We spent the morning exploring the property and googling how to operate the dishwasher. The temperature at 9:30 am was just 65 degrees, yet the kids convinced both of us to open the pool and swim.
Grandma and Ale kept watch poolside, towels at the ready for little ones with purple lips and chattering teeth.
Today we had 2:30 pm reservations for a major bucket list item of mine – riding in a motorcycle side car, goggles and all.
I can’t even remember when I first mentioned it to Amir, but it was for certain more than 7 years ago. Apparently he logged it in the back of his brain and held on to it for just the right time. For my birthday Monday, he even wrapped up a little Indiana Jones motorcycle side car toy to reveal our upcoming adventure.
We parked the mega van and walked along the harbor, checkout the seafood markets and historical markers along the way.
The area is busy with sailboats, café onlookers, dogs on leashes and a parade of rare and expensive sports cars. We picked a random restaurant to grab a bite, atmosphere and efficiency taking priority over haute cuisine. We lucked out and got all three.
We also squeezed in a quick spin on the merry-go-round, our second one this trip.
#1LittleSister wasn’t old enough to ride in the side car, so she stayed back with Grandma. The rest of us spread out in three side cars, each driven by a gentleman from the rental company, Retro Tour Normandy.
The tour lasts 1.5 hours, with stops at two historical sites and a cidery. The drivers were also tour guides, providing historical details and humor.
Chapelle Notre-Dame de Grâce
First stop was up the hill to see the Chapelle Notre-Dame de Grâce. Dedicated to Mary by fishermen for hundreds of years, the interior reflects exactly that. The park surrounding the chapel is gorgeous as well. #1BigSister loved picking wild flowers while #1BigBrother checked out the lookout.
The next stop delivered on panoramic views as well. I’ll have to ask Amir the name of it tomorrow and do an edit as it’s escaping me now.
The last stop of the trip was to the Cidre Pommeau Calvados, a 4th generation cidery, featuring sprawling apple orchards and cascading rose bushes.
We parked right up front
I’m hoping to convince Amir to write a post tomorrow. He’s such a treasure of historical knowledge, especially WWII. I wish I could have held on to the historical accounts shared with us today, but my brain is full of mom and doctor things, without room for much else.
So, as usual, I leave you with some odds & ends photos (plus a reel)…
We checked out of our AirBnB at 8:30am, and for consistency sake, the host was late again. She must be on café time. No matter, our Uber driver was enjoying a croissant in the boulangerie, so we had time to spare.
Uber to our rental car (actually an 8 person van)
First thing be question that needs to be answered – yes, Euro Disney is the same place as Disneyland Paris. I never realized the name had changed until we came here for the first time today. Wikipedia tells me that Disney dropped the “Euro” from the name in 1994 due to lagging sales and some branding issues.
“Michael Eisner noted, “As Americans, the word ‘Euro’ is believed to mean glamorous or exciting. For Europeans it turned out to be a term they associated with business, currency, and commerce. Renaming the park ‘Disneyland Paris’ was a way of identifying it with one of the most romantic and exciting cities in the world.”
Makes sense. While true, you do bleed euro while there, but probably best not to be quite so explicit about it.
We arrived at Disneyland just as the morning parade passed by. I half pushed for us to march on to a more exciting ride and am so glad no one listened to me. This was more of a Broadway production on wheels than a parade. There were enormous animatronic parade floats for each Disney movie, with street dancers in exotic costumes and music selected to get a party started. I was feeling silly when I reluctantly admitted that the parade made me cry – but then Ale confessed she cried too.
After the parade, #1BigSister and her dad were ready for excitement. First stop, Orbitron, which was probably the scariest ride available to even the smallest in our crew.
It was while waiting in the regular line at Orbitron we discovered a little something called Premier Access. I’ve always been a bit of a hater when it comes to paying to jump the line – feels like lines should be reasonable just given how much you pay to get into a place to start with – but Amir wanted to do it. Fortunately there’s an option for buying it one at a time for each ride (5€-17€/person depending on ride) vs the default which is 90€/person for the whole day.
