People have been telling us to write a travel blog for years, so here it is! We’ve done the majority of our trips over short weekends – just like you.
This blog is the practical resource we wished existed when we were planning those quick trips.
You won’t find “quit your job and travel the world” advice here. No “stay in one city for three months” itineraries. And definitely no budget backpacking tips that assume you’re 23, single, and willing to sleep on the airport floor.
This blog is for real people who travel:
People with limited vacation days. Families with school schedules. Anyone who can’t (or won’t) spend two weeks exploring one city when your transatlantic flight cost a fortune and you’ve got 14 days to see as much of Europe as possible.
We’re not budget travelers. We’re not luxury travelers. We’re strategic travelers who work hard to maximize our points through loyalty programs and credit card hacks, but also understand that sometimes paying $50 more per person for a later flight is worth avoiding a 6 AM meltdown with small children in tow.
We travel for the experiences. The meals that linger in memory years later. The moments our kids talk about for months. The stories we’ll tell forever – accidentally crashing a stranger’s wedding in Lithuania, discovering our toddler using a bidet as a sink at a luxury hotel, sprinting through Pisa with 47 minutes to catch a train.
Before kids, we lived abroad for five years with the military, squeezing every adventure we could into long weekends and holidays – £11 flights to Oslo, 24 hours in Rome before a cruise, that three-day weekend that somehow included five six countries.
Now? We’re raising trilingual twins in France, still chasing the next trip, and sharing everything we’ve learned along the way – the stuff you already know, the stuff we couldn’t find anywhere else, and the things we learned the hard way so you don’t have to.
Realistic travel guides for families who measure trips in hours, not weeks. 48 hours in Barcelona. 24 in Rome. 36 in Paris. You can do it, and do it well.
Military family travel strategies from someone who’s been there. How to use that 3-hour radius rule. Where to find those £11 flights everyone talks about. How to turn a European assignment into the adventure of a lifetime.
Travel with twins (or multiples) without losing your mind. Flying with two. Navigating airports. Hotel room strategies. The gear that matters.
Moving to and living in France tips for families navigating the expat life – the practical stuff about settling in that nobody tells you until you’re already there.
Honest budget breakdowns with real numbers. Not theoretical “you could spend…” estimates, but “here’s what we spent and whether it was worth it” transparency.
What worked, what didn’t, and what we’d do differently next time. Sure the Instagram-perfect highlights reel, but also the budget airline baggage fees that cost more than your tickets, the 3 PM airport meltdowns, the Michelin-starred meals, and everything in between.
Time is money, and we plan trips to hit the sweet spot: reasonably priced, close to the action, and maximizing both our time and our budget.
Sometimes that means splurging on a Michelin-recommended restaurant because the experience matters. Sometimes it means staying in Greenwich instead of central London because we’d rather spend that money on doing things.
We prioritize comfort when it counts. Direct flights over layovers when traveling with kids. Hotels close to the action when you only have 48 hours. The breakfast included option when you have a family of four to feed.
But that 5 AM flight when you only have three days? We’ll take it – because losing half a day to travel means missing out on memories.
We’re also smart about it. Using points. Booking that overnight train to save a hotel night. Finding the free museums and playgrounds that make a trip as memorable as the paid attractions.
Because we’ve learned that traveling light – literally and figuratively – makes everything better. Less stress. More flexibility. Easier to move between cities when you’re not hauling three checked bags through a train station with two kids in tow.
Also because this blog cuts through the excess. No fluff. No “here’s my entire life story before I tell you what time the museum opens.” The information you need, the stories that matter, and the honest takes you won’t find in other travel guides.
Jen (Gypsy):
Trip planner, budget tracker, content writer, and archiver. The reason we always know where the nearest bathroom is. Yoga therapist turned professional twin-wrangler. Her alter-ego spends her days chasing twin boys around France. She believes good wine, good food, and good company make any trip better – even when someone has a meltdown outside the Louvre. In her spare time, she teaches yoga (yoga therapy) and searching for the best Boulangerie in the city.
Jon (Spartan):
Technical advisor and designated “let’s just wing it” voice of reason. Former fighter pilot who now applies the same strategic planning to finding £11 flights and working on a new profession. Makes a mean risotto. Enjoys traveling and cooking. Still the one who gets us through airport security in record time.
The Twins:
Trilingual chaos agents who’ve visited 43 countries (and we’ll forget to update this), have strong opinions about the best restaurant in the world, and once used a bidet as a sink at a luxury hotel. They’re the reason we know which museums have good bathrooms, which restaurants will let a 4-year-old order “just fries,” and why packing wet wipes is non-negotiable.
Planning a 48-hour trip and wondering if it’s doable with kids? Trying to figure out if that Michelin restaurant is worth the hype or if you should skip it? Need to know if those budget airline baggage fees will cost more than your flight?
I’d love to help. Drop a comment on any post, or connect with me on any of the platforms below.
Now let’s make the most of your next 48 hours.
— Jen
P.S. – My kids might not remember that I let them eat ice cream for breakfast in Barcelona, but they definitely won’t forget the time I threatened to throw one of them on the hotel shuttle boat after running through Venice to catch it. Travel creates stories. Even, especially, when things don’t go according to plan.
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