My husband and I started our love for Europe in 2011 when we decided to go backpack Europe after we graduated college. Every college graduate's dream right? We visited Paris, Zurich, Rome and Venice. It was an amazing adventure together.
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| Normandy Beach |
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| Venice |
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| Rome |
From that trip on we day dreamed about one day sharing that experience with our children. Traveling is such a passion of ours, and we knew we were going to continue to travel during parenthood. One day we'd play with our kids on the lawn of the Eiffel Tower.
Finally the opportunity was on the horizon, but it was up to us to save the money in time. We had a small window that we could go, and it was before I started nursing school and before my husband started his full time summer job. Luckily we saved like crazy and made it happen! We booked a two week adventure for all three of us to Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam.
Many of our friends and family were in shock that we would back pack Europe with a 1 year old. We didn't think much of it (besides the airplane ride). Norah is a very unique baby. She travels miraculously well for her age. She sleeps like a teenager and is breastfed which makes keeping her happy pretty easy. Plus let's be honest, at this point in our lives my husband and I couldn't bare the thought of not seeing Norah June for two weeks straight. My husband JUST got us back in his life full time, and he was the first one to shoot the idea of a trip sans Norah down. I haven't even left her for a night, so I'm definitely not ready for 14 nights.
A few things to figure out before we went since we were toting a baby with us this time. Sleeping arrangements. We don't cosleep. I won't go into detail on why so you can put your judging faces/comments away! We read many blogs of parents who have done this before and found an awesome, light, and portable solution. Kid-friendly pop up sleeping tent! It fit in our pack and was super light and safe for her to sleep in. Next, a high chair. If you've done some research you know that high chairs in restaurants in Europe are super scarce. It's not that the eateries aren't family friendly, it's just that space is money and high chairs take up a lot of space. If Norah were a bit younger we could have gotten away without one, but she doesn't sit still in our laps anymore during dinner time, so we needed some sort of device that we could travel with that wouldn't break our backs carrying around. We found a great solution for this too.
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| Norah's sleep tent |
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| Fold up "high chair" |
We also loved the monkey mat, thanks Shark Tank! We picnic a lot usually on our own in Europe but with a baby it's a no brainer. The monkey mat is super light, water proof, durable and folds up into a pouch the size of your hand. Great for quick diaper changes too when there's no bathroom to be found. The perfect kid picnic blanket. We use it all the time at home too for the park and festivals.
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| Monkey Mat! |
We we really picky with the flights and wanted to make things as easy on us as possible with Norah. We found cheap round trip NONSTOP flights from Dallas to Paris! We flew there at night, so that Norah would sleep most of the way. It worked for the most part.
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| First passport |
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| "is that our plane?" |
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| The awesome sterwardess moved my family to the front for more crawl space for Norah! |
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| Traditional start our adventure picture + one |
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| Only 4 bags for 2 weeks in Europe with a baby, not bad! |
First we visited Paris! It was wonderful playing with Norah on the Eiffel Tower lawn. Our Air BnB was very close to the tower, so an easy transit time. One of our favorite memories was when we were doing a food walk down Paris's famous Rue de Cler and stopped in a Frommaige (cheese shop). We ordered goat cheese in French to sample and the shop worker just loved Norah. He sliced off a big mild piece for her to try and she liked it! They clapped when she ate it. We definitely noticed a difference traveling with Norah and the interactions we had with the Parisians. They were much more friendly towards us. We really enjoyed it.
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| She loved the windows in our Air BnB |
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| Naked Norah on the loose! |
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| Family Picture! |
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| Mama's wish came true, carousel ride! |
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| Napolean's tomb |
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| Where to next? |
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| Notre Dame |
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| Norah pointing to the center of Paris! |
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| Learning to walk in a park next to Notre Dame |
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| There's Daddy's belly button! |
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| We picnicked alot! |
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| Dinner on the lawn |
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| We love to sip lattes and people watch in outdoor cafes |
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| My first! |
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| Snuggling her baguette |
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| Gelato! |
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| Breastfeeding this toddler for 1 year! |
Next we trained it to Brussels! She loved the train ride. We didn't bring a carseat, so she loved the two week break from that thing.
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| Peeking out |
Our Air BnB in Brussels was right smack in the city center. Great location! The host even surprised us with a pack n play, very sweet of them.
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| View from our Air BnB |
A month before we were set to fly to Europe, Brussels became the victim of an awful terrorist attack and suffered bombings to it's airport and metro stations. We had many family members scared for our safety and wanted us to alter our travel plans. It crossed our minds, but we decided against it and still traveled to Brussels. We're so glad we did. The threat of terrorism is everywhere. If we changed our travel plans, then they win. We refuse to be terrorized. We refuse to live in fear, so onward to Brussels.
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| Memorial at the damaged metro stop |
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| Bombing memorial in front of the stock exchange |
Brussels was definitely a party town, but we found plenty of fun things to do with Norah and still had a great time.
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| Mussles in Brussels |
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| Belgium waffles |
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| Not for Norah! |
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| Mannequin Pis! |
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| It was hard keeping her quiet inside churches! |
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| Perks of being up early in Europe...nobody around! |
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| Breastfeeding Art |
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| Guiness World Record Holder so we had to try! |
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| EU Tour |
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| Dinosaur Museum |
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| Train to Amsterdam! |
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| Waiting for a train... |
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| Got her own seat! |
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| Hello Amsterdam!!! |
Next stop, train to Amsterdam! Amsterdam was probably our favorite city we visited this trip. In fact it's having us rethink moving to Paris and instead choosing Amsterdam! Why were we so swayed you might ask? Amsterdam was so clean and quiet! We didn't see one bum or pandhandler the entire trip. The main method of transportation is bicycles, so without the hustle and bustle of traffic the city is surprisingly quiet and clear. No yucky smoke, cars honking, loud engines or huge parking lots filled to the brim with vehicles. We loved the city for this alone. Amsterdam is rated one of the most family friendly cities in Europe, and that was a big reason we brought Norah with us for this stop. The rumor was true! The locals were incredibly accommodating and sweet with us and Norah. When we visited the main museum the staff were so kind and accommodating. Restaurants encouraged us to bring Norah in (we usually get take away because she can get fussy). Public transportation was a breeze with a baby as well. Overall we loved it.
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| Air BnB |
Our Air BnB here was ah-mazing! The host met us at the bus stop, showed us around and even had a high chair, baby tub and pack n play for Norah. She installed a baby gate for the stairs as well. She was amazing.
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