I feel like the end of our trip we returned more than when we got there; and it’s true. A lot of our essential items we bought to avoid having to pack much.

I had packed a “beach bag” aka old purse and two days in it was already breaking. So we ditched it and bought this cute beach bag that fit everything we needed.

Beach toys are obviously a must so no need to buy them ahead of time when you can buy them there, along with nifty mesh bag to carry them in. We ended up having to buy two buckets because you know… sharing isn’t fun sometimes.

Sun protection.. in all forms. Heart shaped sunglasses makes you more fun at the beach. I’m a big believer in that. This summer I had asked the girls at my pharmacy for a really good sunblock. One that would help reduce the heat rash I would undoubtedly get while running every day errands. They recommended Lierac Solaria Extreme. It’s an SPF 50+ with anti-aging  and protects against UVB and most importantly UVA. I did a bit of research and UVA rays are what aggravates my skin to cause the allergic reaction.

Along with staying protected and covered, I ended up buying 2 sun dresses. I didn’t realize how much I would use them. This one pictured I used at the beach while another one I bought I would put on to go eat lunch. It was so nice to just throw it on and go. I didn’t feel at all gross.

Magazines and puzzles are what kept me busy and relaxed this trip. This was MY vacation and while husband played with the girls, I stayed under my umbrella and did nothing but read. It was flipping’ awesome!!

We may have over purchased a towel or two. The excitement of the trip got the best of husband because one day he came home from Decathlon with 5 beach towels and 2 robes. The hotel also provided towels so really we didn’t need 10 towels! While they were great to use for napping on the beach, the hooded robes were more than enough and next year, we’re all going to opt for that.

My intentions were good. I didn’t want to have my phone with me. This was a vacation and I was taking a break from Social Media. I wanted to use this time to actually use a real camera take take pictures. Start using it and really begin the learning process of photography. After the first day, my camera stayed at the hotel and my phone was back out. Mostly because I wanted to take video BUT also because I saw A LOT of people with their phones and a few of them had these little waterproof pouches. They work fantastic and you can see and hear your videos without any problems. 5euros well spent!

The down side of getting things at the beach is that everything is super expensive. We found a grocery store and the mark up was at least 1-1.50 euro more. That said we tried to get just the essentials. We got water and then filled up at the hotel during breakfast and lunch. We did get some fruit, cookies and crackers but the majority of our money probably went to gelato or granitas. A granita is found in different forms. Sometimes you’ll find it more like a slushy and that’s ok but the REAL DEAL granita is more like a snow cone.. but not even that because it’s made with real fruit and not a sugary syrup.

Not trip to the beach would be complete without some emergency rainy day games. Of course we did get rained out but just 2 days and they were both just half days and only a few hours. My mom sent the girls a package with lots of fun coloring books and activity books. We played Happy Family, Go Fish and sang along to our road trip playlist. During this rainy downtime is when the girls put together their Minion puzzle with daddy. It’s now proudly displayed in our kitchen.

Lastly, multiple swimsuits for the MANY changes you will do. I was shocked at how many times I would see kids in different swimsuits. One little girl was changed 4 times in an afternoon. While I find that a bit excessive I do think I should have brought more than 2 swimsuits each. Every evening I would soak and rinse about 4 times and still couldn’t get all the sand out. I don’t know why I didn’t think of soaking them in the girls shampoo but I should have. Next year, we will have all at least 4 outfits to change into.