The Suttons

As we’re sitting at the Calgary airport, we’re feeling all the feelings! We’re sad to leave but overwhelmingly thankful and at the same time happy to get home. Sad to leave behind our traveling busyness that’s taken us to 10 countries, 4800 kilometers (3,000 miles), over mountains, to the sea, through busy cities, and to quaint villages.  Simultaneously we are overwhelmed by how thankful we feel to have had the opportunity to do this trip. The privilege of it all is not lost on us, especially the luxury to have such a big chunk of time together. The precious commodity of time is a gift that we hope to not take for granted.  While feeling sad to be done, we are also happy to go home. We miss our own beds and unlimited showers and our little house on Mulberry. We love where we live and are excited to see our friends and talk to our family. We’re not sure if we’re ready for the reality of getting back to school or work yet, but thankfully we still have some time before that....

Our last day finally came. We knew it would come, and in some ways it feels like it came too quickly but in other ways it feels like we’ve been here forever. We started our last morning in Paris with a delicious breakfast at the cutest, hip coffee shop that the Timocks had found. After delicious and unique waffles, we took pictures and then got our bags and headed to the airport.    I had hoped to update the blog while we were at the Paris airport since we got there three hours before our flight but the WestJet lines were ridiculously long. Our flight was delayed by two hours because all passengers were stuck in the boarding pass line for three and a half hours. Then security took forever but we were with all of the passengers on the same flight so they delayed the plane instead of dealing with all of us that would’ve missed our flight. Whew, that felt lucky. So after five hours of waiting we finally took off. The flight was smooth and we landed in Canada last night. This morn...

Wow, what a whirlwind past few days we’ve had!  Our European adventure ended with a big treat — to spend time in Paris with the Timocks! So it was super busy but the most fun ever! I’m making one post for a fun filled four days since I got so behind focusing on our time with them.  On Saturday  we drove fast and early to get to get there! We hastily checked in to our campsite, freshened up, and went about 20 minutes by Uber into the historic city center.  We met the Timocks around 3:30 on Rue Cler, a picturesque street near the Eiffel Tower. We had a late lunch and ice cream and strolled the streets, ending up at the famous shopping street, the  Champs-Élysées. We did some shopping, strolling, and sightseeing before eating dinner where almost everyone tried escargot! What a fun day! Sunday we met them around 10:00 and enjoyed pastries after they had an adventurous ride through Paris on bike and scooter rentals. They have a fun story from that! We headed for...

Not too much to share from today (July 1st). We left our Corsican campsite early to catch our ferry. Today's ferry, the Mega Regina, was a little larger ship, and seemed much nicer to us. We found our cabin to be perfect for what we needed for a nine hour ride. It had four bunk beds and a window looking out on the sea. Thankfully we were all able to rest and relax.  After the ferry, we drove as far as we could so we don’t have to drive as far tomorrow. The final destination of our journey is Paris again. And this time we’re excited that we get to be there with the Timocks! So we drove as far as we could and ended up sleeping in a rest area made for campervans. France has these spread out along their major highways. A perfect stop for folks on the go! 

Today was Beach Day #2! We followed a similar rhythm as we did yesterday. A slow morning, drive to a beautiful beach, then back to the campsite for more relaxation and beach time.  We went to Plage de Cupabia, another beach on our list to find. We were not disappointed! The water was so turquoise and clear! The waves were not strong today so it made for a perfect day for snorkeling. We all swam pretty far out from shore and spent most of our time snorkeling between large rocks in calm water. The water was so clear, we could see the bottom. The boys, being the little fish that they are, explored for hours and found a variety of kinds of fish.  There wasn’t shade on this beach, so we were thankful that we bought a beach umbrella. The sand was hot so we spent most of our time in the water. But we did have a little time to relax on the beach and listen to the waves. Then we headed to eat at the restaurant down the shore before driving back to our campsite.  After we cleaned ...

Today (June 29th) was beach day #1! Our own campsite isn’t right on the water but the campgrounds have their own beach just a short walk from us. It’s great but we decided to find one of the most beautiful beaches in Corsica that we had read about before coming. So after a slow morning enjoying our coffee, we set out down a precarious, narrow road through the mountains on the peninsula. We’ve driven on a lot of crazy roads but this one wins the narrowest award, and when we finished the narrow paved road we went down a steep dirt road to the beach that we definitely shouldn’t have been on. But oh well! We made it and it was well worth it! This beach was stunning with large waves, turquoise waters, and light colored sand. We found a little spot tucked between large rocks where we could be kinda by ourselves. It was a perfect spot to eat a picnic, read, swim, and snorkel.  After a few hours, we drove back to our campsite and lazily relaxed. After a dinner of bratwurst and fresh bread,...

Corsica is beautiful! The mountains are big and the beaches are long! We only stayed last night in our campsite in the north. We’re staying our other three nights in the south so after the grocery store, we got on the road.  First stop was two hours away in the mountains, to Cascades du Polischellu (waterfalls of the Polischellu river). It was a great find! After a small hike, we were at a pool of cold fresh water under a waterfall! We all swam and ended up staying there a couple of hours. There were a few other people there but not many. A tour group went down the waterfall like a slide but they had helmets and a guide to help them so we opted not to do that. The boys jumped off a rock instead and we all swam a lot. After being so hot in Rome, it felt good to be cold! The drive through the mountains was beautiful, too! There are small towns clustered on hillsides, tall trees, and lots of green vegetation. Then we drove another hour to our campsite area in the south of Corsica...

Not much to share from today! We drove a few hours to Livorno, Italy to catch our ferry, the Mega Andrea. It was just a four hour ferry so we opted to not get a cabin, thinking that there would be a game room, multiple restaurants, and a pool. But those were still closed from Covid and the only restaurant open was very crowded. So we, like everyone else that didn’t purchase a cabin, found a place in the common space hallways to sit and read. It really was a fine way to pass the time. But we’ve already booked a cabin on our next ferry so that we are more comfortable for a nine hour journey! We arrived in Corsica at 7:00 and went straight to our first campsite, only 15 minutes away. We went directly to the beach and enjoyed a picnic dinner while the boys splashed in the waves. They love the ocean! It was another high reward evening after a long travel day! 

Rome was H.O.T.  That’s the summary from today. It was 100 degrees and humid and there was just barely relief from it in the shade. Today was a big day for the boys though, with a visit to the colosseum and ancient ruins. So we laughed it off and drank lots of water to make it though. We started our morning with Capitoline Hill and the Capitoline Museum. There were so many beautiful paintings, ancient statues, and a gorgeous view of the Rome skyline.  After pizza and gelato for lunch, we walked around the imperial forum, taking our time to admire the ruins while reading information about what we were looking at. It’s hard to believe that you can be looking at structures from 80AD! We then walked to the colosseum to admire it from the outside. It is truly a wonder! We rested with drinks and more gelato before our ticket time for entering the colosseum. Inside, we did the Rick Steves audio guide and admired the history of this magnificent structure. The boy’s marveled at the siz...