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Olivia’s summer schedule is packed and includes a couple weeks at Brown summer school. We made a family trip out of her drop-off, which was the first time the kids have visited Boston and New England in general. We visited a few schools and ate our way through the city as we are known to do.
There were a few other friends from her school also attending, so we have family dinners along the way. This also included our first trip to Fenway Park. It was a great experience and I’m trying my best to forget how steamy it was.
Over the weekend, we made our way to Providence with a stop in Newport. I haven’t been there since 1998 when I fell in love with it. Olivia loved it, too, and said she would live there. Lucas felt it was a bit touristy, which is fair. We didn’t get a chance to drive around (i.e., see TS’s house).
In Providence, all four families met up for dinner and we walked around town and campus. We got the official tour during drop-off. Coincidentally, Olivia’s closest cousin is also attending, which was only figured out by the their aunts who connected the dots.
We’ve spent almost every hour together as a family this summer. Between that and the heat, Olivia seemed anxious to be rid of us. After getting her settled in, we bid her farewell. It’s going by fast and she’s having a great time, though it’s a lot of work, too. We hope it will be a great experience for her and her friends.
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We haven’t had much time to spend with the Lees over the summer. Glad we could all be together on July 4th.
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Olivia has always had a love of animals. Through her school, she learned about Conservation Amassadors, which is a wild and exotic animal rescue. She spent last week interning there for six days and had an amazing experience.
One challenge of gaining this experience is that they’re located down in Paso Robles, about three hours from home. As they don’t provide housing, we rented a house for the week and made a family trip out of it. This was our first time exploring this part of California and it was beautiful with many great food experiences. While Olivia was working hard, the rest of us were providing moral support from the golf course, which was also grueling. Grace, Lucas and I also took a side trip down to Pismo Beach, which was also a first.
The highlight of the trip, aside from a sea otter sighting (my second favorite animal), was a private tour of the campus. It was so cool to be up close to so many wild animals, including a black bear, bald eagles, peacocks, porcupine, lemurs, lynx, mountain lion. The cutest were the baby kangaroo, baby monkey, and baby bobcat.
One night, Olivia declared that she understood now why people come home from work and crack open a cold beer. This was definitely her first introduction to “work,” which included cleaning, feeding, and being pooped on by these beautiful creatures. It was also 109 degrees on her last day. We’re all thankful for a fulfilling week together.
Note: The first animal photos are by Olivia.
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Summer Travel: NYC
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We finished up this trip with a few days in Manhattan. We stayed at the Essex House on Central Park South, which is where we stayed all the time when the kids were little.
We brought Dave down to his place near Greenwich Village and coincidentally the only parking spot we could find was in front of Taylor Swift’s old house. There were plenty of Swifties paying homage. I still don’t have tickets to that show and I feel like I’m running out of time. We had a great meal at Via Carota while we were in the neighborhood.
That evening, Jen was very kind to invite the family over for a home-cooked meal. Everything was especially tasty after being on the road for a while. Olivia and Lucas’s cousins will be joining them at camp for the first time, so they got the download and are hopefully excited for it.
We used some of our time in the city to officially kick off our college tours for Olivia (and Lucas, who is not too far behind). I had never stepped foot on Columbia’s campus, but it was beautiful and felt like many other universities, aside from it’s urban location.
Our last meal together with Jen and Dave was at Cote, which I’ve been wanting to try for a while. We did the tasting menu with some add-ons and it was unbelievably good. Olivia declared it the best meal of her life, which is high praise given the food we experienced just on this trip. Lucas is still talking about it. This will definitely be on our NYC rotation in the future.
We made our first trip to Hudson Yards and the Vessel, but it was too late to get a good look at The High Line. We’ll have to come back for that another time. It was a short but productive time in the city. Everyone is ready to get back home to Luna before we head out again.
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The actual destination for our travels was Rye, NY, for Cameron’s high school graduation. Our European vacation was just a detour to get here. Addy rented a house from a friend that fit all the grand parents, uncle Dave, and our family (plus possibly some ghosts from 1875). It was beautiful and we didn’t even take advantage of most of the amenities.
