We started out in London, staying with Scott’s sister, Maren. She has a beautiful apartment in the quaintest little neighborhood. Walking distance to everything you need. The first day when we were kicking around, trying to recover from jetlag, we enjoyed a little tea party at a local patisserie to celebrate the kids’ birthdays with Maren. Then, when we ventured out, we took the tube (underground train) to see the sights. Miles loved the Beefeaters and the palace police. I mean he really loved them - top 3 for the whole trip.
After five nights in lovely London, we all (including Maren) ventured out to Paris where we ate some amazing food, experienced the Louvre, and rode a double decker bus all over town. I really love this city. The art is soul stirring and the Notre Dame is more immense that I ever considered it would be.
After Paris, Maren headed back to London and our family of four made our way to Rome. We had a lot of sights to check off our list … and no double decker bus to usher us around town. We trekked miles (and Mia … haha) all over this city. Kind of exhausting, but so amazing!! I still can’t believe how tolerant the kiddos were. They enjoyed the socializing and the sights for most of the time. Then, when things got dicey, we gave them pizza and/or gelato. And back to happy again. Amazing. Miles also had a DVD player that helped him enjoy the Sistine Chapel as much as we did. Yeah, he’s pretty cultured. That is … uh … he can now quote multiple lines from Kung Fu Panda … and he knows what dumplings are. Ah geez.
Wow, and did I mention our Rome hotel yet? Holy cow, Scottie really did the job on this one. He scored a slammin deal after scouring the travel sights for days … then got a free upgrade upon check-in! We ended up in a wild room. Among the general excitement as we entered the room, Miles ran in the bathroom and exclaimed, “We even have a little sink for Mia!” Of course, he was talking about (you guessed it) the bidet! It was so funny. Ah, my little bug. He couldn’t stop jumping on the beds and we didn’t try to deter him. It was so much fun!
After conquering Rome, we boarded another plane to jet back to London for a few nights. We enjoyed city living a little more, saw a couple more sights, and told Maren that we love her forever.
Now, don’t get me wrong … it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. Traveling with kids has its share of roadblocks and hazards. There was the occasional whack from a sword hand …
And, then there was the time Miles was stung by a bumble bee twice in the middle of the night. Oh, and our darling Mia? She got pink eye. And, you bet these guys learned how to sleep on the go! I have enough photos of these kids sleeping all over Europe to warrant their own blog post.
But, all in all, it was amazing. When we first considered a European vacation with kids, we thought it was too crazy and would be too hard. But it wasn’t. A bit crazy? … sure. But it was amazing. Really, an eye-opening, world-view-broadening experience that we’ll never forget. Thanks again, Maren, for letting us stay with you and for touring us around. And, thanks to you, Scottie, for having this out-of-the-box idea in the first place. And, Miles and Mia? You two are animals. I can’t believe how much fun we had with you guys in EUROPE!
… still can’t believe we went …
oh, and the last of Miles' top 3 list?
seeing the mummies
