A family travel blog meant to track our family goals and to inspire the world that anyone with vision backed with SMART goals are meant to have their dreams come to a reality!
"Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bow lines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." - Mark Twain
Turkish Father + Filipina (Pinay) Mother = 3 Turknoys!
To make family relationship more complicated albeit very interesting, Turknoys are bi-cultural global nomads living in the Middle East with two working parents who want to embark on the world of travel, homeschooling and entrepreneurship.
It's now or never!
Two religion, three places we call "home". One faith. One passion.
One very explicit goal: To travel together as family and explore 100 countries for the next 10 years.
Let the decade of exploring and discovering begins...
“Nobody goes undefeated. If you can pick up after a crushing defeat and go on to win again, you are going to be a champion someday.“– Kumar Sangakkara
Sri Lanka, “The Pearl of the Indian Ocean.” Our family hailing from another “pearl” country, The Pearl of the Orient – Philippines, concur with all our guts!
When we first arrived in Sri Lanka, we were immediately reminded of the Philippines weather, if not for the monkeys and the right-side driver seat! The tropical weather and the sea-breeze humidity reminded us of home. The plant species diversity is almost exactly the same. Maybe even for the animal species, except for the elephant and as we have mentioned, already, those cute, adorable, cheeky local monkeys! Mommies and babies – cheeky monkeys Elephants! Not our first elephant ride.. but our last – because we learned to treat animals with compassion – things we learn when we travel with our eyes wide open!
Pearls symbolize innocence, love, perfection and purity. And these two pearl countries are just that, both in a positive and not-so-positive way!
Innocence, love, perfection and purity which can be interpreted by kindness and sadly, naiveté. The sign of submission to conquerors by all locals are recognizable from a fellow “conquered” mentality. The Dutch/British influence is everywhere as much as the Spanish/American influence is everywhere in the Philippines. Yet, the cry for country’s own identity can be heard and seen in all aspects of their day-to-day life like the very obvious mode of transportation, Tuktuk and Jeepney. Royalty Car during the colonial times! Studying herbal medicine , which we are pretty sure also available in Philippines
It is very funny how two countries can be so different yet everything can remind us of home – Places of worships, infrastructure (or the lack of it), palaces, food, pure and pristine beach, hospitality and sports! Old Palace by the Kandy Lake
Exploring and Loving Buddhist Temple
Sri Lanka is our Pearl in the Indian Ocean, the people with their perseverance for a better life as individuals and as a nation, will always be champion-in-the making for us! Slowly yet surely. Preferably, while enjoying their organic, pure tea straight from their best-class-in-the-world tea plantations!
To date, we have already visited four cities in Sri Lanka – Kagelle, Colombo, Kandy and Sigirya. The first three cities with kids and we had a great time with the elephants, temples, beaches and food! We visited Sigiriya as a mum-dad quality time together and it was fabulous! Sigiriya Rock or Lions Rock viewed from Pidurangala Rock
We intend to come back to Sri Lanka! There are just way too many things to explore which may lead us to better appreciate our home countries. It is very close to Middle East countries, and we now understand why this country is the favorite holiday destination of the local and expatriates residence of Qatar and even UAE.
Sri Lanka and perfect tea time, makes perfect sense to us!
“To travel, to experience and learn, that is to live.” – Tenzing Norgay
Nepal is beautiful country. With the country’s majestic landscape, the country has more to offer than any countries of Europe we’ve been to. Add in the Mt. Everest, nothing less than the tallest mountain in the world, to explore, to conquer, to use as magnificent backdrop, or to just admire the wonder of nature at its best! It is no surprise that there are a lot of tourists visiting the country, no matter the season.
our favorite landscape photo!
waking up to this for several mornings is serenity!
Nepal is different to our eyes. Instead of churches or mosques, there would be Hinduism temples. There are holy cows (no pun intended) freely roaming everywhere in the country. Holy people basking in the sun, conquering the feat of being holy. It is refreshing to see a new perspective on religion, while enjoying the Himalayas. It is humbling and interesting experience of all family members.
