European Vacation

We are planning a European vacation!  We have been talking about when to take a family trip to England for a while now and next year feels right.  That is not a statement I can substantiate definitively but the fellas are great ages to really enjoy this; they are old enough to travel well and young enough to soak it all in and see it through the eyes that we sometimes forget we have when we are adults.  In our infinite wisdom we decided that since we will be in the general vicinity we should also visit France and Germany on the same trip.  We have always enjoyed a good challenge but we then realized that 2012 is the year the Summer Olympics will be held in London and the year that Brits will celebrate the Queen’s 60^th Jubilee.  Not everyone may be familiar with the latter but it is a big affair if you are British and closes schools and results in street parties and potential chaos for travelers.  We thought about 2013, we discussed going earlier or later in the year, we stared at each other disappointed for about 15 seconds and then we decided we should map it out and see just how impossible this could be, surely not impossible enough to thwart us?

Subsequently we have been search engine fiends looking for killer deals, short listing places to visit and then adding three more, and being creative about ways to get from here to there and back again in about two weeks.  When I announced that I was making a spreadsheet my delighted hubby chuckled and said “Sweet, now I know we’re really going!”  We have to make sure everyone has finished the school year and we want to be certain we can make our annual trip to Iowa to visit family at a different time next year without throwing everything into disarray.  Then there are passports, arrangements to meet friends that I haven’t seen in years, plans to see friends that are temporarily living in Stuttgart, an uncle to be introduced, and reserving rooms in the Bed & Breakfast that used to be my parent’s home.  My hubby and I have a list of things we want to do that has to be culled and places to add that the fellas have suggested, not the least of which is the tallest Ferris wheel in Europe.  As an adult I am appalled that we would travel all that way to ride a big wheel but as a child I would have understood it unequivocally and this is their trip too so it has been added to the list.  The problem is not where to go and what to see, it is where to stop and we keep adding to the list rather than subtracting.  It seems like a wonderful problem to have and I realize how fortunate we are to be contemplating such an adventure together.

As a self proclaimed over-thinker my mind has wandered and tried to determine if the fellas will be remotely interested in visiting the school I attended and how we manage to visit the local pub with them in tow.  Will they appreciate the beauty and respect the serenity of Notre Dame and what to do if they say that the food that has been prepared for them is awful?  We’ve discussed and over-analyzed how to mentally prepare them for each day as it will be packed but we do not want to feel rushed.  There is so much fun in planning and anticipation and we want to plan the days and then let them flow, be spontaneous and drink in the experience, every delicious new moment.  For now I lie down with a picture of us huddled together having our picture taken at the top of the Eiffel Tower and it’s a great way to fall asleep!