On the Road Again

Cicero, New York

July 10. 2010

On the Road Again

A warm American welcome greeted us when we got home. My sister, Alicia, and nephew, Matthew, cheerfully met us with welcome signs at Dulles International Airport - outside Washington, D.C. in Virginia. As our house is rented out till August 1, we spent three nights in Reston, Virginia with my sister, brother-in-law and two nephews. Along with my mom and dad they treated us to an American BBQ with hamburgers, hot dogs, corn on the cob, and a finale of fireworks (to make up for missing 4th of July). We all had a great time being with them and squeezing in quick visits with other friends.

Now we are on the road again - in more way than one. We are traveling to visit family - and I'm driving for the first time since we left! This has been the longest I have not driven since I got my driver's licence. In college I did not have a car but I'd go home on breaks and drive. It's been great not having to drive. But in the wonderful, big US I've go to drive to get across these vast spaces. :o)

We knew we'd be traveling a bit in the US in July and in fact today we are in New York where we traveled for a golf tournament in honor of Paul's cousin, Captain Phil Dykeman, a marine killed in Iraq two years ago (TeamDykeman.com). The money raised goes to pay for a college scholarship created in his honor.

Next we are off to Lake Champlain to visit Paul's mom then heading south to a family reunion in the green mountains of North Carolina. Another trip to a family camp on a pristine lake in the Adirondacks, New York, rounds off the month. We expect to be back and done with travels and in our house around mid-August.

We are working on answering questions people have sent us about our trip - from languages to laundry and will be posting those answers soon.

Happy days,

Jackie

Mind the Gap!

London, England

July 5th, 2010

London is the perfect city in which to wrap up our journey. British people are friendly, eager to help without being asked and filled with a healthy sense of humor.


We've really gotten to know the "Tube" as does anyone that stays in this city for very long. My favotite part of the tube system is the warning to "mind the gap" between the train and the platform. Clearly some people have failed to heed that good advice! Paddington station is our home station, but we've managed to hit most of the city on the subway. Today, Amelia decided we'd best stay above ground so we used the double deckers to really see the city. It was a fresh approach to a city that knows how to do public transportation.





It took five months of constant travel for us to find a hotel that we had to walk out of because the conditions were so shabby that we daren't spend the night but we managed to do that in London. Luckily there are hundreds of hotels offering marginly better service (no gas smell/no mice) than the one we left so we found a suitable alternative within a short walk.






There is so much to see in London that we could have spent a month in this city alone, but we only had a few days so we packed in what we could. London Tower was the highlight from our first day. Jackie and I had a blast helping fire siege weapons at the "Tower". We visited the London Eye, which must be the highest "non-ferriswheel" in the world; it shouldn't be missed. The London Museum and the "Royal Mews" gave us a thorough appreciation of British history and it's place in the history of the world. Buckingham palace enchanted us with the changing of the guards and London's parks couldn't be beat on a warm sunny day.

Our dear friend Chloe came down for a visit and to show us a good time. We had a terrific lunch together and did some sight seeing. It was super to have her with us. Thanks Chloe. After lunch we visited the Lady Di Fountain together and we wish we had more time...

...isn't that the truth. We really wish we had more time. Yes, we're excited to return to Virginia tomorrow, but there is so much more adventure ahead. We won't think of Virginia as the end; we'd rather think of our return to Virginia as another part of our journey. We know it will be fun to be home, and to see family and friends, but there is a great big, wild world out there just beconing us to come see it; who knows how long it will be before we cut loose the dock lines and head out again...

Next blog entry we'll answer your questions and do a trip summary.

--Paul

Bubbles and Squeaks

Windsor, England

July 2, 2010

Bubbles and Squeaks

Today, in a dark English pub near Windsor castle we ordered, "Bubbles and Squeaks." We didn't even ask what it was - we just figured with a name like that we had to try it. The waiter delivered it to the (sticky) table, along with fish and chips, and we learned it was fried mashed potatoes with veggies inside. Actually quite yummy (really anything fried). Traditionally, as a home cooked meal we were told, it's leftover potatoes from a big meal the day before and whatever vegetables are left over as well.

