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EP 47: Travel Recap
1.9k Plays1 year ago
Bonjour! In today’s episode Candace and Whitney recap their travels and give you an idea of what its REALLY like traveling with two young kids. Candace dishes all the details about her eurotrip with her two year old and 3 month old. Whitney recaps her trip to Rhode Island. They tell you everything they learned and what they would do differently.
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Transcript
Introduction and Recent Travels
00:00:07
Speaker
There's no right way to do it. Oh, we're gonna get into it.
00:00:14
Speaker
What up babes on a plane? My name is Candace and I'm here with my best friend Whitney. And this is the mom group chat podcast. We've been some traveling babes. We sure have. And honestly, I've lived a thousand lives. Yeah, it feels good to be home. I just gotta say. I have never been more appreciative of my stupid little boring life.
00:00:40
Speaker
than how I feel right now. Truly, I love my life way more now than I loved it before May 12th. The day, the music. It's just so funny. I know you weren't necessarily looking forward to traveling international, but how much
00:01:06
Speaker
you like look forward to a trip and then you get home and you're just like I missed my bed. Oh my god. I think I've known for a while now that I'm more of a homebody than I don't even know if I can compare it to anyone specifically but like I'm more of a homebody than I thought I was. Yeah I am definitely as I get older and especially with kids like sometimes I think even just like going out to eat I'm like it's not worth it but yeah
00:01:33
Speaker
But from what I learned on my trip, it's because I'm not doing it a lot, so it seems daunting to me.
Dining Out: Travel vs. Home
00:01:42
Speaker
And then when you go out to eat every night on vacation, you're like, it's not that bad. Okay, that's an interesting mindset shift there.
00:01:51
Speaker
It's because it's the minority of your like everyday life. Like I don't do it very often. We might go once a week. And if you have one bad experience, you're like, I don't want to freaking do that again for a while. So you don't. But on vacation, you're like trying to do as much as possible.
00:02:08
Speaker
You're seeing friends, you're making plans, and you're just like, well, you just kind of have to wing it. And if it's good, it's good. If it's bad, you're just like, whatever, we had a bad take today. Maybe tomorrow will be better. So some things I've learned. I like that. I like that.
Memorial Day Recording and Episode Preview
00:02:24
Speaker
Well, before we like get into full recap mode, I just wanted to say this is probably like the most real time recording that we have ever had because we are recording this on Memorial Day. Happy Memorial Day, everyone, which is why I'm drinking a baby Corona. Because Memorial Day and beer just like go together, you know? I just feel like I needed to be drinking a beer.
00:02:50
Speaker
I really feel like I'm like letting you down that I'm not, but I just told Candace I was like on a 14 day bender and I've got to relax. Even though like I told Chris because Candace texted me, she goes, I think I'm going to get wine. And I texted Chris and I was like, Candace is drinking wine. So he brought it up here. And like he's like, do you want it? And then he's like, but my guy, my wine glass with water just in case. And he was going to pour it out.
00:03:21
Speaker
It's awful though. I know. And I was like, I'll just drink water because he's the one that said he wasn't drinking today. So I was like, okay, I won't. But then when you said you were, I was like, what do I do? And this, this everyone is the basis of our friendship. It's like, Oh, well she was doing it. So when I have to, and then I looked at Chris, I was like, Chris, are you going to drink today now? And he was like, well, not right now. I was like, okay, I'll wait. Like, are we now?
00:03:50
Speaker
Well, I'm not going to lie. When I came on here and said I was going to drink, I and you didn't respond with, oh, yeah, I have some too. I was disappointed. You know, I just I know. I'm sorry. But like I said, been on a bender. I literally got back from Rhode Island and went straight to the lake. So but we can get into that.
00:04:11
Speaker
Yeah. Oh, OK. Well, I feel like this is going to be a chunky episode because I got a lot to say. I think everyone's been looking forward to Candace's Euro recap. So this is just a recap episode of our travels and just full disclosure. We actually recorded a previous episode of this where we were we did like a prep.
00:04:38
Speaker
for our trips.
Technical Difficulties and Episode Setup
00:04:41
Speaker
And as I was editing it, first of all, I was not my microphone was not on for some reason, which like, what the fuck? Are we newbies here? I don't know. We're professionals, but my microphone was not on. So the audio wasn't terrible, but it wasn't great. And then I've just posted so much about like, I can't wait to recap this trip that I felt we felt like posting the planning part was like not
00:05:07
Speaker
I don't know. I didn't love that episode. Yeah, it doesn't. I felt like we didn't have a ton of concrete. It was more so me talking through all the options and irrelevant anymore. Yeah, we're back.
00:05:19
Speaker
Yeah, we're back. And if you do, if you yourself are traveling to Europe anytime soon and you have questions or want to know my thought process behind some of these decisions, send me a DM and I will do a personal episode for
Europe Trip Begins: Challenges and Complaints
00:05:33
Speaker
you. No, I'm just kidding. I will talk you through anything like that I plan for and go into details on those things. We just felt like the recap was way juicier and better. So.
00:05:45
Speaker
Yeah. And we also have another travel episode that we did last year with one kid each. And so now this is a good recap for when you travel with two. And I think last year we all were mostly driving and this is more plane like travel. So.
00:06:02
Speaker
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. I just can't wait because I feel like once again Candice gate keeps for the pod and I don't freaking know every little detail about her life I barely got to talk to her while she was there which was like very lonesome it was I mean I was so unplugged while we were there for the for the One reason that it was just all hands on deck all the time. Yeah for sure. I
00:06:27
Speaker
There was not a moment, there was very little moments where I could just enjoy being on my phone or to like update people. It was truly treacherous. So I don't even know where to begin. I also want to preface this whole episode by saying, this is gonna be a little bit of a bitch fest from my side. It just, I can't avoid it. It was not fun, okay?
