Top Ten for Kids in Paris

Awhile back, David Hogg, author of the family travel blog, My Little Nomads, sent me an e-mail asking me to write a guest post for him on the top ten Paris sights for kids. And since I've got nothing better to do, I sent out an e-mail to friends in Paris asking for their input and combined it all into one article, now up for all the world to see. Take a look!

But why stop at just ten sights? (Although if you read the article, you'll see I cheated a bit by combining this and that.) If you are planning a trip to Paris with kids (or if you're already here and you're sick of hearing "I'm bored"), here's the complete list. It reflects the input of friends who have kids ages two to twenty. In short, there's something here for everyone.

Aquaboulevard
Aquarium Tropical Porte Dorée
Arc de Triomphe (climbing it is key!)
Bateaux mouches
Bike riding and rowboating in the Bois de Boulogne
Chocolate tour by Paris Walks
Cité des Sciences
Conciergerie
Da Vinci Code walk with Paris Walks
Eating crepes
Eating falafel in the Marais
Eating ice cream on the Ile St. Louis
Eating steak frites
Eiffel Tower (special mention for lunch)
Évasion Vert in Parc St. Cloud
Euro Disney
France Miniature
Giverny
Jardin d’Acclimitation
Jardin du Luxembourg
Laduree
Louvre
Montmartre (special mention for street artists and musicians)
Movies on the Champs-Élysées followed by a meal at Pizza Pino
Musée Picasso (which, by the way, is closed until 2012)
Musée des Arts Decoratif
Musée Rodin
Notre Dame and the archeological crypt
Parc Floral
Peugot store on the Champs-Élysées
Playing soccer in les Arènes de Lutèce
Pompidou Center (with special vote for escalators and street artists and Stravinsky Fountain)
Riding carrousels
Sewers
Shopping (Galeries Lafayette, Au Bon Marche, St. Germain, Marche Richard Lenoir)
Treats from the boulangerie
Tours of Parc des Princes and Stade de France
Tour in an old Citroen 2CV (expensive but fun)
Versailles, including water show in the summer, Marie Antoinette’s farm
Walking along the Seine
Wednesday afternoon ateliers at many museums
Zoo in the Bois de Vincennes


Thanks a million to Carol, Deborah, Isabel, Kathleen, Kristi, Melinda, Missi, Nicci, Polly, and Teka for sharing their ideas.

Roller Cops

Quick! What do you consider signs of spring? Crocuses and forsythia in bud? Blue skies and a sun that actually feels warm? Wool exchanged for poplin overcoats?

How about your friendly neighborhood cops on roller skates? I've seen the police on bikes, on horseback, and even on Segways but this was a first for me. The nice weather clearly had everyone in a good mood as this trio had pulled out a copy of Paris Par Arrondissement to help a lost soul find his destination.

ODing on Chocolate

I know, I know. There are those who say there's no such thing as too much chocolate but after the experience I had Tuesday, I beg to differ. I'm no chocoholic, but when someone offers to include you in a behind the scenes tour of one of Paris's oldest family chocolateries, how can you say no?

Servant has been doing business on rue d'Auteuil for nearly 100 years and though they've expanded to locations in Neuilly and rue de Sevres, they're still making the good stuff by hand in the basement of their shop in the lower 16th. We saw the ganache being stirred and then once cooled, delicately painted with another layer of the dark stuff; almond paste being rolled out and cut into bite-sized morsels; hollow chickens, bunnies, puppies, and bells being filled for Easter baskets; and the amazing enrobing machine in action. It's nothing like that old I Love Lucy episode; it's all on a much smaller scale although the total production is still staggering.

The proprietrice proudly displayed the storeroom where freshly made chocolates await their turn on the store shelves, nothing frozen, nothing older than a week or two. She kept pulling out box after box: ganache infused with red peppercorns or jasmine tea, dark chocolate coated orange peels, crunchy nut squares. I wish I'd had a baggie in my pocket! As it was, I finally had to say, "non, merci." One of her sons, who also works in the business, joined us for a few minutes, popping bon bons as he chatted. He admitted that he eats 30 to 40 pieces a day, hard to believe because he was trim and fit. But then again, the whole operation is crammed into a tiny space, requiring employees to climb up and down stairs from the laboratoire to the storage rooms and packing areas.

The front room itself is all 19th century charm, worth a visit in its own right. But beware, chocolate this good doesn't come cheap: 96 euros for a kilo, 70 plus for the largest Easter egg adorned with a signature orange bow. Those who take their chocolates seriously will not be disappointed.

