France, Part 1
The beginning of a family trip through France — full of planning, arrival-day wonder, first impressions, and those small travel moments that somehow become the stories everyone remembers later.
How We Took 15 People to France Without Losing Anyone
Part 1: The Adventure Begins
Every great adventure starts somewhere.
Ours started in the dark, way too early in the morning, with sleepy faces, packed bags, and one big question:
“Are we really taking 15 people to Europe?”
The answer was yes.
Not just any 15 people either.
This adventure included my husband and me, six of our children, one soon-to-be family member, my best friend and her daughter, and my husband’s parents.
Three generations. A whole lot of luggage. And enough personalities to keep things interesting.
Exactly the way family adventures should be.
Thirteen of us loaded up into two cars and headed to Washington, D.C., before the sun even thought about waking up. Passports? Check. Bags? Check. Excitement? Absolutely.
Matching shirts that I made myself?
Of course. Because if you’re taking a small army across the ocean, you might as well look official doing it.
Besides, matching shirts make it much easier to count heads. And with this crew, counting heads became a regular activity.
Once we arrived, we met up with the final two members of our travel crew in New York City.
And just like that, all 15 of us were together and ready to cross the pond.
France, here we come.
After our overnight flight, we landed in Europe and made our way to Bruges.
Now came the next adventure: transportation.
Moving 15 people around Europe is not exactly a “grab a taxi and go” situation.
Our solution?
Two cars and a van.
A little caravan of family, friends, luggage, laughter, and probably a few confused moments figuring out European roads.
But eventually we made our way through the beautiful countryside toward the place we would call home.
Our very own castle in France.
Yes, a castle.
Because if you’re going to gather the people you love and travel across the world together, why not make the story a good one?
And the best part?
We actually got everyone there.
All 15.
Nobody lost.
Adventure officially started.
To be continued from the castle porch...
