LittleJ’s visit the Cousins ~ Euro Trio 2012

Part One- Paris

Late this winter with the warmth of Cayman cooling off, the excitement of the World Junior’s Hockey Tournament games dying down, we started to think about what we could do for the February and March breaks. It was then that everything started to line up... DaddyJ needed to head off for a week in Silicon Valley, we were thinking a great deal about the fun that we had had with our cousins when they were here over Christmas and then we found out the cousin’s had the same week off that the LittleJ’s did. Slowly but surely, it was looking like it might be a good spring to go visit the cousins. That was until British Airways launched a fantastic SEAT SALE and then we were sure that we could hear London Calling!

With this fantastic seat sale, I thought it would be a great time to cross two other things off of our list, Paris and the Eurostar! After all, they ought to have a chance to use the French that we are educating them in and you might as well take the train through the Chunnel if you are going from Paris to London. So with that plan in mind, we set off for our 12 Day, MommyJ, CubJ and SparkJ Adventure.

We had a wonderful flight on BA with an outstanding crew to London. Despite our inbound flight being late by several hours due to a “Medical Emergency” which forced a stop in Greenland, all went well. We three arrived after a bit of sleep on the seven hour flight to wander around terminal five of Heathrow for two and one half hours. This gave us a chance to watch the endless parade of planes coming and going, snack on some great food and top up our treat supplies. We then were onto our very quick flight to Paris.

Upon our arrival in Paris, we flew through customs, grabbed our bags and headed off to catch the train into the city. Of course, because I was well versed in how to navigate the ticket machine in French, it was not working! LOL So, we were off to speak to the man in the billets office. It was in there that what would become the theme of the trip would begin: I requested that CubJ purchase our tickets, which he dutifully did while I was helping SparkJ. As I was assisting her, I caught a bit of CubJ’s conversation where he was joking with the ticket agent about how poorly I speak French!  I must say that seeing the two of them chortle together in French made it all very sweet somehow.

After a quick train ride with one switching of train lines, negotiating several sets of stairs both up and down with the small suit cases, we arrived at our spectacular Marriott Champs Elysees http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/pardt-paris-marriott-hotel-champs-elysees/ . We dropped off our gear, called DaddyJ and headed out to grab some dinner at Pomme de Pain. http://www.pommedepain.fr/ Now, this had been a favourite of DaddyJ and mine while we spent three weeks in Paris when CubJ was six weeks old. It is a delightful, quick Parisian sandwich shop which is ideal for when you are tired or short on time and simply want good food without the fuss. It turns out that both kids loved the Parisien which is French butter and Jambon de Paris, our all time favourite.

On our itinerary for our three days in Paris was to visit

·         Les Catacombes, the old quarries which were filled with the bodies from the over crowed cemeteries which were causing major outbreaks of illnesses.

o   Our tour of the underground cemeteries of Paris was incredibly interesting. While the weather outside was quite cool, it was warm and humid below ground. The subtle drip drip of the water from the ceiling, the earthen walls and floor’s ability to dampen all sound really adds to the over all creepiness of walking past all of those long bones and skulls! In addition, for kids who love watching shows about pandemics including the Spanish Flu, Small Pox, Avian Flu etc, seeing all of these bones from people who had died in outbreaks was extraordinarily interesting.

·         Tour Eiffel, really, what would a trip to Paris be without seeing one of its most iconic sights?

o   We would however like to return on a day that was not quite so windy or cold and take the view from the very top platform. One of the things that I really enjoyed was walking the last stretch up to the Eiffel tower while eating crepes!

·         The Louvre, where we had a short list of must sees and freedom to see what ever else sparked the kids interest. The Mona Lisa, Winged Victory, Venus de Milo and some of the French Masters were on our must see list.  It turned out that despite this being our third stop of the day, we all enjoyed looking at the sculpture collection including Psyche Revived by Cupid’s Kiss, some of the massive paintings The Coronation of Napoleon, Monet, da Vinci. I learned that unlike when SparkJ was a baby, she is becoming more interested in Dutch Master’s work. This was a great improvement over her wailing in the Rijks Museum in Amsterdam! I feel very lucky to have two children who both enjoy looking at art, have a clear idea of what they like and can explain what interests them in a painting.