The weather couldn’t have been more perfect for the ceremony. What a great accomplishment for Cameron and his family. We look forward to having him on the west coast for collage.
Congratulations, Cameron!
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Our last full day in Paris started at Ladurée for breakfast. This wasn’t Olivia’s first stop of the trip though, as she got some macarons in London already. We spent most of the day on an excursion to see the Palace of Versailles.
There was a big gap between our tickets to see the garden and our entry time to the palace, which was fine because it took hours to walk around the grounds. This is a good place to get your steps in. We had lunch along the Grand Canal and went on a kid and Grace-powered boat ride afterwards. It’s an impressive and beautiful place to be sure.
Our final meal of the trip was at Restaurant Georges, located at the top of The Centre Pompidou. It was a beautiful night with great views of the city. The food and service were excellent. Grace was determined to see the Notre Dame after dinner, even though most of it is still covered in scaffolding for repairs.
I wasn’t intent on trying to squeeze in too much over just a few days and expect the kids can return on their own one day to discover more of the city. There are still a lot of other parts of France I’d like to see as well as many other countries. Hopefully there will be more trips for the four of us in the future, but for now, this was a great introduction to Europe for the kids.
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Grace and I haven’t been to Paris since her 40th birthday extravaganza (so, just a few years ago). This trip was just for showing the kids around. It was a rough start because who knew you need to arrive at the train earlier than a flight?!? We had an extra half day in London due to this misunderstanding, but eventually made it to the City of Light.
It seemed like one whole day was dedicated to the Eiffel Tower, even if we didn’t go up it. We went back to L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon in Saint-Germain where we celebrated Grace’s 40th. Lucas has not been the most adventurous eater, but since his recent trip to Japan, he’s been more open to trying things. A major advancement was that we all had the tasting menu, which was excellent. After dinner we went to the Palais de Chaillot to view the Eiffel Tower lights.
The next day, we took a lunch cruise on the Seine, which was a great way to see the city (i.e., 3-course meal and air conditioned). It wasn’t an actual tour with commentary, so the kids had to get that from Grace. We had late afternoon tickets for a short tour of the Louvre, followed by dinner nearby.
Paris is definitely a different vibe from London, which the kids can appreciate.
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Aside from Harry Potter, everything else Olivia and Lucas think they know about the UK is from Ted Lasso. Without it, they wouldn’t know what Wembley is (and we wouldn’t know it’s a new stadium replacing the old).
When we asked the kids if there was anything of particular interest to see in London, nothing was suggested. That was until Olivia found out her favorite, Harry Styles, was playing 4 sold-out shows at Wembley during our stay. In the evening on what shall henceforth be known as “The Day of Harry,” we made the pilgrimage to see him play.
I thought Olivia may have shed her last tear for Harry, but I was wrong. She was bawling within the first minute. It’s no secret to Olivia that my favorite band member is Sarah, mostly for her understated drummer+mum vibe (she’s so cool). This show was a different scale from seeing him (and her) up-close in LA, but it was also a lot easier to get to (aside from the 10-hour flight). It was also great for the whole family to enjoy him, as Lucas is an admitted fan.
Honestly, museums are boring. This was my favorite part of this leg of the trip. Walking out with 10s of thousands of people, who were patient, polite, and singing, is a great way to learn about a country and its people. It is very gratifying to see so the kids experiencing such joy, even if it’s further proof they were born on 3rd base. They know we are all very lucky.
Until next time, Harrys.
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Before they were fans of the MCU, Olivia and Lucas have been lifelong Potterheads. Honestly, most of what they thought they knew about the UK is from Harry Potter.
Visiting the Warner Brothers Studio Tour was suggested by friends and it was the perfect excursion outside central London for the day. It’s where all eight Harry Potter movies were filmed over a decade. It’s clear the connection the kids have to the sets and artifacts when I consider how much time and attention was given compared to the art at the Tate Modern. Perhaps an appreciation for the latter will come later.
I highly recommend the tour if you love Harry Potter like we do.
