Europe travel – In September 2025, Riana Ang-Canning and her husband Colin spent six months traveling through Europe with their then 8-month-old and their dog. They chose slow travel with long-term bases in France and the UK, backed by apartment rentals and routines—but found
In September 2025, Riana Ang-Canning and her husband Colin left for six months of travel through Europe with their then 8-month-old—and their dog. She had pictured something familiar: day trips, sightseeing packed into the itinerary, and the kind of evenings that run past bedtime.
The reality arrived fast. Even when they planned what should have been simple—one activity a day—travel with a baby meant rushing through it anyway, taking turns going inside so one person could stay with the stroller, and leaving early to make it home in time for the next nap.
The family had already built a travel mindset long before the trip. They had lived abroad in Prague, road-tripped through New Zealand, and country-hopped around Southeast Asia. That history made the European plan feel like a natural extension of who they were as travelers. And yet this time, the baby schedule—not the calendar—became the driver.
They tried to slow things down on purpose. Colin and Riana knew they couldn’t keep swapping cities every few days while moving with a baby. a dog. and all their luggage onto planes and trains. Instead, they chose four long-term bases in France and the UK, staying one to two months in each base. Between those bases. they did a road trip through Normandy and spent a week in Spain to celebrate their daughter’s first birthday.
To make daily life easier, they booked apartment rentals so they would have their own kitchen and lots of living space. The apartments were all in walkable city centers, which let them take the stroller out for groceries or dinner without turning every errand into a logistical ordeal.
They also leaned on activities that fit their daughter’s rhythms. In the weeks they spent in each city. routines were the only stable thing—yet it still didn’t feel like enough because their time was restricted by their baby’s schedule. The idea of day trips quickly vanished. Even what sounded achievable. like getting through a local museum. became something they barely managed in one stretch—especially when it involved taking a train for two hours.
It was stressful to feel like they were on a timer. Riana described the pressure of squeezing breastfeeding. lunch. commuting. and an activity—then commuting back again—before their daughter’s next nap. Leaving attractions early was always disappointing, because it meant walking away from things they had skipped.
Still, the trip also opened up a different kind of travel. Traveling as a family brought opportunities that didn’t depend on ticking off tourist landmarks. Riana focused on the moments they got instead of the ones they lost.
To take advantage of the wake windows between naps, they spent a lot of time in their local neighborhood. Over time, they became familiar faces—frequenting the same shops and cafés to the point where people recognized them.
They found the kind of activities local families do every day. They spent a ton of time at their closest library, playground, and city farm. Their daughter also enrolled in a baby swim class. When they sought out baby-specific experiences—like a baby-friendly comedy show. a kids’ theater. and baby playtime at the Natural History Museum—the family said those were consistently the best experiences. Their daughter “absolutely lit up,” and Riana and Colin said they couldn’t have been happier.
Some of those stops anchored the trip in places across the continent. They visited Spitalfields City Farm in London. They spent time in local parks, including a park in Orléans, France, with their dog. They also saw family in Málaga, Spain.
Even with all the compromises, they didn’t come back with a sense of wasted time. They didn’t get to “half of the things” Riana had researched for Europe. Yet she says she wouldn’t change a thing.
Traveling with their baby—and their dog—slowed them down and taught her to appreciate a more local approach to travel. The family learned to know a place without trying to complete a tourist bucket list.
Milestones made the long months feel meaningful. Their daughter celebrated achievements abroad, including learning to crawl in France and taking her first steps in England. When they returned home. they came back with “countless memories” from their first family trip—and with a child described as an independent. friendly. and curious toddler. Riana and Colin returned too. carrying the experience of what the trip became: not the itinerary they planned. but the life they lived while chasing it.
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