Why you shouldn’t book an Airbnb for you and your almost 60 year old mother.
From Wednesday, August 3, 2016 until today (Friday, August 12, 2016) I have been traveling and living with my mother. I did not see this as my future when I celebrated my 27th birthday in January; however, this opportunity was worth it…even when we annoyed each other.
Let me start from the beginning. When I returned home in May around Mother’s Day weekend my mother said she would fly back to Switzerland with me in August. I said sure, because this would be a great experience for the both of us, and on Mother’s Day she purchased her ticket.
Our journey began in Columbus, Ohio. We flew to JFK then straight to Zurich. Once we arrived at my apartment we could only rest and find something to munch on that evening. We really didn’t need to have a lot of food in the apartment since we were spending a long weekend in Paris, France.
My mom wanted to see how I travel so we flew out of Milan Malpensa Airport (MXP). Getting through the unorganized chaos lead us to watching the boards. Yes, instead of just listing which gate our flight is at, the folks at MXP give you a thirty minute window to see your gate information then book it to the gate all to wait in line for another thirty minutes to board.
Paris was amazing, even the moments when things did go as planned. With every moment of frustration there was a moment of laughter that followed it!
- Upon arriving on Friday night I purchased two Eiffel Tower tickets for 23:00 (11PM). We walked over from the Airbnb and noticed that it was closed. After asking the police working at the gate it seemed like people could enter the next day with their tickets and be let in given the unexpected closing. What we didn’t know until Saturday morning was that the tower was closed due to a security concern. When we arrived Saturday morning we noticed nobody was working and after asking everyone and their mother, we found out that the staff was in a meeting and once the meeting wrapped up the tower would re-open. With a Sandeman’s Free Walking Tour at 13:00 we left and decided to come back later.
- My mom and I were originally staying at an Airbnb. After the first night my mother made it very clear that she needed to stay somewhere else. Now, I have stayed in Airbnb’s before with friends and family that are around my age. What I will never do again is stay at an Airbnb with my almost 60 year old mother. From getting into the apartment, to trying to find television channels in English, to navigating the bathroom, to complaining about the rough bath towels (they were very rough), she hated it! So, I did what any other loving and obedient child would do…I called a hotel about a block away and made reservations for us to stay there.
We did the touristy things, made it to the second floor of the Eiffel Tower (on our third try),went to The Louvre, ate dinner at the Ciel de Paris and looked at an amazing view from the 56th floor of the Montparnasse Tower, and ate all the food we could. Our last night was by far the best night for food. We went to Romantia Caffe and I had a dish that they are known for, Leggera Romantica, which is linguine alla panna e salvia, flambe nella forma di formaggio di bufala (In English: linguine with cream and sage, flambe in the form of buffalo cheese).
After a full weekend in Paris my mother and I spent the rest of our time in Riva. We went to Lugano to check out Manor and have dinner at the Spaghetti Store, and just relaxed. I showed her my favorite gelateria in town and my go to items at the grocery store in town.
This morning I said see ya later to my mother, she took a train to the Zurich airport. I stood on platform three with tears falling down my face. As much as we annoy each other we also laugh, joke, and love each other unconditionally. At the airport she sent me a text saying, “Hey Leah, I’m sitting at the airport and just want you to know that I am so proud of the woman you have become!!! You are special!”
