At this stage of parenthood, I am inclined to stick my head in the sand and wait until the kids are a little older before trying to attempt a "vacation". In reality, there will never be a perfect time. Traveling with two kids is hard no matter what stage. While many of us (cough, cough, my husband) like to share the highlight reel of our trips on social media, I'd rather capture the behind the scenes bloopers that encompass the reality of traveling with tots. One of my best friends recently said that there needs to be a new word for "vacation" when you have kids. I couldn't agree more.
At three months postpartum, we ventured out of the house to Germany's Rhine Valley. Between breastfeeding and naps we were left with little time to see much of anything. We somehow managed to lose our stroller - but thankfully not the baby - after stopping at Christmas market in Dusseldorf (and by "we" I mean my husband). The upside is that I am now the proud owner of a fancy European stroller. A day later, as Brie was in full meltdown after learning that "Elsa's Castle" (Elsa of Frozen fame), Ben managed to take off the side mirror and dented the car backing out of a parking garage. Are we having fun yet? Talk about a few extra expenses we didn't expect to incur.
Our spring break trip to Italy, by comparison, was far better. We crammed a lot of sightseeing, pizza and gelato into our four days in Rome and Florence. Brie now yells "pizza" and "isjie" whenever we say the word Italy. We were spoiled with multiple date nights complete with a wine flight experience where we offended them after determining that we really aren't fans of the Chianti grape. Aside from a few tantrums about smoothies, a pee'd bed in the middle of the night, and being surrounded by just one too many Americans to get the authentic Italian experience, it really went off without a hitch.
As glamorous as the South of France sounds, it is far less exotic with kids. The Provence region was BEAUTIFUL. The weather was a perfect 78 and sunny. We hit the VRBO jackpot with a gorgeous traditional Provencal rental that comfortably fit two families including four kids and our au pair. Having two kids in your room with a 9 month old going through another dreaded sleep regression/growth spurt (do they always time these things during vacations?) left us with newborn deje 'vu. Our days of getting rowdy and staying up until the wee hours of the morning seem like a million years ago. Instead we were sipping our wine and falling sleep only an hour after the kids went down. Sad!
For the latter half of our trip we headed north towards Lyon. Upon our departure we made a side trip to the town of Avignon known for it's historic Palace of the Popes. As soon as we stepped foot in the city center, Brie was transfixed on the tiny train tour. We figured a quick, scenic tour of the city wouldn't be a bad way to start our day. Little did we know that as we wove through the cobblestone streets with Brooke sucking down her mid-morning bottle that a stomach bug was lurking. We were greeted with projectile vomit 3/4ths of the way through the tour. Ugh! Luckily, the seat in front was vacant, and the other passengers just looked on in horror. As I sat there half covered in formula vomit, I had to shrug it off. This couldn't be the first time this has happened here, right?
To add to the fun, we failed to realize that this was a holiday weekend and EVERYONE would be driving home on Sunday. What should have been a 3 hour drive to our next destination turned out to be a 5.5 hour ordeal with a sick baby to boot. After 2.5 hours in slow down, speed up and tail gate traffic (the French are not great drivers - it's no wonder there were multiple accidents) the kids were fidgety and fussy. I was crankiest of them all and demanded we get off at the next exit. As we drove through the back roads we happend upon a KFC with a kids outdoor playground (you know the ones we used to have at McDonalds back in the 1990's - jackpot!) I can't tell you the last time I was at KFC but I've never been happier to see one. Wait a minute, are we really dining at a KFC in France? Oh wait, yes and I guess we do whatever it takes for our kids like climb up the jungle gym to rescue them too.
As we settled into our hotel, I realized that would fall victim to Brooke's tummy bug. The following day, our au pair Kini faced a similar fate. Majority of us couldn't bear to move from our rooms. All except for Ben and Brie who thankfully came out unscathed.
Traveling is always an adventure and these stories just add to the memories. In the end, I have to remind myself that we get the opportunity to witness the world through the innocent eyes of our kiddos. Even without a common language, they communicate through sharing snacks, smiles and toys in the universal pastime of play. Watching Brie interact with children from all over the world with no concept of race, religion, or nationality. We are all more alike than we are different. Sometimes we need to look to our little ones for the important life lessons. Here's to acting more like kids.