After two, very long-awaited years, we finally embarked on our trip to London, Paris, and Lisbon. We had originally scheduled this trip in May 2020 but as I’m sure we all know, #thanksCOVID. At the time, our oldest daughter was almost a year and a half old and I was 4 months pregnant with our youngest daughter. However, it all ended up working out in our favor because now, both of our girls could enjoy this piece of Europe with us.

Tips before you go:

Before we start diving too deep into what we did day-to-day throughout our vacation, we want to be fully transparent. Traveling with little ones is HARD but it is so, so worth it. On the very first night, our youngest daughter climbed out of the crib for the first time ever so she had to “sleep” with her older sister. Sleep turned into party time and ultimately set the stage for exhaustion throughout our trip. Add the jet lag and we had some over-exhausted kiddos that not only led to multiple naps per day in their strollers but also some pretty epic meltdowns from time-to-time. We got through it though. We talked through these meltdowns. We learned more about our kids and their limits. We learned more about how to get through it as a family. We did this all while exploring a different part of the world. Our kids may not remember this trip in the future but we will: the good, the bad, and the ugly. Our dream is to set the stage for continuous travel throughout their lives so they get to learn and experience new countries, new cultures, new people, new languages, and new foods.

For a peek into what those social media travel accounts don’t always show…

Sightseeing: A Series

Day 1 – The Day of [Mostly] Rest: London

After a long, mostly sleepless flight, we started our journey in London with a private driver picking us up at the airport (kindly arranged by a friend and now highly recommended by us if you have kids and multiple pieces of luggage) and dropping us off at our hotel, the ParkPlaza Wetminster where we had a quick bite to eat at Primo Bar in the lobby since check in was not until 3:00 PM. The margherita pizza was exceptional and the girls loved the sparkling lemonade. After we checked in, we took much-anticipated baths and mom took a quick nap (sorry, dad).

ParkPlaza Westminster was the ideal hotel to stay at in London. It is a 5-to-10-minute walk to multiple attractions including Big Ben, The London Eye, Dreamworks Shrek’s Adventure, and Sea Life London.

In the early afternoon, we ventured out to see Big Ben, affectionately nicknamed “Tick Tock” by our youngest. After a slew of pictures of “Tick Tock”, we walked through the beautiful Whitehall Gardens, across the Golden Jubilee Bridge, and straight to Truffle Burger for dinner. Mouthwatering. Incredible atmosphere. 5-stars. 10/10 recommend. Truffle Burger has one of the best burgers I’ve ever eaten. It is directly located next to a bar and a hot dog restaurant; all of which are perfectly situated outside on the Thames River walkway. After we had our fill of burgers and fries, we headed back to our hotel where we got (tried to get) some sleep.

Day 2 – The Day of [Mostly] Exploring: London

The following day, we ate the free breakfast offered at our hotel before we walked the short distance to Westminster Abbey, Churchill War Rooms, Horse Guards Parade, and St. James’s Park. While in St. James’s Park, we got to see the famous pelicans, as well as a plethora of pigeons (nicknamed chickens and chased by our kids). After a short stroll through St. James’s Park, we were led directly to Buckingham Palace, just two short days before the passing of the queen. The Palace is beautiful and the kids loved the marching of one of the Queen’s Guard. Unfortunately, we were not there during the changing of the guard as we felt it may be a little too crowded (now realizing this is a complete joke given the events that occurred a few days later) but we heard it is worth seeing if you have the opportunity.

After our visit at the palace, we walked through Piccadilly Circus which reminded us of a much smaller version of Times Square in New York City. While in the area, we stopped at another exceptional eatery called Burger and Lobster where, if you can believe it, they served…burgers and lobster. If you’re ever in the London area, this is a must have. Get the lobster roll. You will not regret it.

Unfortunately, and fortunately, it started to downpour a short time after lunch so we were forced into the closest building which happened to be the National Gallery. The National Gallery is free to enter and has well known artwork including, but not limited to, Monet’s The Water Lily Pond, Van Gogh’s Sunflowers, Da Vinci’s Virgin on the Rocks, and Seurat’s Bathers at Asnières. The gallery is large and you could easily spend hours there but…we had toddlers with us and they can only stare at artwork for so long.

