5 Perspectives I Gained from Traveling in France with Kids

I recently traveled to Paris, France as well as many towns in the Normandy region with my husband and three kids. I had so many moments throughout our 10 days there that made me really reflect on what to expect (and not expect) when traveling. I think so often in my head that things should go perfectly because it’s vacation, when it’s still life…just in a new amazing place. I really reflected on this trip about how to reframe what traveling with (3) kids is like and it helped shift my perspective so that I wasn’t sweating the small stuff. But let’s be honest I was still stressed at times because well….I was traveling with three kids, one of which who is in full pre-teen mode!

1. Things WILL go wrong so just expect it.

I once heard that until 20 things go wrong while traveling, consider that nothing has gone wrong – I say make it 30! I’ve rarely met a trip without at least some hiccups so go in expecting that it won’t all go as planned (even with a great travel advisor) so save yourself some headaches. For reference, here is a list of things that went “wrong” in the first 4 days of our 10-day trip:

1. Flight was delayed over an hour and the gate changed
2. Tons of road closures in Paris meaning taxis wouldn’t take us and we ended up walking 20 miles in 2 days.
3. My husband left is cell phone and wallet in the car that drove us to our hotel from the airport and we had to contact them to get it back (see what I mean by I was still stressed – this was a doozie!)
4. The international roaming network for cell phones was out for our first 48 hours so we couldn’t get an uber, use maps, call friends, etc, etc.
5. Our bus driver got in a wreck on the way to Normandy and we had to wait an hour on the bus while they sorted it out.
6. My youngest left her backpack in a restaurant and we remembered 15 min before a scheduled tour, so my husband had to run back almost a mile away to get it.
7. Went through the wrong toll lane in France and held up traffic and couldn’t understand the French help line to get through to keep driving.
8. Our washing machine broke, and we woke up to our clothes in a puddle of water and no working dryer.

2. Things that may bother you at home will hit differently when traveling.

One of my absolute favorite things about France was all the flowers and grasses. Literally everywhere you looked there were wildflowers, weeds, flower boxes and more and it was absolutely beautiful! I kept thinking, how is this field of weeds so stunning here but at home, I stress about weeds in the yard (also the HOA.) Take time to notice to unexpected beauty around you that you may not even notice in your busy everyday life.

3. It’s OK to NOT be productive – that’s kind of the point.

I had to stop myself multiple times on this trip from feeling like I needed to be accomplishing something. My entire life is driven by how productive I am – at work and at home. The whole point of vacation is to vacate all that productivity and just lean into relaxing and being present. If you accomplish zero things at the end of the trip besides being present with yourself and your family, you can consider that a success!

4. You are capable.

This being my first time in France, I was a bit intimidated that I wouldn’t know what to do, how to get around, how to order food, how to drive and more. Guess what – I did it all and did it well! While I may not have known French, and had no cell service for two days, but we got everywhere we needed to go, ordered delicious food and thrived! It can be intimidating to go somewhere new, but I was reminded how capable I am – everything is Figureoutable (from my favorite Marie Forleo book!)

5. Your kids will still fight.

Not sure why I thought my kids would instantly listen to me, follow directions and get along but let me tell you they will not flip a switch and be a perfect child just because you are on vacation. In all honestly my pre-teen son had such a horrible attitude I considered finding a French family to adopt him (only sort of kidding ☺) While it would be ideal if your kids could understand the investment you put into a trip and the privilege that it is to be able to travel – they most likely won’t. They are still kids (mine were 11,8,5 at the time) and will still act like kids so set the bar very low!

~Until next time!