We spent a little less than 5 hours at Disneyland as today is technically a travel day to our next French destination, Honfleur.
We stopped by the Moxy Hotel at Charles De Galle to pick up Amir’s mom, Julia. She flew over from the US yesterday to rendezvous with us before our drive to the countryside. Our AirBnB in Honfleur has plenty of extra room, so we invited our moms along. My mom wasn’t able to make it, but I’m sure will be envious of the amount of bread, butter and wine about to happen.
10 minutes into the ride
We picked Julia up with just a small hitch – we could only find the rear of the hotel, not the front, so it wasn’t the most glamorous arrival.
The drive to our house in Honfleur was 2.5 hours, plus a 20 minute stop a few kilometers out of town to grab some groceries.
One of my favorite parts of AirBnB rentals, especially ones with some acreage, is exploring the home and the grounds. Unfortunately by the time we arrived it was nearly 9pm, we still had to make and eat dinner, do baths, bedtime and unpack. So, no exploring yet on my part. That gives me something to look forward to with my morning coffee tomorrow.
Confession: I’m writing Day 3 on Day 4 because day three ended at 1:30am on Day 4, which didn’t leave any room for late night writing. And with a post title that long, I feel justified in my exhaustion. I did manage to make a video before crashing.
Yesterday again lead to a late wakeup with a late start. We took the metro from Rue D’Amsterdam towards the island in the Seine. We arrived just before 11:30am only to find that our desired Seine boat ride was sold out, with the next available tickets at 2pm. We purchased six and shifted gears, in search of some “Take Away” lunch.
Tickets for the MetroPink in a sea of graySomeone skipped the team photo
We always rely on the subway/tube/Metro whenever traveling in big cities, but this Metro has presented a challenge. The gates on the turnstile are super-quick, especially for kids. We are 2 for 3 of kids getting “eaten” by the closing turnstile gates. We’ve looked for the stroller lanes without luck. There might be a little metro PTSD working against us after this one.
Bahn mi believerBeef and bread
We arrived back to Vedette Du Pont-Neuf with plenty of time to spare. We snagged seats up top and were quickly surrounded by a few elementary school field trips. Our kind of crowd.
The cruise was one hour long and traversed both sides of the island. We had great views of Notre Dame, the cathedral devastated by fire in 2019, now slated to reopen five years later in 2024.
After our boat ride, it was clearly time for cocktails and snacks. Amir has a knack for finding picturesque little spots off the beaten path. He spends months ahead of our trips watching YouTube videos, inspecting Google Maps and searching Instagram for inspo.
We stopped at Brasserie Des Pres for ice cream and drinks. The kitchen was closed (it was 3pm) but it offered everything we wanted. Fresh drinks, a selection of ice cream and sorbet, and decor to die for.
Amir and I were the rate limiters for our afternoon snack as we needed to get back to the apartment to get ready for my birthday dinner. When Amir told me we’d be traveling with three kids on my birthday, but it would save us a ton on flights, of course my gut reaction was “well then I want dinner at the top of the Eiffel Tower.”
Le Jules Verne, located above the Olympic rings
I’d actually said it in jest… and it was 5 months ago… so I never expected anything to materialize. My husband listens when it counts. He learned that reservations open 90 days in advance, set a calendar reminder and snapped up a table for two.
Seven course tasting menu
With its two Michelin stars, Le Jules Verne is known worldwide for amazing views and unforgettable setting. You take a private elevator to the top – not only skipping the tourist line but avoiding it altogether. The restaurant is located on the second floor of the Eiffel Tower, just above the Olympic Rings. The tippy top floor is an enviable private apartment of the late Mr. Eiffel. He was known for his posh and exclusive dinner parties. #aspirations
The front of the house staff outnumbered the guests by 2:1. Each table only had one seating per night. Our reservation at 7:15, lead us through a seven course culinary adventure that with wine and conversation, lasted well past midnight. At 11 and again at midnight, the tower lights up and flashes for just five minutes. We were lucky to catch both. Good job babe.
