This year, Alma is off to high school while James is now in 7th grade. We've had a fun launch into the school year, including a weekend visit to the National Constitution Center, a visit to Knoebles Amusement Park with James's friend Sawyer's family, a few days at Nana and Grandpa's house, a new handsome suit, soccer, biking, and cake decorating. Alma pretending to be a Gen-Z President makes me laugh so hard.
Wow, what a wonderfully epic trip! Alma, James, and I didn't want to come home after such a fantastic week in London and Paris. Here’s a brief itinerary with some highlights:
Friday – After a redeye flight, land in London, take the train to our incredibly cute flat in Battersea, nap, and enjoy a picnic dinner at the park near our house.
Saturday – Bus tour of historic downtown London, the London Eye, dinner in a food market, and a boat tour on the Thames.
Sunday – Changing of the Guard with a fantastic tour guide (Lee), tour and lunch at Buckingham Palace, Wicked the Musical at the Apollo Victoria Theatre.
Monday – Brunch at the Pear Tree Café, walk around Chelsea, a lovely and delicious Italian dinner in Piccadilly Circus before seeing Phantom of the Opera at His Majesty's Theatre.
Tuesday – We took the Chunnel train to Paris and walked around our apartment, which was near Canal St. Martin (10th arrondissement), which was set up to look like a beach for the Olympics.
Wednesday – Hôtel de Ville for public Olympics events, shop for Olympic gear, walk to see Notre Dame and Sainte-Chapelle, sit along the Seine near Pont Neuf, take the metro up to the Arc de Triomphe to have lunch, then see two women's quarter-final beach volleyball matches next to the Eiffel Tower (Brazil v. Latvia and Canada v. Spain).
Thursday – Stade de France in Saint-Denis for "Athletics" (track and field), where we saw the women's heptathlon (hurdles, high jump), shot put, and the women's and men's 4 x 100m relays, including USA's Sha'Carri Richardson and Gabby Thomas; home for some downtime before heading to the Eiffel Tower, walking to the second floor, then taking an elevator to the top, and finally heading downtown to see the Musée d'Orsay, the Olympic flame balloon, and the Louvre Pyramid.
We had so much fun together, and I’m incredibly grateful for this time and this trip with them. Alma and James are truly the best kids — delighting in so many things while still being able to roll with the inevitable travel inconveniences. We spent a lot of time laughing and easily adjusting our plans to seize unique opportunities.
Overall, we walked nearly 54 miles over seven days (averaging 7.7 per day, one day consisting of 10.4 miles of walking), which is hard to believe! We also almost exclusively rode public transportation, kidding that we might have visited every metro and train station in London and most of the ones in Paris.
Cannot wait for our next adventure together!
Year #7 in our favorite vacation spot: Pine Grove State Park
This year, we focused on the core activities and rhythms we enjoy the most: getting up early to swim in the lake every morning (usually for 3-4 hours), naps/listening to stories in the afternoon, hikes to Sunset Rocks and Pole's Steeple, an ice cream trip, and board games/cards at night. It was classic and perfectly fabulous.
