Our Mother/Son Trip to England
This spring, my two boys had different weeks off school for the first time, so I took them on separate one-on-one trips: Toby and I went to see family in San Francisco, and Anton and I were thrilled to visit our English relatives, including his beloved cousin Jimmy. Here are a few photos, if you’d like to see…
We started off in London, a city I haven’t spent much time in even though we’ve visited Cornwall so many times (we usually just take the train directly there). We were excited to explore.
We really lucked out with weather — the sun came out almost every day! — and walked around a lot with my brother Nick, my bff Gemma, and my long-time friend Colby (above), all of whom live there. (Btw, in America, my hand gesture is not considered rude, but I forgot it is in Europe! Gahh!)
My top cultural request to the group was that we go to the National Portrait Gallery — how gorgeous is this gallery wall?
We saw an exhibition of Lucien Freud’s paintings. Did you know he was the grandson of Sigmund Freud? So, an old-school nepobaby, but his work was beautiful and felt so alive.
My English cousin’s son, Jimmy — whom we call Anton’s cousin, even though I think they’re technically second cousins? — spent the week with us, and almost immediately…
…the boys developed a secret hand shake and second language of inside jokes. We’ve always lived far away from family, and it brings me SO MUCH JOY to see them fall right back into their friendship.
Since one of the best parts of trips is doing absolutely nothing, one evening, after having dinner at the delicious Speedboat Bar, we turned on The Fugitive. (This Lindy West recap always makes me laugh.) It’s a very fun movie to watch with teens, if you’re looking for one!
Next, we drove to the seaside town, where my aunt Janey and cousin Olivia live. To get to my aunt’s house, you have to casually DRIVE THROUGH A FORD, which the boys loved.
How chic is my aunt Janey, btw, in her babaà sweater and track pants??
We also went to my cousin’s house for olives, chips, and onion dip…
…and we cuddled outside under blankets…
…and my cousin made the most delicious roast potatoes.
Finally, we headed to Cornwall, where my aunt Lulu lives (and where my grandparents lived, before her). This, above, is the view when you first enter the village — it takes my breath away every time!
The boys rode the suitcases down the lane…
…until we got to our favorite place in the world. xoxo
Soon the boys were jumping into the cold harbor…
…while I cheered for them and ate roast chicken crisps.
We added our current heights to the height wall (I had not grown)…
…cuddled Lulu’s dog…
…and ate many, many pieces of toast with every meal.
We usually stay in Lulu’s village for our whole trip, but we decided to take a small excursion to Glendurgan Garden, where the previous owners created a hedge maze for their 12 children. How cool is that? “I thought this might be the worst,” Jimmy told me, “But it’s like literal heaven.”
Finally, it was time to head home. We always feel so grateful to be able to visit and a little heartbroken to leave. Don’t forget about us, England! We love you and will be back. xoxoxo
P.S. Our England trips with the boys at different ages, and Lulu’s beauty uniform.
(Rainbow photo by my dad!)
Tags: anton, england vacation, jimmy, personal
Comments
139 commentsI love seeing your photos from Pol Ruan, my family lives in Fowey (Place, the big manor house) and it’s fun to see your view of it. Normally we look across the water the other way!
I love your Cornwall posts, which I adoringly call Cuppajos.
My extended family lives in france and this makes me so excited to visit when my kids are teens!
Please, please, please ask your cousin for her roasted potato recipe! OMG, those look amazing. Thank you. :)
Well today I learnt that your Aunt Janet lives in the hometown of my late grandmother and a place I’ve visited since childhood! That ford is just around the corner from her old house. Lovely round up as usual.
This made me recall a recent Zadie Smith essay I read (from her book Dead and Alive) about Celia Paul, who was one of Lucian Freud’s many lovers and also had a child by him. It was so excellent and I had never heard of Freud before reading it.
Agree. We need a tutorial!
Reading this while sitting overlooking the harbour in Mousehole – it’s such a beautiful, peaceful, place to watch the tide come and go.
It all seems utterly fabulous. The photo of the height chart has a beautiful painting of children on the wall, is it of the family? X
I love that painting, too! I’d love to know the artist’s name….
