Wanderlust

photo is from Busy Toddler here

Today's prompt is Wanderlust. 

Travel has always been top priority to me, I feel alive seeing new places! I love seeing new parts of the world, or even more local places that are new to me. I'm always feeling inspired while I travel. I've been lucky to do so many trips and see quite a few places. I've gone to Italy three times, spent time in France, Mexico, Hawaii and throughout the US. Living in California I've been able to explore so many amazing places within the state. And especially growing up I was able to see so many beautiful mountain landscapes camping with family. 

Since having kids, and of course with Covid, we really slowed down our travels. While we maintained so many local traditions like frequent Tahoe trips, San Diego to see family, and our annual Tuolumne Meadows trip, we haven't done any major traveling together or as a family since early 2020 when we went to Hawaii and Utah with Graham before the world shut down. 

Now that the twins are getting a bit older, I am getting that itch to travel as a family. I think traveling as a child helped shaped me, and I want that for my kids too. I think it will help them learn about other cultures, ways of living, and just general manners and ability to be patient and other life skills that come with traveling. So for today, I thought I'd share my top 5 places I'd like to travel as a family. My Wanderlust list is long so this felt like a manageable way to break it down for today. 

Switzerland - this has always seemed like such an idylic place. I was here briefly with my parents on a road trip from Rome up to Geneva and loved it. Then my parents just got home from several weeks in Switzerland and Northern Italy, and it reminded me how much I'd like to go here. While I'm sure Andrew would prefer to go in the winter, I'd love to go in warmer months for hiking and visiting lakes and quaint villages. One blogger I followed ages ago went with her young children and I'll never forget when she returned how she spoke of it. I think she has since deleted her blog, but I have this saved from her trip. It just sounds like they cater to young families with children so well. I think it would be a great international trip when the kids are still young. 

London - this one feels like a manageable and fun trip with kids, perhaps when they're a bit older. They already loved hearing about the double decker busses when my parents returned. And not having a language barrier feels like it might help traveling with kids. But also with London and the weather I think ti would be a lot of time spent with museums and such, so perhaps when they're a bit older. 

Italy - I can't get enough Italy. I just love it so much. We haven't spent time in Northern Italy yet, so I'd love to do that. But I also want to revisit our favorite places. It seems like a great place to go when they're young because, since we've seen all the main attractions, we can focus on making this trip more about the kids and what they would love. Ideally, I would love to spend at least a month traveling Europe with the kids someday, but a week or two for now would work too! 

Quebec City - I've always loved how European it feels, and it's so charming. I'd love to go at Christmas time, which I am sure Andrew would love as well so he can spending some time snowboarding. I think the kids would love it, and it feels manageable to travel there with them, not quite Europe, but you get a similar feel. 

Maine/New England - This is a bucket list for me. I think I'd need to go several times to experience everything I want. And every season! But this would be a great family trip as well. I think in the fall to see the leaves, and the boys love Halloween and fall season, so perhaps we could coordinate the two to make it fun for them. But the summer months also seem so charming and quaint, I'm sure you couldn't go wrong with either. That's what I mean, I need to go more than once to experience it all!

As I was writing I thought of so many other places, but this is a good list! There is just so much beauty to see. I definitely want to share the world and experience traveling with my kids.

See you back here tomorrow for Day 20!