What I learned from traveling abroad with a toddler

It's been too long since I've posted but I recently came across a list that I wrote to myself while on an airplane from London to Washington, D.C.  I titled it: What I learned from Traveling Abroad with a Toddler.  We had spent 3 weeks in Vienna, Austria with no car, a studio apartment, and a near two-year-old (very well-behaved) girl. 

Here's my thoughts...

- A potty-trained child can't be expected to "perform" if stressed out
- Home sick toddlers will want their pacifier
- Riding home naked on the subway is okay to strangers- especially if you just went swimming at the local swimming pool or got soaked at the zoo
- Toddlers can drink out of a regular glass
- A kid can indeed live on bananas, french fries, and milk for 3 weeks if necessary
- Language is a barrier, even for a one-year-old
- Bring the blanket everywhere; toddlers don't care how dirty it really is
- Getting a good night sleep before airplane days is essential- there is NO guarantee that toddlers will sleep during flights- even a 20 hour long flight
- People need to eat...often
- A trip abroad will force independence and moodiness and that's okay 
- Historical tours should wait: local Children's Museum trips and strolls through local neighborhoods should be priority
- Living in a studio is challenging- especially teaching a toddler to take a shower or eat on the couch
- Toddlers will conform
- Even if it doesn't seem like a "great time" in your life...jump at once in a lifetime chances
- There is no place like home, even to a toddler

I hope you take chances like these, it wasn't easy and I didn't get to do every historical tour or art museum I wanted to see, but we have a lot of good memories and best of all got a TON of undivided one-on-one time with our child.