We traveled through 3 countries, 8 cities and every possible mode of transport with our 7.5 month old over 18 days! I felt that deserved a blog, not just to share the experience and learnings but also to memoir the fresh feelings of traveling with my baby so I can reminisce later.
Those who know me, know that I will plan the living shit out of everything. So you can imagine that to travel with my baby internationally for the first time I had planned us down to every minute. But this is not a planning blog, this is a travel blog. So I’ll just leave a thought here: Start your research early (carseat laws, stroller accessibility, breastfeeding etc) and book rescheduleable/cancellable options so you have an optimal itinerary, while still being able to make decisions in runtime based on baby’s needs.
And before, I talk about any of the cities we visited I need to address the elephant in the room. How was baby on the flight? Safe to say she hated it. She hated it with a passion both ways. Recommend sleep training your baby before such long flights. Baby is used to her own twin bed and on the plane space is limited. So after hours of crying and us swaying her, breastfeeding her and pretty much trying everything else we could think of, she fell asleep. Rinse and repeat for flight 2, and return flights.
Side-note: I do NOT recommend Turkish airlines for travel with baby. Their bassinet fell in the middle of the night. They changed our seats randomly, etc.
Leg 1: Gaudi’s Barcelona
But we made it to Spain! And once baby had her nap, she was in good spirits again, smiling and laughing. Not a hint that she had been crying for hours just awhile ago. Babies are truly like rubber bands in that way. This gave us comfort that we can continue with our plans.
Our first interaction in Barcelona was with our taxi driver, who did not speak English and did not care about car seat laws even more! Baby was really happy about travelling on mumma’s lap instead of the usual car seat in the US, taking in all the sights, sounds and seat space. And yes, she absolutely licked a lot of things we didn’t want her to lick. But she was fine so all good.
In fact, one of the highlights of my trip was our first night in Barcelona. Baby was finally asleep. And suprisingly restaurants were open late night. Something about spending hours sleepless, supporting the baby and each other, really brings you and your husband close – we uber-eated some empanadas and spent a silent, romantic couple of minutes standing in the hallways (to not wake the baby), savoring what Barcelona had to offer: fried dough and quiet time!
Barcelona was an absolute treat, we booked a hotel in the heart of the city, Eixample area. All the major Gaudi landmarks were about 15-20 min away. The first day was eventful – we explore La Paderrera, a Gaudi essential and while baby only enjoyed the part where she got to walk around on the roof, we enjoyed the architecture immensely and took turns to entertain baby.
We tried to go to Park Guell, but because we didn’t fully research the stroller accessibility, the whole thing ended up being miserable! It was like 30C outside, overhead sun, hundreds of stairs and no shade. Baby ended up crying almost immediately as we went in. Eventually we ubered back. Oof, and taxis in barcelona don’t need car seats, but Ubers do. What a nightmare – ah well, you win some you lose some.
We quickly learnt this and the rest of our Barcelona trip was smooth. Baby slowly learnt to sleep on our shoulders (she refused to even sit in the stroller most of the time!) which was a blessing. This helped us make more adventurous decisions like taking the subway to Sagrada Familia, Casa Mila and walk the whole of La Rambla, the husband and I alternating to give each other a chance to explore. We also ate as much new food as we could – Paella, Arroz Negro, Fideua – and one thing is clear, Barcelona loves their seafood enough to welcome the beach into their mouths! We found the food to be absolutely delicious. Baby decided to sprout her first tooth to honor this, we think. We also took a risk and impromptu booked tickets for a Flamenco show, although we saw it in turns while the other watched the baby outside. And with a remarkable start to the journey, we hailed a taxi to the Barcelona Sants train station.
Leg 2: France, land of lovely people, heat and smoke
Our train to France was an exciting event! We were traveling to Marseille and we didn’t know that France did not catch up to the idea of ACs. Sweltering heat and no AC lounges to aid us, we ended up with the worst day of the trip on our way to France. In the local train on the way from Nimes to Marseille (a 1.5 hour journey), my baby wasn’t responding to my calls or the breast. The train was packed, my husband was boarding the luggage and nobody spoke English. I dashed with my baby through the train, broken French, broken english to find the conductor and get medical aid. The folk on the train were nothing but helpful as they rushed in and out to support us in whatever way they could. Our woes didn’t end there, as the highly rated Airbnb (in the heart of the tourist district) turned out to be a dud. 3 stories, no elevator, no AC, Self-check in guarded by a Sphinx, apparently. We were so close to losing it!
But baby was now smiling and chatting non stop, with no signs of stress! So instead we mustered some courage and decided to continue. We did end up canceling the next leg of our journey (to Nice) and decided to book a safe hotel: Holiday inn close to the hospital and railway station to spend more time resting and discovering Marseille at a slower pace. And it ended up being a lovely stay!
