Roaming Raos

On the last weekend of winter break we drove down to Bordeaux with the kids and one of my husband's French colleagues. He was heading down there to see his girlfriend, we had room in the car and if he did not mind travelling with kids we certainly did not mind the company :) It was actually a pretty interesting five hour drive and I am positive our chatty family gave him a headache by the end of it :P I mean we did not hold back at all; from playing Desi tunes in the car, to eating chicken & gg salad sandwiches, to sipping on tea out of a thermos, we made sure he knew what a Desi road trip truly sounds, smells and feels like :P Do not worry, we got him there alive and well, we think :P

Early Saturday morning when many were still making their way back home after a Friday night out on the town in Helsinki, we were on our way to catch a flight to Ivalo, Lapland - the northern most airport in Finland. It was also the closest one to our dreamy destination,  Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort . We were expecting a really small plane, but to our surprise it was a pretty big and full one. I think the Japanese myth that a baby conceived under the Northern Lights is a happy/lucky/boy baby might have to do something with it :P

Last weekend we were able to go on a short Finnish getaway without the kids; thanks to a dear friend who voluntarily watched them for us <3 Honestly, it was great to just be by ourselves for the weekend after a long time, but like all Desi parents there was major guilt that took over us. Sigh. I think short breaks like these are healthy for kids and for parents, and if only they came without the baggage of guilt. We thought the extreme temperatures might be too much for them, but once we were there we thought the kids would actually have had a lot of fun had they been with us. We already know we'll have to go back with them soon.