Our baby‘s first road trip in photos

They say “Birds of a feather flock together”. When Tarek and I got together in Cambodia, we had no idea how much of a roller coaster ride it was going to be and that the thing that would connect us the most, will be our spontaneity. In fact, nobody else apart from each other has been able to keep up with our spontaneous decisions, restlessness, and the driven need to follow our passion. Thus, it is no wonder that we are happiest when we travel together and an offspring of ours would be born with wings. Though we share four children between us, it is only our youngest, baby Akash who seems to be just like his parents. Easy to laugh, restless, volatile, and full of stubbornness, that little boy loves traveling and is happiest when on the move. Needless, to say, he has been traveling 4 weeks after his birth and went with us on a 30 days pan Europe road trip at the age of 8 months. That was our baby‘s first road trip and his stubborn parents had gone ahead with their crazy plans despite everybody advising us against it. Call us crazy or simply lucky, but that was one of our best travel experiences and we came back home after 30 days with some extremely memorable life lessons and breathtaking moments.

Collage of travel moments of our baby‘s first road trip
Collage of travel moments of our baby‘s first road trip

How we survived our baby‘s first road trip

Though the thought of a baby‘s first road trip can create a lot of anxiety, even to seasoned travelers, in reality, it is quite an enjoyable experience. The secret lies in proper planning, packing, and keeping in mind, that all the aspects of the trip revolve around the comfort (and safety) of the little one. Driving at nights, taking small breaks, stopping at parks, etc were some of the sensible things we did to make the journey comfortable for Akash and his favourite mobile was diligently strung on his car seat throughout the trip. His things, clothes, toys, and toiletries occupied maximum space in the car and during the day, I often sat next to him, holding his little hand, while Tarek drove alone for hours. We started from our home in Cologne one spring afternoon in March and drove through Belgium, to reach Paris in the evening.

Recommended Read: Tips for traveling with kids

A beautiful sunset at Almeria

 

An evening in Paris

In France, the glittering Eiffel Tower greeted us to the behemoth capital and we navigated out of the city with boxes of fried chicken dinner on our laps. Our first stop was in a little village called Petit Champs in Dordogne near Toulouse and I can vouch for the fresh misty prettiness of French spring. The medieval fortified town of Carcassone at the French Spanish border was our next overnight stop and we visited the Dali Museum in Figueres before heading towards Girona. Both Figueres and Girona were typically Spanish towns with clear blue skies, crisp weather, laughter, food, and relaxed pace and we ate our way through entire Spain. After Girona, we drove through the night from Catalunya to Andalusia and passed by the Roman town of Cartagena on a beautiful Spanish morning.

Carcassone was very touristy

Catalunya to Andalusia, a part of our baby‘s first road trip

The obscure stunning desert town of Almeria was our next destination and we spent some of our best days there. In Almeria, we decided to skip Rhonda and Seville and took a long break at the magnificent erstwhile Moorish capital of Granada instead. Our next stop was Saragossa in northern Spain and we stopped by the dramatic hanging houses of Cuenca on the way. That part of our drive was perhaps the most thrilling and breathtaking and the Don Quixote country was beautifully bleak. Our last impromptu decision was to skip San Sebastian and Pamplona and we decided to stay at a very relaxing resort at the French coastal town of Anglet. Though close to Biaritzz, it had none of its glamour and sheen and we saw some gorgeous sunsets there. Petit Champs was the final destination before heading back to Cologne and we passed by the awe-inspiring massive shifting sand dunes of Dune de Pilat on the way.