One of the Hindu Temple
Pashupathinath Temple where they cremate Hindus when they die
Ten days in the country left us in huge awe with lots of questions about our lives’ priorities. We didn’t see huge mansions or tall buildings yet most of the houses have open rooftops to be able to view the Himalayas freely, probably with a cup of coffee or tea. What a blessing it is to be able to look at the world’s highest peak any given time! Yes, there are no luxury cars, fancy houses or maybe even state of the art appliances and expensive furniture! But who really is richer? Uhhmm, that is a rhetorical question for someone who has wisdom. To experience nature is to live. To actually see beauty of nature in this purest form is to be alive happily! This makes traveling to Nepal worth everybody’s while.
We visited four major cities in the country, Kathmandu, Pokhara, Nagarkot and Patan.
Kathmandu – Three lovely days of Hinduism, Buddhism, Temples and Local Living
posing with the Hindus Holy Men
Going to Pokhara to Kathmandu, we followed the land route. We instantly regretted this when we saw two trucks falling off the road, and our local driver nodding it off like it’s the most normal event in the world – “The land route “normally” have two or three accidents daily.” Well, it was not in the tourist information! I don’t remember the kids huddled so closed together for the remaining four hours of our land journey!
Pokhara – Hello Annapurna for Two Days!
by the Phewa Lake, Pokhara overlooking Annapurnasuch carefree joy by the lake!
Nagarkot – Four beautiful days of enjoying the sunrise and sunset with Himalayas as backdrop
We feasted our eyes waking up the majestic nature scenery and marijuana plantation (we kid you, not!) We checked in a hostel in Nagarkot where we didn’t need any hotel amenities, the view in itself is the attraction.
Patan – One day exploring Patan plus our Mt. Everest Flight
Our Mt. Everest Flight
The highlight of our trip, is of course, the Mt. Everest Flight. It was a great experience for the family. Seeing the Annapurna and peak of Mt. Everest from an airplane with fellow tourists – the oohss and the aahhhhs! It is an experience of the lifetime.
More memorable,though, will be how friendly the Nepalis are. Where we live, there are a lot of Nepalis working, expatriates like us. Their noble intention to not cause any harm to anyone or anything is just something that makes us want to convert to Hinduism (being overly simplistic here).
There may not be infrastructures, even the basic ones, in Nepal. The feel-good feeling over any luxuries in life, hearts over pockets – that we could use all of us, any day in our lives.
For our family. Nepal means kindness. To experience that fully from both ways is how we should live fully.
“It’s tough to find a place not to like in Switzerland. “ – Michelle Bachman
Our same sentiments really.
Well, if you like Toblerone, you will really not find a Toblerone flavor that is not worth your while. It’s the same thing as Switzerland!
Turknoys love Toblerone
For our family, this is the most beautiful country, all the people included. When we first step at Zurich Central Station, we really looked for a film camera rolling. Everybody seemed to be so well dressed perfectly in their beautiful facial expressions. The women really looked like they just stepped out of Vogue and the men, GQ! Seriously.
Happiness !!!
And we voiced out loud our observation to each other and we came out of the conclusion that being ugly maybe illegal in Switzerland. That, or maybe when people are happy, everything looks perfect. And we were very blissful in Switzerland.
That Natural Bombastic Feeling, Yes!
We really didn’t get to see touristic sites or joined any activities for children. We mainly stroll in the neighborhood, ride the train back and forth, went to the supermarket and drooled over the expensive chocolates and goodies! And yes, looked at all the passing people…. looked at them hard.. stared at them. It was like we were treated to a red carpet fashion show. When the country’s culture look so beautiful, it is beautiful from the outside.
This country is a different level of posh, the highest level possible. No one ever shout, or frown.
The memory of our first time in Switzerland is like a memory of a perfect kiss. Blissful. Sweet. Peaceful. At Zurich!
“I think it can be taught, but of course, to be successful, you have to be at least gifted to a certain extent. When I was a boy I was taught to play the piano. The teacher gave up soon because I was totally ungifted,” he says. “I think it’s the same with leadership. It’s still a little bit of a black art.”
– Hans-Adam II, Prince of Liechtenstein on Leadership
After our family’s visit to Monaco, a very small country, our family started to become fascinated with small monarch countries. It’s amazing how a small group of (very rich and powerful) people look up to their monarch leader and enjoy all the citizen’s benefits of a what-it-seems to be a powerful state.
