Each week we talk about important travel topics to help you decide when, where, and how to explore the world in style. We love the holiday season because it means celebrating with friends and family, and usually lots of traveling. Because this year is obviously a bit different, we reminisce on some of our favorite Christmas trips we’ve taken in the past in the episode. Listen for lots of holiday travel inspiration and some tips on how to spend the holidays in Boston this year. 

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Transcript: Christmas Trips

JQ: Merry Christmas, Joyeux Noël, Feliz Navidad, and Buon Natale, we are officially in the holiday season, and since this is not the holiday season, any of us were planning on, we decided to talk about our all-time favorite Christmas trips.

Juliana: This is the Travel Babies podcast, a podcast on all things travel. I’m Juliana from the blog Travel Juliana.

JQ: I’m JQ Louise from jqlouise.com

Juliana : Each week we will talk about important travel topics to help you make a decision on when, where, and how to explore the world in style. We love this time of year celebrating with friends and family, but also traveling this year, obviously a bit different. But we wanted to reminisce on some of the christmas trips we’ve taken in the past. JQ, what are some of your favorite christmas trips? I have so many trips from December and January from years past, but right now I keep thinking about Stowe, Vermont, as well as Prague.

JQ: What about you, Juliana?

Juliana: Well, for the past three years, I’ve been going to Paris and it’s definitely one of my favorites this year. It’s a little bit sad because I can’t go. I know Paris is an amazing place this time of year, but the last one I really want to mention is actually Boston. We have so many things locally right here that are so much fun during Christmas time that we’ll definitely talk about Boston as well. Anyways, let’s get into it.

So what do you love to do in Stowe, Vermont, this time of year, JQ??

Christmas trips – Stowe, VT

JQ: Well, Vermont, in general, is just so great this time of year with some snow on the trees, the views are always amazing no matter where you are, but especially in Stowe, the views, you just can’t beat them from the top of the mountain, but also in the town. It’s super cute. We love staying at the lodge at Spruce Peak. It’s ski-in, ski-out and super luxurious.

Juliana: That sounds so great. How did you get there from Boston?

JQ: Well, it’s about a three and a half-hour drive from Boston. So definitely it’s definitely considered a road trip, I would say. But I think this time of year, that’s part of the fun because, you know, you get to enjoy all the views as you head out of the city and head up in Vermont, you drive through the mountains, and then once you arrive in Stowe, you know, those views get even better.

Juliana: Do you usually leave like at night and then you spend a night there and then you get up really early and ski the next day? Or do you normally, like, drive really early in and  ski that day?

JQ: So we usually leave on Friday night. We try to leave as early as we can to beat the Friday night traffic. We get in on Friday, have a nice dinner at the Lodge and then we wake up early on Saturday, ski all day, maybe hit the spot in the afternoon, you know, enjoy some of the other amenities. And then again, wake up early on Sunday to ski again.

Juliana: To kind of get in your full amount of time there. Skiing, what’s your favorite place to eat.

JQ:  So we’ll Stowe has so many great places. One of my favorites is Dock Ponds. It’s kind of a cool, funky place right down the street from the mountain. But also, the mountain has so many great eateries right there. One of my favorite new places on the mountain is the Whistle Pig Pavilion. It’s a great apres-ski spot. They have cool snacks. Some of them are even grilled right there in the fireplace like the Roquefort cheese. And they have some great drinks and cocktails as well.

Juliana: That sounds so good. So besides skiing, obviously, what’s the most holiday activity that you do there?

JQ: Well, really, I mean, everything is so festive. It’s fun just getting all cozied up at the lodge with the hot chocolate. But also we love to take out one of their complimentary Mercedes vehicles and go for a nice drive.

Juliana: That sounds so fun. So what are the rooms like?

JQ: Well, that’s another reason why I think it’s a great holiday destination because all their rooms are actually suites. So you can have a one-bedroom, two-bedroom, three-bedroom suite right there on the mountain. So it’s perfect for families. And it just makes so much sense if you want to get out of the city this time of year.

Juliana: I bet the views from those are great. Like high up.

JQ: Yeah. Views, they look right out onto Spruce Peak. So every morning you can see the skiers, you see the mountain like you just wake up in yours.

