In a flurry of end of the school year activities in London, Dominic has just returned from his school Class 6 trip to Paris! They went for three nights and took the Eurostar and had a great time. Dominic did a great job of documenting his trip with the attached photos... [View Full Entry]

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When we asked the kids where they would like to go for one more weekend trip, the answer was absolutely Antwerp to visit the Vermeylen family! In addition to the large yard, indoor pool, and bunnies, now they've added a trampoline to the mix. We had a fun filled weekend relaxing at their house, enjoying Antwerp including a fondue dinner, and Mark and Filip were able to take a beautiful Father's Day bike ride... We've so enjoyed having the Vermeylen's only be a train ride away! [View Full Entry]

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We just had a fun filled visit from Grandma Ann and Grandpa Tom sharing our London life with them! They were able to stay in an apartment across the street so we were London neighbors for a week. Despite arriving during a 3 day Tube strike, we successfully navigated our way around London on foot, bus, and by taxi. Highlights of their stay included visits to Cameron House for story time in Elena's class and assisting with Design Technology in Dominic's class...gelato and opera singing waiters at Harrod's...pizza dinner with Judith and Ian and their children...brunch at Sukh's flat in Co [View Full Entry]

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For the mid-term break from school, we enjoyed an amazing full week exploring the western countryside of Italy in Piedmont and the beach in Santa Margherita Ligure. In a word - perfect! The rolling hills and vineyards of Piedmont are breathtakingly beautiful and so relaxing to lounge by the pool and enjoy the view. We discovered amazing food and gelato in nearby towns unlike we've ever had in Italy before. A wonderful last minute addition was Pam's sister Jane joined us for the first part of our trip and we loved having Aunt Jane be part of such a great trip [View Full Entry]

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We were thrilled that Grammy and Papa returned to London for the legendary Chelsea Flower show in May. We all loved the amazing gardens and plants on display at the show - and of course enjoyed the traditional British drink Pimms while we admired it all. We also indulged with a gourmet Indian meal in Chelsea - and Dominic's favorite Chinese food in Chinatown! Cathie and Bill were able to stay after we left for our week in Italy and explore and enjoy more of London on their own... Thank you for coming to visit! [View Full Entry]

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Dominic had a week long Class 6 trip to an amazing activity center in Cornwall. Here are some of his stories in his own words... "When we were climbing, there were 3 courses. One was easy, the 2nd was medium hard, and the 3rd was very hard, and a special 4th one that was the hardest. I think the medium one was the hardest because it had hardly any handholds at all. I did the hard one first and it didn't seem that hard. Pete was the instructer that clipped you onto the rope, and got you ready to climb. I [View Full Entry]

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We were thrilled to host the Vermeylen family this past weekend for Margot and Ella's first trip to London! We experienced London with a trip to the aquarium and Big Ben, shopping along Kings Road, a matinee of Joseph for the girls - and a Chelsea football match for the boys. Sunday we explored Battersea Park with a bike ride (Battersea Park is one of my new London favorites where I've starting running every morning). It was great to all be together and the kids had so much fun. The kids are continuing to take the lead on taking more photographs. [View Full Entry]

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We had a wonderful first time trip to Krakow, Poland to visit Basia and Jack as part of our April school holidays. Basia was our nanny for many years when Dominic was born. Now Basia and Jack have two sons of their own, have moved back to their hometown of Krakow, and Jack built their own home adjacent to Basia's parents. Krakow is a beautiful historic city all the more brought alive by Basia and Jack's warm hospitality and pride in their country, city, and history. Highlights were a carriage ride around the Old Town, wonderful food, a pet turtle, and [View Full Entry]

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As we were planning for Dominic and Elena's 3 1/2 week spring break, we decided we would spend most of our time at home and discover all the fun London has to offer...highlights have been visiting Judith and Ian in Chichester, Legoland and Windsor, dinner in London's Chinatown, seeing "Wicked", family garden camp at the Chelsea Physic Garden, Handel's Messiah performed at Westminster Abbey, a brisk dip in the Hampstead Heath pond for Mark, an evening of the "Sing Along Sound of Music" for Pam...and lots of time swimming at the local pool and enjoying the many beautiful parks around our [View Full Entry]

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One of my top travel wishes for our time here was to go to the English countryside and stay at one of their 'country manor' hotels. This weekend we visited a hotel called Chewton Glen on the south coast of England in Hampshire. After a relaxing train ride to get there, we enjoyed walks all around the grounds and woods, playing tennis, swimming in the indoor pool - and outdoor hot tub, Dominic and Mark biking to the beach and Highcliffe Castle, and playing croquet. We had dinner overlooking the sea. The staff and hotel itself were exceptional - the kids [View Full Entry]

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