A Grand Adventure

Eiffel Tower at Dusk by Wanderlust Designer

How could I ever sum up one of the most incredible trips I've ever taken in one blog post? Very hard I must say! My family and I have just returned from a 4 week grand tour of Europe (at least that's what I'm calling it.) It's the after college backpacking trip my husband and I never took, with a few more luxuries (i.e., no backpack and no hostels) plus 2 kids. My husband and I have a lofty mission to explore all 6 continents (excluding Antarctica at this point, but who knows!) with my kids before they head off to college. Not only does this goal satisfy our own wanderlust, but we hope to instill the joys of travel to our kids and show them what an amazing, diverse world we live in. Last year we dabbled in South America, so this summer we decided to tackle Europe. Here are just a few highlights below.

Notre Dame at Dusk by Wanderlust Designer

Paris, France - Sharing the joie de vivre that is Paris with my kids.

Jammin' in the Streets of Zurich by Wanderlust Designer

Zurich, Switzerland - Seeing street musicians jammin' along the shores of Lake Zurich with all enjoying the show.

Liechtenstein by Wanderlust Designer

Liechtenstein - Loving our day trip to Liechtenstein to check off one more country on our list and see wanderlust grow in my kids' eyes!

Augustine Keller Beer Garden, Munich by Wanderlust Designer

Munich, Germany - The thrill of a pretzel that is bigger than you head-- it's the little things while traveling that are so memorable!

Prague Rooflines by Wanderlust Designer

Prague, Czech Republic - Exploring a new city where every turn is a feast for your eyes!

Johann Strauss Statue, Vienna, Austria by Wanderlust Designer

Vienna, Austria - Hearing classical music playing in the streets of Vienna and waiting to see Mozart walk around the corner at any minute!

The Grand Canal at Sunset by Wanderlust Designer

Venice, Italy - Over bridges, down alley ways, and into small squares... getting lost in the streets of Venice and enjoying every minute of it!

Aya Sofya Overlooking the Golden Horn, Istanbul, Turkey by Wanderlust Designer

Istanbul, Turkey - The call to prayer... a new experience for my kids and a moment for us all to reflect on what an incredible world we live in!

Note: Photos are credited to my other business and blog, Wanderlust Designer. For more details of my travels and photo essays of my trip, be sure to head over to my other blog and follow along!

Free Printable Travel Game - Paris Scavenger Hunt

Free Printable Travel Game: Paris Scavenger Hunt by B.Nute productions

The countdown is on for my family's big European summer vacation! First stop... Paris. I just can't wait. To get the kids engaged and ready for exploring, I thought it would be fun to create a scavenger hunt game just for Paris. I listed out some items that are "très typique" of Paris. I hope they can find them all!

If you're off to Paris this summer, or anytime, be sure to print this out and get the kids exploring!

Free Printable Travel Game - Paris Scavenger Hunt

Free Printable Travel Game: Paris Scavenger Hunt by B.Nute productions

Instructions for Printing Your Travel Game
1. Select the links above at the bottom of the image, and print out the scavenger hunt on an 8.5"x11" piece of paper.
2. After printing fold up and put in your suitcase. Once in Paris, begin to hunt!

Printable items are copyright protected, and provided free of charge by B.Nute productions for personal use only. B.Nute's printables can not be sold, altered, or provided for download on any other site. For questions or inquiries, please contact B.Nute productions. Map image of Paris copyright stamen.com from maps.stamen.com.

La Tour Eiffel

No, I haven't really been on vacation... even though my blog has been quiet for a week... I've been a busy bee getting ready for our French friend's son to arrive! He arrived last night, and in his honor, I thought I'd write a post about the icon of all French icons, the Eiffel Tower.

As I toured around my house, I must admit, I found many Eiffel Tower mementos here and there. Here are just a few I thought I'd share!

At the top is the classic vintage postcard of the Eiffel Tower. I picked this up at a flea market in the south of France. It's just one of those "staples" or must-haves in the ephemera department.

Another postcard-- I love the acrobats and "circus-feel" to it.

Here's my ticket stub from riding up the Tour Eiffel several years ago.... I must say, I had the worst case of vertigo as we went up and down!!

And now for something fun... an Eiffel Tower cookie creation!! I picked up this cookbook a couple years ago after the movie Ratatouille came out. It's a fun book-- with lots of great recipes: crepes, croque monsieur, ratatouille (of course), and more...

It also has this fun cooking project, the Eiffel Tower Cookie Sundae!

I made this with my kids one day. Our towers weren't nearly as pretty as the ones in the book, but it was fun to make and then eat, of course!

Now off to tour our new house guest around California! Stay tuned for more French inspired postings soon!

A European Staycation

In honor of Bastille Day (tomorrow), as well as a French family friend coming to stay with us for a month (starting next week), I thought I'd have myself a little European Staycation this week!

First off I will highlight one of my all time favorite outdoor looks-- the globe string lights!

I can hear the music in the background as I look at these inspiring images! We've strung them on our patio too, but I need to get a couple more strings, so I can get the full criss-cross effect!

So, tonight, we'll head outdoors, sip some delicious French Rose and enjoy our first evening of our European staycation in our outdoor cafe!

A Bientot!