Liechtenstein is a tiny alpine state nestled on a narrow strip of land between Switzerland and Austria. The landscape of this narrow strip of land is indeed magnificent and resembles mountain paradise.
Turknoys Exploring Liechtenstein
We spent a full day of awe in Liechtenstein. We watched a marathon of healthy people, young and old, we ate at the healthy restaurant, we trekked the path leading to the Castle of Vaduz, where apparently, the Prince of Liechtenstein live.
A majestic landscape of a small monarch country!kids watching the marathon!
Having that bold tourist attitude, after the long beautiful trek up the Castle, we knocked at the gate of the Castle of Vaduz and asked with lots of enthusiasm the heavily armed guards where the entrance to the Castle is. To which they replied with a polite laugh, that the Castle of Vaduz is not open for public as the Castle is where the Prince of Liechtenstein lives.
Castle of Vaduz , not a museum but a monarch residence!
Ooopps!
We retreated to our family photo taking when the citizen running pass by and we asked him, again boldy, to take our family picture with the castle. Poor guy didn’t have any choice; we won’t let the moment pass by without that family photo.
One of our most loved family travel photo!Turknoys Exploring Liechtenstein
And then the gate of the Castle of Vaduz opened! The BMW car drove out of the Castle, the Prince on the driver seat looking so ..”normal.”
We were not sure it was the Prince himself until another citizen, this time a beautiful woman passed by us and we asked her again to take a family photo of us (yeah, we know, tripod, right?!) and she asked: Did you see the Prince?
And husband replied, quite merrily: Yes!
Kids were curious and happy. The prince driving his own car, without a desperate princess running after him asking him to save her! A prince who is actually a real person living in a real life castle.
Just like that, our kids’ eyes were open to the “real world.” Which turned out to be more wonderful than what Disney fairy tales want us to believe!
It turns out the Prince Hans-Adam II really lived quite a great monarch example. One of the wealthiest monarch who saved his family’s business right after business studies like any other normal student. He then saved the country and built a name for it, hence, he is quite well-loved among all the citizens.
Prince Hans- Adam II will always be a great example of a leader for our family.
We feel very lucky spending one day in Liechtenstein. The Prince will never know how much his life gave so much impact to a traveling family like us. Yet, we will remember this as one of our fondest traveling moment.
We want to be part of this world!! What a beautiful place to be!!!
“The chief danger in life is that you may take too many precautions.” – Alfred Adler, Austrian medical doctor and psychotherapist
As a travelling family, we never NOT get lost. Getting lost is part of our traveling strategy that IF, in rare circumstance, we didn’t get lost, there will be a lot of Oohhhhss and Wooowwws. We even started to enjoy getting lost!
When we travel, there is no rule but “hold hands when we cross the street.” We basically wing it all from there. A little bit of caution and disclaimer though, our free-range kids and relaxed parenting method while traveling is not for everyone! We have bruises and cuts to prove minor dangers in family travel.
Our main focus when we travel is curiosity. We believe that when we are driven by our desire to learn and explore, the risks mitigate themselves allowing us to enjoy the benefits of travel to the fullest.
Austria is a country where we never really went to any actual tourists-to-see list by purpose! We followed a rough itinerary of what we should see in Vienna and Innsbruck but we ended up just roaming around, observing people, eating, observing people and actually talking to them.
The beauty of Vienna is imbued with a perfect mixture of intellectual and emotional spirit. The architecture, the art, the people, it’s artistic, puzzling and electrifying all at the same time.
The Oldest Working Ferris Wheel in the WorldOur family photos in Vienna -lost, wet, under construction!
While Innsbruck! It’s true love between Innsbruck and the Turknoys really! Oh my, how our hearts crave to go back to Innsbrucker Nordkettenbahnen , the panorama and the funicular ride! As much as those things are memorable, we will always equate Innsbruck (and the country Austria in general) with that very agile and healthy grandmother who was biking uphill and passed us by in a flash (no exaggeration!) while we were panting, sweating and almost climbing the hill with our very healthy kids! #turknoys #turknoytravels100 #country6 Innsbruck, Austria enjoying 2012 meter height spring weather! “Traveling leaves you speechless and then turns you into a storyteller… “
Our love for healthy lifestyle was sparked right there and then. We wanted to become that woman, when we are that old. We equated it to the activities and habits of the people in the country. Who wouldn’t be inspired to walk, bike, be active in such as a beautiful scenery, we wonder.