Juliana: Yeah, it must be so cozy. And then I heard that they have ice skating rinks there.

JQ: Yeah. They have this gorgeous huge outdoor ice skating rink. It’s right in the center of all the activity. So it’s a great people-watching spot. And also, if you want to take a break from the slopes, you can hit the rink.

Juliana: It sounds so great. I really want to go skiing there. I really want to go skiing in general. It’s just getting to that time of year.

JQ: I know I’m getting the ski bug superbad right now.

Juliana: It’s not that cold in Boston right now, but I’m really looking forward to the ski season, given that we can’t really travel internationally as much.

JQ: I know it’ll be so great to just get outside. And I love the fresh air on these mountains.

Juliana: Yeah, definitely.

JQ: All right. Well, we all love skiing, but I think the thing that we all love more is actually Paris, and Juliana super lucky because her boyfriend, Pierre Luc, grew up in Paris and still has family there. So she spent the last couple of Christmases actually in Paris. So, Juliana, let’s start talking about that.

Holiday Travel – Paris

We are missing Christmas trips right about now, are you?

Juliana: Paris is amazing all times of the year, but I especially love it during the holidays. It’s just so festive, so magical, you know? Yeah. As you said, I’ve been going there for the past couple of years now for the holidays, and I’ve just been able to get more, you know, immersed in French culture and traditions, specifically Christmas traditions, you know, all of the different foods and wines and just dessert.

Juliana: I mean, they have amazing I always prepare myself and I eat, you know, less than I normally would the week before so that I can just eat everything I want to when I go there, because I know it’s worth it. And you just can’t experience that here.

JQ: So, yeah, you have to get ready to indulge for like a solid week when you’re there.

Juliana: Yeah, definitely.

JQ: So what are some of those, like classic French Christmas, you know, food and wine traditions.

Juliana: Well, so everything there is so yummy, of course. But a couple of ones that come to mind is just French onion soup. You know you can buy that in like any tiny Christmas market outside, you know, just.

JQ: Oh, you have it. You have it when you’re outside of the Christmas markets.

Juliana: Yeah, it’s great. We were at this really cute Christmas market with like a little carousel for, you know, it was a really like family fun kind of Christmas market. And I think it was near the opera. So and we had just like a tiny little cup of French onion soup. It was delicious. Warmed us right up. We were able to go and shop around for little cute gifts like for Pierre-Luc’s family.

You know, they’re obviously big, big wine drinkers. You know, they can get the best wine there. So I got like a little wine decanter for Pierre-Luc’s dad. It was so cute and so fun. And then last year we went to Annecy and, you know, that’s more on lotto and it’s gorgeous there.

JQ: The lake is amazing.  the view of the mountains.

Juliana: It’s amazing. And we had fondue and Rocklin, which was we didn’t go skiing, but those foods you’re typically supposed to eat after you go skiing.

But and so they’re so delicious and really feeling really rich. But, you know, if you’re there, you have to try it.

JQ: How far is Annecy from Paris?

Juliana: So we drove and it was about five hours driving. There was traffic.

JQ: Five hours to the east, right?

Juliana: Yeah, five hours to the southeast.

And we were actually coming from Pierre-Luc’s House in Lagnes, which is more in the south, more southern, pretty close to Nice. So it’s kind of on the way back. And it was just a great stop that we made. And that was my first time going last year. So, yeah, I’m really looking forward to the next time we’ll go there whenever that may be.

JQ: And then I’ve heard of this. They have a traditional Christmas cake. What’s that called.

Juliana: Yeah, so that’s called La Buche de Noel, which is I think in English it’s called like Yule Log. It’s like a log-shaped cake. And usually, the one we had had like ice cream in the middle and cake. It was delicious. And it’s usually, you know, you can really only get it around the holidays. So every time I go to Paris, I’m always asking for it. I didn’t know there was more more of a holiday thing. And I always ask Pierre-Luc’s mom to get one.

But he’s like, oh, no, we can’t get those anytime for the holiday. So every year for Christmas, I’m like, let’s make sure we have you have to get that. You have to get that.

Holiday Shopping in Paris

Lets move onto another of our favorite parts of Christmas trips, shopping!

JQ: Amazing. So so what else do you do in Paris when you’re there around Christmas time?

