Final Thoughts on an Epic Trip - Lynette and family interviews

I can't believe we are on our final day of our three-month family world trip.  We've covered seven countries across two continents and learned how to say thank you in five languages.  We've also spent an extraordinary amount of time on various transports including planes, boats, traines, buses, subways and transit systems around the world.  One thing I feel confident in is that the kids will be able to dive in and figure out how to competently navigate public transport anywhere in the future (especially with our good friend Google Maps).    

I really appreciate the wonderful travelers that both kids have been.  They've been enthusiastic explorers with great attitudes, curiosity, enjoyment, and appreciation.  I think we're all ready to go home now, but it's been a wonderful adventure. 

Interviewing each family member, here are some of the highlights across this journey:

What have been your favorite things?

Mark: Overall, definitely my time with you and the kids.  I loved my time with Talia and teasing her.  The time to build relationships with my family and of course, keeping my wife happy (by doing this trip).  The coolest thing for me, for Peyton, was the wrestling practices in Japan.  That time was valuable and provided good insights into the culture.  There are lots of people who take trips and don’t get much out of them other than a lot of fun.  In Japan, we got to see how kids worked and interacted and how differently Japanese wrestling rooms were run compared to the US.  The kids there were focused, without selfishness, and were really good kids.

Talia: My favorite activities were definitely TeamLab Planets; Taipei 101; swimming in oceans, lakes, and pools and being on beaches; the monkey park; getting cool souvenirs; wearing the kimono; and the via ferrata.  Everything was super fun, but those were my top big things.  I had two favorite locations: Geneva and Pietra Ligure.  Geneva because of the really fun obstacle course by the lake and swimming in the lake and the pool.  We had a great view of the jet d’eau and I loved staying with Nalinee.  Her cooking was amazing and the gelato was great too.  Pietra Ligure because I like the pool, the actual hotel itself is really nice with a good view of the sea, and going on the beach.  I love it – it’s amazing!  My favorite foods from the trip were dumplings, gelato, pasta, pizza, chicken cordon blue, tortellini, ravioli, and Nalinee’s Thai chicken.

Peyton: My favorites were the Via Ferrata, monkeys, water skiing, and seeing the Colosseum.  My favorite country was Italy since we did a lot of different activities and visited a number of different places.  

Lynette: My favorite country was Taiwan.  Perhaps this is influenced by it being our first country or due to the connection with having lived there as a child, but I loved Taiwan.  I found Taipei to be an incredibly livable city that was easy to get around and transition from city to outdoor activities.  I loved the architecture of modern buildings alongside traditional temples and the excitement of the festivals with dragon dancing and fireworks. For myself, I loved hiking in the pouring rain in Taiwan to find a temple in a cave, climbing the via ferrata in Italy and exploring the monkey park in Kyoto.  For the reactions from the kids, I loved seeing Peyton’s face when he saw the Colosseum for the first time.  We really benefited from both kids having studied Ancient Rome in school.  Peyton's eyes when he realized the Colosseum he had learned about was a block in front of him in person was priceless.  The other super high point was seeing Talia’s excitement the day we rented the kimono for her.  Other high points were both kids' reactions in the spa hotel in Taiwan and with the monkeys in Kyoto.  

What surprised you?  

Mark:  My biggest surprise was how little time I had.  I thought I would have more time on vacation, but I had less time than at home to take care of things.  We spent more time than I anticipated on grocery shopping, other mundane things, and super long travel days.  Geneva was a more subdued city than I expected and Taiwan reminded me of slightly more advanced, less fun Thailand.

Talia: I saw pictures of lots of things ahead of time, so I knew what to expect.  My biggest surprise was that I thought the via ferrata was going to be very different – I thought it would be like Sandy Springs (an adventure park) or traversing around the rock near the ground.  I learned alot about the world and different cultures.  For instance, in Taiwan and Japan, you're supposed to wear slippers in the house – not shoes and not barefeet.  I was surprised how clean the streets in Taiwan and Japan were; that there was a lot of smoking in other countries; and that you can sit in a restaurant for hours after your meal or drink (in the US you order, eat, pay and leave; here you can stay as long as you want).  

Peyton: I didn’t think we would see Luca and Uncle Aca.  I was surprised how much our plan for traveling changed.  I thought it would be set, but we changed stuff to be better as we went.  

Lynette: Planning was a lot more intensive than I anticipated and I spent an incredible amount of time on the trip researching locations and setting up logistics.  I expected to be able to be more spontaneous than we could be.  One thing I found interesting was the big differences in how trash/recycling were dealt with in each country.  Across the board, every country recycled a lot more than we did, but I did wonder how much of what was sorted actually made it to being recycled.  In Taiwan and Italy, we sorted out organic waste; in Japan it was combustible waste that was sorted out.  My favorite was Taiwan where the garbage trucks came by between 9 and 9:15 pm blaring music like our ice cream trucks to let everyone know to bring out their bags and put them directly into the backs of the trucks.  They also required pre-paid bags for trash (but not recycling) so that people were incentivized to minimize the trash they needed to throw out. One of the benefits of primarily staying in airbnbs, was seeing a different side of city life.  

What are you looking forward to with going home?

Mark:  Getting workouts in, trying to eat better and meeting up with friends more often.  

Talia:  Seeing my friends, seeing my family, going shopping, wearing different clothes that I haven’t seen for three months, having my own room, being in our house, and having all my stuff. It was very, very, very fun.

Peyton: I'm looking forward to seeing my friends again.  I wouldn’t have wanted to go for more time. It was the right amount of time, but I'm ready to go home. 

Lynette: Making a conscious effort to connect with family and friends.