Yes! Lulu painted it from a photo of my dad and the two older sisters, when they were kids. Xoxo
Thanks for sharing your wonderful photos and family with us! Cornwall looks like a dream place to live and visit. Have you ever listened to the Fashion Neurosis podcast, hosted by Bella Freud, daughter of Lucien Freud? She’s a fashion designer and has her guests lie on a couch and the first thing she asks them is what they are wearing and why they chose those pieces. Each episode is like a soothing therapy session. I highly recommend a listen: https://open.spotify.com/show/5u12Pe78N9yaQWRWWoXZTK
Cornwall is beautiful but if you ever get the chance to head further north, you must visit Robin Hood’s Bay or Staithes. These fishing villages feel like a step back in time with higgledy-piggledy red-tiled cottages, sweeping sea views and storybook charm once shaped by smugglers. They are especially magical in wild weather when you can sit fireside in The Bay Hotel and watch the waves crash against the shore.
Sounds like you had the most lovely time! Thanks to you, Cornwall is my top holiday request, although I want to go when our kids are slightly older so we can explore more and don’t have to worry about naps. Also, I would have jumped into the harbour with the boys, just for the thrill of it. Walker’s crisps are a nice second option, too!
Ok, so how do we roast potatoes like this?? I’ve always wondering because they’re not like a baked potato in the US…
I parboil them in super salty water. Drain, dry; coat in a high heat oil and bung in an already hot cast iron tray and in the pre heated oven on high.
YES to the Walker’s Roast Chicken crisps!! They are my fave any time I’m back itn he UK!!
One of my favorite things in the UK is all the wacky (to me) flavors of chips! Last trip to London I came across Ham Sandwich Crisps and lemme tell you what: they nailed it. Somehow, these chips tasted like ham, but also mayo, also cheddar, also soft white bread as if they’d been an actual ham sammie squished into my lunchbox in 1992. I ate the entire bag while waiting for the bus, much to my best friend’s delight. I absolutely do not want to know what chemical processes made this all possible, I only want to know where to get them again.
Are you and your aunt Janey wearing the same sweater?? If so, how cute is that?!
Such a delightful and heartwarming post! Joanna, what is the brown turtleneck sweater you are wearing in the photo with Colby?
This is such a lovely post. I love seeing your travels to Cornwall. As someone who’s never been outside of Canada, these photos make me want to go explore the UK. Your family is so lovely, it make me smile to see you all together.
All so good, but the SEA 🥹
Jo, have you read any books by Rosamund Pilcher? They are mostly set in Cornwall and are just warm but serious, old fashioned, romantic domestic dramas with good writing, great characters and lots of satisfying sensory descriptions of cozy English food and cocktails and clothes and the Cornwall weather. They are some of my most comforting books that I re-read on holidays and would be perfect to read next time you vacation in Cornwall! My favourite is the WW2 “Coming Home”, or for Christmas time try “Winter Solstice”. xx
No but now I want to!
These are my cosy reads too! Simple, comforting, happy.
If I can jump in? So happy to find another Rosamunde Pilcher fan. Gentle and captivating stories with such lovely descriptions. Coming Home and Winter Solstice are my favourites, especially Coming Home, in which I felt the characters were better developed.
I LIVE for RP’s books. The Shell Seekers is another on that is just SO GOOD and I re-listen to it every spring. I also love Coming Home and Winter Solstice. (If I’m being honest I re-read those books every year. They are my comfort books). Cornwall is on my bucket list to visit and I devoutly hope I will make it there one day!
Love her. Winter Solstice is a favorite book to read at Christmas. It makes me want drink scotch by a fire.
I love your England posts so much. Family gets more and more important as we age, huh? Seeing how much you love your aunt Lulu’s house (and grandparents’ before that?) over the years reminds me why my husband and I are choosing to live in a small house now while raising our kids: we are saving for a cabin getaway for future generations to love. I want a place people can return to over and over near a body of water that holds them gently.
Glad you liked Glendurgan. It’s just outside the village where we have our family cottage, so we visit whenever we can, and also for the Cornish ice cream they sell in the cafe. Clotted cream and blackcurrant is my favourite.
When is your aunt Janey’s Beauty Uniform coming out?? Or did I miss it somehow?!
