In 2017, our family of five (3 kids ages 9, 8 and 6 at the time) embarked on a global adventure for one year. My husband and I decided to home school our children and take them on a journey of world exploration -- exposing them to various cultures, people, food, religions and everything else in between. Grateful for this privilege and our amazing experience.
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| Exploring Venice, Italy on the waterways |
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. -- Mark Twain
I had planned the first three months of our trip to Europe when we were still in the States, hitting the countries of France, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Croatia.
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| Roman Amphitheatre in Nimes, France |
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| Breathtaking views of the Alhambra in Granada, Spain from our airBnB |
The next leg of our trip, Southeast Asia, was mapped out and researched as our family was traveling through Europe, as well as while we were on the go in Asia. For those five months of traveling through SE Asia, we visited Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Hong Kong and the Philippines.
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| Islands off of Krabi, Thailand |
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| Floating in basket boats in Hoi An, Vietnam |
New Zealand was our final destination overseas, road tripping both the North and South Islands for two incredible months.
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| One of our many "tramps" in Cape Foulwind, New Zealand |
When returning back to the U.S., we toured the western seaboard from Los Angeles to Seattle, then Colorado, and finally the eastern seaboard from Tampa, Florida all the way to New Gloucester, Maine!
Since that trip abroad a few years ago, our family is no longer traveling full time, and have since settled down with our home base in "Colorful Colorado"; however, we have continued our travels to England, Germany and Mexico.
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| Gorgeous beaches in the Algarve, southern part of Portugal |
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| Visiting a Buddhist temple in Singapore |
Do you have questions about international travel? Which cities or countries are great for exploring with your family? Need assistance in creating an itinerary? How to book for accommodations and in a particular area?
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| Biking along the Tagus River in Lisbon, Portugal |
I know so many of you think and dream about it, but may not have enough time to plan or may not have ventured out far from your own home -- but are just really itching to go and just don’t know where to start. Or it could be that you are content on going to the same place of travel year after year, and the thought of going somewhere new and the unknown may possibly scare you.
One thing’s for certain -- travel is life changing. It broadens your perspective. Love this quote I saw --
Your view of life grows bigger the farther you are from home.
Would love to share my travel experiences and insights with you, and maybe inspire another family to just get out and go. Who knows.. You may just get hooked and develop a passion for travel like our family, the WanderDings.
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| Cruising around in beautiful Lake Annecy, France |
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