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Starting To Plan Family Travel

I am in the initial stages of planning for June 2021 (hopefully) for my family of four. My husband and I traveled extensively to Europe for 10-15 years before we had kids but now I feel like I am starting from scratch since it is a whole new layer for family travel (example: all our favorite hotels will not fit all 4 of us.). Our daughters will be 6 and 9 next year and we will have somewhere between 18-21 days, including arrival/departure days. We’ve traveled within the US and the kids are pretty good travelers. We prefer one room and can get by with 2 full size beds. We don’t have a budget yet but thinking accommodations somewhere around $400 per night but I can adjust if that is unrealistic.

I know we have way too many places listed but trying to figure out what to cut is hard. We (parents) like history, architecture, food, beer, culture, walking around looking at sights, and a bit of art (oldest love art). Kids like running around, parks/playgrounds, meeting new people, girly stuff, and their 2 places they want to visit are London and Paris.
I would like to fit in a brewery tour if possible since my husband is into that, he could do the tour by himself if needed. We are pretty active and on the go, usually from early morning to evening.

We have been to the *asterisk places but again, not with kids. Ideally we would like a mix of new and familiar places and smaller towns and bigger cities. Please feel free to suggest other family friendly places s well. Generally we don’t like spending more than 4-5 nights in one place, again before kids.

Also, besides RS, are there other books/sites I should look at for family travel? Thanks everyone in advance.

*London
Edinburg
*Paris
Disneyland Paris (kids want to go, 2 days max)
Strasbourg
*Berlin (We’ve been here on every Europe trip)
Butzbach – near Frankfurt (this is a must, my husband lived there for 6 years and we want the kids to see it, could be a day trip)
*Munich
*Rothenburg ob der Tauber
Bergen
*Amsterdam
*Prague

Posted by
2767 posts

I can’t suggest an itinerary with those places specifically but I can give a few tips on family travel. My kids are 10 and 13 and we’ve gone to Europe every year at least once since they were 4 and 1. I can say it’s easier as they get older (not sure about teens!) and 6 and 9 is great!

A few general tips:
-avoid 1 and even 2 night stops. Kids just take more time to pack up/move and also you will spend more time playing meaning less time at sights. So would need more to see the same things.

-don’t be afraid to split up. You are a family but you don’t need to be together 24/7. You and one kid are adventurous eaters? Go on a food tour while the others go to the park. One adult wants to go to a museum that no one else cares about and will bore kids? Go, other adult watches kids. Trade at another time for the other adult to do something.

-look early for rooms for 4 - they are more rare but do exist. Also strongly consider apartments. You can get 2 bedrooms and plenty of other space which is great for kids. You can store snacks and have privacy. I’ve stayed at some AMAZING places (3 bedrooms, roof decks with sea or cathedral views, washing machines, multiple balconies) for under $300. Obviously some locations are cheaper than others but I’m not talking about “budget” locations.
Regardless $400 is more than realistic, unless you require luxury. Even more so if you average - London will be expensive, Berlin less etc. Some cities have “aparthotels” - just what it sounds like, a hotel in which the rooms are apartments.

-prioritize sights, and find out where parks are beforehand. So after an hour at the church you can head straight to the park, get ice cream, and run around.

-sleep is tough. Adults often want to go out early and stay out late but that doesn’t always work for kids. Sometimes midday naps help, sometimes plan around it. If you are going to a late dinner or theater, allow kids to sleep in the next day. This is a good place for the separate strategy. Earlybird adult goes our for coffee/enjoys sunrise/takes a walk, others sleep.

-don’t overpack and make sure each kid can mostly manage their stuff (maybe a small rolling suitcase and a backpack for books and toys?). Obviously you will have to help occasionally but if the kids carry most of their own stuff it’s easier on everyone.

Posted by
4495 posts

2 full size beds

Just commenting on the beds. I have never had 2 large beds in a European hotel, even in American chains. The Edinbugh Marriott had 1 full + 2 twins, other hotels we have gotten 2 (or 3) rooms, sometimes they are connecting rooms (love the French for this, chambres communicantes). With children the age of yours you will have to take family or connecting rooms which is going to be somewhat of a struggle to find, or split up one adult per room. Mostly we get apartments, and only use hotels for short stays or single night transitions to a train or plane.

