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Message
Thanksgiving in Paris - 2024 - A Trip Review
Posted on 11/26/24 at 3:53 pm
Posted on 11/26/24 at 3:53 pm
Last year my wife and I were looking for something to do last minute for the Holidays. The week before Thanksgiving, we almost pulled off a trip to Amsterdam, because the flights were so cheap. We just couldn't make the logistics work.
I don't remember when flights opened up for Paris, but in March we booked 4 round trip tickets from Wichita, KS to Paris-CDG for $520 a person. It felt like a steal and a great way to spend Thanksgiving with a young family, so we booked the trip. Here we are.
Didn't take many pictures yesterday. The trip was smooth sailing via American Airlines to DFW and again from DFW to CDG. The main flight was just over 8 hours. It was a little bumpy as we made it to the eastern third of the Atlantic and close to Ireland. We have 2 kids with us (8 and 6) who were troopers. They slept maybe 2-3 hours. Mom and Dad, not so much. With a 9:15 arrival we were 2nd in line for customs and in and out of the airport in 25 minutes. From there, I booked an Uber, which was probably a mistake, but it was raining and I didn't want to haul luggage around the RER with tired kids and a tired wife. The ride was reasonable, about 60 Euros, but the traffic was awful. It took 1.5 hours to go from CDG to our AirBNB. It at least gave the wife and kids some time to rest.
Today was truly day 1. We are staying in the 2nd Arrondissement in the Montorgueil quarter. It's a fantastic area with our AirBNB being less than 10 steps away from Rue Montorguiel and everything you can need.
Started off this morning with a nice run down Bonne Nouvelle. It was fun to people watch the parents droppings kids off at schools. and work commuters getting where they are going. It's been 10 years since I have been to Paris, so it was a nice awakening to the city again as well. Ended my run at the Port St Dennis, which was worthy of a picture. On the way home, I stopped into the boulangerie to get a few Pane Au Chocolate pastries and a french loaf. Stopped at the market to get salami, prosciutto, and cheese. We made a make shift breakfast in the room and everyone fought over the french loaf until it was all gone.
Our agenda for the day was Jardin du Luxembourg, Pantheon, Notre Dame, and the Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie.
Before making our way to the metro to head to the Luxembourg train exit, we stopped into Cafe Du Centre for a quick cafe creme. It was a nice little breakfast/coffee spot with a friendly wait staff.
From there we took the metro for the first time. I bought the 10 ticket packet via the mobile app thinking I could use it for everyone. The mobile app is great and easy to use, but thinking I could use my login for everyone, that was a mistake. Each person needs an individual metro card, so I had to burn a ticket entering and exiting quickly to go back to the ticket kiosk with the family. We had to buy 3 cards, one for each of them, and load them with a few rides a piece. After that, no problems. The only problem I found with the metro was the RER line kept confusing me. Our first route had us on the RER, but from then on we were simply on the metro. Once I realized this, no problems getting around.
Jardin du Luxembourg was great. The weather was high 40s to low 50's and about the time we arrived, the sun made it's lone appearance for the day. We had a nice time walking through the garden, looking at the fountain, and walking around the palace. Without kids, my wife and I probably would have sat there with a bottle of wine and people watched for an hour or so. It was a little harder to keep the kids attention.
From there, we walked to the Pantheon. In route, there was a place called Le Creperie that was packed and looked great. We didn't stop, but we put it on our list for later this week. Seems like a hot spot based on the reviews. The Pantheon was cool to look at for a few minutes and I read some of the history while we were sitting there. We decided against going in as we didn't think it would interest the kids. One cool thing we did though was buy the kids 4 disposable cameras each. They each lugged one around and saw things like the Pantheon and even they felt it was picture worthy. We thought it would be cool to see Paris from their eyes when done.
From the Pantheon, we walked to Notre Dame. This was again a check the box item, but I'm glad we did it. Didn't get too close with the construction, but snapped a few quick photos and checked it off the list.
We had a 1:30 ticket reservation and 2pm show reservation at the Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie we were already running behind for, so we jumped on the metro to get going that way. The museum is up in the NE part of Paris so it was about a 25 minute ride. Unfortunately, we arrived at 2:15pm just missing the entrance to the show, but leaving plenty of time for the museum.
I don't remember when flights opened up for Paris, but in March we booked 4 round trip tickets from Wichita, KS to Paris-CDG for $520 a person. It felt like a steal and a great way to spend Thanksgiving with a young family, so we booked the trip. Here we are.
Didn't take many pictures yesterday. The trip was smooth sailing via American Airlines to DFW and again from DFW to CDG. The main flight was just over 8 hours. It was a little bumpy as we made it to the eastern third of the Atlantic and close to Ireland. We have 2 kids with us (8 and 6) who were troopers. They slept maybe 2-3 hours. Mom and Dad, not so much. With a 9:15 arrival we were 2nd in line for customs and in and out of the airport in 25 minutes. From there, I booked an Uber, which was probably a mistake, but it was raining and I didn't want to haul luggage around the RER with tired kids and a tired wife. The ride was reasonable, about 60 Euros, but the traffic was awful. It took 1.5 hours to go from CDG to our AirBNB. It at least gave the wife and kids some time to rest.
Today was truly day 1. We are staying in the 2nd Arrondissement in the Montorgueil quarter. It's a fantastic area with our AirBNB being less than 10 steps away from Rue Montorguiel and everything you can need.
Started off this morning with a nice run down Bonne Nouvelle. It was fun to people watch the parents droppings kids off at schools. and work commuters getting where they are going. It's been 10 years since I have been to Paris, so it was a nice awakening to the city again as well. Ended my run at the Port St Dennis, which was worthy of a picture. On the way home, I stopped into the boulangerie to get a few Pane Au Chocolate pastries and a french loaf. Stopped at the market to get salami, prosciutto, and cheese. We made a make shift breakfast in the room and everyone fought over the french loaf until it was all gone.
Our agenda for the day was Jardin du Luxembourg, Pantheon, Notre Dame, and the Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie.
Before making our way to the metro to head to the Luxembourg train exit, we stopped into Cafe Du Centre for a quick cafe creme. It was a nice little breakfast/coffee spot with a friendly wait staff.
From there we took the metro for the first time. I bought the 10 ticket packet via the mobile app thinking I could use it for everyone. The mobile app is great and easy to use, but thinking I could use my login for everyone, that was a mistake. Each person needs an individual metro card, so I had to burn a ticket entering and exiting quickly to go back to the ticket kiosk with the family. We had to buy 3 cards, one for each of them, and load them with a few rides a piece. After that, no problems. The only problem I found with the metro was the RER line kept confusing me. Our first route had us on the RER, but from then on we were simply on the metro. Once I realized this, no problems getting around.