This we lesson is instilled in all of us – from Innsbruck, Austria:
Life is short indeed. However, we don’t have to make it shorter. Live to the fullest for longer beautiful years by being healthy and happy.
If there is a country perfect for wandering and getting lost, it is definitely Austria! Throw your precautions away, pack the bags and learn life’s lessons in a beautiful landscape. Who knows, you’ll find an inspiration to the old lady (or old man) who had lived their life to the fullest and by the looks of how healthy they are, is barely done living!
What do you first do when you learn to swim? You make mistakes, do you not? And what happens? You make other mistakes, and when you have made all the mistakes you possibly can without drowning – and some of them many times over – what do you find? That you can swim? Well – life is just the same as learning to swim! Do not be afraid of making mistakes, for there is no other way of learning how to live! – More from Alfred Adler
“Rund is die Welt, drum Brüder laßt uns reisen.” (The world is round, so let’s travel, brothers!)
Germany will always be that another world to explore for our family which we will consider very special to our hearts. This country is our first travel for almost free, no plane tickets, no guides, a lots of German sausages with pretzels and cheese as a meal.
That experience of waking up in a different country as a complete stranger is awesome! Well, not really a complete stranger, since we are family traveling. It’s even better. The kids looking up to us to see how we behave when everything else is new and strange, how we adapt to new challenges and environment spontaneously. The thought that those scenes will fill up their memory banks of us is scary, challenging and great fun.
Several months after our family adventure to the country, this country is also the first solo travel of our eldest kid explorer. She went to two cities of Germany with the Doha Youth Choir having their performance in Berlin and Hamburg. She had a great time exploring the cities despite being shy and awkward with the people with her. How different would she have reacted if she hasn’t been in the country before, we won’t really know. It wasn’t easier for the parents to be apart with her. We suppose, exploring together or not, it will always difficult for the mother hen to part with the chicks, so to speak.
How our first Turknoy enjoyed her Germany travel is her story to tell, if or when she wants it to be told. We, as family, had a blast in the Bavaria region. Our visit to the country is definitely a spur-of-the-moment decision for all of us. Two months after our first Europe trip, we were first so hung up with the beauty of Europe. It’s really hard to get over Europe once you’ve been there. So, our family didn’t even attempt to let the memory of Europe fade before we get on the next plane.
We spent our miles getting tickets to Munich and our first goal is to explore Bavaria! Following our Disneyland Paris trip, we wanted to check out the inspiration of the castle, the Schloss Neuschwanstein. The real castle is way more fabulous, of course! The architecture, the landscape around it. Truly, a magnificent infrastructure from the 19th century!
This started our non-fascination towards Disneyland and other commercialized Disney adventures. We all realized as a family that the world is too beautiful and too diverse to focus our travel goals toward making the greatest businessman in the world, richer!
We visited the Fairy Tale Castle of Neuschwanstein and supposedly enjoyed the breathtaking view from the Marienbridge to the castle, but the foggy weather didn’t allow us to enjoy the view.This is our reality of the view of Neuschwanstein Castle from the Marienbrücke Bridge, a family photo to treasure still This is our expectation of the view of Neuschwanstein Castle from the Marienbrücke Bridge ❤️❤️
Here then we realized that being in an awesome and surreal place is always better than in pictures. I know it’s ironic but spending the day in and around the his castle in a foggy weather is indeed more amazing than in photos. Either than or we should bring a better camera than our smart phones. (We have yet to learn this bit of lesson as we still go explore countries armed only with our iPhones!)
One fun fact we learned during this trip is that King Ludwig II has the same birthday as our only Turknoy son. Known as the Real Fairy Tale King, we got interested in getting to know King Ludwig II as it may give us a glimpse of the future personality of our boy.
Not to be outdone, the Linderholf Castle is our favorite castle really. More so than the Neuschwanstein Castle. Here we really appreciated the weirdness and uniqueness of King Luwig II. It’s amazing how much we can tell about someone based on how he lived his last months or moments of his life. There’s that honesty and bluntlesss that they can’t really hide.
With our points of view about life and how to live about it, Kind Ludwig II will always have a place in our family discussions.
