…and I dont want to go home!

Paul our master blogger has requested that we write a summary blog. As he requested this yesterday we all thought it meant write on our last day but apparently not. So hence here is the summary from me (Jess). What can I say, I am a nomad at heart like my parents before me who lived the first 8 years of my life in various different countries. So it was inevitable I would have a nomad calling. So my mission in life once the girls were born was to travel with them as much as possible. So Lily was born in Australia and the rest in Wales but we travelled with them as much as we could from Euro 2014 campervan to 7 months in Asia and Australia to summers and trips in Norway, Canada and now it’s Greece 2024. Greece is somewhere I have always wanted to go and mostly imagined myself doing a Shirley Valentine which I do bring out when my family are getting on my nerves. But given my favourite thing in the world is hanging out with them I don’t think a Shirley Greece was ever going to be. So a Simpson Greece it was. 3 weeks without a Comrade and one with the whole crew. We have travelled across 7 Islands and if you include boat day trips it’s more Iike 9. We have been on planes, cars, metros, buses, ferries, water taxis and a very cool red beach buggy called Little red bugette or Jeepster McBuggy depending on who you ask. We have stayed in small places, fancy places and next door to a pig, horse and savage dogs farm. Every new home a new adventure to explore. I love this part of not knowing what the next house will be like and learning to live with its weird side. I also love how comfortable we all are anywhere it seems as I truly believe home is where we all are. So anywhere we all are will be perfect for us. Although we did spend 3 very cool weeks in Greece pre Lily I have to say my favourite week was when she was there. Have I mentioned my happiest moments are when we are all together? So in terms of favourite places it’s hard to say, Corfu is not a very nice destination but was the best food and one of the nicest places we stayed. Paxos is very special and you can’t move for nice beaches. However it was super yacht central which is both interesting to look at and also depressing to see. We loved Alonissos as it still had that Greek island charm that has not been gentrified and felt more authentic as a result. Athens is like India, chaotic at the time but you can feel there is something unique and special there. We did of course get our Greek slump in which we had had enough of beaches and tzatziki but Lily’s arrival brought us back to life and I didn’t want it to end. I would definitely go back to Greece again but this time I would not book our accommodation on Airbnb or booking.com as it’s much cheaper and better to go directly to the owners or find individual owner websites online for each island. We definitely paid more for booking through the corporations. Next time we will be sticking it to the man and going direct. Will we be back with the girls? Who knows as there are still so many countries to explore and Korea and Japan are calling. But I recommend Greece and I recommend travelling with your kids as much as you can, go anywhere and everywhere. Don’t spend on material things and spend on experiences. Travel respectfully and think about the environment so buses and trains are great and they all add to the adventure and experience. Talk to people as you go, find out their stories as it will broaden your horizon and mind. Don’t be afraid of trying new things and places which are off the beaten track. Enjoy sleeping in the best of places and the worst of places as sometimes the challenges, the surprises the things that go horribly wrong are the best parts of your adventure. I will do this for as long as me and Paul can and for as long as our girls will want to come with us. We thought last year was the end of our travels with Lily but she is now booked in for next year so it seems to my delight that hopefully our girls will adventure with us for many years to come before we are officially not cool enough for them.Läs mer