Wildetrips

Part 1: Edinburgh - Royal Mile and Edinburgh Castle Part 2: Edinburgh - Calton Hill and Greyfriars Area Part 3: Scottish Highlands and Urquhart Castle/Loch Ness Whenever you see an image of Edinburgh from any travel magazine, it is nearly always from the top of Calton Hill with the Dugald Stewart Monument in the foreground. This is a very iconic part of the city and is a great place to have the kids run around, take in the city skyline, and have a picnic lunch. On top of Calton Hill, there are several buildings of differing origin showcasing an interesting mix of architecture. The unmistakably Greek-styled Dugald Stewart Monument sits across from the similarly styled National Monument of Scotland, which oddly sits unfinished and is therefore known by several names such as “Scotland’s Disgrace”. Next ... read more

We were quite aware that our trip to Lima coincided with Palm Sunday. In Lima, it is known as Domingo de Ramos, and it is the glorious start to Semana Santa (Holy Week) in Lima. We didn’t know how much this would impact our experience in Lima. It’s kind of a big deal. Our first exposure to the festivities began on our trip to the grocery store while we were getting some drinks and dinner at the cafe. Entering the store, there was a woman handing out these amazing braided palm bouquets - and wasn’t even accepting anything in return. On Sunday morning, we were dropped off by our driver for Mass at the Iglesia de San Francisco and were immersed in a sea of even more impressive bouquets - some several feet tall and including ... read more

I often get asked “Why do you travel so much?”, which is usually followed up by “How do you afford it?” First off, my husband is blessed with a wonderful job and secondly he can stretch a dollar for all it’s worth. But also, it comes down to choices. While others have their kids in private school, we are homeschooling. While others have two cars, we have one. So as an educator, our travels are not vacations but rather field trips. Leading up to a trip, I research history, books, arts and sites of the area. I have found that surfing the local library online catalogue is a great way to brainstorm different ideas to teach the kids. Each kid has their own library card and we make bi-weekly trips to pick up the latest books ... read more

When searching for flights, there are three factors in play - price, destination, and date. Usually, you can specify two of the three factors. In order to find cheap flights for example, you are able to choose the destination OR the date. In this case, we were limited to traveling during a mandatory vacation, and so the destination was ‘whatever came about’. In fact, I had no idea where Thessaloniki was on a map, but quickly found out that there is quite a bit of history and culture in the second largest city in Greece. Flying in on Aegean Airlines (quite an experience in itself), we passed by Mount Olympus, which conjured screams of excitement from our kids. Reading legends of grandeur and the Greek gods (even the Percy Jackson series) in preparation for the trip ... read more

Flying to Alaska is a unique experience. Because of the distance and time zone, many flights leave or take off at times when most airports would be shutting down. We arrived in Anchorage near midnight and were surprised to see crowds of people waiting for flights departing in the early morning hours. The airport itself is good for spotting very large cargo planes as they arrive from Asia alongside small regional and bush planes arriving (sometimes by water) from remote areas of Alaska. For anyone with a kid (or grown-up kid) who enjoys planes, I would recommend budgeting a couple of hours to watching at or near the airport - it can be an experience while waiting for your flight. Now, chances are, the passenger flight to/from Anchorage won't be anything special, and in fact it ... read more