o   The other highlight of our time at the Louvre was our lunch. While we were sitting in the very dignified food court of the Carousel du Louvre enjoying a lunch of lasagne, wine, cheese and macarons I realized we were all becoming rather jet lagged and sleepy. It was then that I gave CubJ five Euros and told him to go get a bottle of Coke Zero, turned to SparkJ told her to stay at the table with the bag and that I would be going to get a double espresso! Both kids looked at me oddly, wondering why I needed two caffeinated beverages, at which point I told them that they looked sleepy, we had a museum to see and so they would be sharing a Coke Zero! That sure woke them up as they tried to decide if they were dreaming or if I had lost my marbles as they are never allowed caffeinated beverages! So it was with some caffeine in our system that we all really enjoyed powering through the Louvre Museum.

·         Haggen Daz, after a full day of touring, a quick dinner of the famous Parisien sandwiches, we were off to the three floor Haggen Daz for dessert. We went up to the restaurant on the second floor to enjoy an ice cream experience unlike any other with sundaes, fondues etc. While the most expensive ice cream eating experience I have ever had, it was well worth it.

o    Hillarously, our server was from Latin America and CubJ was able to converse with her in both Spanish and French! She found it very interesting to know that he was taking both Spanish and French at school.

·         Pont Nuef Bridge, while the weather was chilly that morning, the bridge was beautiful in that morning sunlight and a wonderful photo opportunity on the way to Notre Dame. This LittleJ’s enjoyed trying to see how the bridge does not exactly line up.

·         Cathedrale Notre Dame, another iconic Paris sight to see! We enjoyed looking for the kilometre zero medallion, viewing the outstanding stained glass windows, the sculptures, splendid depictions of the stations of the cross, the most impressive domed roof and the awe inspiring organ that shocked the kids by its sheer size. Not to mention that we all had several good giggles when we went outside to view the flying buttresses, nothing like getting to say buttress a few times to make it a fun outing.

·         After touring the church itself, we were off to tour the Archeological of the Crypt Parvis Notre Dame. This was the first time at I had visited the crypt beneath Notre Dame which house the ruins found during construction of the church in its various phases over the years. These ruins span time from the earliest Roman settlements to the 19^th century.

·         Then we were off to Basilique du Sacré Coeur, again a sight that I have not yet previously visited in Paris. SparkJ particularly enjoyed riding the funicular up the steep hill to the beautiful gleaming white church.  CubJ and I were looking forward seeing the massive dome and 19 tonne free swinging bell. 

o   The interior of Sacré Coeur is spectacular! The paintings on the ceiling are beautiful enough to give you a serious kink in the neck, the bright and airy light that fills the entire sanctuary with a feeling of warmth, and the lovely stations of the cross. It was a wonderful experience.

o   The exterior of Sacre Coeur was very lovely too. We took the 300 (yes three hundred) stairs to the very top of the bell tower! We can assure you that all of those stairs both up and down are well worth the view of the city from the top. They say on a clear day you can see for 30 kilometers. We were lucky enough to have a glorious view of the city as far as the eye could see.

·          La Madeleine, after touring the churches we were ready for lunch and toured this historical area on what would become our gastronomic tour of Paris’ macarons. I knew that we needed to visit Laudree (http://www.laduree.fr/) the home of Paris’ best macarons which has a location at Madeleine and we had had received strict orders from one of the teachers at the LittleJ’s school to be sure to eat the Fauchon http://www.fauchon.com/en/en/#/gastronomy-fauchon-luxury-delicatessen/boulangerie-fauchon We enjoyed a wonderful lunch, shopped for some presents and sampled as many macarons as we could find! It made for a fun way to unwind from our serious tours in the morning. One of the highlights was watching the kids easily use their French and listening to SparkJ as she chatted with the Chef Fromager who had made her a parmesan cheese rose!

·         Arc de Triomphe, we took an evening tour of this monument and for my first time, we went to the top to take in the spectacle of the evening skyline.  Seeing the Tour Eiffel lit up, la Defense acting like a giant picture frame, Sacre Coeur glowing on the hill and sharing this experience with the LittleJ’s was a wonderful way to enjoy our evening.

·         Louis Vuitton, as huge fans of the small leather goods, the LittleJ’s and I enjoyed touring the flagship store on the Champs Elysees. While touring one of the mini boutiques, CubJ had the opportunity to have his card holder monogrammed! This was quite a pleasant surprise for him as we were all under the impression that this was not even possible on his style of card holder.  It turns out that CubJ just so happened to be in the right location, chatting up the right master monogrammer to have this done.

