I mentioned a little about the apartment we are living in, but let’s back up a little and talk about getting here. Getting here as a family of five and fourteen pieces of luggage! Each airline has different rules for military people flying – some will offer a certain number of free luggage pieces, some will offer free up to a certain weight limit, check with the airline to see what their rules are. And keep in mind that the airline website may say one thing and someone on the phone can say another. Take something in writing to the airport if you want to be sure.

When you move with as much luggage as we had, you need a much larger vehicle to get from the airport to wherever you are going. We didn’t risk hoping that the available taxis would be big. A little searching online and you can find so many travel forums! Look to a well established forum and see what others have done in terms of renting a large vehicle to get you from the airport.

We found a company and rented a large passenger van that met us at the airport. It took a few trips from the area of the airport we were at and the taxi area because the elevators are so small and we just couldn’t fit. A half hour or so ride into Paris and we made it to our hotel!

So much of overseas feels small – elevators, vehicles, roads, portions (they are regular size, not super size like in the US), and more. It just takes a little reaching out to realize that it’s okay, it’s manageable and you will be fine. I did have some moments of freaking out because I found a company to rent a van from – and then I kept looking! It was hard for me to judge who to trust so I had to leap. Once we got to our current location, we had to find another van to pick us up – except this time the awesome hotel we stayed at made the arrangements for us. I was so thankful to give that over to someone else to take care of for me.

My tip is this – military spouses are a great network to turn to for help, but if you are moving to a remote location with no other spouses to lean on, you have to ask the stranger at the hotel reception desk, you have to ask the strangers on the travel forum, you have to trust that one bad review isn’t the be all end all. So don’t be afraid to ask someone for help booking your transportation or finding a really great hotel to stay in.

Check out my four tips for moving overseas for a bit more info.

 

 

 

We have been here for almost a year. Wow. It’s kind of surreal to think about that. After a few days in Paris, and a month and a half in a hotel, we were finally in our apartment. And the apartment is great – everyone says if you can’t tell we are from the US from looking at us or talking to us, one step into our apartment shows it. The apartment is large, it’s a good size for us but for the French it is huge. It is one and a half floors, three bedrooms, space for me to have a sewing area, and the kitchen has small European appliances.

Over the next month I will highlight what it is like to live here – including finding a place to live, schools for my children, friendships for me, language issues, and more. The first thing I will say is our month and a half in a hotel gave us friends that we will probably continue to have once we leave. We stayed at a really small hotel, with a really small staff, and owned by a family. The family’s son is in charge for the majority of the time and he’s around our (my husband and I) age. He’s fluent in English and was an amazing help for us upon arrival. His help started when we were in Paris and he arranged for a van to pick us up at the airport.

My tip is this – have someone recommend a hotel they have previously stayed at if at all possible. Hotels in Europe in general are very different compared to the US. For one, they are strict on the number of people staying in a room. And you won’t be very interested in arguing with them because the rooms are typically very small. For our six weeks we first stayed at the hotel’s apartment, then we moved into two bedrooms, and finally into three bedrooms. The way this hotel is set up we were able to have the top floor of a small building which was the three bedrooms, closets they used for storage, and a bathroom with a separated toilet and shower (I mean they were in separate rooms). They were also kind enough to store some of our extra luggage for us in a space that was not the rooms we were in.

We’ve been here for so long and I finally went somewhere! My daughter, my friend Jessie (and her boys), and another friend Leigh all had a long weekend in Paris. It was SO fun. You never know how much you need other adult conversation until you have it, until you get to have it.

How we got there: flights within Paris are cheap! Okay, the train would have been SO much cheaper. But it was very last minute for my daughter to join the trip, and I already bought an airline ticket for myself. And when I say the train is cheap, it would be maybe 50 euros, if you pay attention to the times you are traveling. We were at the tail end of the train strike, but it wasn’t over yet, so I didn’t want to risk anything and thus the plane ticket.

Where we stayed: AirBNB apartment! It was tiny. There was a couch that turned into a bed, and a bunk bed with a trundle. The bathroom was very tiny. The kitchen had enough space for us to stand around and visit, or sit at the small table and visit. But really, probably almost all places in Paris are tiny. It was fine for us, but I couldn’t stay there with my family simply because of the bathroom.

What we did: stayed up all hours visiting. Okay, we also walked a lot, walked up a million steps to the Sacre Coeur, sat on the top of a big bus tour and saw many tourist sites, had dinner by the river, and of course enjoyed the wine. We started out late both days, the first day the latest, but I think overall it was a fun time.

I loved that we were able to get away for a few days. It did take a couple of days of napping for me to feel rested again, and I take that as a sign of a great visit.

Walking along the River Seine

The Louvre, as seen from our tour bus

The steps of the Sacre Coeur

I have SO much respect for travel agents! We can do so much online, we can make all the reservations for ourselves, we can compare prices, and check availability. But when it comes to arranging a lot of travel, whew, it can be exhausting. Europeans take their holidays serious, the month of August has just about everyone on vacation. I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like because I’m sure grocery stores will be open, but will some of the smaller stores close?

Photo by Heidi and Matt

 We have been talking about our holiday plans for a few months, but only just started the serious planning. Everything is expensive. We are a large family, three kids doesn’t seem like a lot but try booking a hotel room and you will find that it’s difficult. I did find one hotel that has a family policy (the Hilton) which stated that a second room for kids would be 50% of the first room. But the problem with that is the hotel only allows two people in each room. I get that there are concerns over fires and safety, but sheesh, it’s a hassle. As a result, we are staying in airbnb rentals or city apartments. I am glad we have this option otherwise travel might be out of reach for us because of the difficulties.

And so we have a busy summer ahead! I’m excited! We are going camping (more on this later because it is not the way we think of camping in the US), and also going to Ireland and the UK. We have more plans for the fall and next year, but one step at a time. The hours I’ve spent planning this has been tiring. We plan on using a travel agent for a trip we are planning for next year and I can’t wait! The time I spent comparing taking a flight from our home to our destination vs a train to a larger city and then a flight from that city to our destination was ridiculous. Ridiculous in the sense of “isn’t there a better way to figure this out.” I still haven’t figured that particular issue out, but I still have some time. As it stands, next week I am meeting friends in Paris and so I am off to double check the carry on luggage rules.