TRAVEL IN YOUR 40'S / IT HITS DIFFERENT

Bonsoir friends!

Several weeks ago, it was what I like to call a panic attack of sorts, trying to get ready for the trip of a lifetime: amongst writing out word for word the schedule for the littles, and organizing uniforms in drawers, I stopped and gasped for breath. “Is everything going to be ok?” My stomach grumbled, I came down the stairs and my Mom said “We’ve got it. Everything is good, go to bed.” So I did. I checked for our passports, all the details were checked and it was time for rest. We would embark on a bucket list trip in the am.

Cue to today. 8 weeks later and I’m still not over it.

We are back from what might be my favorite trip abroad in the history of ever. I didn’t have one migraine, no one got sick, no fights amongst us lovers (except 1), and we came back exactly how we left. Except completely different. We were changed. From top to bottom. You see, traveling in your 40’s as it turns out, is a multitude of exceptional enlightenments. It just hits different.

I remember my last trip to Paris vividly. I was 21 years young. I traveled solo right after I graduated from UCLA because I wanted to see the world. My Mom encouraged me to go. She told me to save my money and “go explore the world.” Brave advice. Also, brave kid I was because I took that advice, saved my money and bought a one way ticket to Paris in June of 1998.

The world was different then. But I was young, curious and had an insatiable appetite to explore parts of the world I hadn’t yet seen. Upon arrival to Paris as a naive, yet seasoned young adult, I was mesmerized by every corner, but also slightly frightened by being a young single girl in the middle of a foreign country. The long short story of it all is this: I adventured and I saw beauty on every street of Paris, Florence Italy and Barcelona Spain. Hashtag #fun.

Then I grew up.

Eight weeks ago my husband and I returned from our trip abroad and when I say I’m still not over it, I’m still actually not over it.

Travel is a privilege. An absolute wonder to be able to experience seeing the magnitude of this world right in front of your eyes.

Hence, this bucket list trip.

The back story: my husband researched his genealogy beginning sometime during the pandemic. He dug deep and kept on digging. He’s not the type to do something and not finish it. So in the spring of this year, when I prodded him for the 100th time about his wishes for his 50th birthday, he laid it on me.

“I want to go to the towns that my Grandfathers (from the 9th and 10th centuries) were born, where they lived and where they eventually left for America.”

Wow, ok. So “where are those towns?” I asked.

He said, “Oundle England, Donegal Ireland and Bern Switzerland.”

My excited cheerleader voice gasped in a high pitch scream….”are you serious?”

I was so excited. I was about to embark on a real journey with my American Husband of 14 years.

You see, about 4 months before I met my husband in Nashville Tennessee in the fall of 2006, I was living in Italy and Scotland with my then ex-fiance.

Yeah, that’s another story for another day, but the last time I traveled across the pond, I was 29, engaged to an Italian Scot and genuinely a bit lost in my life, wandering streets of Europe praying for a normal life with someone I loved. And maybe some kids and a house with a big backyard.

And well, here I was in 2022.

Married 14 years to the love of my life, 4 kids and a puppy on the way.

So naturally when the husband said we’re going on this trip, all the emotions flooded my veins.

Ireland, England, Switzerland.

With a side of Paris. Because Paris is always a good idea.

In the quickest nutshell and to be concise, this trip was everything we dreamt of and more.

Here’s how we did it and the highlights that made it memorable, instagram worthy and worth every single penny we spent.

NASHVILLE TO DUBLIN

We flew into Dublin because we knew we wanted to start there. It was the top of the map and it was the most logical considering we wanted to do most of this trip by train if we could, (so we could see as much as possible in an 11 day window).

FLIGHT —BNA to DUBLIN VIA ATLANTA ON DELTA

We arrived to Dublin on Monday morning after an overnight flight from Nashville, via Atlanta. The 7 hours to Dublin from Atlanta was not bad and although neither of us slept amazing, we were ready to go around noon Dublin time once we arrived at the fabulous Westbury hotel.

