Out and about in the great wild west...markets, babycinos, bookshops, and locusts.

So, we're talking the very inner West Melbourne here but we love it all the same, as this is our hood. And I just have to say what a delightful morning the 'hips' and I have had in our little hood, plus what an action packed weekend it will be out west (and rather wet once more too so it seems)

We met a friend at a new kid friendly cafe in Yarraville for a fun play date in the fabulous playroom. Won't say too much as I know that there is a hip review from Little Eats coming up soon....but they do great babycinos, and lovely yummy little ginger bread biscuits on the side, so the 'hips' were happy.

We then popped into one of our favourite kiddies bookshops, The Younger Sun, with the intentions of purchasing Julia Donaldson's new book, Zog. Julia, should you not know, is the amazing author of left hip's all time favourite book, The Gruffalo. Left hip took a distinct liking to another one of her book's Tabby McTat instead, so Zog will be a perfect purchase for Christmas instead.

Got home and there was a locust on our doorstep welcoming us home...the plague has landed!

This weekend, its all happening out West, as the wonderful Yarraville Markets are on in the Masonic Hall, 10 - 3, Sat & Sun 13th & 14th November. Alongside that, the brilliant Fairy Floss Markets are making their debut to Williamstown. 9 - 2 Sunday 14th November, Williamstown PS.

Even though there's lots to do for them, I might leave my 'hips' at home for these....I've got some serious shopping to do!

So, did I mention that 'West is Best'?

some very 'little hip' camping tips...

So, my memories of camping as a child only stretch as far back as those girl guide camps. Six fellow girl guides would be crammed into an old musty green tent. Each morning, after folding up the sides to air it out, your tent would be inspected, whilst you stood infront in single file, and silence. Anyone who ended up squashed next to the side of the tent at night would wake up soaked to the skin from the British drizzle. Mmmm.

Camping in my mid twenties was far more exciting - my boyfriend (now hubby) and I travelled around South America for six months, and would pitch our tent, or swag, wherever we wanted, and lie gazing up at the stars without a care in the world. 'Rough camping' we called it - no facilities were necessary. We were young and in love, and didn't need running water or shower blocks to rely on. A fast flowing river and a bottle of something strong was just as effective.

I recall my parents telling me that when they went camping in the '60's, they took a crate of unlabelled tin cans with them which they had purchased for next to nothing. They would crack one open each night, and would be over the moon about what they would find inside it...baked beans one day, stew the next, canned pineapples the next. They revelled in the unpredictability of it all.

Now, try packing the car for a camping holiday with the kids. Mmmm,  can you even fit the kids into the car? Do we really need the kitchen sink? Get it....camping with the 'hips'...it can be hard.

Here a few tips that are worth thinking about before you jam pack the car...

Before you go: Why not do a 'test' camping trip somewhere very local, or better still, in the back garden! Grab the pillows, duvets, and torches, and have an adventure in the comfort of your own four 'garden' walls. That way, if it all gets a bit much in the middle of the night, its not far to get back to your cosy bed. Even if you are not planning a camping trip, this is just a fun thing to do and costs nothing!

Think about where to go: Make sure its not too far away. Is this a driving holiday, or a camping holiday? If its predominantly about camping, then you certainly don't want to spend all your time driving, especially with young kids (that's a whole new ball game). Do you want as many creature comforts as possible or go completely wild? Do you want a campsite with lots of facilities, and child friendly swimming pools, and perhaps a games room? Try Big 4 if you are in Australia (cabins, campsites etc.) There are many good local camping reference pages - camping.com.au is a great guide for all sorts of camping destinations. Perhaps its worth even considering motor homes, which is a great cost effective way of travelling around and being able to stop, camp or stay in the motorhome as you wish. Some great companies to choose from are Maui or Britz motorhomes. These are particularly great options in Australia and New Zealand. Oh, and of course, if you want to go glam, remember to check out the go glamping website for some great and rather unique options.

What to take: We shall discuss what to take in a later post, in fact, a nice packing list has been compiled so that you can tick it off as you rush round the house, trying to load up the car. This way, you won't forget anything!

