A Decade of Family Travels: Beaches, Cities and Cruises Around the World

Here is a summary of the best vacations of my life. It started in 2016 at Crown Paradise, somewhere down south — I don't remember exactly where, but I went with my family and my little cousin, who had just turned four and was so cute. There was a board game room, a room with a pool table, and even zip lines with a helmet and harness. And the beach was so beautiful.

After that came the big trip: Paris in 2017. We took a lot of pictures — I took plenty of them, though the photos are somewhere now.

Then, around June or July 2018, we went to Spain and Italy. It was really hot, but we saw the Sagrada Família — unfinished, but very beautiful. On La Rambla I convinced my mom to buy me a coconut drink; it was really, really good, even if I got a stomachache afterward (a little regret, but not much). We also tried fried calamari, so soft and tender. The Barcelona part was on land, then we took a boat to Italy and saw a bunch of things I've mostly forgotten — it has been a while.

In 2019 I went on a school trip to Greece. I saw the Acropolis and the Theatre of Epidaurus, and there were so many cats walking the streets of Athens. I took tons of zoomed-in pictures of flowers because I love them. One day we went to Santorini: we woke up at 4 a.m., I had a bowl of rice pudding with cinnamon, then an eight-hour ferry each way. One evening in Oia the sunset was gorgeous — but my phone was at 3% and died, so no pictures. At least the ride back came with an Oreo-flavored ice cream sandwich.

A month later came Bermuda with my family. We were all a little scared of the Bermuda Triangle since it was a cruise straight through it, but we explored a cave full of stalactites and stalagmites, hit a beach near Hamilton, and played air hockey on board. I even bumped my head on a throne-like chair posing for photos.

Two and a half months after that, another Italy and Greece trip — Italy on land, Greece by cruise. Italy was so hot that we ate a gelato (or two, or three) every day. We bought Venice-print backpacks and a giant Chupa Chups jar. This time I actually caught the Oia sunset on camera, and we visited a hidden beach in Corfu.

We didn't travel again until 2022. That year we stayed closer to family and headed north, starting with a three-day getaway to Club Med in Charlevoix in June — my first time at a Club Med. I loved the outdoor park with logs to jump across like an obstacle course. The very first evening we watched a breathtaking sunset, all yellow and blue behind the clouds.

The second day we went hiking. It was a little less fun because of the mosquito bites — though nothing like the trip to Jamaica, where my dad and I ran a bite-counting contest (I had 39, he had 42). The guide even handed out tiny, tiny wild strawberries. We were a record group of 17 that trip, when we're usually five or six. On the last day we tried a mountain-biking obstacle course; my older cousins nailed it, and let's just say mine didn't go very well.

Later came Banff, Alberta, and for Christmas we flew to Florida for Disney World and Universal Studios.

The 2023 trip began at the border on July 27 — a Chrysler bumped into mom's car, but everyone was fine. We ate sausage-egg muffins at McDonald's, then shopped the Lake George Village and outlet malls: Crocs charms, a Funko Wish Bear, two Coach purses, Michael Kors shoes for mom. Dinner at Zou Steakhouse was very good, and our post-dinner health walk somehow ended at McDonald's again.

Then the cruise itself. A few highlights:

• Studio B ice show — Frozen in Time, based on Hans Christian Andersen tales, with magical Snow Queen and Red Shoes costumes.
• Jason Bishop's illusions and a zipline over the Abyss.
• A Monster High group-costume plan, a windy White Night show that got cancelled, and karaoke where I sang Back to December.
• Caribbean line dancing, a beach day in Nassau (with a sunburn and keychains for friends), and laser tag.
• A perfect day at CocoCay, a formal night, and my parents' anniversary aboard.

Getting to the airport went smoothly for once. There was free food on the plane after all, though I did lose one of my last working earbuds — thankfully the kid in front of me found it.

Our Fairytale Athens hotel had amazing decor. We explored, had good rice and pho at Dao (a Vietnamese restaurant), and found watermelon sorbet with little chocolate pieces standing in for the seeds — delicious. We even spotted a Snow White–themed restaurant covered in prince-charming and evil-queen decorations.

We flew overnight into London and dropped our bags at The Harrington. The Natural History Museum was a highlight, it reminded me of a scene from the Eternals movie. We ate at Phat Phuc for lunch, then went to the Science Museum. We ate at Mama Pho for supper.