00:06:55
Speaker
So if you are looking forward to a trip to Europe, I don't want what I'm going to say to discourage you because everyone has a different idea of heart and everyone has a different idea of fun. And these things just were not my idea of fun. So but it might it might not be that hard for you. And I'll go into like the logistics of like what we did wrong or what we did right. I'll go into those things. But I think you started off your trip clunky when
00:07:26
Speaker
which you can go into, but when people aren't sleeping. Yeah. Yeah. Should I just get, should we just go? Should we just get started? Hit me. Okay. Okay. So we had a direct flight from Tampa to London.
00:07:43
Speaker
And my first clip of advice is to get to the airport way earlier than you think you do. If you think you're giving yourself enough time with two kids, you're not. You're not. You need an hour more, no matter what. And that was like a theme of our trip. And even when we planned ahead, we were still behind. So even before we left Tampa, we got to the airport.
00:08:08
Speaker
three hours ahead of time, like everyone says, but in order to check in for international with a lap infant, we have to go to the desk and have them check you in and do all the luggage and get the gate tag, whatever. We get there and Counterline is
00:08:29
Speaker
Miles long. I mean it is like to the point where I was concerned we were going to miss our flight. Like it was really a lot and scary and I was panicking and I was like we haven't even left yet and I'm already having a bad time.
00:08:46
Speaker
So it's fine. We made it up to the counter. We got ourselves checked in, all of those things, like whatever. And we made it through security to our gate with two, like literally two minutes later they started boarding.
00:09:02
Speaker
And you know, like I thought I was going to be able to change diapers and chained into pajamas and like do the whole thing because we were, it's an overnight flight. So I'm like, okay, I'm going to have some time to like prep us for bedtime is what I thought.
00:09:17
Speaker
hard no, that did not happen. I sat down for two seconds and then was up trying to get everyone to the gate to get on the flight.
Flight Struggles and Arrival in London
00:09:29
Speaker
We get up to the gate and the counter people at British Airways forgot to give us a tag for our stroller. So they stopped us and they're like, you don't have a tag for your stroller. And I'm like, oh, so this is the first like panicky moment.
00:09:42
Speaker
We have so much crap in our hands from diaper bags and carry-ons to Evie being in the carrier and Alice who's already freaking out in the stroller. The gay agent ended up being so nice. She was like, stay here. You guys can go ahead and we'll scan your boarding passages. Wait right inside. I'm going to go get you a tag. I was like, thank you. Please. This is the first person that really helped us.
00:10:09
Speaker
Whatever. We did that. We get on the plane. The seats are just so small. I just don't know how else to say it. Like nothing makes me feel like a large barge more than being on an economy seat on an international flight. Okay. It is true.
00:10:24
Speaker
They're very tiny. These seats are so small. And when you have kids and then all the stuff, it just makes the space feel even smaller. It was really hard. I'm not going to go into every single detail of everything. We'd be here literally seven hours, but Alice did not sleep. She slept maybe an hour on a... That is so bad.
00:10:50
Speaker
It was so bad. And I felt so bad for her because she truly just could not get comfortable. And we bought tons of little doodads and things for her to try and get comfortable. We bought that inflatable footrest that fills the gap between her seat and the seat in front of her, which actually
00:11:11
Speaker
in my opinion, worked great for what it's supposed to do. Like it made a flat surface. We laid a blanket out and I had a little toddler pillow and we made her a bed. The only problem is she would not fucking lay in it. Like she would not. She couldn't get comfortable.
00:11:27
Speaker
She wanted me to hold her the whole time. And then the other layer of this is I couldn't hold her because I was wearing Evie and they, British Airways was so strict about the lap infant being on my lap only. And she had to be in a seatbelt at all times. They gave me this seatbelt attachment. They would not let me hold her in the carrier in a, yeah. Like, you know, like the,
00:11:57
Speaker
I don't have an art, but you know what I mean? Like the baby carrier, they would not let me keep her in that. They were so strict about it. And they gave me a seat belt attachment that went over my seat belt and then so that she had a little seat belt for any time the seat belt sign was on. Not only would they let they she had to be in the seat belt, she had to be facing forward.
00:12:24
Speaker
And if you know a newborn or an infant, that's not a natural way to hold them. Yeah. So Alice is screaming because she wants me to hold her. I cannot give up Evie because they've yelled at me. And they were nice, but they were stern with me on like, you have to hold her. She has to be in a seatbelt. And I was like, oh my fucking God, what am I going to do? Truly, what am I going to do?
00:12:53
Speaker
So it was just a really, really hard flight. There was at least an hour of screaming and crying from Alice. Finally, I think she just gave up. And you should have seen the position she fell asleep in. It would look like the most uncomfortable position possible. And both Vinny and I were like, if you just laid in this perfect bed we made you, you would be comfortable. Yeah.
00:13:22
Speaker
But she wouldn't. So it was just so we land in London. No one has slept. I have not slept. Vinny probably slept the most out of all of us. Maybe like two and a half, three hours because the man can panic attack if they made me face my child forward every single time.
00:13:38
Speaker
Yeah, it was crazy. And I had read I had read beforehand that British Airways was the most strict with all things kids like they're the most like I had read that that little footrest blow up thing we bought. I had read that.
00:13:55
Speaker
British airwaves may not let me use it. If they catch you using it, they're going to say, you can't use that. Everything I read was like, be inconspicuous about it. Like don't cause a scene. So we tried to be kind of sneaky with it. And they never said anything about the foot rest. Thank God. But I mean, not that not that she even used it anyway, but so like Whitney said, we kind of got off on the wrong foot because no, we all arrive in London and no one slept.
00:14:23
Speaker
We did have a little bright spot there. We had asked if we could do an early check-in at our Airbnb and they said no ahead of time. Well that day we're like let's just ask one more time because we were gonna have to put our bags and like this stowaway thing and then we were gonna sight-seed that day because we were like what else are we gonna do like I don't know. We ended up reaching out to the Airbnb when we landed around like 10 a.m. and they were like
00:14:48
Speaker
sure for 40 euros, you can check in early. We're like done. Like get us there. So we did. Um, and that was fine. That whole situation was fine. The car seats from the car service in London, like we're definitely not up to code. They were the sketchiest fucking car seats I've ever put my child in like nothing. I can't even explain them. They, I wish maybe I took a picture of them and I can post them there.