Once we confirmed it was no longer raining, we ventured back outside in the direction of our hotel and stopped by Locale Southbank for dinner. Since we had pizza the night before, we tried the Pappardelle and the girls got spaghetti. The food was delicious and the girls got a free scoop of ice cream with their meal. They each got a scoop: one white chocolate and one dark chocolate. Their parents may have gotten to enjoy some of the ice cream as well (especially the white chocolate).

Day 3 – The Day We Were Over-Ambitious: Paris

Since we were so close to Paris, we thought “why not take a day trip to Paris?” I had been to Paris about 10 years ago and felt a day in the city was enough. Fast forward to a 4:30 AM wake-up call to catch a subway to King’s Cross (home of Platform 9 3/4) and a short walk over to St. Pancras International train station only to realize the “arrive 45 minutes to an hour early” (not 35 minutes early) means you truly need to be there during that time or you will miss your train. A $200 change fee and 2 hours later, we were on our way to Paris with an arrival time of 1:00 PM. That Seine River Tour we booked for 12:45 PM? Canceled. We would have loved to participate in the tour but we ended up exploring the city on foot instead.

When we arrived at the Paris Gare Du Nord train station, we had an extremely hard time locating the station that would take us to Notre Dame. The Information booth was closed and the Information stations hanging on the walls were not only in French (naturally), but even being in French, had no information on them when you clicked through the terminal. We finally got some cell phone reception after about 30-minutes walking around aimlessly before we found we needed to take RER B from Gare du Nord to Saint Michel-Notre Dame.

At the time of this post, Notre Dame was under construction due to the fire that destroyed the vast majority of it a few years ago. However, the main section of the cathedral it is renowned for was preserved. After a few quick pictures, we stopped by La Crème de Paris Notre-Dame for crepes and coffee. We dove head first into a banana and strawberry crepe, as well as a ham and cheese crepe.

If you need to go to the restroom when you arrive at Notre Dame, don’t make our mistake and go all the way down the stairs and down the hallway only to discover it costs €2 to enter. We didn’t have any money on us and our 3 year old really had to go. Thus, our stop at the creperie which ended up going in our favor!

From Notre Dame, we walked through the Louvre courtyard and then straight to the Eiffel Tower which was the landmark that brought us to Paris, as it is for most tourists. The girls loved seeing the Eiffel Tower especially with their most recent obsession of Fancy Nancy. If we had to do it over again, we would also try to catch the Eiffel Tower at night so we could watch it sparkle. Maybe we’ll come back in the future.

Due to the train and subway debacle earlier in the day, we went straight back to the train station…2 hours early. We were all worn out from the 5-6 miles of walking around the city and lack of naps so heading back early was welcomed by all. We started the day at 4:30 and ended the day at midnight. Needless to say, we all slept in very late the next day.

Paris is terrible for strollers/buggies. There are a lot of cobblestone streets and sidewalks. The elevators/lifts and ramps down to the subway are far and few between. We found ourselves having to carry the strollers up and down the stairs with the kids in them. However, the French were extremely accommodating and offered to help every single time. When we arrived at the train station, we also had to wait in a long queue to purchase subway tickets. After waiting about 20 minutes and only making it halfway, a very nice gentleman came up to us and asked if we were just traveling within the city. From there, he offered us two free tickets (kids are free). We were blown away with how nice everyone was.

Day 4 – The Actual Day of Exploring: London

After a very late night which turned into a very late morning, we finally left the hotel around 11:00 AM and grabbed some brunch at The Black Penny. The food, as it had been with every meal during the trip, was delicious. Although every single thing we ate was memorable, we highly recommend ordering their freshly-squeezed apple juice. Best apple juice we’ve ever had.

After brunch, we went straight to the walkway by Westminster Bridge where there is an assortment of family-oriented attractions including Dreamworks Shrek’s Adventure, Sea Life London, The London Dungeon, and The London Eye. We purchased multi-attraction tickets online to Shrek’s Adventure, Sea Life London, and The London Eye. The perks of doing this is a) you get a discount, b) you don’t have to wait in any lines to purchase the tickets, and c) you have 90 days to use the tickets to each of the attractions.

