Places to Go (Vacation) - DISNEYLAND PARIS (Days 23) - Dragging Our Kids Through Europe, Part XII

For our final day in Europe we wanted some sort of grand finale, thus we planned a trip to Versailles. But one week prior to arriving we learned that Versailles is closed on Mondays. Oops. So we went with our (okay, really my) second option - Disneyland Paris. And I can't pretend I was sad about the switch (though, poor Dan, on the other hand, was very sad. Sorry honey!!).




Disney Paris isn't quite as fancy as its Orlando counterpart. First of all, there are only two parks - Disneyland (i.e. Magic Kingdom) and Disney Studios, you can see tour the best of both in one day (they're right next to each other). Second, the castle is smaller and the updates aren't as flashy. It sort of reminded me of Disneyworld in the early 80s (yay nostalgia!). But the big bonus is that it's an easy metro ride from Paris's city center.

Anyways, if you're not a huge Disney fan, Disney Paris might not be the best place for you. But I was pretty entranced! We all agreed that Paris had a better Pirates of the Caribbean and a worse Haunted Mansion. Plus, Ratatouille might be one of the best rides in any Disney park, it's incredible. On the downside, there are more height requirements than we were used to, so we missed out on the Indiana Jones roller coaster and Space Mountain Mission 2 (sadness).



Cinderella's castle has all these gorgeous stained glass windows.



And Snow White is still a ride!!




Pinocchio is a ride too!



And you can run/find yourself lost in/explore Alice in Wonderland's labyrinth.




You can take a boatride though all the Disney kingdoms in miniature.



But most importantly, you can bond with all the usual suspects!



Rather than eat in the park, we decided to check out the Mexican restaurant underneath our rental apartment and it was so so good. The kids are still talking about how it's the best Mexican food they've ever had. And the margaritas! So much wonderfulness.

The next morning we wandered around Paris for a few hours and then caught our flight back to the states. Somewhat sad to be leaving, but excited (at least for me) to have clean laundry again. And, in case you're wondering, the airline found my bag (one week later) and delivered it to Arlington. Yay!!

Things to Watch - Five Kids' Movies Featuring Paris (Netflix Streaming)

Netflix streaming has some fantastic movies featuring foreign lands. Here are a few that take place in Paris. Because sometimes the best travel is arm chair travel (especially with kids)!

1. Hugo - If you ask me, this is one of the best children's movies to watch as a family. Hugo received more Academy Award nods in 201l than any other film that year. The cinematography is fantastic as it the coolio automoton/robot thing they put together. Hugo also celebrates the history of cinema, including the early classic - A Trip to the Moon (also available on Netflix streaming). And the 1930s train station that serves as the movie's main location seems so romantic and foreign.

2. The Hunchback of Notre Dame - So this movie isn't exactly Disney at its best, but still there are some fun songs. And a gypsy (who doesn't love a gypsy?). Plus talking gargoyles. We watched it right before our trip to Paris and the kids were a little awestruck when they saw the "real" Notre Dame.

3. The Aristocats - I haven't seen this in years, but I remember loving it as a child. Kittens. An evil butler. The beautiful city skyline. What's not to like?

4. A Monster in Paris - T loves this movie. The monster is actually nice and nobody realizes but the beautiful singer.

5. A Cat in Paris - We haven't watched this one yet, but it sounds pretty good, "when Zoe discovers that her cat is also a thief's companion, she's thrown into a thriller filled with gangsters, jewels and the rooftops of Paris."

Places to Go (Vacation) - PARIS (Days 3 & 4) - Dragging Our Kids Through Europe, Part III

By our second morning in Paris, we had perfected a breakfast routine that would stay with us for the rest of the vacation. Dan woke up early to go to the bakery across the street, then came home and made eggs and cut up some fruit; while T poured beverages in shot glasses (he was quite enamored with the apartment's "cute, little, glasses."). After consuming more carbs then I usually eat in an entire week, we ventured out. . .






We promised the kids that we'd spend the morning at Jardin des Tuileries' summer carnival, which proved even more expensive than an American carnival. T "won" a dart gun, which he proceeded to shoot us with for the next three days until finally all darts were lost (yay!! to lost darts). After we literally ran out of money, we walked down the Champs Elysee to the Arc De Triumph. I wish I had something nice to say about this world-famous boulevard, but the afternoon was hot and people were everywhere. And most of the stores are the same stores that we have in the US; it just felt like a really crowded, over-priced shopping mall.






We hoped that T would overcome his fear of heights and join us at the top of the Arc De Triumph, but he freaked out on the spiral staircase up, so Dan needed to leave and bring him back to the base, where he proceeded to shoot strangers with his dart gun. Everyone looked at us like, "Americans and their weapons" and I wanted to scream, "but he won it here!"

After this we all were hot, tired, and somewhat cranky, so we decided to take a cab back to the apartment. And, this is when we learned that it's virtually impossible to find a cab that will take five people in Europe, so we eventually became experts at public transportation (okay, so "expert" is a bit of a misnomer, but we tried).



A much needed afternoon nap.










The kids asked to return to the carnival in the evening, so we said yes, as long as we could walk there.



How can you differentiate between a Parisian carnival and an American carnival? In Paris, illustrations of topless women decorate the rides. But on the upside, the Parisian carnival resided next to some of the most beautiful gardens I've ever seen.



Nobody could agree on where to eat dinner, finally we found an Irish pub that served hamburgers and made a perfect Pimm's Cup. Yay!!




We spent the morning of our fourth day at the Pompidou Center, one of my absolute favorite museums ever. T continued to war against the pigeons. I'm still not sure who won.









I love modern art.



After the museum, we needed to check out of the apartment and store our bags at the train station. Since we were traveling so frequently, the kids had to carry all their things (just five outfits each) in a backpack. I was scared that this would be too heavy/burdensome for them, but by the end of the trip they could walk almost three miles with their packs on (though in the beginning they complained a lot).





Meandering through the Jardin Des Plantes' sculpture garden on the Seine.








Eventually we made our way to Notre Dame, which was pretty exciting as the kids watched the Disney movie right before we left Virginia. Paris had to cut down the love locks from its most famous "lock" bridge due to safety concerns, but apparently other bridges have also taken on this tradition. T was fascinated and kept saying that Dan REALLY needed to buy me one.



After we returned to the train station, T managed to lose his second tooth ever while waiting to board. Unfortunately, the tooth fairy cannot deliver to cross-country overnight trains, so we explained that he'd need to wait for the next night, in Venice, to check under his pillow (plus, the overnight train didn't even have pillows).





Our train compartment contained beds for six, thus the kids worried about sharing our "room" with a stranger. Luckily, the stranger ended up being this super-nice German au pair named Sophie, who seemed a little overwhelmed by all of us. Especially since T kept shooting darts at the window.



It took forever, but after much procrastination and screen time, we managed to put the compartment's beds down and convince everyone to close their eyes for awhile (though, honestly, sleeping on the train proved harder than expected).

NEXT STOP - VENICE, ITALY!! I'll post some photos on Friday and next week. I hope you're all having a good end of summer!