The day off was wonderful. I took a great bus tour of the city from the top of a double decker. We went all around the city, and it was partially in English, which was helpful. I walked around a ton, just exploring and getting lost and found again. Then I had dinner at a little cafe overlooking the harbor. The best was sitting across from an 80-something year old woman who was just sitting there sipping a beer. I love the sense of freedom in traveling alone. It's so nice to only be responsible for myself. It's selfish, in a way, but also deserved after the amount of time I've spent with little kids lately. I decided I'm going to apply for the Watson Fellowship (http://www.watsonfellowship.org/site/index.html), because, well, why not? Something about this trip, especially yesterday, has made me crave more time alone in other countries. I love watching people, being anonymous, without responsibility to anyone. I think I could do it for a year.

Anyway, today was fun because it was raining, so Bonnie and I took the kids to an indoor playground (sort of like Leaps and Bounds-Stew, Lindsey, Mom, Dad, and Grets...) and they entertained themselves for 3 1/2 hours. Bonnie and I played with them a bit, but we also just sat and chatted. The more time I spend with her and John, the more I respect them and appreciate them. I was being judgmental for awhile, but I'm really starting to see how hard they try to be good parents, and what a conscious effort they do make. They communicate really well, and although John doesn't spend a ton of time with the kids, you can tell everyone loves each other a lot, which is the most important thing in my book.

This view is incredible. The kids are asleep and I have this nice quiet space all to myself. Bliss. I did realize today though, I'm going to Mexico in 2 weeks! Yikes! I need to start getting in that mindset. At least I finished the book....that's a relief, and it was actually really interesting.