“It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, everywhere you go …but the prettiest sight to see is the holly that will be, on your own front door”

When the voice of Bing Crosby fills our home, we know its time for Christmas. Time for our silver reindeer to adorn our mantel piece, the Christmas lights to dazzle our tree, and Santa, the wizards and every little ornament come out of its box ready to be celebrated. It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and my favorite holiday.

This year we’re staying in London and experiencing a snuggly Christmas. I wonder if we will indeed get a white Christmas. It has been so cold this winter that I wouldn’t be surprised if we did. Little M would be thrilled if we woke to snow on Christmas morn.

[read more=”Read more” less=”Read less”]

We’re ready with her gifts, a few, but meaningful ones, which she will hopefully love and play with for a long time to come. She’s still small, and doesn’t really understand the whole Santa visiting story yet, but LOVES “Santa”….from afar!

This past weekend, and to rev up the Christmas spirit inside us, we decided to go on the Christmas at Kew Trail, a walk into a winter wonderland of lights, lights and more lights. It is beautiful, and if all that Christmas-ness doesn’t get you into a holiday mood, I don’t know what will.

Every year, around this time, London’s famous Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew is transformed into a magical world – a world where lit up trees sing Christmas carols, a carousel rides with an 80 yr old, and an 8 year old side by side. It’s a place where giant baubles adorn symmetrical trees, exaggerated candles that seem to touch the sky, and the beauty of light against darkness play with your mind and take you to a place so happy.

The trail is approximately one mile, with lots of people, families, adults in colorful Christmas hats, people sporting their best (or worst!) Christmas jumpers. Apart from the sights, there’s lots of yummies in the food corner, sausages, hog roast, hot dogs and more. Of course, we cant forget the mulled wine, a glass of which warmed my insides, and made for an even happier walk.

We especially loved the installation called ‘The Hive’, a stunning recreation of an actual beehive. It is beautiful, and by far the highlight of the visit for me. It is created to tell the story of the honey bee and the role of pollination. It is made entirely of aluminum (which you see up close), but from far it’s like a surreal
structure, that I found myself being drawn to.

Little M seemed to take in everything, and was especially enamored by the giant baubles, and of course Santa! It’s a lovely outing for the family, and unless your little ones are sick during this time, it’s great to get them out and on an adventure!

We ended with a piping Hot Chocolate, and a crisp warm sausage roll and some time to wander about the beautiful gift shop to warm our little one before we got her home.

She walked home with a little sparkly wand in her hand….ready to spread the magic of 2017 to everyone she saw.

2016 has been special. We watched Little M grow, and bring so much love and laughter to our lives. We also watched as the world around us changed, and made some decisions that bring uncertainty and wonder about our tolerance for each other’s background and culture.

We also moved house this year, and are settling in well into what is now our “home”. We travelled to beautiful places with the best company. And now, we can’t wait for more….

May the remainder of your 2016 be special.

May your Christmas be warm, white, and surrounded by love. ❤

2017 begin with a blast (or lots of sleep)….

Let the new year rejuvenate us all to be a better ‘US’ in a better world.

Today I’m humming: *Mele Kalikimaka* by Bing Crosby

{Mele Kalikimaka is a Hawaiian Christmas greeting, and this version is a song we often woke up to on Dad’s record player as kids when Christmas was approaching.}

Thank you Saroj! What a wonderful post to send you all, my dear readers, off into a wonderful Christmas break. With your loved ones. Hug them all the time and stay cosy!

Paul & Paula will take a little break and travel to Athens next week. You can surely find us on Instagram here and there…
[/read]

Save

For the school Autumn break we went to France. We have never been to Lyon before but talked about it many times. It is the 2nd city in France {I have the feeling many people do not know this fact} and has a very large food culture. Let’s go!

