humor
Between language barriers, culture wars, and strange people at the airport, your trip is bound to be rife with laughter.
From Paris With Love
Sunday, March 27, 2014, Easter morning. Stephanie surprised me with an Easter basket just like she always does for our children. Nestled into the fake, plastic grass in my little basket, under the Reese's Pieces, under the little foil-wrapped chocolate footballs, was a home pregnancy test. It read positive! Her thoughtfulness and cleverness never fails to put mine to shame. It was a wonderful way to learn of our second child’s arrival. Over the next few days, or maybe weeks, we troubled over when and how we wanted to inform our loved ones of the news. We knew we wanted to stick with the philosophy we followed for our first child; we would wait until the second trimester and the “all looks healthy” nod from her doctor. The problem was, we were booked to be in Europe at the time of her next check-up. We arranged with the doctor to be seen right before we left for London, only about two week’s difference. This would give us the assurance we desired to prudently make the announcement. And over the next few months, we brainstormed inventive ways to reveal the news to the world. At one point we thought we’d just tell our respective parents over Skype from one of the countries we’d be in. That idea seemed too lazy and lame to both of us, so we scrapped it and determined to keep thinking. On the flight across the pond, I was giving the matter much thought, then I said, “It has to be Paris.” She readily agreed. But how? What method? With us on this trip were about 30 teenaged students plus some of their parents who all knew Stephanie and adored her like a favorite aunt. She was an International Baccalaureate English teacher at their high school, and the majority of them were students in the IB program. She is now the program coordinator. Each of them was emotionally invested to some degree in her well-being and our relationship as well, some heavily, others only slightly less so. We are still very close to a few of them and their parents to this day.
By M. Keith DeVilling3 years ago in Wander
A Voyage to the Most Romantic Cities in the World for Valentine's Day 2023!
A Voyage to the Most Romantic Cities in the World for Valentine's Day! Paris, France Venice, Italy A romantic canal cruise and gondola ride. Santorini, Greece Rome, Italy Bruges, Belgium Prague, Czech Republic
By Suresh Natarajan3 years ago in Wander
Starting out from Hove to Brighton - Part 1
When the great writer Daniel Defoe visited what we now know as Brighton while writing his "A Tour Through the Whole Island of Britain" during the first quarter of the 18th century it was called "Bright Helmston" or more commonly "Bredhempston". He described it as:
By Alan Russell3 years ago in Wander
Overland 3: Seeing Angels
Somebody saw an angel. It was slightly blurry, but still. We heard about it the next day during our break after the lunch rush. Lucy, John and I poured ourselves coffee then slid into one of the wood booths of the empty restaurant. Lucy whispered.
By Vivian R McInerny3 years ago in Wander
The Winner-Not!
At 11 a.m. my phone rang. I immediately picked up as I was waiting for a call from an exterminator. At 8:00 a.m. I had called Joe the Terminator, his idea of a clever play on words, to take care of a mouse problem. His answering service said he would get right back to me. That was three hours ago. I waited impatiently while the rodent had the run of the house.
By Mark Gagnon3 years ago in Wander
Avoiding Trouble in Rome, Italy
Listen, I love Rome. I really do but now that we’re free to travel again, I have to fill you in on what to expect from the Eternal City. Masochists will love Rome. So will anybody else drawn to stress and anxiety. Don’t get me wrong, Rome has a lot of things going for it. Historical buildings, pizza, magnificent museums, pizza, stunning churches, pizza. Did I say pizza? Over nine million tourists a year visit the city and, for the most part, Rome is prepared. Yet there are a few trouble spots that can turn a Roman holiday into a Roman nightmare.
By John Thomson3 years ago in Wander
Getting Over the Fear of Going
Imagine, the moment has arrived. You’ve finally packed up the car, left the job you couldn’t stand and are about to begin an adventure that has been years in the making. It's about to happen, the key is in the ignition, but suddenly- you’re stunned with fear. The question “What the hell am I doing?” reverberates through your mind, and it paralyzes you. On September 15, 2022, that moment came for me.
By Emelia Beam3 years ago in Wander
