…or how we lived in an hotel for a month.

when we moved to new orleans we stayed at an airbnb for our first month, it worked just fine, but this time around we were lucky to stay at the claremont resort & spa, a fairmont hotel. whilst it was hard not to have our own home (and kitchen!), amongst other things, it was really nice not having to clean or cook for a month. and actually, we felt like we were on a long vacation in our new city.

james went straight to work and julia and i found our little routines whilst we slowly explored the neighborhoods in search for our new home.

in the morning we had breakfast at antoinette, the hotel’s casual spot for a la carte breakfast, the food is delicious and the view of the bay area is absolutely stunning, on sunny days you can see the golden gate. during our first month it rained a lot so we would always go check on the palm trees and the cacti through the window, and if they had drank a lot of water at night :) if it was sunny and warm we would step out from the resort, grab a coffee at peet’s and a pastry (or two…) from la fournee. if you follow me on instagram you’ve probably seen a few pictures from this place. this bakery is incredible and every single thing they make is delicious. our favorites were the morning bun (pictured), the breakfast bun, and their sandwiches and pizzas available for lunch (the kale pizza is a killer).luckily we had a bit of a long walk ahead towards the playground, julia would stop to pet every dog and pick leaves and flowers from the floor, whilst i took pictures of the abundant succulents on the way.

the playground was fun, and busy, with tons of toys that are left behind for kids to share. we loved spending the morning here before heading back to the hotel for a quick lunch and nap.

in the afternoon we took it easy. we were staying in a suite – a large room and a living room with a small dining table for our room service meals :) sometimes we played in our room and that’s when i started doing a lot of research of activities to keep julia entertained.

but most afternoons we headed to the pool at the resort’s club – the water is heated so even if it was just sunny, it was great for swimming. it’s funny to see how julia still loves the water, but it took her a little while until she was confident to go under water again. the kids pool has fountains so kids can play and splash around, needless to say it was hard to leave!

the resort has a kids club too. at first i was reluctant, thinking julia wouldn’t want o leave me and everything was so new to her bla bla bla… luckily she loved it from the very first time and would oftenly asks me to drop her off. i am so grateful for the hotel’s kids club, it was the best perk of staying here and so nice to have a couple of hours for myself from time to time.

here’s a few pictures of our first month at the hotel if you’d like to see –

i feel very lucky to have stayed here for our first month, the hotel staff was always super friendly and accommodating and it really helped having company in a new city :)

if you’re visiting the bay area, you should definitely stay here, i highly recommend it.

thank you claremont resort & spa for the warm welcome to berkeley xx