Looking for advice or just mutual recognition about how to support a kid to try new things on vacation. When you report, “I thought this might be the worst,” Jimmy told me, “But it’s like literal heaven,” I’m immediately flashing back to a recent beach vacation with my nine-year-old and how she sobbed–SOBBED and soaked a pillow with tears–when I drove us to a new beach five minutes from the town we were staying in so we could try it. It’s supposed to be vacation so I don’t want us to me miserable, but I do want us to try even slightly new things. I know she enjoys control and consistency so we do normally travel to familiar places and follow familiar vacation routines. It’s just so hard to get her past the “I hate this because the mere idea of something different is terrible,’ that I have a hard time judging whether it’s worth it for me or for her. FWIW, she did eventually get out of the car and walk down the path to the beach with me, and within 30 seconds said “it’s so pretty” and then “this does look like a fun beach,” and even “I’m glad you made me get out of the car,” but it was sooo hard to get there.
Elizabeth, I feel this in my bones!! Just one family’s experience, but the thing that *finally* helped my daughter with this was cognitive behavioral therapy and a small dose of anti-anxiety medication. It was around your daughter’s age that we finally started… it’s been almost 3 years and it’s like a weight has been lifted off her shoulders and ours since then. We didn’t realize quite how hard literally going anywhere or doing anything was until we were on the other side. She’s still the same strong-minded, emotionally in-tune person that she always was, but there’s a lightness and a joy to her that felt so fleeting before. Again, just our experience, but wanted to share in case it resonates ❤️.
I feel you. It is definitely a personality thing. My son who is almost 16 now has been resistant at trying new things always. Lately, after so many real life examples of new experience turning out to be great (which I remind him about and tell him to think of when he is anxious), he is a bit open to try. I remember a time when we were fortunate to visit Jordan and were in Dead Sea and explored the floating experience. Not only did he refuse to try, he has complained for years when he was literally pushed to trying it. So it is a combination of their personality and anxiety. It can get better with age.
From my own experience being this kid, I would say to avoid pushing how great the experience is going to be… to me, a lot of the issue is anxiety about how to handle unknowns. If there is additional pressure of “and you have to be happy” or “make the parents happy” it feels even more stressful (now there is the distinct possibility of disappointing people in addition to all the unknowns). I think if you can frame new experiences as hey, you don’t have to be into it, but let’s just approach this with curiosity. And provide parameters! Like, “let’s just go to this new beach, and if we hate it, we don’t have to go back” or something like that. Perhaps there’s some anxiety that this would replace the experience she already knows and likes.
Thank you all for your perspectives! Anonymous the first, she is in therapy and her therapist doesn’t think it’s anxiety so much as persistence, but it is so helpful to hear and I’m so glad you found something that works for your family! Anonymous the second, great point about not imposing any outcomes or telling her how to feel, which I think is my general approach. At this particular beach, I framed it as “we’re just going to go down to the overlook and get a sense of the beach so that we can know whether we want to come here on our next vacation,” to make it a very brief visit. Another way this tendency shows up for her is that she only wants to listen to audiobooks that she already loves, so I’ve been framing it for her as “every book that you love now was new to you at one time, so this is just a chance to find a new favorite–give it 30 minutes then you can stop if you want.” Luckily I am also very invested in routines and enjoy consistency, so there’s a lot of ways for us align and for me to understand her–I just also want to give her some openings to see the broader range of human experience.
The reaction from your daughter and the comment from you about her need for control makes me think that she might need some assistance in that area – therapy, possible medication, or perhaps even a slight spectrum diagnosis? No judgment at all and I sympathize at how difficult that must be! Food for thought.
When we go on vacation (my husband, son and I) we each pick our top two “must do” things to do on the trip. I wonder if saying your top thing is to try a new beach, and then have her do the research to pick which one might make it feel more familiar? Maybe? Also, my so. is autistic.and not as rigid as some kids but we definitely go over the schedule a lot beforehand for things he is anxious about. So in your case I might bring up the “Tuesday afternoon we are going to try a new beach” talk before the vacation even starts, but remind her that all of the other days will be at the regular beach (or whatever the plan is). You could even show her on a calendar for the week if seeing plans visually would help her.
