Wedding anniversary trip to France

We had our 2nd wedding anniversary this year and decided to go to France to celebrate it. There were a couple of reasons why there. First of all, we had planned to go on a mini-honeymoon trip to Paris after our wedding since our actual honeymoon wouldn't be until the winter after the wedding. However, because of covid, we couldn't travel to Paris, but we did a mini honeymoon in Finland. However, we had already booked a horse carriage ride in Paris and since it could only be postponed not canceled, we knew that we would go there one day in the future. Secondly, I really wanted champagne when I was pregnant (proof that at least MY body doesn't demand the things it needs 😄), so I decided that when the baby is born and I can finally drink champagne, we will go to the champagne region in France.

This was our first flight with the baby, so we were a little nervous about how everything would go, but the flights went perfectly! I recommend breastfeeding during take offs and landings, or giving a bottle or a pacifier to keep the baby's ears open. Our plane left really early in the morning (definitely wouldn't do that again), so Jordan was tired the whole first day, as were we, and we were already wondering if the whole trip was doomed. After all, Jordan still wakes up several times a night every night, so we already have a lot of sleep debt. In addition traveling always leads to some extra issues and challenges so I'll admit that we were both in a pretty bad mood in the beginning, even though we tried our best not to take it out on each other. The next day got off to a rough start, but from then on the trip went really well.

We had a lovely floating hotel on the Seine, which even had a small swimming pool. We started the next day at the botanical garden and zoo near our hotel and the place was absolutely perfect. In the afternoon, we finally went on our horse-drawn carriage ride and it was awesome in all its syrupiness! The ride included a bottle of champagne and Jordan had a great time watching the people and the scenery. After the ride, we went out to eat when Jordan fell asleep in the stroller and we had a great time.

The next day we headed towards Epernay. We had a wonderful Airbnb with a hot tub and terrace right next to Avenue de Champagne. We arrived just in time for our tour of Charles Mignon's champagne house and stayed for a tasting on the terrace with two nice Brits who had been on the same tour.

The next day was the actual wedding anniversary day, which we started off with brunch in a small cafe. Then we went on a tour at Moet & Chandon and in the evening we toured the area and just enjoyed our time there.

On Monday morning in Epernay, we ate breakfast in the park next to our accommodation and visited a couple more champagne houses. Then we headed towards our final night's accommodation near the airport.

The last hotel was a lovely mansion with a swimming pool and as a hotel guest you could also use the adjacent tennis courts. In the morning of the last day, we went to play tennis for a while, but soon we had to go pack.

We had very few set plans so that we could be flexible with the baby and that was good. We usually planned the next activity depending on the moment. If it was possible, I went swimming or we went to a cafe or to a terrace of a champagne house in Epernay or, if the baby was sleeping, to the jacuzzi. I recommend a loose schedule if you travel with someone this age. We did decide though that for a while from now on we will go on trips only with my family, so that we can also do some activities together just the two of us and someone can help with nights and why not with the naps as well. In the end this trip was definitely much more on the plus side, but having helping hands would make it possible to plan a little more and relax a bit more freely ☺️.