Jardin du Luxembourg was great. The weather was high 40s to low 50's and about the time we arrived, the sun made it's lone appearance for the day. We had a nice time walking through the garden, looking at the fountain, and walking around the palace. Without kids, my wife and I probably would have sat there with a bottle of wine and people watched for an hour or so. It was a little harder to keep the kids attention.
From there, we walked to the Pantheon. In route, there was a place called Le Creperie that was packed and looked great. We didn't stop, but we put it on our list for later this week. Seems like a hot spot based on the reviews. The Pantheon was cool to look at for a few minutes and I read some of the history while we were sitting there. We decided against going in as we didn't think it would interest the kids. One cool thing we did though was buy the kids 4 disposable cameras each. They each lugged one around and saw things like the Pantheon and even they felt it was picture worthy. We thought it would be cool to see Paris from their eyes when done.
From the Pantheon, we walked to Notre Dame. This was again a check the box item, but I'm glad we did it. Didn't get too close with the construction, but snapped a few quick photos and checked it off the list.
We had a 1:30 ticket reservation and 2pm show reservation at the Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie we were already running behind for, so we jumped on the metro to get going that way. The museum is up in the NE part of Paris so it was about a 25 minute ride. Unfortunately, we arrived at 2:15pm just missing the entrance to the show, but leaving plenty of time for the museum.
5
Posted on 11/26/24 at 3:55 pm to LSUShock
I was presented the Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie as a sort of Science and Engineering museum for kids. We were told it was a good and affordable way to kill time with kids. I will certainly give it that, but I thought it was a little too advanced for my kids. We spent our time on the exhibits on the 1st and 2nd floors. There were different items from space to greenhouses, to legos to climate, robots, and many others. Much of the substance was reading base. You kind of had to be interested in the topics to sit there and read through them. There were plenty of adults in all of the exhibits amongst kids and families as well.
Our critique of the museum was that we wished it was more hands on and interactive vs educational. There were a ton of schools there on what appeared to be field trips. Ages ranged mostly from 8-14. I ranked it a 6/10. My wife 7/10. My 8 year old 5/10. And my 6 year old 8/10. I will give it credit, it kept us busy from 2:15-4:30, which was the goal with kids.
From the museum, we took the metro back towards the latin quarter and exited at the Republique station. Our goal was to get to the Le Enfants De Marche market for seafood dinner at the bar in the back. A friend of ours had told us about this. When we arrived, the food looked and smelled incredible. Escargot, mussels, oysters, cheese and meat plates, the whole deal. An American couple saw us looking for a seat and said it was an incredible place and they enjoyed a few of the appetizers and the seafood/wine was fantastic. Unfortunately, they closed the kitchen at 5pm so we just missed it, but will be back tomorrow for lunch. This place seems like one you would bookmark.
With hungry kids looking for an early dinner French time, we decided on Pizzeria Maria. The kids wanted pizza and the place had 4.9 stars with 1000+ reviews. It was empty when we walked in, but the owner Georgio, greeted us. Through broken english and even broken Italian, he let me know they weren't opening for another hour, but agreed to let us in and cook for us. We had the place to ourselves, enjoyed the conversation with Georgio, and had 2 great pizzas (margarita for the kids. cheese, olives, capers, garlic, mushrooms, and anchovies for the adults) , ice cream, and a bottle of wine for 37 euros. All cooked by Georgio himself who made it clear, he doesn't spend much time in the kitchen these days. I recommend Pizzeria Maria purely for the hospitality. And the food was pretty good as well.
We stopped into a few shops in the latin quarter for another hour or two. Debated buying a few items at Merci and Bon Ton before looking at the price tags and then walked the 22 mins back towards our AirBNB in the 2nd.
The whole crew was tired from a long day so here I am writing up this day review while everyone else just went to bed. All in all, a great day with a lot of walking. I'm proud of my kids for handling everything from the overseas flight to endless walking so seamlessly today. It's certainly a different trip than many of these my wife and I take together, but so much more enjoyable to experience it with the kids as well.
Tomorrow were off to the Eiffel early in the AM for a macaroon cooking class nearby and our first view up close since being in the city. I'm sure it will be a great day!
Our critique of the museum was that we wished it was more hands on and interactive vs educational. There were a ton of schools there on what appeared to be field trips. Ages ranged mostly from 8-14. I ranked it a 6/10. My wife 7/10. My 8 year old 5/10. And my 6 year old 8/10. I will give it credit, it kept us busy from 2:15-4:30, which was the goal with kids.
From the museum, we took the metro back towards the latin quarter and exited at the Republique station. Our goal was to get to the Le Enfants De Marche market for seafood dinner at the bar in the back. A friend of ours had told us about this. When we arrived, the food looked and smelled incredible. Escargot, mussels, oysters, cheese and meat plates, the whole deal. An American couple saw us looking for a seat and said it was an incredible place and they enjoyed a few of the appetizers and the seafood/wine was fantastic. Unfortunately, they closed the kitchen at 5pm so we just missed it, but will be back tomorrow for lunch. This place seems like one you would bookmark.
With hungry kids looking for an early dinner French time, we decided on Pizzeria Maria. The kids wanted pizza and the place had 4.9 stars with 1000+ reviews. It was empty when we walked in, but the owner Georgio, greeted us. Through broken english and even broken Italian, he let me know they weren't opening for another hour, but agreed to let us in and cook for us. We had the place to ourselves, enjoyed the conversation with Georgio, and had 2 great pizzas (margarita for the kids. cheese, olives, capers, garlic, mushrooms, and anchovies for the adults) , ice cream, and a bottle of wine for 37 euros. All cooked by Georgio himself who made it clear, he doesn't spend much time in the kitchen these days. I recommend Pizzeria Maria purely for the hospitality. And the food was pretty good as well.
We stopped into a few shops in the latin quarter for another hour or two. Debated buying a few items at Merci and Bon Ton before looking at the price tags and then walked the 22 mins back towards our AirBNB in the 2nd.
The whole crew was tired from a long day so here I am writing up this day review while everyone else just went to bed. All in all, a great day with a lot of walking. I'm proud of my kids for handling everything from the overseas flight to endless walking so seamlessly today. It's certainly a different trip than many of these my wife and I take together, but so much more enjoyable to experience it with the kids as well.
Tomorrow were off to the Eiffel early in the AM for a macaroon cooking class nearby and our first view up close since being in the city. I'm sure it will be a great day!
Posted on 11/26/24 at 8:55 pm to LSUShock
Great review and looks like a blast. Can’t wait to see more. 
Posted on 11/26/24 at 11:24 pm to LSUShock
Excellent sir!
Cheapo dad like me, I like it. Kids are still happy as pigs in slop. My daughter slaughtered our room at a luxury hotel with a single croissant and all I could do was tip and pray. I wish I would have thought of giving them cameras at that age, but my daughter was too busy diving into the stroller if she thought she had to walk more than about two feet.
quote:
On the way home, I stopped into the boulangerie to get a few Pane Au Chocolate pastries and a french loaf. Stopped at the market to get salami, prosciutto, and cheese. We made a make shift breakfast in the room
Cheapo dad like me, I like it. Kids are still happy as pigs in slop. My daughter slaughtered our room at a luxury hotel with a single croissant and all I could do was tip and pray. I wish I would have thought of giving them cameras at that age, but my daughter was too busy diving into the stroller if she thought she had to walk more than about two feet.