Our first stop: Dreamworks Shrek’s Adventure. At the time of this post, this attraction was open from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM on weekdays and 10:00 to 4:00 PM on weekends and took about an hour to complete. It is an interactive attraction which has you starting off the adventure by hopping on a bus and “flying” through simulated skies. After you’re “back on the ground”, you are taken through different scenes where you interact with familiar Shrek characters. Overall, we all had a blast at this attraction and we highly recommend it! However, our 3-year old did mention she was a little scared so just be mindful before you start this hour-long adventure.

Next, we walked the short distance to The London Eye. At the time of this post, The London Eye was open daily from 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM and took about 30 minutes to complete. The London Eye is a staple of London and we highly recommend you go on it. You see London from so many different vantage points and this attraction honestly made us love the city even more.

When we departed the London Eye, we continued to head east along the Queen’s Walk (walkway along Thames River) where we stopped at a carousel and then grabbed froyo at Snog (frozen yogurt shop in a double-decker pink bus). To all of our enjoyment, a double rainbow appeared at that time as well which unbeknownst to us, seemed to foreshadow what was to come shortly after.

As we continued our journey east on the Thames, we started to hear sirens and a handful of helicopters began flying overhead. We didn’t think anything of it since that sort of thing happens daily stateside during rush hour traffic. So, we continued on down the Queen’s Walkway and over Millennium Bridge towards St. Paul’s Cathedral. Right after we crossed the bridge, a large military helicopter flew overhead which finally prompted us to check our phones. To our dismay, the Queen had passed away.

For the remainder of the day, the city seemed to bustle as it always had since it didn’t appear the news had really hit yet. So, we continued on to St. Paul’s Cathedral, over London Bridge, over the Tower Bridge, and to the Tower of London. At that point, we were tired and hungry so we stopped at a nearby burger place called The Honest Burger. Yet again, we were blown away by the food. At the time of this post, they had a special called Halloumi 2.0 which consisted of Honest beef, Briddlesford halloumi, American cheese, sriracha mayo, chipotle jam, lettuce and pickles. Indescribably delicious. After dinner, we walked the 10 minutes to the train station and headed back to the hotel.

Day 5 – The Day to Just Chill: London

The following day, we woke up with the mentality of “let’s just chill out today”. We had one more attraction to see out of our multi-attraction tickets: Sea Life London. From the outside, it doesn’t look like this aquarium is very big but don’t be deceived. There are 14 “zones” spanning 3 floors with over 500 species of animals. From walking over glass floors with sharks swimming underneath to watching penguins waddle around, there is so much to see. We really enjoyed this aquarium and would rate it as one of the top aquariums we have visited.

Following the aquarium, we went back to Snog for froyo and took the froyo to Jubilee Gardens to eat. With our sweet tooth satisfied, we ventured over to the playground within the park. The kids did not want to leave and it took quite a bit of kicking and screaming to leave it.

After a quick rest at the hotel, we met up with some friends at a nearby restaurant called The Strings. If you are looking for a unique dining experience, this place is it. While enjoying your fill of Spanish and Italian tapas, you will also be serenaded every half hour for 5-10 minutes by an exceptional guitarist. Not only were us adults entranced, our young children were as well. We highly recommend visiting!

Day 6: The Day the Fútbol Game that Wasn’t: London

During COVID, Austen started watching soccer because it was the first sport to come back in full force. He grew an attachment to the Chelsea fútbol team so naturally, we had to see if Chelsea was playing when we were in London. To our excitement, they were playing Fulham at Craven College so we bought tickets the second they became available. Fast forward to Friday, September 9 (the day after the queen passed away) and they announced the game would be postponed in show of respect for the queen’s death.

Although disappointed, we weren’t going to let the day go to waste so what better than to go straight to Hyde Park via route directly in front of Buckingham Palace? Any other way. Once we got started into the crowd, there was no turning back. It took us a full hour to get across the street and not the “across the street to Hyde Park” which was barricaded off; just enough “across the street” to get us to the opposite path within St. James’s Park. Once our stress levels lessened, we really got to take in what we had just experienced. We had witnessed the procession to honor the queen first-hand. We witnessed hundreds of people bringing bouquets of flowers to lay down at the Palace. (Literally, hundreds. At least 75% of the people we saw heading towards the Palace were bringing a bouquet with them.). We were in the country during her passing, during the initial mourning. We were there to witness how deeply the Queen had impacted the country. It is indescribable as an outsider.