I can’t restrain myself from mentioning that Lucien Freud’s many, many children include the brilliant novelists Susie Boyt (if you’ve not read Loved and Missed, you must) and Esther Freud (who’s most known for Hideous Kinky but has so many great ones; my favorite is Lucky Break), and also designer Bella Freud
I’ve been meaning to recommend the Cormoran Strike novels to you for so long. They are set in London but the main character often visits Cornwall and grew up there, and it is a true love letter to both areas. JKR has gone off the deep end in recent years, so ymmv with that as a recommendation, which I understand and empathize with deeply.
It always warms my heart to see you visit with your family ❤️
Tears are running down my cheeks right now. Teenage cousins picking it right back up! Family cuddling under a blanket! The gorgeous views! I just booked my summer trip back to my home town in Sweden and this post captured so beautifully all the moments I am looking forward to with my family. Literally balling over here!
Why do I feel like MY family lives in Cornwall?
Exactly!!!
Maybe it’s because I come from a similar type of place (although from the other side of the Channel) but your Cornwall posts are always so conforting to me :)
Cornwall family posts do feel like a warm hug.
How my family worked out, my closest cousins of my generation are third cousins once removed, who also don’t have closer cousins. So we always say that while genetically we might be third cousins once removed, emotionally we are first cousins!
Your Cornwall posts always make me want to talk about Poldark. I wish I could watch it for the first time again! Joanna! Have you seen Poldark?? Might fill a Cornwall shaped hole in your heart!! It’s on Netflix these days.
I haven’t but my aunt loved it!
I have seen it! I lived in it, especially the first series. I felt rather confused when finishing an episode and finding myself on my Ikea sofa. Not on a horse, or by the sea, or in a turbulent intense embrace. Rather disappointing, so I had the watch the next episode right away to keep me alive. And the next one, and the next one.
@Berenice- I was DEEPLY living in this show. Ross and Demelza are top 5 tv romances ever for me. I bought my husband a tricorn hat for Christmas as a joke after we finished this show lolololol.
@Diana Moss: You are my people :) If I may ask, what are the other tv romances in your top5? I adored The Durells (everything, but especially the brilliantly played relationship of the mother and (I won’t name the name in case you want to watch it :)).
@Bernice – hahaha love your comment. definitely adding to my must watch list. ❤️🇨🇦
I can’t see roasted potatoes without thinking of Pride & Prejudice – anyone else? Haha.
It’s been many years since I’ve had such an exemplary vegetable!
That’s what I was thinking about too!! What EXcellent boiled po-ta-toes.
Only one of the things that made Mr. Collins “ridiculous”.
“To which of my fair cousins should I compliment the excellence of the cooking?” HAHAHA
Aww, this post and its photos are simply the best, and would love Aunt Janey’s WoO pretty please?
I’ll ask her!!
I love that Cornwall gate, and I love the potatoes too! Any chance I can get the recipe for the perfectly roasted potatoes? :) Thank you!
we are going to do a post on Olivia’s potatoes, since so many people asked!
In Stanley Tucci’s first memoir, Taste, he lovingly describes his shock as he observed his British wife’s method for roasting potatoes (his wife is Felicity Blunt, sister of Emily Blunt). But the picture of roast potatoes looks exactly like what she was making and I want some!
I have never felt such warmth for a place and a family that is not mine, but seeing your family in Cornwall always gives me the warm fuzzies! Anton and Jimmy crack me up in the best way. What a beautiful thing those cousin relationships are, especially when it’s between hilarious teenage boys. I swear the photos of them together always have just a hint of mischief mixed in with the joy. Love it. Hope it was a great trip.
Truly…every photo is worth a thousand words! 🙂🎞️✌🏼
My boys and I were in England over break too! Have a photo next to the London Eye in almost the same spot – although, sadly, without an attractive gentleman included in ours. 😂
I took my kids on a spring break trip last week to visit “cousins” as well. It was my best friend and her 2YO, whom my 6YO and 9YO kiddos are obsessed with. It was such a little slice of heaven to just be together and enjoy where we were — we’re all a bit grumpy to be back home and not in constant companionship with beloveds. I’m a full time single parent, so I assume there’s an even bigger rub there than might typically be present. I’d love input on ways to manage “re-entry” intentionally, to highlight our gratitude for the time but not develop discontent that it’s not our constant reality.
