Because of the recent unthinkable tragedy in the United States, I’ve been thinking quite a bit about my own kids and children in general. I want this Travel Ahh…to be a celebration of children and their innocence. The photo above is of a child in East Berlin, East Germany feeding pigeons in a mall area. I love how kids can be captivated by a bird adults think of as a dirty pest.

Exouth, Western Australia. Putting your hands in mud or dirt is a universal joy. This is my daughter, Kasey, who was fascinated with the red dirt.

Ubud, Bali, Indonesia. These shy girls were coming home from school and they kindly agreed to have their photo taken.

Visegrád, Hungary. These two brothers, who were extremely well behaved during their aunt’s wedding, mess with each other for a little bit during some down time.

Visegrád, Hungary. This adorable little girl is the sister of the boys in the photo above. She was the flower girl at her aunt’s wedding. She was completely transfixed by this scrunchie toy.

Manly, Sydney, Australia. Temptation. My son Eddie (who was four at the time) took his shoes off to touch the water with his toes. It wasn’t long before he was full-on into these fountains.

St. Maarten. The Caribbean. This boy is skateboarding (although you can’t see the board) and his friend was watching intently. I liked the market in the background as well.

Madrid, Spain. Just outside the famous Museo del Prado, these girls were playing Chinese jumprope while their older sister or baby sitter kept watch.

Sanur, Bali, Indonesia. While I was shopping, my kids Eddie and Kasey befriended the shopkeepers children. Eddie taught the kids how to make a “peace” sign with their hands, so they all were waving peace together. It was a beautiful “I’d like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony” moment.

Fremantle, Western Australia. The wonderful thing about traveling with kids is that often they break the ice for meeting adults. Eddie and Kasey began playing with these girls at a sand pit outside the restaurant Little Creatures and it wasn’t long before we started talking with their parents and had a lovely time.

Brugge/Bruges, Belgium. These cute boys were the kids of the owner of one of the hostels where my college friends and I stayed. They were drinking Yoo-hoo and laughing at the Americans. Too cute.

Paros, Greece. This little boy was helping one of his relatives ring bells after a christening ceremony at an Orthodox Church. Earlier, he had reprimanded my friend Indira and I because we were wearing shorts (we quickly changed into the burlap skirts provided for visitors.)

Adelaide, South Australia. We had just moved to Adelaide and were invited to our first barbecue. Eddie and Kasey hadn’t met any friends yet, but that all changed and they had an absolute blast with Fred (in the middle). I think this photo shows pure joy.

Bondi Beach, Sydney, Australia. Eddie became good buds with Ricardo who was from Rome. The boys played in the sand and the waves for hours. This led to a nice conversation with Ricardo’s family and an invite to Rome. Love the fact you can meet people though your kids while traveling.

Bondi Beach, Sydney, Australia. My daughter Kasey was playing in the sand and a young mother from China brought her little boy over to play. The kids couldn’t communicate, but they scooped some sand together. I loved, too, that the mom (below) wanted to get photos of her child with a kid from another country, also.