This post was created in partnership with Hyatt. I was so honored to work with their team in the Bahamas to help share the amazing Good Taste Series.

The first morning in the Bahamas I took a leisurely stroll around the hotel property and the moment I spotted the ocean, its clear ice blue color and the gentle waves clapping at the beach, I took this picture and wrote the caption below on Instagram.

“Do you ever get overwhelmed with a bite so delicious, a moment too perfect, a place so beautiful you gasp and shriek even when walking alone? I’m in that moment. Pinching myself with the goodness, feeling so loved and hoping I could share just a sliver of this feeling with you all.”

I felt vulnerable in sharing that because it felt too much. That moment I mean. Immediately I got this rush of, well, it almost felt like guilt. Why me? I think. How do I get to be standing here taking in this beauty, feeling the warmth of the sun and breathing in the lightly salted air. Quickly I turned that guilt into gratitude and simply breathed in that moment for the gift that it was.

We all need those moments of deep inhale so our exhale, our giving of ourselves, is full.

I was brought to the Bahamas to help capture The Good Taste Series. It’s a cooking competition where Hyatt chefs from all around the world compete with one another to win a spot at the Global competition next spring. But beyond that it’s an opportunity for sous chefs – those who don’t always get an opportunity to show off their creativity – to create their own dishes, travel and compete to win incredible prizes and also help them launch their own career.

At the Grand Hyatt Baha Mar, eleven chefs competed from all over the Americas. They had two days to prepare two dishes for a large reception held outdoors. It was hot, humid, windy – all the elements were not in their favor. The first day they were greeted with four ingredients well loved in the Bahamas. These “surprise” ingredients had to somehow be incorporated into their dishes: Hog Snapper, Zucchini, pigeon peas, and Sugar apple.

The day of the competition I got to go into the kitchen and watch these chefs prep for the event. They were all so passionate and eager to talk about their process even in the midst of nerves and high stakes. One chef traveled with his family’s olives and olive oil from Greece. Another was meticulously carving watermelon radishes and zucchini into intricate shapes while another was filling tubes resembling toothpaste containers with a ginger laced gel as a palate cleanser.

I was so inspired by their creativity, passion and generosity witnessed throughout the entire competition. In the end the two chefs headed to Hong Kong in the spring: Jonathan Pasion from Andaz Maui and Leo Minielli from Grand Hyatt Baha Mar.

Congratulations, Chefs! I can not wait to follow along as you compete at the Global Competition this spring.

To bring you all a taste of the Bahamas I couldn’t leave here without sharing a tropical drink. There were many fruit and rum laced drinks over the course of three days but I kept on hearing about Sky Juice. Even in the pastry kitchen I learned all about Sky Juice as I popped a white chocolate truffle into my mouth and immediately was flooded with sweet coconut and herbal gin. Yes, GIN! In a coconut drink!

Sky Juice consists of gin, fresh coconut water and sweetened condensed milk, shaken and served over ice. I actually like mine with a touch of fresh nutmeg on top and a squeeze of lime. In the Bahamas they are often served in coconut shells but you know, those are actually quite hard to come by back here in Seattle. So I’ll settle for this simple and refreshing cocktail served in a highball glass while I dream about floating in the Bahamas letting the waves carry me.

Of course we all could just head back to the Grand Hyatt Baha Mar and drink Sky Juice on the beach. I like that idea.

Print

Bahamian Sky Juice

Author Ashley Rodriguez

Yield 1 serving

Ingredients

2 ounces Gin

1 ounce sweetened condensed milk

6 ounces coconut water

Lime

nutmeg

Instructions

Pour the ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously for at least 10 seconds. Pour into a glass over ice then garnish with a grating of fresh nutmeg and a lime wedge.

Gabe and I always said we were going to be the traveling sort of family. We said this before we had children. One flight to Southern California with a toddler made us quickly realize that for us, the traveling would have to wait.

With the kids long out of diapers and their ability to sit mindlessly in front of a screen well intact we realized that now was as good a time as any to stand by our own words and become the sort of family that travels.

“Really?! Are we doing this?” I said just before hitting confirm to purchase five round trip tickets to London. We had no plans beyond the fact that we wanted to go for three full weeks and that we were flying in and out of London.

Here’s what helped us make that final decision. 1. As I mentioned before – no diapers and mindlessly can sit in front of a screen (like say for nine hours when you are flying across the Atlantic). 2. Christmas was coming and I was so overwhelmed by how much stuff they already had that the thought of filling my house with more crap that would most likely end up at Goodwill made me sick to my stomach. 3. “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.” – Mark Twain

We wrapped a few small European mementos; maps, French candies, and journals for the kids then tucked them under the Christmas tree. They politely said, “thank you!” after they opened the presents but hadn’t quite put all the pieces together.

