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.

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.

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.

There’s a lot of the world for all of us to explore. We departed for London on the first day of summer vacation for a starter Europe trip. We arrived early in the morning and it did seem like a long way to come for chicken and waffles.

It was too early to check in, so we thought a Big Bus double-decker tour would be a good way to see some sights. This turned out to be a bad idea for a number of reasons. First, within a few minutes of waiting for the first bus, Grace appeared to be an easy mark for a guy dressed head-to-toe in black on an e-bike. He was coming straight for us on the sidewalk and then tried to snatch Grace’s phone right from her hands. Lucky for him he was unsuccessful because Olivia and I spent the rest of the day plotting our revenge.

Due to jet lag, face-melting heat, and occasional hunger, the absorption rate of history, arts, and general tourism was very, very low. It’s starting to cool and we’re getting adjusted. Some highlights so far were red phone booths, Covent Garden, and dinner at Dishoom.

We’re gearing up for a double-dose of culture tomorrow.

Plan B for spring break was a last minute change from a week in LA. Five days in Maui was just enough time for the kids to enjoy spring break, especially as school has been a bit of grind. This was our first time staying at this resort, though Steve and Vickie were married here 21 years ago.

It’s true the White Lotus music played in my mind when I recognized different scenes and artifacts. The kids hadn’t seen it so they have no clue. We had no agenda on this trip and Lucas and I arrived a little under the weather. Any ambitions of snorkeling Molokini, scaling Haleakala, or zip lining faded quickly. For such a short trip, I’m totally cool with just hanging out.

Although we made the most of the ocean, pool, and wonderful food at the resort, mistakes were made. The lessons learned were: you can’t spend hours at a mall with 12 stores; Tommy Bahamas is the Bubba Gumps of Hawaii; no matter how good Morimotos is, 8:15pm island time is too late for dinner.

Olivia’s close friend and family from school were staying at their home nearby and they were very kind to invite us for lunch. Olivia and Grace were lucky to have spent a few days at the end of last summer at their home. We all went to Ululani’s Hawaiian Shave Ice, which was the best treat of the trip.

We made the most of our last day by trying boogie boarding. I scorpioned on my first ride and was badly damaged. Olivia, Lucas and Grace got some great rides, even if their facial expressions don’t match their true emotions. We had one last buffet to power us through the long trip home.

I’m so glad we took this trip as great memories were made and we’re still able to enjoy traveling together.

We were going to spend the week in Los Angeles for spring break, spending time with LA grandparents and uncle Dave. We were also going to use the opportunity to see some LA-area colleges for Olivia, but it turns out she’s not (currently) interested in those schools. In any case, we were overdue for a visit.

We stayed in Century City and some highlights included:

• Dinner at Chosun Galbee
• Lunch at Ann & Jeremy’s beautiful new home
• First ride ever in any Italian sports car
• First (and possibly last) hot pot experience