Navigating Dublin by car wasn’t easy, but we did mostly driving in the cities because we were on the hunt for very obscure locations that my husband had researched. Once he got the hang of it and figured out that even the tiniest streets of Dublin with pedestrians on every inch of the cobblestone roads can be driven, we nailed it. Dublin is fabulous as ever, and charming on every corner. The people, the shopping, the beer, the culture. Our hotel was perfection. The rooms were chic, restaurant and lounge a dream and location wise couldn’t have been more conducive to walking the nightlife and seeking true Dublin fare everywhere you turned.

DONEGAL BY TINY CAR AND HUNDREDS OF ROUNDABOUTS

The drive to Donegal from Dublin was not short but not a bad 3+ hour drive. We arrived at Harvey’s Point Hotel in Donegal after a short stop in a quaint town about 40 miles south of there. The romance and history of Donegal was right in our face while driving the tiny roads to the property of our hotel. The roads are so tiny I felt like Cameron Diaz in “The Holiday” afraid we might crash on every curve. Dinner at the hotel, music in the lounge and a long walk in the cold fog by the lake, we were excited about exploring Northern Island in the morning.

Aside from the extensive lessons of Irish history we learned on our tour with the ever impressive guide Joe, we were stunned by the beauty of the ocean, the cliffs, and the rich history of the fighting Irish and what Ireland as a whole, stands for. Of course I’ve known much of it through the eyes of my very Irish mother, but seeing our guide speak to us in his passionate Irish accent about the thousands of years of battle steeped in castles left and right, it made me want to go back, learn more and stay a while. The hubby’s family history wasn’t specific here, but walking the grounds of the Castle of Donegal was a close second to understanding this side of his family.

DUBLIN TO LONDON TO OUNDLE

We drove back to Dublin by the next evening and had an early flight the next day to London. The flight was quick and in no time we got our petite red Audi rental and headed north to Oundle, England. The drive was easy and when we arrived, it was early afternoon. The tiny adorable and oh so charming town of Oundle was just lovely. You can walk the town in its entirety in about 20 minutes. The Talbot Hotel dates back to the 16th century. My husband was taller than the bedroom ceiling of our adorable suite on the 3rd floor. The stone inside the restaurant and bar dates back hundreds of years, it literally felt like we were back in time. We visited the church of my husband’s 11th generation grandfather. He was buried there but you can’t read the headstones because it’s been thousands of years. Visiting this church y’all….the history, the smell, the feeling inside, it was unbelievable. So many feelings, so many tears. We will never forget this town.

In the a.m, we headed back to London and arrived at the oh so chic Hotel Nobu and got right into the bustle of the city. London is fire. It’s busy, but sophisticated, dark, but classy, old but modern and has everything a city girl appreciates. We shopped, browsed the fabulous Selfridges and walked much of “Old Blighty” before we ate dinner at Nobu and an early bedtime.

PADDINGTON TRAIN STATION

We got up early (yet again) and took a taxi to Paddington station where we would take the train to PARIS.

Yes. Paris.

It wasn’t on the itinerary, but we had to go London to Paris, so we could go Paris to Bern Switzerland by train. It was like duh. My husband obliged and as soon as we got on the train he was sold. It was a lovely smooth easy ride from London to Paris. (London St. Pancras to Paris Gare Du Nord). There was a moment on the train of pure bliss as I looked out the window and saw we made it from English to French Soil. I started crying. It was epic. Gratitude, joy, heart.

PARIS IS ALWAYS A GOOD IDEA

Don’t get it wrong. Paris is never wrong. Even if you only have a day.

It’s E V E R Y T H I N G. The food (the croquet monsieur at Cafe Flor is beyond), the shopping, the fashion, the architecture. It’s an abundance of breathtaking beauty with every step you take. It’s never enough time in Paris. For me, it’s a dream. Truly. Hotel de l’ Abbaye in Saint Germain was lovely. The rooms were tiny and the full bed wasn’t my favorite but you can’t beat the location. The charm, the shops, and vibe of this district in Paris is a total dream. Saint Laurent Saint Germain, we had some real fun.