It's been a great two days in England so far - the grandeur of Windsor Castle, a day at nearby Legoland, chatting with very friendly people, and menus filled with lots of potato options (mashed, fried, pies, hash browns, stuffed, and baked) ; it really doesn't get better than that.

Here are a few pics of Windsor Castle and grounds:

Ye Old Windsor Castle (first built by William the Conqueror after his 1066 invasion)

Ye Old Royal Ice Cream Truck (selling Buckingham Palace Ice Cream - which we had to get)

A Few Peasants

And, of course, Ye Old Royal Gravel Flattener

Whither thou be near or far we wish ye and your loved ones the best.

Fare thee well,

Jackie

(We journey to London tomorrow.)

Paris - The Show is in the Streets

Paris , France

(Written in Windsor, England - near the castle)

June 30, 2010

Pictures from Paris

As Beatrice, a Parisian we met on the Nile cruise, said, "In Paris, the show is in the streets." Here are some pictures from the ongoing performance (including one from Disneyland, Paris/Euro Disney - a near end of trip treat for the kids.)

Jackie :o)

The Joys of Country Living

Maison Chouette

Mourceau, France

June 23, 2010

The Joys of Country Living

or

The Dog Stole My Shoe

When we arrived at Maison Chouette I put two pairs of shoes outside that were soaking wet from close encounters with Swiss puddles. The beautiful French sun was doing a glorious job drying them when Amelia gazed out the window and said, "A dog has your shoe." We raced outside and a neighbor's dog, which had been holding one of my shoes, dropped the shoe and ran home. (See picture of dog looking so angelic. Paul thinks he looks sheepish.) Happily I retrieved the shoe. Only then did it become clear that the dog had already absconded with one of each pair of shoes! With one shoe of each pair safely back inside we scanned the road. About 200' down the lane we found one of the missing shoes - a good walking shoe - so I have one complete pair. But alas, even with two days of looking, we have not found the other one (a flip flop). The dog must have found a good spot to stash the goods while they were still hot.

The dog's a cool character - I quizzed him in English and French. Knowing full well he didn't understand 'shoe' in English I interrogated him in French. Yes, I asked Paul how to say, "Bring back my shoe" in French. But that dog just gazed at me with an innocent look that said, "Who me?"

If you see him keep your shoes on.

Tour de France

The towns in the area are getting ready for the Tour de France bike race. It is coming right through the nearby village of Moulins Englibert on July 9th. Paul, a big biker, is crushed he won't be here. The streets are already decorated with flags and yellow bikes (bike above a bit of loveliness in the village) Maybe someday we'll come back...

Country Living

We are all really enjoying this blissful break - getting a chance to unwind and read good books. A short stroll down the country lane takes us by donkeys (well fed with carrots), big white cows and even bigger bulls (at least one who like to run at the fence as bikers go by). We could stay here a long time...but we are off to Paris on Saturday.

Happy summer to all those in the Northern Hemisphere (and happy winter to our other friends),

Jackie

P.S. Choutte is a type of Owl.

At Home in Bourgogne

Mourceau, France

June 20, 2010

Home Away from Home

Bonjour,

This evening a bottle of French wine, fresh cut flowers in a vase, and breakfast makings greeted us as we arrived at our home for the week in France. What a lovely surprise!!

Today we shared good wishes and goodbyes with our friends in Zurich, Switzerland then traveled by train to Lyon, France. There we rented a car with a GPS. Using the GPS got us a wee bit lost - adding at least an hour of driving to our already 2 1/2 hour drive. (However the Mapquest directions we were sent would have gotten us there easy as pie...if we had only printed them out....)

Paul is our French speaker and his abilities came in very handy today. As you can imagine, on a Sunday night in a tiny village in France there are not a lot of people out and about to ask for directions. Winding through the village streets we finally found one pub open with a few people watching the World Cup. Paul was able to ask for directions - and, even better, understand the response - in French. :o) We pulled up to the house as the sun was starting to set.

