Allons à Paris!

There is so much to see and do in Paris that it has been a great challenge trying to have a plan that the whole family can enjoy. So being the obsessive compulsive planner that I am, I pinned every single possible point of interest on google maps with the aim of grouping the attractions by location and then marking each one as "must-see" or "if time permits". One of the things that struck me during my research is how expensive everything is, especially accomodation! I finally found a loft apartment on the Rue Saint-Honoré that would hold all 5 of us for €170 per night. Fortunately for us, the apartment appears to be central to all the plotted attractions. With accomodation sorted and a rough itinerary in tow, I was able to move on to the next step...educating the children!

In an effort to make the most of our trip to Europe, we have started to "prime" the children with some pre-reading. I've always felt that a little background knowledge customised to the little ones goes a long way to help them appreciate what can be difficult for some adults! We had to extend the children's knowledge of France beyond Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Ratatouille! The only lingering legacy of our french au pair is the love for eating crepes. The first stop was book depository where I purchased a few classics, one for each of the children and one for us!

A pictorial journey for a little boy with a very short attention span...

Oh Miss Clavel!



Something a bit more challenging for a more advanced reader



Title says it all!



A book written with the help of 2 local mums with tips of what to do and where to eat. Let's hope its as good as it sounds!

 Then, it was off to the library where we borrowed children's versions of great classics like The Three Musketeers, The Hunchback of Notredame, as well as lonely planet's guide to Paris written for children. I was also delighted to find a trial of a book designed for children in Paris. Although we had missed the cut off dates, the organisers were kind enough to mail out spare copies that they had left. Elliot and Lara LOVED it. Last but not least, we bought bargain pocket french and italian dictionaries from Aldi.

So far so good. The older two are sprouting "bonjour", "si", "merci", "au revoir" and have asked if we will be visiting Musee d'Orsay and Centre Pompidou. I had originally planned to only visit the Louvre for fear of museum overload.

One destination down! Only a few more to go...