The BEST Travel Agent!

I have the absolute best travel agent.   Hands down, no questions asked, not in the running, not almost, but THE best.  I love him.  I mean I really, really love him.  Over the past four years my travel agent has booked our family vacations to over 16 different countries.  He has put us on buses, trains, segways, bobsleds, skis, and boats.  He knows how to keep a family with three teenagers happy, even when looking at pottery in Poland.  Yup...he is the best.  Sorry though, he is exclusively mine.  My travel agent is Jim, my awesome husband!

Four years ago when Jim asked us if we wanted to move overseas, we were all so excited for the opportunity to be able to travel, see the world, or as many parts of it as our time and budget would allow.  As our expat adventure is coming to an end, we have been spending lots of time reliving our favorite trips.  We are laughing about our favorite and not-so-favorite hotels, restaurants, and outdoor adventures.  Not one trip would any of us describe as bad.  Not one trip would we wish we would have skipped.  Amazingly enough we all agree that we have been very blessed and are very fortunate to have seen so much.  We also agree that Daddy is an amazing trip planner.

This blog contains lots and lots of pictures.  It is my own personal record of the wheres and whens, just in case time sneaks in and tries to make me forget.

August 2008 -  Arrive in Holland.  We lived in a small town, Wassenaar.  It was just outside of Den Haag.

During our October break in 2008, Jim took us to London, Stonehenge, and Cornwall.  We took the Harry Potter Tour, celebrated Sarah's birthday at Longleat and went up in the London Eye.

For Christmas break, 2008, Jim thought it would be great for the kids to learn how to ski and/or snowboard.  We headed to the French Alps (where else?)!  

In February we took a quick trip to Brugge, Belgium.  It was a short ride from home and beautiful.  We had a great time in their ice village. 

 

Spring break in April took us to Normandy.  Sarah and I did NOT want to go; I mean it was all going to be war stuff, right?  Jim pushed through the plans and assured us we would have a great time.  Hate to admit it (ever!), but he was right!  We loved Normandy. 

After our two summer months in the US, we were back in Holland, excited to see what dad had planned next!  For our October break, we headed to Prague.  It was awesome!  We went on segway tours of the city, went bobsledding, and took a detour over to Poland for mom to buy some pottery!  

 Christmas break took us to Rome.  It was just amazing.  This trip definitely ranks in the top three of the Chew family vacations!

 For spring break in April, we headed to Paris.  Jim took a small detour back to Holland for business, so the kids and I forced ourselves to take in EuroDisney!  We LOVE Mickey!

We took another whirlwind summer trip  home, Chicago, Rhode Island, and of course, Texas.  When we returned to Holland, we had just a few short weeks to get the house in order and head east - Middle East that is.  We moved to Dubai in August, 2010.   The summer was hot and it was Eid, so we really could not do that much exploring.  The kids and I took diving lessons and all became certified divers.  We could now add one more activity to the list of things we could do with Daddy!

We had a sudden change in the school calendar and found ourselves with a free week in November.  Jim announced we would be heading to Kenya.  I can not even begin to describe this trip.  We stayed in the most amazing resort with individual cabins (I can't think of a better word) built right into the hillside.  We went on several game drives and our own driver was amazed that we saw so much.  Animals he hadn't seen in months came out for us.  Not sure how Jim arranged that!  

In December we took a trip to Jordan.  It was amazing!  We walked through Petra for hours, floated in the Dead Sea and were able to stand on the very spot where Jesus was baptized.   Perfect Christmas holiday.

Sarah, Brian, and I toured Dubai over our spring break while Jim was working and Kevin was in Sri Lanka with the Habitat for Humanity.  After our two month holiday in the States, we stopped in Barcelona for some much needed family time.  Felt like we hadn't been together on a trip in SO long!   Barcelona was great, although the image of the naked old man on the beach has been burned into Sarah's memory forever! 

Our next school break was at Christmas.  We loaded up the cars, gave Kevin some 'road time' behind the wheel, and headed to Oman.  It was beautiful.  Kevin met up with an old friend he knew in Holland who now lives in Oman.  The rest of us took an amazing dolphin watching boat ride.  Beautiful resort and wonderful family time once again.

Our final expat vacation will be to Edinburgh, Scotland.  When we board the plane after that, the final stop will be Houston, Texas; more commonly called Home.  

While my wonderful travel agent has truly shown us so many amazing places, through school sports, field trips (yes, field trips - Week Without Walls they are called), and a few side trips, one or more of us have had the opportunity to visit Norway, Sweden, Denmark,  Luxembourg, Germany, India, Tanzania, Croatia, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, Qatar, Portugal, Lebanon, and Singapore.

Thank you to my sweet husband and awesome travel agent.  What a gift you have given to your family.  We can't wait to see what is next....no pressure!!! 

Love Always....