Pseudo's European Adventure

[pseudoreality]

My family (me, wife, girl 11, girl 8) are about to execute a plan that has been in the works for the last four years. The wife and I are both taking a one-year sabbatical from work and moving the family to the south of France. The kids are going to be enrolled there and we are going to take up some hobbies along with improving our French (and maybe Spanish). I just finished up work and am in the process of packing up the house, which we have rented out for the year. Our plan is to make the move August 1st.

The schools in France take four, two-week breaks throughout the year. We plan on spending those breaks traveling around Europe. Does anyone have any can't miss recommendations? I'm thinking about hitting up the Spangler Cup over Christmas. I did register for Olympic tickets, but the prices were insane and it doesn't align with the school break. We like the idea of renting a canal camper boat in the Netherlands and tour the country that way. My parents are originally from the Netherlands, so there is a bit of a cultural connection there as well.

I'm also looking for recommendations on devices. I just handed in my work laptop, so I can't use any more and my home computer is a gaming desktop. Right now I'm thinking maybe a chromebook for the kids and low-end gaming laptop for myself. I have a Quest 3 that I will bring with me for entertainment and virtual language lessons. I'm also thinking about getting an e-reader of some kind, maybe the Kobo Libra Colour. Right now I'm borrowing graphic novels from the library to read in French for my language development and there is the ability to rent using Overdrive on the Kobo.

Thanks in advance!

[lazypucker]

Nice!! It must have been a big logistical task to align everything.

Please keep us updated throughout the year. Have fun!!

[WideReceiver]

If you go to Normandy for WWII history I have the most amazing tour guide. I’m still raving about him eight years later. He’s the opposite of politically correct so if that offends you he’s not for you.

[Monahammer]

Cinque Terre in north west Italy is definitely a worthwhile stop, though living in the south of france might already have similar feel and scenery. Depends where in the south of france you are living I suppose!

I would also highly recommend Cagliari, Sardinia. Poetto beach is the best in the entire world, IMO.

Christmas markets in west germany are great. Aachen had a really good one when I was there.

Lucerne in Switzerland is like turbo banff.

Not sure if this is the type of vibe recommendation you are looking for.

[Nyah]

Holy crap that sounds amazing. I'm sure you'll get all sorts of great recommendations on here but there really is unlimited things to do & see in Europe, and it's super easy to get around.

Enjoy!

[WideReceiver]

You should blog your adventure. I blog travel and miss writing when we’re between trips.

[M*A*S*H 4077]

This sounds amazing and something that my wife and I have dreamed about doing in our future. Please keep sharing about it as it goes along!

My favourite place on the planet that I've been to so far is Slovenia, in particular Lake Bled and Lake Bohinj. My wife adores the mountains of Switzerland (Lauterbrunnen Valley in particular) and I'd have to put that as a close second for myself.

[indes]

That sounds like an incredible adventure for you guys! Keep us posted how its going. I've been to Europe a few times and really loved Switzerland, Portugal and Scotland.

[CroFlames]

I can't get enough of European museums, cathedrals and castles. That's what I would seek out most, and simply spending time in the oldtowns of the cities I'm in. We simply don't have that in N America.

Then notable football matches like champions league, international qualifies, or derbies like Man U vs City, Inter vs Milan, etc.

[Huntingwhale]

I'll echo the castle exploration. To me that's as cool as it gets in terms of visiting something we don't have here, and a great education/historical experience. Germany and Poland are especially good for that. Especially places with audio guides.

My recommendations/suggestions:

- Big cities are fun, but tourist traps are abundant and I get waaaaaay more out of visiting smaller, lesser known sites. For example, Germany has it's big cities like Frankfurt and Berlin which are cool, but I've gotten more out of visiting smaller towns like Kassel and towns along the Rhine river. I'm sure you'll end up in bigger tourist cities in France and such, but don't be wary of going off the beaten path and finding a hidden gem somewhere.

- Trains are the way to go. But always reserve your seat. Some train bookings give you the option to not reserve a seat for a slightly cheaper price. Don't be fooled. Nothing worse then the stress of having to play musical chairs every stop and end up in another compartment away from your baggage. Reserving seats = peace of mind.

- Don't be afraid to venture further east towards more central Europe. Places like Poland, Croatia, Czechia etc have so much history (not all of it pleasant unfortunately) and so much to see/do. Obviously not Ukraine these days, the war is contained in Ukraine and there is no worry of it spilling out.

