While planning for our year, both in advance and on-the-go, TripAdvisor became our sixth family member. We poured over reviews and suggestions of restaurants, apartments, hikes, hotels, trains, and self-guided tours. As a school writing assignment, we even studied what makes a good review and published some of our own.

Because it was so useful to hear from those who have gone before, we want to share some of our recommendations for YOUR trips abroad. This is by no means an exhaustive list, just many of the great things that come to mind when we look back on our year.

Sorry there are no helpful comments here, but we wholeheartedly recommend all of these places and activities linked below (we DID have some disasters and some less-than-ideals, we just left them off the list). If you want the full story, feel free to email us and we will talk your ear off!

GENERAL TRAVEL

AirTreks Round-the-World Airfare

Renault Eurodrive Lease/Buyback Program

TripAdvisor

TripAdvisor CityGuides App

HomeAway Rentals

Holiday Lettings Rentals

AirBnB Apartment Rentals

Rick Steves Audio Europe

ICELAND

Iceland Camping Card

Hotel Keilir, Keflavik

Northsailing Whale Watching, Husavik

FRANCE

Hotel Esmeralda, Paris

Le Manoir Quinquis, Bannalec

Cro Bique, rental in Beynac-et-Cazenac

Font-de-Gaume Cave Paintings, Les Eyzies

Beynac Castle, Beynac-et-Cazenac

Transmanche Ferries

ENGLAND

Broadhembury Campground, Kent

Dover Castle, Kent

Farriers Arms Pub, Kent

London Eye

Tower of London

Blenheim Palace, Oxford

Helm Lune Cottage Rental, Bowness

Holiday Inn Maidstone, Seven Oaks

Car train through the Chunnel

BELGIUM

Maison Antoine Frites, Brussels

European Union Visitors Centre

SWITZERLAND

Chalet Im Batzenboden, Wengen

Trummelbach Falls, Lauterbrunnen

CROATIA

Montona Gallery Pizza, Motovun

Perfectly Charming House, Viganj

Antony Boy Camping and Windsurfing, Viganj

Jadrolinja Ferries

ITALY

L’Arcobaleno Apartment, Rome

Il Sorpasso Ristorante, Rome

MOROCCO

Riad Safir, Meknes

Rough Tours Company, Sahara

TUNISIA

Novotel, Tunis

GREECE

Hotel Phaedra

TURKEY

Villa Blanca Rental, Davutlar

Ephesus Archaeological Site, Izmir

Perge Archaeological Site, Antalya

Flintstones Cave Hotel, Cappadocia

Red and Rose Valley Trails, Goreme

Sedef Restaurant, Goreme

Hitchhiker ATV Rental, Goreme

Sahkulu Place Apartment, Istanbul

TANZANIA

Nomad Tanzania Safaris

RWANDA

Solace Guesthouse, Kigali

Kigali Memorial Centre, Kigali

Meze Fresh Burritos, Kigali

MALAYSIA

Petrosains Science Museum, Kuala Lumpur

Novotel City Centre, Kuala Lumpur

THAILAND

Thailand Elephant Conservation Center

Sojos Cafe, Chiang Mai

Khaomao Khaofang Restaurant, Chiang Mai

Free Burma Rangers

Medici Restaurant, Bangkok

Navalai River Resort, Bangkok

Bumrungrad Hospital, Bangkok

VIETNAM

V’Spirit Cruise, Ha Long Bay

Hanoi Charming 2 Hotel, Hanoi

CHINA

New Day Foster Home Guesthouse, near Beijing

Huanghua Great Wall of China

Olympic Water Cube Water Park, Beijing

Xian HQ Apartments, Xian

Mt Huashan Hike, Xian

Terra Cotta Warriors, Xian

JAPAN

Japan Railpass

Sakara Kyoto Guesthouse, Kyoto

Sakara Gion Machiya Rental, Kyoto

Musashi Sushi, Kyoto

Hiroshima Memorial Park, Hiroshima

Andersen Kitchen, Hiroshima

Toyota Plant Tour, Toyota City

Pepper Lunch, Tokyo

KOREA

Cozy Residence Apartment, Seoul

… AND SOME ORGANIZATIONS WE HAVE GROWN TO LOVE

St. James Muswell Hill, London

Friends of the Lakes District, Kendal, UK

Lakes Christian Centre, Bowness, UK

St. Paul’s Cultural Center, Antalya, Turkey

World Relief Rwanda

Sonrise School, Musanze, Rwanda

Akiba School, Nairobi, Kenya

Light and Power Centre, Nairobi, Kenya

The Ocean Church, Tanzania

Kenya Connection, Kenya

Dave and Lucy Chaves, Nairobi, Kenya

Christ Church Westlands, Nairobi, Kenya

International Justice Mission Thailand, Chiang Mai, Thailand

Grace International School, Chiang Mai, Thailand

Free Burma Rangers, Chiang Mai, Thailand

New Day Foster Home, China

HAPPY ADVENTURES TO YOU ALL!