00:15:16
Speaker
They were definitely not regulation, but at that point it's like, just get me there. Like, I have no fucks to give on like, if the car seats are correct, they're strapped into something. That's all I know. You know?
00:15:31
Speaker
That was kind of an overarching theme. We didn't bring car seats. We decided to just use car services for the big trips, like to and from the airport, train stations, et cetera. And then sightseeing, we just used a stroller, a baby carrier, and we took public transportation everywhere.
00:15:51
Speaker
I will get to. It was so hard. That night was also really tough and here's where we went wrong. We didn't give the child Benadryl like we should have. The pediatrician literally told us to bring it with us and said, use it if you need her to sleep.
00:16:12
Speaker
It's totally valid for you to use it. We did not use it on the plane and we did not use it the first night and putting Alice to bed was a fucking nightmare. She was so overtired. She screamed. We did not have a pack and play for her. The whole plan was for her to sleep in a bed with my mom.
00:16:31
Speaker
which we felt like she's done it before. It was gonna be chill. It was so not chill. It was not chill. It was awful. It was really bad. She screamed. She was overtired. She would not settle. My mom ended up having to lay with her for hours, and every time my mom moved at all, she would freak the fuck out. And all night long, she woke up freaking out. I don't know why the fuck we didn't just give her some Benadryl. The girl needed it, but...
00:17:00
Speaker
i don't know so if i could go back in time to be honest i would have given her benadryl for the plane and this whole situation may have been different but um so london itself we actually really enjoyed so bright spot here a little glimpse of positivity through the clouds
00:17:19
Speaker
We liked London. It was beautiful. And we felt like it was actually pretty easy to navigate with kids.
London Life: Adjustments and Improvements
00:17:27
Speaker
A lot of the train stations had elevators for us to take. There were some that didn't and we had to like pick up the stroller and do it, but it was fine. It was fine. So overall London was good. That second night we gave Alice Benadryl. She slept like a dream. And we ended up giving her Benadryl for every night of the trip after that.
00:17:49
Speaker
She had Benadryl like six nights in a row. That's okay. So don't judge me. My pediatrician told me I could. Okay. Oh, I mean, I've definitely given it to Graydon. So, but they're over too. They're allowed. Yeah. I think I gave it to him before too. Sorry.
00:18:07
Speaker
So we were in London for what, a day and a half, two days.
Ryanair Troubles
00:18:10
Speaker
We saw all the sights and not all the sights, but you know what I mean, all the big ones. Then we were flying from London to Nantes, France. Okay. So here is where my husband almost got kicked out of an airport.
00:18:32
Speaker
So I just need to say that Vinny and I have both. We love my brother and his fiance. Like we love them so much. But this trip was like a lot to ask of us. And there is a tiny bit of like, fuck, this is hard. And we don't know if they realize how hard it was on us type thing.
00:18:53
Speaker
And they won't until they have kids. So yeah. Yeah. So we go to the airport again, not enough time. We thought we left enough time. There was not enough time. We barely made this flight as well. Um, but we get up to the counter and we were flying Ryan air. And if anyone knows what Ryan air is, it is basically the spirit airlines of Europe. They're super cheap flights within Europe, basically. So.
00:19:22
Speaker
And we decided to do that because it's an hour flight from London to Nantes and which is better. We thought, okay, this is better than a four and a half hour train ride, right?
00:19:36
Speaker
Looking back now, I don't know if that was the right decision, but because we ended up taking a train later in the trip from Nantes to Paris, and that was two hours, and it was so much more comfortable than the plane. Just the situation of getting on the train and the train station was so much easier than dealing with an airport. Yeah, Alice probably liked it too.
00:19:59
Speaker
Yeah, it was so comfortable. There was so much room to move around. The seats are nice and big. It was just like, we should have done that. I think looking back, but I mean, what can you do? Okay, if you've ever flown Ryanair, it's one of those things that's like, it's so expensive to be cheap. Our flights were $30 a person, but bags are extra, seats are extra, whatever.
00:20:26
Speaker
I didn't check into the flight because almost always, like, for example, on our way home, flying American air, yeah, American airlines, like we.
00:20:36
Speaker
I tried to check in and they were like, you have to check in at the counter. You have a lap infant. Almost always it says that. So I didn't check in. I didn't think it was that big of a deal. It's an hour flight, blah, blah, blah. We get, we get to the airport. We wait in an hour line to see someone at the, at the counter. And the woman's like, um, you didn't check in to your flight. And we're like, yeah, we have a lap infant and like all of this baby stuff. Like we didn't, you know,
00:21:04
Speaker
She was like, oh, well, with our airline, if you don't check in ahead of time, it's an extra $55 a person to check in. What? Yeah.
00:21:16
Speaker
Yeah. So we get up there and my husband just fucking loses it. I mean, and he's already angry about this trip and the waiting in line and everything. And like, he just loses it on this woman, this poor woman. And I know it is not her fault. And I was, I was on her side. I really was because he was being crazy and was being like, this fucking ridiculous, you're fucking robbing us. Like we had already like,
00:21:44
Speaker
paid a lot of money for all of these extra things on these flights, like the seats and the bags and the whatever. It ended up being like $400 before we even got this extra $55 per person charge.
00:21:57
Speaker
Oh my God, that's insane. It was bad. He was cursing and yelling and basically like, you can help us out. We have two kids, like please. She was not budging. And then she threatened to get him thrown out because she said he was using abusive language.
00:22:17
Speaker
And I looked at him and I was like, shut the fuck up right now. The last thing we need is for you to get thrown out of here and then we're even more fucked, okay? So that whole thing happened.
