Miami with an 8 month old baby...

Ok first of all I have to say that going to Miami in summer time is HOT. Humid and hot. We are definitely coming back, but we are going back in winter. On the plus side of travelling to Florida in low season is that you can get some awesome deals at luxury hotels :)

So where did we stay in Miami with a baby:

My baby hates driving....

She is one of the happiest babies I have ever met (no totally neutral conclusion ;) but when she is put in a car seat she is miserable. We tried changing car seat thinking it was that, but no still the same thing. We love to travel but I have to say it has proven to be a challenge to get around places with this little princess. What we are doing now is limiting travels to her nap times, it makes life a lot easier. However if anyone has any tips we could try out I would be very great full. 

Traveling alone vs. traveling with a baby

Those of you that know me will probably think: Dah... finally she gets it. Yes I get it now, there is a big difference between traveling alone vs. traveling with a baby. Not so easy waking up in the morning and deciding where to go by chit chat over breakfast. Or realizing you ended up in the wrong city in Vietnam, suppose to meet up in Ho Ci Ming and defiantly not Hoi An. (which happens to be on the other side of the country). Some more obvious differences though:

Fontainebleau South Beach Miami

Fontainbleau has a great long famous story, it first opened in 1954, went bust in 1977, opened again and is one of the most historically and significantly hotels on Miami Beach. Designed by Moris Lapis, it is currently first on the list of Floridas most important architectural buildings. 

Frank Sinatra used to hang here and his famous film A hole in the head from 1959 was filmed here. Elvis was welcomed home from the war. Home to one of the most famous nightclubs in the world LIV. They have just done a 2 year long renovation costing 1 billion ..

We are going to Miami - Virgin Atlantic

Boarding the plane, ready for 8,5 hours to get to Miami. Ok so not quite ready, in all my time as a traveller I have had food poisoning once! So I was as surprised as the people sitting next to me when I started throwing up just before take off. Yes I could not go to the bathroom so I had to barf into those horrible bags. People around me was touring away...Great!

London 2012 -Sanderson Hotel-Hyde Park

So finally on our way, and first stop off London. Arriving at Heathrow, we soon realised it was close to the Olympic Games. The whole place was ready for the herds of people expected to London over the next couple of weeks. In the UK they know how to be efficient with public transport (as suppose to Miami, I will get back to this later) a representative from Heathrow express sold us tickets whilst we were waiting for our luggage, 15 min later and hello London!..

Going to visit Mamas Papas in London.. what to buy?

I am constantly trying to find baby travel products that will make a littlebabyexplorer a happy traveler. We are stopping off in London to visit Mamas and Papas flagship store on Regent Street. Ofcourse not the the sole reason, I used to live in England and any excuse to come back :)

The following products are on the list of purchases to be made before departure to Miami 25 July. We are also looking for the perfect travel stroller. We have a few criteria for our use: Littlebabyexplorer need to be able to sleep and good sun shade, other than that we are open for suggestion. Any reccomendations please feel free to leave me a comment.

Food on the go for the littlebabyexplorer...

Ella's Kitchen

Its hardly a secret that a baby or an adult for that matter are both happier travellers on a full stomach.  Being constantly on the go, "good" healthy food can be a challenge to find right at the moment when you need it.... So when I discovered Ella's Kitchen I was thrilled. Its organic, healthy and easy to eat:) Ella is always to find in our travel bag.....

Lindesnes - The southern most point of Norway...

The journey starts when you leave your house.. Yesterday Little baby waved " Goodbye Oslo, see you again in January NEXT YEAR". I love the feeling, not knowing what I am going to do for the next 6 months...
I am actually surprised we could fit everything into the car, but one cramped car journey (4,5 hours) later we arrived at the summer house in Lindesnes. Its well know because its the southern most point of norway and marked by a lighthouse. Littlebabyexplorer loves the 2k walk from the summer house. In fact to get rid of the last kg of pregnancy... I have promised myself

Test trip to Crete Ocean Beach Club

Since planning a new trip out into the big wide world, not just me and my backpack this time, but with a baby in one hand and a man in the other, I decided we had to do a test trip. Ok so constant rain for 2 weeks in Oslo helped the decision massivly, and we got a really good deal with last minute charter company.
I soon found out that our littlebabyexplorer loves to travel. She is most happy when there are alot of action around. Curious to see, touch, feel, smell and love the world, just like the world will love her.

One week in Crete and here is the verdict:

Hawaii... waves on the North Shore

Will I sound completely of the rails when I say that I cried when I landed in Honolulu.. I know I know.. but you have to remember that my last 3 weeks was spent living in a tent all by myself on this secluded faboulous beach on Taveuni island of Fiji. Driving into Honolulu and seeing all the high rised buildings, Mc Donalds and basically all the things I forgot I hated about western civilization.. yes a tear left my eye...

Fiji - its not perfect, its paradise.....

Yet another Visa expired and to be honest I missed surfing in a bikini and chilling on the beach. Where to move on to? Remebering my father told me when I was a child that he wanted to go to Fiji Islands, mostly because it was as far away from Norway as you could get. I hadn't spoken to him in many years, but I thought if he knew that I was there it would make him smile. The world need more smiles...

Tribewanted - Vorovoro - Live like a Fijian...

I genuinely wanted to experience Fiji and live like a Fijian, and a friend of mine Sarah reccomened me to check out TribeWanted. I soon found out that they used to have a reality show in the UK and loved the concept. "Vorovoro is a place and experience like no other in Fiji and it’s for everyone; young, old, groups,families, single travellers. The ability to live, work and play within a real Fijian community is simply an opportunity that should not be missed." 

New Zealand.... scenery like Norway on steroids ;)

With a heavy heart my 3 month tourist visa for the "land down under" was coming to an end, once again it was time to grab my backpack and move on. Next adventure: New Zealand 
A fellow travel friend met me at the airport in Auckland. Ok so we might have had a tiny communication dysfunction, since he showed up with his x-small car, a Porsche. I was stood on the side walk with a 7,6 foot min mal surf board...

Had a blast driving around Australia...

Wanted to see the land down under, so when my Indonesian visa had expired I flew via Singapore to Oz. Met up with an acquaintance from my time at the surf camp in Portugal, rented a camper van, strapped our surfboards to the roof and set off. 

Short story long: