Tuesday, April 26

Our departure day is less than a month away. It has been up in the air for several months whether we will actually be able to make the trip.  It is still not quite certain, but at this point it seems pretty likely.

The plan is to fly in to London airport and spend the first week or so in England before crossing the Channel to the continent. From there, we will have train passes and so I think we will be making it up as we go.

The girls are excited, though at this point I don’t think that they have any real understanding of what Europe is or what it will mean to spend the Summer traveling.

Thursday, April 28

We made a trip to REI to purchase our bags last night.  It’s starting to feel real. After some resistance, I managed to convince Phyllis to bring just one carry-on size bag to live out of.  We compromised a bit by getting slightly larger bags for the girls (but still kid size).  We also got bags with wheels instead of straps for everyone but me. I went with just a backpack type bag.

Thursday, May 12

Just eight days away now. I spent a very frustrating afternoon trying to buy the train passes but without succeeding, and then we made reservations for the first few nights in London. We picked a place almost at random, based solely on price and finding a room that could fit five people.

I also spent some time thinking about what I want to get out of this trip. I’ve been to Europe twice before in my college days, so although there are some things I’d like to see, or see again, my main goals are focussed around Phyllis and Judy and the girls, since none of them have been before.

For Phyllis and Judy, I want them to have a good experience – to have fun, to see the things they want to see (and the things that they don’t know about that I think they would enjoy), and to get some exposure to different cultures and different ways of living.

For the girls, it’s a little different. I’m not sure that they are old enough to really understand what they are seeing. When you are so young, everything in life is new anyway, so seeing a new country maybe isn’t all that different from everyday life. What I really want for them is to build memories – memories of special moments with family, or a special moment in another world. Things that maybe will echo with them when they are grown and travel themselves.

And for me, I want memories too. Not so much memories of Europe, though that’s ok too. But I want memories of spending time with my family. I want pictures and videos and notes.

I know myself. I know that I will be impatient with wanting to fill every moment, with wanting to see everything there is. I will have to remind myself that with memories, it’s quality, not quantity that matters. Don’t fill everyday with rushing, but take time to do nothing.