Arrival in Europe- Two nights in Paris

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We arrived in Paris painlessly at 05:40 after our 13 hour overnight flight from Hong Kong and were punished with fairly long walks through the terminal and hyperactively happy Lucy & Roman that promptly descended into grabbing one another and crashing to the floor which led to a 'no touching' ban and some threats.



Stepping outside the terminal it was 2c and we could blow lots of 'smoke' with our breathe which the kids enjoyed in the dark. After a brief struggle to get a suitable car/ booster seat configuration for the kids we were away to Paris. We were astonished that it was pitch black and the sun didn't come up on the transfer until the end around 7:55am.









The street our 'Hotel Bsquare' in the charming district of Batignolles, was remarkable with nice christmas lights hanging along the whole street and lots of bakeries and some restaurants. A really good location.



We carried sleeping Roman in and placed him on the bed then got all bags in and commenced the long process of post-flight showering. Roman slept peacefully whilst Lucy & Alicia went out and braved the cold to buy some bread, ham, cheese, and tasty Praline & Orange Brioche and a Chocolate muffin thing for Lucy. The cheese was very strong! Good old France!



Alicia bitterly noted that the Supermarket had 1,000 types of cheese, lots of yoghurt, but not a single milk!



Later Nick's wildest hopes for the availability of premium Belgium beers from the supermarket were confirmed with top 1% in the world beers available straight off the supermarket shelves for ludicriously affordable prices.



After we were all clean, fed, and rested we made our way to the Arc de Triumph via a convoluted fight through the Metro system which HATES prams and an eventual wait and 100+ step climb to the top of the arc.



The top of the Arc was nowhere near as impressive or enjoyable as a I remembered it. This may have been due to the hyperactive whinging kids. Lucy was especially going hyper happy crazy and we both shouted at her a lot. We eventually gave up- the views were spoiled by fog which had literally enclosed the Eiffel Tower off in the distance.



Next we decided to try for Notre Dame so we set off on another 'pram-through-the-metro' ordeal and eventually got within striking distance . Lucy starting getting cranky and hysterical so we found a surprisingly decent cafe with good, sympathetic staff only 500m from Notre Dame and had some crepes, fries, and hot chocolate to cheer everyone up. With the kids temporarily rallied we made the last walk to Notre Dame.



The lines in front of Notre Dame immediately killed Alicia's desire to go inside so we took to finding decent spot to get photos from the outside - all of us were cranky from lack of sleep. We wisely abandoned further site seeing and headed home.



We plugged the kids into their tablets for an hour or so to keep them going them headed out around 6pm for a local restaurant dinner with Grandparents. After dinner we all crashed in bed and slept with only minimal waking & disruptions until 8am the next day! No real sign of jet lag!







After getting fed and organised which took a good while we headed for the Eiffel tower; it took 10 x mins pleasant walk along the Seine (past the Australian embassy) before we made it to the base. Pressed for time and seeing the ticket lines we realised we had no chance of getting up before we had to be away to meet Mum & Dad to handover the kids so we walked through the Field of Mars parks to get some photos whilst the kids bitched & moaned incessantly about who wasn't getting a turn in the pram. Alicia was ready to bin the pram in rage but the distances we are covering are significant so we didn't.



We didn't realise what an absolute no-mans land Eiffel tower is for Metropolitan coverage; the nearby lines don't take you were you might want to go... We finally managed to get out of the area and send the kids off with Grandparents then Alicia keenly set off for our two Michelin Star lunch.



We arrived at Joel Robochons L'Atelier in St Germain, Paris.



The door was opened by a friendly doorman where the staff promptly reassured us they could speak English and we were deposited in seats by the square bar wrapping around the kitchen (no intimate tables for anyone). It was interesting setup to be able to watch a two-star crew of chefs in action; the head chef had many orders to bark and there was an endless chorus of 'Oui Chef!'



Back in our chairs we had French-language only menus ( no English available) we spent 10 x mins translating the menus with our phones and after determining the 179 Euro per person degustation menu was not compelling enough we picked a few dishes with the help of a very proficient waiter. He spoke good English and knew a great deal about each dish. We ended up with an entree to share, two mains, and two desserts plus two random glasses of French Red (Alicia and I being unable to remember/ discern one French region/style from another).



For the entree we had the hot duck Fois Gras which consisted of little fois gras rolls about the size of half a sausage topped with cut green apple (died red) and some random micro herbs and a tiny amount of vinegar glaze. The dish was delicious a 5/5 with the absurdely fatty fois gras melting in our mouth but balanced by the apple and bolstered by hints of salt and vinegar.