We are staying in a beautiful stone and wood beam farmhouse, in Mourceau, France, owned by friends of friends, called, "Maison Chouette," which means, "Owl House" (I think :o)). Pictures can't even do it justice. Roses of pink and yellow nod their heads in the garden, a stone and wood barn holds bikes ready for country rides, a jacuzzi is set on the stone patio outside, and we have lots of room to spread out!

Our stay here will be for six nights - the longest we've stayed any one place since we spent a week in Phuket, Thailand in March! Tomorrow in the daylight we look forward to more exploring.

Au revoir and much love,

Jackie :o)

Czeching out of Prague

Zurich, Switzerland

June 19, 2010

Prague, Czech Republic -Munich, Germany-Zurich, Switzerland

The past few days we've taken trains from Prague to Munich to Zurich. Trains are an easy way to get around Europe. Within the European Union there are no passport controls at the borders so you seemlessly enter each country. The last passport control we went through was leaving Turkey and going in to the Greek Islands.

We did see two men being questioned outside the train station in Venice and on the train going in to Germany we overheard an officer asking the people in the cabin next to us for their passports. It does mean you don't get stamps in your passports (wish you could request stamps :o)) and once you are in Europe you are IN(makes it easy).

From Prague we traveled to Munich for one night - literally - we got in after 9 p.m. and had a dark walk through the drizzle to dinner at 10 p.m. just before everything closed up. The next morning we headed out to Zurich, Switzerland where we are now. In Zurich we are staying with friends we met in a Bedouin tent camp in Jordan (!) who kindly offered us a place to stay in Switzerland. They are incredibly interesting and speak three languages (at least!) each. We've had a great time with them and only wish we lived closer so we could hang out longer with them.

Zurich is a green city on a lake surrounded by hills with the Alps in the distance. It's been overcast and raining so we haven't actually seen the Alps but have enjoyed walking through the cobbled pedestrian-only streets of the old town filled with people carrying umbrellas. We looked in store windows at the Swiss chocolate and caught whiffs of pungent cheese floating out of a fondue restaurant. In the gummy bear candy store we joined the locals in trying samples and buying gummy bears to go.

Tomorrow we head out to the French countryside to stay in a lovely home in a quiet village for a week of relaxation.

Jackie

Czech Please

Prague, Czech Republic

June 15, 2010

Beautiful Prague

Prague, a city along the Vltava River (anybody have a vowel?), is filled with ornate architecture making it picturesque. We read in, "Travel Prague," a Mobile Reference guide, that Prague's nicknames have included, "city of a hundred spires." As the city had less damage during World War II than many other European cities it really retained much historic charm. The city and skyline, with a castle viewed in the background, is beautiful.

This blog finds me sitting in our Prague apartment looking out over a window box filled with red Geraniums while Paul and the kids are at a movie. Earlier today we got together with our nephew, named Paul Handly (can you believe there are two of them? Lucky world :o)) and his friend Jill, who are on a two week trip around Europe. (We met them under the old clock tower - built starting in the 1400s - a clock with a skeleton made of bronze (?) who rings the time. Two doors open on the clock tower and the Twelve Apostles spin by as gongs vibrate the air. )

We wandered through the old town streets together to a courtyard cafe for lunch. It was great catching up with Paul and Jill. We had seen them both when we started our trip as we flew from Virginia to San Francisco to visit (my) Paul's brother and family who live near San Fran before we headed out to New Zealand. Little did we know in January, in California, that the next time we would see our nephew, Paul, and Jill was in Prague, Czech Republic! While on our trip if we had stayed longer or shorter in any place or had picked other countries to visit entirely we wouldn't have seen them at all. Amazing how it all came together spontaneously! Seeing them was so fun.

