fun things

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Cat-Themed Gifts for Cats and Their Fans

When I was putting together the lists of gift ideas and stocking stuffer suggestions, I kept coming across delightful cat-themed options. Of course, cat stuff is kind of niche, and I know not everyone likes cats. (It’s okay; I still love you.) So just for fun, I collected a bunch of cat-specific gift ideas for our furry feline friends and the people who love them.

All images below from the accompanying sites linked to in the descriptions.
Some of the gift ideas below use affiliate links, which means I get a few cents if you click on a link and buy that product.

Cat feather wand: My cat and I play with this pretty much every day. (Today, he chose to play with a hair tie instead.) It is such an enduring favorite that we have three wands and a huge variety of feather clips and other “prey” to attach to the string.

Cat tree: I swore I would NEVER have a cat tree in my home; they are hideous and huge and I hate them. And it took all of two days for me to change my mind and welcome a cat tree into my home. It has been SUCH a good purchase. The cat uses it as a resting place, an observation station, a scratching post, a playground. Even though he is nearly three times the size he was when we first got this cat tree, it still “fits” him and he loves it. He spends HOURS there every day.

Cat carrier hoodie: A relative got one of these sweatshirts for my daughter and it has been a delight for cat and humans alike.

Cats and pansies art print: I love this and want to hang it in my office.

Cat Christmas tree: I do not need this, I do not need this, I do not need this. (I want this very badly.)

A Literary Cat for Every Day of the Year by Tara Richardson: Yes. This book sounds perfect.

Carpeted cat ramp: A lot of cat scratchers and ramps are made of cardboard or sisal. Both of those things are nice scratching surfaces, but my cat also LOVES the feel of carpet against his claws. This ramp is a nice alternative to the actual carpet.

Cat plates: I want these so badly I can hardly stand it.

Keepsake puzzle box: This is such a charming little box!

Cat spirals: If you want the biggest bang for your buck, these spirals are it. My cat goes crazy for these and will spend hours chasing them around our house. They do tend to disappear, though; usually under the oven, but also into inexplicable places I have yet to find.

Cat with martini art print: To me, there is something so impossibly elegant and chic about this painting.

Magnetic bookmarks: Cats peering out at you from a book? Yes.

Churu bites: These are my cat’s favorite treats. FYI: since they are little hollow shells filled with goo, they are the perfect vehicle for a hidden pill.

Cat socks: These look so soft.

Mug and sock set: Oh! I also love this little grouping of cozy catware! This would make such a good gift for the cat sitter!

Window bird feeder: My cat would never leave the window if we got him this bird feeder.

Da Vinci’s Cat by Catherine Gilbert Murdock: My daughter and I read this book a few years ago, and it was a really fun read featuring a time traveling cat.

Cat tunnel: Santa is planning to bring this to my cat for Christmas. Shhh – don’t tell him.

Cat spoon rest: These are darling.

Catnip bubbles: I think my cat would be fascinated by bubbles, but I haven’t tried these yet.

Cat T-shirt: Endless options abound, but I love the expressions on this foursome.

Nambe cat photo frame: I love Nambe products – they are so sleek and elegant – and I like the idea of having a cat-shaped frame that isn’t too overtly cat-y.

Cat bookends: I already have these in my office, and I love them because they are very subtle. However, I would love a pair that are more noticeably cats. These are contenders, too.

Interactive cat toy with moving feather: One of the challenges of having a cat is keeping him entertained. An entertained cat is a cat that stays out of trouble. Mostly. This toy is so good at keeping him occupied without my intervention. He mainly ignores the little butterfly wand on the top of the toy, and he only occasionally swats at the track balls, but he LOVES the little feather guy that appears and disappears at random.

Amazing Cat Stories by Karen Roberts: This title sounds perfect for the cat fan.

Cats notecards: I keep promising myself I will send more mail. These cards would help a ton with motivation.

Exploding Kittens game: This is a durable hit around our house.

Cat slippers: There are so many fun options for cat slippers. What a time to be alive!

Carpeted cat scratcher: My cat LOVES this scratcher. His favorite thing is to run full speed toward the scratcher, dive under it, and bat at the little hanging feather toy on the other side. This maneuver is equal parts startling and hilarious.

Cat castle puzzle: I’m not a fan of jigsaw puzzles, but my husband is and I know he would love this puzzle.