Alicia & and I are suckers for lamb so we got two of those for mains. The dish came out very pretty and minimal with 5 tiny cutlets circled around some pretty deep fried Rosemary and a clove of garlic.



I bit into the first cutlet with great anticipation but was surprised to not have my socks blown off. The meat was well cooked and tasty but was missing the X factor that a nice sauce or seasoning should have brought. I cast about my plate for sauce/ Rosemary/ Garlic to elevate the lamb but it was not to be. The lamb stayed just a nicely cooked plate of tiny, tiny cutlets (about the size between a teaspoon and dessert spoon in area). Alicia raved about how nice they were but when I explained my reservations she agreed that it was a shame they didn't have a sauce/ seasoning. I rated the dish 3.9/5 Alicia said 4+.



Our waiter explained any Joel Robochon Main comes with as much of their special mash potato as one can eat and he provided us little ramekins of potato which was more liquid than solid and very smooth and creamy. Apparently the dish is 50% butter and 50% potato and it tasted like it with the mash being incredibly rich and quite delicious. Nick ate 1.5 Ramekins worth before deciding my heart would stop immediately if I had any more (on top of the Fois Gras no less). It was very nice mash!



We finished with desserts. Nick had a Chocolate ganache with mousse, and crumbled Oreo biscuit. Alicia had a chocolate sphere melted down with hot chocolate, a Saturn-esque caramel ring, and some Vanilla ice cream with chocolate and coffee inside the sphere. The theatre of the hot chocolate melting the sphere was quite good and we both enjoyed cracking our tempered chocolate dishes. Nick rated his dish 3/5 for being too chocolatey with no balance, Alicia hers 4/5.



Overall our Michelin star lunch cost us the princely sum of 252 Euros which didn't feel worth it but the Fois Gras entree memory was wonderful and will stay with us forever.



Alicia and I took a peaceful stroll through Parisian streets for a few moments on our way to meet Dan & Lorraine and the kids at the Christmas markets along the Champs Elyses.



Arriving at the markets we found an extremely busy market with loads of stalls and attractions.



We finally located grandparents and kids in an area with loads of kid friendly statues and some animatronic sets with reindeers, penguins, polar bears, foxes, and even a set with jungle animals. D&L had managed to entertain the kids successfully for hours in this area alone with the occasional slip slide ride and some treats like a bratwurst roll, chips, lolly pops, and Lucy even liked the Gorgonzola cheese filled pretzels!



The kids highlight in our absence was a Ferris Wheel ride on a large wheel at the end of the Champs Elysees. Lucy was so proud of herself for being brave enough to go on and enjoying it.



We resumed custody of the children and finished up the xmas market with “reindeer rides” which were little ponies dressed with little Reindeer headgear that the kids were quite happy with.



With the sun due to set we headed to Eiffel Tower and found a free toilet to line up for. The stupid thing took forever to get in as it had a rinse & clean cycle after EVERY attendant. We ended up having to let the kids wee in the park on the grass next to the toilet and Alicia and I were the only ones to benefit from the 'clean' public toilet. We lined up for the tower only to find the top level was closed due to fog. Lucy was quite obsessive compulsive about the fact her cousins had gotten to the top and was very distressed to hear she wouldn't be doing the same.



The Eiffel Tower wasn't bad for views but not really worth it and quite cold too. After we fought to get the cranky, tired kids home, fed and to bed. We spoke to our nephew Huon for an hour or so before crashing exhausted to sleep.



Overall Paris was a lesson in having a less ambitious itinerary with small, somewhat jet lagged kids. We probably tried to do a bit too much over too great distances and everyone was cranky as a result. We still had a good time and are amazingly pleased how well we've all acclimatised to the time zone. Having a pram has been a mixed blessing since whichever kid is out of it 'miraculously' loses the ability to walk.









Next morning was the fast train TGV to Tours to commence our Loire Valley stay read about it in the next blog entry - you need to scroll down to see the additional photos for this entry.

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Comments

[Jarrod]

Paris with kids
Sounds challenging! Poor little Lucy! Thank God for Grandparents! Some awesome photos Nick and Alicia. Hope things get better as you settle into the holiday vibe. Are you going into the countryside at all? It might be more relaxed away from the big smoke. At least the beer will be good. I'm currently enjoying Nomad Brewing Co's "Long Trip Saison" :) If Lucy is very brave she might like the catacombs. Our kids loved them but maybe too scary for younger children... I look forward to more posts! Salut et Joyeux Noël!