Coming Home...

After many candid family conversations and personal reflections, we have decided to come home. But not all the way! No way. We set out to travel the world for a year, and that's what we're going to do. It's a good thing that the Untied States is part of the world (last we checked). Throughout our travels we have talked so much about different cultures, different governments, different ways of living, and often compared everything to our beloved country. What better way to make a direct comparison than an American East Coast Road Trip. We have scrapped our plans for visiting Eastern Europe and will be repatriating on May 9 to the birthplace of America... Boston!

This decision is bittersweet, but necessary. After having spent a blissful 6 weeks in Italy and Barcelona, it felt like we were getting a second wind, and the end was in sight. We had nearly finished the rest of our planning, the kids schooling was coming to closure, and we were about to put it in cruise control. However, ten months of constant change and no stability begins to take it's toll. Add to that now the regrettable feeling of "will this happen again", and it was time for familiarity and predictability. From a purely tactical standpoint, we are also down to very limited technical capabilities, and trying to reanimate that was far easier back in the good ole U. S. of A. Quote of the day yesterday... "I've never loved Target stores so much."

We truly appreciate the kind words of encouragement from our friends and family back home. Even though we are surrounded by people wherever we venture, traveling for a year is actually a lonely endeavour. It really does help to know that people are concerned for our well-being.

We have spent the past couple days continuing our road trip northward towards Paris.

April 29: Toulouse
We spent one night in the town of Toulouse, the home of Airbus. Zane has developed an intense passion for all things air travel and will spout facts about planes and airports at random. So it was with great pleasure that we visited the Airbus museum. He was in heaven.

The Concorde plane, beautiful on the outside, underwhelming on the inside.

Our favorite plane in the museum was the "Super Guppy". This was the strangest looking plane we've ever seen and it's a complete miracle that this thing can get off the ground, much less 30,000ft. 

April 30 & 31: Lanquais
Our past two nights was a much needed mellow stop at our friends' (Thanks again Sharona & Alan, we owe you big time! We saw London, we saw France...) French cottage in Lanquais. Where is Lanquais? Take a map of France, draw a giant X across the country, and where the lines intersect wouldn't be too far off. It's a positively lovely little hamlet with one church, a cemetery, one restaurant (that opens sporadically), and a rugby pitch with a surprisingly boisterous Rugby club that enjoys partying until midnight. Our plan to canoe down the Dordogne River to visit riverside castles was thwarted by chilly rain. However, it gave us the ability to head in to nearby Bergerac, a cute old timey French town with buildings slapped together with whatever timber, rocks, bricks, or other random materials they had on hand. (Somewhat like Italy, but a with an artistic flare).

This is a statue of a man with a large nose. We're in Bergerac. 

We also strolled about the town of Lanquais. But mostly we just hung out as a family so that we could recharge our batteries for the final push.

Perched on the hill above Lanquais is a Chateau. We tried to visit, but I'm afraid the entry fee was a bit extravagant, so we passed. 

The wisteria is in full bloom throughout France at the moment. It's lovely. 

Bryce is warming up to his new friends. His new hedgehog is named Baguette. 

Sharona and Alan's place is really a comfortable and special place in France.

All for now... Next Stop: Paris!