The Red Accordion Diaries

I took my 18-month-old to Europe for a month, and all we took was one carry-on suitcase.

I don't have a lot of useful skills, but I can pack like nobody's business. Travel is my forte, particularly airline travel. Road trips mean you can toss anything in at the last minute, no matter how lightly you are traveling -- a roll of paper towels, a huge bag of snacks, a few extra sweaters. Airline travel is different, and I love its limitations.

Remember that I am a professional musician, and I have traveled for months at a time, staying in everywhere from tour vans to couches to swanky hotels. I have picked up a lot of tips from my adventures, and lots of it is easy applicable to traveling with a toddler. I'm also not a zillionaire. I love public transportation, and I don't like pre-planned-vacation-packages. I plan out only what is necessary (plane tickets) and keep my options open. This means things usually go as planned because, well, there isn't much of a plan in the first place.

Truthfully, all you really need is your passport and a credit card, right?

I'm working on another blog about sightseeing and other travel tips, but for today, I'm going to focus on packing.

A few bits of background info:

We traveled from mid-March to mid-April in France and the United Kingdom.
My kiddo was 18-months on the day we left Louisville.
The weather averaged from mid-50s to mid-60s (a few days colder), so cool but mild.

Tips:

Our Ergo was the best thing I packed.

Think different when it comes to diaper bag. From a thrift store, I brought a turquoise hobobag with three large compartments. It doesn't look like a standard diaper bag, so it felt less frumpy on the streets of Paris (where everything can feel a bit frumpy compared to French women). It looks more like a purse than anything.
A small nylon backpack bag. You know what I'm talking about -- those little bags that are given away at fundraisers and such? I packed two of them, folded flat, for when I wanted a backpack or didn't want to carry the whole hobobag.
A baby carrier. When he was little, we loved the Moby, but we've been an Ergo family since he turned one. He can ride on the front or the back, and he sleeps in it. I wore him most of the trip, even though I had brought along a stroller too.
Ditch the stroller. I brought a stroller, and this was my big mistake. I did use it a few times, but I think in the end it was more trouble than it was worth. It was just a small umbrella stroller, but those wheels are horrible on the ancient and busy streets of Europe. The days where I just strapped him on my back were a lot easier for me -- even though he was 27lbs at the time. The Paris Metro is not stroller-friendly, having sometimes over 60 steps (yes, we counted them because every moment is a learning moment). We climbed Sacre Coeur with him in the Ergo, and it was spectacular. It was nice for talking and bonding because he was at eye level with me rather than facing the opposite direction in a stroller. Anyway, next time I might consider buying a cheap stroller once I arrived to a place I would be for a while. But I value my one free hand more than I value the stroller.
Lace underwear. Obviously, this was not a romantic trip, but lace underwear nonetheless. For you, not your kiddo:) I brought 5 pair, which is 2 more than my suggested minimum. Why? Lace underwear is easy to wash in a sink and dries very quickly.
Disposable diapers. We use mostly cloth diapers at home, but I tried not to think about the pile of garbage three times the size of Texas in the Pacific ocean and went disposable for this trip.
Only pack diapers for the first day. I only brought 10 diapers with me for flight. There are babies all over the world, so obviously you can buy diapers when you arrive at your destination.

Reusable stickers we bought at the airport.

Rent an apartment, not a hotel. Use Airbnb or VRBO or a similar site to find an apartment. Odds are it'll be cheaper, better located, and more equipped (read: a washing machine!) than any hotel.
Don't bring many toys. We brought two small toy cars (he was really into playing "WRECK!" at the time). At the airport, we bought a pack of reusable stickers. The newness of the stickers held his attention, and it didn't take up much room. You'll want to buy souvenirs on your trip anyway. Speaking of...
Check a bag on the way home. We bought a dufflebag from a thrift store, so we weren't worried about collecting souvenirs. We actually ended up bringing an entire Thomas the Tank Engine train set home that we bought used from the 7-year-old boy who lived in the apartment next door. (He also loaned us LOADS of great toys while we were there.)
Black or brown. More on packing clothes later, but choose black or brown. Stick to that color scheme when you are packing, and everything will match.
Wear your biggest clothes on the plane. I brought some knee-high boots. They would have taken up half my carry-on. Wear them on the plane. Yes, you have to take them off at security, but it's not a big deal. You're already the one with a toddler, so you're not in the Expert Travel line. I also wore my coat on the plane, which was good to use as a pillow/blanket while trying to catch some sleep.
Extra shoulder luggage strap. My hobobag didn't have a large across-your-chest strap, so I brought a detachable one. This meant I could strap my toddler in the Ergo, roll the suitcase behind me, place the purse/diaper-bag across my chest, and still have one hand free to roll the stroller (that I wish I had never brought). There is probably a way to strap the stroller to the carry-on without using duct tape, but we weren't able to figure it out (despite several attempts).

