The Storeys Meet England, Scotland and Amsterdam

When we shared with friends and family that we were taking our six month old on a 10 day trip to the U.K, the reactions were everything in between "You guys have a death wish" to "6 months is the perfect age to travel, and it will be no big deal!" Aaron and I have made it a priority to travel together since we were dating and our hope when we had kids was that we would keep doing the things that are important to us. Including travel, while adjusting our expectations. We are used to bringing carryons only, packing in a full itinerary, and never staying in one place more than a few nights. We definitely learned some things this trip, and will likely change our M.O. with travel now that we have Sunny in tow.

Sunny About to Show Everyone Why It's Called a Red Eye

Day 1: Travel LAS to LHR

Our first hurdle was just packing for a baby. I'm guessing this is something we'll get more efficient with, but wow. Between diapers, wipes, formula, carriers, toys, her bunny (essential), teethers, bottles, multiple clothing options for every weather possibility, noise makers, binkies, carseat covers, rain shields, etc we left the house pretty sure that we forgot something. I truly didn't know what made it into my own bag.

The second obstacle was getting through the airport. As two people who haven't checked bags in probably 10+ years, this was the first time I felt stressed on arrival at the Las Vegas airport. We flew Virgin Atlantic direct to London and our Delta credit card includes a free checked bag with partner airlines, so that was a win! Aaron took time verifying with Delta, Amex and Virgin that the bag was included but when we arrived at the checkin counter we were met with a blank stare by an attendant who looked like we were speaking Dutch. Everything was sorted out once a few phone calls were made.

If you're traveling with a baby under 6 months, request a bassinet prior to departure! Each airline has weight and height requirements. Not every airline offers one but this was a game changer! We requested it a few weeks out and were told we would know at check in. Thank you to every friend and family member who shared this tip!

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Bringing her through security was quick and easy. My bag did get searched because Sunny's alcohol free Costco wipes were flagged for having a 'high concentration of alcohol.' Thank you TSA. Gone are the days of tossing our water bottles though! By the end of our trip Aaron tested the limits with 6 full water bottles and did get a look, but no questions were asked. At the gate, I walked with Sunny in her carrier trying to help her fall asleep, but for a 6 month old the Las Vegas airport might as well be the Las Vegas Strip with all it's lights, sounds and people. Our flight left at 9pm and she didn't fall asleep until 11pm when they finally turned off the lights.

Other helpful suggestions from loved ones for the plane:

1. Bring a binky clip so baby isn't constantly spitting it out on the airplane floor (this was the first thing we realized we forgot)

2. Feed baby during take off and landing to help with ear pressure

3. Request a bassinet at least a few days prior to departure

4. At the gate ask if there are any empty rows so baby can stay in their carseat (this only applies of course to a lap baby, but if a flight has seat availability some airlines will allow it! We didn't do this on any of our flights but I can see how that would be helpful. I don't love Sunny sleeping in a carseat for a lengthy amount of time, so it wouldn't have been a good fit for us on the London flight).

5. Check the stroller at the gate

6. A baby crying on a plane can be a good thing! It helps them relieve their ear pressure (This was according to an angel flight attendant in Amsterdam).

The one thing I really wish we'd found a solution for was the light. She would have slept really well if we could have figured out a way to block out those overheads. This is where a carseat and cover I'm sure would have made all the difference.

Day 2: Our Arrival into London

Our flight arrived around 3pm. We met up with some friends and their toddler at the airport, packed into our mini "van" and drove to our Airbnb in Watford. The Airbnb was Harry Potter themed, in preparation for our day at Warner Bros Studios. Every thoughtful detail was included from our House themed bedrooms, to a "This Way to the Ministry of Magic" sign on the toilet.

Sunny in her Cupboard Under the Stairs

Kitchen Signage

Here are some pictures from his listing!

"Yer a Wizard, Harry."

