Paris Olympics Trip with Travel Mom Tania

I am a busy mom of two. I have a nine-year-old boy and a six-year-old girl. I work at JP Morgan Chase as an executive director, for advertising and media for consumer card business.

When I took this job, I realized my passport was expired. It had been a few years, 10, to be exact, since my husband and I took our honeymoon in Ireland. We had done a few things like Jamaica and some beach trips, but it had been a while since we’d taken a big international adventure.

I love to travel. My husband and I were in Australia before we got married for a year. We’d done a bunch of Southeast Asia, but then like most families, the children arrived and, we just didn’t have a ton of time for international travel. As I was taking this new role at Chase, I needed to renew my passport and I thought, let’s get everybody’s passports.

We did a bit of a long-distance trial trip last year. We went to California. We’re on the East Coast so it was about seven hours flight. Everyone survived. So, we realized we could go the other way and head to Europe.

We went as a family to Paris, France for five days this summer during the Olympics, which was amazing and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I work for Chase Sapphire Reserve Card and cardholders had access to special Olympics experiences, like a lounge on the Seine and exclusive restaurant reservations.

I had work and was lucky enough to be able to bring the family over. It was our first international trip. It was amazing. The kids, hubby, and I all had a great time, a little work, a little leisure, and a little pleasure, all mixed into one.

We went this second week, so we missed the opening ceremonies, and the opening week from what I heard was very crowded. It was very manageable.

I will say that the city of Paris, the country of France did an amazing job from a hospitality perspective. It was very welcoming. They had a ton of volunteers that they had recruited. They all wore these special purple vests. Many of them spoke English. So there were guides and help at train stations, at Metro stations, and out front of the event facilities that could help guide you. So, it was very navigable and very family-friendly. And potentially it was even a better time to visit, than in normal times as there was so much extra help and support, for people who don’t speak French fluently, like myself.

I had a little bit of work, so we split up a bit. There were some things we got to do together. Also, I would say, for those who are thinking about doing work and family at the same time. It presents challenges, but because of the time difference, it worked out well. I was able to spend the day with the family and then we would split up for a bit and then meet up for dinner.

We did some Olympic games. We went to Lille, north of Paris, and saw a Women’s Olympics basketball game. It was a great experience. We took the high-speed train. The train is the way to travel throughout Europe. It is so easy and so efficient

It was a very quaint countryside town, and they had a ton of Olympic activities set up for the kids. My son played handball in this courtyard in Lille. He played three times. It was a new sport he’d never tried. He loved it. We had Moules et Frites (mussels and French fries) in the courtyard and the kids had chicken nuggets. We all enjoyed ourselves.

We hit the highlights including The Louvre and Eiffel Tower.

Then they saw a water polo game, a fun Olympic game that you wouldn’t normally see. And we were also able to see the qualifying rounds of what they call athletics, which is track and field. We had front row seats so were close to the track and field. We saw the hurdles up close and personal.

I think we did a good blend of Olympic activities as well as some of the more traditional, Parisian highlights.

The kids were mixed reviews at the beginning. The kids are nine and six. We do not live in the city, so they are suburban kids. There was a little bit of a culture shock when we first got there. Yes, we’re taking the metro. Yes, there are stairs. Yes, it’s hot. Yes, we have to walk. Yes, it’s crowded. Like yes to all those things. Plus, we’re going to have a great time.

There are some food adjustments as well, especially for my younger one. The baguettes are amazing. They happen to put butter on them. That’s usually how it comes served.

The first few days we had to work on flexibility and adaptability. I would say by day three, we nailed it. Everybody was enjoying themselves. We were able to navigate Google Maps with the subway. The Metro option is a game changer making traveling around the city so easy.

Give yourself a little bit of an adjustment period. There’s a time difference and the first two days were a little bit tough but by the end of the week thumbs up, five-star reviews.

Now my daughter wants to go and live in Paris. She said, “Mommy, can we move to Paris? But I want to bring all my friends with me.” She just watched, The Parent Trap and one of the twins is from London. So that’s her next destination that she’s been asking about.

I think we’ve instilled the travel bug in them for sure.

We stayed in the First Arrondissements (neighborhood) at Hotel Indigo, an IHG hotel. It’s a smaller kind of boutique property in a great location.

It had an amazing complimentary breakfast that the kids were obsessed with. They have made-to-order mini crêpes, and they ordered those every day. The room was, fantastic. We were able to see the twinkling lights of the Eiffel Tower at night from our hotel room.

The staff was amazing and with kids were really flexible and helpful.

I think just being able to share a different culture with the family. It’s been a while since I’ve been to Paris. But I did a two-week trip abroad many years ago when I was getting my MBA and Paris was one of the cities. I remember going to Montmartre and taking the stairs to get to the top and the cathedral there. And now taking the kids and my husband and seeing things from a different point of view at a different life stage. So, I think being able to share that experience with them was probably my favorite part.

The games for sure for my nine-year-old. I think just the sites and as soon as you walk out of the hotel, you’re transported to such a unique and different landscape in Europe. The cobblestone streets, and the beautiful architecture, I think my daughter really enjoyed that. Of course, the shopping. She also enjoyed that as well.

My husband is a former chef, so the food was really high on our list and the wine.

All around, I think a little something for everyone.

For those listening, if you’re hesitating, I think just jump right in. The kids are super adaptable. It took a little bit, but they’re also flexible when we push them outside of our comfort zone.

I think the lesson for us was to do more of these trips. I’m already trying to think about our next one, maybe once a year, every other year, doing something larger, or bigger from more of an adventure standpoint. Paris, France may not seem super adventurous, but if you take your two kiddos with you to a different culture, different food, different atmosphere.

Ensure you build in enough time. You need about two days to settle in and get your bearings so plan for that

I think anytime you’re able to get out of your comfort zone for both adults and children, it is a very good thing. It’s a very humbling experience. I think teaching them flexibility and adaptability are great skills to learn as early as we can in life.

My Dad is in Croatia six months out of the year. So I would love to go see him and do a little bit of a family visit and explore a little bit of my heritage. I think would be interesting and neat for everyone to experience.

So it definitely got the wheels turning. I think TBD on where we go next but excited to get going.