Oh Hattie, I feel this so so much. We (husband and two kids) live 8 hours away from my sister and her kids, who I love so dearly. One way I solve for this is when we leave I IMMEDIATELY schedule our next trip or get together with them. That way even though we are sad, it’s easy to brighten up knowing that we have another trip to look forward to and that we will see them (hopefully) soon.
we do this too!!! immediately plan the next trip, even if it’s ages away.
Reading this felt like a hug. <3 Thanks for sharing your life, your family, your world with us.
Such lovely photos! I am going to see my beloved first cousin this summer for the first time in a long time – it’s hard for us to see each other because we live far away from each other and our kids (second cousins!) will get to hang out with each other.
Understanding cousin relationships is my fun fact! I’m happy to share if anyone’s curious. Cousin relationships are based on generations: Person A and Person B have the same parents. They are siblings. If Person A and Person B each have a child, those children share grandparents. They are first cousins. If those children each have kids, those kids share great-grandparents. They are second cousins. The “once removed” part always confuses people (people seem to think it has to do with divorce, haha). Removed just means there’s a difference in generations. For example: You and your first cousin’s child are first cousins once removed. Your child and your first cousin’s child are second cousins. And now you know!
Thrilled to finally have a framework for understanding this! Thanks for sharing.
Please Alison help me figure this one out: One of my best friends is also a ‘cousin’ – her father and my grandmother are first cousins. We are the same age, but technically she is my mother’s second cousin. Are we second cousins once removed? Third cousins?
Dear Cousin Whisperer – Can you please tell me what the relationship is between me and my niece’s child, who is my brother’s grandchild? Am I his great-aunt? Thanks! xo
Steph – you are second cousins, once removed! you would be third cousins with her children. Julia K – great aunt is what’s typically used here! your children would be their first cousin, once removed, your grandchildren would be their second cousins.
Cousin Whisperer, what an honor!
As someone with four boys, and a former middle school teacher, I was just full of so much joy seeing those sweet photos of them! There’s nothing quite like middle school boys to bring the fun!
hi Joanna, long time reader, I can feel that your spark is back and I’m so excited to see what magic comes for you next
Can we have a Week of Outfits by Colby, please?? :-)
Yes, I wouldn’t mind seeing that :) :)
Gah! It’s so beautiful there!
Why is the parenthetical “I had not grown” so touching to me? Thank you for sharing your adventures so generously.
This!! I loved it so much.
me too! that made me smile.
I was thinking, “Well, maybe not on the outside.”
Do you ever consider living tout England?
We are thinking we might try to live in London for a year when Anton’s in 10th grade and Toby would take a gap year. Depends on a few moving parts, so will see! But would be so nice to live by everyone for a full year :) Xo
I hope you do it! We’re frenchmexicans here, living in Paris and always imagining ways to not lose anything from the mexican culture for our son… love from Paris
Wow, that’s very aspirational!
I hope you do it! I would love following along with that content! So much lifestyle content (at least in my algorithm) is based in NYC, and if you don’t live there, it can get old. London would be a breath of fresh air!
Oh man, Jo, I hope you get to make that happen! We are looking into both Scottish and Canadian citizenship based on our ancestry and we, too, dream of taking some time to live abroad. I know it will depend a lot on what’s going on in our lives then, but it’s lovely to think about.
Looks like a lovely time! My great grandfather was Cornish and though I studied at university in Nottingham, I regret I never made the trip there. Love seeing the photos and hoping I get there someday for a pastie.
I absolutely love your England trip round ups. What a special time x
I needed this today. My grandma passed away three days ago and I am filled with sadness and far from home. I am planning a trip with only my daughter to go and visit my mum and help her grieving and empty my grandma’s house, I an torn about not taking my son too but I don’t want to impose our presence too much. I am taking your mum and son trip as a sign that I can go just with her and everything will be allright.
I’m so so sorry for your loss, Nicoletta.
Joanna, you always take such amazing photos: The color, the composition, the ability to take in-motion shots, like Anton and Jimmy jumping in the water without any blurring. I’m assuming you use the camera on your smart phone, any tips???