We had Baron read a letter I had written which read, “You may not fully understand the value of this present yet but in time you will come to realize that we have given you quite possibly the best gift there is. The gift of seeing the world.” At this point they all broke out in tears, hugged us, and told us repeatedly that we are the best parents ever. Actually, what really happened was they said, “cool” then went back to foraging under the tree for the next gift.

“Wait, wait, wait!” I exclaimed. “You don’t understand. We are going on three week trip to Europe as a family!”

“Cool.”

Six months and many hours of planning and many dollars saved we were on our way. The biggest lesson that we walked away from after that experience was that traveling overseas with three children is not only completely doable but it’s also incredibly fun. It is, as my father-in-law says, not really a vacation when you are with kids but more of a relocation.

With expectations in check, and these vital lessons we learned along the way, our relocation brought us closer as a family and gave us a lifetime of memories in three short weeks.

Adjust the expectations

This is by far the biggest and best thing you can do to ensure an enjoyable trip with kids. Normally when I travel my day is basically organized around the where I what I want to eat. But kids aren’t necessarily willing to walk miles and miles for dinner just because you read about this particular method the chef uses for roasting his chickens. When the kids are hungry they want food immediately. In some places, like Paris for example, this may mean that there are several meals where the place closest to you when the hunger pangs strike is really not the ideal place to eat from a culinary perspective. But I readjusted my expectations and reminded myself over and over that this trip isn’t about me and my desire to seek out the best restaurants. Seems obvious to seasoned family travelers but for me it took some work. Actually, there were many pleasant learnings from adjusting my travel expectations and traveling in a way that was quite different from how I travel without the kids. For one thing I was once again reminded of the beauty and joy in the simple food; the sort found in the stalls on the side of the street, not the food delicately teetering on the plate with white linen napkins on your lap. There is nothing quite as satisfying as ham and butter on a baguette. In fact, there is a ham sandwich in this book dedicated to our love of jamon baguette (page xx). And never before have I sought after European parks, but really there is not a better way to spend a day then slowly wandering through a foreign park.

In America we are used to getting what we want when we want it. Our passports hail from the land of 24-hour restaurants and if you want breakfast food at 10pm your wish is their command. Other parts of the world don’t operate that way, and frankly, I appreciate them for that, in theory. It gets a little tricky when you arrive in Paris off the train exhausted and hungry at 4:30pm. You tuck in to the nearest Brassiere only to realize dinner service doesn’t start until 7 pm. That’s when you take advantage of the moment to teach about cultural differences and patience and order wine for the adults and a bottle of Coke for the kids. You tell them to find something to do from the backpacks they packed themselves for such an occasion and you sit and talk and paint and watch the Eurocup until the clock hits 7 pm and you can now order golden and crisp frites, pâté, and a roast chicken salad with friseé and a pungent dijon dressing.

Age Matters.

We waited to take this trip until we were in the magical years where everyone could easily walk for themselves. Although Gabe’s working title for our not-yet-written travel book is “Europe on Two Sore Shoulders A Day” thanks to Ivy’s continuous insistence on riding on his shoulders. There may have been a couple of tired shoulders but we dodged the task of traveling with strollers.  The kids could also adapt easily to new sleeping situations, they no longer needed naps, could carry their own luggage, and could entertain themselves in the boring moments, like standing in line at the passport checkpoints or on the train or when their mom makes you go to yet another museum.

Yet they were still young enough that they enjoyed being with us. They weren’t yearning to go off on their own adventures quite yet. We did most everything together and for our first massive traveling adventure I loved that. There were a couple museum visits that I scurried off to alone but they didn’t mind missing out on that.

I know plenty of people who have successful traveling tales while adventuring with children much younger than our 9, 7, and 5 year old, but for us this was a perfect age to begin exploring the world together.

Let them help plan.

We wanted the kids to feel included in the planning and execution of the trip. For the months leading up to our adventure, dinner table conversations centered around our expectations, ideas for adventures, and our excitement and fears about how this trip would unfold. We read books about the countries we planned to visit and knowing we were going to be spending some time in Normandy both of the boys dug deep into their interest in World War II. Duolingo became our most used app and I’ll Have What Phil’s Having our favorite show. In fact, if you watch the episode on Italy and Paris you basically know exactly what we did including an early morning 3 mile walk with Baron to Blé Sucre because Phil and David Lebovitz said we had to go there.

Direct flight is worth every penny.

We flew directly from Seattle to London then spent a few days in London adjusting to our new time zone and easing into the trip. Without layovers a travel day allows you to actually rest and start acclimating to the new time zone. It was much easier on all of us. If at all possible try and get a direct flight.

Pack light. Pack Light. Pack Light.