Posted on 11/27/24 at 12:54 am to LSUShock
Love these posts.
Le Enfants De Marche was one of my favorite meals in Paris. Would absolutely try to go back.
Cheers
Le Enfants De Marche was one of my favorite meals in Paris. Would absolutely try to go back.
Cheers
Posted on 11/27/24 at 9:26 am to LSUShock
Posted on 11/27/24 at 5:20 pm to LSUShock
I love this kind of report.
My favorite restaurant in your neighborhood is Frenchie on Rue du Nil at the northern end of Rus Montorgueill, but it may be too late to get a reservation there. I do like the vibe of that area.
Have a great trip.
My favorite restaurant in your neighborhood is Frenchie on Rue du Nil at the northern end of Rus Montorgueill, but it may be too late to get a reservation there. I do like the vibe of that area.
Have a great trip.
Posted on 11/27/24 at 10:18 pm to HoustonGumbeauxGuy
Day 2
Everyone was eager for Day 2 as we had a 9:30am macaron cooking class near the Eiffel Tower. We wanted to give ourselves enough time to get there so we planned an hour for the 33 minute metro ride and walk that way. Everyone was up and ready a little earlier so we stopped into Paul near our AirBNB. The kiddos had the cinnamon rolls (very good) and parents went with the quiche pies and coffee. Also very good. The sun didn’t rise until about 8am, so it was a dark grey morning as the rain misted down. Not enough to ruin any plans, but just enough to plan for.
I’m glad I added the hour buffer. When we made it to the metro stop at Bonne Nouvelle to head towards the Eiffel Tower, the kiosk to re-load your Navijo Card wasn’t working. Fortunately, your phone is able to connect to the card via bluetooth on the RATP app and you can re-load from there. It’s a pretty impressive app and very easy to use. I should have familiarized myself with it before the trip and would recommend it for anyone coming over who hasn’t been to Paris in a while. I added a few t+ tickets for the kids and my wife and we made it through and onto the next train just in time.
After a 20 minute ride or so, we exited just near the Eiffel and walked to our cooking class with Oliver. I booked the macaron cooking class here: Macaron Cooking Class. Again, with kids, this was a very intentionally designed trip experience to both keep them busy, engaged, and offer something local. Mom and dad were looking forward to it as well.
Oliver was a fantastic host and welcomed us into his beautiful apartment just a couple of blocks away from the Eiffel Tower. He was patient, prepared, and professional in how he approached his craft. You can tell over the last 3 years he has really worked on his presentation and process. Since our kids are a little younger, we had to book the private lesson which was very enjoyable with the 4 of us. We decided on dark chocolate and blueberry macarons after an initial taste test of a few options. From there we spent about 3 hours making the macaron dough for the outside, baking those, making the fudge and berry gelatin for the insides, and then assembling the macarons. I’m not a huge fan of macarons, but it was a very fun and interactive experience and I have a whole new appreciation for how these little bastards are made. They are time consuming and delicate in how you go about them. After finishing, we sampled a few of our creations, boxed up the rest, and told Oliver thank you. I highly recommend this if you are travelling with your kids to mix things up. For the private lesson the cost was $75/person. I think a little less if you do a group lesson.
As we were leaving, Oliver suggested lunch nearby. In his own words, “I don’t go northeast of here unless it’s to buy herbs”. He was referring to his proximity to the Eiffel Tower and some of the traps in the area. Instead he sent us the other direction where he said there’s not enough tourist traffic that way to support the places. So if something is recommended there, it’s being recommended by the locals and if the locals are recommending it, you know it’s good.
His suggestions were La Cantine Du Troquet Dupleix and L’Abreuvoir. He mentioned that La Cantine Du Troquet was a little for exotic of local flair, so we went with L’Abreuvoir. We walked in and the place was packed. The host took our names and suggested it would be about a 20 minute wait for a table of four. We went to the bar where we chatted with the friendly bartender Ben.
Here we had our first breakdown from the kids. About 10 minutes into waiting, my daughter just started crying. My wife and I both looked at one another wondering what was going on as this was out of the norm. She said she was hungry, then that she was tired of walking, then that she was cold, then that she wanted lunch somewhere else. I pieced it all together, but the lunch somewhere else was near a jewelry shop where she passed on using her money to buy a bracelet yesterday. What it really was is 2 days of travel, jet lag, tiredness, and miles of walking finally catching up. About 10 minutes after she calmed back down, we were seated, and then my son had a moment. He wanted to sit “closer to the window”. Again my wife and I both looked at one another wondering what the heck was going on. We quickly ordered food and Cokes for the kids. That seemed to calm everyone down enough to take a deep breath. Anyway, the reason I mention it is it’s a reminder that travelling with kids has its own unique challenges. You can plan things or want to do this or that, but things can get flipped on their head in a hurry. You have to just roll with the punches, try to be patient with them, and adjust accordingly. This was our clue that tonight would be an earlier night.
Everyone was eager for Day 2 as we had a 9:30am macaron cooking class near the Eiffel Tower. We wanted to give ourselves enough time to get there so we planned an hour for the 33 minute metro ride and walk that way. Everyone was up and ready a little earlier so we stopped into Paul near our AirBNB. The kiddos had the cinnamon rolls (very good) and parents went with the quiche pies and coffee. Also very good. The sun didn’t rise until about 8am, so it was a dark grey morning as the rain misted down. Not enough to ruin any plans, but just enough to plan for.
I’m glad I added the hour buffer. When we made it to the metro stop at Bonne Nouvelle to head towards the Eiffel Tower, the kiosk to re-load your Navijo Card wasn’t working. Fortunately, your phone is able to connect to the card via bluetooth on the RATP app and you can re-load from there. It’s a pretty impressive app and very easy to use. I should have familiarized myself with it before the trip and would recommend it for anyone coming over who hasn’t been to Paris in a while. I added a few t+ tickets for the kids and my wife and we made it through and onto the next train just in time.
After a 20 minute ride or so, we exited just near the Eiffel and walked to our cooking class with Oliver. I booked the macaron cooking class here: Macaron Cooking Class. Again, with kids, this was a very intentionally designed trip experience to both keep them busy, engaged, and offer something local. Mom and dad were looking forward to it as well.