Not pictured: A giant skull watching over us while we slept

Shout out to Nearly Headless Nick

Every detail of our Harry Potter dreams

Spot the cupboard under the stairs

A Knight Bus bunkbed

All aboard the Hogwarts express!

April 20th is our anniversary. We ate at a darling restaurant called The Florist. The food left a little to be desired but the decor was lovely.

Day 3: The Warner Bros Studio Tour, Highgate Cemetery, and Buckingham Palace

Harry Potter studios was everything I wanted it to be and more. Entering Hogwarts, walking through the Great Hall, Privet Drive, Gringotts, the Forbidden Forest, Diagon Alley, seeing the Gryffindor common room, the potions set, Dumbledore's office, Tom Riddles Grave, the portraits, the Burrow, the Triwizard cup, the costumes, the Lovegood's house, and Dobby were some of the highlights. Growing up, we went to just about every midnight book release and midnight showing of Harry Potter. It just did something for my soul walking through the place where so much of the magic was made.

Afternoon tea in the Food Hall

Inspired by Tom Riddle's tombstone, we took a trip to High Gate Cemetery. Sunny had the best time bouncing around through the cemetery in her 'buggy.' Karl Marx is buried here as well as the author of the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.

Karl with the largest tombstone possible

Sunny bouncing around in the Highgate Cemetery

Our baby jogger did amazing on the terrain!

We met back up with our friends in downtown London for a quick stop at Buckingham Palace and then dinner. They'd been doing a hop-on hop-off tour with their two year old who had the time of her life pointing out all the buses. Last year when Aaron and I had a layover in London he mentioned that there was no way he'd feel comfortable driving down town. This time, he was bobbing and weaving on the left side with the best of them!

Sunny and Dad waiting for Dinner

Day 4: Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, Flight to Edinburgh

We packed up our Harry Potter paradise and drove to Windsor Castle, about an hour and 1/2 away. We made it just in time for our tour, and even better for the changing of the guard who walked out playing the Incredibles theme song. Sunny fast tracked us through the cathedral where we paid our respects to Queen Elizabeth and noted the rather unremarkable grave site of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour. About an hour later we had some equally unremarkable donuts. If we could do things differently we would have spent a bit more time soaking up the town of Windsor.

Stonehenge was surreal, but according to our two-year old travel companion, the sheep were the main attraction. We finished the day with some hot chocolate and drove 2.5 hours back to the airport for a 9 o'clock flight. Our flight to Edinburgh lasted about 45 minutes and Sunny let us know that she would rather have been anywhere else. I can't overstate how amazing these two little girls did overall with all the moving from place to place. Even with moments like this flight, it felt so encouraging for future adventuring!

When we landed in Edinburgh our friend Lara learned that her bag never made it on the flight. Super frustrating for them, because they'd packed carryons but were told last minute they needed to check. The flight ended up having plenty of luggage space so it seemed like the whole thing could have been avoided. She later learned that her bag was never scanned in Heathrow. After filing a claim towards they end of the trip, they found the bag and told her it'd be sent back to her in Florida. I felt awful for her and the situation, but she responded to the situation as well as anyone possibly could. We did learn that the airline will reimburse for some luggage expenses but she's also pregnant so it gets extra tricky just magically finding maternity clothes. What a ride!

One thing that gave Aaron and I some extra security with our luggage was popping an Airtag in our suitcase. We bought one right before our trip and Aaron was able to check the location of our luggage ensuring that it made it on the plane. Even though that likely doesn't change the outcome of a bag not making a flight, it gave us a little comfort knowing the location.

Windsor Castle

Day 5: Edinburgh Castle, St. Andrews Golf Course, Stayed in Balintore Castle

We stayed the previous night at a hotel near the airport and took the train into Edinburgh the next morning. Immediately off the train, a man was playing the bagpipes. Amazing.

