In July of 2022, our family of five, while housesitting in Europe was able to use Trusted House Sitters in Switzerland to find a house sit for two weeks in Zurich. We were really excited when the house sit in Switzerland came up since the hotspots for Trusted Housesitters is UK and Austraila, and other […]
Family vacation doesn’t have to break the bank. Here are some tips for family travel on a budget!
“England and America are two countries separated by a common language.” – George Bernard Shaw, 1942 (We’re going to imagine George was lumping Canada into “America” as a continent and the rest of the UK into “England” – probably just an oversight.) We were just off the plane landing in London when a kind airport […]
Our family’s review of TrustedHousesitters.com; What we love about petsitting and what could change on the app (Plus a 25% discount code!)
When we got off the ferry from Portsmouth, England, to Caen, France, my cousin Ash, picked us up to take us to Chateau De Lalacelle – a property in Alecon, France (in Northwest France – rural Normandy) that he and his partner, Terry, purchased to restore when moving from Middlesborough, England. On arrival, everyone dropped […]
This specific housesit in France was pretty unique: 9 goats, 10 chickens, a herd of cats, and a basset hound named Austin – but I may have missed the mark when giving the goats a ‘treat.’
You’re taking your kids on a plane for the first time: You’ve got your kid’s clothes, toys, and snacks packed, but will it be enough? Will younger kids sleep on that long-haul flight? Will older kids have enough to do to keep them occupied while they sit in one spot for hours at a time? […]
Stonehenge is an amazing piece of world history about 90 miles (2-hour drive) west of London on Salisbury Plains, set amongst the hills of southwest England. This family fun day trip to the famous Unesco World Heritage Site is great for kids as you watch interactive video exhibits in the visitors center and learn about […]
I love that people ask our boys this question because it shows that they are really interested in seeing the trip through our boys’ eyes, but I’ve seen how this conversation starter question usually leads to silence.
Luggage was a big conversation for us as we were planning our trip to Europe, so if you’re planning on buying luggage for your kids for a trip overseas, here’s what went into our conversation and what we ended up settling on.
Neuschwanstein Castle – aka ‘The Real Cinderella Castle’ is absolutely stunning. You’ll find it on display high up on a rugged hill above the village of Hohenschwangau in southwest Bavaria, Germany. I dreamed about visiting this castle since I was a kid. My parents traveled to Europe and told me about this beautiful castle, so […]
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you choose to make a purchase, we will earn a commission for the referral at no cost to you. Should we take a plane or train with kids in Europe? Train travel in North America is less practical than in Europe, so future tourists often ask us about […]
Thorpe Park, UK is a theme park in southern England, just west of London. It has a lot of rides including roller coasters, a drop tower, bumper cars, and more. They also have a water park open for a couple of months during the summer. My family and I visited Thorpe Park in May 2022 and […]
My family and I got to visit Europa Park, Europe’s largest theme park located in Rust, Germany. We went on a sunny, cool day in September 2022 and all of us had a great time. The theme of the park is European countries. My favorite sections of the park are Iceland, France, Greece, Switzerland, Austria, […]
When we tell people we visited Europe for seven months, we get mixed responses – “Are you allowed to stay that long?” … “Why didn’t you stay longer if you could?” We felt like seven months was a good amount of time to do plenty of exploring, and after we’d been away for that long, […]
“How are we going to decide what countries we will visit in Europe?” This was an ongoing conversation for us for a long time before we started planning our trip. It was an active part of the conversation as we: Began searching for housesitting opportunities Secured our first housesit, and could base our travel plans […]
This blog post includes affiliate links. If you make a purchase, we’ll receive a commission for making the referral at no cost to you. Altogether in Europe, we visited 12 countries. (During the trip, we also visited friends in Israel, which is part of Asia. Yep, Israel is in Asia. Add that to your ‘fun […]
It’s always been a dream to visit Europe. My dad was a first-generation immigrant from Scotland to Canada, and other than a trip there with my parents when I was 6-months old, I’d never been back. Scotland was only one of many places on our list for Europe. We were concerned about prices in Europe, […]