Oliver was a fantastic host and welcomed us into his beautiful apartment just a couple of blocks away from the Eiffel Tower. He was patient, prepared, and professional in how he approached his craft. You can tell over the last 3 years he has really worked on his presentation and process. Since our kids are a little younger, we had to book the private lesson which was very enjoyable with the 4 of us. We decided on dark chocolate and blueberry macarons after an initial taste test of a few options. From there we spent about 3 hours making the macaron dough for the outside, baking those, making the fudge and berry gelatin for the insides, and then assembling the macarons. I’m not a huge fan of macarons, but it was a very fun and interactive experience and I have a whole new appreciation for how these little bastards are made. They are time consuming and delicate in how you go about them. After finishing, we sampled a few of our creations, boxed up the rest, and told Oliver thank you. I highly recommend this if you are travelling with your kids to mix things up. For the private lesson the cost was $75/person. I think a little less if you do a group lesson.
As we were leaving, Oliver suggested lunch nearby. In his own words, “I don’t go northeast of here unless it’s to buy herbs”. He was referring to his proximity to the Eiffel Tower and some of the traps in the area. Instead he sent us the other direction where he said there’s not enough tourist traffic that way to support the places. So if something is recommended there, it’s being recommended by the locals and if the locals are recommending it, you know it’s good.
His suggestions were La Cantine Du Troquet Dupleix and L’Abreuvoir. He mentioned that La Cantine Du Troquet was a little for exotic of local flair, so we went with L’Abreuvoir. We walked in and the place was packed. The host took our names and suggested it would be about a 20 minute wait for a table of four. We went to the bar where we chatted with the friendly bartender Ben.
Here we had our first breakdown from the kids. About 10 minutes into waiting, my daughter just started crying. My wife and I both looked at one another wondering what was going on as this was out of the norm. She said she was hungry, then that she was tired of walking, then that she was cold, then that she wanted lunch somewhere else. I pieced it all together, but the lunch somewhere else was near a jewelry shop where she passed on using her money to buy a bracelet yesterday. What it really was is 2 days of travel, jet lag, tiredness, and miles of walking finally catching up. About 10 minutes after she calmed back down, we were seated, and then my son had a moment. He wanted to sit “closer to the window”. Again my wife and I both looked at one another wondering what the heck was going on. We quickly ordered food and Cokes for the kids. That seemed to calm everyone down enough to take a deep breath. Anyway, the reason I mention it is it’s a reminder that travelling with kids has its own unique challenges. You can plan things or want to do this or that, but things can get flipped on their head in a hurry. You have to just roll with the punches, try to be patient with them, and adjust accordingly. This was our clue that tonight would be an earlier night.
This post was edited on 11/27/24 at 10:26 pm
Posted on 11/27/24 at 10:19 pm to LSUShock
My wife had the Bille Salad which was prepared with goat cheese balls, onions, prosciutto, tomatoes, and cucumbers. I had the lunch of the day, which was a baked chicken wing with some sort of white sauce reduction, baked potatoes, and some greens. It was fantastic and after the earlier breakdown, paired well with a glass of white wine for myself. Red for the Mrs.
After enjoying our meals, we made our way towards the Eiffel Tower. At 32 years old, I’ve been to Paris 4 times. And everytime I’ve seen the Eiffel Tower, it just sort of mesmerizes you. It’s kind of like walking into Tiger Stadium. The view never gets old. It was cool to see my kids experience that as well. My son walked around the corner and said, “Whoa, look at that. Are we going to the top of that thing”. We took our time walking around the lawn and probably spent an hour or so taking pictures and looking around.
One thing that stuck out to me was the lack of people. Oliver mentioned that Thanksgiving and Christmas brought a high season of travelers to Paris. I didn’t see it. There were maybe 500 people in and around the Eiffel Tower. It was very open and accessible.
After taking photos, my kids and wife needed to use the restroom. We made the mistake of stopping in the Cafe Gustave. I knew it was a tourist trap, but the kids had to go. We ordered drinks to not feel like a mooch for the bathroom, that was fine, but what really annoyed me was the 10 Euro bottle of Evian water the guy brought. Everywhere else we’ve been brought the standard tap water with glasses. But here near the Eiffel, it felt like a tourist racquet, and it was.
From Cafe Gustave, we walked along and then across the Seine to the Trocadero Gardens and to the Trocadero Plaza. Again, we just sort of casually strolled, took pictures, and enjoyed the view of the Eiffel Tower. After another 45 minutes or so of that, it was quickly approaching 5pm and we decided to catch the metro back towards the AirBNB.
With everyone tired from 2 days of nonstop action, we decided against sitting down for dinner and made a few stops at the bakery, cheese shop, butcher, and wine store for our dinner of French Baguettes, Salami, Prosciutto, Comte cheese, fruit, and red wine. We kept it modest on the cheese. I really liked the Comte. To me it tasted like a mix of Dubliner Aged Cheddar and Parmasean. Maybe in the coming days we will get more ambitious.
That was it. There’s not a lot of time to sit down when you have young kids, so it’s a lot of work and quite tiring. Again, I’ve been proud of how the kiddos handle it and proves the counterpoint to what I said earlier about dealing with some of the obstacles, which is just bring them. It’s kind of always been my wife and I’s philosophy, but it continues to prove itself out. Kids are versatile. They adapt. Yes they will get tired and ask a million questions and maybe offer some small complaints, but they will also just follow you blindly and are more resilient than most adults. Plus, they say the funniest things. My son has brought a ton of good energy and walks around the streets saying bonjour and bonsoir to everyone. It would be weird if an adult were doing it, but people love it when it's a 6 year old kid. It’s been a treat to sit back and watch.
Off to bed and to prepare for tomorrow. Loose plans for Thanksgiving, but we are going up the Eiffel to the summit. Visiting Montmartre. Going back to Les Enfants du Marche for those dang mussels and oysters, and then have dinner reservations at Big Love. Happy Thanksgiving Eve to you all. Don't over do it tonight. Big day tomorrow.
After enjoying our meals, we made our way towards the Eiffel Tower. At 32 years old, I’ve been to Paris 4 times. And everytime I’ve seen the Eiffel Tower, it just sort of mesmerizes you. It’s kind of like walking into Tiger Stadium. The view never gets old. It was cool to see my kids experience that as well. My son walked around the corner and said, “Whoa, look at that. Are we going to the top of that thing”. We took our time walking around the lawn and probably spent an hour or so taking pictures and looking around.
One thing that stuck out to me was the lack of people. Oliver mentioned that Thanksgiving and Christmas brought a high season of travelers to Paris. I didn’t see it. There were maybe 500 people in and around the Eiffel Tower. It was very open and accessible.
After taking photos, my kids and wife needed to use the restroom. We made the mistake of stopping in the Cafe Gustave. I knew it was a tourist trap, but the kids had to go. We ordered drinks to not feel like a mooch for the bathroom, that was fine, but what really annoyed me was the 10 Euro bottle of Evian water the guy brought. Everywhere else we’ve been brought the standard tap water with glasses. But here near the Eiffel, it felt like a tourist racquet, and it was.