Highlights of the Castle:

- Seeing the crown, sword and scepter used in the coronation of Mary Queen of Scots

- The tiny room where she labored with her son James VI (no thank you)

-Learning about the man who fought in a battle with his three week old son in a knapsack

-The view of Edinburgh

- Our baby trying mac n' cheese for the first time

The most important part of this picture: the rain shield cover for the stroller 10/10 recommend

Stroller Rain Shield Cover

Highlights of St. Andrews

- The North Sea waves are massive, ominous and hit you from the parking lot

- Walking on the golf course. We didn't realize but on Sundays the golf course turns into a park so anyone can walk around

- It was freezing. Beautiful but freezing.

The Yellow Puffer that saved the day in Scotland (for more of Sunny flying into the sky see our instagram from the trip)

We stayed in a castle Airbnb which was tricky to get to, but worth it. It was remote with a stunning view of Scotland's rolling hills complete with sheep and baby lambs. Balintore Castle was built towards the end of the 1800's and is currently undergoing refurbishment. We were the only ones staying there and were allocated to a wing of the castle with three bedrooms, a bathroom and an extra large kitchen/living room space.

Aaron drove throughout the trip and I felt super grateful for his confidence behind the wheel and willingness to do it! Sunny took a lot of naps in her car seat. We knew her little body must've felt so exhausted with all the travel but she also seemed to really be enjoying herself and taking everything in. It definitely helped to have her toddler friend providing extra entertainment in the car next to her.

Outside of the Balintore Castle Airbnb

Castle View

Perks of staying in a castle per our host:

- a washer that needs a "nudge" aka slam with your knee to work

Day 6: Loch Ness, Urquhart Castle

Highlights: Sunny talking a bath in the Airbnb castle tub, hunting for Nessie, the sweetest man working at a bus station giving Sunny a pound and in his thick Scottish accent saying "Put it in her piggy bank." He was so dear. He said he loved watching her take everything in. A Scottish woman also approached Aaron and Tyson in the parking lot and gave them money for parking. She said it was "their gift from Scotland." She was walking around the parking lot paying for several people who didn't have coins. First and lasting impressions of Scotland are that the most kind and generous people live here.

Our drive from Balintore Castle was filled with spotting lambs on the side of the road and taking in the Scottish country side. Aaron shared more than once during the trip that having Sunny with us has enhanced so much of our travel experience. We are slower moving but it's truly a delight enjoying moments of her squawking, kicking, or flapping her arms in front of so many iconic sites. She and her toddler bestie have both been a dream in the car. At least as dreamy as a toddler and a baby can be, ha!

Urquhart castle allows you to explore and hike around freely. We enjoyed the fresh air and stretching our legs after a few hours in the car. Our Airbnb worked great for us, and was a short walk to the market.

Nessie's out there somewhere

Urquhart Castle

Day 7: Drive to the Isle of Skye

Highlights: Eilean Donan Castle, Hiking the Fairy Pools, Staying in the most picturesque place outside of Portree, Two black baby lambs, Pizza in the Skye (a must visit food truck), Donut sampling party celebrating Lara's Birthday

About 2 minutes after arriving in Skye we wished we had more time on our itinerary. There are so many hikes and sites and see. The Fairy Pools according to local legend, are of course filled with fairies, selkies and more! Some of the magic must have worn off on Sunny because she took a nice long nap while hiking snuggled up with her dad. We stayed up late eating donuts and searching for the Northern lights. We didn't catch them this time!

Day 8: Old Man of Storr

Highlights: Old Man of Storr, Neist Point Lighthouse

My sister in law recommended this hike to me, and I'm so glad she did! The views were incredible the entire way up. Once again Aaron carried Sunny in the ergobaby carrier and once again she slept most of the way. The hike is a little on the gravelly/steep side. Aaron did great carrying Sunny but a few of us lost our footing a couple times!

