Like a furious desire to find oneself again.
Aurélie and Nicolas, 36 years old, and their two children Chloé, 9 years old, and Malo, 5 years old, are preparing to live together in a converted truck for the next six months.
“Our children are at school, we don't have time to enjoy them, we don't see them grow up.
We see this trip as a way to slow down time,” says the father.
“We live differently in the van, we go back to basics.
We make cabins, we play pétanque.
There are no schedules, no Internet, no screens.
The children fight to do the dishes, that never happens at home,” the mother concedes.
Since April 2023, they have been developing Baloo, a former on-demand bus which transported people with reduced mobility.
The yellow of the tour operator has been partly preserved.
“We are extremely proud to have a Transbeauce, we are from Chartres (Eure-et-Loir) and we claim it” laughs Aurélie.
The couple invested 13,000 euros to buy the vehicle, then around 7,000 euros for the interior design.
Everything was done by them.
“Basically, we're not DIYers, we got into it for the van.
Aurélie's father helped us a lot with the electricity, but for the kitchen or the bathroom it was cheap, tampered furniture,” reveals Nicolas.
Three jobs to finance their dream
To finance their dream, the parents worked hard for two years.
“We worked up to three jobs simultaneously.
We are carers, I worked at the Chartres theater and we both delivered newspapers!
» said Nicolas.
“It was horrible, it was very difficult admits Aurélie, but it was worth it” she breathes.
The couple aimed to save 12,000 euros to leave, but ended up saving twice as much.
Read alsoCamper van, van... the new Eden for vacationers in search of freedom
February 28, 2024 at 10 a.m. will be the day of the big departure.
Like Christmas, the Babach Family has created an Advent calendar.
“The children check off each day before departure, they are really looking forward to it” rejoices the couple in their thirties.
Direction Spain, then Italy before continuing through Croatia and Greece, then going up through Bulgaria, Poland and Germany and ending in England.
Twelve to sixteen countries will be crossed by the little family.
“We don’t set a deadline, if we like a place, we stay there.
These are the encounters we are looking for,” say the two parents.
The children have their demands: the Tower of Pisa in Italy for Malo and Dracula's Castle in Romania for the eldest.
Beaches and amusement parks are also on the quartet's agenda during this trip across Europe.
However, there is no question of children missing school.
“The Covid reassured us because for three months, we had to teach our children.
And then the school was very supportive of the project, a link with their class will be maintained.
Chloé and Malo will make videos to tell their friend about their trip.”
“It doesn't take much to be happy, very little to be happy,”
Baloo sings in The Jungle Book.
A motto that will guide this family for the next six months.
An inspiring journey, to follow on the Instagram account la_babach_family_en_voyage.