We spent half a day just emotionally and physically recovering from the unfortunate events of the previous day. But since baby was well, and unharmed, we explored Marseille more intimately than all the other cities we visited. We explored the historic La Panier for a hours. Beautiful narrow streets lined with spray painted/painted art from the free thinkers of multiple generations! We rented a car and explored two Calanques – diving into the cool waters of the Mediterranean – One of the Calanques, was a short but steep hike down and a tricky walk into the sea cave. But all it takes is determined parents to make it happen. So we stepped and passed the baby and stepped and passed to make some exciting (but safe) memories of our trip in Marseille.
Our last explore from Marseille was Arles where Van Gogh spent some time painting. We visited the sites of his famed paintings. Baby by this time had become more accustomed to sitting in our arms, or stroller (less so). So we could see these places a bit more calmly.
Our trepidation was obvious as we boarded the train onward to Toulon to then board the ferry to Corsica, to attend the wedding of one of my closest and dearest friend. In fact that is why we had planned the trip to Europe. We booked a day-hotel to smoothen the trip further between the train and the ferry. And it ended up being a great decision: Comfort, Pacing and Acceptance are the three words I strongly recommend meditating on if you’re planning such a trip for yourself. We took the public bus to the ferry and bar the constant smoke everywhere around us (which gave me a severe cough), it was pleasant enough to get onto the ferry!
The ferry was humongous! My husband ended up carrying the baby most of the day, and his sides ended up sore for awhile. So it was my turn with baby. And like the rest of France, the AC on the ferry was non-existent or in the attendant’s words, only enough to not kill you. Luckily we booked a cabin, and our first journey on a ferry was restful. We spent some time in the night on the deck, when there were fewer smokers (still non-zero) and enjoyed the cool wind and the night sky reflecting on the Mediterranean. If it were just the two of us, we would have probably gotten pretty drunk, and stayed up all night. But tis was not the trip for it.
We landed in Corsica pretty early the day of the wedding. I think I messed up a whole lot on the planning here. I initially thought we could just pick up a car and start exploring Corsica the moment we land, and that way we wouldn’t need the hotel until much later. The car picking had its own issues (Arka got blocked out of the port, car service didn’t accept US license, etc) but more importantly we weren’t fully rested on the ferry so the drive was a bit hectic until we got to the hotel “3 hours later on the other side of the island”. Again: this isn’t a planning blog, but this was the only way things were working out. Luckily it was a beautiful hotel, and we had a little rest before we dressed up and headed to the wedding!
We enjoyed the ceremony immensely, and although we had to hurry back (baby issues), it was fantastic to see my friend tie the knot and run into other boothies during the ceremony. Retroactively it pains me that I hadn’t thought of staying longer in Corsica. It was a beautiful island, and I enjoyed all the food I’d had the opportunity to have. The ferry schedule forced my hand a bit, but I recognize that I messed up on the planning for this island a lot.
Overall France was tricky, but we stuffed our faces with all the croissants, baguettes and Tarte tatins, we could and alors on dansed our way through the country.
Leg 3: Chasing Dan Brown through Italy!
Our ferry from Corsica reached much later than expected in Livorno, a small city in Italy, and we missed our connecting train to Pisa. At 9pm in an unknown city, that may or may not speak English, with a baby was daunting. But after all of the tumultous events of France, Italy welcomed us with much comfort! We got a taxi immediately, folks spoke English and the hotel was centrally Air Conditioned!
Kidding aside, Italy’s weather had improved considerably after a thunderstorm just as we transitioned into it. Our rough spell with the weather was finally over, and we were enjoying 22C with mild showers. We were in Pisa for less than 24 hours but we spent much of it out and about exploring the city streets and of course, the leaning tower and its surroundings (and sprouting another tooth). Pisa is gorgeous, with its bridges over the Arno river and a bustling downtown. We could have spent more time here but we were now on our way to my favorite city of the whole trip, Florence!
Dan Brown’s Inferno is based in this city and we wanted to follow in Langdon’s footsteps across this city. Having had a good rest on the train to Florence, and the Airbnb being located literally beside Il Duomo, we set out immediately. There is something about watching rains over Il Duomo from the balcony of your Airbnb that refreshes you instantly. We explored the Boboli Gardens where Langdon hides from the Florence Police and followed him under the Ponte Veccio and into the Palazzo Vecchio, hall of five hundred. Baby fell asleep very quickly in the rains (aided by a little breastfeeding), so we spent a lot of time appreciating the art of Palazzo Vechhio, and of course, the Statue of David! We also took a very wet journey on foot to the Piazzale Michelangelo and the views of Florence amidst the mist made the trip quite worth it.
