From my Mom's Perspective

I never dreamed I would have a vacation like this. One month away from cooking, cleaning, driving… everything domestic. But I really missed my 13 year old son, Jonathan. So many things he would have loved but so many others that would have bored him like crazy.

I loved the Tube/Metro. Amazing system. Brilliant, whoever created it. Not sure I’d want to travel it alone, late at night, but it was terrific to have Amanda as my guide, leading me through that maze of subway tile and concrete tunnels.

Paris! Hours of walking. Amazing historical sites. Incredible statues. Montmartre and the artists, the bakery, the walking! What a fabulous four days. And my first hostel! Not a bad experience at all. Clean. Quiet. Close to the Metro. Ah, the Metro. And that amazing moment when I first heard the sounds of violin floating through the underground. Then rounding the corner to see the lovely violinist who ‘played’ us into the Louvre... sigh... so perfect it brought me to tears.

Our road trip through Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England was so much more than I could have imagined. I don’t consider myself much of a dreamer. I don’t imagine myself living in a palace, sailing around the world or driving through the Cotswolds. When our road trip began in Ireland, I had no idea what to expect or what I had hoped it would be like. But I loved the driving and watching the scenery unfold before us. Being able to say I was at the top of Ireland is wonderful! Just soaking in the surf crashing on the rugged coast with the lighthouse standing guard behind me was surreal.

All of the surprises along the way that Amanda had planned into the trip via GPS created an experience that I will never forget. And the dry rock fences. I want one. I think when we buy our next home, I’ll have to get our friend Reg to come and build one with my hubbie along the back of the yard. With a little opening for the sheep, I mean people, to walk through.

History is amazing! We think we have history in Canada, and we do, but the U.K.? Now that’s history. To walk on Hadrian’s Wall (c. AD122) where Roman soldiers had walked; to stroll through castle ruins and envision the knights and ladies in the dining hall; to gaze over battle fields or castle moats and remember that real people fought and lived and died here… I thoroughly LOVED it!!

It was an amazing holiday, one I was not ready to end. Ah, but real life beckons one back home and I truly missed Jonathan. So often I wished that he could share in the moments. I wished that all my kids could share in the moments but I know that each of them have had and will have moments of discovery just as we have experienced.