From Cafe Gustave, we walked along and then across the Seine to the Trocadero Gardens and to the Trocadero Plaza. Again, we just sort of casually strolled, took pictures, and enjoyed the view of the Eiffel Tower. After another 45 minutes or so of that, it was quickly approaching 5pm and we decided to catch the metro back towards the AirBNB.
With everyone tired from 2 days of nonstop action, we decided against sitting down for dinner and made a few stops at the bakery, cheese shop, butcher, and wine store for our dinner of French Baguettes, Salami, Prosciutto, Comte cheese, fruit, and red wine. We kept it modest on the cheese. I really liked the Comte. To me it tasted like a mix of Dubliner Aged Cheddar and Parmasean. Maybe in the coming days we will get more ambitious.
That was it. There’s not a lot of time to sit down when you have young kids, so it’s a lot of work and quite tiring. Again, I’ve been proud of how the kiddos handle it and proves the counterpoint to what I said earlier about dealing with some of the obstacles, which is just bring them. It’s kind of always been my wife and I’s philosophy, but it continues to prove itself out. Kids are versatile. They adapt. Yes they will get tired and ask a million questions and maybe offer some small complaints, but they will also just follow you blindly and are more resilient than most adults. Plus, they say the funniest things. My son has brought a ton of good energy and walks around the streets saying bonjour and bonsoir to everyone. It would be weird if an adult were doing it, but people love it when it's a 6 year old kid. It’s been a treat to sit back and watch.
Off to bed and to prepare for tomorrow. Loose plans for Thanksgiving, but we are going up the Eiffel to the summit. Visiting Montmartre. Going back to Les Enfants du Marche for those dang mussels and oysters, and then have dinner reservations at Big Love. Happy Thanksgiving Eve to you all. Don't over do it tonight. Big day tomorrow.
This post was edited on 11/27/24 at 10:42 pm
Posted on 11/28/24 at 8:07 am to LSUShock
Nice practical reviews of a family vacation. Keep em coming!
Posted on 11/29/24 at 9:53 am to Crow Pie
Day 3 - Thanksgiving in Paris
Yesterday I booked summit tickets for the Eiffel Tower at 10am. We did the climb to the 2nd floor with the elevator to the top from there. I would have thought 10am would have been plenty of time, but we ended up in a rush. Still figuring out the time change and kids slept until just after 9 and we arrived at the Eiffel metro stop right at 10. Had no issues being a few minutes late getting through security or ticketing at the tower and by 10:15 we were headed up. I will again comment on the lack of people. Everything has been so easy to maneuver and get around. It’s obvious there are other Americans spending their Thanksgiving here as well, but there have been no lines or no crowds anywhere.
The views from the Eiffel are awesome and the kids loved it. Neither had a problem with the stairs, though it is a bit of a workout to get to the 2nd level. I had people suggest skipping going up the tower and just going to Montmartre, but I disagree with that. Go up the tower. Especially if you are only going to come to Paris once. It’s worth it.
Since we missed breakfast everyone was starving after going up the Eiffel and by 12:30 we were back en route to Le Enfants de Marche for lunch. Logistically, this wasn’t the smartest approach, but I wasn’t missing a meal here.
What a meal it was. We ordered the mussels in gorgonzola cheese, escargot, grilled octopus in chimichurri, potatoes with cheese, and plenty of bread. A few glasses of white wine suggested by our waiter Massoud paired well also. Le Enfants de Marche is an awesome place. Just a little corner street market with open seating. They cook everything right in front of you and then bring it out. The options probably aren’t the most kid friendly, especially if your kids are picky, but my kids don’t mind seafood and liked most everything, especially the potatoes. My son wouldn’t try a snail. My daughter went right after it. If you come as a couple, go here 100%. You could probably spend 2-3 hours here between food/wine. It’s not cheap, but it was worth every penny. A perfect Thanksgiving lunch.
We’ve been going pretty hard, so after lunch, we went back to the AirBNB. Everyone ended up taking a nap. It felt much needed to just chill. My wife checked her health app later in the day and we walked 7.2 miles today. Imagine it’s been about the same the last 3 days.
We cleaned up and went out for Thanksgiving dinner in the Le Marais district around 6:15 as we had a 6:30 dinner reservation at Big Love. Made the walk over and arrived just in time. Big Love is an authentic Italian restaurant serving mainly Pasta and Pizza dishes. I will note that it seemed like a nicer restaurant, but it was very kid friendly. We went with 2 pasta dishes. One plain spaghetti with ricotta cheese and tomato sauce. The other a pasta with lemon sauce and pepper. Both were great along with the Italian red wine we ordered. For the kids we ordered the margherita pizza. Everything was A+. I highly recommend Big Love as well.
After another long day it was getting late and we decided to walk back towards our AirBNB to find a Creperie. We stopped at Crêperie - Le Comptoir du Commerce right near our place. The service was slow as there was only one guy serving the whole place (and it was busy), but the crepe was good and devoured by the kids.
That was it for the night and we headed back get some rest for another busy day.
Happy Thanksgiving to you all and your families!
Yesterday I booked summit tickets for the Eiffel Tower at 10am. We did the climb to the 2nd floor with the elevator to the top from there. I would have thought 10am would have been plenty of time, but we ended up in a rush. Still figuring out the time change and kids slept until just after 9 and we arrived at the Eiffel metro stop right at 10. Had no issues being a few minutes late getting through security or ticketing at the tower and by 10:15 we were headed up. I will again comment on the lack of people. Everything has been so easy to maneuver and get around. It’s obvious there are other Americans spending their Thanksgiving here as well, but there have been no lines or no crowds anywhere.
The views from the Eiffel are awesome and the kids loved it. Neither had a problem with the stairs, though it is a bit of a workout to get to the 2nd level. I had people suggest skipping going up the tower and just going to Montmartre, but I disagree with that. Go up the tower. Especially if you are only going to come to Paris once. It’s worth it.
Since we missed breakfast everyone was starving after going up the Eiffel and by 12:30 we were back en route to Le Enfants de Marche for lunch. Logistically, this wasn’t the smartest approach, but I wasn’t missing a meal here.
What a meal it was. We ordered the mussels in gorgonzola cheese, escargot, grilled octopus in chimichurri, potatoes with cheese, and plenty of bread. A few glasses of white wine suggested by our waiter Massoud paired well also. Le Enfants de Marche is an awesome place. Just a little corner street market with open seating. They cook everything right in front of you and then bring it out. The options probably aren’t the most kid friendly, especially if your kids are picky, but my kids don’t mind seafood and liked most everything, especially the potatoes. My son wouldn’t try a snail. My daughter went right after it. If you come as a couple, go here 100%. You could probably spend 2-3 hours here between food/wine. It’s not cheap, but it was worth every penny. A perfect Thanksgiving lunch.
We’ve been going pretty hard, so after lunch, we went back to the AirBNB. Everyone ended up taking a nap. It felt much needed to just chill. My wife checked her health app later in the day and we walked 7.2 miles today. Imagine it’s been about the same the last 3 days.