French Wedding and Train Travel
00:22:32
Speaker
That airport was also the most unorganized airport I've ever been through in my life. The security was crazy. You had to walk through an entire mall
00:22:43
Speaker
to get to your gate. I wish I was fucking joking. It was the craziest mall experience in an airport I've ever seen. Store after store after store after store until you even got to the gates. It was a 30 minute walk from security to the gates.
00:23:00
Speaker
I have never sweat more in my entire life than walking through that airport with all of our shit and the stress of everything we've just been through. Okay, so whatever. We get to France and here's the highlight of the trip. The wedding was definitely the highlight. The wedding was beautiful.
00:23:22
Speaker
Alice was amazing as a flower girl. The chateau was great. Everything was truly provided for you. Breakfast, lunch. For the first time, I didn't have to think about getting on a train or traveling.
00:23:37
Speaker
what we're doing for breakfast, like it was three days of not having to worry about that kind of stuff. So that was really nice. They even like the room that they gave us had a little dishwasher, like it had like basically a wet bar outside with a full dish, like functioning dishwasher. And they had like one of those electric kettles so that I could make like warm bottles. And it was bliss compared to everything else.
00:24:04
Speaker
The wedding was beautiful. It was like out of a fairy tale. The place was like a castle, literally. Yeah. And it was very like Bridgerton vibes inside. And Alice felt like she was in a fairy tale. They had a horse and carriage. Alice got to ride in a horse and carriage. There were fireworks while they cut cake. Like it was like it was truly out of a
00:24:32
Speaker
I don't know, it was like out of a fairy tale. The wedding part was great. We also had extra family members there obviously that were there for the wedding too. So they offered to like take Alice in the morning to like explore the grounds and like.
00:24:47
Speaker
which gave us a little bit of a break. Also, Alice took the best nap of that trip on the wedding day, which was the biggest blessing of all time. We closed that room if you closed all the shutters. It was dark as fuck in that room. And Vinny wanted to take a nap, and I was fine with that. I had to do my mom's makeup for the wedding. I had a bunch of shit I needed to do.
00:25:11
Speaker
So I just closed them in there and they both took a three hour nap. Like it was a dream. Um, so that was a big win. And she ended up staying up late to go to dance at the wedding. And like, we had a great time. The wedding was beautiful. Yada, yada, yada. So the next day we get on the train to Paris, which is that two hour train ride.
00:25:35
Speaker
And here is where we started to really feel the Language barrier when we got to that to that train station so when we at the chateau like most of the people like They were French, but they like spoke English, you know
00:25:50
Speaker
Um, the train station, like no one spoke English. Um, and it was really hard to like communicate with people. Our train was delayed like 45 minutes. So we were just trying to understand like what that meant for us and like the sign kept changing and it's all in French.
00:26:10
Speaker
Rob, thank God, was like using his Google Translate like super app. I don't freaking know. And was kind of like spearheading that. I had to go to the bathroom so bad and I forgot that you have to pay for the bathrooms there. So I show up and this woman's trying to like tell me that like she's like, finally she held up a credit card and she was like,
00:26:30
Speaker
You need to pay. And I was like, Oh, fuck. So I have to do that there. Yeah. All the bathrooms, like you have to pay to use. So, um, we get on the train. That whole situation is tough too, because there's not like attendance there to tell you like what to do with your bags or what to do when you get on the train, or they don't look at your ticket to tell you like where your seat is. It's basically like you're on your fucking own and
00:26:59
Speaker
We figured it out. It was like a stressful 10 minutes just to make sure like we found our seats and put our luggage in the right place and like all of that. But once we were on the train, that was fine. Like the seats are big. It's really quiet in there, which is really nice. And Alice, it was around nap time for Alice. So she actually ended up falling asleep on the on the
00:27:21
Speaker
on the train and that was great. It was easy to get warm water for a bottle. The train was great. And I think looking back, if we had taken more trains instead of planes, this would have been a better trip. So that's a hot tip for anyone traveling through Europe. I think the train is just a better option.
00:27:44
Speaker
Okay, so here's where, here's where things really take a turn downward.
Paris Stress and Language Barriers
00:27:48
Speaker
And that is Paris. And I hate saying that because I feel like all my life I've wanted to go to Paris and it's so like glamorized and so like held on a pedestal as, as Whitney said, and yeah.
00:28:05
Speaker
I just was not a fan. But I need to tell you about our experience getting off of this train into the train station in Paris. So we did this was the only place that we didn't have transportation set up. And that's because
00:28:23
Speaker
It was, we were already underground. So we had said, like, it was going to be a quick transfer for us to just take the Metro to our place, to our Airbnb. And that was our original plan was, okay, we're just going to take the subway with all of our bags and get to our Airbnb. It's only, it's literally, it was literally like a 20 minute, three stop situation, or at least that's what we thought.
00:28:49
Speaker
When we were at the chateau, people just kept telling us, you have to be really careful in Paris. It is very dangerous. They target people like you on the subway. They can spot Americans a mile away. If you have a bunch of luggage, you are literally creating a huge target for yourself. Everyone at the chateau, even the French people were like, do not do that. Do not go on the subway with all of your luggage and the kids. Don't do it.
00:29:15
Speaker
And I was kind of like, okay, fine. You're like, bitch, I've lived in New York. Yeah, yeah. I was like, whatever. But Rob, it really scared Rob and my mom. So they decided the plan now was for one female and one male. So either my mom and Vinny or me and Rob or whatever.
00:29:37
Speaker
Two of us were going to just take the bags in a taxi to the place, and the other two were going to take the kids on the Metro, because remember, we don't have car seats. Taxis do not provide car seats, and they will not take you without some sort of car seat.
00:29:55
Speaker
So there wasn't an option for all of us to take a car. So that was the plan. We go down to where the taxis are. It's still kind of underground-ish. And the taxis will not take us with the bags. They're telling us in French, thank God there was a guy there kind of translating. He was basically saying, it's illegal to take this many bags, which is crazy. We didn't have that many bags. We had one large suitcase for each of us.