Aww thank you! I just use my phone — I think my “trick” if I have one if just to keep an eye out for sweet moments and always have my phone in my pocket :)
What a wonderful trip. Aunt Janey…trés chic.
Cornwall seems like a quaint seaside town straight out of a Ghibli movie. And am I alone in thinking that ‘Anton and Jimmy’ would make a great tween book series? Truly the kind of well-mannered frivolity Profession McGonagall warned us about.
Yes!!!
“ Truly the kind of well-mannered frivolity Profession McGonagall warned us about” hahaha! Excellent
Oh yay I love seeing you here visiting family. Love to Janey, always!
Can anyone who is fluent in Farrow & Ball identify that gorgeous paint colour in the first London pic for me? :) This whole trip looks heavenly, thank you for sharing!
It looks more muted than Arsenic. Maybe Teresa’s Green? Little Greene’s Aquamarine Mid looks like a close match: https://paintandpapers.com/collections/little-greene/products/little-greene-aquamarine-mid
Don’t sleep on Lucien’s daughter Bella, fashion designer and podcaster. A child of privilege perhaps but not a privileged childhood (her sister wrote the memoir Hideous Kinky), Bella interviews her friends – actors, artists, and more- about fashion and life’s complication. Her interviews with Nick Cabe and his wife – who are obviously intimate friends- are wonderful
Have bookmarked Speedboat Bar for our summer trip. I welcome any other London recs. Food and theater/re especially. Have tickets for Totoro and Paddington. Looking for one more great show.
Cabaret is fantastic. I haven’t seen it with the current cast, but apparently Matt Willis (on until end of May) is brilliant, and the production is great.
We saw Oliver when we were in London and loved it! A classic musical.
Operation Mincemeat!! Also if you like bakeries I would really recommend Layla, Miel, and Tamini bakehouse
Thanks all so much! Will consider and appreciate the recs. I do love Oliver and haven’t seen since my sister was picking pockets in 3rd grade. And I love having a bakery to pop into.
There’s an app called TodayTix where you can get reduced price tickets on the day. Might be worth a look? If you are with kids, the National Theatre is rerunning War Horse.
A very different vibe to the other shows on your list, so your mileage may vary depending on your group, but would recommend Austentatious! They improvise a different (non-existent) Jane Austen novel every show, based on an audience title suggestion.
Your Cornwall pics are always such an amazing mix of family, food, water, scenery…what a dream! Those potatoes! How can I be middle aged and not know what a ford is? At first I was like, wait, fjord?
Clearly you never played Oregon Trial in a 1990’s computer lab!
I don’t know what one is either, other than the car.
A designated river crossing, no bridge, where you wade through. I think I probably first learned this from Prince Caspian (from the Narnia series), the bit where all the nature spirits etc are freed and there’s joyous dancing across a ford where a bridge used to be. lol the things that get stuck in your head!
Welcome back and thanks for the recap! So glad your family home is still with your family 🤩
Just want to say, great idea and that way you got to go on two very well deserved breaks and visits to your people!
PO TAE TOES. I always love it when you visit and share your stories. I never understood going to the same place every summer but my love of my hometown has made it our vacation destination. I took them on my own one summer, then my husband came, too and I just have to say it feels really cool to have your kids love the “lore” about you! I feel like a celebrity.
This post fills my heart with love for Cornwall, your incredibly gorgeous aunts, and potatoes haha. Favorite quote: (about the growth chart) “I had not grown” haha dry humor is the best. I also live far from my family, and treasure my trips back to see beloved places and people. I can relate 10000000% to the gratefulness at being able to visit, and the heartache at the end of the trips. Xoxo
Jo, it made me teary-eyed seeing these photos of your trip to Cornwall, thinking of Milly and how somehow life continues on. How wonderful to see :)
My god, how long I just stared at those AMAZING potatoes…..
Right!! Same here. We need to know how she got them so crispy.
It’s been many years since I have seen such an exemplary vegetable (IYKYK)
Sarah, to which of my fair cousins should I compliment the cooking??
I am reading Pride and Prejudice for the Nth time right now! And I still laugh at all of it, especially Charlotte’s philosophy on marriage.