·         Oblisque de Luxour & Roue de Paris as our final activities before leaving for the Eurostar was to visit the Oblisque, the sight of the beheading of Louis XVI and to ride the Wheel of Paris. Sometimes life is like a wheel and the opportunities come around again, in my case this was the chance to ride the wheel ten years later with CubJ and for the first time with SparkJ while we enjoyed a true chocolate éclair.

Our time in Paris was wonderful! Staying on the Champs in the thick of the action, able to easily hope on the metro to visit the sights and in such a sumptuous room allowed us to take in so many sights in such a short window of time. It was so nice to be able to take in the sights that the kids were interested in without the pressure to see everything all at once. I think that this trip gave the LittleJ’s a great taste of Paris, an opportunity to use their French which thankfully came glowing reviews (kudos to the teachers at their school), to see the benefits of being confident in the use of a second language, perhaps some understanding of why we are educating them in French and hopefully the desire to come back to France one day!

The Eurostar was very civilized! What a glorious way to travel. We cleared security, French and British customs and boarded the train all in under 20 minutes. Once on the train we spread out, unpacked our supper and felt free to get up, walk around and just relaxingly make our way to London. In fact, you know you are traveling in an infinitely more civilized way when the group of ladies across the train car from you break out a bottle of champagne complete with flutes, cheese and nuts from their bag to enjoy while playing cards. It was like the movie Shirley Valentine across the aisle from us as these ladies laughed about their Mid-Winter ladies get away!

LittleJ's Euro Trip Cousins Visit Part Two – London

LittleJ’s visit the Cousins ~ Euro Trio 2012

Part Two – London

We arrived in London at St. Pancras station with only a slight delay due to some snow on the track prior to crossing through the Chunnel . After a bit of walking we found our AuntieL and CousinC! It was joyful reunion drive back to their home near Windsor full of chatter and back seat adjusting.

On our first day in the UK, we headed over to Mercedes Benz World at Brookland, where the kids took a ride with a professional driver around the track. This ride took them through the entire handling circuit and saw them reach speeds of over 100mph prior to heading into the wet track! That was where the real fun began as their driver said “Let’s give the Mums a wave” as they began doing donuts in several inches of water on the circular part of the track! To say it was a memorable ride for the kids is an understatement....Thanks for a great adventure AuntieL and for the AMAZING post trip pasta bake lunch CousinR!

Day two we headed into London proper and went to the Tower of London. Our first stop was Trafalgar Square where all four kids climbed the lions just as AuntieL and I had done as kids. However, now as the mothers, those lions are really very high up, the granite under them is really very hard, it seemed a bit scary that we had done it and that we were now letting our children do it! 

Next we hope the tube to the Tower of London where we enjoyed seeing the many historical incarnations of the sight: as a castle, a working town, the Royal Mint, and armory.  It was nice to show the kids that this sight has served as far more than just a prison for those no longer in the King’s favour. The highlight of the visit to the Tower of London was seeing the crown jewels. Our final stop of the day was a visit to Hamleys Toy shop. Five floors of toy wonder! A great way to cap off a fun day.

We enjoyed much time just hanging out with our cousins in Egham, walking around the nearby Royal Holloway’s (University of London) spectacular grounds, going to Windsor and CubJ learned how to use a lawn mower from his CousinC! I especially enjoyed cooking with my sister. We made dumplings, bbq pork buns, this hot curried fruit (sounds gross to a non-curry lover, but is VERY good with ham), fresh tortillas and lots of other tasty treats. It is amazing how joyful cooking with someone else can make an everyday event. For SparkJ, what could be better than hanging out with your CousinR who also has a large collection of Snowmen and has bought you a brand new one to add to your collection.

For your second day trip into London, we went to Lord’s Cricket Field the home of MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club), the world’s largest cricket brand and the keeper of the laws of Cricket. It is like visiting Wrigley  Field or golfing Pebble Beach or St. Andrews ... Our tour was very interesting. We saw all of the grounds, SparkJ sat in the spot where HRH Queen Elizabeth II sits when she watches a match, the dressing rooms with all of the legendary players who have achieved crickets greatest feats names are on the walls, stood on the balcony where the players can watch the match, sat in the commentators booths and saw the all important Ashes http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ashes the Stanley Cup of Cricket for Australia and England.