The recommendation for budget family travel is get apartments and drive (over taking the train). It works out vastly cheaper esp. if you are willing to eat in. Also children often just want pizza or known foods and do not appreciate or desire to experiment with food. Lots of people are horrified at the thought of a cooking and driving European vacation, though.

Posted by
6431 posts

Yes, 12 destinations in 18-21 days is, well, madness. Even for well-traveled high-energy adults. Hopefully the kids' first trip to Europe won't be their last. But if they have to rush around this way you may have trouble interesting them in another, at least until they're old enough to go on their own.

I'd suggest cutting out the outliers, like Edinburgh, Berlin, Bergen, Prague, so you have a more compact plan with less time spent between places. Or better still, stick to London, Paris (including Disney), Butzbach, and maybe Munich or Amsterdam. Fly into one city and home from another, as you probably already know.

Apartments make a lot of sense for the reasons other posters gave. But you don't necessarily need to cook a lot of dinners, just be content with pizza or Asian takeout or other alternatives to those three-hour multi-course restaurant meals (which drive me crazy too). And doing things separately now and then can enrich everyone's experience. Like, say, the brewery. Also, as often suggested, involve the kids in the planning, including giving each a day here and there to plan herself for the family. And by all means let each kid manage as much of her own luggage as possible most of the time, including packing.

Lucky kids to have parents ready to take them to Europe next year! I hope it's possible to do so.

Posted by
3938 posts

We’ve taken our granddaughters to Europe several times in the past 16 years most recently last year. We did switch to apartment rentals for the majority of our stays when it was the 4 of us traveling together. When we did stay in a hotel we got adjoining rooms, both in London and Paris.

Since you’ve mentioned 4-5 must do places I think I’d plan an itinerary something like this, staying about 5 days in the larger cities.

Fly into London—they’ll LOVE it! Parks galore, theater, museums, street performers, great restaurants, etc.

Eurostar to Paris and Disney if that’s high on their wish list.

Train to Amsterdam or a charming city nearby (Leiden, Delft, Haarlem).

Train to Butzbach. Don’t shortchange this smaller city, it looks like an interesting place for wandering and soaking up a place without as many tourists.

Fly home from Frankfurt.

Have fun planning!

Posted by
4616 posts

Just some quick ideas for activities I think the girls would love:

London - The Tower of London [especially the jewels ], boat rides on the Thames, the Big Red double-decker bus, Harrod's food court, and the London Eye. The Churchill War Rooms are very interesting, and I think a tour of Parliament would hold interest, esp for the nine year old.
Edinburg - evening tour of the caverns under the city, [the "haunted tours",] Museum of Scotland, and visit Bobby and the related Greyfriars cemetery .
Strasbough is magical, and you can climb the steps up to the Cathedral tower; biking in the area.
Rothenburg - Night Watchmen Tour, walking on the Town Wall, climbing the tower steps of City Hall, and just being there!

I hope your trip happens, and is safe and healthy.

Posted by
11033 posts

With Butzbach being a must, ( and as I understand it Disney Paris) I think London, Edinburgh, Bergen and Prague are the first to be scratched. Trying to add London, in my view, becomes a 'we have been there' check the box kind of thing.

With careful planning and an 'open jaw' flight plan, the rest could work for the time you have.

Happy travels

Posted by
419 posts

Our family needs a minimum of 3 nights in any given place so that we have 2 full days of sight seeing. We tend to start late like 11:00am and end around 8pm and we never go back for naps. $400 is plenty.

We do Airbnb to get the most bang for our buck. Depending on the city I have rented Lovely 1-2 bedroom apartments in great locations for $130-$150. I start early 9 months and spend a lot of time researching. The good places get booked early for summer travel. It’s near impossible to find a reasonably priced single room hotel for a family of 4 in the city center. But sometimes we use hotel points and stay just outside the city center. A 25 minute ride on the metro works for us.

When my daughters were younger they shared a carry on and one small backpack. This worked great with all the train travel in Europe.

My daughters loved Bruges, Belgium. An easy stop between Amsterdam and Paris. The only place we stayed 2 nights. Is your family Harry Potter fans. We absolutely loved Platform 9 3/4 at Kings Cross Sta.

Kids get so many discounts in Europe. Be sure to always look for kid and family prices for the metro, trains, museum, etc.