Thinking of friends and family,

Jackie

Coincidences and Good Fortune

Austria, Vienna

June 13, 2010

Coincidences and Good Fortune

We found out two days before we would be arriving in Rome that friends/extended family members would be there at the same time! My sister's sister-and-brother-in-law who live near us at home were going to Rome for his work. We met for dinner and had such a great time. (See picture above.) It was wonderful seeing friends from home and such a fun night. All four of us Handlys miss our friends and family. While traveling together is wonderful it's the one thing we wish we could change. If all our close ones could be with us it would be perfect. :o) Hearing from our friends and family through emails, Skpe and blog comments has made such a difference. Can't wait to see everyone again.

Yesterday we found out our nephew will be in Prague tomorrow - and that is just where we are heading tomorrow! Amazing as neither one of us knew the other would be in Prague at all. (We didn't even decide we were going there till two days ago ourselves!!!) How fun to get a chance to get together! Another wonderful coincidence.

As we've traveled we've made friends along the way and it's made such a difference. Finding people we click with is such a treat and making new friends such good fortune.

Austria

We've all enjoyed Vienna, Austria. Yesterday we visited museums - one of them being a world class museum - the Kunsthistorisches Museum (which I can write but not pronounce) which holds artwork from Rubens and Rembrandt - and another, the Zoom Museum, a fantastic children's museum (geared for children up to 12) where the kids did such fun experiments related to water - including a chance for Ben and Paul to shoot each other with water - in a museum!

Today's experiences of Vienna included seeing a show of the white Lippanzer horses that perform in the Spanish Riding School and a visit to the Prater Fun Fair, an amusement park in Vienna (picture above - I'm on the slide with my big black carry all purse on my lap :o)). While touring the great works of humankind including ruins and monument is incredible, I admit we had so much fun going to the fair and riding the Ferris wheel (constructed in 1897 with cars the size of small buses), roller coasters (built more recently), bumper cars, and going in to the fun houses. The day would not have been complete without eating cotton candy. It was a blast.

Off to the Czech Republic tomorrow.

Auf Wiedersehen,

Jackie :o)

Venice, Italy

Venice, Italy
June 11, 2010

The kids and I are sitting in an internet cafe while Paul is in another cafe watching the World Cup with an international crowd. The nearby water is filled with boats including gondolas. No cars are allowed in Venice so pedestrians are streaming by outside. Today most of the water buses are on strike, making it quite the adventure getting our luggage from the hotel to the train station to store it for the day. Since only a few boats are running we had to pull our suitcases on and off two of the running boats, through Saint Marco's Plaza, pigeons flying as we walked past, up and down the many bridges with stairs crossing the small canals, making a 30 minute trip into two hours. And it's hot...always an adventure.


Tonight we are taking a night train to Vienna, Austria sleeping on bunk beds in our four person cabin.

Ciao and love,

Jackie

(Picture: Paul carrying Ben's pack while Ben pulled a wheeled bag. During our two hour trek the kids took turns pulling bags. Bag on front - also a good idea as the woman sitting next to us in the intenet cafe had her purse pickpocked the night before and had to busily contact home to cancel credit cards.)

All Roads Lead to Rome

Rome , Italy
June 4th, 2010

It's been a while since our last post. Perhaps that's because our pace of travel has been a little fast lately...

We took a ferry from Patras, Greece to Bari, Italy on the 30th of May. This time we paid extra to get a cabin and it was worth it! We slept like babies until we landed on the heel of Italy. We took a cab to the airport, picked up an Avis rent-a-car and drove to Sorrento. Sorrento was terrific but we didn't give it too much time as we were headed to Pompei the next day.

POMPEII
Pompeii is a big town! Buried in the violent eruption of Mt Vesuvius in 79AD the town is still being escavated today. As we entered the ruins I saw a bike that was clearly a rental and within a couple of minutes we were all on Mt bikes headed down a gravel road that rings the ancient city. The bikes were a blessing, even though Ben took a major tumble (he survived relatively unscathed) as they allowed us to travel the entire length of the city and back without too much hiking. Pompeii is incredible. The city shows how advanced Roman urban development was even in AD 79. There were numerous houses we'd be happy to to call our own even today.

