My parents love French Riviera and invited me to visit their favorite places together. Even though we are close, I was nervous about traveling with them.
It's not because I'm 40 and I think it's uncool to travel with my parents when they're 70 – I worry that my camera and my chronic illness make me a less than ideal travel companion.
As a travel photographer and writer, I was afraid that I wouldn't have time alone to get creative inspiration, or that I would annoy my parents by constantly stopping to take photos.
Living with chronic pain and a digestive system that flares up as soon as daily routines are disrupted, I was hesitant to share housing and make food choices I would regret.
However, I said yes. I craved the dazzling blue sea, pastel-colored villages, bustling local markets and fragrant lemon trees of the Côte d'Azur. We chose Nice as our base and decided to visit Menton, Eze, Saint-Paul-de-Vence, Antibes, Cannes and Monaco.
My trip with my parents was successful for several reasons, but there were a few things I wish I had done differently.
I'm glad we chose housing that suited everyone's needs.
My parents like comfortable hotels in the city center that serve a hearty breakfast. I enjoy going to local places and don't mind being away from the action.
As a compromise, we chose an Airbnb that was a two-minute walk from the Promenade des Anglais and several bakeries so I could run us out with baguettes and croissants in the mornings.
The apartment had a mezzanine level with a separate bedroom and bathroom, so I could have my own space without disturbing them if I wanted to stay up late to work on photos or if I needed to monopolize the bathroom.
Allowing a slower pace also improved our ride.
Perhaps we spent too much time walking on the first day of our trip. Kristina Kasparian/Veni Etiam Photography
When I lived in Europe as a studentmy parents often visited me and we spent the whole day walking. I found that those days were over. Our bodies are not what they used to be, and that's okay.
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We overextended ourselves on the first day, walking up and down the Colline du Chateau, to the port and throughout the city. When we woke up in pain, we had to switch our thinking from winning to delaying.
It helped that we chose a city that was familiar to my parents; there was no need to explore every corner. We confined the morning to one place and spent the afternoon replenishing our strength by the sea.
We made sure to separate ourselves throughout the trip.
As an avid solo traveler, I prefer to spend time alone. So, I made sure to take it with me on this trip.
My parents loved to sit in a café while I strolled the narrow streets of Old Nice, strolled through the exotic garden above Eze, shopped in Antibes, or climbed the medieval ramparts in search of a view of Saint-Paul-de-Vence.
If they wanted to relax and I wanted to go to the beach, we would separate and meet before dinner.
It is unrealistic to expect all travelers in a group to have the same rhythm and interests, and traveling with family no different.
Booking a tour was a pleasant break from making decisions.
The French Riviera is beautiful. Lyudmila Yaremenko/Getty Images
For a change, we booked a short excursion by car to Monaco and Cannes. It was nice to follow a set schedule and turn off my decision-making brain for a while.
We didn't have to worry about getting there or back and it was nice to listen to our guide and other passengers as we calmly explored the area.
It is extremely important to discuss food preferences in advance.
Coping with a chronic illness requires being careful about what I eat and when I eat, which is hard to do when you're in a group.
Having an honest conversation about dietary needs helped us manage our expectations. If my parents got hungry before me, they would eat without waiting for me. If I needed a break from gluten, I asked for a dinner place that served seafood, but not only seafood since my mom hates most fish.
Flexibility has saved our spirits (and tummies) more than once. But at least we could always agree on ice cream.
On the other hand, I wish we had researched transportation for our day trips in advance.
We spent time in Saint-Paul-de-Vence. Vijaleta Gerasimovich/Getty Images
We could have done without rushing up and down the street trying to find a suitable bus stop to get to Menton.
It turns out that having a general idea of ​​our day trips wasn't enough; I wish we had done a little more research on how to get around and booked our rates accordingly.
It's a shame we didn't look for restaurants and check their menus.
The hardest part of our day was deciding where to have dinner.
While choosing a place on the spur of the moment based on the ambience and ratio of tourists to locals definitely has its appeal, the trip would have been a lot smoother if we had an idea of ​​some of the places, their menus and reviews before wandering the streets with increasing levels of hunger (and irritation).
Next time we will do a better job of delegating travel planning tasks.
Our travel dynamics on this trip were interesting – although I'm a more experienced traveler, my parents were French Riviera experts who introduced me to the place.
Neither of us wanted to step on each other's toes, which sometimes caused indecisiveness. On my next trip I would love to set travel planning goals in a more structured way.
If everyone plans one meal and one day trip, the burden of satisfying the group won't fall on one person.
Overall we still had a great time together
Despite some hiccups, I had a great time with my parents in sunny France. With a little compromise and communication, we created heartwarming memories that make me smile every time I think about our trip.
At the end of the day, it's an honor to be able to travel with them while we're all healthy and lucky enough to get along with each other.