Our top favorite family photos in Germany @Linderholf Castle of King Ludwig IiAnd hoops, the Bavarian cheese farm with lots of sausage platters with fresh baked bread. Plus that 360-view of the mountain is one for our books as well. Yeah, lots of memories to cherish as family!
We explored the Church of Wieskirch built in the 17th century, a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage and we enjoyed staring at the biggest and most beautiful bamboo organ inside the church. The same enjoyment we experienced when we went inside the St. Peter’s Church in Marienplatz and climb the gazillion steps (exaggeration, of course, but it was a long and challenging climb with three kids in tow!) to enjoy the view of Munich.
Last and definitely the least (in setting the good example for the kids), the beer! Oh my the beer! It was not Octoberfest but the overflowing fresh beer early morning is a memory the parents will cherish.
Someday, we wish to go back to Germany. There are lots of reasons to go back. Months or years of exploring the country may not be enough. The art, the culture, the food, the history, the local’s friendly yet formal attitude, the future possibilities. Hopefully, one of the kids will consider this as a country to live in. For now, we move on exploring.Marienplatz at München
“Travel is never a matter of money, but of courage.” – Paolo Coelho
Travel is cheap depends on the comfort you want! 😍If you think travel is expensive, then most probably, you never really had an adventure just yet. Our family can say that with conviction because we have been there.
The family who follows routine and “saves for the kid’s future.” The family who doesn’t define what is important for the family members, but tries very hard to “fit in,” such as attending birthday parties and then throwing birthday parties or play groups with lots of freebies!
In no way, we are claiming that these parties are bad or waste of time. It’s just that, at birthday parties, you always see that one awkward group of people who look like they are trying to have fun, but can’t because it’s not in their DNA to be around people. When we attend parties, that’s how our introvert family looks like.
Parties make some extrovert people happy and contented. Throwing lots of parties is awesome if it is your priority in life and if that makes your family happy.
That’s our main point really. Do what makes you feel alive. Know your priorities. Make sure it’s what matters to you and your family. Not the routine priorities of our lives.
The moment our family said our priorities out loud (or through this blog!), we started to experience realization of our travel goals in no way we thought possible, most of them for free. It’s because our eyes are laser-focused on what’s out there to make our priorities our realities.
To name a few examples:
· Our Qatar Airways family ticket to Munich is free-of-charge using Qmiles.
· We got Qatar Airways return trip for free, again using Qmiles for our trip to The Netherlands.
· We got free upgrade from economy to business class from Istanbul to Doha.
· We always stay in the business lounge at any airport, even we always travel economy. For free.
· We always have room upgrade at any hotel/ hostel we stay in because we always book for two adults only (and yes, we are actually five!) Again, free of charge, because we have a “business class” status in the online travel booking community.
Yes, we do spend money for traveling. The value for the money we spent is sky-rocking-high and that’s what makes it cheap.
Way back 2009, we spent the same amount of money for our first daughter’s 4th birthday party at Chili’s and our second Europe trip. Add in the birthday gifts we gave to the birthday parties we attended for that same year and that would be the same as our trip to Nepal.
When we didn’t travel last year over Eid holidays, we ended up spending more than when we travelled to Denmark and Sweden for the second time over the 11-day holiday. Living costs is relative. We just need to decide which (and where) perspective to look at!
It takes courage to define our priorities in life. It also takes courage to say “No” to things that doesn’t make us as happy. It does cost us financially and before we knew it, it will give us lots of should-have beens.
Travel is not expensive. Not having goals is.
“We are all part of the free world! Free to dream, free to travel, free to live!” – Turknoys ‘ Mum
“Dear Young People, Do not bury your talents, the gifts God has given you! Do not be afraid to dream of great things!” – Pope Francis
The smallest state in the world both in area and population has lots of tourists visiting due to very diverse yet related purposes.
Christian pilgrimage.
Pope Francis. Papal Mass.
The history, beauty and art of its famous architecture – St. Peter’s Basilica, the Apostolic Palace, the Sistine Chapel. The art of Michelangelo.
The home to world’s only ATM that gives instruction in Latin.
Veni. Vidi. Amavi.
We came. We saw. We loved.
on top of St. Peter’s Basilica, 350 steps up!Our Turknoy family has been to Vatican City State. Twice.
