Before we left on this trip I was wondering how we would celebrate the holidays. Would we keep our traditions or celebrate the traditions of the countries where we’d be traveling? Would they be better or worse? Or would they just be different? So far they’ve been...

Mystery Day. It’s become a tradition in our house. I make a list of things for the kids to pack but don’t tell them where we’re going. I always add some things to the list just to throw them off track — scuba gear, rubber bands, a lime, toothpicks, or anything else...

Most kids my age would probably be in school right now, but not me. I’m in Marbella, (pronounced Marbeya) Spain. My name is Maya. I'm 13 years old, and our family is traveling around Europe this year. I love traveling. I think everyone should travel. Even if it’s not...

I really don’t like traveling. I get air sick, car sick, boat sick, and I really don’t do well with greasy fast travel food. The six of us (my husband, our three daughters, our dog and myself) are taking one year to travel around Europe, and I don’t like to travel. I...

Whether we’re reading about the Queen of Denmark, roaming around a 1000-year old castle or realizing that afternoon siestas are really good for the soul — we’re all about discovering and learning this year. We’d also like to learn about how kids in Europe are...

The first time I went to Czechoslovakia I was in middle school. We went to visit my grandmother, my uncle and my aunt. I’m sure my brother and I argued plenty in the back seat during the drive through Germany, but at this point we were still and silent. We were...

I love traveling to new places, exploring new cultures and foods, seeing new things and meeting new people - but there’s also something really special about going back to familiar places time and time again, especially as we change and grow over the years. I feel that...

We spent the last few days in Salzburg, Austria — land of Mozart, strudel and The Sound of Music. The unbelievably beautiful mountains and lakes surrounding the city make you feel like someone photoshopped you into a postcard. Of course, the night before we arrived in...

Birthdays are a big deal in our family. I remember my daughter wanting a fairy forest party for her fourth birthday. We spent weeks looking on Craigslist for artificial Christmas trees and ended up with a fake forest in our tiny living room in Maryland. We planned spy...

When we first told friends and family we were planning this year overseas, that we were going to start Around the World Stories and that Matt was leaving his job, we got a variety of reactions ranging from joy to shock and questions ranging from why to how, but the...