Above: We are the Trainers! Micah (14), Kristi, Neil & Meg (17) in front of San Martino Church, Piazza Galuppi on the Venetian Lagoon Island of Burano.
Buon Giorno, Bonjour, Hello!We are the Trainers and it's been so much fun preparing this digital scrapbook of our "Summer Sabbatical (and Beyond!) with Rick Steves". We are a family of 4: Neil, Kristi, Meg (17) and Micah (14) who hail from Seattle. We've tried to keep this travel journal light-hearted, informative, eye-pleasing and inspirational. We'll share our highs, a few of our lows, and our learnings and joys as we followed a once-in-a-lifetime itinerary for our family through Italy, a dip into Switzerland, France, England and a quick Iceland stopover - all launched by a Rick Steves "Best of Venice, Florence and Rome in 10 Days" Tour.
A Champagne toast when we find out the exciting news that Neil was awarded a coveted grant by Lilly Endowment, Inc.!
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High atop the Duomo on a hot Italian summer day in June, absorbing the breathtaking views of Florence.
A Sabbatical Entitled: "Formation, Fermentation & Family"
This was a journey many months in the making. When in July 2014 Neil received the incredible news that he'd been awarded a coveted Clergy Renewal Grant by Lilly Endowment, Inc. to do what "made his soul sing," planning began in earnest around the proposed theme: "Formation, Fermentation and Family." A learner by nature, our travels would focus specifically on his eclectic interests: church history, wine, and family. What better way to refresh and restore the soul than to trace our way through Italy, France and England, dipping into places and sites rich in church history and learning about a few of Europe's classic wines. We'd spend 2 months exploring the spiritual heritage of the Benedictines, Cistercians and Reformers (especially John Calvin, the subject of Neil's Doctoral Dissertation) and delving into the viticulture of Chianti Classico, Brunello, Vino di Noble in Italy, and Bourgogne and Champagne in France. The trip ends in England with a homecoming of sorts for Kristi, who'd be returning for the first time after 27 years to the place she called home during her junior year of high school as an exchange student. And the biggest joy of it all? Experiencing it together as a family! |
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Becoming Travelers, not Tourists
As you might expect, this adventure brought lots of excitement and anticipation as well as a bit of fear and trepidation. Though not complete travel novices, tackling a two-month itinerary with a family who hadn't travelled internationally together before seemed a little daunting. We are indebted to Rick Steves, who was our constant companion from day one. Through the handy and informative Rick Steves Guidebooks, Europe Through the Back Door Videos, and the Rick Steves Website we were able to plan each leg of our journey with great success! Rick and his knowledgable podcast guests became our fun local guides as as we gardened, did house chores, and drove around town while listening devotedly to the Rick Steves Audio Europe Travel App, learning everything we could about each of our destinations. Additionally, we have the good fortune of living a few short miles from the Rick Steves' Travel Center in Edmonds, WA where we frequently attended travel classes on everything from packing to cities and countries. Finally, we took advantage of an extremely beneficial Travel Consultation with Lisa Friend who helped polish our itinerary, answered final questions, and gave superb advice. In then end, planning our 9-week Sabbatical trip was a half the fun! |
It's still 6 months 'til take-off, but the preparation is in full swing. Rick Steves' pocket-sized Phrase Books & Dictionaries make great stocking stuffers. Santa also brings Packing Cube Sets for each of us, which Meg aptly dubs as "drawers for your suitcase"! For more info, see "The Stuff".
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A Summer Sabbatical
By the Numbers 5036 pictures taken 1,814 miles (2,920 km) 56 days 12 Cities 10 trains 8 Countries 6-12 miles walked most days 3 Birthdays (14 in Florence, 17 & 40-something in Paris) 3 Rental Cars 2, the number of inches Micah grew 1 Unforgettable Summer! |
For us, a Rick Steves Tour was the no-brainer way to being the journey. As "newbies," the decision to spend part of our precious grant money by starting with a tour was intentional for myriad reasons. Knowing we'd be tired from the rigors of a busy spring, we wanted help tackling the cities that seemed most overwhelming as first-time travelers, namely Italy's big three: Venice, Florence, and Rome. But more than that, we were drawn to the Rick Steves Travel Philosophy, and wanted to learn from the get-go how to be good travelers and not just tourists. Our hope was that the Tour would enable us to get our "travel legs" under us before striking out in Europe on our own, and that the skills we'd learn would help us be successful for the remaining weeks of our adventure. Finally, as this would be our children's first European experience (and we sincerely hope not the last!), we wanted to teach them from the start the art of traveling well: to be culturally curious, not merely consumers of tourist sights. In short, we were investing in a Tour with the hopes of reaping the dividends for the rest of the summer and beyond. Boy, were the rewards worth it!