00:30:24
Speaker
like I had a large suitcase of any, we had four large suitcases, two carry-ons, a stroller, like it really wasn't that much for the amount of people we had, but they refused. So we just sat there for a while, like looking at each other, like what the fuck are we going to do? Like everyone told us not to take the subway, but here we are, like we don't know what
00:30:44
Speaker
what we're going to do finally. And also this guy started to heckle us. He was like, I have a van over there. He's like, I can take you all I can. And and every we had just seen so much stuff about like people scamming tourists. And I'm like, we're not falling for this guy. So Vinny and I are just like, let's fucking do it. We're taking the subway with all of our shit. Let's just get it over with. So we do we get on the train.
00:31:12
Speaker
Whitney, okay, I need to just remind everyone listening. We have me and Evie. I am wearing Evie on my chest. We have Alice in a stroller. We have four large suitcases, like large suitcases. One rolly carry-on and two large duffel bags.
00:31:35
Speaker
Okay, that's a lot of bags with kids and everything. So we start the journey and these train stations in Paris are so old. They do not have elevators, hardly anyone, anything. We had came across one station that had an elevator and it was under service, so we couldn't even use it.
00:31:59
Speaker
the amount of stairs and very, very narrow gates to scan your ticket to get in. It was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. I've been putting off going back to my workout classes since having a baby because I'm like, I'm not ready. No, bitch, this trip showed me that I'm ready. I'm ready because that
00:32:27
Speaker
whole trip to our Airbnb in the Paris subway was the most intense interval workout I've done in my entire life. I mean, we're talking weightlifting. I did it all with a 15 pound baby strap to me. For most of it, I just had to deal with wearing Evie and carrying the stroller. I was carrying Alice in the stroller with Evie on me upstairs and downstairs. I was the one alone. No one helping me.
00:32:58
Speaker
It was psychotic, honestly. I mean, it was not as easy as it looked online to be like, oh, we're only three stops away. No, it was like not that simple. We ended up having to change trains in the middle of it. We also realized halfway through that it was 5 p.m. on a Friday, like rush hour, 5 p.m. on a Friday.
00:33:20
Speaker
People are so unhelpful in Paris. They look at you like, you're a fucking menace. Get out of here. No one's helpful. If we were ever confused about where we were going or we had to stop for an extra second to read the signs and try to figure out what they said,
00:33:42
Speaker
People are so rude and it was just the biggest struggle of my life. I have never sweat more in my whole life and looking back, we should have just booked transportation like we did for all the other places. Did anyone echo you though?
00:34:04
Speaker
Not on that specific trip, there were definitely like sketchy people that were on other times we rode the subway that were like kind of getting close to us that were like, oh, fuck no, get out of here. So that was just crazy. When we got to our Airbnb, I've like never been so happy to just be inside my life. Like there's no air conditioning there, so Airbnb didn't have air conditioning.
00:34:31
Speaker
A lot of places in Europe, every Airbnb we looked at in Paris didn't have air conditioning, so they had fans and stuff for us. Actually, that's kind of how it is in New England. Yeah, up north, yeah, yeah. We were innovative to have mini splits in our home. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:34:52
Speaker
So, I mean, there were some bright spots in Paris, but just in general, I found it to be quite dirty and unorganized and the people were just so not nice. It was just the opposite of kid friendly. Nothing had elevators and all the doorways are so narrow. The stairways are narrow.
00:35:15
Speaker
It is hard. It's just hard to navigate there with kids. And now, when we recorded that last episode, I was going in between the double stroller and single stroller. I'm so happy that we didn't bring a double stroller. I truly don't know how you would do it there. And all the people who said, oh, we would have died without our double stroller.
00:35:41
Speaker
How, like, I want to know how it's to me felt like impossible like even the sidewalks are one third of what they are here like it would have been impossible.
00:35:56
Speaker
So it was just like... Seems like a lot of work. It was a lot of work for very little enjoyment. That's kind of how we felt. Like, is it possible? Yes. Did we do it? Yes. Was it enjoyable? And did we have like a good time? Did the good times outweigh the bad? No. It took years off my life. I don't know if I told you this, but I lost four pounds on our trip.
00:36:21
Speaker
That's great. That's the highlight of the trip for real. It was just. I Vinny and I have said we would never fly with both of them or we would never fly internationally with both of them again until they're able to help with their own baggage, entertain themselves on the plane and like. Walk for long distances on their own.
00:36:50
Speaker
I was going to say, like, I think my, my family took me for the first time international, like in sixth grade. Yeah. And they knew I was like, had interest and I would remember things and I was like, I remember everything. So I feel like that was like perfect time. Like I was 13. So yeah, we said we would never do it younger than 10 after the strike. We're like, 10 is it. Yeah.
00:37:18
Speaker
So and then I feel like I've talked. I'm so sorry, Whitney. I've talked this whole thing, but I like the recap.
00:37:27
Speaker
OK, our flight back home to Tampa was a fucking nightmare. We had a layover in Chicago. We ended up getting delayed five hours in Chicago. Chicago sucks. I'm sorry. It was the the airport was the craziest airport I've ever been in. Everyone was delayed or canceled. So the lines for everything like for food, for the bathrooms, like everyone's just stuck there. And it was a nightmare.
00:37:54
Speaker
The other part of this that was really stressful for me and another lesson that I learned is I did not travel with enough formula.
Travel Delays and Formula Shortage: A Mother's Relief
00:38:05
Speaker
I don't know what the fuck happened if my math was off or what, but on our last day in Paris, I said to Vinny, I was like, damn, we're getting really low on formula.
