One of the best parts of living abroad is traveling abroad. And over the past eight months, we've loved exploring new places with our kids. And for me, commuting to some unique work destinations.
We started off the year scooting, eating gelato, finding the best focaccia, tasting wine and cheese, and praying through Rome and Tuscany.
I drank lagers in Munich with the Bavarian businessmen and went on a dark run on the icy paths of the ironically titled English Garden.
We skied (and I fell) in Chamonix, and nursed myself to sanity with huitres and champagne at Rose du Pont.
We celebrated Easter with the Portuguese in Cascais and befriended a legendary local restauranteur.
Knee brace strapped on, I waddled to the old town of Krakow and then to the tomb of the unknown soldier - a sober reminder of Poland's history fighting wars on both sides.
We swam and boated and had an adventure in wonderland with our loved ones back in Pittsburgh and Chicago.
I got blown away on the Cliffs of Moher and toured from farm to fork in Cork, Waterford, Limerick, and Galway.
And most recently, we found fossils in Lyme Regis and rode the waves on the Cornish Coast of England.
In our travels, we have largely visited places where we knew the locals would be. So, to places off season, to parts less known by Americans, to where the wind and British Airlines wanted to take us.
Looking back at the pictures, I can't believe all that we've done - every penny worth the investment in our ever expanding cultural education. But here's the thing ...
... while on New Year's Day in Sienna, you could feel the warmth and joy of the Italians breaking bread together over their first pranza of 2026 ...
... while you could feel the buzzy energy of the French, Swiss and Germans fighting their way (and nearly pushing my kids over) to get on the lift up a mountain that was about to be closed due to risk of avalanches, just to experience the powder of Mount Blanc ...
... while you could sense the spiritual bliss of a Portuguese congregation celebrating Christ rising from the dead on Easter on the most beautiful day us Londoners had seen in ages.
... while we could reharmonize with home and the welcome embrace and elbow room, the comforts of carefree American summers, and the family and friends we miss a lot back in the States ...
... I'm telling you, there was nothing like the pure happiness that I found on a 66 degree beach next to crystal clear 60 degree Atlantic Ocean water in Great Britain.
Let me explain.
We started in Lyme Regis - on the shores of East Devon. We stayed at a beautiful bed and breakfast called the Dower House Hotel. We found it by searching around on Google Maps for a place to stay in between London and Cornwall. Google ratings and 'does it have a pool?' led us to it. And it was perfect. Neil, the innkeeper, offered us the two bedroom suite with the pool right outside of our French Doors. We crammed a couple more beds into it and voila, we fit.
On the first night, we had Indian take out with Neil in his bar area, while a Dutch family played cards next to us. We all slept well and the next day we explored the town, swam at the beach, found fossils, ventured out into what was the bottom of the ocean at low tide, and walked the coastal path. We came back to the hotel to swim, and swim, and swim because we don't get to do that in London. And then we had dinner at a restaurant called Steamers in Beer. Yes, Beer. Peter's choice. Steamers was fabulous - 10/10. Go! A must if you are in the area.
The next day, we packed up, went to Mass back in town, and then drove the rest of the way to the Cornish Coast to a town called Carbis Bay. We checked into the Hotel and Estate that has been there since 1894 and had the privilege of hosting Virginia Woolfe for a month back in 1914 and the G7 for a week most recently.
The cottage where we stayed, the spa, restaurants (MOR by Thomas Sellers was all it's cracked up to be), pool (yes, we swam and swam again during the child friendly hours of 9:30 - 11:30 and 4:30 - 5:30), services (including delivering breakfast to our cottage each day), and very special day celebrating Margaret's 9th birthday were all five star.
But as award winning as the Hotel was, and as cool as the found fossils were, and as cute as Beer was, that was not where the pure happiness was found.
I found the most uninhibited joy watching the people on the beach in Carbis Bay and then being one with them. British per se.
First, the Brits must just love the beach and August holidays and the sun more than any population of people ever. Who wouldn't after the weather they endure for the other months of the year.
On the beach, they set up windshields, built tents, laid out blankets, carried loads of stuff onto the beach, and just played. Anything and everything. With the biggest smiles that broke into laughter, all the time.
We saw people playing bocce, football (not the American kind), cricket, and paddle ball. We saw them surfing, swimming, kayaking, running, walking, building sandcastles, digging giant holes, designing river ways and looking for buried treasure. We saw people drawing football and rugby fields, and playing matches on them, and then wrestling when the winner got the best of them. The scenery was also stunning - the water was clear as can be, there were Mussels lining the rocky coast, the birds roosted in the rocks, the sandy beach was massive, and the ice cream didn't melt as fast because it just wasn't that warm. This whole scene, sweater weather included, was contagiously smiley. It was the kind of happy you see on Christmas morning. Which made all of us feel that happy too. And with the exception of Rugby and Cricket, we did everything that the British were doing, including buying wet suits to ride the waves.
It made me reflect a little more on how we vacation. We will continue to be spontaneous - only about half planned, half baked. We will continue to juggle the craziness of seeing the world with five kids. We will miss the things that we were supposed to see while in a certain place. (Like I wish we had stopped by the Tate in St. Ives as an example.) But we will find the parts of the world that bring the locals joy. Because happiness, in the eyes of others, is not just contagious, it's what this world should be all about.
And with that, just a couple more photos that brought big smiles to my face, as I snapped the camera across Europe.
Lo.
