We have been busy preparing for the trip. The logistics of packing for a family of 6 is quite a task in itself. In anticipation of our travels and maximising the learning opportunities for both ourselves and the children we have been watching some videos on both the history and the culture of the areas we will visit. This has been a great source of conversation .We have discussed the foods we will encounter and the types of goods manufactured in different countries.
Riley (now 7 yrs) listened carefully to all the talk, then asked "Will we be travelling though Germany?"
Yes, I answered.
"Will we be staying overnight?" he replied, again the answer was yes.
"Will we be eating dinner there ?" Again, yes sweetie, came the answer.
His face fell and he looked down at his feet as his shoulders slumped.
These signs being way too obvious for me to miss, I asked if there was a problem.
He looked up with big round puppy dog eyes and said with a tremble in his voice "they will make me eat CABBAGE!" Who "they" are exactly in his mind I am unsure. I had to smile though. At least he was listening to the talk. OK, so now cabbage is NOT something we eat regularly, so when I asked has he even tried cabbage , his answer was a swift, "Yes, Grandma made me eat it, remember?"
No 1 son has a very strong historical bent so we have been talking about the history and watching a History Channel DVD on Caesar's Rome. I have also made up some booklets with questions on each of the cities we will visit and some activities for them to complete as we travel. They have coloured their own covers and have been given the incentive that for each page they complete before our travels they will get an extra 1 euro spending money- who said bribery and corruption were bad?? When it results in LEARNING it might be allowed, do you think? Anyway, Cal knows he wants to spend money on the trip so he has already completed the chart where he had to fill in the names of the adjoining countries to those we will visit, he perused a map for quite a while on that one.
Come Thursday morning , we will be winging our way to London. I will likely not have much opportunity to post/email in the coming weeks but I promise to remember all the interesting encounters and "challenges" we face along the way. So keep an eye out for some (hopefully) pretty pictures from our travels and wish us luck for our bus trip.
The plan goes like this....
3 days in London (adjust to the time change)
Depart on our bus tour
Belgium- brussels
Germany - Heidelberg
Switzerland- Lake Lucerne
Italy -Venice, Rome, Florence, Pisa
Monaco- Monte Carlo
France - Nice, Lyon, Avignon, Paris
London - 2 days before we return toHK
I can hear you say.......
Bus trip, hmm, six people, 4 of them "children", 6 suitcases, packing on and off the bus most nights in a different city/country from the one before, hmmmm. Optimistic.... yes, challenging..... absolutely, doable ??? I will let you know :)
Wish us luck!
3 comments:
Oh my dear Kathryn, with the level of excitement, preparation and organization your kids already have, this trip will be a trip of a life time and they will for sure have many different memories of these 2 weeks. You just sit back and enjoy it as well, do we have a deal?
Love
Odila
Kathryn - I hope you all enjoy yourselves so much. So much travel, so much history, so much fun!!!! You all are so blessed to be able to have this opportunity and I know you will make the most of it. Enjoy my dear friend!
Love,
Amy
Wow! That is going to be one amazing trip. At first I did groan when you said "bus trip" with 4 children but in thinking about it- it is all planned for you and all you have to do is keep up with the children and not worry about all the other stuff. So I am changing my mind. Look forward to hearing your tales. Have a great time!! Love the blog decor!
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