Of course, the answer is yes, simply because I love to drop myself in another culture and see what I can learn or share with my new “friends”. I learned a lot about myself, my 2 youngest sons and so many people I met each day. Here’s just a few things I picked up along the way…
Kids are great ice breakers. I think it was so much easier to speak to strangers on our trip because people would see me with my backpack and the 2 boys and usually start asking questions. It seemed that the retired couples who were traveling tended to be the first to ask questions about our trip or where we were from. The boys love to talk and often people would overhear the boys chatting and they would get right into our discussions. I’m sure there were times I looked tired or beaten down by 2 boys asking a million questions and people stepped in to help out just out of kindness. Some days were longer than others, but there wasn’t a day that I wished I hadn’t taken the trip.
Hotel rooms are very small in Europe and when you share them with your kids, they seem even smaller! I had nowhere to escape. I’ll even admit I sat in the bathroom one night typing away so I could get a few minutes by myself. The boys loved to play with their cars and army men all over the room and I couldn’t deny them of that, so I was usually left with a little space on the bed or if we were very lucky I had a seat on a couch to relax and decompress.
When planning your time, always add extra into the schedule on your travel days when you have kids. The boys kept up with me, but they couldn’t get from one place to the next as fast as adults can go. Let’s face it, their legs are just too small!
Let the kids be involved in the decision-making whether it has to do with what to eat or where to go for the day. I struggled when the boys asked for McDonald’s, but I couldn’t say no because I knew it made them feel like they knew what they were eating rather than having to try something new. I did think it was funny when Christian was convinced his hamburger roll was different in a French McDonald’s than it was at home and there was no convincing him otherwise. Needless to say, he changed to chicken nuggets when we hit another one. It was usually at a train station or in an airport that I caved and gave them McDonald’s and I think I only took them 4 times out of the 75 or so meals we ate while we were away. I guess that’s not too bad, but it’s more than they would eat it at home.
Kids can walk a lot longer and farther than you think. Kevin and Christian were amazing and I never had to change plans because the day I planned was too hard for them. Yes, they did complain along the way but usually a simple treat (candy, gelato, promise of some time to use the iPod) gave them the energy to keep moving.
Do some pre-trip “teaching” when you can so the kids have a good idea of what they are witnessing rather than you having to explain everything at each site. Even if you don’t spend time with them getting background information before each day, prepare yourself for the million questions your kids will ask. I was surprised how many questions I would get asked at the end of the day when the boys had time to digest what they saw and learned. Those were usually the hardest questions to answer, but also the conversations were the most fun.
Bidets are intriguing for little boys. I’m not sure how many times Christian felt it was necessary to pee into the bidet, but I know he did it in a few hotel rooms and luckily neither of them asked me to explain how and why you have the “extra toilet” in the bathroom. I can only imagine the mess they would have made if they tried to use one the right way.
Take trips with your kids, whether it’s down the street or to another part of the world, they love adventures. Give them responsibilities along the way. They are never too small to have their own bag to carry their favorite supplies. I told the boys if they bought something it was going in their bags and it made them think twice before they made any decisions. Have them look at the map with you and figure out where to go. You can do this if you’re at a museum or if you’re driving in a car and need to figure out how to get there. I had fun telling the boys to follow the signs in the airports and in the train stations. It’s amazing how fast they understand what to do or where to go.
Know that some days may seem like a disaster to you, but to the kids it wasn’t. There are days they will want to do everything on your list and others where they will be happy to just spend a little time “learning” and a lot of time “playing”. Either way, they will get something out of the day so just follow their lead and you’ll be amazed at how much better you feel when you sit down for dinner and think about what you did. I’ll have to admit some days I felt defeated, but after I sat back with a glass of wine or an ice-cold beer and looked at what we did that day, I usually was relaxed enough to realize it was a great day after all because I spent it with 2 wonderful children and that’s all that matters.
Now all I need to figure out is how to travel like this and get someone else to pay for it so I can do it again 
— Maybe a travel channel or book publisher is looking for a family to pack up and hit the road….. I wish it were that easy.
Thanks for keeping up with my posts and for sending me notes or comments along the way. It was always a joy to read them.
