This afternoon I helped the boys set up ledgers in the back of their travel notebooks to track their spending money during the trip. We owed them 17 weeks of pocket money (they get the dollar equivalent of their age per week - if they do their chores). Turns out that was a very effective (and perhaps the only) way to make them save for the trip!
Favourite Attraction(s) A: Warner Brothers Studio Tour. Underground Naples. GRIMMWELT. Universal Studios Hollywood. B: Warner Brothers Studio Tour and Pompeii. F: Universal Studios. The Gunpowder Plot. Warner Brothers Studio Tour. J: The Gunpowder Plot. Warner Brothers Studio Tour. Universal Studios. Least Favourite Attraction A: Cat cafe ($142.77 for
Best Toilets Japan in general (heated seats/ toilet slippers/ amusing signs/ lots of interesting buttons to explore). And the fantastic public toilets outside Vanha Kauppahalli in Helsinki. Worst Toilets England (so often hard to find/ poorly maintained/ filthy). And the stomach-turning state of the toilet in a restaurant we ate
Cleanest Streets Japan. Dirtiest Streets Rome. Favourite Park Villa Borghese in Rome. Best Snow Ishiuchi, Japan. Nicest Weather France and Italy in October and November. Most Inconvenient Rain Florence. Favourite Snow-Related Memory A: Driving around Ishiuchi. B: Clearing a metre of snow off the car in Japan. F: Skiing. J:
Best Train System Italy for overland travel (Japan’s Shinkansen were also good but more expensive). Singapore for underground travel. Worst Bus System ROME. Favourite Non-Train/Bus Mode of Transport A: Biking in France. B: Trams in Helsinki. F: Car. J: Plane. Favourite Public Transport Moment A: Reading Harry Potter