- Speaking of Poland, amazing place. Significantly cheaper than western Europe, friendly, safe, and welcoming in their own special way. I always recommend people to visit there and even my parents came to visit me when I lived there and loved it. Truly a hidden gem no one thinks to visit unless they have family there. Cities like Gdansk, Krakow and Wroclaw can stand up to any European city in terms of vibe and cool things to see.

- Since you are living there more so then visiting, try not to get into the mentality of complaining about things that differ from being home in Canada or you "wish they had these things like they do back home". That's the perfect way to get homesick. I found the best way is to simply try to dive into the local culture, eateries and do what the locals do. Go with the flow. Complain about the things locals complain about. Even grocery stores are different, but I always get a kick out of wandering into one and seeing what they sell.

- The TV shows will mostly be in the country's language, but don't be frustrated you don't find any English channels. There's something cool about watching a TV program in another language, in that place, and trying to piece together the words with actions. I dunno, maybe it's just me but I always found it interesting to put on a local news channel and while not understanding what they are saying, recognizing each place has their own happenings and events.

- I'm sure you will capture many moments with your kids while they are young and travelling. They will appreciate it when they get older having photos or videos to refer to.

[Fuzz]

Monaco is right there. You can take a train from Nice. I'd just do it as a day trip as it is stupid expensive, but it's a super cool place to spend a day. If you like cars, hit up the Prince's collection in the car museum.

[fotze2]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Monaco is right there. You can take a train from Nice. I'd just do it as a day trip as it is stupid expensive, but it's a super cool place to spend a day. If you like cars, hit up the Prince's collection in the car museum.

That train ride from Nice up and around is really cool. Did that 24.5 years ago rom Nice to Carrara (or Genoa I can't remember). Neat trip, a bunch of kids would get on probably going home from school. Like a weird Radiohead video with beautiful shorelines and towns.

[Fuzz]

Ya, I drove to Monaco from Genoa. Incredible views from above and a great highway. I just wish it hadn't been in a Fiat Panda.

[McG]

Very exciting!

Many places allow pre bookings and I would do that wherever I could. Time is your constraint so don’t waste it waiting in lines. It also limits surprises.

Talk to your neighbours and people around where you live; they will know a lot more about options there.

People seem to use WhatsApp a lot more there. I would set that up and build your connection list when you are still in Canada. Get a SIM card when you’re there. I have bought on Amazon for short trips but I recommend getting a permanent number over there.

Get familiar with using trains and the metro/tube/subway.

Take lots of photos.

I do think that you have to identify which cities/areas you want to visit and absolutely check the tourist things off of your list. It would be hard to go to Paris and not go up the Eiffel Tower.

Recently, we have sought out a tour guide for one day or whatever when we travel somewhere interesting.

This might//might not work for you. We let each child choose a fun thing to do and an educational thing to do. We found way more engagement as they investigated things to see and do. This might be my favourite thing actually. We built a theme on one trip and it was so popular that they did it on another trip; “bones” and visited churches, catacombs in Paris and Rome, and graveyards and hauntings in Edinburgh.

Sports - football of course but also rugby is a lot of fun especially if you can get to a 6 nations match.

I’m looking forward to following you in this thread!

[Amethyst]

I'm assuming you already have this arranged, but make sure you've got your visa requirements sorted. I had friends who planned a 6 month cycling trip around Europe and were shocked when they arrived and discovered you couldn't spend more than 3 months in the Schengen area without a visa and you had to apply for it from Canada.

As for recommendations, some of my favourite European locations are Portugal, Poland, and the coast of Croatia.

Going to Slovenia this summer, so happy to see it get a mention here.

[troutman]

Aeneas is the expert.

In France - Carcassonne, Sarlat le Caneda, Lascaux, Sancerre, Chamonix, Champagne region. Lyon might have the best restaurants.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Can I come?

[photon]

No advice, just large amounts of jealousy.

Have fun!

[fotze2]

Originally Posted by photon

No advice, just large amounts of jealousy.

Have fun!

I’d ask my boss about sabbatical and he’d tell me to get the fata out of his office immediately.

[lazypucker]

Originally Posted by fotze2

I’d ask my boss about sabbatical and he’d tell me to get the fata out of his office immediately.

My boss would probably say thank you for resigning because they will save on severance pay...