I can still tell you everything I packed for that trip. It was no more and no less than what I needed and it all fit in half a carry on leaving me with enough free space to carry home my new copper pot and hand painted Italian plates. We each had a backpack that we were solely responsible for and then Gabe and I managed the two carry on suitcases. I tucked a linen bag in my suitcase knowing that we would be acquiring a few things along the way so that served as overflow. This trip had us moving around quite a bit. For two thirds of it we were switching apartments or hotels every other night so there was a lot of packing and unpacking and lugging bags through security lines. Had we brought with us more than our backpacks and two small suitcases those travel days would have been much more hectic. In fact living so simply for three weeks has really helped me reevaluate how I acquire and live with so much in my day-to-day life. I’ve not gone full Marie Kondo, and I don’t plan to anytime soon, but I’ve seen how little we can live off of and how freeing it feels.

A clear no screen policy.

We set the expectations from the beginning; this was to be a screen free trip with the exception of the Kindles (the very basic model with only books) the boys both got for their birthdays. We wanted them to continue to read but didn’t want to fill our suitcases with books. There were a couple times when we put on a movie on our computer at the end of an exhausting day but there was no arguing over screen limits and policing their time and telling them to turn it off for one minute so they can look at the Eiffel Tower. By eliminating the expectation completely there was no arguments and to our surprise they adapted to the idea and found other ways to fill their time immediately. It was never an issue on our trip. We all lived presently and enjoyed just being.

Walk 20 minutes. Then eat gelato.

We averaged five miles of walking every day we were in Europe. Some days it was actually closer to ten miles while other days we basically just lounged around the pool. The key here is short bursts of walking with intermittent breaks such as toy shops, gelato, hot chocolate, influential landmarks, or a playground. It’s like the carrot dangling in front of the rabbit. There were also times when some members were really done walking and they hopped in a cab or on the metro while some of us continued on foot. We knew we would be doing a good bit of walking during our travels so we prepped the kids for that expectation so each day when we got up and set out on an adventure on foot they understood that this was part of the traveling process.

Activity, then rest.

If you can manage to travel for a long period of time I highly recommend it. When you’re there for a long time you have time to see plenty while also making sure there is a good bit of time for rest. Sometimes this looked like an activity in the morning then a quiet evening home or sometimes it was a full day of adventuring then the next day we rested and kept things quiet. The balance was needed for all of us.

Eat In.

Being gone for three weeks is a long time and eating out can get not only extremely expensive but also a bit tedious. That sounds a bit ridiculous for me to say now as I’ve not been traveling recently and the thought of someone else cooking all my meals sounds pretty damn great but I know from past experience that after a certain period I tire of restaurant food and desire to step into the kitchen again and do a bit of the chopping myself.

We learned pretty early on in our travels that our most successful meals were the ones made up of our gatherings from the day’s adventures then brought home and enjoyed in the comfort of our borrowed home. There was a day in Paris when we slowly wandered the cobbled streets and tipped into any shop that arrested our senses from the sidewalks. By the end of the day we had a feast of chicken paté, various cheeses, warm baguette, raspberries, tomatoes, and an assortment of desserts from Pierre Hermé. In Italy I made full use of our Airbnb’s wood fired oven by driving a few miles down the street to the butcher to pick up the famous Chianina steak to make Bistecca Fiorentina; a thick cut and simply seasoned steak from the largest and one of the oldest cow breeds in the world.  We meandered slowly through the local supermarket (visiting foreign grocery stores is a favorite activity of mine) and picked up a few things for a salad to accompany our Bistecca Fiorentina. I used the morning’s leftover biscotti to crumble over apricots then tucked those into the wood fire oven while our steak rested. We sat outside and lingered at the table while the kids got up to play soccer in between the olive trees and I cried at the thought of ever leaving.

From that trip my favorite food memories are the ones where we felt as if this foreign country could be home. Preparing (or assembling) the food then sitting down at our adopted table made any place we visited immediately feel like home.

Comfort is great, and overrated.

From the moment we told the kids about the trip we also started telling them that there will be times along the journey where you feel a bit uncomfortable. Where you long for the comforts of home and ache for familiarity. But it’s also in those moments where you become a better person. You grow and stretch and while that is an uncomfortable process you come out of it better for it. We encouraged the kids to learn words and phrases from the countries we would be visiting and then we pushed them to order food themselves, stretching what little grasp of the language they had. But they did it and walked away beaming with pride.

There were blisters, and long waits, and food that looked inedible to them. There were closed shops when the hours on the window promised they’d be open. There were failed expectations and exceeded ones. There were tears shed over stuffed animals missed at home, there were celebrations and family gatherings we missed as a result of this adventure. All seemingly little problems but in the life of a child they feel anything but little. Even for Gabe and I we pushed outside of our comfort dealing with the language barrier, booking flights in another language, making sure we went into the train station and out again with all three kids in tow. There was incessant whining when we really just wanted to sit and linger with another glass of wine, there were fears over finances, over decisions made and whether or not this experience was really the best thing for our little family (the answer was and is yes).