Juliana: So, you know, besides seeing a lot of Pierre-Luc’s family and friends, which, you know, we we can’t get enough of, and we always try to make sure that I go for at least a week so that I can see his family, his extended family and his really close friends who live in Paris. We love to, you know, spend at least a day shopping. My favorite place to shop is the Le marais. That area, it just has so many shops.

JQ: What types of shops?

Juliana: Like local brands, big brand, big everything. Honestly, I feel like it’s more definitely a lot of French brands that you can only get in France or in Europe.

So I really take advantage of that because, well, these brands you just can’t buy here from shop and even online, it’s hard. So you just and especially if buying more expensive items, you can get a tax free.

JQ: Yeah, shopping in Paris is the best. I’m finding those cool, funky brands.

Juliana: And, you know, it’s like people will ask me here, like, oh, where’d you get that? Like Paris. It’s like, you know, they might not necessarily know the brand, but it’s just such a cool product. It’s always, you know, really good quality and really good price, I think.

JQ: Are there any other Parisian holiday desserts that you love to get when you’re in Paris?

Yes. So one of them is called Galette de rois.

JQ: And what does that mean? That means king cake. So it’s a traditional cake where you cut it into slices and then there’s a.

Yes. So one of them is called Gallette de rois .

JQ: And what does that mean?

Juliana: That means king cake. So it’s a traditional cake where you cut it into slices and then there’s a toy

in one of them and whoever gets the toy gets to wear a crown that comes with the cake, so much fun.

And they usually only have it during this holiday season. And it’s really good for, you know, for kids, because Pierre-Luc’s said every year when he was really younger, they would have this cake and you cut it into pieces and then the kids. Actually, a tradition is to have them sit under the table and tell them which piece goes to which person. And then whoever ends up with the piece that has a toy and it gets like a crown that comes with the cake.

And actually last year, maybe two years ago now, Pierre-Luc’s nephews who are really young, both sat under the table and chose which piece goes to which person. And then Pierre-Luc’s was actually the one who ended up with the toy. So then he got to wear the crown. So he was like, oh, that’s fun. So it’s a really fun Christmas tradition.

JQ: amazing. All right. Well, hopefully we can all go to Paris again soon.

Christmas Travel – Prague

Next up on our list of favorite Christmas trips is Prague!

Juliana: Yeah, I’m dying to. OK, so let’s move to a different part of Europe. Let’s talk about Prague.

JQ: Yeah. So Prague is another one of our favorite Christmas trips that we’ve taken, just like Paris. They have some beautiful Christmas markets. And, you know, while it’s a little bit different because it’s more Eastern Europe, Prague is known for all four lots of similar kind of cozy Christmas traditions like mulled wine and mulled cider and the markets where you can get all these nice little gifts for people made by local artisans. We just had so much fun. We went a few years ago and I would love to go again and explore even more of their markets.

Juliana: That sounds so fun. What was your favorite type of mulled wine? I know I had them in Paris a ton, too, but there were so many different types.

JQ: Yeah, well, there’s going to have so many different kinds. I mean, I like the ones that have a lot of spices in it. We need to add in nutmeg. Really holiday really season feel. Yeah, I loved that. And it just really warms you up.

Juliana: I love mulled wine. That’s one thing here. You know, when you go to Christmas, I mean, we don’t there’s not a lot of places where they serve like alcohol in outdoor Christmas markets, especially in Boston. But that’s one thing that I love in Europe. You can get like the coziest, you know, slightly alcoholic drinks, but you’re shopping, having a good time. It’s so much fun. Um, where did you stay when you guys were in Prague?

JQ:  So we stayed a super cool hotel. We stayed at a Buddha bar hotel. Oh, cool. So it was, you know, bar hotels are all over the world. But in Prague, it’s something you wouldn’t expect because you’re in this ancient European city. But then you walk into the hotel and it’s a super-modern Asian-inspired hotel. Oh, cool. So all the rooms have a really interesting Asian style decor. Even, you know, the food and the drinks they serve there are all Asian inspired.

JQ: So it’s just something really different from your surroundings. But it was a super-luxury experience. We had amazing service. We got some great spa treatments there and we’ll put the link below. You guys should definitely read our blog post all about it. I’m dying to go back. It was just so much fun.

