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!

I had the most beautiful ice cream cone the other day. The rain was just stopping, and the Kyoto street colors were accentuated by the wet. Red lanterns, dark wood, carefully arranged potted plants, flocks of bright umbrellas.

As I savored both the green tea color AND flavor, I remembered other brilliant and meaningful colors from our year. Each of these colors is packed with memories and emotion — of growth, joy, loss, wonder, hope, friendship — that Benjamin Moore would covet to create.

Here are just a few of my ColorFull encounters (clicking on any thumbnail will launch a larger gallery):

So thankful to have these ColorFull memories added to my palette for my NEXT year.

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.

(Soldiers parade through Mustafa Kemal Ataturk’s mausoleum in Ankara.)

Some recent facets of our journey have been a bit heavy, dark.

During our recent swing through Istanbul, three Kurdish activists were found dead in France. We were a bit oblivious to the developments … until we happened to walk past the French Embassy and a French school, guarded by row after row of policemen in riot gear.

Now in Tanzania, we currently reside in a compound that’s patrolled and guarded 24 hours a day. Padlocks are on the inside of exit doors. An alarm system tracks every open window and door.

We drove past the US Embassy this afternoon … and discussed how it had been bombed in 1998.

One of the boys asked “Why?”

I didn’t have a good answer.

New friends for a new year!  We are so thankful to get to know several sets of amazing people who have shared their meals, their homes, their time, and their STORIES with us over the past month or so during our travels.

Click on the “Faces” link to meet some terrific people who hold a new place in our hearts.

St. Paul Union Church white elephant gift exchange.  Check out E’s sweet new fuzzy hot water bottle!

Oh my, how far we’ve come since November 18.

We were robbed on that day … in Spain … (in the rain). The wrenching experience relieved us of a fair amount of our THINGS.

Some of the loss, if we’re honest, was for the best. It made us leaner, more mobile … less weighed down. For one thing, I would no longer lug around giant, awesome cameras ensconced in hi-tech camera backpacks. There’s less PRESSURE to document everything. (S reminds me that the loss of our cameras also deprives me, in a way, of a form of storytelling. Which is true.) But all that stuff is … gone … and our load is lighter.

Fast forward to the last few days in Istanbul. Our apartment happens to be in the awesome-music-instrument section of town. There are guitars. Keyboards. Microphones. Cables. Recorders. Amps. Mixers. iPad hubs. Drums. Music software packages. You name it.

And — you know what’s coming — I want it all.

I told S this evening: it’s as if the mold of want is slowly growing back.

E — pictured above with his brothers at Istanbul’s astonishing Hagia Sophia — delivered the Quote of the Day early this morning:

He attacked S and I in bed as we woke up, landing between us with a morning roar.

“Mom and Dad smell differently,” he then announced.

“Dad has a manly smell.”

“And Mom smells … cleaner.”

The boy commands real wisdom — despite LOSING HIS THIRD EVER TOOTH recently, earning two Turkish lira in the process.

From a GORGEOUS, frigid, and delightfully snowball-friendly storm in Istanbul, a few excerpts of how pop culture has made its way to our mobile hearth and home:

A recent gift of CDs for our journey has introduced us to Justin Bieber’s “Mistletoe.” I think it’s awesome. Other members of my family are not so enamored.

It’s the song of how a young man who spurns “playing in the winter snow” and “chilling with my folks” during “the most beautiful time of the year” to “be under the mistletoe.” S — our lyric listener — was moved to say: “I hope OUR boys bring THEIR girls to sit by the fire to sit WITH our family.” “They’re not going to be around,” I responded … then described all the wrestling I did as a young man trying to decide between holiday events with family … and holiday events with a girl. Truth be told, I always chose the girl.

Thank you, Justin.

(On a side note: S and I are having another debate about whether the chorus goes “Shoddy, with you” or “Shoddyweeoo.”)

A few days later, S was describing “Long Walk to Water” to W as a good read. She told him it was about two characters in two different countries, growing up at different times.

W’s response: “Like ‘Don’t Stop Believin.’” S was puzzled. “Like the song,” he told her. “It’s about two people in different places, who ‘Took the midnight train going anywhere.’”

Thank you, Journey.

Then — today — the boys and I discussed the highbrow YouTube video pasted below … to conclude a discussion about Saint Paul’s missionary journeys … and set up a class on courage.

Thank you, Peyton.

This may horrify some of you … but we rented some sweet off-roaders today and, well, went off-roading in one of the most beautiful places on earth.

Yes, E drove by himself a handful of times. And, yes … he nearly drove himself off a cliff. Seriously. True to form, as the ATV slowly careened to the cliff’s edge, he launched out of his seat … and shouldered the vehicle to a stop from the front … inches (truly!) away from a serious fall.

And yes, H found a tough line up a steep bank … and, instead of bailing, spun his drifting vehicle off course … down a near 90-degree wall to a field a good ten feet below.

And yes, W tried again and again and again to get some air off a serious dirt lip … succeeding in the end with sweet delight.

S and I try so hard to hold on tight to our boys. To protect them from everything. To prevent the bad scrapes and tough falls.

Truly — in the end — their lives are not in our hands. It’s a lesson we know, right? We just needed another day like today to remember.

S made an announcement at dinner this evening, over chicken shish kebap, cheese pita pizza, and some seriously wiped out children:

“When we get to Istanbul, I’m going to get some prescription glasses.”

She apparently was having difficulty reading the fine print on her water bottle … the latest, she said, in a string of eye straining moments she seemed ready to leave behind.

I scooped up some shredded carrots, avoiding the obvious questions about whether a water bottle label needed reading, and decided her quote was a useful springboard to what I’ve been thinking today about EPIPHANY.

Twelve days ago on Christmas Day, we were in Antalya, Turkey — more than two thousand years after three pagan wise men or scholars set out to worship a baby. They followed a star.

While re-reading the Christmas story in previous years, I think I’ve been taken by the near cacophony of noise and light and worship … like the Gospel Angels singing with the hillside shepherds … as my own family worshiped in large, well-lit churches or filled a living room with loud extended family.

This year, we celebrated Christmas in a nation for which the date is not a widely practiced celebration. In fact, the day was like any other day — a bit clear, a bit blurry, partially lit, partially dark — perhaps like S’s vision of the water bottle label.

The star or LIGHT we choose to follow, however, is pure, unending, life-changing, and life-leading … a *little* like the photo above, taken underneath Antalya’s Saint Paul Cultural Center on Christmas Eve. As a dozen choir voices practiced hymns in the room above, a street lamp was a patient reminder of the Light of Christmas … sent to guide us in the Way.