How many times have I featured polka dots on White Cabana? Too many times to count, I’m sure! I just love the happy pattern, and I can see many polka-dotted posts in the future. I hope you don’t mind!
Here are today’s two-of-a-kind.
queen silver dot sheet set, $175.69CAD, Land of Nod
larabee dots flutes set, $50USD, Kate Spade
Months and months ago, I received some gorgeous polka dotted fabric from Minted (remember when I was deciding between these two colour options?), and a month or so ago, my chaise was finally reupholstered. It’s about time I share the dramatic before and after photos on the blog!
Here’s the dreary before photo:
before
Drum-roll, please…
after
Cute, right? The grey and white polka dot fabric (organic dot by Itsy Belle) really lightens up this part of my living room. It’s amazing how dark furnishings just sucks the light. (Note: The background of the fabric is a true white rather than the greyish colour that seems to show up on the Minted site on my computer. I much prefer the fabric in real life than in the online swatch version.)
Thanks to Minted for supplying the fabric for this makeover. All opinions are my own.
There are a lot of travel tips out there – traveling with babies, kids, pets; traveling on a budget; traveling light; etc., but there are few articles addressing the topic of traveling with a parent.
Thanks to Expedia.ca, I was able to join my Dad on a trip to Italy last month. As you may remember, Dad was heading to Italy for a reunion with his highschool friends. He had done this for the first time last year after a 50-year separation. Fifty! Five-Zero! Can you believe it? His friend (who I’ll be introducing in a future post!) connected with him via Facebook a couple of years ago, and they’ve been in touch ever since.
our first selfie of our Italian vacation (this selfie wouldn’t have happened if not for Expedia.ca!)
I thought I would share five tips for traveling with – ahem – an older parent just in case young(er) daughters and sons are giving this type of vacation some consideration.
Now, before I get into my five tips, I should admit a few things.
1. Dad is a seasoned traveler.
This most certainly helps the whole father-daughter (retiree-youngen) travel situation. The fact that Dad has been traveling around the world since he was a teen (he did come to Canada on his own when he was 19 after all) means that he’s very familiar with airports, taxis, train systems, and “other”ness.
2. Dad and I have traveled together.
I can’t even count how many trips we’ve taken just the two of us. Because we’ve traveled together, I have a good sense of Dad’s travel abilities. Knowing what he’s like when he travels or when he’s outside of his normal routines (retirees, I tell ya!) helps me stay calm and know when to push/not push limits. He also knows when to help me, when to organize things, and when to leave me alone.
3. Dad speaks Italian.
Going to Italy may be intimidating for some because of the language barrier, but this was not an issue for us as both Dad and I speak Italian. Because Dad and I both know Italian, communication in Italy wasn’t the responsibility of only one of us. Since each of us could communicate with locals, it meant that neither of us was acting as “translator”. I’ve held this gig before and it can get tiring for everyone.
We’re just about to head to the airport. Dad with his luggage and me with wet hair. Perfect.
So, now that you know more about where Dada and I started, let me share five tips for traveling with (an older, but still active) parent. (Dad, I hope I’m not offending you with all of this age talk. Age is just a number after all, right? I know you’re reading this.)
1. Have a positive attitude.
There is a ton of info out there about how a positive attitude is key to just about everything. When it comes to traveling with a parent – or anyone, really – your attitude can make or break your vacation. Remember that you’re on vacation (hello, vacation!), and so really, nothing should get in the way of enjoying yourself.
Okay – another admission – Although I, like Dad, am a seasoned traveler, I’ve traveled quite a bit on my own. I love traveling on my own. I’ve gotten used to traveling on my own. While others are scared to travel on their own, I’m scared to travel with other people. True story. Anyone with me on this? Traveling with others makes me a bit nervous because I don’t want to get in fights about what to see/do/eat, I want to see/do/eat what I want without having to consider others (I’m so selfish), and I want to sleep in/see a museum/eat gelato for dinner/go to bed early/stay up late when I want. Totally selfish. Independent. Strong-willed. Whatever you want to call me. That’s how I am. Friends and family who have (dared to) travel with me are well aware of my issues and know that I need my independence.
Here we are at Pearson on the tapis roulant (moving sidewalk – what are these things called in English or French?). In between selfies, dad’s saying, “This is why you always drop your phone, Jordana.”
So how do I travel with my Dad when I’m such an independent bugger? Well, I try to stay positive:
We made it from Toronto to Frankfurt. We look tired but happy. Dad’s saying, “Make sure you get the planes in the background, Jordana.” My response, “I’m half-asleep, Dad. I’ll do my best.”
2. Have faith.
Okay, this may sound rude, but I’m going to say it anyway. Just because your parent may be 30+ years older than you, it doesn’t mean that s/he is not capable.