CASERTA
Not many foreign tourists make it Caserta, a tough city of southern Italy, but its royal palace is famous with Italians for good reason. The huge palace and its asounding grounds are the most luxurious digs we've seen so far. I never thought I'd see anything that rivaled the summer palace in Beijing, but Conserta's palace did it with style. Star Wars fans might remember the palace as it was used as Queen Amadalla's palace.

ROME
We rolled into Rome on Italy's independence day. The Tom-Tom GPS didn't know what day it was so it kept telling us to drive into dense crowds of pedestrians in the city center; not fun. Definitely leave your car at the walls of the city and hoof it or take the Metro around this ancient city. As usual, we didn't know where we were going to stay, but thanks to Trip Advisor we found an apartment next to the Spanish Steps in the heart of the city. Jackie had to save us by finding the guy with the keys to the apartment in the teaming masses of Romans and tourists, but once that problem was solved we moved in and are happy in our new apartment called Suites Rome.

More from Rome tomorrow...

Ciao!

--Paul

It's all Greek to me

Olympia, Greece

May 29. 2010

Today we scooted out of Athens in our rental car and you could have soon heard Paul and I singing, "Hey, ho, nobody home..." in a round at the Greek theater Epidaurus, where it's reputed that you can hear a pin drop the acoustics are so good. We received thunderous applause - from our audience of about ten people.

Our busy day brought us to Olympia, Greece, home of the Olympics, late tonight and we plan on being up and out early to run our own races.

The Greek ferry system kindly gave advanced notice that they are going on strike soon and, since we spent about a month here on our honeymoon, we are flinging through Greece to hop on an overnight ferry tomorrow from Patras, Greece to Bari, Italy.

Wishing you all the best,

Jackie

Living the Dream

Athens

May 28th 2010

As coastal sailors, Jackie and I often talk about cutting loose the dock lines and setting off for distant ports and traveling where the wind might take us. Sailors call this idea "living the dream" and many have managed to successfully transition to a life on board away from the constraints of a "traditional" existance.

As I was contemplating the dream while sipping a frappe on the pier in Samos' Pathogorio port I got the distinct sensation that we were in fact living the dream as well. True, we were not bobbing on the hook in an exotic port, but we were there too and our experience seemed pretty exotic in its own right.

One of the characteristics of living the dream is that you are free to decide your own schedule; to react and adjust your plans as opportunities and issues arise. Earlier that morning we arrived at the airport at 9am to catch our 10 am flight. After learning that I'd been reading the arrival time instead of the departure time, the unhelpful team at Aegean Airlines informed us that we could basically buy our tickets again if we wanted to fly out of Samos anytime soon; we decided to modify the schedule.

Instead of flying to Athens from Pathagrio and giving the nasty Nellies at Aegean Airlines any more cash we "decided" to take the overnight ferry from Samos city. Smarting from my expensive mistake of reading the e-tickets wrong, I went back to the rental car company and asked for our car back. No problem. We could have let the entire incident ruin our day, but instead we went to the port and "refined" our plans over lunch and a cold beer.

As Bob Bitchen, owner of Lattitudes and Attitudes Seafaring Magazine is fond of saying, "Attitude is the difference between adversity and adventure!" We've got plenty of positive attitude on this adventure, so if you ask me, we're living the dream.

--Paul

Man Up and get a Turkish hair cut

May 23rd, 2010
Selcuk, Turkey

I'm not much of a pretty boy, but even I need a little "man care" from time to time and that how I came to find myself in a Turkish barber shop today. I can honestly say that today's experience was the most comprehensive barber shop experiences of my life. Yes, comprehensive, not totally excellent or overwhelmingly satisfying; this was a haircut taken to Olympian heights.

I started at lunch when the restaurant owner heard me practicing the Turkish phrase for I'd like a razor shave. Being Turkish, he immediately offered up his favorite shop down the alley and yelled down to his barber that I wanted a shave. I tacitly agreed and continued to down my cold Efes while wondering what exotic hair cut rituals lay ahead. I tried to pay for lunch and the owner (now busy waiter) said no problem just pay after your haircut. So off I went.