Love this post! Thanks for sharing, Jo. I always feel for a moment that I’m in Cornwall with you. :) I’m doing my first solo-parenting trip with just one of my two kids (my son, almost 11) for a week this May. I’m nervous because it’s always been the four of us traveling together, but we made the decision for some logistical reasons. I asked my son if he is worried about us going without his dad and sister, and he said, “No, I think it will be fun!”. I agree, but any tips would still be most welcome! :)
I only have one kiddo, now 15, but we have traveled quite a bit just the two of us, most often to visit family, but some “regular” travel too. I work in a school so we have the same vacations. My husband has more limited time off. Each age has been different. Some of the fun of the tween years was leaning into things that felt special or more grown up–late night Dairy Queen runs while blasting the radio, watching teen movies, even shopping as he started to be more interested in having a style. That age can be great for conversations that might not happen otherwise, without the teen-level sass. Have fun!
You can do it! Our family also had different spring breaks this year. I was dreading because I love family time. But my 11 year old and I are visiting National Parks in Florida. We saw a cowfish whilst snorkeling in Biscayne Bay today. Magic. I’d say do extra catering to your child you have with you’s favorite things, because you can. The upside of smaller group travel is less compromising.
I took my three kids (then 4, 6, 8) on a holiday on my own a while back. I was nervous in advance (mainly about getting there and getting around – I don’t drive as I have severe driver’s anxiety). But it went wonderfully. We took the train and then a taxi for the last leg of our journey. During the trip, we walked and took the tram. (I chose a sea-side town with good public transport). It was actually one of the best holidays. No need to consult anyone and strangely empowering to be on our own! But mainly – I took them on this trip to escape our house renovations for a week – and it was just such a joy to be in a dust-free, noise-free environment with an actual kitchen and a proper bathroom.
Have a blast! One of my fav trips was when my oldest was 9 – we specifically went to a city for his interest. I suggest leaning into the random – we discovered two awesome places just by driving around. Having less of a schedule was great (and this kid is usually very regimented, likes to “know the plan”). Maybe get a book to read aloud together, or listen on tape? And find nice people to take your photo!!
Years ago (my sons are now 32 and 29) they began to have different school vacation schedules. The first year, my husband took my older son and his mom to Paris. I asked my younger son where would he like to go, and he chose Edinburgh. I went with some trepidation cuz it was my first trip with just one child (I had done many trips home to my parents in Italy with both since they were toddlers, but that’s an entirely different experience). We had a blast! Saw so much, traveled outside the city, too, through the Highlands because he wanted to see the Loch Ness monster ;-). I also planned a hiking day outside of Edinburgh with a hiking guide, just to break up the museums and zoo and botanical garden visits. Loved every single second of it and have the best memories of just the two of us, all these years later. And he does, too, because occasionally it comes up in conversation. Go for it!
Thank you all. These are very reassuring and inspiring responses. :) Some great suggestions also! I especially like the one about asking kind strangers to take our photo – good idea, Mary! :) And Mona, I’m so glad to hear your trip led to cherished memories for you and your son — really hoping for the same. :)
Gah I want to visit Cornwall after many years of seeing your pictures. The boys jumping into the harbor reminds me of jumping off a dock and into the sea on a recent trip to Italy. It was such pure joy, the adrenaline and giddy laughter when I made it back to the surface. It’s been a hard couple years and it felt like a long lost feeling had returned. Now I look for these opportunities when I travel – Cornwall seems like a good place to try, as long as I have a wetsuit!
How wonderful that actually worked out that the boys had separate vacations from school. Such a great adventure to take the boys on separate trips one on one and seeing so much family. Looks like a wonderful trip to England.
I am grateful for so many things I have learned from Joanna and this community, but I think I’m most grateful for Joanna’s Cornwall photos that lead to my planning family trips there for the last two summers. I love it so much (we have travelled around a bunch but so far Mousehole near Penzance is my favorite home base), and while we can’t go this summer, we already have a plan to return summer of ’27. There’s something about the mix of beaches, gardens, coastal walks, seafood and cream teas, ancient history and modern art, that is just my exact vacation aesthetic. My whole family loves going there (I even took my parents last summer). For anyone who has been considering a trip, I would enthusiastically recommend!
Hahaha Jimmyyyyy! May need a full recap of Jimmy and Anton quotes at some point.
All the potatoes are always the right move!