In one of my recent posts a reader asked me a question which basically equated to: ‘hang on a minute, with this travelling life when do YOU two parents get time together?’ and as it was a) an extremely timely question due to the fact that the first signs of small space family madness were just starting to unfold with the sofa bed each morning and b) I like to answer any questions you guys want to ask, I’ve decided it’s time to share with you some of the pitfalls of long-term family travel (in my…
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Added by Alice Griffin on July 6, 2009 at 12:16pm —
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Homemade wine decanted from dusty dark barrels into short stubby – used a million times by others – glasses, freshly-baked corn bread with warm goat’s cheese torn and devoured by hand and the sound of a pig snuffling in the background. I am sitting under the much-needed shade of green vines outside the ramshackle shed of a local farmer somewhere in the lower-central part of Portugal and I’m thinking: “this is cool!”
Antonio is a man who tends to his vines, grows his vegetables and still uses a…
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Added by Alice Griffin on June 27, 2009 at 11:23am —
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North West Spain should be on everyone’s to-do list for the delights concealed within its deep crevices and spread across the vast rugged valleys are plentiful and delightful. Cobalt blue skies, long sandy beaches stretched out in peaceful drifts, snow-capped mountains casting their commanding shadows across rolling green meadows; my oh my, how this relatively unspoilt part of Spain is a sight to behold.
We crossed the border from France under sheets of rain putting an end to the myth that Spai…
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Added by Alice Griffin on June 21, 2009 at 9:27am —
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“Ooooooo kisses!” She squeals with delight before running to the window to press her nose and hands against the pane. This is followed quickly by “ahhh, pwetty” sighed with the dreamy delight of a two-year-old. And there they are: piebald, tan and black; sturdy horses plodding steadily past the farm’s kitchen window. You see, she can’t really say horses, it sounds more like kisses, but a mother always knows what their child means, don’t they?
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Added by Alice Griffin on June 12, 2009 at 7:00am —
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As I type this post I am sat outside ‘Elvis’ (our caravan for those of you who are new here!) watching a farmer in the distance make hay in the fields. My daughter is attempting to ride her trike, my dog is taking a rest from the afternoon sun in a nearby bush and hubby is preparing dinner. I’m thinking to myself: this is free, this doesn’t cost a bean … this is beautiful! And I realise that it’s moments like this that continue to feed my hunger for independent travel without time limits and why…
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Added by Alice Griffin on June 4, 2009 at 12:01am —
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Firstly, please let me apologise for not posting in recent weeks. I’ve been the unfortunate victim of a nasty tooth infection, for which treatment delayed the departure of our latest trip by three weeks. I am however pleased to report that we are now booked to leave in a few days so I’m excited to be back here on Twittermoms ready to share with you some fun, practical and escapist stories about the next leg of our travels.
Briefly we are planning to flit fairly quickly through France, followed…
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Added by Alice Griffin on May 30, 2009 at 8:21am —
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Our time in England is drawing to a close. This weekend I say goodbye to my parents for possibly another year and that’s pretty hard, especially as Isabella has had the most wonderful time with them. Then for the next two weeks we will be in the South of England where we used to live and where our friends and Scott’s family are. By mid May it will be time to say goodbye to them too and although I am starting to feel pangs of sadness about this, I can’t help but focus on the excitement of another…
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Added by Alice Griffin on April 24, 2009 at 7:05am —
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Vibrant reds, refreshing lemons, crisp whites; flowers are in glorious abundance during springtime in North Yorkshire. The dreary grey days of winter fade quickly into memory as the most gorgeous array of colours burst through in every imaginable place. Daffodils run along the length of low stone walls, raised beds line the streets of quaint towns and flowers cascade from trellises in parks. Everyone has time to stop for a chat and there is an air of content country charm. Oh how I love my birth…
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Added by Alice Griffin on April 24, 2009 at 5:37am —
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It was the purest of skies, not a single cloud interrupting the cool blue. It was cold, but it was the kind of crisp bracing cold that makes a person feel alive. And as I stood silently, holding Isabella in my arms and watching the port of Bergen merge backwards into the embrace of its seven surrounding hills and listening to the converted fishing-to-diving boat chug along rhythmically beneath me, I thought: “I will always remember this moment and this Birthday.”
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Added by Alice Griffin on April 6, 2009 at 6:00am —
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Well, we are packing up to return to the UK … but it looks like it will only be for one month before we head off on the road again towards Northern Spain and Portugal! Thank you for all your wonderful comments last week, all of which I read out loud to hubby – they definitely helped us to clarify things so thank you for sharing your thoughts!
Anyway, back to the packing. PHEW. Now, you would think that when a family lives in a camper they wouldn’t have a lot of stuff, would you not?! Well, let…
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Added by Alice Griffin on March 31, 2009 at 7:59am —
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Well, it’s been quite a week and I’ve decided to share it with you because it is a week that has involved lots of discussions about our travelling life.