00:38:15
Speaker
I thought I really like I thought I packed enough for like an extra two days. I don't know if she ate more while we were there or what happened but I
00:38:27
Speaker
our last day ran out of formula. I had enough formula exactly to get us home. So when we were delayed five hours, I was panicked. I really was. I was panicked. I actually ended up opening up my little canister thing that I divvied out all the formula and I took a scoop out of each and made four ounce bottles instead of six ounce just to try and stretch.
00:38:51
Speaker
But when we were delayed even more, I was just so panicked about it. When we finally got to Chicago from Paris, I saw a mom who had a baby around my same age.
00:39:07
Speaker
And to be honest, poor thing, she was in it. Her babies were screaming. She had a toddler and a baby just like us. And I could tell she was American. And I just went up to her and I was like, hi, I'm so sorry. I think my voice was shaky because I was just so tired and stressed. I was probably about to cry. Well, I did cry after this.
00:39:29
Speaker
But I went up to her and I was like, hi, I'm so sorry. Can I ask you a question? And she was like, sure. She was like, yeah, what's up? And I was like, I'm so sorry. I was like, we were just traveling from Paris and we are delayed now five hours. I'm panicked about not having enough formula. Does your baby drink formula? And she was like, oh my God, yes. And she was like, here, you can have it. And she gave me the whole can of Similac.
00:39:57
Speaker
It was like a Costco sized thing. It was huge. And she was like, here you go, you can keep it. And I was like so relieved. I cried. I cried. Trust me, you don't have to give me this whole thing.
00:40:12
Speaker
Yeah, I was like, I don't even I was like, I can just take, you know, a couple bottles worth. And she was like, no, no, no, keep it. We're home. Like, keep it. Oh, and it was so nice. I cried and it was such a nice gesture. So I'm always listening. You like totally changed my life that day. It was so nice.
00:40:30
Speaker
And this is your listener. I know. I want to be like, do you listen to mom? But it was not the time her kids were screaming. And it was just tough. But and then we got on the plane and there was no air conditioning on the plane.
00:40:48
Speaker
So the pilot came on and he was like, he was like, guys, we're missing the part that, um, we're missing the part that cools down the plane whenever we're idle. And he was like, as soon as we get up in the air, the engines are going to cool the plane down and it'll be totally comfortable while we're in air. It's just right now while we're idle waiting to take off, it's going to be a little warm.
00:41:16
Speaker
So keep in mind, I have two babies that have not slept. We traveled from Paris. We've been up now like over 24 hours. This plane is hot. And I don't mean warm. It is fucking hot in there, like 90 degrees hot.
00:41:34
Speaker
We sit down. I'm like, it's okay. We just got to make it to takeoff. Alice is screaming, crying already because she's hot. She's overtired all the things she's asking for snacks. I've like kind of run out. I've tried to buy more. It was like all this stuff. Evie's crying cause she's hot. I'm wearing her. So I'm a heater. She's a heater. We're just heating it up together. And we proceed to sit on the tarmac for two hours.
00:42:04
Speaker
on this plane with no air conditioning. Both my babies screamed the entire, we were those people. We were, we really were. We, they screamed the entire two hours. That's when you're like, damn, why did I take the Passy away? For real. But even Evie with the Passy, like she was not having it. They, I said, take one. So, um,
00:42:28
Speaker
fucking nightmare on the plane too. I ended up stripping them both naked on the plane to their diapers because Evie's cheeks were as red. I wish I could show you an example. Maybe the box behind you. Yeah, literally as red as this Huggies box
Return Home: Vows of Changed Travel Plans
00:42:43
Speaker
back here. They were so red. She was overheating. I started to get actually concerned if she was going to be okay.
00:42:51
Speaker
And it just was awful. We didn't walk into our home until 4 a.m. It was just miserable. It was miserable. So would you do it again?
00:43:07
Speaker
Literally, you couldn't pay me any amount of money. Like, it was zero fun, honestly. Like, I feel bad saying that because the wedding itself was fun and there were like, seeing the Eiffel Tower with her, like, are we gonna look back on that and be like, yeah, it was cool. But like, I would never do it again. I just, it's so hard with two little ones. Maybe just London.
00:43:34
Speaker
Yeah, London was way better than than Paris. Like, if you're going to go abroad, I would really try to do the research on if that city is child friendly or not. I think definitely the language barrier has something to do with it, too. Like, and I feel I don't want to sound like a super patriotic, crazy American that's like, I need to speak English. That's not how I felt. Like, I don't I truly don't mean it that way. It's just more so that, like,
00:44:02
Speaker
no one is around to help. And when people are so rude and unwilling to help, it's like that language barrier feels even harder. And it's like you don't have with kids, if you have a baby screaming and you need a bottle, it's not like you have a second to look up how to say something. That heightens the anxiety and it's just like now you're panicked because the kids are screaming and you're like, what am I doing?
00:44:31
Speaker
Yeah. That always makes it worse. I'm so sorry. I mean, at least you were prepared before you went. Like you knew it was going to be a bad time. You're like, I did. I knew it was going to be tough. It was way harder than I thought though. I kind of thought that if I had my expectations super low going in, that I would be pleasantly surprised and my expectations were super low and it was worse.
00:44:59
Speaker
So anyways, um, it was bad, but I'm excited to hear about your trip because it was so like, I'm happy that we did mine first to get the bitching out of the way.
Whitney's Rhode Island Trip: A Pleasant Contrast
00:45:09
Speaker
And hopefully we can end this on a bright spot here after hearing about yours. Well, I mean.
00:45:16
Speaker
Mine was good just because going to Rhode Island is kind of like going back to your home. And we went the sole purpose was one of my best friends had her baby shower. So like that was the point of us going. Margot was not so great on the plane. I think my expectations were like.
00:45:34
Speaker
high for her just because Graydon was always good on the plane he always napped but he took a passie so he was a great like napper on the plane yeah she was really tough so she was a she was a baby screamer on the plane I was very embarrassed I was like oh
00:45:52
Speaker
Hello, and I told my friends because I couldn't talk to you while you were gone, but I was saying to them that if this was like my first rodeo, like I would have been really upset about how the plane travel went. It would probably scare you from doing it ever again. Yeah.