We went from Saturday to Saturday and I will show you what we did. Lyon with kids here we go:
[read more=”Read more” less=”Read less”]

Day one:

On the first day at destination we usually try to do some relaxing things. We do not hit the city and drag the kids from shop to shop.
We had a nice breakfast and went to Parc de la tete d’Or which was just around 10 walking minutes from our apartment. It is a huge park with a lake, a zoo {free entry}, botanical garden and even a little Kermis.

{There are not many other parks in Lyon and we knew we wanted to be close to this one when searching for an apartment. Keep this in mind if you plan on going here.}

In the parc we were also surprised by the famous Theatre de Guignol. It’s a puppet theater and it was on our to-do-list. The weather was ok and we attended a 25 min. show.

On our way back we did some grocery shopping {you gotta love French supermarkets} and picked up some little treats from Les Halles de Lyon-Paul Bocuse – an indoor food market with the best of sweets, bread, fish, meat and and and… a feast! And a great place to go with kids. There is so much to see and to choose from.

Day two:

We met a friend and went in to the city center. Had lunch and got a little tour of the heart of Lyon called Presqu’île {French for Peninsula}. It was a beautiful day and we loved to stroll through the little streets. Did some stops at bookstores to add to our French collection and a did a longer stop on Place Bellecour. One of the biggest squares in Europe. There is a nice playground on the square.

Day three:

We took the bus and went to La Croix-Rousse – a neighborhood set on a hill. Getting up there was already a fun experience – either you take the stairs {not recommended with a stroller} or you walk and walk and walk…

It is a beautiful corner of Lyon. Very old with lots of restaurants, cafes and small shops. First thing we did was to check out Les Fresques de Lyon. {see my IG posts too – here and here – to get a better idea} So very cool and H U G E!

After that we had a pick-nick and then we went on to find Les Traboules de la Croix-Rousse. Lyon is famous for their Traboules – a kind of passageway between buildings. In Lyon, they were originally used by silk manufacturers and other merchants to transport their products. The ones in Croix-Rousses are actually indicated and you can follow the route by finding Lion signs. The kids were so excited and we, Eric & I, could hardly keep up…
It is not super easy to follow those narrow and dark passageways with a baby in a stroller but we managed and it was super fun!

Day four:

We went up again! This time to The Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière! There is a little cable car taking you up the hill which was already good fun for the kids.

And then you have a great view over the city. We had a look to find the places we have already been and checked if we could find something else that looked like a great place to discover.

After that we went back into the city center, little stop at the Bellecourt playground {it was very sunny and warm that day} and did a little {French} shopping at Petit Bateau, Monoprix, FNAC etc…

Day five:

More traboules today. This time in Le Vieux Lyon {the old town} – it is one of Europe’s most extensive Renaissance neighborhoods.

This time we needed a little help to find our way. Some were closed because people live in the buildings and do not like too many tourists running through their backyards – understandable. We discovered some very beautiful little yards, very old buildings and were glad that you can find maps of the passageways online – like here.

There are a few areas in Lyon with traboules {many people think they are only in the old part of the city}.

Day six:

On Friday we went to a new area called Confluence – at the confluence of the Saone and Rhone rivers in the heart of Lyon.To make Lyon a sustainable, green and smart city they decided to enlarge the city center. Connecting this old, very industrial part of Lyon with the rest of the city center {via public transport and walkable areas}. Making it as green as possible!

We went to Le Musée des Confluences – a science center and anthropology museum which opened at the end of 2014. It is located at the very southern tip of the Presqu’île. If you love architecture – you will need to come here. The museum shops is also very worth a visit!

One week is over. We enjoyed our time in France, felt often like “Little Paris” just without the stress. Enjoyed all the boulangeries and sun. {Sweden treated us with 0 C on Sunday}

It is a beautiful city and especially the old part tells so many stories by just strolling around. It was a bit tricky to find good lunch and afternoon tea spots for our big family because a lot of places are rather small. If you have been to Paris I would definitely recommend to go to Lyon next time you fancy a trip to France.

What do you think? Lyon with kids? YES!
[/read]