Juliana: Yeah, that sounds amazing. What was one of your favorite foods you tried there? It sounds like they have quite a variety, even, you know, being more of an ancient European city. I’m sure they have a lot of, um, you know, internationalism in there.

JQ: Yeah. I mean, yeah, Prague is a really international city, again, just like Paris. But, you know, there’s lots of kind of local classics that we that you have to try it when you’re it’s your first time going. We tried lots of local dishes. I mean, lots of kind of meat and potatoes, different stews and soups, really cozy, you know, belly-warming food. So that’s why it’s great to visit in the wintertime because you really get to experience how the locals really live and how they’ve, you know, some of these dishes that they’ve been making for centuries. So it’s a lot of fun. But again, you know, lots of warm, cozy dishes. Yeah.

Juliana: Did you have any kind of notable desserts or drinks like, you know, specific to that there that you tried?

JQ: Well, one thing it’s not really so it’s a drink, but it wasn’t at a meal. So one crazy thing that we did, we went to this beer spa. So it’s literally a spa where you get your private room and you go in this bathtub full of warm local Czech beer.

Juliana: Oh, you went in a bath with it.

JQ: Yeah. You’re in a bathtub filled with this warm beer that has some herbs and things in it. It’s supposed to be very therapeutic and it’s funny because it sounds super strange, but when you’re out walking in the cold all day, it was so cold, so much better. It felt so great. Honestly, it soothed your muscles and we felt great afterwards.

Juliana: That’s awesome. Did it smell good ?

JQ: Well, it smelled like hot beer, but. Yeah, but it was super cozy and that’s so cool. Definitely recommend. Where else can you be in a bath tub full of beer? Yeah, uh, cool. I was just just going to say, what were some of the activities you did?

Christmas in Boston

You don’t have to go on a big Christmas trip to enjoy the season, there is so much right here in Boston around the holidays.

JQ: But that’s one of them will greet. So I guess maybe we should talk about Boston.

Juliana: Yeah, definitely.

JQ: Cause I think, you know, people forget I mean. Well, I guess one thing that I’ve really noticed this year during covid is that, you know, this was the year to really explore your own backyard.

JQ: Yeah, absolutely. Especially in the summer. So many trips that we, you know, normally probably wouldn’t have taken because they’re too close to us. So we usually go fly here and there and everywhere during the summer. But now we have you know, we had a whole summer just to experience stuff, you know, an hour away from us or less than an hour. So, yeah.

JQ: And during Christmas time, Boston really comes alive. We have lots of great outdoor shopping. I mean, there’s some little pop up markets that you have to check out. I mean, one that we went to this past weekend was in the seaport. Yeah. So fun. Yeah. Seaport has so many great holiday activations going on. I mean, they have you can even do curling. You did. Yeah.

Juliana: It was so much fun. You just you learn from like a curling pro.. They had you know, obviously, there was no ice, but it was just like practicing and people go there and just have a curling match with some of their friends while they’re, you know, shopping and going eating at these little places in the seaport. So honestly, the seaport has so many new pop-ups that are I don’t even know if they had if that was going on last year around Christmas time or they had this thing.

JQ: So, I mean, they keep adding more each year. I mean, yeah, they’ve had it’s called the current. It’s these pop up shops where they rotate out the vendors every few months and they’ve had that for a few years. But some of these things, like the curling is new and they also have a Christmas tree market now. Yeah, I know. It’s the perfect local substitute for a Christmas trip.

Juliana: Didn’t Jared our brother, go buy one. Yeah.

JQ: Yeah, he bought one his huge gorgeous. I mean they, it’s just like so festive.

Juliana: It’s so easy when also when you live in Boston you don’t have a car, you want to just, you know, get one to your apartment. It’s great. And, you know, it’s pretty safe to like there’s because of the fact it’s all outside like you, don’t you? It’s really easy. Social distance. When I did the curling lesson, everything was cleaned. It was really just a fun way to get out of the house during, you know, this time.

JQ: And it’s just a really fun way to get out of the house.