Scratching post: We have MULTIPLE scratchers in our house, in an effort to keep the kitty from ruining our carpet and furniture. He’s a big cat, so we wanted a nice sturdy scratching post and this one is great. He’s eleven pounds and leaps at the vertical post and it has never tipped over.

Cat hair clips: I love that these are subtle and come in lots of color options.

Wall hooks: Can you imagine how fun it would be to build a décor theme around these hooks?

Cat planter: These are adorable.

Cat handbag: I’m normally pretty simple and utilitarian when it comes to my handbags, but this cat crossbody is charming.

Find the Cat puzzle book: My daughter came across this in a bookstore recently and spent a very long time flipping through the pages.

Little Kitty, Big City game for Nintendo Switch: My daughter requested this game for Christmas.

Cat grass kit: We bought this for our cat and he LOVES it. He alternates between chewing on the grass, dropping spirals into it, and hiding behind it to pretend he’s a tiger. The cat grass grows amazingly quickly.

We’ll Prescribe You a Cat by Syou Ishida: I have seen this book all over the place lately, and it sounds so charming.

Cat vase: I want this.

Petcube 360-degree camera: My friend got a pet camera for her dogs and it has provided endless entertainment and comfort. I would love to know what my cat gets up to when I’m not around.

Bathroom sign: This cracks me up.

Cat trivia book: If you have a kid who loves cats and facts, this would be a fun stocking stuffer.

Cat earrings: These are the kinds of earrings that make me want to have pierced ears! They are so cute. As are these.

I Am a Cat by Galia Bernstein: This is one of my – and my daughter’s – favorite picture books of all time. The illustrations are fabulous and the story is sweet.

Cat post-it dispenser: Yes please.

Cat butt makeup kit: My kid would get such a kick out of this. There are plenty of other cute and stylish options if you aren’t into the rear view of the cat.

Hooded sherpa blanket: We got this for my daughter for Christmas. It is so soft.

Weighted eye mask: I just love this, that’s all.

How to Draw Squishy Cats & Kittens by Vera Kay: My kid would have so much fun with this book!

Microwavable cat heating pad: This cracks me up. Of course a cat would be perfect for soothing cramps or sore muscles.

Cat origami kit: What a fun little craft kit.

Nathan Pyle art print: I love Nathan Pyle cartoons and he has several fantastic cat-specific art prints.

Cat coloring book: The perfect soothing activity while your cat purrs next to you. These cat-inspired colored pencils would be the perfect accompaniment.

LEGO cat: Build your own cat!

Cat mug: I have several cat mugs but that doesn’t prevent me from wanting one more.

Millions of Cats by Wanda Gag: This book – which I read as a child and then read to my own child – is weird and unsettling and wonderful.

Cat towel: I’m always in the market for a cute towel. I like this one too.

Cat apron: Even though I’ve worn an apron maybe twice ever, I think this is SO cute and want to have it immediately.

Cats & Art: 50 Masterpieces & Their Cat Breeds by Susie Hodge: Such a gorgeous coffee table book.

Cat wine charms: Super charming (pun intended).

Cat note pad: I have some cat themed notepads and they make jotting down grocery lists and phone messages much more fun.

The Cat Who Went to Heaven by Elizabeth Coatsworth: I loved this book when I was a kid and have a copy to read with my daughter.

Window hammock: Next to his cat tree, this is the place where my cat spends most of his time. He loves keeping an eye on the neighborhood from his window vantage point. And my neighbors tell me constantly how fun it is to spot him from the street when they are out walking.

Interactive ball with tail: My cat is half terrified, half intrigued by this weird automated ball, but whatever feelings it inspired, it keeps him occupied for long stretches. It does make a very annoying cheeping noise that I could do without.

Inspired by Cats: Writers and Their Mews(es) by Bob Eckstein and Nava Atlas: Um, this is very me-coded.

Freeze dried turkey treats: Fish products don’t sit well with my cat, and yet so many cat foods and treats contain fish! Even if they say they are chicken flavored! So I was pleased to find these turkey treats for him. He LOVES them.

Hidden picture cat search: Fun!

Scratch pad: Oh my goodness, this nail file is hilarious.

The Healing Power of Cats by Carina Nunstedt and Ulrica Norberg: A reminder for everyone that cats are magic.

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Friday Randomosity: Holiday Detritus Edition

It’s Friday, my house is a mess, there are wrapping paper scraps literally everywhere (LEO), I have overcommitted to Fun Things that currently feel less like fun and more like stress, so let’s get into some bullets.

