In summer 2023 we were lucky enough to take an extended trip through Europe with my side of the family. It was something that we dreamed about for a while and then spent many months actually planning. There were six people that came over (my two sisters, my sister-in-law and 3 of our nephews) plus the six of us. They travelled via train and airbnb while we had our van, the camper and a series of campgrounds as close as possible to their rental homes. It worked out really well!

Our first stop was Brugge, Belgium where we also met up with our aunt who moved to Ireland 16 years ago. It was so nice to see her! This was the first time we have been to Belgium as a family, and my first visit to Brugge. I loved it! It is a small city which means it’s easy to navigate and perfect for walking but with plenty to see. We visited the Choco-Story Museum where we could do a self-guided tour that was great for our big group of varied attention spans, we climbed the 366 steps to the top of the Belfry of Brugge, a historical landmark which offered some incredible views, and we took a relaxing canal tour with Coudenys giving us a new perspective of the city. Otherwise, we walked, we shopped and we begged restaurants to find space for the 13 of us. 🙂 We camped at Camping Memling, a small yet clean campground on the edge of a forest and within a 10 minute drive to the city centre. We brought our dog on that leg of the trip and the campground was very dog-friendly. It butted-up to a forest that was perfect for our daily walks with Henry.

From there we came to our house so everyone could see our home, our town, and the places where we spend our time to get a better idea of our life abroad. We also did a bit of sightseeing, going to the Mülenhof historical museum where the baby goats were a highlight and walking along to Aasee one afternoon. It was quite hot those few days so we also hung out a lot in our backyard and spent a day at the Seebad Haltern am See, cooling off in the refreshing water. We like that swimming spot because there are bathrooms, various food and drink options and plenty of beach to spread out on.

From there we took the gruelling drive in a record-breaking heat wave through (what felt like record-breaking) traffic to Lausanne, Switzerland. My sister had a work conference there and the rest of us did some sightseeing and relaxing on the shores of Lake Geneva. Unfortunately it was extremely hot and hazy during our few days there so we never got those quintessential Switzerland views. But we got some sightseeing in with a visit to the Lausanne Cathedral with it’s beautiful views of the city below and gorgeous stained-glass windows. From there we headed to the Olympic Museum which I found fascinating! I definitely could have spent a few days reading through all the exhibits. It was very well done, but also so full of history, personal stories and memorabilia that it was hard to take everything in in one go. Afterwards we took a walk along the shore and then next morning it was time to move on. We stayed at Camping de Vidy which was located less than 4km west of the city centre and easily accessible by public transportation. The facilities were not very good, but we did like the location.

Our trip continued by heading east into our next country: Italy. It was a gorgeous drive with an unexpected twist: a train that carried our car and camper through a long tunnel as we crossed the border! It was a very cool, unique experience that excited us all. We stayed at Camping Tranquilla in Baveno, Lago Maggiore where we enjoyed a nice, shaded spot right next to the swimming pool.

We experienced our highest high of the trip and lowest low at that campground within maybe 30 minutes of each other. First, we were able to secure 4 VIP tickets to see Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour coming through Germany the following summer. So much excitement in the camper!! Not long after, we also got to experience the most intense thunderstorm where the lightening struck a pole maybe 15 feet from our camper which scared the sh+t out of all of us! Our excitement quickly turned to fear but the excitement came back pretty quickly. Luckily we all came out unscathed (the rest of the family was staying on Isola Superiore, an adorable island about 3.5km walk plus boat ride from our campground), and my nephew even caught a few amazing photos.

The next morning we woke up to nice clear skies and headed down the hill to the boat that would take us over to the island. We spent the day exploring the island, taking a boat ride over to another island, enjoying the beautiful views and being so happy we could be together!

The next day it was time to hop in our car again and head to our next country: France. We drove 345 km southwest to Menton on the French Riviera and it did not disappoint! Menton is a small town with a beautiful beach right in the downtown area that was perfect for swims between delicious meals. The heat was quite intense and our campground had no pool or shade, so one afternoon we drove up into the Alpes-Maritimes, stopping at the picturesque town of Sospel. Our first night there happened to be Bastille Day so we lucked out with a beautiful fireworks show from our campground on the (brutal uphill walk) hill. We also had one of the best meals of the trip at the little hole-in-the-wall campground restaurant, l’Embuscade!

About half of the group took a day trip to nearby Monaco, the second-smallest sovereign state in the world and one of the wealthiest and most expensive places in the world. It is well worth a visit if you have not previously been!

Then it was time to head to our final destination as a big group: Barcelona, Spain. It was a long, hot drive to our campground Camping Estrella de Mar just south of the city. We were more than ready to pull in there for the night! It very conveniently had an easy bus connection into the heart of the city, so we did that in order to meet up with our family and sightsee. Love public transportation!

Our first stop was one of my favorite places in Barcelona–Park Güell, an enormous garden with stunning and distinct architectural elements designed by the renowned Catalan architect, Antoni Gaudí. Unfortunately it was quite hot and crowded so we didn’t last too long but enjoyed a look around.

After a lunch stop it was time for our tour of Sagrada Familia, another architecture masterpiece of Antoni Gaudí and famous for never being finished despite construction having started in 1882. Though I have to say, it has come a long way since 2000 which was the last time I climbed it! (We had visited Barcelona in the spring of 2018 with the kids but did not climb it at the time as the kids were a bit too young.) It is such an impressive, unique piece of architecture.

The next day we started out slow, enjoying the lovely pool at our campground before heading back to the city for a special post-birthday tapas dinner and then a nice long walk past the Cathedral, through the Gothic Quarter, all the way down to Sant Miquel Beach where we dipped our toes into the Mediterranean Sea for one last time on this trip.

The following day it was pool time, then paella time, and then time to say goodbye. What a lovely time we had together!