What to sleep in: Invest in a good tent, and make sure its big enough
for the whole family. Don't try and squeeze you all in a 2 man tent (just because the little hips are little, doesn't mean you can save on space!). Remember, once the little ones go to sleep (day naps and night time), the adults need somewhere to go. Outside is great if the weather is fine, but oh, not really worth thinking about if its not. Consider whether or not you want to be able to actually 'live' in the tent, or just crawl through it. Can you stand up? Are there separate rooms? Can you put the kids in a room, plus have a living room, plus a room for yourselves (super deluxe tent, a bit like the magical tents in Harry Potter!) If your 'hips' are really young, consider that you may need to have one adult in with one child just to give them some comfort.

What to eat: You pretty much still have to do some cooking when you go camping, whether it boiling your water over an open fire, 'Survivor' style, or frying a sausage or two on a portable gas stove. Unlike Survivor, most established campsites have a few bbq's, and perhaps even a kitchen and a shop to buy fresh eggs and bread daily. Remember to secure all food away as you don't want to create a bug problem. Just try not to over complicate things. It is still a holiday after all.

Keeping warm and dry: Take some good fleecy blankets to wrap yourselves up in at night. Perhaps make the tent a 'shoes off' area only as it all can get quite messy. Air mattresses are far more comfortable than sleeping on the ground, as they keep you warmer and dryer. Oh, and don't sleep leaning against the side of the tent (a la guide camp)

And finally: Enjoy yourself...watching the 'hips' camping is wonderful, and something they will remember for a long time. And, if the weather is hideous, or its just not 'happening', then pack up the car, and move on....

Coming up, we chat to a mother who has had a successful camping trip with a 2 year old and a brand new baby, plus that all important camping packing list.

How do you like it....?

Vegemite. An acquired taste. I have to admit that I have always been a Marmite girl. I hail from the UK, so I am not a "happy little vegemite" kid, but have perhaps grown to like it over the 10 years I have been here (dare I say, I now perhaps even ever so slightly prefer it to my much loved Marmite!?)

But really, Vegemite (not cheesy i.snack or whatever they ended up with), is really great for those fussy little 'hips' especially when you are travelling. Now, don't get me wrong, I am NOT one of those people who fills their suitcase full of favourite foods when heading off on holiday, but I would recommend getting one of those little squeezy Vegemite tubes, and just putting it in your bag. Kids are funny little things...creatures of comfort really, and they just may not LOVE to dabble in frogs legs in France or Sauerkraut in Germany, like perhaps you and I might do. 

Don't even think about it. Just pop one in your bag. You'll be grateful when all they'll want on that 24 flight to London is junk food. At least Vegemite contains lots of Vitamin B (which also keeps the mosquitoes away) and plenty of folate (for all those yummy mummies to be).

Oh, and another thing, has anyone tried Tiger Toast (toasted cheese and Vegemite stripped toast...yum!)

Little hip camping or glamping...?

Image: Simon Howden / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

As the weather warms up in the Southern Hemisphere, I really feel its time we talked about camping. We have plenty to talk about...it can be pretty hard work camping with little people, but once you've got yourself organised, it can also be a wonderful experience. Over the next few posts, we are going to chat about what to take, and how to do it, plus hear some great experiences from those who have braved camping with really really little people.

Before we really delve deeper into the great outdoors, and for those of you who are perhaps slightly nervous about camping, I just wanted to leave you with a wonderful link that really broadens your horizons about being at one with canvas! Go Glamping is a luxury camping directory that really makes you think about camping in a completely different light. Go on, have a look, and enjoy, BUT we shall be back soon to chat about 'real' camping (not that glamping isn't 'real', its just more... glamourous!)

Image: http://goglamping.net/oceania/paperbark-camp-new-south-wales/

Hip destination baby names...

So, it has recently emerged that Mohammed has beaten Jack as the number 1 name in the UK, and no surprise; William, Jack, Sophie, Emily, Charlotte are all still top 10 favourites in Australia and the UK alike. Choosing a name for your little person is massive - you need to both like it, and still make sure it remains hip as they travel through life, plus its got to be easy to spell, let alone pronounce.

Names are getting more and more unusual, and as the repertoire of names grows wider and wider, its really intriguing to discover how and why parents choose their little 'hips' names.

Now, as you know, we at 'The Little Hip Traveller' are all about travel, so it seems only appropriate to talk about hip destination names. I wonder how many kids are named after the place where their parents met, or travelled to, or even, were conceived? Of course the Beckham's famously named two of their sons Brooklyn and Cruz, and now it seems many other parents are following suit.