Posted by
26840 posts

I love Berlin and look forward to going back to see the things I didn't have time for in 2015, despite spending six full days in the city. It wouldn't be near the top of my list with 6- and 9-year-olds. To me, it's mostly a place one goes to wallow in museums and historical sites, (unless one is looking for nightlife). Because of wartime damage Berlin mostly lacks the Olde German architecture that I assume would appeal to, and be remembered by, children.

Bergen carries with it a significant weather risk--being possibly the rainiest city in Europe, so it's not the sort of place I'd want to squeeze into an over-stuffed itinerary. You might easily spend the better part of 3 days getting there and back south and end up with dreadful weather that severely affected your plans.

Near Strasbourg you have Haut-Koenigsbourg castle and Monkey Mountain--both mentioned several times in earlier threads about traveling with children. (I haven't been to either one.)

Posted by
5362 posts

With 18-21 days and with two kids under 10, you pick 4 places. You stay in apartments or Air BnB's so that you can cook some meals (at least breakfast). You will never find a room in a hotel with two double beds. Don't try too hard to adjust your kids to the time change. Let them sleep late and stay up late. Trust me.

As Paris, London and Butzbach are all required, then I would add something rural and Alpine, and stay on a farm in Bavaria just to give yourselves a break from cities.

Posted by
11056 posts

It is so easy to travel between London and Paris by train so start with those two. Our grandkids loved London!

Posted by
63 posts

Thanks @Mira and everyone for all your tips. This is why I love RS peeps the most, helpful and encouraging. Yes I know I have way to many places and will eliminate most. I am super organized and plan everything out so hopefully that will happen this time too. Good info about splitting up, oldest and I love Egyptian artifacts and hope to find some museums that have this (primary reason Berlin was in the list).

I am fine with AirBnb/VRBO places as we’ve stayed at some before. I tend to splurge on a really nice hotel the first night wherever I go and then typically moderate the rest of the time. I don’t mind cooking or making a few meals, in fact i generally prefer it. Luckily my kids are moderately adventurous eaters (Indian/Thai type mainly).

Not crazy about driving since I will need at least one car seat but I may change my mind once I see the price of train tickets.

Good tip about bed size, I remember staying in a few hotels with 2 good size (double/full??) beds but that was several years ago (and mainly in German, Belgium, and Austria) so perhaps I was mistaken.

@acraven thanks for the advice to eliminate Berlin. It pains me to do so as it is my favorite city but other than a few museums and parks I doubt The kids will like it. I like the suggestion about Strasbourg.

Luckily I have about a year to plan. Thank you again.

Posted by
419 posts

Not crazy about driving since I will need at least one car seat but I may change my mind once I see the price of train tickets.

Buy your backless booster seat here in the US. It will easily fit in the overhead bin on the plane. Turn it upside down and attach / rather let it rest on the top of a carryon, and attach it with a bungee cord. This allowed us to easily tote our booster seat. When we were finished with rental cars we ditched it.

I looked into buying a booster seat in the UK and Italy (the two places where we needed a car) and I didn’t like the selection. And I never trust a car rental to have the correct size car seat much less a clean one.

Posted by
26840 posts

The Pergamon Museum is probably the home of most of the Egyptian antiquities currently residing in Berlin. The last I heard, a major chunk of that museum was closed for significant building work that has been going on for years. The museum website will have info on the current status, I'm sure.

The British Museum in London may fill the bill for you; it has major Middle Eastern collections. Be prepared, though, for extremely crowded conditions unless the aftermath of COVID-19 leads to substantial reductions in the number of people allowed to enter. It was a madhouse on my 2019 visits. I was told that it's worst on rainy days when folks are looking for indoor activities.

French archaeologists were also active in the field; I'm sure there are good things to be seen in Paris as well.

Posted by
4495 posts

Not crazy about driving

It's a different experience than trains (for sure) but some things to note:

  1. Supermarket trips are so much easier.
  2. It's the way the locals live
  3. Each child has her own space to set up and carry over from place to place
  4. Bring an old car seat and drop it at the end of the trip. Leave it next to the car rental place, it will be used by someone.
  5. The ability to just walk out of lodging and move on with your day at a whim is precious. Local transport to the train station and then finding the train and the seats, and watching your stuff during the ride, it all adds up as a stressful day. One of the advantages of the old days of European train travel, just show up and take the next train at a reasonable price, is long gone. Now you have the stress of missing your cheap pre-booked train so end up at the station 1 hour ahead and wait, wait, wait, or pay $100/ticket for the ability to miss it and take the next one. Either choice is rather poor IMO.
  6. Now anything is open to you: a castle, a chateau, a prehistoric cave with paintings, a coastline, so you will balance out your trip with rural things not normally part of a train itinerary.