Traveling when pregnant? Check out these guides on traveling with a bump

Our baby’s first road trip was full of sights like this

 

Fighting over doo doo diaper and tapas platter

It was a road trip encompassing more than 3000+ kilometers and the whole journey was peppered with exhausting, nerve-wracking, exciting, awe-inspiring, and hilarious moments. But it was not always a bed of roses and there have been times when our baby‘s first road trip nearly split us up as a couple. Fighting over who will dispose a doo doo diaper at the glamourous Avenue des Champs-Élysées, which tapas platter to order, whether to take the bus to the attraction or who will take turns in sleeping, many seemingly mundane reasons became big issues during the trip and it was a journey as emotionally dramatic as the places we visited. Exhaustion of long hours on the road, being constantly alert, aware, bombardment of new experiences, and having less space as individuals are some of the hazards of traveling as a family, and a crying baby in a small enclosed area like a car also adds the stress.

Eating our way through Spain

A journey is like a marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you can control it

Yet we managed to somehow survive them all and as mentioned before, the reason lay in our passion for exploring the world. The road trip also taught us one huge lesson in life. “A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it,” said John Steinbeck and when you travel with someone (even a baby), it is important to take large doses of patience and tolerance with your morning coffee. Today, in retrospect, I remember the beautiful experiences, awe-inspiring moments that we three shared together and as parents hope that someday, travel will form our dream child to be an open, warm human being with a heart of gold. In the upcoming posts, I will share the tried and tested tips of our baby‘s first road trip and how we managed to last 30 days on the road with a little one while having a lot of fun. Until, then, here is a sneak peek of our awesome road trip that spanned across Germany, France, Spain and back.

Cologne cathedral at sunset
Our starting point of Cologne in Germany
glittering eiffel tower in paris
Photo stop at the Eiffel Tower in Paris
Dordogne is very pretty in spring
Driving through Dordogne countryside
Spring in France is flower filled
Relaxing spring days of Dordogne
Carcassonne in France is a popular destination
The hilltop medieval fort of Carcassone in France
road trip with a baby
Our sleeping baby
Vineyards of France
Somewhere in south of France
Visit the Dali museum in Spain
The stunning Dali museum at Figueres in Spain
Traveling with a baby can be a lot of fun
A happy baby under the Spanish sun
Girona is postcard pretty
In the colourful town of Girona.
Cartagena is an old Roman town in Spain
Leaving a Cartagena sunrise
Almeria is in southern Spain
To the desert sunshine,
Almeria old town is pleasant to walk around
Bright candy coloured mansions,
casa puga in almeria is must visit for tapas
Legendary tapas bars,
Almeria street art
Vibrant street art of Almeria.
Poppies in spring in Spain
Cabo de Gata national park day trip
Beaches at Cabo de Gata national park
Beach days from Almeria.
beautiful moorish of Nijar
An unforgettable stopover at Nijar
Nijar is a day trip from Almeria
An old Moorish village
spring flowers of Spain
Located in the mountains near Almeria.
beautiful road trip to Granada from Almeria
The desert to mountains drive
Desert of Europe is in Spain
From southern coastal town of Almeria
Granada from a bird‘s eye view
To the magnificent Granada
carved pillars of Nasirid Palace
With its breathtaking Alhambra,
Monastery San Geronimo of Granada
Painted monasteries,
Cave flamenco show at Albaicin in Granada
And lively cave flamenco shows.
Central Spain highlands
The long drive from Granada to Saragossa
Visit Cuenca for its underrated beauty and heritage
Was via Cuenca.
The rolling meadows of central spain
Central Spain was
obscure towns of central spain
Was absolutely photogenic
The whimsical beauty of central spain
And dramatic like Don Quixote novel.
The flower filled countryside of Saragossa
Saragossa stopover was for recharging our batteries
enjoy sunset quiet moments on a road trip with a baby
Before moving on to
Anglet is near San Sebastian in Spain
The beach and wild flowers of Anglet in France.
sand dunes of dune de pilat
The incredible Dune de Pilat
The sand dunes of dune de pilat
And its massive shifting sand dunes
cherry blossoms of spring
Were our last stop of
family travel selfie
The mega adventure
road trip with a baby is not easy
Our baby‘s first road trip.

Stay tuned for survival tips, packing hacks and checklists for a hassle-free road trip with a baby.

RESPONSIBLE TRAVELING-BECAUSE I CARE

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