Next, we were off to Buckingham Palace. As we were walking up to the Palace, we came through the lovely Canada Gate which was very moving as it does truly embody the respect that so many Canadians have for our sovereign. We got a lovely view of the Palace, while the Queen was working and enjoyed watching the guards. CubJ was quite excited to see the golden statue of Queen Victoria which stands just in front of the palace. It did not disappoint!

After Buckingham Palace, we were off to the British Museum. At the British museum we had a short list of items to see: The Ramses statue and the Egyptian mummies, The Rosetta Stone, the Elgin Marbles and Bog Man.

·         We were greatly impressed by all of the Egyptian artifacts in the British Museum’s collection. Having been to Egypt, I can honestly say that the Museum does an outstanding job of representing all of the items in their collection in a respectful way. The one thing that I did think that was in this age of Imax films, HD TV, on line content, Wikipedia etc and all of our abilities to travel anywhere in the world from the comfort of a computer, that having these mummies in museums around the world is not really necessary anymore. For the first time, I really thought about how these people had been laid to rest by their loved ones with the expectation that they would remain there for all eternity, and yet they are half way around the world on display for all to see. Strange how your perspective changes as our technological access to the world increases.

·          I really enjoyed showing the kids how Earl Elgin’s marbles and cast of the Parthenon were where their favourite sculpture from the Louvre had once stood. Again, while the British Museum has done an extraordinary job preserving these marble frieze sections, I did give pause to think about the Greek government’s continued efforts to have the marbles repatriated.   Without the casts of the other sections of this frieze and the drawing by a French artist in the 1600’s we would have little idea of just how spectacular the work of so many craftsman in pre 436 BC was. They are a spectacular sight to behold, especially having just seen Winged Victory aka Nike in Paris.

·         The Rosetta Stone was even more crowded than the Mona Lisa had been! The kids thought it was interesting and I had forgotten just how impressive it is to see in person.

·         The Bog Man exhibit was under renovation so we instead saw the impressive hauls of the bogs from early British Roman times. Seeing all of those golden, bronze and pewter items that had been hidden or sacrificed in these bogs which had perfectly preserved them in their acidic anaerobic environment was really neat. It is so interesting to see all of the skills in creating such detailed tools or coins with such rudimentary (by today’s standards) tools.   

·         We happened through a wonderful display of time keepers throughout history which wetted our appetite for a trip to Greenwich and was of particular interest to CubJ who is developing a special affection for watches.

Our time at the British Museum was spectacular!  The quality of collections on display is outstanding. The sheer volume of information that you can learn in any one trip is over whelming and that would only be a tiny percentage of what could be learned if you had a lifetime to visit. Most impressively, the majority of the museum collection is on display to the public for FREE! Imagine, some of the greatest archeological finds in history, masters works of art and as much information to be learned as on Wikipedia all available to everyone for free if you can get there. It was an amazing  way to spend a few hours and we all highly recommend a trip to this museum.

After the museum, it was time to tour the exterior of Parliament, listen to Big Ben chime, and to gaze in awe at Westminster Abbey. We greatly enjoyed taking in these sights. The impressiveness of the architecture is something to behold.

Our final stop of the day was to ride the London Eye, the giant Ferris wheel on the bank of the river Thames. It was a lovely way to wrap up our day in London seeing all of the sights light up in the night from high over head. While it is an incredibly touristy thing to do, it was wonderful as it was on the top of the kids list of things to do in London!

We really enjoyed the chance to go to the park with our cousins and to the Great Park which includes the Great Walk (10km long pathway which is only open to foot traffic) which leads up to Windsor Castle. We also toured the Royal Air Force memorial, had a lovely brunch at the Game Keepers cottage and enjoyed a tasty dinner in Windsor which took us past the Queen’s weekend Palace! I must say, Windsor Castle is very impressively large and is home to the world’s oldest continuously used kitchen, over 1000 years!  Imagine how many dishes have been washed, how many loaves of bread have been baked and all of the meat that has been roasted in a millennium!

To celebrate UncleD’s birthday, we spent the day in Greenwich which was both interesting and very educational. We learned about the history of Greenwich being the seat of royal power for a time, the birth place of King Henry the Eighth, Queen Elizabeth the First and Queen Mary, it’s time as a home for sailors injured in royal service, as the seat of standard time and longitudinal line zero aka the Prime Meridian! While the Cutty Sark, one of the world’s fastest tea clipper ships, the last built was not yet reopened after its post fire renovations it was quite impressive.

