Summer Travels in Europe | Documentary Family Photography in San Francisco Bay Area

What seems like about 10,000 years ago, my family and I went on a long-awaited trip to Europe, Poland and Greece to be exact. While it happened only a few months ago, it feels so far away. Maybe it was the hot Covid summer we had after our return (all four us struck down together!)? Maybe it was the long, indistinguishable days of summer sans summer camp? Maybe it’s my perimenopausal forgetting of everything, including a sense of time? Maybe it’s a little of all of that.

But back to the trip! My husband’s extended family is in Poland and we tend to visit them every few years. We were supposed to go back in the summer of 2020 so this recent visit felt so special, so full of an eagerness to see everyone and do everything. We spent most of our time with family, bopping around Warsaw, and took a little side trip up to the Baltic coast to see the stunning port town of Gdánsk and visit Malbourk Castle (the largest Gothic castle in Europe).

Our kids are pretty good travelers. They try new foods and take photos of the things that interest them. They’re willing to walk many, many miles without complaining and genuinely relish opportunities to ride public transit. But that didn't stop the daily negotiations around how much iPad time they would get in the evenings for the important stuff like Roblox and Minecraft. ;)

After Poland, we flew to Greece for some sun and sea and easy time. We did a bit of sightseeing (hello, Acropolis!) but we mostly sat in shaded lounge chairs, swam in the Mediterranean Sea, and ate copious amounts of delicious Greek food. I’m so grateful for the adventure and while the constant togetherness sometimes felt like A LOT, we made some sweet family memories.