When
The kids are back in school this week (Montessori school, so our 2 ½ year old joins her 4 ½ year old brother) and with that comes new meeting teachers, classmates, new shoes, pack punches, and all the rest. It also got us thinking about schedules, weekly (we both work full time) as well as the upcoming school year. Our school system has a one week fall break in October and a two week spring break in March.
Two weeks. What are we going to do for 17 days?! We live in a metropolitan area so library days, nature walks, museum free days…the grocery store, we suppose. Dan works out of the house so staying home with the kids proves difficult even if we split time off between our two jobs. So, after a few discussions via family walks after dinner we’ve decided to aim for France 2018 during this giant spring break.
Two main arguments in favor:
- Spain was magnificent but seems so long ago (5 months!). Waiting for October 2018 seems like a long time. Greedy, we know.
- 17 days would result in at least one trip to the beach or to family out of state. In essence, spending a lot of money to go on a domestic vacation. Maybe we try to trim our existing France 2018 itinerary and spend our time there.
The risks of March travel in France include cold(er) weather and some sights outside of Paris may not be open (e.g., Monet’s garden at Giverny opens in April). In 2014 we were lucky with weather in March (2012 was late September) so we’re hoping for more of the same.
Where
This will be our 3rd time in France but 1st time outside of Paris (Versailles day trip in 2012 aside) so we’re excited to explore Normandy (D-Day beaches, Mont Saint-Michel, etc.) and the Loire Valley for some French countryside and to see some chateaux up close. Paris will be the anchor; museums, parks, neighborhood exploration, food and all.
Normandy carries risks associated with then 5 and 3 year olds. Most of the tours are 4-8 hours (i.e., all stinking day) and also require drives in rental cars or vans to access the beaches and related sites. Our tour of the Alhambra this past spring as outstanding, especially considering the 4 hour tour was bookended by a pair of 3 hour bus rides. The two year old was beyond tired for the way home but her brother eventually slept most of the ride back. We think they’re up for it and hope that the wide open outdoor setting will help too. Snacks and water bottle refills will abound.
Mont Saint-Michel will likely just be “a castle” to them (they really like the causeway access in pictures) but otherwise, as long as we can find reasonable lodging and transportation close by we should be ok.
Loire Valley is us moving past our comfort zones albeit only slightly. A big risk that these are just big empty mansions with nice lawns. We enjoyed Versailles in 2012 but wouldn’t go back any time soon. What if this was a less-interesting Versailles?? Well, we hope not. We hope it’s a chance to a) see more of France and b) learn a little about the area including its role for writers like Proust and George Sand (we have some major reading to do) and artists like Rousseau. Even if that falls flat, the kids will lose their minds when they see “a castle with a river running through it?! Dad, that is a bridge castle!” (Château de Chenonceau)
Talk soon,
Dan & Betsy
PS Notice that we’ve not-so-coincidentally plan to make a loop. For this trip we are looking to catch a deal on flights and most often flying in and out of the same city helps make that more likely.
