sweaty old friends

We have ended up in Chiang Mai at the same time as some of our great friends from home and have plans to explore a few places in northern Thailand together. It is so great to be with people who really love you when you are sweating like a beast. We must be drinking at least 10 litres of water/family/day. It is unbelievable the feeling of constantly being wet with sweat. As we talked today we came up with many terms for all of the areas that we were sweating from and maybe I'll just leave the rest to your imagination.

With our sweaty old friends we checked out the first day of the Thailand International Balloon Festival at a local golf course. The large green space meant the kids could run, and move. We participated in some crafts, watched balloons, used faulty trampolines, ate, danced and I even won a free night in a fancy hotel here, and we have babysitters!

Needless to say we are tired, so please enjoy a few photos from today. By the way if we look cool, we aren't, the sweat is always on.

walking the walk

We arrived in London on one of the hottest days of the year jet-lagged and laden with heavy bags. As we wove our way from Heathrow to Herne Hill I was painfully aware of the lack of enthusiasm my rural, car-driven children were exhibiting towards walking...
But after ten days of London the children's strength has improved. While they thoroughly enjoyed all modes of London transport from overland train to tube to black cab to double-decker bus today they didn't even notice as we walked and walked and walked.

wait, is that one 'art' too?

After our success at the Museum of Natural History yesterday - think of the woolly mammoth that has been frightening kids in Victoria at the RBCM for decades, only a life-sized T-Rex that actually moves, and you get the idea - we wanted to push on with some more sights today.

land of everchanging fog

We are in Tofino, a four or five hour drive from Victoria BC, on the westcoast of Vancouver Island. Out here on the Pacific coast the weather changes by the moment, it will go from dense intense fog to sunny and warm in the same hour.

We stay on Chesterman Beach and recommend this trip to any one visiting Canada! The beach is virtually empty and children can run for miles, collect shells and play in the surf. Wetsuits will be needed for long stays in the ocean and can be rented easily once you are here. Tofino, the town itself, is cute with lots of local food, beer and gelato. A foodie haven. Definitely bring your groceries with you because you are paying more to have them driven out here if you buy them at the grocery store.

kid food

My kids are pretty good eaters. But a lot of people are asking me what they will eat once we get away from the western fare. I hope they will eat what we eat. It will be an adventure watching them try new things they can't pronounce, because I really believe that eating local cusiine around the world is a huge part of the experience, for adults too. My plan is not to try to find pizza in every corner of the world.

toronto

Just back from visiting friends in Toronto, Ontario. I haven't been to the city in over fifteen years (long before kids) and I was pleasantly surprised to discover parts of the city with a slower pace in mind. As the purpose of the visit was to meet the new baby of friends - I got to enjoy lots of nature strolls right out their city door. The trails in this park were filled with families on bikes heading to the farmer's market, toddlers wandering down tree lined-lanes and lots of friendly people.