I didn’t know it then but this picture captured the moment that led me here today. Here, sharing my very first story with you. Paris is where it all began!
On my 30th birthday, my husband had surprised me with a trip to the city of love. While I agreed that there is just…”something about Paris”, I wasn’t madly in love with the city of love. I know! Crazy right? It wasn’t until he took me back with our young children years later, that something magical happened…
With Paris as the perfect backdrop for a love story, so began our family’s true love story with travel. To us “travel” is not just about a vacation that whisks you away from home. It’s about adventure; and adventures happen daily no matter where you are! We love dreaming up the kind of experience where you feel connected with the humans that make every place so special and that you too – in some small way – have shared a part of you with them.
So, when we decided to give it a second shot with our kids, I knew I had to do something different. It was an intro to Paris for our young kids and I wanted them to have fun while discovering the many layers of Paris. In my research, I found a few activities that you wouldn’t normally think of when you’re going to Paris. As I continued on this quest, the bigger realization was, that it was no longer enough to visit the monuments to check off the lists. I did that the first time and it was wonderful. I gobbled up the history and the architecture was magnificent. A large part of it still felt like I was doing what was expected by standards dictated by “them”. By the way, who IS this “them” and “they” in our heads? I know you know what I’m talking about Hah!
This time around, I wanted us to have a more immersive experience. Traveling was an opportunity to broaden perspectives, to help our kids appreciate the many layers to the humans that lived there and to delight in the intricate tapestry of cultures that makes our world it so brilliantly interesting and exciting.
That’s when we began to seek experiences that created opportunities for us to meet with the locals; to hear about their way of life, share the food they eat, learn about the history (and yes sometimes even politics) from their vantage point. The best part? We did not have to go extremes (financially, mentally or physically) for us to have an enriching experience. We’re working on putting together a guide for Paris so do subscribe below so we can share it with you when it’s published!
P.S. In the meantime… we heard through the grapevine that many are planning to head to places closer to home like Puerto Rico when restrictions are lifted. Caribbean waters a short trip away? Sign me up! Being that we were just there in August last year and once again in February this year, we’d love to be able to help so…. our Free Puerto Rico Travel Guide is ready! Woohoo! You can get the free download here and read about our experience on the beautiful island too!
