Immersing Ourselves in Van Gogh

It's my birthday weekend! As part of my gift, we went to see the Beyond Van Gogh exhibit and a friend joined us. If you are even a little interested in art, this is a must-see. The exhibit puts you right into the artwork and shows you a different way to experience it. 

I thought I'd bring you a little bit of this exhibit, because Eric thought it was going to be something completely different than it was, but he still had a great time.

Gotta take advantage of a photo op! 

You start your visit with a trip through Vincent's life that includes excerpts from letters to his brother and friends. 

Once you have gotten through that part, you find yourself in a room that comes to life with colors and shapes and at one point a self-portrait of Van Gogh. I didn't get my camera in time to get it full on the wall, but here he is, sliding down the wall.

 

Don't be afraid like others to spend more or less time in here. It's a small space and at one point I saw people looking at each other like "should we leave?" Because what you really want to see is in the next room anyway.

Floor-to-ceiling screens along the walls and in the middle of the room, projecting Van Gogh's works 15 feet high. 

You're taken through his art pieces as he went through life and the transitions are simply amazing. It's artwork in itself, especially the one that gets you to Starry Night.

 

Take time to really view his self portraits. You'll see moving backgrounds, smoke curling out of pipes, blinking eyes, and more. 

Don't worry about where to stand once you're inside, because wherever you are, you'll be able to see everything, as long as you're willing to look around. That doesn't mean that roaming is discouraged. In fact, we had several small children in the room while we were there and I thought this was great. Traditional museums can be stuffy and boring, but this exhibit wasn't quiet or uninteresting and I can just imagine the memories of running through Van Gogh they'll have later.

You won't be surprised to find that there's also a gift shop at the end, where you can buy lenticular prints and magnets, 3D pop-up flowers, regular prints, shirts, patches, and more. I loved these large reproduction paintings. 

This was a great birthday activity and I hope they do this with more artists. It's beautiful and a great alternative to a regular museum. I think it's a great way to get people more interested in art. This is also why I love street art. 

The exhibit will take you about an hour to complete, from entry to reading to a full rotation of the art and life of Vincent in the main hall. Of course, you're welcome to stay as long as you want. Your visit is only limited by your timed ticket. This also makes a great gift if it's coming to your (or your recipient's) town.

Have you ever been to an interactive or immersive art experience?

Keeping Your Kids Occupied While Traveling

Whether you have to take a 12-hour flight, use a cross-country railway service or step aboard an ocean-going ship, traveling with your kids is never easy. There are so many different risks and dangers that you need to be aware of, including the risk of severe boredom, and it's your responsibility as a parent to reduce the likelihood of these events or scenarios from taking place.

Photo by Ketut Subiyanto from Pexels

Figuring out how to keep your children occupied and comfortable during long travel doesn't actually have to be as difficult as you might expect, as you'll soon begin to enjoy your journey when you don't have to chase after chaotic little ones that have endless energy and enthusiasm. So, if you want to learn more about how you can keep your kids occupied and happy while traveling, then read on to uncover a variety of tips and tricks that you can utilize now!

Explain In Detail

First and foremost, you must explain to your children that you are all heading off on a vacation or trip, and that you all must travel as a result of your need to visit a different location. Explain to them that you will be unable to have fun in a different country without going on a plane, train or ship, as you need to be able to cover a lot of ground and travel many miles to reach your destination. If they have a better understanding of why you need to take part in such traveling, then they will be far more patient and accepting of the whole process. Being aware of what's going to happen will make it far easier for them to manage, and they can even begin to plan their own methods to keep themselves occupied if you make such a suggestion. Not knowing why you're leaving your friends and home can be a really scary process for children, especially if it's their first vacation or they're never experienced a plane or ship before. 

Puzzles, Books & More 

One of the best ways to keep your children occupied during lengthy travel is by investing in a host of different puzzles, books and board or card games that you don't need to plug in or charge. Having access to arts and crafts equipment or fun learning opportunities through word searches and color-by-number books will no doubt reduce your stress levels when traveling as a family, as your little ones will be as silent as a mouse filling in their puzzles or letting their creative juices flow. Bringing a few books along that they can really get stuck into is a brilliant way to pass the time, as you can get sucked into a good book for hours on end - by which point you may have reached your destination! Keeping their minds active and encouraging them to learn at every opportunity will even benefit your children's long term development, so it's a win-win situation. Don't worry if you forget to bring your puzzles and books, as most train stations and airports have stores that stock these items to help you to stay sane during your travels! 

Stock Up On Tech Entertainment

In recent years the sheer volume of different tech based entertainment options has reached dramatic levels, as there are hundreds of thousands of different devices, apps and websites that you can explore to keep yourself and your children occupied. Whether you choose to invest in a tablet that can be used to download countless different games, a smartphone that can be used to speak with friends and family, or even a dedicated children's electronic education device that includes activities like spelling and mathematics, you're bound to keep your little ones out of trouble.

Don't forget to use something like Family Orbit - parental monitoring app to stop your kids from accessing unsafe sites. Be sure to protect your tech whenever you're traveling, as accidentally dropping, smashing or losing your device could see you lose a huge amount of money (and send your kids into a manic panic). Get the best insurance package that you can find to make sure you will be reimbursed if anything happens to your family's tech when you are on the move. 