* In addition to overcommitting to Fun Things, Past Me also apparently set up eight thousand appointments for the weeks leading up to Christmas. Last week was the dentist which led to yesterday’s repeat visit so I could get a filling. After several teeth extractions as a child, and a lifelong issue with getting properly numb from anesthetic, I get severe anxiety about going to the dentist. Yesterday was no exception. I hadn’t had a filling in decades, and all I could think about was getting those huge, painful shots in my mouth. Now that I am a grownup, I understand that it’s okay to TELL THE DENTIST a) that I am anxious, b) I have trouble getting numb, and c) WHEN I AM IN PAIN. Either dental practices have dramatically improved since I was a kid, or my childhood dentist was not very good (or some combination of the two), but my filling experience was as good as could be. The shots hurt, but they weren’t as unbearable as I remember, and it took the dentist maybe ten minutes to remove the cavity. The rest of my time in the chair was with the Filling Specialist. The worst part about the experience (outside of the anticipatory anxiety) was the music. They turned on some instrumental Christmas music which turned out to be an epic rendition of “Jingle Bells” that lasted the entire forty-five minutes I was in the chair. That is too much “Jingle Bells.” Way, way too much.

* Most of my holiday gift-buying is complete; my husband and I have a date this weekend to go shopping in an actual physical mall to find the final couple of items on our list. So now I am turning my attention to the monetary gifts we give out every year: sports coaches, tutors, special teachers, mail person, trash collection, hair stylist, housecleaner. But I am – as usual – dithering about amounts. The mail person and trash collectors are easy, because I just give them gift cards in the $10-$20 range. Others feel less simple. Usually, like for the hair stylist or the housecleaner, I give what amounts to double their normal fee. But this year, my daughter started seeing my hair stylist, too, so I suppose I should combine our typical appointment costs and give that? Also, for the first time ever, my hair stylist has had the same assistant working with her for the last three or four times I’ve gotten my hair cut and colored. Do I give the assistant a separate gift, or does my hair stylist give her a portion of whatever she gets? And, if the latter, do I need to bump up the gift a bit to account for whatever she distributes to others? The other thing that’s stumping me is people whose normal fees are weird numbers. Like if your normal fee is $35, then I would give you a $35 gift. But $35 seems like a weird amount for a gift, doesn’t it? Should I just round up to $50? But that’s a BIG roundup. If your normal fee is $90, somehow $100 seems like a much nicer gift than simply doing an extra $90. I am overthinking this, right? But what would you do?

* By the way, if you have a Trader Joe’s near you, mine has an assortment of cute holiday cards for ninety-nine cents apiece (a STEAL for any card, let alone a cute one). I bought a big handful of these cards to accompany the money gifts.

* Should I get bangs? This feels like a non-sequitur, but I was just thinking about my hair stylist and how last time I visited her, we briefly discussed Forehead Minimization Tactics, and she said she thinks I would look good with bangs. I haven’t had bangs since elementary school. I don’t think I could DEAL with bangs, honestly. But also, more and more lately, I have been staring at the immense freckled and beginning to crepe expanse of my forehead with despair.

* Speaking of despair, I have a Fancy Event coming up in January and I need Fancy Clothes to match. I’ve been looking at dresses for months now, refusing to try anything on, hoping that I would somehow magically shrink to fit one of the many many beautiful dresses I already own and have kept lo these many years. And now the time has come when I have to face reality and buy a new dress. Nordstrom has a bunch of dresses I’ve had in my digital shopping cart for awhile. I really like this one; it’s fancy, the fit-and-flare style typically looks okay on me, it’s not too short. I don’t love the straps, though; I feel as though my bare shoulder days are behind me. Also, it’s more than I’d like to spend on a dress I may wear ONCE. But then again, maybe if I buy a higher quality dress, it will fit me better? This one is pretty, and has sleeves. I like the color, the price is decent. It also looks itchy, and maybe too short. I love the look of this one – I swoon for a navy dress – and it also has sleeves. And it’s VERY on sale. But is the neckline too restrictive? Does it read too youthful for a middle-aged mom? I like the look of this one, and it looks elegant and very comfortable. The pattern is not exactly my typical style, and I’m worried it’s slightly too casual for an event with cocktail attire. Which one would you suggest I try? I’m toying with buying all of them, trying them on, and returning three. I’ve done that before, but it always makes me nervous.