Some things have happened recently that have forced us to consider whether we should be putting down roots now, or whether we should stay on the road. It’s a difficult decision to make because as much as we love travelling, we do sometimes long for a home, too. A place that is ours, filled with our belongings, with friends and family around the…
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Added by Alice Griffin on March 20, 2009 at 3:30am —
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OK so I only had one child and not six, but I had the shades and a belief that I could look uber-cool swaggering through the airport with a two-year-old in tow. Sadly for me I didn’t quite work it as perfectly as I had hoped, but happily for me I have just returned from a fairly successful Paris to UK trip with all my hair still intact and without the need for any calming spa treatments (although that would of course be lovely).
Yes, I have been to sunny Bristol with my delightful daughter and…
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Added by Alice Griffin on March 11, 2009 at 10:00am —
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Now I’m not sure if it makes me a bad mother or a resourceful one, but when travelling I have been known to use Isabella as a decoy in order to manipulate a situation. Is it considered exploitation? You tell me. You see, I think us travelling mums ought to receive a darn medal (well in fact I think all mums deserve a medal! but I’m talking travel today) with what we have to put up with on flights.
You know how it goes … you’re on a plane with a small baby who has to sit on your lap. Now not onl…
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Added by Alice Griffin on February 20, 2009 at 8:00am —
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At first there’s something slightly unnerving about sitting on a boat watching your one-year-old daughter being passed around cooing passengers and staff, both young and old. But once you slip out of the mode of thinking no-one is to be trusted and remember that you are now in Greece where freely fussing over children, throwing them up in the air and showering them with kisses is perfectly normal, then it becomes an utterly magical experience. This is one of the main reasons I can highly recomme…
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Added by Alice Griffin on February 13, 2009 at 5:31am —
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I have a confession to make; I can sing ‘this little piggy’ in rap, operatic, and country style. OK, so I’m fully aware that I will never make the X-Factor with my bizarre renditions; but I reckon an in-car-entertainment company would be mad not to snap me up and cash in on such talents! Yes, I can make a family car journey kinda fun and having travelled more than 16,000 kms during the course of this past year I’ve realised that you do need to think creatively.
If we’re on a super long journey…
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Added by Alice Griffin on February 6, 2009 at 8:00am —
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I love travel. I always have. And I love everything that goes with it; different cultures, different faces and the diversity I experience along the way. I don’t think I could be with someone who didn’t feel the same passion for seeing and learning in this way so it stands to reason that when Isabella joined my husband, Scott, and I in this world our passion would be fed through to her. For me, one of the main reasons I love travel with my daughter is because I enjoy watching her mix and learn wi…
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Added by Alice Griffin on January 30, 2009 at 9:30am —
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I remember very clearly when those little placards began showing up in hotel bathrooms around the world urging us all to hang up our towels if we were willing to reuse them, thus saving millions of gallons of hot water and the energy required to run the dryers.
On the one hand, I thought, "Good idea!", and on the other, "and how convenient for
you." I can't help it, I'm a cynic by nature. I just wanted the hotels to acknowledge what we all know in our hearts to be true: Less Laundry = Go…
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Added by TravelSavvyMom on January 28, 2009 at 7:17am —
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Picture the scene: You’re on holiday, it’s a warm and dusky summer’s evening, the birds are chirping softly in the trees, a nearby stream’s calming waters can be heard drifting by in the distance. In your hand is a glass of chilled white wine (you can get involved here, add whatever is your favourite tipple at this point!) and your husband, boyfriend, partner or lover is sat to your left. You’re talking about life and what you want to do; making plans for the future and you’ve got that warm, fuz…
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Added by Alice Griffin on January 23, 2009 at 1:30am —
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When my kids were little---one in preschool and one in diapers---I talked a big game about pulling them out of school to travel. My theory was this: not all education happens at school. I felt the benefits of experiencing another culture far outweighed the drawbacks of missing a few days here and there. Besides which, my daughter had her letters, numbers, and shapes down cold. We could afford to miss some school.
A few years later, I hit my first bump. I was trying to schedule a family vacation…
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Added by TravelSavvyMom on January 21, 2009 at 7:25am —
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There are times when I long for a home to call my own, where I can look up and see the artwork I love or think of a stylish outfit I want to wear without then realising it’s in a storage room in the UK. But mostly during these moments of longing, I wish for a day when I can decorate a room for my daughter, Isabella. A place where she can sit and play with her toys or read her books and where I can paint murals on her walls. Being a long-term travelling mom I think it’s impossible to not sometime…
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Added by Alice Griffin on January 16, 2009 at 5:00am —
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European Travels – Small Space Living
Is Environmentally Friendly Travel an Oxymoron?
