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I'm feeling pretty lucky as I have a big week ahead. Each year I have the distinct privilege of accompanying my daughter Sami to her schools Father-Daughter dance, which is tomorrow night.
The event itself is a fundraiser for the school and a fantastic way of getting people together, especially as a father of a teen who wants to spend as little time as possible with her parents this is a great way to connect and get some quality time.
This year’s shindig is going to be held at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel and for those of you that don't know Toronto the hotel was built by the Canadian Pacific Railway and opened June 11th, 1929. Surprisingly its claim to fame at the time was that it was the tallest building in the British Empire. This Chateau styled icon is considered the Grand old Dame of hotels in Toronto, much like the Waldorf Astoria is in New York City. What’s more impressive is that it opened just three short months prior to the Wall Street crash of Oct 1929 which sparked the Great Depression, and somehow survived the ravages of that era, likely because its situated adjacent to Union station, so a definite advantage in the age of train travel.
Sami asked me last night what I was going to wear to the dance, I thought she was asking because its always black tie optional. Nope, she just wanted to know what color suit I was wearing so when she goes shopping with my ex for a new dress on Saturday (clearly teens grow too fast!) that she doesn't buy something that will clash with the color of my suit. How thoughtful!
My response was “I'm wearing a blue suit”, to which her response was “well what color blue…dark, light, you know there are lots of different blues dad”. At this point I laughed and said that the shade is a medium blue, and will likely wear it with a pink or white shirt… Now it was her turn to laugh and she said she wasn't going to buy a dress that was going to clash with what I was wearing (this is the part where she also rolled her eyes), to which I responded “but don't teenage girls only wear black?” Now it was her turn to laugh!
Initially when I read about the event in the weekly school newsletter I called her and asked her if she'd like to go. I must admit I was a little surprised that she even wanted to go given her age, but I think peer pressure, perhaps not at a conscious level but not wanting to miss out on the opportunity to be there with her friends seemed a much stronger draw to attend, and clearly far outweighed having to actually go with me. I'll take it every time!
Don't get me wrong, I understand that this is completely normal for teens to go through this stage, but the challenge is that it feels like it happens overnight. One minute a loving pre-teen daughter, the next you have a teen that now makes up her own mind, not so much interested in having me in her vicinity and more importantly has an opinion of her own and isn't afraid to use it – now that is a tad scary. ☺
That aside I know I'm very fortunate as Sami is blossoming into a wonderful young woman, and quite mature for her age in terms of her outlook on the world, if I can engage her in real conversation she actually has an excellent perspective on her peer group, the world at large and is extremely rational to boot. So, yes very fortunate indeed!
So the weekend is just the start of a very big week, as school March break start at the end of the week.
After our planning conversation early in January we decided that this year we'd go to Europe for March break. Clearly there was going to be conflict between where each of us wanted to go, Sami was set on wanting to go to either Italy or France, whereas Zach wanted to go to Iceland, and I personally was keen on Scandinavia (Denmark, Sweden or Norway). After much negotiation, toing, and froing we agreed on Ireland. Yes, the emerald Isle for a week. As we discussed our upcoming Irish adventure it became evident that both Zach and Sami wanted an authentic and local experience. "No big hotels dad, we want to stay in B&B’s, pubs and Inns..." Hhhmmm, when did all this happen - them growing up I mean?
I love the way they're thinking about traveling now, it was clear to me that they want to connect with the culture and mix it up with the locals on a level that they hadn't done before or perhaps had the confidence to do in the past.
Creating the general itinerary and sourcing the places to stay was the easy part, as you'd expect they're getting an Indelible Adventure after all. However, I really had to resist the urge not over engineering the day-to-day activities and I could hear that little voice in my head saying "step away from the computer Mr."
So the plan is to fly out next Thursday night on the red-eye to Dublin direct, the down side is that it’s with Air Canada Rouge (the discount arm of Air Canada)...oi vay!
Spend the first day and night recovering relatively close to Dublin in a small town called Celbridge, so we can visit the ancestral home of Grandfather Conolly (Castletown House) before making our way south to Waterford so Sami can check out the crystal factory. Then over the course of the next week drive our way around the south of Ireland (Cork, Killarney, Ballinskelligs (on the Ring of Kerry), Limerick, and Galway) before heading back to Dublin.
It will be a whirlwind week but as usual when we travel together there will be lots of amazing sites and fun things to see and do. It will be time for us to all slow down, relax, enjoy each others company and take in all that Ireland has to offer. We can't wait!
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The weather has not been conducive to getting outside for a photo-shoot, so this week I'm going to rely on a small selection of the 15,000 photos that I took over the past year. Enjoy!
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I'm feeling pretty lucky as I have a big week ahead. Each year I have the distinct privilege of accompanying my daughter Sami to her schools Father-Daughter dance, which is tomorrow night.
The event itself is a fundraiser for the school and a fantastic way of getting people together, especially as a father of a teen who wants to spend as little time as possible with her parents this is a great way to connect and get some quality time.
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| The Grand old Dame of hotels in Toronto - The Royal York |
Sami asked me last night what I was going to wear to the dance, I thought she was asking because its always black tie optional. Nope, she just wanted to know what color suit I was wearing so when she goes shopping with my ex for a new dress on Saturday (clearly teens grow too fast!) that she doesn't buy something that will clash with the color of my suit. How thoughtful!