* This is kind of a dumb, low-stakes question, but what is the protocol for food procurement when you’re meeting someone? I met a friend at a bakery the other day. I wasn’t sure when she would arrive, and she had declined my offer to get her something, so I ordered my little pastry and drink and was standing in line to pay when she got there. But then it felt awkward, like I hadn’t waited for her? Standing in the bakery without buying anything would have felt awkward, too, though. I can also imagine grabbing a table, waiting for her, then going to place our orders together, and feeling awkward about THAT. (There is something unbearable to me about paying for something for myself and NOT for the other person.) Clearly I will just feel awkward about anything and everything.

* Here’s another dumb thing I am feeling awkward about. As I mentioned, my husband and I are going to The Mall this weekend. I rarely go to malls, but I realized we will be in the proximity of several stores that have something I want very badly: a cake stand with a dome. The thing is, I put this on my Christmas wish list that my husband sends around to all his family members, so there is a chance I might be getting one for Christmas. I don’t think anyone (except perhaps one person) who takes part in this gift-list-sharing process really feels like the items are Must Buys, they are more like suggestions. Plus, we haven’t received any gifts addressed to me at all. So it’s a small chance, but it’s still a chance. But… should I take advantage of being in The Mall and just buy myself a cake stand??? This one is kind of exactly what I’d envisioned, and it’s on sale. Or this one is so simple and elegant. I like this one, too, with the marble base. I should just wait until after Christmas, right? I should just wait.

* Leo is loving Christmas. Or hating it, it’s kind of difficult to distinguish between the two. I made the mistake of bragging to Elisabeth recently that I make my own bows out of wrapping paper. I do do that; it’s fun and the results are cute, but they take FOREVER to make. And, of course, Leo thinks they are for his personal entertainment. Or he takes them as a threat to the safety of his home and targets them for immediate destruction. Hard to say. Pride goeth before the fall and all that, I guess.

All right, that’s all I’ve got this morning. I have a Fun Thing today, plus cleaning, plus at some point I still need to address and mail our holiday cards.

What’s on your mind today?

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Paris Woot-Woots and Womp-Womps

Oh hi. Yes, we did go to Paris several weeks ago and I am only just now getting around to posting about it. We had a terrific trip and I am still basking in the glow of what really couldn’t have been a more perfect vacation. 

If you are looking for gorgeous photos of Paris sites, please refer to Elisabeth’s blog; she was in Paris right before we arrived, and in fact overlapped with us for one day, during which I got to meet her and her family in person!!!! (As with every blogger I’ve had the luck to meet in person or via zoom, she is both exactly like she is on her blog and also somehow more delightful and more beautiful offline.)                   

If you’re looking for some hot tips about what was good and what wasn’t good about our visit, you are in the right place. Below, I’ve lined up my landslides and letdowns.

Woot! Woot!s

My husband. Oh my goodness, my husband is a ROCKSTAR. He planned the entire trip, securing our plane, train, and Metro tickets; finding a hotel; researching when and how to obtain entry to the sites we wanted to see; planning day trips and booking travel to and from each city; creating an itinerary that hit all our must-sees without overloading us; securing tickets at the ideal times on the ideal days for each site; figuring out what to do about cell phone service while we were in Europe; and then getting us to each place in the most efficient and pleasant way possible each day. It was so much work and I did none of it. All I had to do during the planning stages was occasionally weigh in on things, suggest potential activities, and offer moral support. All I had to do during the trip itself was show up. It was fabulous. I don’t think I could ever have come up with such a well-planned vacation on my own. Oh also: his French is leaps and bounds ahead of mine, and at one restaurant, the server asked us where we were from. (I find this a difficult question to answer, by the way. I feel like we wear our Americanness like a glaring red-white-and-blue baseball jersey. I always want to respond with the name of our state, but my husband always simply says, “We’re from the United States.” That does seem to do the trick.) When he told this server we were from the States, she shook her head in disbelief and said, “But your French is so good! Your pronunciation is excellent.” Way to go, husband! 

On the train!

Carla. You guys, Carla was a superstar traveler. From the instant we left the house to the moment we returned to the States, she was excited, curious, eager, and game for anything. She loved all the museums we visited. She enthusiastically listened to a (quite long and somewhat boring) audio tour of Chateau de Fontainebleau. She put in 7 to 10 miles of walking, from about 7:00 am to 10:00 pm (on average), for eight consecutive days. She ate (some of the) food. She went into every church and cathedral I wanted to peek inside. We had occasional mother/daughter conflicts, but beyond that, she did not whine or complain at all and in fact seemed delighted by and interested in everything we saw. (With the possible exception of the churches. She was into them when we were inside, but when we expressed interest in yet another church, she voted against going in.) I want to go on all the trips with her. (She has suggested Australia as our next big vacation; my husband and I are less enthusiastic, simply because of the lengthy plane ride.) 