So these are my broad tips, but I'm also going to tell you exactly what I packed in our carryon and some tips on the actual folding, etc. Apparently people out there don't believe it's possible to travel for a month for themselves in just a carry-on, much less a toddler's things too. This blog is long enough though. When I finish the What We Packed blog, I'll post a link here. Now, start daydreaming about taking your next vacation.

Nice meals out can be, um, not really worth it if you are vegetarian. At the same time, David and I love, like love love love, sitting down to a luxurious and special meal. We still daydream about our hours-long evenings enjoying the tasting menus at The Number One in the Balmoral and The Kitchn in Leith.

I never understand why some restaurants put crap vegetarian options on their menus. The vegetarian of the group is the trump card! Your place only has a portobello sandwich? The group isn't going to eat there, even if the rest of the group is pure carnivore.

Anyway, that's all to say that David and I rarely treat ourselves to a nice meal out in Louisville because most Louisville chefs don't pay much attention to vegetarians. For our date night, however, we went to Marketplace down on South 4th Street (it's behind the Brown Hotel, just steps from the Palace Theatre). I'm friends with the Dallas McGarity's (aka the Executive Chef at Marketplace) wife. I happen to know that she is a vegetarian. She also loves fine dining, so I would imagine the chef has gotten an earful a time or two about lack of veggie options at most nice restaurants.

We managed to squeeze into a 6:15 reservation, which was perfect for our 8:00 date with Loretta Lynn. (Sidenote: David's co-workers had not heard of her. If you haven't either, please read this and then come back.) Our server knew that we were vegetarians -- it was notated on our reservations -- which saved that awkward moment where the server rattles off the long list of very meaty specials only to be followed by, "We're vegetarians." He went straight to pointing out the lengthy list of vegetarian appetizers on the menu, as well as the two main dishes: one pasta and one entree.

At some point we settled into the exciting idea that we didn't have our toddler with us and we'd taken an Uber downtown, ergo: we could order a bottle of wine. Party! I went with Prosecco because I wanted some bubbly but didn't feel like blowing $100 on champagne. It was totally affordable ($27), and totally delicious.

Once we toasted our night out, we were surprised with a little treat from the kitchen: the chef sent out some Brussels sprouts. I adore Brussels sprouts, as does David, so this wasn't a stretch for us. BUT these were hands down the best Brussels sprouts I have ever eaten (and yes, I've done that Pinterest recipe before). I'm making this photo super large because I want to live inside of it:

" cranberries, bourbon-sorghum hoisin, almond brussels sprouts" from Marketplace in Louisville

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Seriously, I could stop here and talk of nothing else besides these Brussels sprouts. I want them for lunch right now. I want them for dinner tonight. Et cetera. They are so good.

But you're here to read about what else we ate, so I'll move on. We ordered the two vegetarian main dishes that were on the menu. I got the feeling that the Chef would have prepared us something else if we hadn't been okay with those options (most nice restaurants will work with your food restrictions). But they seemed right on target for us -- one creamy pasta dish, and one that was either dairy-free or light-on-the-dairy (we aren't vegan, so we didn't ask).

We ordered the Ricotta Gnocchi (tomato cream, local mushrooms, parmesan $21) and it was divine. Seriously, so so so yummy. I'm at a short for adjectives because I have mommy brain, but doesn't yummy explain enough? We also had a Black Bean dish (with "polenta & greens, chipotle honey sauce, red cabbage 'slaw' for $21). It was solid enough to be like a black bean burger, but much thicker and tastier. It reminded me of how they serve the vegetarian haggis with neeps and tatties in Scotland -- a thick bean patty in a moat of polenta. David and I kept trading our entrees back and forth all night, and we were totally happy with our meals. Again -- the vegetarian options didn't seem like an after-thought here, which was so refreshing.

And dessert! Bad blogger here -- I don't remember what it was called, but do yourselves a favor and take this photo with you when you go and order it IMMEDIATELY. It's a chocolate mousse with fresh whipped cream and some sort of little balls of white chocolate and a nut that I can't remember because we INHALED this dessert:

We had a great time and can't wait to go again. The trio that played and sang jazz standards was a lovely touch (tip your musicians, folks!), and we left Marketplace in that perfectly blissed-out combination of wine and the perfect about of food.