Note that taking a car from one country and dropping it in another is not really an option, you have to rent a car per country or return it to the country where you rented it.

Posted by
32519 posts

Bring an old car seat and drop it at the end of the trip. Leave it next to the car rental place, it will be used by someone.

I wonder about that one. If you rocked up at a car place and saw an old car seat outside would you want to use it? Or are you leaving your trash behind for somebody else to deal with?

With the girls both under 10 there will be plenty of child fares (or free fares) available or family tickets on train tickets.

Posted by
2767 posts

As for driving, you can rent a car seat with most car rental agencies. It's expensive (a per day fee), but if you just drive for a couple days to see some off-the-beaten-path places, it is worth it. If you are doing a longer rental, a driving trip, then brining your own seat is much more cost-effective There's also a highly portable inflatable booster car seat we used for a few years. Carseat link on amazon

Posted by
1970 posts

When our kids were 8 and 10, we did a 3 week trip to London, Paris, Normandy, Edinburgh and Aberdeenshire and for us, it was perfect. So just a thought on how you can do the bigger cities, but add on some smaller areas.

We always traveled with our kids, and opted for hotels instead of apartments. In Paris we stayed at the the Best Western Bretagne Montparnasse in Paris. They have family rooms with plenty of room for 4. Just 3 years ago we stayed at The Hotel Spitzweg in Rothenburg with our adult kids. Huge room, worked great. Earlier this year in Prague, we stayed at the Hotel Leon D'Oro. We did not have a family room there as it was just the 2 of us, but there was some youth sports event going on and there were tons of families staying there, so that might be one to check out. In Bergen we stayed at the Thon Hotel Orien. At this hotel we just had 3 of us traveling, but I know they had rooms for 4.

Posted by
32519 posts

if you bring a car seat the cars in Europe will expect it to have ISO-fittings so they are compatible with the ISO-fittings in the car.

Is that a requirement for seats sold in the US? Or do they have some sort of different US fittings?

Posted by
1970 posts

I accidentally left out the hotel we stayed at in London. The Park International Hotel. It was a great location for us and they have rooms for 4.

Posted by
7595 posts

I first moved overseas when my children were 5 and 11. We traveled extensively and returned to the USA after five years when the kids were 10 and 16.

My Son doesn't remember much of most of the travels that we took during that period. My Daughter, who was older took it all in and loved it.

When traveling, we didn't stop going to museums, even when my Son would be ready to leave after 30 minutes. Still, I think they did absorb some of what they saw, especially my Daughter.

My Son at age 7 was in awe of the Sistine Chapel and does remember that. He wanted me to explain who all the figures on the walls and ceiling were. The kids loved going up the Eiffel Tower, taking a cruise on the Seine. They loved the gondola ride in Venice and going up the Youngfrau Mountain in Switzerland where you could see snow in the Summer.

Rothenburg is a great place for kids, they get to see what a medieval village looks like.

I know you are probably planning the Disney Paris visit for the kids. Sorry, but I disagree, you can do that in the USA. Don't waste your time in Europe doing that.

You mention Bergen. Are you talking about Bergen, Norway? That is a bid out of the way.

Scotland and Edinburg are great, but that is a lot of time just for a short visit. There is so much to see in England that you can do on a day trip from London. Windsor Castle is a must. Stonehenge and Bath are good options. Stratford Upon Avon is great if you love Shakespeare.

Posted by
419 posts

If you rent a car bring a Garmin GPS with international maps from home. Practice using it before you leave.

Posted by
739 posts

My first ever trip to Europe was when I was 8. With my a Sister (14) abd Brother (16) and our folks.

And I will talk on behalf of your youngest child. The things they will remember most consist of the following.

Big famous places. I assume because they will have these memories reinforced all the time. Hard to forget what Neuschwanstien looks like when it is pictured EVERYWHERE.

They will also remember emotionally connected things. In my case I could draw you a picture of my Great Aunt and her house. She was an absolute sweetheart.

