Categories
Visiting Europe

Trusted House Sitters: Switzerland Review

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 […]

Categories
Save Money RVing Visiting Europe

Budget Family Travel: The Ultimate Guide to Traveling with Kids on a Budget

Family vacation doesn’t have to break the bank. Here are some tips for family travel on a budget!

Categories
Visiting Europe

Words That Are Different in British English vs. American English (& Canadian English)

“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 […]

Categories
Petsitting Save Money RVing Visiting Europe

Our Trusted House Sitters Review: 11 Housesits in 6 Months in Europe

Our family’s review of TrustedHousesitters.com; What we love about petsitting and what could change on the app (Plus a 25% discount code!)

Categories
Visiting Europe

Visiting Chateau De Lalacelle, Alencon, France

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 […]

Categories
Petsitting Visiting Europe

How I Almost Killed A Goat While Petsitting in France

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.’

Categories
Visiting Europe

Tips For Traveling With Kids On Planes

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? […]

Categories
Historical Sites National Parks Visiting Europe

Historical Things To Do With Kids Near Stonehenge

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 […]

Categories
Life Lessons Visiting Europe

A Better Conversation Starter Than “What was your favorite part of Europe?”

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.

Categories
Visiting Europe

Best Airplane Luggage For Kids (from a family who spent seven months in Europe)

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.

Categories
Historical Sites Museums Visiting Europe

Visiting Neuschwanstein Castle With Kids

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 […]

Categories
Cities Visiting Europe

Planes vs Trains in Europe With Kids

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 […]

Categories
Parks Visiting Europe

Our Family Review of Thorpe Park, England

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 […]

Categories
Parks Visiting Europe

Our Family Review of Europa Park, Germany

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, […]

Categories
Visiting Europe

How Long Can You Visit Europe For?

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, […]

Categories
Visiting Europe

How To Decide Where To Visit In Europe

“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 […]

Categories
Visiting Europe

How We Snuck In 3 “Bonus” Countries During Our 6 Months In Europe

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 […]

Categories
Petsitting Visiting Europe

Petsitting In England For (Almost) Free with Trusted Housesitters

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, […]

Pin It on Pinterest