To the Polls, Encore Une Fois

It's election time in France, something I have a lot of difficulty following. So you can learn along with me. This year, what's at stake are the presidencies of each of France's 26 regions. These aren't parliamentary positions but the regions do administer large budgets for transportation, economic development, and education. And at the moment, it's also seen as a referendum on the performance of Sarkozy and his party, the UMP, even though some of the big issues on his plate -- unemployment, reform of the national retirement system, the public debt -- are only marginally linked to the issues in the regionales.

The voting is done in two rounds with voters making choices among lists of regional counselors put forward by all the various political parties. The first round was Sunday and the UMP got its butt kicked everywhere. Overall, the UMP had between 26.5 and 27.3 percent of the votes, depending upon the region; the Socialist party (PS) racked up between 28.4 and 30 percent of the vote. Alarmingly, Jean-Marie Le Pen's far right Front Nationale (FN) party did much better than expected with 11.6 to 12 percent of the votes. And everyone's also pretty alarmed that more than 50 percent of voters stayed home, tired and fed up with the whole thing. Sound familiar to anyone?

This week, everyone's in a scurry to regroup. Parties that got at least 10 percent of the votes carry through to the second round; those with more than 5 percent can ally with a qualifying party. It all goes to a second vote on Sunday.

Here are some of the folks still in the running in Ile de France:


Jean-Paul Huchon, candidate for the PS, and current president of the regional council for the Ile de France.


Wunderkind Cécile Duflot (she's just 34) for the Green Party which finished surprisingly strong in the first round.


Marie-Christine Arnautu for the FN. Born in France to Romanian parents, she's holding the anti-immigrant banner for the far right. Doesn't anyone see the irony here?


Valérie Pécresse, the current minister of higher education, is the UMP's candidate. Almost all the ministers hold some additional office. Hard to imagine for Americans as this would be kind of like being secretary of education and governor of a state at the same time.

Translate That!

Those of you in Paris dying for a manicure with sheer polish and white tips but who have limited French language skills, fear not!

The origins of the term are obscure. Perhaps it was invented by Max Factor for Parisian fashionistas in the 1930s. Or maybe someone in the nail business elsewhere just thought it sounded classy. Either way, the sign cracks me up.

Cinque Terre

Last week was a crazy adventure. It had been on my calendar for months and dreamed about for months even before that: a trip to Italy's Cinque Terre region for a holiday with my hiking buddies. No family, no computer, no obligations other than to hike, eat pasta, drink wine, and enjoy. And that's exactly what happened. Of course, there were a few unforeseen events. Like the unseasonably cold and windy weather the first day out when the temperatures were so low that the water in our bottles became chunky with ice and the Swiss army knife we brought for our picnic lunch froze shut. Or the fact that the famous low trail linking the five towns along the Ligurian coast was closed between Corniglia and Monterosso due to landslides. Not to mention the general strike in Italy on Friday afternoon that left several of us with no flight out until 30 hours after the originally scheduled one.

But it was going to take a lot more than that to knock the stuffing out of 11 strong women and one incredibly patient man. The weather improved as the week wore on, our aches and pains subsided as we became more adept at climbing what must have been thousands of steps up and down, and we had one delicious meal after another. There were scarcely anyone else on the trails and we were rewarded for all the uphill climbing with spectacular views of the coast, terraced with vineyards, with tiny villages, pink, yellow, and white with red tiled roofs, nestled in the crevices.

And if you're ever stuck in Pisa, go see the Leaning Tower for sure but then hop on a bus. Just 2.80 euros will get you to Lucca, a walled town in the foothills of Tuscany where there's plenty to keep you busy for a day, the wine is cheap, and service is given with a smile.


Coming down the mountain on a steep rocky path, we turned a corner, saw this view of the town of Vernazza, and gasped.


Hearts with locks marking the entrance to the low route between Riomaggiore and Manarola. As tradition has it, you and your sweetheart leave a lock and throw the key into the sea.


Lemons everywhere. The one I couldn't resist putting in my suitcase did a fine job of countering the aroma of my dirty hiking duds.

Gone Fishin' (Figuratively Speaking)

The opportunity came along and I jumped at the chance. I'm headed out of town for a few days, leaving husband and kids behind, my first trip without them since my last business trip in June 2007. And it's my first trip for pure pleasure without them for even longer than that.

Usually when I go away, I post ahead and let Blogger publish during the days I'm gone. But right now, I haven't got the time or the inspiration to do so and I'm not sure whether there will be a computer or Internet access at my destination. Back next Monday with new tales about my adventures sans famille.