My response was “I'm wearing a blue suit”, to which her response was “well what color blue…dark, light, you know there are lots of different blues dad”. At this point I laughed and said that the shade is a medium blue, and will likely wear it with a pink or white shirt… Now it was her turn to laugh and she said she wasn't going to buy a dress that was going to clash with what I was wearing (this is the part where she also rolled her eyes), to which I responded “but don't teenage girls only wear black?” Now it was her turn to laugh!
Initially when I read about the event in the weekly school newsletter I called her and asked her if she'd like to go. I must admit I was a little surprised that she even wanted to go given her age, but I think peer pressure, perhaps not at a conscious level but not wanting to miss out on the opportunity to be there with her friends seemed a much stronger draw to attend, and clearly far outweighed having to actually go with me. I'll take it every time!
Don't get me wrong, I understand that this is completely normal for teens to go through this stage, but the challenge is that it feels like it happens overnight. One minute a loving pre-teen daughter, the next you have a teen that now makes up her own mind, not so much interested in having me in her vicinity and more importantly has an opinion of her own and isn't afraid to use it – now that is a tad scary. ☺
That aside I know I'm very fortunate as Sami is blossoming into a wonderful young woman, and quite mature for her age in terms of her outlook on the world, if I can engage her in real conversation she actually has an excellent perspective on her peer group, the world at large and is extremely rational to boot. So, yes very fortunate indeed!
So the weekend is just the start of a very big week, as school March break start at the end of the week.
After our planning conversation early in January we decided that this year we'd go to Europe for March break. Clearly there was going to be conflict between where each of us wanted to go, Sami was set on wanting to go to either Italy or France, whereas Zach wanted to go to Iceland, and I personally was keen on Scandinavia (Denmark, Sweden or Norway). After much negotiation, toing, and froing we agreed on Ireland. Yes, the emerald Isle for a week. As we discussed our upcoming Irish adventure it became evident that both Zach and Sami wanted an authentic and local experience. "No big hotels dad, we want to stay in B&B’s, pubs and Inns..." Hhhmmm, when did all this happen - them growing up I mean?
I love the way they're thinking about traveling now, it was clear to me that they want to connect with the culture and mix it up with the locals on a level that they hadn't done before or perhaps had the confidence to do in the past.
Creating the general itinerary and sourcing the places to stay was the easy part, as you'd expect they're getting an Indelible Adventure after all. However, I really had to resist the urge not over engineering the day-to-day activities and I could hear that little voice in my head saying "step away from the computer Mr."
So the plan is to fly out next Thursday night on the red-eye to Dublin direct, the down side is that it’s with Air Canada Rouge (the discount arm of Air Canada)...oi vay!
Spend the first day and night recovering relatively close to Dublin in a small town called Celbridge, so we can visit the ancestral home of Grandfather Conolly (Castletown House) before making our way south to Waterford so Sami can check out the crystal factory. Then over the course of the next week drive our way around the south of Ireland (Cork, Killarney, Ballinskelligs (on the Ring of Kerry), Limerick, and Galway) before heading back to Dublin.
It will be a whirlwind week but as usual when we travel together there will be lots of amazing sites and fun things to see and do. It will be time for us to all slow down, relax, enjoy each others company and take in all that Ireland has to offer. We can't wait!
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The weather has not been conducive to getting outside for a photo-shoot, so this week I'm going to rely on a small selection of the 15,000 photos that I took over the past year. Enjoy!
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| TW capturing early morning light in Hong Kong |
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| Hong Kong housing - it has to be the most populous place on the planet! |
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| The hotel pool across the road in Hong Kong |
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| Cool tattoo at the markets in Hong Kong |
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| The Hong Kong billboard advertising "Fresh Milk from Australia" - who knew we exported? |
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| Easy to get lost in the overhead signs in Hong Kong |
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| Roller-door art in Hong Kong |
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| Subway stop on the way to hike the "Dragons Back" |
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| The Dragons Back hiking trail on Hong Kong Island - very cool hike! If you go, its a must |
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| Flags fluttering in the afternoon light - Siena, Italy |
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| Memories of Siena |
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| Centuries old door on the Campo in Siena |
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| Relaxing at my villa outside Siena and catching the last of the afternoon sun - just spectacular! |
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| Sunburst on the tiled roof in the Tuscan countryside |
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| Solitary plant growing on the wall |
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| First light over Tuscany - captured just outside Siena |
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| Mist in the valleys between me and Siena in the distance |
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| The crane hook at the Port of Lisboa |
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| The boy and his bike in an Lisbon underground tunnel |
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| Loved the funky Citroen in Lisbon |
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| Tugboats tied up at the Port of Lisboa - not much going on... |
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| Little shipping in the Port these days, hence the artistic approach |
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| Old money in Lisbon - one of the major banks |
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| The "Vasco Alfaiate" |
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| The florist in Lisbon - gorgeous flowers and plants! |
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| The chandelier - Toronto |
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| Says it all in Toronto's entertainment district |
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| Provincial flags hanging in Union Station - Toronto |
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| The mighty Beaver - symbol of Canada (Union Station, Toronto) |
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| Brickwork on the roof in the old part of Union Station, Toronto |
Congrats on 10000 and poor you for the dreaded rouge travel ,a pintkum will be in Irish order
ReplyDeleteOooh the dreaded rouge but congrats on your 10000
ReplyDelete