As I sat down I rattled off my newly practiced Turkish indicating that not only did I need a shave but I also wanted a cut, and make it short on top. We started from the top. He did a little preliminary head rubbing and hair mussing and then shampooed my hair with my face in the sink. We don't normally do face in the sink shampooing where I'm from, but after the initial shock I was able to cope.

Next he cut and combed and cut some more. At one point he had combed my hair so much and so vigorously that my scalp actually began to feel raw. Just then a bowl of magic mentholated cream appeared and he rubbed it deeply into my scalp. As I sat there with my head in increasingly colder bliss, he began to prepare my face for a straight shave.

Straight shaves are serious business and barbers don't like cutting their clients, so he examined each contour of my face like a skier studies the course before a race. During the examination he must have found some things he didn't like because he used some unknown tools to dig and free up what I can only assume were in-grown hairs in my beard. Then came several warming creams and then the brushed on lather.

At this point I've been in the chair for 45 minutes, roughly 30 minutes longer than my longest haircut ever, and my head is still blissing away under the effects of the menthol cream on my scalp. The shave goes well until I realize that my baby face has not handled the shave as well as I thought and I've got micro nicks on my neck and chin that are beginning to bleed. No worries, there is a fast and effective way to stop shaving nicks. An assistant barber shows up with what must have been a "styptic" bar of soap that was spread all over my face. In a second those tiny nicks stopped bleeding in a symphony of needle like pains all over my face. Luckily the pain was offset by the menthol rub that had now effectively frozen my brain.

Now that the shave was over it was time to wash out the menthol. Face in sink, I revel in the mix of sensations this "haircut" has brought on. Secretly I'm relieved that its almost over because after an hour I was not sure I'd be up for much more primping. You guessed it, there was more. After some serious scalp rubbing it was time for "little hair removal".

Removing little hairs is tough and requires specialized tools as I found out. First there was what I thought was dental floss. I literally was preparing to open my mouth and shut my eyes for a flossing when the barber began to roll this twisted string all over my cheeks pulling many "little hairs" out by their roots. I admit this hurt almost as much as the metallic paste that was used to stop the bleeding. Next came the flaming cue tip that was thumped against my ears and face. I'm not sure what that was for but it was cool to see in the mirror as the flame licked my skin.

Finally, after an hour and a half I was looking like a new man and was ready to pay. I must have looked tired because a full scalp, arm and back massage ensued. At one point the barber had what appeared to be a random orbital sander wedged between the seat and my lower back. That felt good!

In the end, with a wink and a splash of lemon water, he announced that we were done and now it was time to enjoy some tea. In a flash we were outside sitting in a makeshift cafe, sipping tea with a bunch of other guys with menthol paste in their hair who must have needed cigarette breaks during their haircuts.

All I can say is that if you're ever in Turkey and you've got a few hours, man-up and go in for a haircut and a shave. You wont soon forget it.

--Paul

Enjoying Sea Breezes on the Med

Mediterranean Coast

Kalkan, Turkey

May 20, 2010

A few days relaxing around the water is just what we needed. We've been going, going, going since Thailand and it's nice to just hang out around the water. (Picture of Paul paddling on the Med.) At the Pasha Apartment Hotel where we are staying we have a one bedroom apartment, kitchen and two couches that turn in to beds for the kids, small balconies and a pool garden retreat. Love the extra room of an apartment and the ability to cook our own food. After a morning doing schoolwork we are all sitting outside enjoying the 75 degree, sunny weather - blogging(me), reading (Amelia and Paul) and wandering (Ben).

