Caution: This is bound to sound snotty and hoitey-toitey... Sorry, I can't help it. :)
In January, everyone here starts to plan out their vacations for the entire year. It seems pretty soon considering we all just had a three week vacation for Christmas during which we went NOWHERE. :) (Fine by me though...)
What spurs these holiday decisions to begin so quickly is that there is a week long break in coming February and that leads to the following break, which is just a short time later in April.
Here is the odd part. We are discussing if we want to go the Canary Islands, Greece, Italy, Sweden, Morocco, Paris, Mallorca, Croatia, Scotland, Turkey, London, Norway, Egypt... HA!
My vacations used to center around Disneyland, Santa Cruz or camping. :)
It's a little weird and never in a zillion years did I think I'd be trying to decide between Croatia, Greece, Turkey, or Mallorca. The fact that I am trying to choose makes me feel like a snob. Ummm... gee. Shouldn't I just be happy with ANY of them?
I AM happy and I appreciate it as much as my little mind can... but it's absolutely crazy that our family of six gets to go to these places, but I want to make sure my kids appreciate this opportunity. I don't want them to think this is normal.
I'm afraid that going to Italy and Paris and Germany and Denmark... :) I hope Europe doesn't seem blah, and, "yah-been-there-done-that" for my kids. Everywhere we go I try to explain to my kids that most of the people there have saved money for their entire lives to be there... The same places we have hopped in a car and simply drove to.
Maybe my kids will be fine though. Growing up I always wanted to go to Australia and just by chance my dad took us all there as a result of his job. We saw wild kangaroos, wombats, and kookaburras. Today I would still feel super lucky to get to go there again so maybe my kids will be fine... :)
Anyways...
Our tentative holiday plans:
February:
La Rochelle, France - see an old family friend of Paul's.
Paris - climb the Eiffel Tower and see it lit up at night, and see the Mona Lisa. I've always regretted we didn't do either last time.
Luxembourg - see my Salad Friend from Denmark.
April:
London - see our Swedish friends from Denmark, see Stonehenge and whatever else we should see in England. It's just nice to go to where people speak English.
Summer:
Good ole' Tracy, California and Ontario, Canada. We were going to skip this trip... or should I say reschedule. Maybe Croatia or Mallorca will win, but currently our plan is to probably go home...
October:
Unknown... but I'm thinking maybe Athens, Greece or the Canary Islands or somewhere warm... :)
December:
I want to go to Canada for Christmas. We may use some air miles throughout the year to make this one happen. Yes, I know it's -21 degrees C in Canada in December... but oddly it still sounds fun. :)
Other than possibly October, we have started to repeat vacation spots. :) It has been three years you know...
5 comments:
Your kids are down to earth and humble and witty and cool, no way could they be anything else with you at the helm!
Z :)
I know, I know, I owe you an email.
Jealous, with a capital J! Keep your fingers crossed that I'll be back across the pond soon :-)
Quickly....we were very excited to go to Athens a few years ago and I think our expectations were far too high. While I think it is important to understand and visit the place where democracy started, you also have to weigh the current political climate. I'll email more.
h
I'm sure your kids will appreciate the opportunities you've given them while growing up and when you live in Europe, visiting a bunch of different countries is a bit like driving to different states. It just seems more grand in the whole scheme of things :)
Another American expat popping by...we've been in Germany for nearly 10 years! Gah! ;)
I totally understand your reflections! I feel the same, don't want the children taking everything we have for granted. But don't you worry, as long as you talk about it they will be fine. And your children have a great attitude to this, so I am sure they will appreciate it all, both now and later on.
Sorry to say though, that we are still speaking Swedish ;))) . Look forward to see you here in April!
What happened to your summer plans about coming with us to SWEDEN??!
Thanks Z. Email me. I might have a trip to Hamburg via my car!... Feb 6th?
Tak Holly.
Hi Tiffany! It's fun to know "others" are out there.
Ingrid, we still have plans to see you in the summer. You will be our Summer road trip. When do your kids go back to school?
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