In those challenges we grew stronger, more united as a family team, and in those little stretches the even easier challenges of our day-to-day back home felt more doable. We all walked away from that experience more confident, and with more “broad, wholesome, charitable views of men.” Just as Mark Twain promised we would.

One of the most frequently asked questions I get is “where do you get your inspiration?” It’s a great question and I ask it of others all the time, especially those who have been working in the same industry for many years. When you make your passion your career it’s vital that you continue to connect to the birth of the passion. As much as I believe in continuing to date your person I also am a firm believer in dating your creative self.

So my answer to that burning question; travel. There are other things such as reading cookbooks and going out to eat but for me nothing fills my soul like visiting a place that is unlike anything that exists in my day to day. All of my senses are shaken. I see colors brighter, I taste with more mindfulness, I’m like a little kid asking thousands of questions and delighted by all the newness. Coming home I have pages of notes and have gathered a long list of new-to-me ingredients that will permeate my recipes for years to come.

This trip’s purpose was purely for inspiration. I realize how delightfully dreamy that sounds and I feel the gift of it. Since the opening of the shop I’ve been so busy creating new recipes and menus to serve a crowd and I reveled in the thought of taking a trip to Oaxaca then coming home to fill the table with the food that inspired me on the trip.

Two of my dearest friends joined the adventure, Julie and Deborah. Julie and I are most motivated by food while Deborah was eager to learn about the art in Oaxaca. Each one of us walked away inspired.

Julie did the bulk of the planning for this trip so we have her to thank for all of the incredible information below.

WHERE WE STAYED

Oaxaca Delights

4 bedroom AirBnB about 8 minutes from the Zocolo (city center). 

Our trip to Oaxaca would not have been the same without our incredible AirBnb host, Ainda. After a red eye flight we were greeted into her beautiful home with fresh squeezed orange juice, a plate of sweet, perfectly ripe fruit and memelas; a puffed tortilla topped with puréed black beans, queso fresco and the most incredible guacamole. In the very best Spanish I could muster I asked what was in that magical sauce. Estella, one of two ladies who served us breakfast every morning, assured me it was simply tomatillos, cilantro, onion, garlic, and avocado. 

Staying in the home of a local is absolutely my favorite way to experience a place. Home food will always be my heart and speak to me in a way that towering and often over-complicated restaurant food can’t. Especially in a bustling city a peaceful respite is a gift for the weary traveler. Any future trips to Oaxaca will definitely be planned with Ainda.

WHERE TO EAT

At our beautiful home. Again and again the food we ate in our home away from home was my favorite. Simple and so very Oaxacan. From the fresh produce, memelas (the puffed tortilla and bean dish I mentioned above) to the tlayudas (crisp tortillas with black bean sauce, queso oaxaca – like a salty string cheese, avocado, lettuce, tomatoes and squash blossoms – basically like a Mexican pizza.

Ainda offers a mole class experience that for me was the highlight of the trip. Oaxaca is of course known for its mole’s and it is one of those dishes that you have to learn from someone rather than attempt to follow a recipe. There are subtle tips and techniques that flood this ancient sauce – like nearly blackening every ingredient to get a deep, nearly bitter char. And airing out the toasted chilies before softening in water. And those spicy seeds and veins of the chilies? Those sit on the grill (comal) until blackened and add a soft spice, roasted flavor and give the black mole that unmistakable color. And of course chocolate, which Estella makes herself with toasted cacao, almonds and spices.

Ainda and Estella escorted us to the market near their home and we followed them with mouths agape, eyes widened and asking over and over again, “what is this?!”

We enjoyed a few meals out as well but the food we ate in our home and the experience that surrounded it was my favorite.

Casa Oaxaca – My favorite margarita came from this place. I will forever be chasing their recipe for a passion fruit margarita. The rooftop at this restaurant is not to be missed, even with the occasional rain drops. It saddles up next to the church and the birds chirping in the nearby trees provide a lovely soundtrack to the meal. 

We were greeted with a large, crisp blue corn tortilla topped with queso fresco and a tableside preparation of salsa seasoned with crickets (chapulines).

Don’t miss the guava and tomatillo salad, duck tacos, and black mole.

Criollo – Incredible setting but the food didn’t live up to our expectations. 

For next time we’ll try: El Distilado for sure, and perhaps Pitiona and El Origen. They all came highly recommended. 

THINGS TO DO

Monte Alban – one of the most significant archeological sights in Latin America.  The site of a Zapotec city whose building began in the 8th century BC. 

El Tule – The world’s WIDEST tree. A great pit stop on your way out to the weaving village. 

