Our Home Away from Home in NYC

In traveling, the one thing I can definitively say we have learned is it's all about location…location, location, location!  We not only loved the location of the apartment we were able to stay in while living in New York City, but we loved the apartment itself.  The family who rented us the apartment had a girl and a boy a couple of years older than Amelie and Liam.  This meant that the room was set up perfectly with tons of toys to make us feel at home and comfortable for our stay.  Not only were the kids comfortable, but Bobby and I slept the best we have slept in years on the most comfortable king size bed.  Keep in mind that most of the places we have traveled come equipped with futons or very old mattresses.  We truly felt completely at home in this apartment.

The bunk beds could not have been a more perfect fit!

Liam spent hours playing with the trains.  He LOVED the trains!!  I would have fun building high bridges for him too!

Amelie enjoyed the Barbie house and the bin full of Barbies and Barbie clothes.

We also enjoyed living in a building with a doorman who we spoke to going and coming everyday, and a laundry in the basement.  At first I was disappointed that the laundry was not housed in the apartment, but I learned that no one has this commodity living in the city.  Being able to come and go to the basement to do laundry was a luxury, and I was glad I didn't have to use a local laundry mat!

View from our bedroom window.

Amelie at the entrance of the building.

The kids LOVED the revolving door.  I was always so nervous someone was going to get hurt, but no one did.  They were both very careful.  Many times arriving home, the kids would sprint down the walkway, through the revolving door, past the doorman, and end at the elevator way ahead of us.

Since we had our car, Bobby had to learn the parking game.  Every Monday and Thursday between 9 and 10 a.m., he would have to sit in the car to move it for the street sweeper while not losing his spot near our building.  Saved us a lot of money to park on the street for free though!

The location was also fabulous as it was in the Upper East Side, which is a very family friendly neighborhood.  We were walking distance away from Carl Schurz Park, Central Park, The MET, and of course a Subway stop that took us all over the city!

The red dot is our location. 

Our walk along the river to Carl Schurz Park.  I really enjoyed the walk.

We spent a number of times playing at Carl Schurz Park.  It was the perfect place for me to take them while Bobby was playing the parking game or working.  The playground was large and had a sprinkler in the center.  At times, a Parks & Rec employee would be present with various crafts for the kids to do.  Amelie made an awesome glitter cat one day.  Liam and Amelie enjoyed playing with water balloons provided by various kids too.

Bagel Bob's was close to our apartment and made the best bagels!  We treated ourselves a couple of times to this delicious breakfast of bacon, egg, and cheese on an everything bagel.

Our hosts have offered to let us come for a month every summer, which is a very tempting offer!!

The trek is as important as the destination

In the last post, I mentioned that getting to Split, Croatia turned out to be more of an adventure then we had originally anticipated.  Below is an account of that very adventure! :)

Once there was a family trying to get from Venice to Split during the winter.  What looked like a stone's throw away from Venice was actually a 3 day trip on plane, train, and ferry.  

Because the family had become so accustomed to traveling (said in a sarcastic tone), they had a lackadaisical approach concerning booking the transportation and accommodations needed for travel in between Venice and Split.  Using an amazing little tool that provides travel options with prices (http://www.rome2rio.com/), it was determined that the cheapest way for the family of four to travel would be to take a train to Ancona, Italy followed by an overnight ferry to Split.  Being a day away from needing to travel to the next stop, the family proceeded to the train station to buy the train tickets.  They expected to have a full range of options for train departures headed to Ancona.  

You can imagine how surprised they were to find out that most of the options leaving Venice were all booked. Why? Oh, due to the National Holiday, All Saints Day, in which schools and businesses close leaving freedom for a long weekend holiday.  The best option was to leave Venice on the 6:30 a.m. train on October 31st.  They were highly disappointed as the early morning departure would cut into their slotted Venice time, but they quickly recovered from the disappointment and were thankful to have a cheap way out of town allowing to make the ferry connection on time. 

None of the members of the family enjoy early morning commitments.  Leaving so early (5 am) in the morning provided the unique experience of seeing a quiet side of Venice.  The Venetians were happy to see the family leave town, especially when one of the members got sick on the water bus leaving town.  The train ride to Ancona was uneventful as sleeping and playing on the iPad consumed the four hour ride. 

The family arrived in Ancona around noon on October 31st.  Wanting to be free from their luggage, they quickly hired a taxi and headed to the bed and breakfast.  Much to their surprise, the bed and breakfast was located in the hills overlooking the city and the sea (aka:  remote location).  Not having a car left them stranded without much to do or places to eat.  The saving grace was the view as well as a zoo a couple feet away.  The zoo was equipped with both entertainment and a restaurant.  