Research by Bounty has unravelled the top 10 destination baby names.

1. Florence
2. Rio
3. Paris
4. India
5. Sydney
6. Lucia
7. Brooklyn
8. Savannah
9. Devon
10. Pheonix

Love it! How about Timbuktu, Wagga Wagga or Whakatane anyone? Has anyone got any hip stories to tell about the origin of their child's name?


Image: Freedigitalphotos.net

little eats' little hip travel tips

Today, I am once again, going to hand over to one of Melbourne's fabulous Mumpreneurs. I am hugely excited to be chatting to the wonderful Jemma from Little Eats. Not only is Jemma and her little clan in love with frequenting Melbourne's child friendly coffee spots, and then sharing her brilliant tips with us all, but she is also a big fan of Bali. Jemma has kindly agreed to spill the beans on her favourite spots in Bali, and share her tips and tricks on travelling with very young kids to Bali. 

Here we go...over to you Jemma;

So, tell us a bit about you and your family?

My name is Jemma and I am a mamma to two gorgeous little girls India (21 months) and Aurora (4 months).  I am also the creator of Little Eats - we are all about cafe culture for Melbourne’s little ones and we review the best kid-friendly cafes around town.  Oh and of course there’s my darling hubby too. And Ketut the cat.

And where have you been of late with your little ‘hips’?

We have just come back from Bali, the beautiful island of the Gods. We love Bali and have been many many times over the years.This time we met up with my parents (who live in Switzerland) for a family holiday.

How did you get there?

We flew with Jetstar.  Now I must stress that we only flew with them because we used our Qantas Frequent Flyer points...we would not have flown them by choice!  

Our flight leaving Melbourne was delayed by an hour and we were stuck on the tarmac for that time.  Also when we arrived at check-in they had not booked a bassinet for us, and weren’t seating us all together even though we had confirmed everything in advance.  After another long wait queuing up to speak to the guy at the service desk, we finally worked it out, or we thought we did. Then when we got on the plane we had been seated on the two side seats, which is very squashy when there’s two adults, a toddler, a baby and a whole lotta hand luggage!  And then sitting in the middle row of four seats were two guys! That’s right, two guys! With four seats, two bassinet's, plenty of room... but no babies.  Doesn’t seem very fair does it?  

Then coming home we had to come via Sydney and clear customs and then hop on a domestic Qantas flight home. A similar thing happened - we were seated separately and in a normal row with no bassinet's, yet up the front where the bassinet's were, were business men flying solo ‘sans’ babies.  Not fair again! I asked one of the flight attendants why this was the case as it didn’t seem fair, and she was very rude and told me that obviously they had requested them and I hadn’t. What the??!!  Of course I requested a bassinet. And then I questioned why on earth the businessmen would have requested a seat with a bassinet, and she said “for extra leg room”. So their legs are obviously more important than my babies! 

Just on a side note, last year we flew to Europe with Singapore Airlines and they were simply fantastic. Very reliable, and also very sweet, polite and helpful staff. With 9 month old India we were treated liked royalty. I highly recommend them.

Where did you stay?

We stayed in a stunning 4 bedroom villa with in Canggu, which is a popular surfie beach and about a 20 minute drive from trendy Seminyak.  You still have all the cool Seminyak restaurants and shops close by, however the beaches are much quieter, and you are surrounded by rice paddies and in the heart of traditional Balinese village life.

We usually stay in a villa, as we prefer that style of accommodation to a hotel, as we are in our own house with a kitchen, lounge area with TV and DVD, separate air conditioned bedrooms, our own private swimming pool and... wait for it... they are fully staffed with cooks, maids and this one even came with a driver! It really is a perfect option when you are traveling with little ones as it means that you can put them down for a nap in the bedroom, while you can still read, swim and relax right next to them.  It also means that in the evening once the baby is tucked up asleep in their portacot in the cool bedroom, you can still hang out in the lounge area, have a nightcap, watch a DVD or even have a midnight swim.  It sure beats being stuck in a hotel room.

Your biggest challenge?

Probably the flight over. India was not as well-behaved as normal (to say the least), and didn’t sleep at all (despite leaving Melbourne at 7.45pm at night which is her normal bedtime).  She was so over-tired by the end of it that she was delirious!  Apart from that, luckily, there weren’t really many other challenges or issues at all.