When we finally made it through the crowds, we went back through Piccadilly Circus to Hyde Park where we stopped at the Rotten Row Playground and Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Playground. The Diana Memorial Playground was a family favorite. From a pirate ship to tee pees, there was no shortage of activities for the girls to do there.

After the girls were worn out from playing, we packed them back up in the strollers and walked through Kensington Gardens to Kensington Palace. The grounds and wildlife were beautiful. We found you could also enjoy your afternoon tea right outside of Kensington Palace. However, we did not partake in the activity at the time.

A short distance away from Kensington Palace, we stopped for our first fish and chips experience (yes, I know…6 days in) at The Prince Albert. The food did not disappoint and was everything we dreamed fish and chips would be and more. Though, our youngest may have been the biggest fan of them of all.

When dinner was over, we didn’t want the evening to end so we walked back by Big Ben, the National COVID Memorial Wall, and then ended up in the Graffiti Tunnel. Our luck, someone in one of the pubs within the Graffiti Tunnel, Passyunk Avenue saw Austen wearing his University of Texas shirt and told him the game was on inside the pub. Austen had been convinced there wasn’t a single pub in London playing the game. Watching the game was just the cherry-on-top of an already wonderful day. (As Austen would say, Hook ‘Em).

Day 7: The Day We Traveled to a New Country: Portugal

The following day, we were picked up from our hotel 3 hours prior to our flight. At the time of this post, the London Heathrow airport was short staffed so they were advising travelers to get to the airport 2-3 hours early. We were fortunate in that a 2-hour arrival left us plenty of time to get through security, visit some airport shops, and find some seats to wait for our flight. However, we know this is not always the case.

We departed London at 11:20 AM and arrived in Lisbon at 2:00 PM. We had a private driver pick us up from the airport and take us to our AirBNB perfectly situated in Chiado. We highly recommend staying at the Stylish, Family-Friendly Apartment in Chiado. The owners arranged our driver, met us at the AirBNB to walk us through everything, left tons of toys for the kids, and set out binders full of recommendations throughout our stay. We have had quite a few AirBNB experiences throughout the world and this was one of the most accommodating.

From the AirBNB apartment, we strapped the girls to our backs with the LÍLLÉbaby 3-in-1 Ergonomic CarryOn Airflow carriers and went to the playground at Jardim França Borges. After plenty of time on the swings and slides, although with quite a bit of opposition from the kids, we packed them back up in the carriers and went to dinner at Decadente. There, we enjoyed mushroom and seawood rice, asparagus, fried chicken with piri piri sauce, and ribeye. As the wall of the restaurant stated, we helped ourselves and truly enjoyed some “Guilt-Free Self Indulgence”.

Day 8: The Day We Didn’t Expect: Lisbon

Austen set out the next day to run down to a local pastry shop to get the entire family breakfast. Included in the pastry box were an assortment of decadent carbs including Pastel de Nata. When you’re in Lisbon, partaking in Pastel de Nata (custard tarts) is a must. I can’t describe the taste aside from the thought of “can I have this for breakfast every day of my life?”

Prior to our trip, we purchased the Lisboa Card which allows for convenient, cheap transportation between cities, access to museums, etc. However, we did have to walk about 10 minutes and wait in line for about 30 minutes to pick up the cards. If you’re going to purchase the cards online and pick up in person, be sure to pick them up once the pick up location opens to avoid waiting in line as long as we did.

Once we had the Lisboa Cards in hand and were about to leave the building, the heavens opened and it started pouring rain. We ran as fast as we could to get to a tram overhang before we hopped on the tram to take us back up the hill. When we arrived back at the apartment, we were all soaking wet and reassessing our original plan to take a train to Sintra that day. One look at our phones to check the weather validated our feelings, had us kicking ourselves for not checking the weather sooner, and honestly, had our spirits down a little bit. We were set to leave Portugal on Thursday and the forecast showed 100% chance of rain every day until our departure.

