Fresh from her European family escapade...
We caught up with mother of two boys Michelle Glew-Ross to talk travelling with kids in tow, jet-set essentials and her newly launched lifestyle range My General Store.
Michelle Glew-Ross in Capri wearing The Pyjama by My General Store, $225
Tim was invited to be part of the Architecture Biennale in Venice. So we based our European trip around this…
I try to explore somewhere new each time we travel now so we spent two weeks in Apulia (Puglia), which was everything I had dreamed of and more. The white washed buildings, the Azul blue sea, the most incredible natural rock pools, the enormous cacti, the farm to table style food and the loveliest people. This was also a great opportunity for me to source new fabrics and materials and meet people that I will be collaborating with for My General Store.
It really was perfect...
The first week of our trip we spent on the Amalfi coast, we have been here a few times before, but this time we stayed in a small town just outside of Positano called Praiano and we really didn’t do much. We stayed in a beautiful villa owned by a family of architects – it was just perfect. Day trips to Capri by boat and afternoons walking up the 150 stairs so the boys could kick the ball with the local boys in the square pretty much summed up this part of the holiday. Italy has my heart.
I have always travelled and love it…
I didn’t want to wait until the boys are older to travel with them. I want to share these experiences with them as much as possible. I love travelling with the boys as they open my eyes up to so many new things along the way.
Images: @mygeneral_store
My essentials for travelling with kids are…
Napisan, a My General Store wrap, straws, iPads, books, colouring in material, arts and crafts pack. The Wrap is the perfect travel essential – we throw it down in the meadows for picnics, use it as a towel at the beach, as a wrap to keep warm; it makes me feel like I have everything I need if I’ve packed one.
Image: @modernister
I’m not sure there is a totally stress free holiday when kids are involved…
I think the main thing we realised on this trip was not to try to do too much. We avoided large cities, except for London where Tim was working. We decided to head to towns that were much more relaxed and didn’t fall into the trap of trying to achieve all of the touristy things in the area. I picked a few places to see and we would explore them. There weren’t many days when we were on the go from morning to evening – the boys just wouldn’t last and that’s not fun for them.
Images: @mygeneral_store
I find food is a tricky thing when travelling with kids…
It’s much more difficult to keep them eating healthy foods. I found I had to be prepared, always keeping essential snacks on us, like rice cakes, apples, bananas, carrots and dried fruit – little boys are hungry frequently and in a very different routine than being at home. Getting stuck with two little hungry men without any food was not much fun.
Go to www.mygeneral-store.com