I have faith in Dad’s abilities. I know he can pack and carry his own luggage, connect to wi-fi independently on his iPhone, ask for directions, navigate trains, book things online, and check-in to his flight via the airline’s automated check-in kiosk.
Dad’s very capable and if he needs help, he’ll ask. I am confident that if Dad needed me to do something for him, he’d ask. In general though, I keep my expectations high so that he doesn’t fall into the “my daughter organizes everything for me” trap. That’ll just make his brain lazy, right? (I hope noone is calling me out on being an ageist. I’m not an ageist. I’m a realist.)
So, I’d recommend that you have faith in your parent’s abilities to travel. S/he may not do things your way at your speed, but s/he has made it through a lot of life without you. Your parent can do this!
We’re ready to board our Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt, Germany to Bologna, Italy. Dad’s saying, “Look at all the names printed on the side. Who are they?” My response, “Look here, Dad, for another selfie.”
3. Communicate and know limits.
Dad and I aren’t the most perfect communicators on the planet (wait until I share my Pisa photos with you!), but when it comes to traveling together, I think we’re pretty good at checking in with one another about status/sight seeing interests/fatigue levels/meal preferences/etc.
It’s good to be aware of when your parent may need an extra long coffee break or a mid-day nap, or when your parent can power through (when you might need a mid-day nap).
It’s also helpful to know your parent’s eating habits. Food is a major part of my life (and my family’s), but we all have our preferences. Knowing Dad’s limits when it comes to food type preferences, meal times, and eating out helps me organize my own meals and dining experiences. There’s no point trying to convince Dad to eat dinner at a fancy restaurant at 9pm when I know all he wants is a light meal at 6pm. You know?
While I do admit that my Dad is very capable, I’m aware of limits. When I’m too quick at airport security or walking too fast to catch a train, I know that he won’t keep up, so I slow down or I ask him if he wants help (he never said yes, now that I think about it). If we miss a train, we miss a train. Another one will come along. (Side note: We never missed a train. In Bologna, we hustled and made it with 30 seconds to spare. Go team!)
Breakfast in Rimini, Italy. We’re both fans of Nutella. #truth
4. Be independent.
So Dad doesn’t want to eat dinner at 9pm at a fancy restaurant. No big deal. I’m happy to go on my own. I think having time away from one another is a healthy part of traveling with others. When each traveler has some independence, they get to explore what they want and take a break from talking (seriously. especially when you’re spending so much time talking in your 3rd language as in my case. it’s totally tiring.). Exploring a city independently means that you’ll have stories to share when you do catch up. And that’s so fun!
Dad and I had time apart during our Italian vacation, and I think this made us both happy. He’d get sick of me just as much as I’d get sick of him if we were to spend 24 hours a day together. When we met up in Florence after I spent three days in Bologna on my own, for example, I was able to share all of my stories and photos with him. And he was able to fill me in on what he’d been up to in Florence. I thought it was great.
selfie at San Miniato al Monte in Florence, Italy
5. Know when to take the lead.
Even though you, like me, may be traveling with an independent, capable, and experienced parent, I think it’s useful to know when you should just forget about all of that stuff and take the lead. This could mean following the signs at the train station for both of your sake, asking for directions, or making final decisions about what restaurant to go to.
Taking the lead means you get to show your parent how capable you are, to reassure them that you’ve got things under control, and to give them a chance to rest or regroup. Taking the lead might force them to try something out of the ordinary. And if your parent wants to take the lead for a chunk of time, let them. Dad, for example, was in charge of booking all of our trains. Awesome. Worked for me.
selfie with the leaning tower in Pisa, Italy
Bonus:
Make matching t-shirts to tell the world that you’re a team! It was absolutely hilarious to travel around Italy with our matching White Cabana t-shirts. I’m eager to make more professional ones for our next adventure…even if it is just to the grocery store.
spending father’s day together in Codogno, Italy
Follow our father-daughter adventures in Italy on Instagram at #WhiteCabanaxExpediaCA and Twitter at #WhiteCabanaxExpediaCA. Stay tuned for more Italian posts in the weeks ahead.
Many many many thanks to Expedia.ca for sponsoring my trip. Grazie mille! All opinions are my own.
We haven’t been to Brooklyn yet in this series, have we? Let’s head on over to this hip city today, okay? The Wythe Hotel is a perfect spot for us to relax. Just check out this bedroom!
queen room, Wythe Hotel
bed frame, sheet set, sconce, wallpaper, vintage radio, chest of drawers,
As Copenhagen is a city rich with history, art, design, and culture, it was hard to write a list of just 10 things to do in Copenhagen, so I’ve created another list. Here are 10 more things to do in Copenhagen.