We cleaned up and went out for Thanksgiving dinner in the Le Marais district around 6:15 as we had a 6:30 dinner reservation at Big Love. Made the walk over and arrived just in time. Big Love is an authentic Italian restaurant serving mainly Pasta and Pizza dishes. I will note that it seemed like a nicer restaurant, but it was very kid friendly. We went with 2 pasta dishes. One plain spaghetti with ricotta cheese and tomato sauce. The other a pasta with lemon sauce and pepper. Both were great along with the Italian red wine we ordered. For the kids we ordered the margherita pizza. Everything was A+. I highly recommend Big Love as well.
After another long day it was getting late and we decided to walk back towards our AirBNB to find a Creperie. We stopped at Crêperie - Le Comptoir du Commerce right near our place. The service was slow as there was only one guy serving the whole place (and it was busy), but the crepe was good and devoured by the kids.
That was it for the night and we headed back get some rest for another busy day.
Happy Thanksgiving to you all and your families!
This post was edited on 11/29/24 at 10:14 am
Posted on 11/29/24 at 9:53 am to Crow Pie
Double post by accident*
This post was edited on 11/29/24 at 9:55 am
Posted on 12/4/24 at 6:28 am to LSUShock
It’s been fun following along here, Shock
My kids are a bit younger and though we had a trip with my oldest to Amsterdam/Bruges cancelled by Covid in 2020, each time I see posts like this I gain more motivation to start planning our first European trip with all of us.
My kids are a bit younger and though we had a trip with my oldest to Amsterdam/Bruges cancelled by Covid in 2020, each time I see posts like this I gain more motivation to start planning our first European trip with all of us.
Posted on 12/4/24 at 9:08 am to drockw1
On the flight home to DFW now. Poor internet killed the posts for the remaining days, but I jotted down my summarys and will upload with photos soon.
A great trip.
Exhausting at times, maybe a day or two too long, but memorable and quality to say the least.
I hope we all look back on it some day and appreciate it.
A great trip.
Exhausting at times, maybe a day or two too long, but memorable and quality to say the least.
I hope we all look back on it some day and appreciate it.
Posted on 12/4/24 at 8:39 pm to LSUShock
Day 4
We took it slow this morning. In all honesty, by today, we are quite exhausted. The AirBNB is getting smaller. The kids are getting a bit more restless and agitated. I’m the planner and trying to power through, but my army is faltering (I’m kidding). Even my wife woke up and said, I think we’ve done enough in Paris.
But that's all with the pity party. We had one last day in the city and things to do.
Today we had reservations for 9:30am at the Louvre. Before heading out, the kids love the cinnamon rolls at Paul, so we stopped in again, ordered those, and I went back to the quiche lorraine pies. Very good, even the second time. Being in the 2nd, our AirBNB was about 14 minutes from the east entrance of the Louvre, so we decided to walk. It was cold and I think that’s wearing on everyone as well, but not bad.
The line at the main pyramid was already quite full, though not nearly as full as when we left, so I had read on Reddit to enter via the mall/Carousel entrance. This was the move. It 1) got us out of the cold and 2) only had us waiting 10-15 minutes before getting into the museum.
I wasn’t that excited for the Louvre. I went after college and we arrived close to 5pm, so closing was approaching. They told us we had like 10-15 minutes before getting kicked out. We quickly saw Mona Lisa and then one or two other exhibits. I thought, that’s it? This is what all the fuss is about. But my wife wanted to go and thought the kids may enjoy some of it, so I bought the tickets. Boy was I wrong. The Louvre is awesome!! We knocked out the Mona Lisa first, but even more impressive on the other side of that room is the painting of the Wedding Feast at Cana. Wow! What a piece of art. From there we made our way through the exhibits mainly on that side of the building on that floor. Both my wife and I thought it was incredibly cool and worth the time. The kids thought so for a while and then started to get bored. At 2 hours, my son said, “dad, this is not cool”, and we knew the time was running low. I was surprised he made it that long. We went into one or two more exhibits before heading out towards the Jardin De Tuileries.
The sun was shining, it was chilly, but it was comfortable for a walk and to sit, so we sat by the fountain and just sort of hung out. After a little while everyone mentioned being hungry, so I walked across the street to a Carefour and bought the usual cold cuts, baguette, a few drinks, a small bottle of wine, and cheese. Brought it all back to the garden and we just ate lunch there. That helped kill an hour or so.
Another funny thing that just sort of happened was there were a lot of runners in the garden. At one point my son asked if he could race around the fountain and if I would time him. I said sure thing. 44 seconds later, he made it around. No more than a minute later he was off again. After the 8th time around, I told my wife I’m going to measure how far it is. So I pulled out Strava, walked off the distance, and came back to where he was starting. .11 miles each lap. That little dude ran around that fountain 16 times trying to break 44 seconds, then 43 seconds, and then 42.5 seconds. 1.76 miles around the fountain at the Jardin des Tuileries for a 6 year old kid. It had me cracking up.
We took it slow this morning. In all honesty, by today, we are quite exhausted. The AirBNB is getting smaller. The kids are getting a bit more restless and agitated. I’m the planner and trying to power through, but my army is faltering (I’m kidding). Even my wife woke up and said, I think we’ve done enough in Paris.
But that's all with the pity party. We had one last day in the city and things to do.
Today we had reservations for 9:30am at the Louvre. Before heading out, the kids love the cinnamon rolls at Paul, so we stopped in again, ordered those, and I went back to the quiche lorraine pies. Very good, even the second time. Being in the 2nd, our AirBNB was about 14 minutes from the east entrance of the Louvre, so we decided to walk. It was cold and I think that’s wearing on everyone as well, but not bad.
The line at the main pyramid was already quite full, though not nearly as full as when we left, so I had read on Reddit to enter via the mall/Carousel entrance. This was the move. It 1) got us out of the cold and 2) only had us waiting 10-15 minutes before getting into the museum.
I wasn’t that excited for the Louvre. I went after college and we arrived close to 5pm, so closing was approaching. They told us we had like 10-15 minutes before getting kicked out. We quickly saw Mona Lisa and then one or two other exhibits. I thought, that’s it? This is what all the fuss is about. But my wife wanted to go and thought the kids may enjoy some of it, so I bought the tickets. Boy was I wrong. The Louvre is awesome!! We knocked out the Mona Lisa first, but even more impressive on the other side of that room is the painting of the Wedding Feast at Cana. Wow! What a piece of art. From there we made our way through the exhibits mainly on that side of the building on that floor. Both my wife and I thought it was incredibly cool and worth the time. The kids thought so for a while and then started to get bored. At 2 hours, my son said, “dad, this is not cool”, and we knew the time was running low. I was surprised he made it that long. We went into one or two more exhibits before heading out towards the Jardin De Tuileries.