00:46:10
Speaker
But since it was my second go around and I'm kind of like, whatever, it's not like I'm pinching her and making her cry. I'm so sorry to everybody around, but this is just how it is. And no one really cared, but we were trying our best and I was kind of in my own little bubble with them and just trying to do my thing.
00:46:29
Speaker
Yeah, she was a screamer and I was just kind of like, well, that was four hours of suck, but okay, moving on. But the being there was great. Like I said, we went out to eat. I had all my favorite things. We had lots of seafood. We got to go to Matunek where, man, that was like probably the funny thing about the travel episode where- Oh, I'll still clip it. I'll still clip it. Okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Where we talked about Candice puking in front of it, but-
00:46:59
Speaker
Yeah, that was a funny part of that. Okay. That was, um, and I don't know. It was just all around great. Like we had Sunday dinner like we used to with our friends. Oh, I love that. Yeah. So that was, I was always jealous of the little like community you guys had in Rhode Island. It was really good people. Like everyone I met that was your friend from the Northeast. I'm like, I love them.
00:47:21
Speaker
Well, they're everyone's so nice. And like, we got an Airbnb in like my old neighborhood. And so everything's walkable. It's like its own little city. Like there's all kinds of shops and like playgrounds. And so like I walked to the farmer's market Saturday morning, ran into everybody. I knew basically. And I was just like,
00:47:39
Speaker
hey I'm back what's up everybody like just so casual it's just so funny like everything's like just cool like that um but it was so much fun um I'd say like the only hard part about having kids which we've gone to Rhode Island with Graydon is like
00:47:56
Speaker
You can't do what you used to do when you live there. Like you can't stay up with your friends and like catch up. We did have them over to our Airbnb one night, so they stayed up over to like 10 ish one night. So that was like the only late night we had everything else. We had to go home because the kids went to bed at like six thirty seven. So that's like the only tough part. And like having everyone witness like the witching hours, just not fun, especially when like no one else has kids. And you're like,
00:48:25
Speaker
So sorry that they're acting like this. And that was another bad thing about being there was Margo popped two teeth while we were there. So she was a banshee. She was really like unconsolable a little bit. And I felt so bad. I knew she was hurting and she just wanted to be held and she was very clingy.
00:48:50
Speaker
I feel like that's the biggest thing I took away from our trip to is that like the reason it's hard to travel with these little ones is because they cannot self-regulate yet like Margo is going through that like it's hard for her to regulate her
00:49:06
Speaker
reaction to pain or and same with Alice and Evie like they it was so hot on that plane but they can't like us as adults would just sit there and sweat and take it like we can regulate our feelings and emotions but it's just impossible for these little beings they're not there yet
00:49:25
Speaker
I know. So I was just like, damn, Graydon. Fantastic. Vacation Graydon is bomb.com. That toddler can be entertained. He had the TV in front of him. Like he loved the playground. He was Mr. Congeniality. Like he was just having a ball.
00:49:45
Speaker
He loved it up there. He did not want to come home. So that was really cute.
Connecting with Online Friends
00:49:52
Speaker
Another highlight was I got to meet two of my friends from my September group chat. So that was really fun. We went on a little walk and had some mimosas at lunch and I got to meet their kids. So that was so cute. Um, it made me even more excited for like our girls trip that we're all going to have, um, someday. So.
00:50:13
Speaker
Yeah, just super fun. Oh, my God. I want to trade lives. Like I'd say the low lights were probably the plane. Yeah. Highlight was just like everyone's like, well, what are you doing up there? And I was like, I was mostly there just to like catch up with my friends. Yeah. Yeah. The food I like. Like I got my sushi. I got my scallops. I had lobster rolls. I was just eating all the seafood. Oh, my gosh. That sounds so good. Wow. Hungry. I know. So fun. But.
00:50:44
Speaker
Um, you mentioned like being around other people who either don't have kids or maybe they're about to have kids with like your screaming kids. I forgot to mention that we got breakfast with Alex Duffley, who is a friend, a mutual friend of ours. Yeah. We were in Paris at the same time and she is six months pregnant. And so she was like, how is it? How's it going? And Vinny and I were both like,
00:51:09
Speaker
We are the wrong people for you to be talking to right now. Like, we are going to scare you to never go anywhere with kids. And I think we probably like to her sugar coated it a little bit to be like, you know, it's it's fine. Yeah, you have to work.
00:51:28
Speaker
We also saw her on our very last day there, so at this point, we were just like, we're just excited to get home. Like, just take us home. Also, I know definitely just announced on the Gram, she's a fabulous queen. She looks amazing with her baby mom. I mean, no one's ever looked more chic. She's a chic mom. Yeah, chic mom. I've always loved her.
00:51:50
Speaker
I know. And actually we took a picture together that will never see the light of day, but I will send it to you because she looks so cute and chic and I'm like, like not like a troll. No, you're not. You look good. I saw that picture of you on Abby Lane. You look in fire.
00:52:11
Speaker
Well, that was in London. That was before Paris took me down the life. Oh, but I'm so sorry. So what was the highlight then of the whole trip? Um.
00:52:27
Speaker
I'd say either like going to Metunik and taking both kids was so pleasant because it's kind of like a, you're in an inlet and they grow their own oyster. So we got to show Graydon. He was so like interested and thought it was so cool. And Margot was so good at dinner. Like it was just such a pleasant time. And like our, our best friends came with us and she drove. So she was like our DD. So Chris and I got to have wine on the way down. It's like a 40 minute drive. So we were just like,
00:52:53
Speaker
vibing and she's about to have her baby. So like, obviously, my favorite topic, we're just chit chatting it up and shooting the shit about baby stuff. So it's just really fun. I'd say that meeting my friends, my two friends in person. And the baby shower was at Hot Club, which is this bar in Providence was so fun because we got to bring the kids. But then when they left to go nap and so I got to stay.