JQ: Yeah. Which is great. Yeah. The seaport has done such a nice job. I mean, all the shopping supports a lot of local brands. Yeah. I mean all of the pop-up shops are local, pop-up shops are locally owned and there are some really cool ones. There’s ingenious which is a there was famous jeans store from the north. Oh yeah. That looks so cool. Got some amazing items there. There’s a great cupcake shop and you know a bath and body and local brand called Organic Bath Co is there.

Juliana: Yeah. Now honestly the best time to stock up on skincare and like self-care products just because who knows what the winter is going to bring. And just, you know, we’ll probably spending a little bit more time inside because of the colder weather and so stocking up on these products, I’ve just been keeping my eye out. Yeah.

JQ: And these are they’re so great. I mean So everything’s organic, but they have some really fun scents, like there’s this one where it’s like zesty morning. It’s nice to see you. Um, that’s my favorite hand sanitizer. Now, it actually, you know, it’s it’s something special. It’s not just hand sanitizer.

Juliana Right? Right. What some of your favorite places to eat in Boston, especially this time of year. I know, like, you’re always going to different restaurants and always trying new things and, you know, new restaurants popping up. What about in Boston or Cambridge, Somerville?

JQ: Well, right now, there’s a really cool pop up at Bo Market in Somerville.

Juliana: Oh, yeah. I really want to try there. It looks so good.

JQ: Yeah, it’s so good. They have these firepit. So it’s all outside for fall. Yeah, it’s all outside. Super cozy. You can eat from any of the store, you know, from any of the restaurants at Bo Market, but they’re also doing a really cool partnership with this brand called Bask Seltzer, which is a new heart seltzer brand that just launched in Boston. So they have a really cool paring menu, highly recommended. But then if you come back to Boston, there’s some new there’s actually some new restaurants that opened.

Juliana: Yeah, definitely. I feel like I can’t keep up. There have been so many new ones opening, actually, to go back to Somerville. So one place I love that was that we went a couple of times in the summer and then for my birthday recently was season to taste.

JQ: Oh, I just love season taste

Juliana: I just love season taste

and especially, you know, it’s cold season today. So every season they’re changing the menu and it’s so seasonal and so good. I need to go back again because I know like well, I love all their patio this summer. Their property was amazing. I think. I believe they still have it. I mean, they’ll probably still have it until the weather just gets to freezing, even with heat lamps. But it’s so cute and so safe. You get like a little. cabana-style patio just to yourself and you know, a couple of guys that I love, it’s super private, really safe like the service there is just amazing. I, I really want to go back again. It’s totally one of my favorite places in the area. And, you know, I live in Cambridge. So for me, it’s like just pop on the red line. It’s ah, it’s in Davis. It’s right there. Yeah.

JQ: So many cool spots. And then one more I wanted to mention is right here in downtown Boston called off suit. So it’s actually a new speakeasy.

Juliana: Oh cool. Yeah. OK, I saw that when you posted.

JQ: So it’s super cozy. It’s by the same owners as Troquette on south on so it’s right there in the leather district. It’s a kind of hidden you actually enter through a back door in their alley.

Juliana: Oh that’s so cool. So it’s you know really has an exclusive vibe. But you go in there, everybody is very safe, they’re socially distanced, but it’s cozy at the same time with.

JQ: Right. Which is hard to do these days. I feel like because, you know, people you want to get kind of all close together, cozied up maybe by a fire or something. But it’s it’s you know, you want to be able to stay six feet apart from other guests.

JQ: So they’ve done an awesome job. Definitely will be going there a lot this winter. But yeah. I mean, I think, you know, lots of great christmas trips, you know, skiing and Stowe, visiting Paris, heading the Christmas markets in Prague and then exploring what we have right here. I mean, you know, right now we’re all just digging into armchair travel right now since we can’t actually go abroad. So this was super fun talking about all the places, you know, that we’re dreaming about. But then also, you know, we’re getting excited about all the things right here.

Juliana: Exactly.

Juliana: All right. That’s all the time we have today on Travel Babes. Join us next time for tips and tricks on how to stay safe while traveling during these crazy times. We’ll see you next time. Thanks, JQ.

JQ: Thanks, Juliana.

We hope you enjoyed our podcast all about our favorite past Christmas trips! Catch the next episode next week all about how to stay safe and sane while traveling during these crazy times.