Bon voyage! Sudbury family counts down to round-the-world journey
Family to take planes, trains, automobiles and boats across North America, Asia, Europe and Africa
A Sudbury family is about to embark on what promises to be an unforgettable adventure — but are they ready to go?
"No!", laughed Mélanie Doyon. She and husband Benoît Clément have been saving and planning for three years. Now, they're taking a year off of work, and instead, taking their sons Hugo, 12, and Eloi, 7, on a trip around the world.
The itinerary is an ambitious one: it begins with a Canada-US road trip, then some volunteer work-stays at Canadian farms (called "woofing"), then it's a hop-skip-and-a-jump to Alaska, Japan — and then on to the Trans-Siberian Railway across Russia.
"And after that, we'll see," said Clément. "It's pretty hard to organize something five or six months from now."
Citizens of the world, learning on the road
As for the kids, Clément said, "they're pretty excited." The boys have been given travel books over the last year to whet their curiosity about the world.
Doyon also said "[their] schools have been really accommodating" about the education plan for the boys while away. One has been assigned an arts credit, and will sketch while abroad. She said after that, the kids will simply re-integrate into the next grade when they come home.
"Why not?", she said of the plan. "It's just a great experience. Our kids are still young, and still want to spend time with us, so why not do it now?"
You can follow the family on their upcoming adventures here.
Listen to the complete interview with Doyon and Clément on CBC radio's program Morning North here.