They will also remember things better if they don’t blend together so much. If you visit 3 cathedrals three castles and do this staying in three relatively similar looking hotel rooms and driving the same car... Well they are going to blend together and just because one big fuzzy mess that 20 years on they will hardly remember.
So i would try to make distinctive choices. So things stand out. For example I remember our two days on the water. A Boat tour around Hamburg (my dads home city) and our Trip on the Rhine because they were different. But I know I forgot a couple cathedrals. Heck I visited on of them two years ago and I still can’t remember seeing it as a kid.

As for travel advice with kids... speaking as an ex kid traveler. Try and let them have as much say as you can. After three weeks of being told 100% what is happening it gets overwhelming. So let them choose. If you really don’t care where you eat. Lunch then maybe let them choose and if that means McDonald's... so be it. Remember they are supposed to be in vacation as well. If the vacation turns into “work” for them they will not be happy. Remember they are giving up friends toys and habits that they normally do and enjoy so the more you control them the more the trip goes from fun to work. They are going to be expected to behave and put up with things that adults dislike so try and give them as much freedom as you can.
And do things for them. In London take them to a toy store or something.... let them select a trinket to take home to their best friend or yo buy a toy to play with in Europe. Personally I would buy a could small toys on day one or two let them play with them at night then ship them home the last day or two.
One of my most treasured suvenerrs from my first trip is this stuffed animal my great aunt gave me. I have always had it it with me in my house.
I would also recommend a major change in the plan. Assuming your kids don’t speak French or a German fluently I would suggest you go to England LAST. Your kids will be more easy going and put up with things the most in the beginning and will bet more worn out as the trip goes on. As such part of this is the constantly being out of the conversation because they don’t speak the local language (assuming they don’t, or at least don’t speak it well). By going to the place they can understand the language the best at the end you are making things easier for them as they are otherwise getting more worn out and annoyed.
Remember no one likes to be treated as a child and this includes children. So the more you have yo treat them as children the less happy they will be and having to do all the talking and explaining to then is going to just add to that feeling of being out of control and being a child again.

Please do not take these points wrong. Your children will have a great time and remember (to one degree or another) the trip for the rest of there lives. I am just pointing out things to keep in mind from your kids point of view. And simple steps you can easily take that will make this a great experience for them as well as for you.

So do the famous big stuff,
Try to make things distinctive so they will stand out in there memories,
Try to give them as much say so/choice making as you can.
Make the trip Easier as it goes on (do less in a day, do more kid friendly stuff go to places they can communicate best)

Posted by
4616 posts

Douglas, your post is very well-written with practical advice. It should serve many families with traveling children.

I might suggest the kids be given a small /weekly daily allowances for personal purchases. Since most kids have smart phones, they can use the currency calculators to figure out the exchange rates and figure budgets. They can then learn to identify and appreciate the foreign currency coins.
[When my daughter was five years old, she became a math quiz when it involved spending and budgeting her own money.]

Sending great wishes for a safe and memorable family trip!

Posted by
739 posts

Funny I didn’t think about the money bit. Being as my parents gave us each a daily allowance for snacks drinks and momentous we wanted to buy... that was the first time I ever had to carry money on a daily basis and chose what to spend it on.... I should have remembered that.

Posted by
63 posts

Douglas - Thanks so much for the detailed information and kid perspective. I think leaving London for last is a great idea, As is having daily spending money.

Posted by
63 posts

Thankfully my kids don’t have phones (yet) well, the oldest has an ancient iPhone for photos and videos but it isn’t connected.
I do agree about living in the moment and not on devices. Sometimes hard to do but worth it.

Posted by
13 posts

How exciting!! Your kids will remember this trip forever I am sure. I would do something like the following:

London - 4 or 5 nights
Amsterdam -2 nights
Paris (and Disney) - 5 or 6 nights
Germany - for remainder
(Salzburg would be a great place to stay with kids - the sound of music tour, day trip to Neuschweinstein, smaller city would be a nice break)

Look into the Taj (51 Buckingham gate- rooms are more apartment style). So much to do in London but some kid favorites might be traditional tea (there are some great kid theme ones likes Alice in wonderland), the theatre, London eye, British museum (look into their gallery activities for kids), changing of the guard (depending on when you are there you might make the trooping of the coulour), Beefeaters tour at the tower, double decker hop on hop off tour, exploring all the different cuisines!!