YOU MUST RIDE THE TRAIN TO SWITZERLAND

(Paris Gare de Lyon- Bern Zytglogge) was the train ride and we booked on Rome to Rio app.)

My friend Brandon suggested we ride the train from Paris to Bern. What a brilliant idea. First of all, riding trains in Europe is so zen. It’s literally the most quiet peaceful way to travel. But if you don’t look out the window, you’ll miss it. Y’all, it’s breathtaking. The landscape and how it moves and changes from one part of France, into Switzerland is indescribable. The yellow and gold fields of France quickly move into mountains and valleys of Swiss sophisticated beauty. Once you see the Alps from the railroad tracks, you can’t go back. It’s like nothing you’ve ever seen in this world. I can’t imagine what it’s like with white Swiss snow. I imagine it looks like the magical North Pole. In fact, it seems only logical to plan Christmas in the Swiss Alps in a few years and take the children.

BERN SWITZERLAND

The train dropped us off literally across the street from Hotel Schweizerhof (which is fabulous) in Bern. Stepping out of the train station into the misty rainy air of Bern, you could smell the clean chic mood of Swiss living. Everything from the consistency of glass doors everywhere to the engineering of the streets, the parking garages, the elevators, the sidewalks, Switzerland is so smart. Everything is so thoughtful and precisely engineered so clean and concise. The town of Thun (outside of Bern) is quaint, full of charm and vibrant color. The buildings are of blues and pinks and purples and the color of the river is such a gorgeous turquoise, you’d think you were on the movie set of “Frozen”. Truly. Much of the food in this part of Switzerland was Italian which we loved and the tour of the Bern Castle was for the books. The family history there was intense and walking it was like walking through time travel. On our second day in Bern we took a long romantic drive through a couple of the towns my husband’s family name came from. It is hard to write the words here of what that was like. Switzerland had us gasping for air with its exquisite beauty. The drive along the top of the alps is quite the mythical climb, with views of the peaks to the pristinely clean lakes, it just takes your breath. Literally. From Interlaken to the top of Stauffenaop mountain (where my husbands surname was born), we were in God’s country and we were immensely humbled.

ZURICH SWITZERLAND

The train ride from Bern to Zurich was short and sweet like the rest. Another train ride, another cappuccino and croissant. Oh and the chocolate croissants in Switzerland take the cake. The secret is in the Swiss Chocolate. I ate about 2 or 3 a day. No regrets.

SEE YOU SOON

Zurich: I could write a love letter to you that’s a 1000 pages long and it still wouldn’t do justice of the magnitude of love I have for you. Zurich is sexy. It’s stunning. It’s sophisticated and smart, clean and confident. The romance. Maybe it’s because my husband has Swiss in his blood and you could see in his eyes that he felt at home, or maybe it was just in the air, but the romance of this city rubbed off on these marrieds of 14 years like magic dust. The hotel room at the Hotel Storchen was out of a fairytale. The double doors opened up to the enchanted river and to the left there was a carousel that seemed to spin on and on into the mysterious Swiss nights. (See my Instagram story highlights to see it in video). I kept waiting for Julie Andrews to start singing on the sidewalk below us. No joke. It was everything. I could go on and on about the romance and the beauty of this country. The food and shopping on cobblestone roads that date back thousands of years, but yet casually has Hermes and Chanel sandwiched between a modern coffee house and chocolate shop to boot. I’ll leave you with this: Switzerland is one of my favorite countries I’ve visited and we will be back.

Traveling in your forties is a gift. With four kids, a puppy, two busy careers and a lot of responsibilities, flying across the globe to see the world with my love was something I’ll never take for granted. Looking out the window of an airplane at this stage of life, it hits different. There’s feelings and moments that you just can’t replicate. Moments to just be. To take it all in and tattoo it on your heart. Because no matter what happens in this life…this life is a series of moments and you don’t get them back. Just like a movie, frame by frame, those moments happen and then they’re over. You can rewind to view, but the moment is gone. A good reminder to be here now and love your life. And live. Love and live.