We've been so lucky with the weather in Scotland. The sun was out and it was gorgeous. Post hike we had dinner at a local pub in the hunt for an authentic Scottish meal which ended up mostly in fish and chips. Sunny has eaten so many 'chips' on this trip. 5 stars from her! We drove about an hour from our Airbnb to the Neist Point Lighthouse. It's not actually possible to avoid the potholes on this drive. Aaron noted that it "still wasn't as bad as driving through Michigan" and felt like his experiences driving in Michigan had prepped him for this moment. I did overhear a woman the day before share that their tire had blown driving through Skye. The roads could use some attention for sure. Outside of that, the lighthouse on the cliffs felt straight out of a movie. Jaw dropping. We arrived after the sunset and the parking lot was empty. From what I've heard sunset and sunrise are understandably very popular times and make for large crowds and difficult parking. Still a can't miss in my opinion!

Old Man of Storr: Part of Sunny sleeping so well on hikes was due to our noisemaker. It just clips right on to the carrier! Everyone we walked past wondered where the sound was coming from, but it did the trick for her!

Neist Point Lighthouse: This picture does nothing for the view, but it was a dream

Day 9: Regrettably leaving Skye, Flight to Amsterdam

Highlights: King's Day

If you're wondering if there's bathrooms on the 3 hour drive from Skye to Inverness, there aren't. If there are, we definitely missed them. We unknowingly landed in Amsterdam on King's Day. What an experience. We arrived downtown around 5pm and it was clear that everyone in the street had been drinking since at least noon. The streets were filled with trash. Everyone was dressed up in bright orange. We people watched, ate hotdogs and of course, stroopwafels.

We stayed in one of our more memorable Airbnb's, a darling pod. Here are a couple pictures from the Host's listing:

Day 10: Anne Frank House, Tulip Festival

Highlights: Anne Frank's Diary, Van Gogh museum, Tulips in Keukenhof

Walking through the Anne Frank House truly feels like sacred space. We questioned whether this was appropriate to bring Sunny here knowing the possibility that she could cry and disrupt others. If she was even a couple months older I think it would have had to be a no, but at the 6 month stage we felt like we could risk it. I also knew I might just be walking through very quickly or even turning around if need be. I chose to wear her in a wrap and felt so thankful that she fell asleep almost immediately. It's very echoey and I wanted to be sensitive to those who also had looked forward to walking into such a heavy part of history. It's one thing to read about how they lived while in hiding but another thing entirely to see it and stand in it. Emotional, heavy, sacred.

The Van Gogh museum was incredible. We probably could have spent an entire day walking through it, but on our time crunch we hurried to some of his more popular pieces of art. Most notably the sunflowers. I would have loved to spend time in the Rembrandt museum as well but we were limited.

The Tulips in Keukenhof were stunning. It started raining and that just made the colors that much more vibrant. We drank hot chocolate and bought a couple ponchos. I think the pictures people see of Amsterdam and the tulip festival make them seem like they'll be running through the fields. This is definitely not reality! There's something called The Tulip Experience with a museum and fields that you can walk through. It's just a couple miles away from Keukenhof. We also chose to do the boat tour which I wouldn't do again. It doesn't give you a better view of the tulips. Walking through the gardens is more than enough!

We drove to the coast to see even more tulips. The colors of the fields are so vibrant. The 6 of us ended our night with dinner at a bar.

After our visit to the Anne Frank House

Sunny happily exploring the tulips

Walking through the fields at the Tulip Experience

Day 11: Our flight home

As a final send off, Tyson and Lara bought a bunch of different chocolate bars for a chocolate tasting party. The perfect breakfast.

The Amsterdam airport was wild. We nearly missed our flight despite being 2.5 hours early. I'm guessing this was due to King's Day craziness. Sunny didn't sleep on the 11 hour flight home, due to the lights being kept on. She was definitely at a stage where she needs some extra help to get a good nap in. The noisemaker and carrier weren't cutting it. About halfway through the flight Aaron said he was ready to get off the plane. Not a good sign with another 5 hours to go! But we did it, and we would absolutely do it again.

My parents held down the fort for us at our house, taking care of our pets. The BIGGEST thank you to them! We are so grateful we had this experience as a family of three, but nothing beats coming home.