Europe On The Calendar Again!

Our last trip to Paris was in 2011

We did it! We booked our first trip to Europe with the kids in mid-July. It's going to be the four of us, traveling light and as simply as possible. A week in France for a reunion with our dear friends from Singapore and a week in the UK visiting my second cousins and great uncle and seeing a castle or two.

We land in Paris and spend a night in a quaint Inn in the Marais, stroll some of the sights and then catch a train to Bordeaux for our Singapore friends visit. After about 5 days in Bordeaux, we will take the train to Paris and chunnel to London to spend a night there (and a day exploring - Austen is determined to see Big Ben so we better do that) before heading out to our thatched cottage we have rented for a week in Oxfordshire.  It's the most we have ever moved around with the kids and are hoping they aren't too upset by the changes. Finding the space to travel and make it feel unhurried is our new challenge. We also are not bringing Joel's bike, the big double stroller, car seats, electronic devices (aside from phones), or anything that doesn't fit into a carry on bag. That is my mission anyway. Pictures of this actually happening pending.

Our baggage pile on the way to Montreal in 2016. This is what travel hell looks like.

New Years in London

_MG_6493, a photo by coach_stacey on Flickr.

After a week in Paris we took the Eurostar (the chunnel) to London where we had one last night with Joel's parents. After that we had a great visit with all my second cousins (my mother's first cousins and their kids). The weather allowed us to walk the heath and take in some views of the city we'd never seen before.  Cheers to all of you who came out to see us! We wish we were in the UK more often to visit. 


We spent New Years with our long time friends Ben and Jess in the Camden Town area where we visited markets and laid out a spread of food and had an evening of great conversation and fun with their circle of expat friends. We trekked up to a park just before midnight to see the fireworks downtown. You can't get more jovial than the Brits when it comes to any holiday or Sporting event (or really any occasion with alcohol involved). 

The trip to the UK was far too short to really fit in more than that. I know we'll be back before long. London is one of those places in the world where we feel very at home and this being my fourth trip through I was very aware that I need to spend more time here.

Oxford

We are just nearing the end of a three day stint in Oxford visiting our friends here. We've enjoyed the architecture and history surrounding us everywhere. I had a tour of the Bodleian Library in the University which included the examination room in the Divinity school (built in 1427-88) and part of the research library (1602) that houses the oldest books and manuscripts in England.

Tomorrow we leave for Sweden!

Images from Oxford

Oxford, UK, a set on Flickr.

The Lake District

John and Martin took us to the lake district and toured us through rocky hills and lush valleys. We enjoyed seeing a rougher, more rustic section of England. This area is loaded with sheep which look more like insulated goats. Beatrix Potter is famous for purchasing the very land we traveled today in the interest of keeping it as is, for the public, and in perpetuity.

The romance of the Lake District

Ulverston, Cumbria, UK, a set on Flickr.