7 Months Abroad: The Good, The Hard, and the Practical

In January, we pulled our kids out of school, said goodbye to our house, and climbed onto a plane headed east. Seven months later, we’re back.

Where did we go? What was it like? Why did we do it- and why might you do it?

Where we were

Portugal: Lisbon, Algarve - 3 weeks
Spain: Sevilla - 1 month
Sicily: East coast, Cefalu - 3 weeks
France: Aix-en-Provence, Montpellier, Paris, Annecy - 3 months
Austria: Attersee - 3 weeks
UK: Bath - 1 month
Ireland: Dingle - 3 weeks

Silhouette of a child running along a beach at sunset with hills across the water

Girl in pink climbing a stone ruin on a grassy headland above the sea and islands

Woman walking hand in hand with a boy and a girl down a tree-lined gravel path

Child looking up at the lit-up Eiffel Tower at dusk

Three kids sitting on a log on a hilltop overlooking a French town

Child at the edge of an infinity pool above the sea, with a snow-capped volcano on the horizon

Three kids at a railing looking at waves, a beach, and golden cliffs

Man with a backpack walking a country path with two boys in football kits

Small girl at a railing under ornate arches, looking out over a pond in a park

Boy and girl playing on a sunny gravel square with trees and a house behind

Man with two kids on a street lined with orange trees and a colorful building

Two kids walking down stone steps toward a turquoise cove beneath rocky cliffs

One Trip in 3 posts

If you’ve ever considered a big trip, these three posts are my take on the experience. Let’s take it in reverse-Clint-Eastwood order: first the practical, then the hard, and finally the good.

Part 1 — The Practical
Visas. Costs. School. How to disappear.

Part 2 — The Hard
Loneliness. Craziness. “Purpleness”.

Part 3 — The Good

The big things. The small. The years we have.

Western movie-style poster of a cowboy in a poncho, titled Seven Months in Europe: The Good, The Hard, Practical

7 Months Abroad: The Good, The Hard, and the Practical

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