We’ve seen all this and witnessed the Papal Conclave.
Turknoy Mum has been raised a Roman Catholic, by default, and going to the Vatican City is a pilgrimage for her. It was a holy and awakening experience yet there were more questions than answers. More unraveling than confirmation.
Our family, Catholic or not, are God-believers. Yet, we were awakened with the need for deeper understanding of God in its entire sense, outside the walled area of Vatican City. One does not need world class and elegant architecture, ancient or modern, to find a connection with God. It may be an unpopular view but that’s one strong opinion (note: opinion, subjective, based on our own personal perspective) our family really believes in.
That belief gave us wide open eyes to explore the Vatican City. In addition, we had an amazing instant 5-minute fame. Well, at least for Turknoy Mum. As for the kids, it was their chance to see how awesome their mum is! (Again, our family’s opinion.)
We were on our way to the Vatican City, add the rain for more melodramatic effect, when a journalist/ reporter/ TV personality from AL Jazeera Channel approached our family and was “hijacked” for interview. Turknoy Mum was fabulous in answering the questions live. Kids and Turknoy Dad were very impressed.
Hijacked Turknoy Mum Interview at the Vatican City!Two main questions which she can recall:
Question: Who do you think will be the next Pope?
Her Answer: I have high confidence on Cardinal Tagle from the Philippines. It’s high time to have the Roman Catholic choose another Asian Pope, a minority race, to represent the real issues in that part of the world. Philippines is a Roman Catholic country….Insert more intelligent words why.. (can’t recall them now really, probably it was half-meant due to the pressure of TV camera rolling live…) until the reporter asked another question.
Question: That’s a fresh view on this papal conclave. What you think is the most challenging issue that the new pope will face?
Answer: Lack of faith.. Lack of faith in God. Faith in religion, not so much. It’s the diversity of the religions and practices that divides humanity. The new pope should focus on strengthening the faith in God.
Turknoy Mum blushed and blushed while the world waited for the election of the new pope. After several days and three thick black smoke , at exactly7:06pm ,13th March 2013, white smoke appeared and Pope Francis was elected.
Habemus Papam! We have a new Pope!
Veni. Vidi. Amavi.
That’s one of the greatest gift of traveling. We’ll never know what adventure is next, what we will be part of. This country adventure led us to something historical to a religion close to our hearts. Memory that will last for a long time in our hearts, mind and itchy feet!
Pope Francis said it, do not be afraid to dream of great things and go for it. Opportunities happen when we attempt to use our given talents, even if we are unaware what talents we have.
Yes, even as trivial yet historical as being part of the Papal conclave on international television.
My dream is to have a beautiful old house in Monaco.” – Eva Herzigova
Our family infront of one of those old beautiful houses in Monaco!Imagine a country only five times the size of Mall of Asia, one of the biggest malls in the world, located in our family’s home country, the Philippines. Yet, the modern comfort and elegance all around looks like straight from the luxury fashion magazines, fancy big yachts, majestic mansions and structures, Ferrari cars and French Riviera included.
It is a dream for celebrities to live there. Uhh, so for our family, it’s beyond dreams. It’s that part of dreams dreaming about surreal dreams!
Just look at Turknoy Dad’s happy and serene expression! ❤️❤️We spent the entire day strolling through the elegant country. The people are friendly yet their posture suggests money and status Turkoy parents could never have. Our family looked so out-of-place in the public bus where everyone seemed to dress up like they’ll be walking down the red carpet of Cannes Festival.
“PEOPLE ACTUALLY LIVE THIS WAY?!” We can’t remember how many times the kids heard the parents said this to each other.
The kids played at the playground close to the Palace where the country’s monarch live. Watching the kids enjoy the place without any inferiorities made us comfortable in the luxurious environment. Turknoy Dad was on high, Turknoy Mum was on high. Never did the day passed so quickly without any worries of where we should be going next. The landscapes, the view, the people passing by created such a dreamlike scenery.
the grass is greener in Monaco.. literally!Believe us when we say, we are not materialistic bunch. Yet, cliché as it may sound, we left little bits of hearts and mind in Monaco. We walked, had great fun together in a very fancy place for the entire day but we didn’t mind going back to our shabby, barely 1-star hostel in Nice, France where we ate canned tuna and rice for dinner.
