I am late posting this but starting typing it out when we got back, haha.

We are home, and I have mixed feelings about it.

Spain was fantastic. Pretty quickly I realized Madrid wasn’t for me. Too big city, way too busy, full of people, and pushing a stroller up multiple hills just to get somewhere, is rough haha.

Valencia on the other hand, perfection. Smaller town feel, less people, more homey, gorgeous, flatter, and so kid friendly. I was blown away from the number of places (restaurants, etc.) that they typically had a separate handicap/family bathroom, and most included a tiny toilet. Though my toddler decided he was too big to use it and insisted I put him on the adult toilet, haha.

I fell in love with tortilla de patatas con cebolla. Which is like a frittata with potatoes and onions baked in. They even put it on bread in a bocadillo (sandwich) with aioli. OMG. It was heavenly and massive. So filling and it was like 8 euro.

No one blinked an eye at a toddler being somewhere in public, whereas here people have SWITCHED fucking tables to get away from kids. Public transit was clean, easy to navigate, even with a toddler. Who experienced his first uber, bus, train, and subway. He LOVED them all. Coming back was hard.

Plane rides though, especially west (which take longer) with a toddler are not fun, haha. Honestly, I’d consider splitting them up and doing an overnight at the layover spot because woof.

We flew Las Vegas to JFK New York, then JFK to Madrid. Not much time between flights, so not a lot of time for kid to get out some energy. He was not super happy when we got on the second flight so he was a little restless as we were getting going. Not super loud or anything but def making noise, whining a little, etc.

The old fart across the aisle had the fucking AUDACITY (as they do) to say “not to be rude, but will the child ever calm down?”

Babes, when I tell you I had to hold it in so hard to not scream at him in this airplane. Mind you it had been maybe 15 minutes?

I looked him straight in the eyes and said:

“Asking that in general is fucking rude. He paid (well, mom did) to be in this seat, just like you did. He is allowed to exist in this world, just like you are.”

And I turned around to talk to my son. Eventually he settled, we had dinner, and not long after he knocked out. I heard the man try to say something a little later and I ignored him. Then as we got back from the bathroom he said “I just wanted to say I’m sorry. You’re absolutely right. I have kids too, and remember what it was like.”

All I said was “I appreciate that, it’s def hard sometimes.”

Trips with kids, fucking fantastic. Long flights with kids, not my favorite, haha.

Annoying man on the plane aside, I truly loved Spain, and I hope you all get the chance to go. Not a bad place to escape…. 😉

Must-Haves for Traveling with a Toddler

A few things I took to help make our travel easier, on me, and on him.

This travel stroller was a game changer!

With the usual umbrella stick stroller, you must gate check it as it doesn’t fit overhead. This Compact Stroller was AMAZING. It is a one-handed close and open, has a shoulder strap to help carry it, and fits in the overhead bin. I do wish the basket was a little bigger, but it works. Oh, and it has a cup holder which is nice on the go, and it’s removable if need be for the overhead. Use code ITSKATIESELLER for a discount!

These magnet puzzles, amazing.

I have ordered two more since being home. He absolutely loved it. I will say, I probably would have brought a small baggie to put the pieces in in between travel. If they’re not properly stuck back on, they slide off and get lost. We def lost a few, haha.

Lightweight cup for dude

He usually uses a stainless steel one day to day, but obviously wanted something more lightweight to travel with and throw in the bag to go.

Airtag and holder (seen on his shoe above)

Just for a piece of mind. I obviously wasn’t ever far from him, but you simply never know, and we did feel drastically safer there for sure, but American mom, lol…

This is America, current travel issues

Before leaving, I got a lot of messages about them searching phones, even of citizens for things speaking negatively about the administration. So out of precaution I moved a lot of photos to my locked dropbox. Anything that pulled up in my photos when I searched things like gay, trump, elon, republican, pride, etc. and then moved them out.

I turned off faceID before landing because they can use your face without a warrant, but can’t compel you to hand over your passcode. I deleted social apps and cleared message threads. Just in case they decided to search my phone, there was no anti trump shit. I did not have an issue, but that is not the case for everyone. If you are on any type of visa/green card, I would suggest a burner phone while traveling.

I also wouldn’t suggest coming here in general. Not now. It’s not safe for anyone.

Stay safe babes.

Ps… take me back to Spain.