Besides the one setback of having to change our flight plans, the trip went fairly smoothly. All the credit must go to Ruth, she is incredible at planning these trips. All I have to do is show and drive, which suits me just fine, assuming of course that I can drive. Our plan is to fly to Madrid and spend five days in the city, then fly to Rome and do some exploring around the city. I've never been to Italy, and have to admit that it hasn't always been high up there for me on my "to-see" list. I'm partial to France and Spain, I guess. Now we were also planning on mixing a little work in, as well, and the fact that one of our collaborators is in Madrid was part of the inspiration ... read more

I understand why people don't travel because it's such hassle when things go smoothly, but factor in the fact that NOTHING EVERY GOES SMOOTHLY, and it's enough to make a grown man cry. We had planned out the initial flight into Spain fairly well, or I should say Ruth did. When you have kids, you need to factor their needs in first, and one of the hardest parts is the long flight across the Atlantic. For reasons I'm sure make perfect sense, trans-Atlantic flights always leave in the evening and go overnight, so ideally the kids will sleep through the trip and you hope and pray for empty seats, something that is becoming increasingly rare in the modern era of travel. Ruth is well versed in these ways, and reserved seats in a row such that ... read more

I'm still finding my way in terms of navigating this site, so please bear with me. We are on the cusp of our big trip, and as we temporarily close out chapters in our Vermont life, we begin the process of opening new ones for our trip. Our rough itinerary is as follows: fly out of Boston to Madrid, spend a few days there with friends and colleagues (yes, this is a partial work trip) with whom we are collaborating with, then off to Rome for about a week. We have no set plan, and will wing it as best we can. There are homeschool lessons to be had on this trip, and we'll focus on Roman civilization and it's reach into Spain, which of course is substantial. From an art history perspective, we'll get to ... read more

I tried furiously to get a paid writing gig for this trip, but several things held me back, if not made it impossible. First off, I had no idea what I was doing, a situation that still persists today. Second, I waited until it was really too late, and subsequently, I probably won't hear from any mags in time for our trips. And finally, I'm a big nobody, so who the hell is going to take my writing? Can't say I blame them. Either way, we are on the cusp of our big trip to Spain and Italy, and needless to say I'm a bit of wreck trying to anticipate all that needs to be done. Call it a control issue, but the thing that gives me a the biggest anxiety is trying to entertain the ... read more