The 32 hours spent in Ancona were relaxing and enjoyable.  The lack of a central city location was compensated by the amazing hospitality of the hosts.  A couple in their 70's were the perfect match for the young family.  They were treated as family by doting on the children, providing delicious drinks and home-made snacks, and good conversation.  The family enjoyed this time with their hosts as well as frequenting the zoo, and resting in the countryside.  The hosts went the extra mile by taking the family to the ferry port for their evening departure.  Knowing the port a little too well, the hosts dropped the family off right at the boat itself.  After hugs and kisses, the family said good-bye and headed to board the ferry.  

Little did they know that they had been dropped off without checking in properly.  Little did they know that they could not walk to check in properly, but would have to wait for a bus...that only came every 20 minutes.  Little did they know that the line to check in was growing ever so long.  The family rose to the challenge of making sure they embarked on their boat.  They raced to the bus station, waited in the long line, checked in properly, waited more at the bus station, and felt like with about 30 minutes to spare they would be okay.  And then it happened.  The realization that the two most important bags of our entire trip were not currently with them.  The children's bags filled with essential stuffed animals and beloved toys were left in the host's car.  Seeing the panic on their faces, a Croatian couple offered the use of their cell phone.  A desperate call for help was made to the host to return with the bags.  How far away was he?  Could he make it back to the port for us in 20 minutes before the boat departed?  The adrenaline started running strong again.  With minutes to spare, the family separated...mom and kids boarded the boat while dad waited for the bags.  The captain of the boat was informed of the predicament and asked not to leave until all had made it on board.  

The father was a hero.  Not only did he make it with the bags, he grabbed dinner (pizza slices) as well. As soon as he stepped on board, the ropes were released and the boat was off.  The family had to breathe and regain their composure for a second.

Being on board a large ferry was a fun adventure for all family members,  young and old.  It was a new experience for everyone.  Exploring the deck, talking with Canadian college students, and getting the bunks settled took about an hour.  Afterwards, it was lights out until the call for breakfast at 6 a.m.  

At 7 a.m. the family arrived well-rested to their destination, Split Croatia.  The journey had been longer than anticipated.  There had been bumps and detours along the way.  In the end, the experience would never be forgotten and remembered fondly.

Travel Plans

Since we did not have our plans mapped out before we left, I thought I should do an update on what we have planned.  We have loved our journey so far, and value what we have learned as individuals as well as what we are learning together as a family.  I know Amelie and Liam are very young and will not probably remember very much, but this experience has to be shaping them.  They both speak a little French, and Amelie has started play talking with an accent.  They are both very flexible in adjusting to new home environments.  They are appreciative of the small amount of toys that we carry around with us, and discover new "toys" at each house.  When searching for different cities to live in, they are our number one priority to please.

We are not using an agency, but are planning all of our own travels and accommodations.  If you are looking to plan a trip (both in the US and Internationally), we would recommend airbnb.com, home away.com, and vrbo.com.  We have found some wonderful places to reside for the next couple of months on these websites.  We research the neighborhoods, and use Google Maps to look at street views to get a feel for the neighborhood.  Spending the time to research different attractions in the area, reliability of public transportation, and speed of the internet have been our focus too.  Although this takes time in planning, it has been well worth it in the end!

So, tomorrow we are riding on a train for a short amount of time to Edinburgh.  We will stay in Edinburgh until August 9th.  The third week of June we will be coming home to attend a conference with Georgia Virtual School.  We are excited about coming back for this week to not only learn more professionally, but also to see family and friends.  We will be meeting our niece, Alaina, for the first time as well as possibly getting to be in town for the birth of four of our close friend's children!!  It will be a fun week to be back in Hot-Lanta!! ;)

When we originally set out we did not know for how long we would be traveling around.  We have decided that after about a year of travels that we would like to come back to the States to set up a home-base, but continue to travel during the summers.  We loved the beach (especially Gulf Shores) so much that we will be returning to the same townhouse in January 2015.  Since we will be coming back to the States we decided that instead of spending 3 months in places, we would spend a month in order to experience more places.  After Edinburgh we will be going to Lisbon, Valencia, Barcelona, Venice (for just a couple of days), and ending in Split, Croatia.  Can you tell we love (and missed the beach) as all of these cities are on the coast?! ;)

More important than the cities we will be visiting, we are so thankful for this time that we have to learn and discover as a family.  I do not naturally jump out of my comfort zone; but I have no other choice in learning new cities, cultures, languages, and more.  I am thankful for all this is teaching me, and how by becoming a learner myself will encourage my children to always be learning and growing.  Also, I am incredibly thankful for the amount of quality time we are able to spend together.  We absolutely love our jobs, and we love the flexibility we have been provided to have this time together.