Teotitlan del Valle – In a family owned weaving studio we watched the process from wool to weaving including the fascinating process of creating the natural dyes for the wool. Our guide took Deborah’s hand, the painter of our group, and showed all the ways they bring color to life using completely natural and local ingredients. Red from the bug that lives on the leaves of the agave then when lime juice is added it instantly becomes more vibrant. Yellow from dried and crushed marigold leaves. Indigo from a native plant and that mixed with marigold petals creates a luscious green. 

From raw wool that is hand combed then spun then hand dipped with these natural dyes, then hand untangled (!!!) and weaved using patterns deeply engrained in their minds. The experience was somehow spiritual. I walked away with a stunning set of weaved coasters made by a 7 year old. This stunning tradition is alive and thriving in Oaxaca and although you can purchase weavings in the city it’s worth the 45 minute drive out of town to experience the process first hand.

Hire a driver or grab a yellow taxi to drive you.

Ethnobotanical Gardens  – Great views from Santo Domingo but if you want to go in you’ll need to book a tour.

Mezcal Tasting  at El Cortijo Mezcaleria. Don’t just stop at one mezcal tasting. Similar to wine there are thousands of varities and many ways of thinking around mexcal. We also visited the Mezcaloteca and while we didn’t love the mezcals the education was invaluable. 

Santo Domingo de Guzman – Ornate baroque cathedral on the Zocolo – or main center square of the city.

Mercado 20 de Noviembre – Here you are completely surrounded by locals and the energy is infectious. Many stalls and small counter restaurants, serving all kinds of local foods, elbow to elbow with Oaxacans.  Also bakeries and mezcal.

Mercato Benito Juarez – wonderful shopping for every kind of local artisanal product, from textiles, to shoes, to mezcal, to grasshoppers to snack on. The markets in Oaxaca are not to be missed and this central location and rows and rows of vibrant stalls makes it a must visit.

Our three days in Oaxaca were packed full but of course we left with a longer list of places to visit then we got started. A week is definitely recommended but no matter the length of the stay the impression of this city that is full of heart, warmth, and life will stay with you for a lifetime.

I can not wait to continue to see how this experience will unfold in my life and even in the recipes that I share here.

The gray skies met us in London. Their familiar presence along with the ease of people speaking our language was a great way to ease into our three week European adventure. Although we still delighted in the subtle differences in dialogue with words like water closet, fancy (in lieu of like) and biscuit. And the way in which they speak with a delightful properness that Roman loved try and replicate. London, albeit a bit expensive, is a wonderful city to explore with children. I’ve compiled a small list of some of our favorites from our short stay in London. Perhaps you may find it useful in planning your own trip. I hope you do.

With the recent news out of the U.K. it makes our travels there even more valuable and important. I won’t say much on the subject as am far from an expert but I will say that fear is a powerful motivator and not often for good. In fact fear is a huge reason why Gabe and decided to take this trip in the first place: To teach our children that the world is a big, beautiful place filled with people who are different than us – which is something to celebrate, not something to fear. When our kids were very little Gabe and I gave ourselves the goal of teaching our children how to be competent and confident travelers because we believe that travel is the best education. Through travel my world and myself become small so that my perspective can expand (much like my waistline while consuming croissants and bowls of pasta – not complaining one bit).

Eat:

A quick word on eating while traveling with children. We quickly learned that our most successful meals were the ones eaten at “home” – or whatever place we are calling home in that particular city. We’d make it part of our day’s mission to find and bring back food for dinner. We’ve had some of the best food that way and also is less expensive and the kids won’t rush you to leave the table.

Great spots in London for grabbing food to go:

Harrod’s Food Halls

This place overwhelms any food lover. Of course there’s also floors and floors of fashion but both times I’ve been I head right towards the food. There are salads, meat pies, curries, cheeses, cured meats, fresh produce, chocolate, tea, coffee…. Room after room display some of the most indulgent and stunning food you’ve ever seen. I walked the kids by the fruit stand where each strawberry is perfectly ruby red, no seed is out of place and no sign of crinkled green tops or the smallest bit of soft spots or fur growing on them. Absolutely pristine – and you pay for that. We opt for a farmer’s market or a local grocery store to buy our fruit. But the meat pies, salads and English cheeses are totally affordable and completely delicious.

Ottolenghi

There are a few locations around London so before you head out for your day’s activities be sure to map the location you’ll be stumbling across. Ottolenghi is known for their creative and stunning ways with vegetables. This is how I love to eat. Crisp green beans and sugar snap peas with fresh mint and red chilies. Eggplant covered in a creamy yogurt sauce and roasted summer squash and zucchini with wispy shards of Parmesan and fresh herbs. We also grabbed a few slender pieces of roast beef which accompanied a verdant cilantro sauce. And don’t skip the desserts. The towering cake stands and platters filled with freshly baked cakes, cookies, and tarts are your due reward for a long day of travel.