Anyway, restaurants, pay attention: there are vegetarians in this world with disposable income who might like a date night. David and I will definitely be back to Marketplace the next time we get a night out. Maybe you'll join us?

Here's what was happening at home while we ate fancy food and heard a living legend sing. It has nothing to do with this blog, but it's very cute:

In all my music tours of the UK, my favorite part is always sitting down with my host (sometimes an overworked venue promoter and sometimes just a nice family who hosts a few house concerts a year) after a long drive and sharing "a cuppa." Usually I begin my UK trip wishing I'd asked for decaf, and I end each tour blissfully addicted. It's not just the tea itself. It's the ceremony, the tradition, the wait-patiently-and-ponder-while-it-steeps, and: the cups.

I won't pretend they were all charming, floral and vintage. Plenty were the classic white IKEA mugs.

Somehow, even those IKEA cups have a little more oomph to them when served in an English (or Scottish or Welsh!) Cottage Garden. Lately I have yearned to share a proper Clippers Earl Grey (shout out to my aristo friends!) in a perfectly trimmed garden by a stone cottage with a thatched roof with a murder mystery surrounding me (okay, maybe not that last part -- my imagination runs rampant).

Seeing as how my house has vinyl siding, and my hedge maze is still in infancy stages, I decided to create my own magic. My cups needed improving me. I love my Thing 1 and Thing 2 mugs, but they do not scream aristocracy -- or even peasant, really. They scream AMERICAN!.

A few weeks ago, I broke my don't-buy-anything-material-only-buy-dinner-and-plane-tickets rule, and I bought a teacup from Anthropologie. Granted, I talked myself out of the $288 dresses, but still, I bought a $6.95 (50%off!) teacup. I felt guilty immediately. Also, I cannot describe the immense pleasure it has brought me -- to slow down and pop a sugar cube and mix it with my tea with a tiny spoon.

Then it occurred to me that somewhere between my house and my mom's house, I actually had several vintage floral teacups -- the kind that no one is allowed to use because they used to be great-grandmother's or something. And I thought: what is the point? The point should be to slow down and drink tea, not to trap them in newspaper in a box in the basement. I haven't found the majority of the collection, but I was able to liberate a few. And don't they look wonderful??

Now excuse me while I put the kettle on...

The Wee Boy and I both survived our first time away from each other. He has had a handful of sleepovers over the past few months, but this was the first time I was gone for him for more than an overnight -- and this was four overnights and five full days. And, yes, I am still nursing, so it was a little rougher on both of us.

But repeat the first sentence: we survived.

Look at us, all kid-free and stuff.

Apparently, he slept fairly well for the in-laws, who flew in from Texas to spend the long, long weekend with him, while David and I attended a wedding in the Bahamas. Last night, of course, he paid me back for my four great nights of hotel sleep by waking up every 30 minutes to scream, "I want my Mommy," which made me feel both guilty and awake. So much for that lovely rested feeling I managed to achieve on the island.

I know, I know, it's good for both of us to spend some time apart. A year ago, I wouldn't have thought twice about leaving -- get me out of here was pretty much a daily thought. Nowadays, however, the Wee Boy is kind of my best little pal during the week. We hang out, we chat, we cook meals together, we go on walks, we collect leaves. On second thought, it sounds like we're dating, right? Maybe it was extra good that we spent some time apart...

Anyway, quick updates:

Potty training is going absurdly well. Not an accident since the first day of underwear several weeks ago. I know I'm jinxing it now because I've put him down for a nap in his underwear, not in a pull up. But he pulls his own pants up and down, and he always tells someone when he has to go. He even often wakes up in the night to go -- and honestly, I think that's always been part of his sleep troubles: that he wakes up every time he pees. I have done nothing special, so this is just further proof that there is no rhyme or reason to childrearing.

He didn't nurse for five solid days, and I wasn't sure if this was the end of our nursing or not. But the very first thing he said to me when I got home was, "May I have nursies, please?" So there's that. Apparently there is still milk in there, even though I only hand-expressed twice on vacation, and only for a minute or so because I forgot how much I hate expressing. So far today, he has nursed four times, which is twice as much as usual. I'd say he's making up for lost time, and he doesn't seem interested in cutting back.

We totally bribed him. The only thing that helped him stop crying when we FaceTimed was the promise of presents. "How many presents do you want?" "Four. Four BIG presents." You got it, kiddo. Anything you say. We are so so so so so sorry to have abandoned you!