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France Day 4: The Louvre with Family Focus Tours
Embarrassingly, I only planned one thing on this trip – a kid-focused guided tour of The Louvre conducted by Alexandra, a child psychologist. Check out her list of family friendly tours for kids of all ages. She chose the Treasures Hunt tour for us – complete with clues to collect along the way and “treasure” to be unlocked at the end of our quest.
Doing things at kid levelLearning about the masterpiecesDecorate your own fruit faceUnlocking the treasure with our clues
Alexandra is a professional. She came highly recommended in one of my favorite Facebook groups, Mama Docs Travel. They’ve delivered with great recommendations for past trips, so I knew we were in good hands.
I’ve taken a few art history courses back in my day, so it was satisfying to see so many familiar works of art. Ever since seeing La Guernica in Spain, I’ve understood that the in-person experience of a piece is just that – something to experience, not just look at.
The Four Seasons (Guiseppe Arcimboldo)
Alexandra engages the kids at every step. She brought age appropriate booklets the kids could read, color and decorate with stickers. One favorite activity was creating our own fruit faces a la The Four Seasons by Arcimboldo.
Rainy day at The Louvre
Our tour lasted 3 hours, just in time for lunch. Alexandra was kind enough to recommend a kid-friendly crepería, Buckwheat. Offering both sweet and savory crepes, everyone in our crew found something they loved.
We had some trouble getting an Uber back to the apartment from the Louvre area – likely due to the thousands of people using up the bandwidth in the area. We walked a few blocks down and connected no problem. We’ve been using a combo of metro and Ubers this trip. The Uber Van is a perfect for with 6 seats and plenty of legroom for Amir. Our stroller folds up easily and tucks under a seat.
Gift shop post card
This afternoon we have to pack and prepare to leave Paris for Honfleur tomorrow. Somehow we’ve already come to the end of this first part of our French adventure. We’ve rented an AirBnB in Honfleur, in the Normandy region. As usual, we try to balance our busy city visits with a stop in the countryside to slow down and let the kids run around, and mom, dad and au pair relax.
Time to start packing if I wanted to catch any of the EuroCup match tonight…
Yesterday on the plane, #1BigBrother was a bit upset when that pesky “Captain” kept interrupting the sound on his show.
“Why do they always have to talk about safety?” he blurted out for everyone on the plane to hear.
Bike rentals outside our AirBnb
I fully expected everyone to awake at 4am, ready to party thanks to East Coast hours… but the travel gods came through with the kids sleeping a full 13 hours and only showing signs of life around 9:30 am Paris time.
#1LittleSister#1BigSister & #1BigBrother
Last night Amir and I snagged some milk and bread on the way home. Breakfast this morning was easy – toast with your choice of strawberry preserves, Nutella or soft cheese. And coffee, lots of coffee.
We’d planned to go to the Palais de Garnier first thing, but our unanticipated late start cut the morning short. With lunch reservations at noon, we decided to take a slow walk up Rue Blanche towards our lunch destination, Pink Mamma.
Ale, our au pair, cheated and went to Paris ahead of us back in March. *But* she’d meant to visit one of the world’s most beautiful Starbucks but had the first ever Google Maps fail which took her to the wrong spot. So of course, we had to correct the missed moment.
Starbucks Capucines, Paris, France
After caffeine for the adults and fruit smoothies for the kids, we were powered up for our walk to Pink Mamma, the Instagramable eclectic Italian spot with a glass roof and miss-matched picture frames.
Two of our best friends from residency, Lety and Peter, happen to also be in Paris after attending a wedding. We didn’t plan to overlap – just a happy accident. What does it say about our schedules that it was easier to get all 10 of us together for lunch abroad than back home?
Soaking it all in at Pink Mamma
We ordered the famous truffle pasta, spaghetti a la scampi, burrata with tomato sauce and pizza for the kids. Everything was excellent. Oh, plus a few cocktails.
After Pink Mamma we walked to towards the Basilica of Sacré Coeur de Montmartre, a Catholic Church built in the late 19th century, so relatively old by European standards. They chose the spot in Montmartre due to its elevation and breathtaking views of the city below. The site is accessible to all – strollers, wheelchairs and pedestrians thanks to the Faniculare Montmartre, an inclined transport system originally built in 1900, that takes you to the top. Of course there’s always the old fashioned way to the top. And for Peter, next to those 911 staircase climbs, he opted to go by foot – and beat us there.
