Azerbaijan

In the weeks leading up to our trip to Azerbaijan, I have to admit that there were moments of doubt. I wondered if we were nuts to make a big international trip right before moving to Japan. I worried that we were going to be too jet lagged to do anything. I panicked because I hadn't done any of my usual research or preparation, but as soon as we got on the plane there was a collective exhale. It turns out that a trip to Azerbaijan was exactly what we all needed.

Canadian Postal Cheer

I went to Canada and fell in love with their mail boxes. Colorful and peppy, those cheerful depositories made me want to stuff them with encouraging letters and bills with pretty stamps. It's funny how traveling makes the mundane aspects of daily life so much more interesting in new places. Grocery stores in other countries are far more interesting to me than grocery stores at home. And now it turns out that mail boxes are, too.

And here's another thing those postal boxes made me think about. When I was a kid, sending postcards was a big part of our travel ritual. Selecting the perfect card for each recipient. Using scratchy motel pens to describe trip highlights to grandparents and cousins. Words and drawings spilling over the edges. A satisfying little stack of paper greetings ready to be mailed. I was actually pretty good about sending postcards all the way into my 20s and 30s. And I assumed that this travel ritual would continue with my own children. It seemed like a good way to push them to write while also maintaining contact with family many miles away. But as with most good intentions, it never really happens. Don't get me wrong. We keep trying. Or at least I keep trying. After careful deliberation, post cards always get purchased with specific recipients in mind and I always think that this will finally be the trip that kick starts a new desire to write personal notes and letters on a more regular basis. Sometimes they actually get written, but they rarely get sent and the reality is that I have a large box of postcards documenting most of our trips from the past sixteen years of marriage (any ideas on what to do with those?). And I can't even remember the last time we received one. To be honest, it is surprising that post cards are even still made and sold.  So here's to hoping that those cheerful Canadian boxes prompt a personal letter writing resurgence and may postcards continue to exist. 

Quebec City With Kids

Pack a soccer ball. Rent an apartment in the Old City. Eat poutine. Attend the Les Fetes de la Nouvelle France. Leave plenty of time for wandering and splashing in fountains. Eat crepes and chocolate croissants.Try to speak French. Get in line early for the spectacular (and free!) circus on Saturday nights. Stay for the fireworks over the St. Lawrence River. Stop to listen to street musicians. Fall asleep to the sound of horse drawn carriages tromping over cobblestone streets. Get up the next morning and repeat. 

Philadelphia Weekend

Philly cheese steaks, family reunions, the Philadelphia Pen Show, Elvis in a scarf, a bacon bloody mary, Sideways Stories at Arden Theater, fabulous museums, bookstores, record stores, that famous bell, and chilly hands. Can't wait to return.

Happy New Year!

Andermatt, Switzerland

Wishing you and your families all the best in 2014. May it be a year of laughter, wonder, and peace for all!

Christmas Eve in Switzerland with Dolly Parton

A week ago we had no idea we would be here... sipping disappointingly flavorless hot chocolate in Andermatt, Switzerland while listening to Dolly Parton belt out Christmas tunes on a speaker rigged up in a little wooden hut next to an ice skating rink. And yet here we are. 

We spontaneously and successfully hopped on a free military flight to Germany, rented a car, drove south, and have tucked ourselves into this little Swiss Alps town. Hoping to ski, eat lots of fondue, and stay warm. Merry Christmas!