A flighty family tradition comes to an end — for now
When my grandkids turn 12, I take them to Europe. Last July, I took my youngest.
I’m the lucky one with four grandchildren — two boys and two girls. When they turn 12, I take them to Europe, and in the past I’ve taken three of the four.
Last summer, for the first two weeks of July, I had the pleasure of taking the youngest on the adventure to Paris, Menton (France), Vernazza (Cinque Terre, Italy), Florence and Thun, Switzerland. We flew with Air France non-stop and had wonderful flights to and fro. Too much to enjoy so neither of us really bothered sleeping. First stop — Paris.
The weather was beautiful, and we spent the days wandering, and eating. William loved the restaurants, the parks, and the sites — although we avoided the crowds at the Eiffel Tower, only seeing it close up on our return from travelling about.
A great deal of our time was spent looking for the perfect pair of running shoes for William as it was on the top of his list of things to do. It was important to explore many stores to be sure he got the right ones. The funny thing about it was that my eldest grandson, Jacob, had done the exact same thing when he and I had landed in Amsterdam 12 years earlier.
I’d rented apartments in Paris and Florence where I’d stayed previously with the other grandkids, and booked hotels and rooms in the other stops, save Switzerland, where we stayed for five days with friends.
William and I had rail passes and took the train between all the spots we visited, and enjoyed sitting back, relaxing, chatting with train mates, and viewing the wonderful scenery all around us.
William had a tendency to sleep on most of our train travels so he missed out on a lot of beautiful scenery. Our accommodations were as great as always, notwithstanding the frustration with a difficult door key in Paris.
We loved the metro in Paris, and zipped about everywhere easily. William took to it right away, and could easily tell me which direction, which platform, and knew quickly which route to take to our next destination.
We also loved the hours and hours of walking, both in Paris and Florence. Summers are hot, and we stopped frequently for water and drinks. We enjoyed the markets everywhere, the street entertainment, and in Switzerland we were lucky enough to take gondolas to the tops of the mountains, and twice we had the fun of trotti biking down.
We met with friends for dinner in Paris both at the start and the finish of our trip, and enjoyed all the fabulous meals everywhere — William even enjoyed his escargot, and of course, the pizza and pasta we sampled throughout our journey.
His favourite spot, as is mine, was Vernazza, but he loved the time spent with my friends in Switzerland. Vernazza was the spot where he could swim in the small harbour, jump from the rocks, and he loved spending the days there.
Once we were in Thun, Switzerland, he could enjoy his time in the pool at my friends’ home, and they bought him a basketball, too, so he could continue with his favourite pastime. He had a chance to sample Swiss cuisine which was very much to his liking. Our time on the mountain was time neither of us will ever forget, and we enjoyed the small trains to and fro.