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About our Travel Scrapbook
It's been said that a picture is worth a thousand words, and we agree, but we also think the stories behind the pictures are fun too! The scrapbook is organized by city with day-by-day photo galleries for Rick Steves Best of Venice, Florence and Rome in 10-days Tour. We'll share highlights of each day, and some of our favorite photo moments. Please click through the images for stories and the scoop! The focus of this travel journal will primarily be our Rick Steves Tour, but truth-be-told, Rick Steves was an invaluable and constant companion in the planning and execution of the remaining fantastic weeks of summer. So! How could we resist including a page highlighting our favorites from those places too? Also included are our best "Trainer Travel Tips" focusing on things we learned, how we managed for an extended time away, and ideas that made life a joy traveling with our teens. Finally, the last tab is all about THE STUFF! After 2 months on the road, we share the handful of practical useful items that will become staples for future travel.
It's been said that a picture is worth a thousand words, and we agree, but we also think the stories behind the pictures are fun too! The scrapbook is organized by city with day-by-day photo galleries for Rick Steves Best of Venice, Florence and Rome in 10-days Tour. We'll share highlights of each day, and some of our favorite photo moments. Please click through the images for stories and the scoop! The focus of this travel journal will primarily be our Rick Steves Tour, but truth-be-told, Rick Steves was an invaluable and constant companion in the planning and execution of the remaining fantastic weeks of summer. So! How could we resist including a page highlighting our favorites from those places too? Also included are our best "Trainer Travel Tips" focusing on things we learned, how we managed for an extended time away, and ideas that made life a joy traveling with our teens. Finally, the last tab is all about THE STUFF! After 2 months on the road, we share the handful of practical useful items that will become staples for future travel.
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Welcome Aboard! We hope you enjoy joining us on our Sabbatical Adventure with Rick Steves!
Warmest Regards, |
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The Big Picture! Trainer Travel Plan
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Itinerary Overview
ITALY Fly Seattle to Venice, arrive one day before tour Rick Steves Tour! Best of Venice, Florence & Rome in 10 Days Venice - 4 nights Florence - 3 nights Rome - 4 nights Train from Rome to Orvieto, pick up Rental Car Spend day in Norcia, drive to Assisi Assisi, Perugia - 2 nights Gaiole in Chianti, Tuscany - 5 nights Drop Car in Pisa, Train to Cinque Terre Vernazza, Cinque Terre - 2 nights SWITZERLAND Geneva - 2 nights FRANCE Beaune - 7 nights Paris - 10 nights Eurostar to London ENGLAND London - 4 nights Rent Car from Heathrow Cotswolds - 7 nights Return Car to Heathrow, Tube into London London - 3 nights ICELAND Keflavik - 1 night stopover en route to Seattle |
Trainer Travel Journal
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Let's Go! But first, can I get a buddy check?
Here we all are! Our Rick Steves Tour group and guide, the incomparable Rainer Metzger (pronounced Riner-with-a-long-I-sounds-like- "Rob Reiner") kneeling in front. We were an assortment of interesting folks from all over the country, and being from all ages, stages & backgrounds of life we formed quite a tribe! When we received our pre-tour information packet, we saw several family groups. Meg and Micah had fingers crossed that there might be other kids on the tour, and were delighted to find that indeed our group had 6 pretty cool teens. And here we give a big shout-out to Rainer who did an excellent job of making sure these kids were included in every aspect of the program. (There were some epic joke contests and we've sprinkled a few of our favorites throughout this travelog). Without waxing rhapsodic (ok, maybe a little rhapsodic!) as first-time tour members and not knowing what to expect, we can emphatically declare that we could not have been more pleased with this whole experience. Rainer was incredibly knowledgeable (Master's in Architecture, lived in Rome and knows the city like the back of his hand, loves Italy with a passion); so patient and well-organized, he was always ready to listen, answer questions, and point a frazzled tour member in the right direction for lunch, dinner or free-time activity. The history and culture lessons delivered were so very helpful in unlocking all we were experiencing. We booked this tour with the hope that we'd begin to learn the skills and art of traveling well, with curiosity and intelligence, and that those skills would serve us well for the rest of our sabbatical journey. Without a doubt, this was the perfect way to begin. Worth. Every. Penny!
