Paris (France) travel tips/suggestions... with kids

[filsdepac]

I havent beenon one either. I wonder how many boarding groups they have?

I've read that at CDG, their terminals are equipped to empty both floors at once, so boarding/deboarding is quite fast. At SFO, it'll be the 5th day that an A380 will have arrived there, so I'm sure we'll get some extra quality time with the bird.

Apparently take off is 50% quieter than a 747, although noise has never really bothered me, crashing into a ball of flames does.

[filsdepac]

We borrowed this "Tibos Electric Crêpe Maker" from my SIL yesterday and made some delicious dinner and dessert crêpes:



Selling at Williams-Sonoma for only $150!

"Made in France".

Can one of you that is going to France pick one of these up for me. They must be as cheap as toasters over there. TIA.

cheers.

T'as raison!

Crepe Machine

[Moliere]

We borrowed this "Tibos Electric Crêpe Maker" from my SIL yesterday and made some delicious dinner and dessert crêpes:



Selling at Williams-Sonoma for only $150!

"Made in France".

Can one of you that is going to France pick one of these up for me. They must be as cheap as toasters over there. TIA.

cheers.

Very cool SG. I go for the cheaper version, which is a flat griddle type pan I bought at HEB for $15 a piece. My kids beg me for crepes every Saturday morning and I give in at least once or twice a month.

[Moliere]

I'm trying something new (to me at least) to beat jetlag. This week I've been going to bed and waking up one hour earlier each night. This morning I was up at 2:30am (went to bed at 8:30pm). This puts me almost on Paris time. I'm hoping it works. If it doesn't I'll likely be a mess the whole week. I'll try and wake up at 1:30am tomorrow and then sleep on the plane ride over, which lands at 8:30am Paris time. I suck at sleeping on planes so I bought some sleeping pills to put me out while on the plane.

Anyway, I'll return and report but at least in theory this seems like a good way to beat jetlag a little bit at a time.

[MarkGrace]

Had some awesome beef bourguignon last night at Luc. Again made me think of this thread.

[Portland Ute]

I had a terrific duck confit last night. Made me think of this thread.

Had some awesome beef bourguignon last night at Luc. Again made me think of this thread.

Braggart!

[myboynoah]

Almost stepped in some dog poop on the sidewalk. Made me think of this thread.

Be careful out there!

[Moliere]

Almost stepped in some dog poop on the sidewalk. Made me think of this thread.

Be careful out there!

Grrrrr!

[MarkGrace]

Had duck confit hash for brunch at bastille today. Made me think of this thread!

[filsdepac]

Back now and thought I'd share a few thoughts in case others plan to go in the future. The trip was amazing and confirmed my thought that in my limited travel experience, Paris is one of the top 5 cities of the world. My wife fell in love as well and we look forward to going back in a few years.

The people were extremely gracious and kind, I've never seen the whole "rude Parisian" thing, at least no more than I've seen rude New Yorkers, Londoners, etc. But perhaps it's because I speak French, and we didn't dress like middle Americans . There were several times that I asked for directions and the people were extremely courteous in helping us find our destination.

Anyway, to the activities. First restaurant: Le Billebaud. It's in the 7th, a short walk from the Eiffel tower. Prix fixe menu at about 30 euros, one chef and one guy working the tables (the owner). Delicious foie gras and I'm not a huge foie gras guy either.

We did something called "Cookin with Class", I know I know, but it was really cool. They take a group of 6 people, max, to the outdoor markets and teach you about produce, fresh meats, cheeses, etc., and how to select the best food. One interesting tidbit was that the reason they'd often keep the heads of rabbits on the bodies was because during wartime butchers would often try to sell cat meat instead. Anyways, our chef guide selected a bunch of food and we went back to a kitchen (near Montmartre) to cook up a feast.

We started off making asparagus with a poached egg and some prosciutto, delicious. Then we cooked duck and an onion subise (?) that were absolutely divine. Then of course a cheese platter and a dessert that I forgot the name of. They sent us the recipes, but it was an awesome course to help you be less intimidated by things such as duck. It's a pretty expensive but worth every penny.

Next meal was at Les Papilles, in the 5th. It's very far from the nearest metro station, but another great restaurant. They only have one meal a night, so you have to eat what they're cooking. Unfortunately, it was duck again, which actually wasn't as good as the one we made in the class. The cauliflower soup though was incredible. I'd recommend if you stay in the area, but otherwise too difficult to find.

Our meal at Joel Robuchon was very impressive, although we certainly paid for it. The service was outstanding and the food very good, but wow it adds up fast. The restaurant is in the Atelier style, so you're sitting around the kitchen, guessing which chef you'll see on Top Chef next.

We did the concert at Sainte Chapelle, as recommended by Moliere. And what a recommendation it was, we absolutely loved it. The music was great (just well known stuff like Canon in D and Four Seasons) but I just loved looking up at the huge stain glass windows and thinking about all that had happened in this room.

As far as a place to stay, we used Vacation in Paris and rented an apartment on Rue S. Dominique in the 7th. It was a great deal, something I will definitely do again. It was $150/night (dollars, not euros), and much larger than any hotel room. The downside was no daily cleaning service, but I actually prefer it that way. The location couldn't be better.

The Cluny museum was very cool, especially the building it was in, but I actually liked the Medieval museum in Prague better. Just my opinion.

We spent a lot of money on things, but as cheesy and trite as it sounds, the best memories were free. I'll never forget running across the Pont Neuf in the pouring rain, laughing with my wife as we sprinted for the Metro. It was almost out of a movie, just looking back at her, with lightning crashing all around and the Eiffel Tower lit up in the background, what a great trip.

One last thing, long story short we didn't use our Paris Museum Passes. So if anyone is going or knows someone that is, we have 2 unused 4 day passes. They're 100 euros total, but I'll send them for 100 bucks + shipping.

[MarkGrace]

I was really enjoying that right up until the last paragraph.

j/k, fils, sounds awesome.

[MarkGrace]

Are those museum passes good for the whole year? If we end up going (and we should), I may take them off your hands if you still have them by that time.

[Moliere]

We did the concert at Sainte Chapelle, as recommended by Moliere. And what a recommendation it was, we absolutely loved it. The music was great (just well known stuff like Canon in D and Four Seasons) but I just loved looking up at the huge stain glass windows and thinking about all that had happened in this room.

MJ and I both agreed on our two favorite memories from this past trip. The first was standing on Omaha Beach looking up at the cliffs and trying to imagine what that place would have looked like on June 6, 1944.

The second was the Sainte Chapelle concert. MJ was crying by the end of it. Les quatre saisons is her favorite classical piece and Canon in D was really, really fun to see with all the violins going on different parts. The setting was magical. We even got the lead violinist to sign her program.

I'll try to write something up sometime.

[filsdepac]

I was really enjoying that right up until the last paragraph.

j/k, fils, sounds awesome.

Ha, I caveated it.

Also, I forgot to mention (and maybe I should start talking about this stuff in the diner) that we made mussels. I'm typically not a huge fan but these were great. On the asparagus and poached egg dish, we made croutons, but she had us break the bread really small, like crappy deacon small. I was thinking this wouldn't be good, but i ended up liking it better than normal size croutons as it added just the right amount of crunch to the dish.

Random note: bnp paribas and bofa are partners so you don't get charged ATM fees when used.

[MarkGrace]

We checked out that rentinparis site Fils recommended and found a nice little place for a decent price. Our deposit is due next week!