Kids really loved the day, but the memories of what is out there, what our family can’t afford at the moment (or any moment in their parents’ lives) and being able to enjoy the environment, surreal as it is, will leave a memory for kids which they could hang on to, if they want to dream of such a place for themselves.
Or to NOT dream about it. Kids also overheard us talking about the high maintenance of living in such a place, imagine the huge houses, yachts to upkeep! Not to mention, the effort to dress up and keep updated with fashion for clothes or home and yacht decors! Oh the priorities! There is definitely a price to pay to for any status in life.
We may not have fully experienced the country as much as we want to, but we have a tiny idea that somewhere along the beautiful French Riviera, there is a country where elegance is normal.
“I want to be rich..” is such a common intangible dream for almost everyone, yet nobody can even visualize being rich looks like except the image of tons and tons of money bills. Well, Monaco is how the “ I want to be rich” looks like. Kids, at the very least, can visualize their dreams, if they want to be rich. Although parents’ instincts tell us that our Turknoy kids will not dream about mainly about being rich. They have witnessed a lot of dreams in our travels, that being rich doesn’t top their bucket list.
Experience is a great teacher, because it teaches knowledge through all the different faculties of our mind, the power of choice and the power of not choosing.
“Italy is dream… That keeps returning for the rest of your life.”– Anna Akhmatova
Magical. Beyond romantic. More than majestic.
Oh-my-God-jaw-dropping-landscapes! That basically sums up what we think of Italy. Nobody can have enough of Italy. A very beautiful and delicious country!
Together as family, we spent seven days exploring five of its famous cities – Rome, Florence, Pisa, Torino and Venice! One country, different cities all of which left different tastes of varying dreams to our subconscious!
We don’t think we will have enough of Italy. The country opened up different layers of our inner passions, provoking different reactions for our senses.All Senses Ready for Italy!
Italy is delicious. Uhhmm, pizza, pasta, gelato! No wonder Elizabeth Gilbert of Eat Pray and Love, ate and ate in this country! The kids enjoyed gelato in basically all the streets we went to! Aldente pasta? Yes please! Two orders of pizza for one each?! Yes please! If we didn’t attempt to walk the entire city of Rome and get lost from one bus to another, we wouldn’t have gained so much weight that the plane back home would refuse to take us!
Italy is wet and warm. It was raining every single day during one month of March when Turknoy family was there. Yet the people are accommodating and welcoming.
We were in the overnight train from France to Rome , newbie traveler with three kids in tow, we shared the cabin with an Italian drunk woman! She speak no English and commending our kids for being all so well-behaved. Honestly, it was scary for all of us , her stinky shoes, drunk breath and Italian murmurs for 4-hour train ride is what we will remember about Italy as family! Yet when the drunk Italian woman bid her goodbye at the train station with so much warmth and hospitality, it was more enough for us to fondly remember her and forget about the terror we felt inside the cabin train.
In Murano Island, Venice, where expensive Murano glass shops abound, we had to seek refuge in one of the shop, where we were politely and warmly shoo-ed away because kids might break the glasses and we obviously, can’t afford such exquisite, elegant and authentic home glass decor. How could anyone be so beautiful, posh, polite and rude at the same time?
We believe, only Italians can!
And of course, riding around Venice in a gondola with chatty handsome Italian gondolier cum historian cum actor (albeit, extra character as gondolier!) Best one-hour ride for the family ever!
Italy smells anciently magnificent. Well, the landscape, the history, the architecture, the art. It is everywhere, you can really smell the magnificence in all periods of time. From The Colosseum, to Accademia Gallery where David is to the contemporary museums of Florence everywhere top with the City of Venice! We were always left speechless any point in time during our stay in Italy, we can only smell our environment.
Italy is music to the ears. Every restaurant we went to, there were loud Italians passing orders, streets filled with music, again mixed with all the Italian accents. Can’t say anything more. We can stay in cafe and just listen to their loud conversations we can’t comprehend.
Add in the pigeons flipping their winds in
Piazza De Marco mixed in the waves of Adriatic Sea with the tapping of the rain while busy tourists talking and sipping their warm drinks.
Turknoy Travels 100! 