We spent a lot of time eating and drinking around Il Duomo, taking advantage of the Airbnb’s proximity to the location and found Italian restaurant/cafe owners extremely happy with their craft and willing to concoct special items for us. They were very kind for the baby’s needs. Overall Florence was a treat, and I hope to go back again some day!
Our next stop was Venice! We were only there for a day and we walked a lot in those 24 hours. Since Venice isn’t very friendly to strollers (lots of bridges!) – we walked with baby in our arms the whole time. She was very kind as we navigated different Piazzas, Markets and even a Gondola ride. Again, we were short of time and missed some highlights like the Doge’s palace (from Dan Brown’s book) but, onward and forward – we were out to our last stop Rome!
Rome is breathtaking. Beautiful everywhere you look. I can imagine being an arts or culture student here, taking everything in. Our hotel was a bit shabby, but the AC worked great, and honestly, I can’t believe how much we cared about that by the end of the trip.
The evening we reached, we set out to take in the sights of Rome, chasing Dan Brown’s Angels and Demons locations, namely the Piazza Navona, Pantheon, and the Trevi Fountain and each seemed a feat of architecture, given when it was built. Gotta hand it to Rome for preserving all of the history, while still modernizing the city around. Later the next day, we explored the Roman Forum, and while we decided not to take a guided tour (given baby, we needed flexibility for time and for crying), I feel we would have learned so much more if we had someone to walk us through. Our audio guide worked for our circumstance though. It was quite grand to think we were walking right where Julius Cesar had walked many centuries ago. We also visited the Colosseum, and while baby wasn’t taking to kindly to the increasing heat, we did get a chance to see the multiple levels and admire the grandeur of the structure.
Of course no trip to Rome is complete without the Vatican, the seat of Christianity! St Peter’s Basilica, Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel, rounded out our trip to Rome, and as it turns out Europe. Entirely grand, and worthy of all the stories written about it, Rome also deserved more time than we had. It was now trime to fly back home after a long trip!
Side-note: We didn’t account for this, but we didn’t fully recover from this trip immediately (took me 2 weeks), because apparently you can’t take a break from parenting a baby after a long trip. That itself is an all day all night job. This is PSA for those planning.
Itinerary!
| | Date | City | Booking, Hotel | Sights to see |
| Spain | Friday, August 18, | Barcelona | Violetta Boutique Hotel – Highly Recommend | Sagrada Familia, Casa Mila, Casa Battlo, Park Guell, La Rambla, Casa Montjuic, Flamenco show |
| Saturday, August 19, | Barcelona | | ||
| Sunday, August 20, | Barcelona | | ||
| Monday, August 21, | Barcelona-Marseille | Airbnb(Marseille) – DO NOT RECOMMEND for Families 27 Rue du Refuge Marseille, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur France | La Panier, Notre Dam de la Gard, Calanques, Arles, Palais Longchamp, Maritime Museum | |
| France | Tuesday, August 22, | Marseille | Holiday Inn (Marseille) | |
| Wednesday, August 23, | Marseille | | ||
| Thursday, August 24, | Marseille | | ||
| Friday, August 25, | Marseille-Toulon | | ||
| Toulon – Bastia (Corsica) | | | ||
| Saturday, August 26, | Corsica | Hotel Kalliste – Highly Recommend Place De La Marine, 20150 Porto Ota, France | | |
| Sunday, August 27, | Corsica-Livorno | | ||
| Italy | Livorno – Pisa | Hotel la Pace – Highly Recommend Viale Gramsci 14 – Galleria B, Pisa, PI, 56125 Italy | Leaning Tower of Pisa, Camposantto, Cattedrale di Pisa, Botanical Garden | |
| Monday, August 28, | Pisa – Florence | | Il Duomo, Palazzo Vecchio, Ponte Vecchio, Piazzale Michelangelo, Boboli Gardens | |
| Tuesday, August 29, | Florence | Airbnb (Florence) – Highly recommend Via dei Servi, 3 Florence, Toscana Italy | ||
| Wednesday, August 30, | Florence – Venice | Il Mercante Di Venezia Hotel Calle Della Misericordia-cannaregio 379, Venice, VE, Italy | Gondola Ride, Water Taxi/Bus, Doge’s palace, St Mark’s square | |
| Thursday, August 31, | Venice-Rome | | Pantheon, Piazza Navona, Trevi Fountain, St Peter’s Basilica, Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel, Roman Forum, Colosseum, Church of Santa Maria Della Vittoria, Castel Sant’Angelo | |
| Friday, September 1, | Rome | Casa Vacanze Scalone – DO NOT RECOMMEND Via di Santa Maria Maggiore 161, Rione Monti, 00185 Rome, Italy | ||
| Saturday, September 2 | Rome | | ||
| Sunday, September 3, | Rome-SF | |
Thoughts on the edge 