Any big recommendations?

Ok, places to go, things to do... where do I start.  Well if it’s your first time in Bali then I think some of the “must do’s” are:

• Treat yourself to a massage (or two, or a few!) - my favourite places are Jari Menari and Bodyworks
• Enjoy a Bintang beer on the beach whilst you watch an amazing sunset
• Eat lots of yummy, super cheap Indonesian food - nothing beats a good Nasi Goreng
• Stock up on DVD’s - they have all the latest movies and TV series
• Shop!

My favourite places to eat are:

Breakfast - Corner Store, La Lucciola

Lunch - Trattoria Pizza, Cafe Moka, Grocer & Grind, Bali Buddha

Dinner - Kuni’s, Trattoria, Osteria Telese, Cafe Bali, The Beach House at Echo Beach and a little warung on Seminyak Beach called “Juice Park” where you can get a mean Nasi Goreng for just a couple of dollars.

Or for somewhere very special if you have hired a nanny for the night and are dining ‘a deux’, then try Ku De Ta, Metis, Sentosa, Sarong, the restaurant at the Tugu Hotel, La Lucciola and the new Cocoon.  These places are pretty pricey, so they can also be nice to just visit for a cocktail and dessert.

If you are traveling to Bali with your little ones, then you definitely need to check out Bali Baby.  You can hire playpens, highchairs, cots, car-seats, booster seats, monitors, prams, strollers, toys, rockers and play-mats. You name it they’ve got it! The hire prices are very reasonable, and it is all so convenient as Gabi will liaise on your behalf with your accommodation, and will arrange to have everything set up in your villa or hotel for when you arrive. You can also order and purchase Huggies nappies and wipes, Heinz baby food, and Johnson and Johnson bath and body products. So you can really save on excess luggage!

What are your main tips for travelling with kids?

1. Be organised. And make lists. Lots of them! 

2. Call ahead, confirm and double check. 

3. Take more than what you think you will need, but don’t go too overboard

4. Don’t pack too many toys. 

5. Prepare for take off. 

6. Don’t worry about what other people think. 

7. Don’t take it, hire it! 

8. Expect the unexpected. 

9. Throw your normal routine out the window.

10. Enjoy. Relax. Have fun. You are on holidays after all! Although holidays as you know it (ie: pre-bubba) will never be the same again, you are still up for an incredible journey with lots of special memories, happiness and laughter.

What would you not have left home without?

Lola, India’s baby, I mean dolly.  And also her bunny Kaloo that she sleeps with. Lola comes pretty much everywhere with us including most cafes we review for Little Eats.  She is pretty much part of the family now!

Seriously though, there is not that much that I wouldn’t have left home with out.  You really don’t need all that much for Bali as it is so warm and you just live in your bathers and a sarong most of the time.  And if there is anything you desperately need or you have forgotten then you can pretty much buy it all there.  

And finally, anything else you want to add?

Trunki’s rock!  Such a great idea for little hip travellers!  Our’s is pink and her name is Trixie. India had great fun riding her and pulling her around at the airport... as well as riding her around the garden at the villa.  She was also the make-shift “toy-box” when we were at the villa.

We took lots of little things to keep India occupied on the plane and on holidays.  She loves drawing (well, scribbling) so we took a little bag of Crayon rocks, a container of ‘Big Pencils for Little Hands’ and colouring-in books, drawing pads as well as stickers and the latest In the Night Garden mag.

We also took our iPod, and there were sound-docks at the villa, so it was great to have familiar tunes, including the CD from India’s music class. 

+++++++

Wow, thanks so much Jemma. I just want to go there now! If you want to read more about Jemma's top tips on travelling to Bali, plus of course, have a good look at Little Eats, please click here. Thanks so much Jemma. We love Little Eats and are really excited about sharing this fabulous website with everyone.

hip travel spots for 2011

Trying to think of somewhere hip to take those little 'hips' or perhaps teenage 'hips'? How about checking out Lonely Planets latest lists;

 - The top 10 cities for 2011 (Wellington, Newcastle, Valencia, and New York to name a few)

- The top 10 countries for 2011 (Albania, Brazil and Bulgaria leading the way)

Go on, have a read and get some travel inspiration.

Mmmm, yummy Valencia oranges...

Image: br3akthru / FreeDigitalPhotos.net