While touring the Greenwich observatory was the main reason for our visit, one of the most impressive things that we visited was the Great Painted Hall. I imagine it would be quite comical to snap pictures of visitors who walk through the door and have their mouths fall open in awe at the great paintings covering every surface in the Great Painted Hall. http://www.ornc.org/visit/attractions/painted-hall We can assure you that the name is neither a misnomer nor an exaggeration. It could be one of the most impressive representations of trompe l’oeil that I have ever seen let alone the largest.

The Royal Observatory was very educational for me as I really understood the incredible value that longitude brought to our world and that it changed the course of the British Empire. For the LittleJ’s, I could see that they got to understand longitude in a three dimensional way with its everyday impact as opposed to memorizing the definition. While in Greenwich, one poses with one foot on either side of the Prime Meridian so that they are in both the Eastern and Western hemispheres at the same time. Hilariously, as we seven, along with a dozen or so others are doing this, CubJ starts balancing himself exactly on top of the prime meridian. I of course am wondering what on earth he is doing and am about to point out that his feet are blocking the green laser light shining along the meridian when he smiles from ear to ear and announces “look, I am in NO hemisphere”! Well well well, out smarted by a ten year old again! It was a lovely way to spend a day and we highly recommend a trip to Greenwich.

One evening AuntieL and I took CousinR and her friend out to a youth group event and enjoyed some time out. We went to Royal Ascot and saw the famous track by peering through the gates. It was not at all what I had expected. It is very modern, quite huge and overwhelmingly massive! After viewing the track, we headed off to a nearby pub for “cuppa” and some wonderful sticky toffee pudding. In all fairness, I have never met a stick toffee pudding I could say no to, LOL!

On our last day, we went to the Royal Windsor Farm and had lunch. The food was delicious!  On our way back, we went through Runnymede where the Magna Carta was signed 1215. Interestingly, by seeing this point, I have now seen all of the historical sights of American independence from end to end: England, Boston, Philadelphia, Mount Vernon and Washington DC.  Rather ironic considering how patriotically Canadian I am.

I must say that our Euro Trip 2012 to see our cousins was magnificent!  We really enjoyed the hospitality of our family in their lovely home, enjoying their daily life, seeing so many historical sites, trying so many new things like Branston Pickles and most of all, we will treasure the time together! Thank you so much 4G Family for making our trip so memorable and pleasant!

CubJ and SparkJ, you were troopers on this trip. You were so well behaved and engaged in the museums, you used your French beautifully to great compliments and you really seemed to enjoy yourselves. Riding all of the trains and pretending that we were the voice telling people to ”mind the gap” was very fun, thank you for the great adventure! DaddyJ, the unsung hero of these trips, thanks for making it all possible! I am so thankful that you encouraged the three of us go on this adventure and for your reminders not to miss out on the big or little things! Cheers to Euro Trip 2012

Christmas and SparkJ's birthday in Cayman

Christmas in Grand Cayman 2011!

I know that sometimes people wonder why we keep going back to Grand Cayman year after year. Why don't we shake it up, visit some other islands, join a cruise or what could possibally be so great about this island that we have been seven times in ten years? My short answer is that it feels like home! From the moment that we step off that plane, descend the steps in the heat of the ocean air and walk into the terminal, our steps get lighter, the smiles on our faces bigger and the weight of the world lifts. What could be better?

After ten years of visiting this island and staying at the same resort, we feel like we have our own little island family. Mr. Omar and Mr. Neily have watched us bring one little baby (CubJ), return with a second little baby (SparkJ) as we have heard about their finishing school, having children and grandchildren of their own! Our dear friend Elizabeth has enjoyed watching the children grow up each year as she serves us breakfast while we have learned about her family.

 In 2004, the year that SparkJ was born, Hurricane Ivan (a four letter wo
rd on the island) ripped Grand Cayman in half, submerging the centre part of the island under water and knocking out communication from the island for several days. The devastation was significant to the island. It was that year, as we wondered about our friends and how they were fairing that we developed a true bond with the island. The following Christmas when we returned to celebrate SparkJ’s first birthday, it was a tearful ride and joyful ride as we saw how quickly the island was recovering from the Category Five hurricane, how some of our familiar places or landmarks were no longer and all of the debris that was waiting to be taken to Miami! We could clearly see the power of a category five hurricane over one year later.  It is in those moments that you truly realize that as that white sand slips between your toes, the turquoise water soaks into your hair that Cayman has become part of your DNA. That is why we keeping being drawn back to the same island year after year....

