Well, we are less than one month out from our grand adventure…  Wrapping up our things to do.  Some changes happened to our itinerary. Turkey, to which we were all very much looking forward to, decided to have a revolution.  Some say more like Occupy Istanbul protests that got a disproportionately violent response from the government. While my

As we are getting ready to leave the US, we are trying to be mindful to appreciate the good things about it and lessen our expectations of romantic life abroad.  After all, the US is our home and is the best country in the world.  For us.   Despite all its flaws. Recently we got addicted

Ever since our first visit to Europe a few years ago, I fell in love with Vienna.  It is a beautiful city with gorgeous buildings, amazing art, and it’s clean and organized as an operating room.  I’ve always dreamed ofreturning around Christmas time and attending one of those famous balls.  It sounds stupid, I

Since traveling within a reasonable budget will be crucial for us, I am doing a lot of research on transporting our family of six within Europe.  I have to say I was pleasantly surprised with how inexpensive some option are.  Meeting my ambitious budget of $500 per month appears possible.  (We will travel once every

Hi Ms. L, If you are thinking of home schooling P. for next school year, we would need you to complete the form 4140 to indicate that you will be taking on the responsibility of educating your child by home schooling him & we can give you a hard copy of the Hawaii Administrative Rules

Those of you who know me well, know I am a cheap bastard. So, how did I agree to this seemingly expensive proposition? Well, it’s actually not that expensive. At least not compared to the cost of living in Hawaii. As much as we adore Hawaii, it’s very expensive to live here if you want

I posted our tentative itinerary on the Map page. Initially, we planned on staying in French countryside for a year, drink fabulous wine, sleep in, read books, and do side-trips to all European countries.  We chose Marseilles because it is diverse, culturally rich, relatively inexpensive, has great food, and is well-located: close to Provence, Barcelona

Today we finally were able to apply for the passports for kids.  First time the USPS office was closed due to the holidays.  The second time, it was opened, but as it turns out, they only accept people by appointment.  They were going to squeeze us in, but then realized that we don’t have J’s

Tomorrow we must go to the post office to get passports for children. Due to the kidnappings problems the new regulations require that both parents of a child apply for his or her passport in person. You can find the form DS-11 on US passport agency’s website and pre-fill it. You must also bring the

mmm… It just occurred to me that I absolutely love my Forever 21 sweater with Union Jack – it’s sooo soft and looks so adorable. Maybe I will get more clothes from them?  99% of stuff I got from them is junk but a few casual pieces seem to last forever (ha! forever!) and look

Last night at a late-night dinner in the bistro, James and I were discussing what to wear when in Europe. I have to come up with a practical wardrobe for our entire family of six consisting of clothes: comfortable for travel durable and easy to wash/ dry on the go warm but not too warm