1. Eat a Smorrebrod
Smorrebrod is an open-faced sandwich, and it’s one of the famous foods of Denmark. I only had one during my stay (at Paper Island), and it was delicious (but not ridiculously filling). I like the concept of the open-faced sandwich because its focus is on the toppings, in my opinion, and the bread is just a bonus.
2. Rent a bicycle (if you dare)
Copenhagen is jam-packed full of bikes. I loved it. I wish we had more of a cycling culture here in Kitchener-Waterloo. I am not a die-hard cyclist, but I do like the convenience and affordability of commuter cycling. Copenhagen is well-designed for cycling because of it’s car-sized bike lanes.
Renting a bicycle is easy enough to do (learn more about bike rentals), and hotels may even have options for you (WakeUp Borgergade does). I didn’t end up renting a bicycle during my vacation, but if I return to Copenhagen, I will. .
3. Illums Bolighus
If you’re looking for a crash course in Danish design, visit the Illums Bolighus department store on the pedestrian shopping street in the city centre. If you time your trip right, you can land in Copenhagen during summer sales (this is what happened to me…my credit card worked hard!).
While I wanted just about everything at Illums Bolighus, I only walked away with the Stelton vacuum jug (in white, naturally) and a few gifts (all made in Denmark!). (My Stelton made it back to Waterloo in one piece, but when I washed it, I dropped the glass jug and it shattered. It was a very sad moment! Stelton – and Amazon – sell replacements, so not all is lost.)
Unfortunately, I didn’t take too many photos at Illums Bolighus, so this is all you get!
While you’re in the shopping mood, pop into Hay, too. The architecture is lovely and the products are beautiful (although much of what I saw was made in China).
Side note: If you spend over 300DKK in a store (approx. $70CAD), then you’ll be able to receive the tax back (the Value Added Tax/VAT) at the airport. Ask shop clerks for assistance. It’s a straightforward process and worth doing if you’re keen on getting some money back post-vacation.
4. Visit Nimb, and see the peacocks, too.
When I arrived at Tivoli Gardens, I first stopped in at Nimb because I was debating having a meal. I was more interested in food than the amusement park, if I’m being honest. I arrived at an off time though, and since I wasn’t hungry, I didn’t end up eating at Nimb (but I’ve read that it’s delicious). Once I saw the place, I was amazed by the dramatic architecture. The white building certainly makes an impression!
Beyond the building, Nimb is a playground for peacocks. I couldn’t believe it. I loved them!
5. Relax on a dock by the canal.
The weather was beautiful when I was in Copenhagen, and although I spent the majority of every day outside, I was walking around a lot, and I was eager to see all sorts of sights. When I spent time by the canal, lying on the dock, on the afternoon of my last day, I had wished that I had done it more often. It was so relaxing, and I liked watching the boats. I’d recommend grabbing a picnic lunch and a drink, and bringing it here. People were swimming, too, so give that a try, too!
6. Climb the ramp in The Round Tower.
I had such a pleasant visit to The Round Tower first thing one morning. The round tower is a 7-storey tall tower with a hollow centre. The tower has a circular ramp from bottom to top (with only a few stairs at the very top to get to the lookout point). I loved the brick floor and the white walls.
7. Sit at a café (and stay warm with a blanket)
I strongly encourage Waterloo cafĂ©s and restaurants to adopt Copenhagen’s have-a-blanket-on-every-chair approach. It makes for such a cozy outdoor dining experience during the cooler nights (or days). It’s a brilliant idea, and it works!
8. Watch the highschool graduates celebrate.
Copenhagen, compared to Italy, is a very quiet and calm city. With the small(er) number of cars, there’s definitely less noise pollution than in other major cities I have been to. The people aren’t waving their arms around widly discussing politics and food (as far as I could tell) like they were in Italy. People barely even jay-walked (from my observations). That said, on June 24th, the city’s highschool graduates caused a fuss! It was highly amusing. I loved it.
The highschool graduates dawn personalized caps and walk around town wearing them during the last weekend of school. On that same weekend, they pile into open-topped trucks, blast music, honk horns, and have a moving dance party. It was awesome to watch, and the students were having a great time.
(This is proof that not every Dane is tall and blonde.)
Can anyone help with this translation? All I know is tak = thanks. (Google translate was of little help.)
9. Look at all the statues of women.
After a couple of weeks in Italy surrounded by statues of David, Dante, and others, I was surprised to see so many female statues in Copenhagen. I haven’t had a moment to read about the history of the city/country, or to Google all the statues that I came across, so if anyone has any insight on this, do tell.
10. And here are even more places to see in Copenhagen (that I didn’t actually get to!)
Looking for more ideas? See my first list 10 things to do in Copenhagen.
All photos by Jordana.