If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter at all, you know I’ve been travelling this summer. In a fit of insanity, my husband and I planned an entire summer spent in Europe – WITH our three children. 
It started with 2.5 weeks in Germany. We participate in a home exchange group and a German family contacted us and wanted to swap for a couple of weeks. We agreed.
About a fifth of the way up
Then we thought while we’re there, we should visit the old country (the man is Ukrainian). We started telling our friends abroad that we were coming to their side of the pond, and the invitations started rolling in. Then the kids started making requests.
If you’re going to be in Germany, may as well go to Paris for a few days and fulfill your 13-year-old daughter’s greatest dream, right? While she’s still young enough to want to travel with her parents… If she gets to pick a place, why don’t the other two get to choose one?
And on it went until it had turned into a 9 week monstrosity of a trip. I arranged another home exchange in England and settled everything with friends in various countries and we were off!
First stop: SCOTLAND
One of my old friends lives near Glasgow and she loves to hike. So early one Saturday morning, we packed the boys off to the lake for a fishing/boat trip, and we took my girls to Ben Aan. She assured me this would be an easy hike and I could handle it without problem.
I’m convinced she’s trying to kill me.
View from the top
My 7-year-old put us all to shame with the way she leapt and ran over rocks, up inclines, and back again to tell us to come see whatever she had found ahead. It would have been funny if I had had the capacity for humor.
This is what too exhausted to eat a sandwich looks like.
My legs were shaking and my lungs were burning by the time we got to the summit, but the view was spectacular. We oohed and ahhed, took photos, and found an obliging rock to sit on while we ate our packed lunches: sandwiches, apples, and cheese sticks. It was one of my more enjoyable picnics.
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Wow! What an amazing trip you are having! And how brave you are 😳. You are lucky not to be in Scotland now as I believe they are having a little rain 😱.
I love seeing photos of people’s travels so thank you for sharing yours. I’ll be sorry when your trip ends (although maybe then you will get back to writing another great book?)
Take care.
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It’s been amazing and hectic and crazy and super fun all in one. We’re moving into the slower paced part of the trip now and I’ll admit I’m relieved. 🙂 Thanks for reading!
What a wonderful adventure … even the exhausting climb amd semi-enjoyed picnic. Thanks for let us share the experience (from an easy chair). This is something you all will remember the rest of your lives and probably ignited the’ fire of discovery’ in the children. Courage follows the words ‘shall we?’ and ‘yes, lets’..
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I completely agree! Why not go see something amazing? There’s so much to see in the world!
Sounds like an amazing trip, Elizabeth. Looking forward to reading more about it. We walked up to the summit of Ben Nevis many years ago. It was in the clouds when we got there, so it was cold and wet in addition to feeling exactly as you did. Oh, and we were on our honeymoon, too!
Author
Sounds grand and exhausting! Luckily, we had fairly clear skies. But I don’t want to do it again any time soon!
Energetic daughters and beautiful shots of the scenery !
Author
They are so energetic! I feel so old and tired in comparison!
I love the photos. Wow! Youth and energy… I wish we could bottle half of our energy when we were younger and use it now that we are older. I would love half of my former strength and stamina. Oh, well. Travel while you can and you will have fond memories when you are older. That was the advice given to us when we first married. We listened and we now have no regrets as senior citizens. This was a delightful post.
Author
Thanks! I think that is excellent advice and I am attempting to do just that. Even though I have to fight the man on it occasionally. 🙂
How lovely! I’m envious. I am dying to get back to England and this time expand my travels to Scotland, Wales, and maybe even Ireland!