We slept in a bit, which was probably a very good idea. We headed out with a polite notice from Sonia that finding coffee was a high priority and shouldn’t really be superseded by any sightseeing. Attempt one at “ice coffee” afforded an espresso with an ice cube. Caffeinated, but not really what was sought. We found our way back to Piazza San Marco where we found a lovely little coffee shop and started to learn local customs. We had in mind an American “to go” mentality which would have worked fine for the kids’ pastries but was inconsistent with the way that they served the caffe lattes (in glasses, much as if they were bar drinks). To be fair, the coffee was excellent, but we were still unadapted to the environment. We headed off on ... read more

Today was Windsor Castle day and we hauled the kids out of bed at an obscenely early 8am to get there in time for the changing of the guard. The train ride was pleasant and efficient and the kids were suitably impressed with the speed at which the train traveled. It was nice to get out of the city and the castle was beautiful. Of course, it started to rain just as the changing of the guard began. Those who have seen the changing of the guard probably know that it goes on for an impossibly long time and accordingly many of those with the best viewing positions eventually get too bored or too wet and move on letting latecomers like us get a good view for the second half. The castle ground and interiors were ... read more

Rough night. Jet lag not kind to the kids. We were thankful for the generous square footage of the flat because we played musical beds last night with at least one person up from about 2am on. Up again down again, in again out again. By 10am we were on approximately equal footing having each slept some combination of about 9 hours interspersed with 4 hours of involuntary awakeness. Day turned out very well despite the inauspicious start. Out shortly before lunch on foot, we walked to Hyde park where the kids instantly spied the paddle boats. John was eventually persuaded to deviate from the plan and go a-boat-ing despite the foreboding dark grey clouds (note English spelling of grey). Fun outing though we made the disturbing discovery that people actually swim in that water. Not ... read more

Departure day! We figured that we wanted the kids to be ready to sleep on the plane, so we got them up a bit early this morning. We walked to downtown San Mateo with the dog to get bagels. Lauren was very choked up about leaving the dog for two weeks. She suggested she might call him and was shocked to hear that some people actually do call their pets while on vacation. Kids to camp for the day. Dog seemed happy as could be left with friends in SF who agreed to care for him. Just a few loose ends to tie up… until… around 1:30 Andrew’s camp calls to tell us there has been an incident… On the phone they made it sound like no big deal. When Sonia arrived at camp, Andrew was ... read more

Someone suggested a travel blog. So here we are, trying to figure out how to do this so that we are experts by the time we hit the ground in Europe. We leave in Three Days! The kids are excited. We're down to planning minutia. The dog knows something is up and is hoping it won't go badly for him. It will.... read more