Summer is finally here. The air is warm, school is out and I’m yearning for the more relaxed pace that we associate with summer days. Never mind that daughter #2 had to be at her morning swim practice at 6:15am every day the past week and there was still work to be done. In the back of my mind, I knew our vacation was nearly here, so it made the getting up and pushing through just a bit easier.

But this summer we won’t be lying on a beach or sipping margaritas poolside. Tomorrow we leave for the hubby’s homeland, a two-week sojourn to Sverige, followed by five fabulous days in Paris.  Yes, first there will be packing, airports, long flights, jet lag and adjustment, but  once we make it through all of that, it’s time for adventure!

First stop: Uppsala, where hubby’s parents live, just north of Stockholm. We’ll spend the first week there, visiting family, friends and some moose (seriously), and definitely partaking in some good food and drink. On the must-haves list: nice, strong, Swedish coffee, tunnbrudsrulle (a Swedish-style hot dog…look it up!) and mjukglass – essentially, Swedish soft-serve ice cream. Oh, and maybe some aquavit to wash it all down.  A few days into our stay in Uppsala, daughter #1 will leave us to join the local Uppsala swim club for several days of training camp to prepare for Swedish Nationals. Luckily for her, nearly every Swede I’ve ever met speaks English and her roommate will be a Swede who attends college and swims in the U.S., so they should have plenty of common experiences to share.

Second stop: Halmstad, Sweden, in the Southern part of the country. Unbelievably, my world traveler husband and his family have never visited this part of their homeland, so it will be a new experience for all. The city is located right on the ocean and is the site for this year’s Swedish Nationals swimming competition. We’ll see the sights and watch daughter #1 compete.  It will be a great international experience for her and my in-laws will be able to watch her compete live for the first time.

After two weeks in Sverige, we’ll take our leave of hubby’s family and just the four of us will travel to Paris for five days. I haven’t been to the City of Lights since I was 18 and fresh out of high school, and while I”m sure many things have changed, I’m hoping that more of them have not. Daughter #2 can’t wait and has her brand new camera packed and ready to take all those classic shots by the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame and the Arc de Triomphe. For my part, I hope that if I try to dust off my four years of high school French, I won’t be met with same blank stares I faced the first time around.

When our European/Scandinavia adventure comes to an end, I’m sure we’ll all be ready to come home and get back to our usual routines, but I feel grateful for the time to embark on this adventure with my family.  For me, one great experience is worth so much more than all the things we could be spending our time (and money) on…I’m pretty sure my kids will soon forget that first iPod they received for the holidays, the new shoes and dress they got for a high school dance or the fact that after 15 years in the same house, we never remodeled our very old and outdated kitchen. But trips like this? I hope they will remember. I know I will.