Borough Market

While we didn’t make it to the market this trip (tired legs and lots of rain) I’ve been enough times to tell you that you must visit. It’s not open every day of the week so be sure to check their website for the most updated information. If you go during the winter grab a cup of mulled wine to sip on while you wait in line for Raclette. In the spring and summer the produce stalls are brimming with locally grown beauties. Inside the market you’ll find a tea shop, truffle shop, cheese, meats and basically whatever else you made need to grab dinner/lunch to go (hello, wine!).

We didn’t take every meal with us. Here are a couple great places to dine out the kids:

The Harwood Arms

We enjoyed our first meal in London here and while it was more expensive than we were planning on spending at most meals it was such a fun way to start the trip. It’s a British gastropub that has classic British fare done really really well. And it’s completely kid friendly to boot. Their kids menu (a rarity) included breaded sole (fish and chips) and braised beef cheeks with mashed potatoes. The kids are still talking about those potatoes. For dessert don’t miss the donuts and the sticky toffee pudding ice cream. Gabe and I each did the prix fix dinner which included a starter and a main for right around £30. Total fun bonus – it’s the only Michelin starred pub in London.

Tomtom Coffee House

The Internet is a weird, wonderful place. A few weeks prior to our trip I reached out to an Internet friend who happens to live in London. A few Instagram direct messages later we were meeting up for coffee in her neighborhood spot. She showed us around the charming streets around Tomtom after we enjoyed a flat white and a tomato and cheese toasty (crisp bread, cheese outside and in grilled with sweet tomatoes). It felt like a local spot with a large bowl of perfectly golden croissants sitting in the middle of the communal table. Regulars strolled in, helped themselves to a croissant then ordered their coffee and went on their way.

Do:

Natural History Museum

Our kids happily surprised us with their ability to put in the miles. We walked quite a bit despite a bit of rain and gray skies. But if walking isn’t your thing the tube is completely easy to navigate. Download the London Tube app before you go.

I had heard such good things about the Natural History museum and the free entrance sealed the deal.

We wandered the fascinating halls for hours, stopping only for a quick coke and sketching break. My favorite exhibit was the volcanos and earthquakes, however terrifying (we live on an epic fault line), I was giddy while ascending the escalator into the center of the earth. You’ll know what I mean when you get there. Don’t try and see it all – your kids will hate you. We had each child choose an exhibit then we explored those. While there is so much we missed I love leaving a place wanting more and that’s just what we did.

If your kids have it in them for another great stop, the science museum is practically next door.

The National Gallery

Again, free entrance! Monet!! Cezanne!! Van Gough!! Our first visit to London Gabe and I made our way here twice. I was enamored while watching a school class (they couldn’t have been much older than 6 or 7) sitting in front of a Monet and Renoir painting. Both paintings were water scenes and the delightful docent asked the children what similarities they noticed and then what was different. What painting would you most like to jump into? Why? I marveled at the education these kidlets were receiving and wanted that so badly for my own kids. Two years later I brought them to that very museum. Sure they were whiney and exhausted from walking and not fully understanding the scope of what they were looking at but they’ll thank me later, I just am sure of it.

Hyde Park

A lovely park to wander through and a sweet little playground for the kids to work off some energy. Plenty of great spots to picnic and there are is a café in the park as well.

River Boat Ride

Touristy? Absolutely and totally fun. Learn from our mistakes – try and avoid going during the rainiest part of the day and be sure the kids have all used the restroom before boarding. Yikes. (Or just find a boat with indoor seating and an accessible bathroom while going down the river.) You can purchase tickets online before hand or just walk to the river near Big Ben and grab some tickets. Many packages include the double decker bus tour. We had planned on doing that but I love using my feet. The kids may not love that about me.

Hamley’s Toy Store

This toy store is wonderfully overwhelming. A trip here makes for great fodder for taking them to the museum right after. “We just spent an hour in a toy store now we get to go to the museum.”

Stay:

onefinestay

We started our journey having a very comfortable and stunning stay with onefinestay. We were so thrilled with our little apartment. Every time I’ve been in London we’ve wandered the streets and I have so often wanted to just see what the inside of those white stone flats look like. I wanted so badly to be invited in for dinner by a perfect stranger (strange, it never happened) just to see what the interior held and to experience how the “locals” live. That’s always how I want to experience a place – as one would who lives there. One Fine Stay helped to make my dream a reality. While I didn’t get invited to someone’s house for dinner I did get to have dinner in a gorgeous flat complete with a exterior courtyard looking out onto a sweet garden and ivy climbing it’s way up a centuries old brick facade.