The sun was shining, it was chilly, but it was comfortable for a walk and to sit, so we sat by the fountain and just sort of hung out. After a little while everyone mentioned being hungry, so I walked across the street to a Carefour and bought the usual cold cuts, baguette, a few drinks, a small bottle of wine, and cheese. Brought it all back to the garden and we just ate lunch there. That helped kill an hour or so.
Another funny thing that just sort of happened was there were a lot of runners in the garden. At one point my son asked if he could race around the fountain and if I would time him. I said sure thing. 44 seconds later, he made it around. No more than a minute later he was off again. After the 8th time around, I told my wife I’m going to measure how far it is. So I pulled out Strava, walked off the distance, and came back to where he was starting. .11 miles each lap. That little dude ran around that fountain 16 times trying to break 44 seconds, then 43 seconds, and then 42.5 seconds. 1.76 miles around the fountain at the Jardin des Tuileries for a 6 year old kid. It had me cracking up.
This post was edited on 12/4/24 at 8:43 pm
Posted on 12/4/24 at 8:40 pm to LSUShock
After his marathon, I looked up Google Maps to see what food we had been recommended and noticed we were close to Angelina. My daughter had a book that talked about Angelina and getting a hot chocolate there, so after about a 20 minute wait in line, that’s where we were. It was a very chic type place that reminded me of NYC. Overpriced hot chocolate and drinks with overrated service, but we had to check the box. 2 hot chocolates for my kids that both hardly drank and an hour and a half later, we were already staring at 4 o’clock.
The only thing left I wanted to do was go to the Arc De Triomphe, but it was obvious the kids were getting sick of walking and sick of Paris, so we decided to walk back to the AirBNB to rest for a little. That was a good idea as my wife took a 1 hour power nap, the kids watched a movie, and I caught up on some work. I also took my son to this soccer store, Unisport, near the Les Halles train station, where he used his trip money to buy a Nike PSG jersey with his name and number on the back. We’re not big soccer fans, but he was pumped and that made me smile.
Around 7pm, we went out for dinner. I wanted to try Brasserie Dubillot as their mussels and beef tartare had been suggested, but we tried to get in and there was an hour wait, which we couldn’t wait for. Instead, we ended up at a good Lebanese place, La Mézéterie. We didn’t have a reservation, but they made room for us, which I always appreciate.
The service was great as was the food. We ordered a little bit of everything. Herbal brioche, hummus, falafel, chicken tacos, beef tartare, and two aperol spritz. The meal was really good. I’m not a huge tartare guy, but I kept seeing ads for it and I’ve had it a few times in the states as an appetizer and never minded it. Well, this tartare was huge and I was the only one eating it. Not my favorite. Not the worst, but I finished the whole thing. I paid for that later as my stomach rumbled from midnight-3am. Highly recommend this place. Good service and good people.
With some food in the belly and some refound energy, my kids had one thing they wanted to do that we hadn’t yet, watch the Eiffel Tower light up. We missed the 9pm showing with dinner, so at 9:20, we headed to the metro station again to get to the Trocadero Plaza for the 10pm light up. We made it at 9:52pm. My kids took pictures, my soon peed in the bushes while nobody was looking, everyone “oooohd and ahhhd” at the lights for 90 seconds and by 10:05 I was back in the metro heading towards the AirBNB. When we arrived back near our place, we found a crepe stand, tried to buy a bottle of wine, but everything was closed, and headed back to the AirBNB.
It was just after 11pm when we made it back. One of our latest nights and another long day in Paris for our last day in the city.
It was a great few days. Exhausting, but great. Mom and dad did well for the most part. No blowups, at least nothing major. Kids did well for the most part. Absolute troopers in terms of logistics. They probably walked 25 miles in 4 days and other than a few complaints here and there, just kept going. At one point my daughter asked me if it was close as we were going somewhere and I told her, “everything here is close”. So then when my son would start asking, my daughter started telling him, “everything here is close”. I don’t think either of them wanted to hear it, but she didn’t complain again once she could start saying it to him. They are certainly out of their comfort zones and getting on each other's nerves. We have a lot of bickering in the evenings and just sort of general sibling bullshite. It’s worn my wife and I down a few times, but we just kind of grit our teeth and smile at each other thinking, this is what we signed up for.
That’s it for Paris, we have a 1pm train for Paris Est to Strasbourg tomorrow for a rental car pickup and drive to Ribeuville for the Christmas Markets in Alsace. I’m ready for a change of pace and a change of scenery. Maybe even missing home a bit. Or just ready for 3 days at an all-inclusive with my wife and no kids. I’m not sure which.
More tomorrow.
The only thing left I wanted to do was go to the Arc De Triomphe, but it was obvious the kids were getting sick of walking and sick of Paris, so we decided to walk back to the AirBNB to rest for a little. That was a good idea as my wife took a 1 hour power nap, the kids watched a movie, and I caught up on some work. I also took my son to this soccer store, Unisport, near the Les Halles train station, where he used his trip money to buy a Nike PSG jersey with his name and number on the back. We’re not big soccer fans, but he was pumped and that made me smile.
Around 7pm, we went out for dinner. I wanted to try Brasserie Dubillot as their mussels and beef tartare had been suggested, but we tried to get in and there was an hour wait, which we couldn’t wait for. Instead, we ended up at a good Lebanese place, La Mézéterie. We didn’t have a reservation, but they made room for us, which I always appreciate.
The service was great as was the food. We ordered a little bit of everything. Herbal brioche, hummus, falafel, chicken tacos, beef tartare, and two aperol spritz. The meal was really good. I’m not a huge tartare guy, but I kept seeing ads for it and I’ve had it a few times in the states as an appetizer and never minded it. Well, this tartare was huge and I was the only one eating it. Not my favorite. Not the worst, but I finished the whole thing. I paid for that later as my stomach rumbled from midnight-3am. Highly recommend this place. Good service and good people.
With some food in the belly and some refound energy, my kids had one thing they wanted to do that we hadn’t yet, watch the Eiffel Tower light up. We missed the 9pm showing with dinner, so at 9:20, we headed to the metro station again to get to the Trocadero Plaza for the 10pm light up. We made it at 9:52pm. My kids took pictures, my soon peed in the bushes while nobody was looking, everyone “oooohd and ahhhd” at the lights for 90 seconds and by 10:05 I was back in the metro heading towards the AirBNB. When we arrived back near our place, we found a crepe stand, tried to buy a bottle of wine, but everything was closed, and headed back to the AirBNB.
It was just after 11pm when we made it back. One of our latest nights and another long day in Paris for our last day in the city.
