Adventures in Europe Part 3
To be honest, we went into this year of traveling around Europe not quite knowing what we were doing. We decided to leave our home in Ridgefield with our three daughters and our dog to take one year to travel around Europe, to start Around the World Stories and to experience traveling together as a family. At the time, we weren’t quite sure where we were headed after the first month of travels, but we knew we wanted to give our daughters a memorable, transformative, educational and fun adventure while enjoying the experience for ourselves, too. We’re now six months into the trip, and although not every moment has been Instagram worthy, we’re definitely making memories, and we’ve learned a lot along the way how to get the most out of traveling as a family.
Slow Down and Ditch the Top Ten List
It’s tempting to jump from city to city to visit one famous monument after another. As much as we love to see the famous places, we’ve learned that hopping from place to place can burn anyone out—even the most enthusiastic Rick Steves follower. We’ve learned that when traveling with kids, the only way to have a memorable and meaningful trip is to slow down and allow ourselves the time to truly experience the culture, not just the monuments. For us, spending time in cafes, meeting the locals, walking through forests and exploring mountains are just as important as visiting the top ten sites.
To read more, pick up a copy of the December 2016 issue at any of these locations, or view the digital archive copy here.
Read part 1 of this series here.
Read part 2 of this series here.