A representative from onefinestay greeted us as we arrived. They gave us access to an iPhone to use during our stay so we wouldn’t have to use up our rather pricey data plan. The phone was pre-programed with loads of great spots for dining, activities and groceries right near our flat.

Two of our three nights were gifted to us but even if they weren’t I would still be delighted to tell you about this company. They have beautiful homes and apartments in London, Paris, Los Angeles, New York and now Rome. onefinestay started “to give people a new way to experience a place. Handmade hospitality, for stays in the finest homes.” We felt it and loved it.

Thanks to our friend, Jo for this family photo of us – they are rare and perhaps by the look of this image you can see why.

We did all of the eating and activities above in about two and a half days. We left wanting to see so much more but delighted with the time we did have in London. Next up: Paris and Normandy!

I sort of feel like we’re about to embark on one of those slideshows your great aunt made you come over and watch. She’d lure you in with the promise of something delicious and then before she fed you there were slides of her latest vacation. The beauty of the Internet is you can go right on and scroll through the slathering of photos I’m about to share and jump right into the recipe.

If you are about to do that sort of thing let me first get you excited about the sandwich that tastes of a spring-flecked field. I’m not even sure what that means but I do know that one bite in and I was whisked completely out of winter and well into spring where things taste of green, of new life, of subtle sweetness, of timidity and a bubbling hope of things to come. All through my travels in London and Paris there were faint hints of spring; flower stands showing off their pastel hued wares on every corner, little buds breaking free from their cocoons and dotting the bare branches with signs of life, plump white and green asparagus, small strawberries with ruby flesh all the way to their core, peppery radishes and green peas that pop in your mouth like the sweetest candy.

As I often do with travel inspiration I took bits and pieces from our experiences throughout the trip and turned it into one dish. But I have to say that it was a simple radish salad from Spring that really set me on the path that led here. It wasn’t even my salad, it was Ashlae’s vegan option that she so kindly let me sneak a bite. It was the frilly pile of chartreuse lime zest on top of quartered radishes that lured me in. Radish and lime? Yes.

A few days before the trip I recounted the itinerary  to some of my closest friends. I skimmed over a few words and places quickly moving passed just how amazing the following week was to be because frankly, it sounded too good to be true.

“I want to see you scream ‘I’m going to Paris!'” My dear friend told me. She wanted my face to light up and to acknowledge the crazy goodness that was this trip. I wanted to scream it too because of course I was ridiculously excited but vulnerability held me back.

Brené Brown talks about joy being the hardest emotion to experience. Seriously. I didn’t believe her at first but I totally get it because I do it; I always mask joy. If you have children I’m sure you’ve exhaustedly put them to bed only to wander back into their room to watch them sleep about 20 minutes later. You look down at their face; angelic and still, and your whole body feels tingly and on fire with love that overwhelms. That joy is abruptly halted when you play through all the horrific scenarios in which you could lose that love. Okay, moving right along before I puddle onto my keyboard at the thought.

Brené (I feel like we’re on a first name basis at this point) says, “We try to dress rehearse tragedy so we can beat vulnerability to the punch.”

I thought so often of my friend’s comment throughout the trip and I thought why I minimize my joy. In part I think I do it to protect those around me. I mean, my girlfriends that following week were all going to be home taking care of their babes while I was off prancing around Europe – that didn’t seem fair. But hiding my joy in the trip, I realize now, doesn’t protect them.

There’s another story Brené shares about a 60 year-old man who spent his whole life trying to beat his expectations to the punch. He said he was just going to stay right in the middle, that way if things didn’t work out he wasn’t devastated and if things went better than expected he was pleasantly surprised. And then his wife died and his immediate regret was that he didn’t live into his joy during their life together. Curbing his expectations and living in the middle did not protect him from the pain he felt at the loss of his wife of forty years.

I’m terrified when things are going so well because then I’m just waiting around knowing that at any moment somethings gotta give. At any moment I’m going to experience great pain or loss because life simply cannot be this great. You know what? That’s kind of true. Life is hard and things break and people we love die and we experience pain. That’s the truth. But the other truth is that numbing the joy in moments of happiness will not save us from experiencing great loss. Never fully experiencing  joy will not keep us from suffering.

Knowing that truth and walking into this trip with that reminder helped me to experience it with utter gratitude. It was such an amazing gift and even the whispers of fear that creep in as I’m typing this: “They’re going to hate you for gushing so much about how much fun you had. Why rub it in? The moment you hit publish on this post something’s gonna give but at least you wrote down the happy moments so you will always have that. Live it up now, girl because imminent doom is approaching quickly.” I want to actively practice gratitude and feel the joy because that is just the sort of life I want to live.

So having said all of that let me tell you a bit about my crazy, wonderful trip.