It was a great few days. Exhausting, but great. Mom and dad did well for the most part. No blowups, at least nothing major. Kids did well for the most part. Absolute troopers in terms of logistics. They probably walked 25 miles in 4 days and other than a few complaints here and there, just kept going. At one point my daughter asked me if it was close as we were going somewhere and I told her, “everything here is close”. So then when my son would start asking, my daughter started telling him, “everything here is close”. I don’t think either of them wanted to hear it, but she didn’t complain again once she could start saying it to him. They are certainly out of their comfort zones and getting on each other's nerves. We have a lot of bickering in the evenings and just sort of general sibling bullshite. It’s worn my wife and I down a few times, but we just kind of grit our teeth and smile at each other thinking, this is what we signed up for.
That’s it for Paris, we have a 1pm train for Paris Est to Strasbourg tomorrow for a rental car pickup and drive to Ribeuville for the Christmas Markets in Alsace. I’m ready for a change of pace and a change of scenery. Maybe even missing home a bit. Or just ready for 3 days at an all-inclusive with my wife and no kids. I’m not sure which.
More tomorrow.
Posted on 12/4/24 at 8:51 pm to LSUShock
Day 5 -
No hurry this morning as our only goal was to get to the Paris Est train station for a departure to Strasbourg. Decided on taking an Uber from the AirBNB to the train station so we didn’t have to lug bags around. It was about 12 Euros, took 10 minutes, and we had no issues. Arrived about an hour early.
Waited around and loaded up on the train 20 minutes before departure. Super easy process and comfortable. I think it was $60/person for the train from Paris to Strasbourg. The ride was just 2 hours and upon arriving in Strasbourg we had a rental car to pick up from Enterprise rental. I’m an Emerald Club member and checked-in before we arrived, so the process was quick and easy. Did a quick review of the car, all was good, and off we went to our AirBNB in Ribeauville.
In route, I made one wrong turn that had us take about a 3km detour. So I drove to the turn and flipped around to get back on the highway. About 500m after that, I see a bright flash like the toll reader in the US snap a photo. My wife says, “what was that”. I looked down at my speedometer. 85km in a 70km. I thought shite, we’ll be getting a ticket in the mail for that. I was looking straight at my phone on Google Maps too. That should be fun.
After the quick correction, it was smooth sailing on the highway towards Ribeuville. After the hustle and bustle of Paris, it felt nice to be in the countryside. We arrived at our little AirBNB around 7pm.
I have to give this place credit. Most AirBNBs don’t live up to the pictures and usually disappoint. This place is the opposite. Maybe the most impressed I’ve been with an AirBNB upon arrival. Great spot in the small litte village.
This is where we stayed:
LINK
After getting settled in we decided to walk around the town, which is easy to do, and find dinner.
I’m not proud of this, but we went to a Japanese place, Nagoya, for our meal. It wasn’t great, maybe a 6/10, but it was a nice change of pace from what we had been eating. My wife and I both went with the Beef Ramen bowls with sushi, while the kids ate some garlic fried rice and picked off our meals.
Cold has been a theme of our trip and today was the coldest day yet as we were at 29 degrees with a slight wind. Nobody was really in the mood to explore any further, so we walked back to the AirBNB, played a few games of Connect 4, and got ready for bed. I’m not sure what’s going on with my internal clock, but i’m staying up later and later as the week goes. I watched the end of the Iron Bowl on a stream online and then the first 1.5 quarters of the LSU game before finally shutting it down and falling asleep. I woke up to the good news of a Tigers win.
Geaux Tigers!
Off to Colmar tomorrow.
No hurry this morning as our only goal was to get to the Paris Est train station for a departure to Strasbourg. Decided on taking an Uber from the AirBNB to the train station so we didn’t have to lug bags around. It was about 12 Euros, took 10 minutes, and we had no issues. Arrived about an hour early.
Waited around and loaded up on the train 20 minutes before departure. Super easy process and comfortable. I think it was $60/person for the train from Paris to Strasbourg. The ride was just 2 hours and upon arriving in Strasbourg we had a rental car to pick up from Enterprise rental. I’m an Emerald Club member and checked-in before we arrived, so the process was quick and easy. Did a quick review of the car, all was good, and off we went to our AirBNB in Ribeauville.
In route, I made one wrong turn that had us take about a 3km detour. So I drove to the turn and flipped around to get back on the highway. About 500m after that, I see a bright flash like the toll reader in the US snap a photo. My wife says, “what was that”. I looked down at my speedometer. 85km in a 70km. I thought shite, we’ll be getting a ticket in the mail for that. I was looking straight at my phone on Google Maps too. That should be fun.
After the quick correction, it was smooth sailing on the highway towards Ribeuville. After the hustle and bustle of Paris, it felt nice to be in the countryside. We arrived at our little AirBNB around 7pm.
I have to give this place credit. Most AirBNBs don’t live up to the pictures and usually disappoint. This place is the opposite. Maybe the most impressed I’ve been with an AirBNB upon arrival. Great spot in the small litte village.
This is where we stayed:
LINK
After getting settled in we decided to walk around the town, which is easy to do, and find dinner.
I’m not proud of this, but we went to a Japanese place, Nagoya, for our meal. It wasn’t great, maybe a 6/10, but it was a nice change of pace from what we had been eating. My wife and I both went with the Beef Ramen bowls with sushi, while the kids ate some garlic fried rice and picked off our meals.
Cold has been a theme of our trip and today was the coldest day yet as we were at 29 degrees with a slight wind. Nobody was really in the mood to explore any further, so we walked back to the AirBNB, played a few games of Connect 4, and got ready for bed. I’m not sure what’s going on with my internal clock, but i’m staying up later and later as the week goes. I watched the end of the Iron Bowl on a stream online and then the first 1.5 quarters of the LSU game before finally shutting it down and falling asleep. I woke up to the good news of a Tigers win.
Geaux Tigers!
Off to Colmar tomorrow.
Posted on 12/5/24 at 11:46 am to LSUShock
I gotta say, ive always kinda brushed off Paris when it comes to travelling i guess just because its kinda a cliche' couples vacation plus ive always heard the french are assholes, but the more i read about it on here the more im warming up to it. May look into it in the near future
Posted on 12/5/24 at 5:00 pm to LSUShock
quote:
After the hustle and bustle of Paris, it felt nice to be in the countryside
When I recall our 3 whirlwind trips, I seem to always think back on experiences in the smaller towns a little bit more often than those in the big cites.
The change of pace is an underrated element over there...
Posted on 12/5/24 at 6:48 pm to cfish140
The French army museum enters the chat… most of a day of cool stuff.
As far as French being assholes, I have never found it much worse than other big European cities. But, if you listen to some of the shite tourists say or ask of waiters, etc, in Paris, I would definitely have a shorter fuse as a Parisian. Imagine a Chinese tourist saying that English horses are assholes because they tried to grab the reins of a horse guard? in London.
As far as French being assholes, I have never found it much worse than other big European cities. But, if you listen to some of the shite tourists say or ask of waiters, etc, in Paris, I would definitely have a shorter fuse as a Parisian. Imagine a Chinese tourist saying that English horses are assholes because they tried to grab the reins of a horse guard? in London.
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