouble at school for not listening, or acting out a little. However, I have to remind myself that he is a 4-year-old little boy going to a full immersion school where basically no one speaks English at his level. So you have to understand as a parent to a child in a full immersion school that it will be a little bumpy at times, but as long as he continues to learn and loves his school I think we are heading in a really good direction. 

 

 

Sarajevo, Bosnia has stolen my heart!


 Sarajevo, Bosnia is my FAVORITE city on Earth!! Yes! It beats Ljubljana, Slovenia, Monterey, CA, and even my hometown! It’s the town of my dreams! It’s amazing and I’m going to tell you why.

So when Tyler first told me we were heading to Bosnia, I was like uhhh I really don’t want to go…I mean every time I mentioned Bosnia people gave me weird looks, and always said how dirty it was, and how much cigarette smoke was in that city. They were totally right! 

What they didn’t tell me was how cool it was. I mean what city can you take a stroll over a bridge, that World War One was started! Yes!! The bridge that is located in Sarajevo was the bridge that the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria happened. The whole reasoning behind the assassination was to break the Austrian-Hungarian empire… and well it started the first World War.

**Walking through this town, I kept thinking my High School History teacher would be SOOO JEALOUS of me right now! I remember talking about the World Wars and how they were started, and here I am walking over the bridge! **

The history is EVERYWHERE, you walk around the city and can see bullet holes in buildings, mortar cracks/holes in sidewalks painted red (meaning people died there) Signs of war from the Bosnian War (1992-1995) EVERYWHERE! I have never felt so close to war, as I felt in Bosnia. Below is a picture of where a mortar landed, it’s painted red because people died there. 

This is a picture of the church wall with bullet holes still present. 

Walking down the streets was a very humbling experience, you don’t see mortar cracks in the sidewalks of The United States. You don’t see miles and miles of vacant houses, that were burned and people were killed from the wars. You most definitely won’t find 1200 km (1200 miles) of uncleared landmine areas. Yes!! Bosnia is still actively trying to clear all land of landmines left from the war. It’s so bad, that families are unable to visit loved ones for fear that they will step on a landmine when trying to get to the cemetery off the beaten path.

If you live in Bosnia and want to take a hike it is STRONGLY advised that you take a certified Bosnia Hiker Guide with you. These guides have to sit through a course and get brief regularly on where it’s okay and not okay to hike. AGAIN something that you don’t have to worry about when living in the US.  

Now let’s talk about all the FUN in Bosnia!!

The food is AMAZING! I have eaten in a lot of towns but no town even comes close to the food that you can eat in Sarajevo. Yummy! The first night, we wandered the streets of the city looking for a random local Bosnian restaurant. We found one, located in an alley (those are the best!) The restaurant was called SEDEF as featured in the image with Nolan, it means mother of pearl in Bosnian.  

The next morning I woke up, and met up with a local friend! She and I took the boys with us to the local market. This is why I fell in LOVE with Sarajevo! I love dirty, old, random markets. Visiting these types of places is the best way to learn a language, get great items to take home, and to get to know the culture WIN WIN in my book! 

If I could have crammed one of these rugs in my car I would have bought one!!! They were beautiful, and very very well priced. After speaking with the shop owner, he took me to the back and showed me his museum of accent rugs (none of them were for sale, he said they dated back 100s of years and were still in really really great shape.) 

I love buying items that have meaning and a really good story. I walked around the markets and kept seeing this purse in the window, but the store was not open. I kept walking by checking to see if it had open. FINALLY, it was open! I made Tyler walk in and use his “words” to ask how much it was. It was about $80 American dollars (which in Bosnia is ALOT of money, like ALOT, I’m talking Louis Vuitton in the States expensive.) I was in LOVE but I was not just about to spend $80 dollars on some random purse. Seriously!

It wasn’t until the shop owner came out, and told me all about her shop that I fell in LOVE.  The shop was started by her parents about 50 years ago, her dad started making the bags, he then taught her brother (who is now the purse maker) how to continue the trade. The shop has been in the market for years now and has become very popular with tourists and with the locals. When I was shopping she held Heath and loved on him. (He LOVED her) not to mention kid free shopping ha I was SOLD. When else in my life will I be able to buy a handmade purse,  meet the family and hear the story all while in Bosnia…Probably never again! So I bought the purse and it is LOVE! It’s very European haha (Not the best picture, but here it is!) 

This is the picture of the shop and the shop owner.

Click here if you’d like to check out their Facebook page. 

Sarajevo was so much FUN! I hope to visit again or maybe even live in Sarajevo one day. It truly doesn’t get enough credit for being such an AMAZING town. Nothing like I expected. 

Austria, Germany, and Italy Oh My!


This past week we traveled to Garmisch Germany! OMG!!  BEAUTIFUL it definitely lived up to its hype! The boys and I had a BLAST! We went into town and ate at a local cafe, walked around and took lots of pictures, I also got brave enough to take them both sledding by myself on the Alps!! 

We stayed at the Edelweiss lodge in Garmisch, Germany. GREAT location, super close to EVERYTHING, it was a 2-second drive to the ski slopes, and seconds away from places to eat, and walk around. 

On our way home we took the scenic route, our first stop was Innsbruck Austria. Innsbruck took a spot in my top 3 favorite places I’ve visited! Old Town was AMAZING you could walk around, and not have to worry about cars. We ate ham and cheese toast at a local cafe and sipped on coffee while the boys ran around and burned off energy. Very peaceful!

This is a picture of Nolan in the center of the city. The hotel to his right shoulder was a favorite of Mozart.  

 After lunch and coffee, we all headed over to Hofkirche the church that is home to  Maximillian’s tomb. 

Who is Maximillian? GREAT question, he was the King of Romans or also known as the King of Germans from 1459-1519. He was never crowned Pope as the trip to Rome was too risky. In 1501 he fell from his horse and hurt his leg badly, causing him bad pain the rest of his life. Many historians believe that he was VERY depressed, and started to carry his coffin with him EVERYWHERE. He started doing this in 1514 (crazy right?!) He also had very specific directions on how he wanted his body to be treated after his death. (A VERY detailed list) He wanted all his teeth to be knocked out, all his hair to be cut off, his body was to be washed in lime, and ash. He also made it clear that he wanted his body to then be wrapped in linen, and then publicly displayed. His body was buried in the Castle Chapel at Wiener Neustadt. However, a VERY elaborate cenotaph (vacant tomb) is in Hofkirche.

Below is an image of the cenotaph, and a couple more images of Hofkirche, It was breathtaking nothing like anything I’ve seen before! If you look closely you can see how small Tyler and the boys look. The place was HUGE!


 

We then loaded the kiddos up and headed to Italy. Tyler read about a little town on our way back home to Slovenia in Italy that was home to The Castle of Brunico. Nolan and Heath both love castles, and we thought it would be a great stop to allow the boys to stretch their legs. The castle was nice but what really stole the show was the graveyard, across the bridge leaving the castle. The picture below was taken with the cemetery to my back. 

The cemetery was completely made out of wood, it was an Austrian, Hungarian cemetery in Italy. 

We made the BEST out of our little road trip!