SCHAEFER FAMILY ON TOUR

An extended holiday in Europe has always been a dream of mine. From an early age, much before I should have been even thinking about such things, I had visions of taking many navy-clad, immaculately behaved children to France. We would immerse in the culture, eat and drink as the French do, speak the language fluently and by sheer osmosis become effortlessly elegant.

Fast forward 30 years. I have been lucky to fall in love and marry a man prepared to go along with the many children part and who took on my dream of a French holiday as his own. There is a lot of navy in my life and the behaviour is far from immaculate (I'm working on the basis that immaculate is aspirational and that the journey towards it is to be enjoyed rather than the end point which will probably never be reached) but the dream in some form is certainly in motion.

In April 2017 the six of us (me, Jamie, Molly 11, George 9, Matilda 5 and Henriette/Hettie 3) packed up a condensed version of our lives - four suitcases and seven carry-on items - and headed to Europe for a three month sabbatical.

This is going to be the family adventure of a lifetime. Which is why we wanted to record it in some way. While our family and friends can check up on us while we are away - we won't be offended if the thought puts you to sleep - we wanted to record our experience in some way other than with screeds of photos. By writing a blog we can record the thoughts, feelings and anecdotes that always occur while travelling. So this blog comes with an acknowledgement outright that it is purely self-indulgent. Yes, perhaps even navel gazing. 

Bises, Charlotte x