AirFrance. We flew AirFrance to and from Paris, and it was a fabulous airline. My husband found a ridiculously good deal on premium economy seats, and I was all set for American-style premium economy, as in, economy seating with slightly more leg room. But no! AirFrance premium economy is just a step below Business Class! We got to hang out in the AirFrance lounge before our flight. We got priority access to the security line and priority boarding. We got pillows and blankets and cute little dopp kits each way, we got Champagne just after each takeoff. We had nice roomy seats that lay back. It was one of the best flying experiences I’ve ever had. 

Our Louvre Tour Guide. We decided that we wanted a tour guide for the Louvre, because a) it’s so big and overwhelming, and b) we wanted to skip the line. My husband found a tour company online (don’t ask me how; he did a ton of research) who offered a three hour “Louvre highlights” tour with a maximum of six people. Our guide was so sweet and knowledgeable. He showed us a great mix of the heavy hitters (the Mona Lisa, the Winged Victory, the Venus de Milo, and others) and less popular but still impressive paintings and sculptures. Then Carla wanted to explore more of the Egyptian wing, which we’d glimpsed at the beginning of the tour, and we found a few other things my husband and I were interested in seeing, and then we were done. We got to skip the long lines to get into the museum, we got to see a nice mix of artwork, and we didn’t get overwhelmed or lost. I would totally do a guided tour again.

Strasbourg. One of our day trips was to Strasbourg, and oh, what a charming city! We had uncharacteristically sunny warm weather, and had a wonderful time seeing the cathedral and exploring the city via a Rick Steves guided walk. We stopped for an outdoor lunch alongside a canal where I had the most delicious spaetzle with mushrooms paired with a crisp and summery local Riesling. 

The Eiffel Tower. My husband and I were happy to take Carla to the Eiffel Tower, because it was her top priority for the trip. But he and I wouldn’t have gone without her. I wasn’t exactly dreading it, but I wasn’t looking forward to it either. (By the way, if you want to skip the big line without paying ridiculously overpriced fees for a “skip the line guide,” you have to get tickets exactly 60 days in advance, at midnight Paris time. I am very grateful to my husband for figuring this out and staying up to get the tickets!) Carla wanted to go all the way to the top of the Eiffel Tower, and I’m not a huge fan of heights, and I already did the Eiffel Tower a million years ago with my high school French class. But oh was it ever worth it! I should have known by now that an experience completely transforms when I see it through Carla’s eyes. She was excited and quite nervous about the height and yet so determined to make it work. We had perfect weather, we had glorious views, and Carla loved it. The Eiffel Tower wowed again when we saw it from the top of the Arc de Triomphe at night. At dusk, the whole tower lights up, but then it also sparkles every hour on the hour for about five minutes. My husband took a video of the instant the sparkle started and he caught Carla’s face when she saw it and it was priceless. One of those moments I think I will remember forever. I hope she remembers it too.

Art!: I have had the immense privilege of visiting the Louvre, the Musee d’Orsay, the Pompidou Centre, and many other art museums in Paris and around the world. This trip, we went to the Louvre and the Musee d’Orsay and I kind of expected the experience to feel a little “same old, same old.” But it wasn’t. I found the museums so moving. Some of the art we saw was three thousand years old! Can you imagine? That people so separate from us in time and manner and lifestyle felt the same drive to create? That other people saw these creations and deemed them valuable enough to save, over millennia? That still other people erected buildings for the sole purpose of housing these works? That millions of people flock to monuments to art to see these ancient and modern creations to this day? It feels so precious and human, this desire to create, to translate experience and emotion into marble or paint so that someone else might know it too. 

Our Hotel. We picked our hotel purely because it had a separate but connected room for Carla. The rooms were massive for Paris, giving us plenty of privacy. We each had a mini fridge that the staff refilled with complementary waters and sodas and juice each day. The beds were comfy, the rooms were pretty quiet. The showers had very decent water pressure, and very minimal temperature issues. The staff were friendly and helpful and the hotel and surrounding neighborhood felt safe. We were within easy walking distance of several Metro stops. The main floor of the hotel doubled as a breakfast restaurant, and we were able to use the tables and microwave in the restaurant space on the evenings we didn’t make it out to dinner. It wasn’t fancy and it wasn’t right in the middle of all the Paris action, but it was comfortable and spacious and suited our needs perfectly.