Five times a day the Muslim Muezzin (similar to a Pastor) sings the melodious call to prayer from the loud speakers of the town Minaret and he's calling right now - his voice echoing off the local hills. The latest in the evening we've heard them call is about 9:30 p.m. and in the morning it's around 5:30 a.m. We've heard these calls to prayer in Thailand, Egypt, Jordon and Turkey in every town throughout each day. Depending on how close you are to a Minaret - there are often several in a town - or how well your windows are insulated will make the difference how well you can hear the call. (See picture above of the exquisite Blue Mosque in Istanbul and four, of it's six, Minarets.)

At this point of our trip we are really planning on the fly - a day ahead even. The high season is just starting to pick up so after many phone calls to other places in other parts of the Western Med of Turkey we found this little gem of a hotel in on the coast. While the town has clearly been spruced up for the tourist trade it's a lovely place to walk around and has everything one could need. Interestingly this is a big town for English tourists, while some towns on the coast are where the Russians or Germans go. We didn't know that when we booked - just found a good recommendation on Trip Advisor.

A short stroll takes us to the local grocers - about the size of a 7-11 in the U.S.. This afternoon I walked (down the hill and up the hill and back down the hill and back up the hill) to the local farmers market to buy fresh vegetables for dinner.

After two more nights relaxing we are off to see the ruins of Ephesus with perhaps one stop in between.

Gule gule,

Jackie

Homeschooling and Kindles

Overlooking the Mediterranean Sea

Antalya, Turkey

May 17, 2010

Homeschooling

How are we traveling for six months with two children ages 9 and 11? Homeschooling. The school year in the States starts in September and this year the children went to a regular school for about the first half of the school year then we started traveling at the end of January. Next fall Ben and Amelia will be enrolled back in their same schools. On the road we are homeschooling.

We looked in to various homeschooling programs - one that was going to send us 40 pounds of books for each child (!) and others that were online courses. But with traveling every few days and intermittent Internet access neither one of those would have worked for us. After reviewing the Standards for Learning for the state of Virginia we developed our own program. We still ended up with a stack of books about a foot high which are very heavy but much used.

Some days the kids do school work before we leave the hotel for the day and some days they work while we are traveling. Ben and Amelia have done history reading schoolwork in a Landcruiser while on safari. They have read and done work on a plane to China, in a camper van in New Zealand, in a cabin overlooking a river in Australia, on a bus to the Med, on a cruise ship on the Nile, and in a taxi in Cairo (multiplication practice) and much more! And, clearly, they are getting great history and geography lessons along the way.

Ben and Amelia have also had a chance to go to school for the day in Beijing, China and Amelia also went to school for the day in Amman, Jordon with children of the friends we were staying with. The kids had a Chinese class in China and several of the classes Amelia went to in Amman were in Arabic (they teach some classes in English and she also got to go on a community service field trip that day). We also visited an orphanage school in Phuket, Thailand and a Maasai village school (one room about the size of a typical US classroom for 132 students!).

Kindle - Electronic Books

We have also taken four electronic books around the world with us - Kindles from Amazon. We decided on the Kindles because we've read a lot about getting access to English books over seas - and how hard it was to find children's English books in particular and the Kindles have international wireless downloading ability. This was a much easier solution than getting books to mailed to us as we don't know where will be. (One family we read about who traveled around the world had their books mailed to them every four weeks but at least one shipment got lost in the mail.)

The Kindles have been fantastic. Each one of us has our own Kindle and we've been able to download books from in every country we've been in except Cambodia. We've downloaded books while in the car passing farmers in rural China planting their crops, and accessed the online Kindle functions in a cave hotel in Turkey. The batteries can last up to two weeks of solid reading. Amelia has read more than 60 books on our trip as she reads during travel time and any chance she gets (and she's reading as I write this).

In Turkey they have a saying "Someone who reads so much does not know as much as someone who has traveled so much." (Roughly translated and shared with me by a woman here at Deja Vu Boutique Hotel in Antalya after she asked about our children and school and said she thought it was such a great idea to travel with children.)

We hope that learning about the world and meeting all these different wonderful people pays off for the children in the long run. It's certainly an incredible learning experience every day for all of us.

Happy learning,

Jackie