My husband and I had one of the most unique experiences. We lived in France for a year with our daughter, who was 1 at the time. I highly recommend this experience.
It wasn't easy making it happen, and it wasn't always easy overcoming the challenges of living abroad and caring for a baby-becoming-toddler. The grandparents thought we were nuts. We sold our house, sold or gave away most of our possessions, sold our cars, and completely uprooted our lives. People don't tend to do that when they become parents.
But to this day, that extended family sabbatical vacation was one of the most amazing experiences of my life.
We lived in Nice, but we traveled almost the entire time we were there. The three of us saw most of the South of France, we visited Italy, and we hit many destinations in Northern Spain, such as Barcelona, Pamplona and San Sebastian.
My daughter didn't learn what an elephant was from a book. She saw one at the Barcelona zoo. She learned about her colors at Le Louvre.
You don't have to be rich (we weren't). You don't have to be sophisticated, or stay in four-star hotels (we camped frequently). But you can have an amazing vacation that isn't just gone as quickly as it started. You can have an experience that you and your child will cherish forever.
