Author Archives: Tanja

Life & blog update: March 2020

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out&about with my baby girl at the beginning of March

Life & blog update: March 2020…what to say? You know what, I’ll write about corona virus and our life in lock-down in a separate post. Here I’ll write only about the first part of March when everything still had some semblance of normality.

We managed to have a couple of board game nights with our friends. We had several play-dates with our friend’s kids. My husband made some beer with his cousin (they have done that before too, their beer is all right). We went to the beach several times. We saw the grandparents. Our toddler had fun at the kindergarten. I managed to go on a friend’s birthday lunch and went out for a walk by myself. How all this seems surreal now!

My baby girl turned 6 months old in March and I blogged about her. We went to meet my friend in a cafe in the city center and that was the first time that we went to a cafe without the rest of our family. She’s growing all the time. Call me a bad mum if you want but I finally got to see her turn from back to tummy (previously something or someone else distracted me and I’d just find her in a different position). She’s reaching out to grab toys when she’s on her tummy and moving her legs and arms but she’s not crawling yet. She likes to eat (it seems that enjoying good food runs in our family, even our cat eats loads 🙂 ). Unfortunately, since her brother’s at home due to corona virus (all kindergartens and schools closed in mid March) she can’t sleep during the day because he keeps waking her up. She’s teething and I’m looking forward to her first tooth because then she won’t be in so much pain anymore. 

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If I could travel now….

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mona lisa with face mask

Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com

If I could travel now…I’d explore a castle with my family

If I could travel now… I’d go to London with my best friend and have a drink at our favourite pub

If I could travel now…I’d visit Finland for the first time and meet up with my blogger friend from Helsinki

If I could travel now…I’d enjoy a weekend trip just with my husband

If I could travel now….I’d go on a work trip to the same places I usually go and love it as if I’d never been there before

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7 Things You Can Strike Off Your Bucket List By Visiting Europe

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What’s on your bucket list? Everyone has different dreams and desires so every list will be unique. But one thing I’m sure of is there are dozens of things to do in Europe that are on many people’s bucket lists.

Here are 7 interesting things you can strike off your bucket list by visiting Europe.

#1. See the Northern Lights

The aurora borealis is a spectacular natural light display that may only be viewed from locations inside or near to the Arctic Circle. These polar lights are caused when solar wind disturbs the Earth’s magnetosphere.

Many people are fascinated by these light patterns in the sky, and photographs of this phenomenon have become popular. You can photograph this beautiful display if you grab your camera and travel to the northern areas of Iceland or Norway.

Tromsø is a city in the far north of Norway that lies inside the Arctic Circle. That means that every winter the city experiences 48 continuous days of night. During this time, the countryside surrounding Tromsø is an excellent location from which to observe and photograph those eerie lights in the night sky.

Image by Amund Bråthen from Pixabay

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Baby update: My baby girl is 6 months old!

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My baby girl L. is 6 months old! A blink of an eye and my baby girl changed from an infant to a smiling, babbling baby. She is sweet-tempered and very interested in her surroundings. We love her so much and she definitely knows it.

My baby girl is very friendly to all the people she meets. As long as she’s in my embrace she is content wherever we are or whatever we are doing. A bit less than a month ago we started her on solid food. I mean, so far she has tried carrot, apple, pear and zucchini puree. She likes to eat :). She’s teething for some time now. She likes to grab things and she has recently discovered the joy of throwing things down for mummy to pick them up. 🙂 She can amuse herself with a couple of toys for brief periods of time but her favourite activity so far is to ˝walk˝ around our house (I am walking with her in my arms, of course, and then when I sit she protests immediately).

Everything so far was very different than with my boy. He was the first child and I had to learn how to be a mother (something I’m still learning though). Holding my baby girl, breastfeeding her, changing her diapers, playing with her…it was all something I already knew how to do. There was no drama, no anxiety, everything felt so natural, so easy, unlike the first time. However, there was also less excitement and things just happened without me noticing them immediately. The curse of the second child, you might say. But I think I’m gentler, calmer and more self-assured with her than I was with our boy when he was just a baby.

my sweet baby girl

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Life & blog update: February 2020

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Life & blog update: February 2020

sometimes all you need to feel better is a cake:)

Life & blog update: February 2020….was a short month, what a surprise! Nevertheless, we managed to have some fun and to meet up with friends. I’m not a very adventurous eater but as I grow older I tend to try more new foods. We went out for Valentine’s Day with friends and I tried sushi for the first time. Now, I’m not a big sea food fan despite living by the sea so I didn’t expect to like sushi but at least I can say now that I have tried it and that I didn’t hate it. 🙂 I liked mochi for dessert though.

My hometown Rijeka is the European capital of culture for 2020 together with Galway in Ireland. Throughout the year there will be many interesting cultural events. The grand opening was on 1st February but we didn’t attend it because it was a bit impractical to be among the crowd in downpour with two small children. Luckily, it was sunny for the children’s carnival parade which we went to see and our boy loved it. He was too young last year to really enjoy it but this year he liked it and we also went to the children’s costumed dance (he wore a tiger costume and our baby girl was a Christmas reindeer).

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Happy Valentine’s Day!

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love in Bled, Slovenia

Bled, Slovenia

Happy Valentine’s Day! Whether you’re coupled up or single it doesn’t matter because LOVE should be celebrated every single day! There are many forms of love: a love a mother has for her child, a passionate love, love among friends, love for a pet….

I love travelling. That’s another kind of love. So, check out my selection of my LOVE TRAVEL posts…

My first blog post ever..London…my special love for sure!

A long time ago I lived in England.

Bologna is my favourite Italian city.

I fell in love with Paris more than a decade ago.

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What to do in San Marino

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What to do in San Marino

What to do in San Marino? This tiny country with its stunning capital San Marino City has plenty to offer, from medieval architecture to beautiful views and quirky museums. Read on to find out what you can do in San Marino City.

Introduction

We decided to visit San Marino with our baby boy in May 2018. I was uncomfortable with the idea of flying with a six month old baby so a road trip was the best solution for us. On the way to San Marino we made a pit stop in Imola to see the castle and the F1 racecourse and on our way back we admired the Roman past of Rimini. We spent three nights and two full days in San Marino City. It was a wonderful weekend trip and a great experience as our first proper family trip.

we really loved our weekend break in San Marino

There are no border controls or passport checks between Italy and the independent micro-state of San Marino. One second you’re driving in Italy and another you’ve passed under a pedestrian bridge which marks the entrance to the Republic of San Marino. In the distance you can see the three towers high up on Monte Titano where San Marino City is situated. Luckily, it was a warm May evening and we got beautiful views of San Marino City as we were driving uphill. I booked a hotel right in the historical center of San Marino City which was perfect for sightseeing with the baby.

We managed to visit all the major sights in San Marino City and I also took the cable car down to Borgo Maggiore (one of the nine settlements or castelli which constitute the Republic of San Marino). It’s easy to visit all the listed tourist attractions below with the baby but you need to have a baby carrier with you to be able to explore the towers (can’t be done with a stroller). Remember, San Marino City is situated on the Mount Titano (739m) so there’s a lot of uphill/downhill walking throughout the historical city center.

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