Trips are always a great time to do a "first"....for example, baby's first macaron.
In case you were unclear, she liked it!
In terms of transportation we mostly walked everywhere but we took a few subway rides as well. Its a bit of a pain to carry a stroller down the steps but thankfully Mr. Limestone works out.
We shameless do the tourist things no matter where we go. True, it does bring my street coolness down a few factors but I'm okay with that.
The hardened new yorker inside me rolls her eyes.
Impromptu picnics are always a good idea. Agatha fully immersed herself in french cuisine that week by eating as much bread and cheese as her mean parents (who kept trying to get her to eat some vegetables!) would allow.
Since we are on the topic of eating, let's discuss how meals in restaurants go. Obviously there is no truly leisurely meals when eating with a toddler but we did eat in restaurants a lot and enjoyed it. Sometimes there were high chairs, sometimes there were not. When there were no high chairs we were able to push her stroller up to our table or sit in a booth. No matter where we went we got warm welcomes. Generally we were able to get two courses and a bottle of wine before Agatha had had enough which I consider a big win.
I don't like to pay for international data so I don't have my smart phone to help me navigate. Luckily its impossible to get lost in Paris in a bad way but I do carry a hotel map for consultation.
Even if you do end a little lost, you won't be disappointed. You might wander into something wonderful like toy boats sailing by (yes, this is a public park!) or...
a little street art? or a bicycle race where the participants were all dressed in 1940 period clothing?
Insert corny cliche here about taking time to smell....you get the idea.
As everyone knows, Paris is an expensive city but this might have been our cheapest trip there yet. Mostly because its just easier to walk with a stroller than take a cab, it's easier to have a park picnic than sit down to a fancy dinner and the things an 17 month old most enjoys (running in the grass, whooshing down a playground slide, walking on a sidewalk) are 100% free!
Not all shown above but I highly recommend the follow
BHV great Marais dept store that sells everything from clothing to sewing notions to home decor to toys
Deyrolle quite possibly the most amazing store in the world for taxidermy - i'd love to throw a party here
Le Relais de l'Entrecote worth the line + the hype - they make the most amazing steak frites
Astier de Villatte an amazingly gorgeous store filled with ceramics and other treasures you'll want to bring home
Richard Lenoir Market - This avenue is packed with fresh food vendors with a few great souvenir options as well
I think that wraps up all my tips on traveling with a toddler to Paris.( I do have one more post to share with some professional family photos coming up tomorrow and then I promise to shut up!)
Have your own travel tips or favorite spots to share? Feel free to chime in!
Your lil family is adorable!
ReplyDeleteThanks Bella!
DeleteLove these pictures! You just had to get some tourist shots of that sweet girl!
ReplyDeleteLove A's fancy dress, the mini-me photo of you two, the sailboats (so peaceful and...civilized?), but oh! the period costume bicycle race race!! It captures my heart! How lucky you were to have stumbled upon it.
ReplyDeleteAlso, thanks for your list of recommendations. Will definitely put Deyrolle on my list. If you ever stop in Los Angeles, we have a similar place called Necromance that you might like. Half the store is taxidermy, the other half is pure Halloween inspiration with old lab supplies and just general oddities at a reasonable price.
Oh that sound sounds right up my alley. I haven't been to LA in a long time but maybe time for a visit?
DeleteI wish I was able to capture some better photos of the bicyclists or even have gotten a clue why they were all dressed up in such great outfits but it was really cool.
As my hubby and I are gearing up to be parents, one thing we dont want to stop doing is traveling overseas so we are already looking into logistics, given that and I know you guys use points a lot for your travel, does Agatha have her own seat? or is she sitting on one of yours since shes still under 2?
ReplyDeleteWe have done it both ways. On this trip, she was a lap child. We only have 5 months left before she requires her own seat so we are trying to make the most of it while we can.
DeleteThat said, having her as a lap child isn't always the best choice. The problem is that with some airlines, they charge you a % of the ticket price to have a lap child. So in essence, even if I can score a free flight with points, I have to shell out some big $ to allow her to ride on my lap. Big thumbs down! So when we fly those airlines, we have gotten her own seat (also with points).
I will say that when a baby is very young, its not that useful to have their own seat (except for just having a place to put your feet up) since he/she can't use it independently. But now that my daughter is a bit older, having that space to lay her down in would be nice.
So to answer your question it really depends on what ends being the best use of $ and points for that particular trip. Hope that helps!
One thing to try the next time you're abroad. I have an iPhone and every time I'm in a new city in Europe, I turn on my wifi (like once I get to the hotel) and then open my Google Maps app and let it orient itself to the new destination. It'll download all the data you need via wifi so when you're out walking around without data or wifi, the GPS will just take over and show you where you are. No data needed as long as your app already knows where you are. I hope that makes sense. It really saved me on my last trip to London, Prague and Vienna!
ReplyDeleteGood tip ryan. We actually just realized you could do that a few months back but I'm still partial to the good old paper map. I guess I'm a luddite at heart.
Deleteagatha has gotten so big since the last time i had a chance to pop in! she's beautiful - those big eyes! and you all look so well and happy. i love paris, but it's been a while... we should really get around to it with our own little guy.
ReplyDeleteSuch beautiful photos, I bet she will love looking through these one day.
ReplyDeleteAwesome... love the family picture. Agatha is adorable... Gerber baby perfect.
ReplyDeletebeautiful photos! your baby is so cute!
ReplyDeletestyleandchocolates.blogspot.com
You give me hope! I am expecting my first and plan to keep traveling the world, if we can manage it.
ReplyDeleteOne tip for navigating-- I opened my map app in our hotel/apt each morning and zoomed way in to all of the neighborhoods we'd be visiting (we mostly walked, so our travel area wasn't huge). It seemed to cache the areas in, so when we looked them up later (with no service), we could totally see where we were going. It was nice not to carry a map also (not that there's any shame in that!)
Did you rent an apartment so Agatha could have her own room?
ReplyDeleteShe didn't have her own room but we try to stay somewhere so that the crib can be placed in a spot where we can still stay awake after she goes to bed.
DeleteAmazing pictures! Can you comment again on how you handle surviving jet lag with a toddler?
ReplyDeleteThanks Jessica. Europe is actually a great place in terms of jet lag since it simply means getting up and going to bed a little later than usual. So in our case, our child who usually rises at 6am would sleep tili 10 or later. I wish I could get her to do that here!
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