Fortunately, after we sulked about the situation for about an hour, the skies did start to clear up so we decided to venture out for lunch at a delicious pizzeria called Valdo Gatti. After lunch, we walked around Lisbon and asked a gentlemen driving a rickshaw to drive us to Castelo de S. Jorge. Similar to other experiences we had throughout Europe, we were able to bypass the long line since we had children with us. The castle was beautiful and the girls loved hearing that kings and queens once lived there. The girls were especially excited about the peacocks on site.

Right outside the castle, we stopped at 28 Cafe for strawberry and marshmallow ice cream before making our way back to the apartment. Our walk wasn’t without detours though as we made our way to Se de Lisboa, Arc da Rua Augusta, and Elevador de Santa Justa.

Day 9: The Day We Got to Visit Castles: Sintra

The next day, we checked the weather and for the most part, the day had seemed to clear up quite a bit. I had really wanted to visit Sintra while we were in Portugal so we decided we were going to risk it. We walked to a nearby pastry shop called Padaria da Buirro before heading to the train station to take a train to Sintra. The Lisboa Card was great in that we just had to swipe the card at the train station and we could get on any train we’d like without any additional fees or lines.

Once we got to Sintra, we walked to Quinta da Regaleira. From the train station, it is about a 20- to 30-minute walk. You may be tempted to get on one of the numerous tour buses or hop in one of the various cabs to take you to one of the nearby attractions from the train station. However, we highly recommend walking a portion, if not all of it so you can really take in the beautiful city.

The Quinta da Regaleira is a 16th century property that has a Renaissance-style palace (“castle” in our eyes) and initiation wells, or inverted towers on site. The property is wide-spread across a hill and at that point in our journey, we were really only looking to get to the main palace and the main initiation well. We accomplished both before we sat down for lunch at the restaurant onsite right outside the palace. If you have the time, we highly recommend doing this. The food is good and the view is indescribable.

After lunch, we decided to pay for a cab to take us to Pena Palace instead of walk to it since it was getting late in the afternoon and the walk was about 90 minutes. Pena Palace was the main reason I wanted to go to Sintra due to all the fantastical images I saw of the castle online. Nothing truly prepares you for the vastness of the castle, nor the unique colors that are unlike any other castles I’ve been to before. Our oldest daughter really enjoyed taking pictures of various areas of the castles, including the beautiful tiles that spanned some of the walls.

When we departed, we took one of the buses back to the train station and used the Lisboa Card to get us back to Lisbon. Once there, we went to Duque Restaurante near our AirBNB before tucking in for the night.

Day 10: The Day we went to the Beach: Caiscais

During our final full day in Portugal, we went to a sit-down restaurant called Dear Breakfast in Chiado. We highly recommend getting there early because the line does start to build. We got there about 30-45 minutes after the restaurant opened and we did have to wait about 20 minutes. After breakfast, we decided we wanted to a have a relaxing day in the neighboring beach town of Caiscais. A quick 40-minute train ride using our Lisboa Card dropped us off at the train station where it was only a 5-minute walk to the Praia da Conceicao beach. There, we laid out, played in the sand, and frequently took short, quick dips in the frigid ocean.

After we got back to Lisbon and showered off, we had our final dinner in Portugal at O Cantinho Das Gaveas since it was a short walk from our AirBNB, the weather was nice, and they had outdoor seating. We decided to wrap up our evening by walking about 10-minutes to an ice cream shop called Sublime Sorbettino.

Final Thoughts

As I said at the beginning of this post, traveling with kids, especially young kids is hard. Research your destinations extensively before you visit. Prepare for the various modes of transportation while you’re abroad whether it’s hiring a driver with car seats, bringing a stroller and/or carrier, or just making sure you have an itinerary that fits your family’s needs. We also highly recommend you carve out time for both naps and play time throughout your itinerary so the needs of your children are met along with your own.

There will be moments of exhaustion and bad attitudes but you will get through those moments and come out of the other side with some incredible and unforgettable memories. You’re exploring the world with your family, giving them, as well as yourself, the opportunity to learn about something outside of their own backyard, and you’re spending quality time with each other. We highly recommend both England and Portugal as your next destination with your young family. We hope you love both destinations as much as we did.

London, Paris, and Portugal: Through the Eyes of a 3-Year Old