As a former child traveler - I would suggest that you mix in a few things that us adults would maybe find a little cheesy! I vividly remember madam Tussauds wax museum and an evening ghost tour on my first trip to London at 11 years old. I loved every second! My favorite memory of that trip was probably the Trooping of the Color though - I was fascinated to see the Royal family from afar!

Oh and packing light will be a game changer! Can make or break the ease I’d traveling between destinations.

Posted by
739 posts

While I agree to keeping smart devices to a dull roar. Keep two things in mind. Travel often up has very slow dull moments standing in lines waiting for aircraft and such, a smart device with a few simple games can keep kids from getting too bored,

The other point I Meant yo bring up is... photos. I would suggest you get something to allow the older child (and perhaps the younger depending on personality) to take there own photos. Not lots but some. Once again this makes it as much there vacation as yours. And the things they find interesting may differ from yours.

As I said elsewhere we visited my aunt. And she had a big dig and the big dog had a little cat. No one in our family who had a camera (Dad and my brother had big DSLRs and my mom had an instomatic) and NO ONE took a photo of the cat or the dog.... We still TALK about the cat and dog but... no photos. If I had a camera I promise you we would have a photo of the cat sleeping on the St Bernard.

Perhaps in the build up to the trip a few brief kid friendly videos on photography and an afternoon or two of how to practice someplace fun like a local zoo. If you bring it in as a practice for our trip type thing your kid would be interested, And they would feel involved in the prep.
I recall that we we participated in the trip prep such as getting our passports and buying luggage and such it was fun an increased to excitement if the trip, But the here you are presentation of the “facts” with no input just kind of made it feel like school....

So if your kids have an interest in any aspect if the trip then encourage them to “help”.
I really can’t over emphasize that the more you do to make it there vacation as much as it is your will be hugely beneficial in both the short term while on the trip but also in the future as they look back on it.
The other point I would bring up is... photos in general. My dad and I looked back this weekend at photos from that first trip, and we noticed we had very few photos of multiple family members at the same time, And we had NO photos of all of us at once in a month long trip... And now that my mother is gone and never made it back to Europe with me (she did go with my dad and eldest brother) I regret not having more photos of her in Europe.
Even my two most recent trips with my father we didn’t get as many photos of my Father by himself or the two of us as I now wish I had..,

Remember you are not just taking a trip and having fun but you are building up the memories that your family will share in the future.

Posted by
63 posts

Once again, thank you Douglas for great advice and perspectives. I like the idea of letting them have a say in what we do and where we go, for at least a portion of the trip. They have a few kid friendly books on London, Paris, and Amsterdam. Mainly pictures but describing the city and what it is known for.
Just to clarify, the oldest uses my old iPhone (a 3 or 4 I think) for pictures and videos. There are a few games on it but ithe phone isn’t part of the data plan. We do have it on our home WiFi at home. I do agree that pictures super important, especially when children grow up or when family is no longer around.
Looking back I only have a small handful of picture of my dad and I because he was the family photographer.
I am considering buying a cheap digital camera for the youngest so she is involved without her oldest sister always being in control.

Posted by
26840 posts

Although a lot of the museums are free/donation requested, a lot of the other sights are very expensive. Some of them have 2-for-1 deals that might work for you. Those need to be used judiciously, because you must stand in the ticket line to qualify for them; no ordering the tickets in advance on the Internet (and that does sometimes save you a modest amount anyway).

The participating sites can change from time to time, but you can do some preliminary checking now at this website: https://www.daysoutguide.co.uk/search-results?r=8026&o=0. You should research the regular entry fees for both children and adults to determine the potential savings, in order to be sure it's worth the ticket-line hassle. (On the other hand, a lot of folks don't like to buy a London Eye ticket in advance anyway because they want to experience that during a period of good weather.)

What makes it tricky is that to qualify for those offers you must have a ticket sold at a train station. For those spending close to a week in London, a one-week tube pass (bought at a rail station rather than a tube station) is perhaps the easiest solution. Even with a shorter stay, the 2-for-1 savings might justify buying the weekly tube pass.

Posted by
739 posts

The older I get the more important my first trip becomes.
It was the last major trip with my Sister and Brother. It was the last time I say my great Aunt. And while we always talked About going to Europe together it was the only European trip I took with my mother. As she passed away before we ever went back (she did go back with my dad and my brother).

So as I grow older the significance of this trip changes.

It is with this in mind that I look back and try to pull together my thoughts and ideas in an effort to try and think what would have been nice when I was younger,