 We really enjoyed spending our time on the beach, trying out new restaurants and just relaxing this year. For DaddyJ and I, the highlights were watching the littleJ’s snorkel together off the beach at the hotel. They really seemed to enjoy swimming after the fishes from the man-made coral reef that was put in 12 years ago to protect the beach from erosion from hurricanes. Watching the two of them together, their chatting and easy playing made breaking up all of those little bickering moments almost forgotten!

AquaBeach! Now that was a great new place that we tried. I have to be honest, not only do you get to eat outside while listening to live bands (some nights), do they have GREAT burgers, are their lots of TV’s showing hockey but it is owned by a Canadian who is NOT a Leaf’s fan! Really, nothing bonds Canadian Hockey fans like the polarizing effects of the Toronto Maple Leafs.... Good food, GREAT Family and an all around good time! We highly recommend AquaBeach and will be back again for more fun.

As has become our tradition, we spend our Christmas Eve swimming with the Stingrays at Stingray City and then had dinner at Cimboco! http://www.cimboco.com/about.html It was an ideal way to enjoy the day as a family! This year, the water on our afternoon long snorkeling trip was a bit more “exciting” than last year. The kids still managed to get in the water at the open sights, swimming in the water at the Coral Garden and the reef. While we did not get to see the Moray Eel, it was still exciting. In addition, Captian SparkJ and Captain CubJ got to drive the boat! 

Christmas Day was spent gorging ourselves at the buffet before heading to the beach to relax all day long! We have noticed over the years that as the economy has improved or worsened, the group of people visiting the island is particularly interesting. This year was not exception at the Christmas Day buffet! The highlight of this year’s buffet was a group of people who we are pretty sure “busted out” their “good pool wraps and t-shirts” to join in the buffet as “Christmas is not my celebration”! So we saw the spectrum of fine dresses/suits and ties to beachwear and a spectacular assortment of food and Moet and Chandon champagne (aka Mommy happiness in a bottle). Now, I try to respect other people’s celebrations, customs and the associated  dress codes and had great hopes of teaching this level of respect for World Cultures and Religions to the littleJ’s! Great news for me, after seeing that display, the kids have gotten the message all on their own, (I figure when the six soon to be seven year old is “mouth agape in shock” at your dripping bathing suited family a the Christmas Day buffet the message had been received. Let alone when you ten year old asks “why they are not going to change or at least dry of”... LOL) At the buffet, the kids had the opportunity to use their French with the Chef du Cuisine as he was from France. Pleasantly, while I had no idea what they were speaking of so quickly in French, he was very pleased with the quality of their French, their vocabulary and their accents! Yippie, double Christmas bonus for MommyJ and DaddyJ!

SparkJ’s Seventh Birthday was wonderful! It began with a visit from Mr. Omar to deliver “The Princess” her birthday balloons. (Seven years of watching her grow up has ensured that she is know to all of the staff as the little princess!) After that we spent the morning at the Turtle Farm http://www.turtle.ky/ checking out turtles, rejoicing in the banner year of hatchlings! Plus, that video of Stevie Y releasing Turtles into the ocean kept DaddyJ interested in the conservation movie~ LOL. Upon our return it was time to enjoy the beach and then head to our dinner at Solana where SparkJ received her birthday cake and the present (a Swatch watch that has alligators on it) that CubJ has bought in secret in town a few days before!

All in all, I can not believe that my little baby is SEVEN! Where oh where is that time going! Four years spent celebrating in Cayman, one in Cancun and two at home ..... that is where the time goes.

Thank you family, for another wonderful Christmas and SparkJ birthday in Cayman. Of all of the years visiting, I think that this was our very best year ever. You two littleJ’s have become a real joy to travel with and I never take for granted all that you do to make this happen trip after trip DaddyJ. Love you three!

May your Christmas holidays bring each of you such joy and may you all find your own islands that work itself into your DNA with such love as we have found in Grand Cayman!

Cheers,

MommyJ