Paris Fashion. While I was arrayed in stereotypical American Middle Aged Mom Wear, I got to admire all the extremely fashionable Parisiennes strolling around the city. The in-style, insofar as I can tell, is something along the lines of wide-legged jeans paired with an ankle-skimming black trench coat. The coats have belts, but are rarely worn belted. I did not see a specific single type of footwear – there was everything from heels to boots to sneakers. I do think the sneakers were mainly white; I didn’t see a lot of bright colors. Hairstyles, as in the US, seem to veer toward the long and lightly wavy. Everyone was impossibly chic, which I suppose is de rigueur for Paris. I would have gladly sat at an outdoor café all day long, watching all the beautiful people live their lives. 

Rick Steves. I would be remiss not to give a shoutout to good ol’ Ricky, who provided many restaurant recommendations, pinpointed bathroom opportunities, suggested multiple points of interest, and created interesting, detailed walks for us to follow.

Womp Womps

Bruxelles. None of us had ever been to Belgium before, and Brussels is within my range of acceptability for day trips (two hours), so we decided to go. I had no preconceptions, and I’m kind of glad because I fear it would have been a disappointment. On the pros side, our train trip was easy, we had good weather, and the city is beautiful. On the cons side, I have never been to a busier, more crowded place in all my life. There is an adorable main square in the old town and it was crammed with people. CRAMMED. Everywhere was jammed with tourists. Even though our surroundings were lovely, I felt overstimulated and panicky and overwhelmed. I felt like I couldn’t let go of Carla for an instant, or she would be swept away by a tide of tourists. Even when we left the old town to explore some of the area up-hill, there were still crowds and crowds of people. The touristy sites weren’t particularly noteworthy, either. I mean, the Grand Place was impressive, but the Manneken Pis was tiny and dressed in a firefighter costume, the Royal Quarter was under construction, Jeanneke Pis was tucked into the end of a narrow alley full of drunk college students, the Atomium was too far away for us to visit during our quick visit, and the local food was both stressful and disappointing. I’m glad I’ve been there, but I can’t say I enjoyed it very much at all. The best part was probably the random cat we met, hanging out and accepting pets outside a restaurant. I know it was a highlight for Carla. Not just of Brussels, but of the entire trip.

My Skin. The combination of traveling, eating a bunch of restaurant meals, and spending all day walking and sweating was not kind to my face. I had horrible breakouts pretty much every day. 

eSIM. My husband and I decided that it made the most sense for him to pay the daily rate ($12, I think?) to maintain his regular phone service while we were in Europe. He had to be available in case of urgent work issues, plus he had all the details of the trip on his phone and he is hands down the better photographer. But we also decided that I would get an eSIM while we were away. It’s hard to remember why, now, because it turned out to be so useless. I think partly because we wanted to have a French phone number for Carla to keep on her person in case she got separated from us. In any event, it sucked. I had horrible service almost the entire time. It kept cutting in and out and even when it worked, websites took forever to load, if they ever did. We did use it twice, to make dinner reservations. (I called a French restaurant and made the reservation myself, in French!) But other than that, it was a waste of money. 

WiFi. Our hotel supposedly had WiFi, but it was both patchy and horrible. By this I mean that it was nearly inoperable the entire time I was there – I could not connect to the internet pretty much at all. On the rare occasion when my phone would show a few bars of connectivity, and I would connect to a blog or my email or a news story, it would quickly cut out. Some i-messages worked, but not all; WhatsApp worked occasionally. I could not send photos via text. Between the eSIM and the WiFi, I was usually able to jot out a quick email to my parents about our day, but that was all. I lost my Wordle streak. Oh well. I didn’t really miss my phone, except I would have liked to keep up with everyone’s blogs better. I still feel very behind!

When I weigh the highs against the lows, the highs win by a landslide. It was a wonderful vacation and I feel so grateful that we were able to make it happen, and that everything went so smoothly. (Once again, a major shout out to my husband for ensuring that our experience was so effortless and fun!) 

You may notice that I haven’t talked much about the food. Don’t worry (or, perhaps, do?): I am planning a whole post about the food wins and losses of the trip.