A Spring Break with Bubbles: Our First Mother-Daughter Adventure

In March 2022, Ashley and I packed our bags and boarded a plane for France. It was our first-ever mother-daughter trip — a long-overdue adventure born from loss, longing, and a shared love for good stories and good Champagne.

Ashley was a 2021 high school graduate, part of the generation who watched their senior year vanish into a screen. Her junior year prom, her three-week student exchange in France, even her graduation — all canceled or warped by the pandemic. For more than a year, she lived her high school life behind a Zoom window, schooling from her bedroom and missing every milestone she’d earned.

So when she asked if we could go to France for her first college spring break — “just to practice her French,” she claimed — I didn’t hesitate. We had been to Paris as a family in 2018 and had checked off the usual “must-sees,” but this trip needed a different kind of purpose. One rooted in experience, not sightseeing. I jokingly said, “Well, if we’re going, we’re going with intention. You’re going to learn to appreciate Champagne.”

(Spoiler: She did.)

Champagne tasting at Pommery in Reims, France

Ashley was 19, and in France the legal drinking age is 18 — just enough time and freedom to learn the art, history, and ritual of Champagne properly. Our first stop was Paris, where we had the extraordinary pleasure of spending an afternoon with Cynthia of Delectabulles — a Canadian expat and true Champagne educator who believes in “empowering women one bottle at a time.” She introduced us to the méthode traditionnelle (the traditional method used to make Champagne), guided us through pairings, history, and tasting, and opened our eyes to how much craftsmanship — and femininity — goes into every bottle.

Armed with our new knowledge (and a fresh appreciation for bubbles), we left Paris behind and headed to the Loire Valley, where we explored sparkling wines made in the same style — but without the Champagne label. The next leg of our journey took us straight to the source: Reims and Épernay, where we visited the grand Champagne houses, walked through ancient chalk caves, and toasted in tasting rooms where bottles have been hand-turned for generations. Some of our favorite moments, though, came from the smaller, family-run maisons — intimate, warm, and steeped in legacy.

But here’s the truth: the Champagne wasn’t the point. The point was being together — learning, laughing, getting lost (more than once), and discovering the rhythm of traveling as a pair.

That week changed something for me. It wasn’t just a bucket list trip — it was a blueprint. I came home knowing I wanted to carve out time for one-on-one travel with each of my daughters. And I have. Ashley’s twin sisters (three years younger) each have a trip with me in the works. Even their dad has followed suit: just a few months after our return, Ashley and her father climbed Mt. Hood together in Oregon, summiting snow-covered peaks in a completely different kind of bonding experience. But that’s a tale for another post.

This was the beginning of Via Madre — even if we didn’t have a name for it then. A shared journey, not just through beautiful places, but through the seasons of life, of motherhood, and of growing up.

Here’s to more glasses raised, more roads taken, and more stories told — together.

– Stacia