I told my kids I was going on this trip to go make sure London and Paris was ready for our family trip in June. They all had a bit of nerves about the idea of a train going under the water so I assured them that I’d go check it out and make sure everything was up to snuff. I thought at this age they would pick up on the sarcasm but they didn’t. In fact it was that high speed under water train, Eurostar, that took me on this trip. London to Paris in just over two hours! I was a bit disappointed when the train didn’t dive into the water and flip its tail like a dolphin but I got over that the moment we arrived in Paris. Well, I think I actually was over it when we were drinking champagne on the way there.

Right before leaving another friend had texted, “Don’t worry about curbing your expectations because Paris is going to blow you away.” My friends know me so well. She knew that I was terrified of being disappointed by my first trip to Paris and she knew that that was such a silly fear. The moment I walked out of the train station I knew it too. Every where I looked beauty overwhelmed me. Butter colored buildings with black cast iron details that outline the windows and balconies and the smell of sizzling butter as we walked passed the waffles on the street. Cobble stone streets pave the way for market stands selling perfectly plump red currants. Every sense was open and I was taking it all in.

Look at that, somehow I skipped right passed London and am already talking about Paris. I love London. We toured the streets of Portobello and ate everything along the way, made traditional English scones and shortbread in a flat in Notting Hill , bought and sampled tea at Borough Market, and ate some of the best Indian food I’ve ever tried at Dishoom. On top of all of that Ashlae, Bev and myself took an epic walk all over the city taking in all the sites one must see when in London (hello, Big Ben!) We ate breakfast on top of the city at the Sky Garden  before getting on to the train and heading to Paris.

In Paris we took another food tour all through Montemarte learning how to shop and chose the right places for baguettes, cheese, and chocolate (those stickers on the window? They actually mean something – like how many awards they’ve won. The French take that seriously). We had a private lunch/cooking class at Spring (remember the radishes?!), saw the waterlilies at the Museé de l’Orangerie and I cried big fat tears of joy. We ate macarons for breakfast at Ladureé  and ate fries and drank wine at the Cafe des 2 Moulins (otherwise known as the Amelie cafe) and Bev cried big fat tears of joy.

Notice a theme? Joy. And I lived it and felt it and am so incredibly thankful for it. Thank you to Eurostar for planning an epic trip. I also don’t know how you managed to choose the funnest group of folks to travel with but you did. Thanks.

Here’s the run down of most of the places we went. The highlights for sure:

London

Portobello Garden Italian Cafe
https://www.facebook.com/Portobello-Garden-Caffe-654459517967701/

R. Garcia & Sons (The UK’s best Spanish grocery)
http://rgarciaandsons.com/

Fabrique Swedish Bakery
http://fabrique.co.uk/

Books for Cooks
http://www.booksforcooks.com/

The Spice Shop (London’s tiniest, most fragrant shop!)
www.thespiceshop.co.uk 

Ceramica Blue
www.ceramicablue.co.uk

La Cave a Fromage (cheese & wine)
http://www.la-cave.co.uk/home.php

Melt Chocolates
http://www.meltchocolates.com/

Caroline Hope – Cooking Instructor

http://www.teaandscones.co.uk/

Dishoom

http://www.dishoom.com/

Sky Garden

http://skygarden.london/

Great Northern Hotel (LOVED this place)

http://www.gnhlondon.com/

Ace Hotel London

https://www.acehotel.com/london

Paris

Secret Food Tours

http://www.secretfoodtours.com/

Spring Restaurant

http://www.springparis.fr/

Museé de L’Orangerie

http://www.musee-orangerie.fr/en

Ladureé

https://www.laduree.com/en_int/

Café des 2 Moulins

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caf%C3%A9_des_2_Moulins

The Latin Quarter – just go, all of it is lovely.

*This trip was sponsored by Eurostar but the photos and gushing words are all mine.

Radish Tartine with Pea Butter and Lime

Serves 2

2 to 3 tablespoons pea butter (recipe below)

3 to 4 radishes, thinly shaved

1/4 cup radish sprouts (optional)

1/4 cup pea sprouts (optional)

1/2 teaspoon lime zest

a few mint leaves, roughly torn

flake salt

olive oil

thick cut bread, toasted (crispy on the outside with a soft interior)

For the tartine:

Slather the toasted bread with a good bit of the butter. Top with the thinly shaved radishes then the sprouts and mint. Finish with lime zest and flake salt and a light drizzle of olive oil. Enjoy right away.

Pea Butter

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

1 cup fresh or frozen peas, blanched until tender

1/2 tablespoon lime juice

1/4 teaspoon (or more) sea salt

Process everything in a food processor for at least a few minutes. You want to get the peas as smooth as possible.

For the best texture pass the butter through a fine mesh sieve.

Taste and add more salt if you'd like.

Store the pea butter in the fridge for up to one week.