Ah, the joys of the universal language of….. Adele??

Last July, during the first week of our adventure, our family cozied up for pizza around a tiny wooden table in one of only two restaurants in a little coastal town of southern Iceland.  We were giddy with anticipation of our year — and with the addition of E’s new stuffed puffin, Sven — so when Adele’s “Rollin’ in the Deep” came over the restaurant speakers, we could only barely stop ourselves from bursting into song.  Fortunately for our pre-teens, our sense of propriety won out and we were satisfied with only a strong lip-synch of the song.

After that pizza dinner, we went for a fabulous hike with a mind-blowing view.  It was just the beginning of a year chock-full of gaining a new perspective.

So…

…fast forward nearly 11 months.  Yesterday we took in the crazy and electric Shanghai skyline, from both the bottom and the top.  Imagine our delight when, at the Hyatt lounge on the 91st floor of the Shanghai World Financial Center, Adele got our toes tapping — and our lip-synch going — with “Rumor Has It”.  Anyone care to dance?

More than a few of us did.

The tooth hangs by a thread, flicking back and forth almost as easily and mindlessly as breathing in and out. If you ask him why he doesn’t just pull it out, the answer is quick and firm: “NO. I DON’T WANT TO.”

H is on the verge of losing his second tooth of the trip. All three boys are hitting growth spurts, including their mouths, and at times it seems their teeth are exploding right out of their bodies.

In Virginia, the Tooth Fairy usually brings $1 for a tooth, but right now we are in Malaysia where one Malaysian Ringgit is equal to about 30 cents. We have lost teeth in at least six different countries this year, some in a more favorable market than others. What is the Tooth Fairy to do about international exchange rates?

Here’s how it has shaken down.

W lost the first tooth of the trip at a restaurant while camping in Iceland. It bled a lot. He received 100 Icelandic Krona, about $0.79.

W lost another one in London. The British Pound is strong! He got £1, which then was about $1.41.

H successfully yanked one in the Lake District, UK, so he scored £1 too.

Then the next day during Art of Language class, W popped out a molar that wasn’t even loose. We were/are a little suspect that perhaps he was just wanting to take advantage of the favorable exchange rate while still in the UK — or he wanted to get out of his writing assignment. Another £1 for him.

Croatia?? Our memory is fuzzy about whether W lost a tooth in Croatia. It sounds familiar, but it seems like he wouldn’t have enough teeth left if this were true. I think he did and got 5 Croatian Kuna, about $.86. But then I borrowed it from him to make change at the grocery….

E worked and worked and worked on a loose tooth for most of December, through Morocco, Greece, and Turkey. At the Bultemas’ New Years Eve party, he had no less than 20 offers to “help” with its removal. It finally came out (on its own) on New Years Day. He received 2 Turkish Lira, which is $1.11.

Only one tooth came out in Africa — W lost an enormous molar in Kenya (see, he is really is exploding). It’s a shame he never bothered to put it under his pillow, so he missed out on 100 Kenyan Shillings, or $1.16.

The bottom line is that it just won’t always be fair — a life lesson worth learning. I tried to tell them they are lucky to have teeth to be losing in the first place, but that didn’t go over so well.

So H’s canine has been loose for quite some time. Rwanda, Kenya, now Malaysia. Will he go for the 3 Malaysian Ringitt ($.97), or will he hold out for 30 Thai Baht ($1.01) next week?

Stay tuned — just don’t offer to pull it out for him.

I breathe more easily knowing that –though scenery, food, tempers (and temperature!), and resting place all change — our anchor remains the same.

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. – Hebrews 6:19

We all know God is everywhere but I really saw Him whale-watching in Husavik. (You can view a great video here.)

The whales were amazing like God but way less powerful and amazing than Him.

God made them amazing just how He made everything beyond good.

God does everything.

A video goodbye to Iceland. So grateful for what has happened over the last two weeks.

We got Sven in Vik. He is a puffin and he is Iceland’s national bird.

He has a son named BJ (he is also a puffin, but is smaller and is on a keychain).

I sleep with Sven in my sleeping bad. Sven can’t exactly fly, but he can beat everybody in a staring contest — even if they had a billion tries.

This video is in our tent. Sven was up in the tent loft. Favy, my stuffed animal bear (which is eight years old), jumps up there and knocks him out. (But then Favy gets stuck.)

Just a shout out to the Gaskins family w will be safehile they depart for a cross-country trip!!

Hope y’all will be safe!!!

The thing that suprised me the most suprising thin gin Iceland was that it never got dark!  When ever we went to sleep it still looked exactly like it did during the day!!  It was so weird!!  It just suprised alot!!

I was surprised a lot during the time in Iceland. One time I was surprised was when we went whale watching. I was surprised how close the whales got.I was also amazed. I was amazed how beautiful Iceland was.