00:53:20
Speaker
And that's when it took a turn in the right direction. Chris texted me, he's like, how's the party going? And I sent him back like tequila shots, like a picture. I was like, it's turning up. Okay. It was so fun. Oh my God. I love your friend for having a baby shower at the bar and it turning into like shots, shots, shots, shots.
00:53:43
Speaker
Oh, yeah. Once the kids left, I was like, I'm free. And it was so fun. I was like, mom's gone wild. So how about you?
Parisian Highlight: A Night Out
00:53:51
Speaker
Highlight. Oh, my God.
00:53:57
Speaker
I feel like you told me one thing that was cute. I'm going to say two things, I guess, is the actual wedding day was really sweet. Watching Alice be the flower girl, do that whole thing was really sweet. And just the chateau in general was beautiful. And then the second thing is there was a night in Paris where my mom and
00:54:21
Speaker
brother were just so tired. They were like, you guys go out and have dinner and like have a night and we'll put the girls to bed. And so Vinny and I went and saw the Eiffel Tower at night and like watched it sparkle and we went and had dinner. And that was definitely the highlight. It was like you're like, I could breathe. It is. And that's why it's like I'm not shitting on Europe specifically or like Paris. Like it was not my favorite. And I do feel like I would still kind of feel that way going back without kids.
00:54:50
Speaker
But in general, I think the trip would be totally different without kids. It just is. Also, I forgot to mention this in my recap, but the night that Vinny and I went out ourselves, there was a mouse in our Airbnb. Oh, God. I'm sorry. So my mom found it. It was in the kitchen and they had a whole scuffle to get it out the window. They literally flung it out of the window in a colander, like a pasta colander.
00:55:19
Speaker
And when we came back from our dinner and seeing the Eiffel Tower, we had to bring the colander back. They literally flung it out the window and the mouse was dead in the courtyard the next day.
00:55:36
Speaker
That was an experience. Yeah, which again, like I lived in New York City. I know that mice are just things that happen in big cities and older buildings. Like I know it like our Airbnb was nice.
Humorous Mishap: The Airbnb Mouse
00:55:48
Speaker
Yeah. But my mom, on the other hand, like is not used to that. And she was really freaked out by the mouse and was really upset by it, honestly.
00:55:58
Speaker
It just like, it is what it is. It's kind of my mom's plan. I don't care. My mom was like, you need to talk to the Airbnb and get your money back. And I was like, I don't have the energy to like do all of that. Cause I'm the, like we paid for the Paris Airbnb. So.
00:56:15
Speaker
It was just, I'm so happy to be home. It really did put our life here into perspective and also change the way we're going to travel in the future. I totally understand people wanting to experience
00:56:32
Speaker
Europe with their young kids. I do need to say I also think it would be a different experience with just one. The fact that it's two and you do like like there's just so they need so much assistance. Both of them like it's just hard. I think like we've traveled to Tahoe with just Alice and that was totally fine. And that's a long flight.
00:56:56
Speaker
Honestly, like Graydon, like this time, it felt like we only had one kid because Graydon just like watch TV and Margot was like, we had to balance her the whole, she's at that age where she wants to go. So we had to bounce her the whole time. She had to be moving. She had to be entertained. And I was just like, Chris and I were just passing her back and forth, back and forth. And we were both like, Oh my God, frick. And we're about to do it again, coming to Tampa, but thank God it's just one flight.
00:57:23
Speaker
Oh, yeah. And it's pretty much I'm like, I wish Alice would consider like she'll watch TV, but only for like 10 to 20 minutes at a time. And then she's like, I'm done. He's like loving TV, which not great.
00:57:41
Speaker
But oh well. I mean, I would have given anything for my child to love TV on this trip. But he won't wear headphones. He listened to it or watched it without headphones the time. Really? Headphones on. But like 10 minutes again, 10 minutes and she's those headphones are ripped off and she's moving on.
00:58:00
Speaker
Wow. I'm so sorry this was like a bitch fest from my end. Honestly, I'm just glad to hear how it went. I'm going to be a more positive person from here on out because I'm so thankful for my little life here. I really am.
00:58:16
Speaker
And you're like, I'm not leaving for a long time. For real. We had some trips coming up that we were contemplating taking the girls to like weddings and whatever. I can tell you what, they are not coming anywhere with us. We are doing only parents, parent trips. And also, you know, Vinny's sisters are both like single, like they're not married. And there had there has been talk in the past about
00:58:45
Speaker
one of them getting married in Europe or in Italy. And we sent a long ass text to his family to be like, listen, if either of you are getting married abroad, you need to know right now we are not bringing the girls. They are not invited. They're not coming unless they're over 10. So you have a decade. If you want to get married in a decade in Italy, fine. Did you see what Shannon Ford posted?
00:59:11
Speaker
No. Oh, it is so cute. And I thought about you. You know, her best friend Taylor, she was going to have like her daughter as her flower girl. And she's like, I'm not fucking bringing her abroad. And so they did a fake wedding in their backyard and she got to be the flower girl.
00:59:31
Speaker
That was really sweet. So that's what we should have done, honestly. Yeah. Next time. Next time. Because they're not. She still thought it was like so cool, you know? Yeah. Yeah. Well, I loved catching up with you on this real day. And how fun that this just goes, goes live tomorrow. So bam, we're back.
00:59:52
Speaker
We're back. All right. Well, if anyone here has any specific questions to me about my trip of like what stroller we used or some things I used for the plane to keep Alice busy or any specifics like that, my DMS are always open or mom group chats. DMS are always open. Happy to share anything specifically that I have learned and
01:00:20
Speaker
Yeah. I love you guys. Yeah. Love you. Thank you so much for being a part of our mom group chat. New episodes drop every Tuesday and don't forget the group chat is blowing up on our Instagram page. So make sure you're following along over there. All right. Got to go. My toddler just put something in her mouth.