On our way up to Montmartre
The climb was worth it – even for Peter. While a bit crowded, the view gave back in spades. Love locks on the fences surrounded the perimeter, and a popsicle vendor made even our youngest travelers happy.
Right where the Faniculare drops off, there’s an authentic two-story carousel. The ride was a bit short in this mom’s opinion, but the kids loved every minute.
Despite pure exhaustion, #1BigBrother insisted we ride the train. If it hadn’t been for our trip to Florence last yearwhere we rode all the things, I may have objected saying it was too touristy.
Train selfie
We parted ways with our friends at the train – everyone exhausted and looking for different things. We may reconnect tomorrow for a picnic in the park. Lots of room for the kids to run around, and for parents to enjoy catching up in a far away place.
Ever since Peppa Pig went to Paris back in 2018, this trip was inevitable. For the next two years #1BigSister, then a toddler, thought every cell tower in Richmond was the Eiffel Tower and would give a verbal recount of Peppa’s adventure magnifique.
Like most of our trips, the hardest part was deciding on and securing the time off. Now with a rising 2nd grader, we’re limited by the school calendar. And, having been spoiled by business class the last few years, affordable flights dictate where we go.
Amir found some good options on Iceland Air. We’re driving to Dulles, connecting in Keflavík, then flying in to Charles de Gaulle.
On the drive up, we celebrated my 46th birthday in style at Taco Bell. Did you know you can now get an oversized Cheese-It shoved into a burrito?
After a roll-call to ensure we were six again, I polled the team. “Name one thing you really really really want to do in France!”
#1BigBrother: ride a motorcycle!
#1BigSister: Disney!
Ale: eat a GIANT macaroon
#1LittleSister: play in the airport
Amir: go inside a German bunker at Normandy
Me: wine, a baguette and good people watching at an outdoor cafe
#1BigSister prepares for the safety briefing
We hit no traffic on the way to Dulles, and once there, we sailed through TSA security screening with little hastle. Amir and I both commented that the TSA seems much more organized and family friendly over the past year – maybe they finally hired Chick -Fil-A as an operations consultant.
We didn’t get to explore Iceland as we had a tight connection, but we’re definitely adding it to the travel list. Tourism here has exploded in the last ten years – so much so that they are building a new airport but already seeing the volumes of a huge European hub. From the air, the entire landscape was flat, no trees, but not brown or dead… and not all snow covered… moss. It’s the land of moss. I’m in love.
Man to man defense
The flight to Paris was smooth and easy – less than three hours. I managed to squeeze the Whitney Houston movie in with just 4 minutes to spare. When I was in 6th grade, I was the new kid, just having moved from Midlothian to Virginia Beach. I was feeling a little down and lonely, but distinctly remember when the music teacher asked me if I would do a solo at the chorus performance. Just me and one other girl. Can’t remember her name. Just two lines each, but I remember them.
“Everybody searching for a hero People need someone to look up to I never found anyone who fulfill my needs A lonely place to be And so I learned to depend on me.”
I went on to do All-City Chorus that year… only thing is – I can’t really sing. Even though my mom is musical and sings, I’ve never been good. Maybe I was cute back then?
Anyway, I did tear up a bit for Miss Whitney. Everyone wanted a piece of her. She got caught in the wheel.
We took at Uber from the airport to our AirBnB, and for the first time ever, the host wasn’t there when promised. Nearly a half hour later that we said we’d arrive, Shirley appeared with keys.
The place is more spectacular than the photos showed – a private outdoor courtyard, cool art and right next to the Saint Lazare train station. I give credit for that last detail to Amir. He researches these places for weeks before booking. We’ve learned access to public transit is a must. Especially as most taxis and Ubers max out at 5 people, and we are of course a team of 6.
Coincidentally our friends Lety and Peter are here in Paris right now with their two girls. We have to nail down the details, but plan to meet them for lunch tomorrow.
TeamLouka 