Keeping your kids occupied while traveling has never been such a simple task when you can take the time to make the most of some of the brilliant tips, tricks and ideas that have been carefully detailed above. There's no time like the present to prepare your entertainment kit, so what are you waiting for? Get out there and enjoy your family vacation with your little ones now! 

How To Survive A Long-Haul Flight

You just spent a ton of money on an awesome trip that you're super excited about, but first, you have to get there. I find that the flight isn't the worst part of your trip, like a lot of you think. Yes, it can be awful, but if you have the right things with you, then you can make your flight fly by and even get some good sleep. 

Jet lag is awful and it's hard to deal with life when you just want to lay down and sleep wherever you are. So, here are my best tips for making your flight bearable, even if you're in economy.

Get a really good travel pillow

I have had a lot of travel pillows. Most are made the same and don't really offer any support, meaning you wake up with a terrible neck ache and possibly a hurting back. Eric and I both have a FaceCradle, which some people have told me they don't like, but we love, so find something that works for you. I like the FaceCradle, because you can lean forward into it and it allows me to sleep like I would at home. It's also good for people who are tall or who slouch in their seat. It eliminates the strain on your neck and back, though I do like to put an airplane pillow or my jacket behind me in my lumbar for extra padding.

If the FaceCradle isn't for you, maybe the Turtl, the twist memory foam, the evolution from Cabeau, or the Travelrest will work for you instead. Don't settle for one of those generic U-shaped ones that offer no support at all. It's always best to invest in a good pillow that you can take on all your trips. Just imagine having to sleep in the middle seat all the time, and choose a pillow based on that.

Have a sleeping plan

Along with your travel pillow, this is going the single most thing that makes your trip better or worse. You need to get on your destination time as quickly as possible, so know the time difference, know how much sleep you can live with and then make a plan to make it happen. Sleeping your entire flight or staying awake your entire flight will not be your friend. I promise. 

We flew to London at 6pm our time (PST), which is 2am GMT. I knew we would be arriving at noon local time and we would be served dinner and breakfast on a 10-hour flight. This means I needed to be awake the first and last two hours to eat. I can pretty much make it on 5-6 hours of sleep if I have to, and definitely one day isn't going to kill me. My plan: 

• Watch a movie until dinner  (Eric and I started one at the same time so we could watch together on our respective screens)
• Chug an Emergen-C and take my allergy pill (which makes me sleepy) right before dinner (Eric also took a DreamWater)
• Eat dinner and finish watching my movie
• Close my eyes and sleep for 5 hours (I only woke up once, and I was able to drift back off)
• Wake up, chug some water to hydrate
• Start a second movie
• Eat breakfast and prepare to arrive at my destination

We arrived in London, got a bite to eat, took the train to a different airport, had dinner, then hopped on a plane to Edinburgh, got an Uber to our Airbnb, and then went to bed around 10:30pm. When we woke up from a full night of sleep, we were refreshed and ready to start our vacation. It was 20 hours worth of travel, but it could have sucked really hard if we hadn't had a good plan before we left home. Here are more tips on how to beat jet lag.

Bring snacks and water

Don't rely on the drink and snack cart for all your needs. I'm always hungry or thirsty when it's inconvenient. Delta was actually really good about having snacks and plenty of drinks available throughout the flight, but not all airlines are that cool. Bring healthy, but tasty snacks, especially if traveling with kids. I also always bring a reusable water bottle that keeps my drink cold for a long time, so I don't wake up and have to drink lukewarm water. You also aren't at the mercy of the crew to bring you drinks, which is never frequent enough to keep you from getting slightly dehydrated.

Bring games/books/podcasts

Again, not all airlines have entertainment available, or sometimes your seatback monitor doesn't work, so make sure you have backup entertainment or things that will help you fall asleep, whether that's an audio book or a meditation app. If you need to stay awake for a few hours, bring something interesting enough that it keeps you busy.  

Smile

You might find this stupid, but smiling can really help improve your mood. If you have a middle seat and want to die, pretending it doesn't suck can definitely help. It also brightens the mood of people around you and just makes your trip a little bit better.

Wear comfortable clothes

OMG, is this important. Avoid tight clothes, confining shoes, and get yourself some compression socks for long flights. You won't be sorry. I tend to layer, because the plane can go from sweltering to freezing in a minute, so you never know what you're going to have to contend with. I wear comfy pants that also look nice, and a breathable top, a cardigan over it, and possibly add a travel blanket or scarf to the top. For long flights, I don't like shoes, so I wear slip-on shoes to the airport and then change into slipper socks on the plane. Want a visual for what to wear on the plane? Here's a post and here's a photo of me at the airport.

You don't have to travel first class to be comfortable. I also highly recommend Airplane Pockets for your long trips. It expands your seatback pocket to hold all your stuff you want during you flight (and organizes it too!) and is antibacterial, so it protects you from germs that might be on your tray table or in your seat pocket. I got mine during their kickstarter campaign and they are extra awesome for long flights, plus you can slip them off, fold them up, and shove them back in your bag at the end of your flight.

I hope your holiday flights and beyond are as comfortable as possible. 

What are your favorite tips for flying well?

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