The flight to Paris was smooth even with an hour stay on the runway thanks to the array of kids movies. The children finally started dozing around 10:30pm which provides some foreshadowing for the rest of this story. We arrived in Paris on Friday morning — our bodies thinking it’s 2am — and looked on as the whole of the airport seemed to approach the customs line. We waited in line for over two hours with hungry, tired children which has to be it’s own special kind of torture. Our driver stuck it out and brought us to our Paris apartment in the suburbs of Pantin.
Coons went food shopping and the kids explored the toys at the AirBnB while mom took a snooze. After our first home- cooked dinner in Paris, the kids promptly fell asleep. Mom and Dad enjoyed a delicious bottle of rouge (at the perfect temperature) on the balcony and cheersed because we had done it! We had been dreaming of this trip since 2018 and now it is officially reality!
On Saturday, we had to rally because our friends, the Christo Family, were spending their last day in Paris. We stopped at a local Patisserie shop and jumped on the Metro. Once we met up with our friends, including their family Eva, John, Copper and Cece, we walked to Champ de Mars with our first view of the Eiffel Tower and an excellent park for the kiddos. We enjoyed a delicious lunch outside at Cafe Gustave — perfect for people watching while Nina took a snooze on mom. Once we said our goodbyes, we headed home for our first never-ending bedtime.
La Villette
Everyone slept so late on Sunday morning that we finally had to wake them up at 10 a.m. Apparently Paris is exhausting when you are three and five (also when you are their parents). We made breakfast at the apartment and eventually took the Metro three stops down to La Villette, a park along the river near the Museum of Science.
We spent most of the day at the Park of the Wind and Dunes, where the kids made some new friends, jumped on trampolines, flew down slides, rode a few merry-go-round rides, and chased pigeons. Nolan’s favorite ride was the pirate ship flag, while Nina was very excited about seeing both the park and the farm animals. We also got churros and ice cream because nothing helps a confused sleep schedule quite like sugar in the afternoon!
From there we split up. Kourtney and Nolan went grocery shopping while Coons and Nina visited the farm animals, including a donkey, goats, and bunnies. We eventually reunited at the grocery store, where Nolan decided he wanted shrimp with the heads still on. Naturally. Coons cooked the shrimp for our curious kid with corn on the cob and made curry for the adults. Once we all sat down to dinner together we discussed the best parts of our day; Kourtney declared that family conversations were her favorite thing, which was very sweet considering bedtime was still nowhere in sight.
The Seine
The next morning we had to wake our sleepy kids again because Dad had a workday and we needed to get moving. We made breakfast, stopped at the bakery, and took the train downtown, getting off right by the Eiffel Tower. We weren’t climbing it yet, but we boarded a giant boat for an hour-long cruise on the Seine.
The boat carried us past the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Notre Dame, and a collection of very cool bridges. Some had silly or mad faces, and one had an N on it, which the kids naturally claimed for Nolan and Nina. Traveling with children really adds depth to the historical record.
After the cruise we took the train back toward our apartment. Coons returned home to work for the rest of the day while Kourtney took Nolan and Nina to the park. They jumped independently on the trampoline and both conquered their fear of the rope bridge and the biggest slide. Nina even used her French, calling “attendez” when she wanted the other kids to please wait. It may not have been flawless French, but it got the job done!
The Eiffel Tower
On Tuesday we finally managed an early start. Tickets to the Eiffel Tower were sold out online, but we were told we could arrive around 10 a.m. and buy them there. We grabbed breakfast at the grocery store, hopped on the Metro, and arrived right around 10. Miraculously, the plan worked.
We took an elevator to the second floor, waited in another line, and then continued all the way to the top. The views were incredible, and both kids were thrilled that we had actually climbed the Eiffel Tower instead of merely looking at it from a boat. We stopped for ice cream on the first level on the way down, and Nolan decided he wanted to take the stairs the rest of the way. We had waited in enough lines for one week.
Nolan also had €10 to spend on souvenirs and watching him manage his budget became one of Coons’ favorite parts of the day. He walked past a few things he had previously wanted so he could visit multiple stores, consider all his options, and carefully put together a combination that stayed under €10. He was extremely proud, and so were we. We returned to Pantin, bought groceries, made dinner, and arranged babysitting for a few days and nights in Paris. Big things were happening!
Antwerp to Pantin
Coons was up at 5:30 the next morning to take the Metro to Gare du Nord and catch a train to Antwerp. From there, he took a taxi to the customs station, where the agent from a company named On Time Logistics arrived 45 minutes late. You really cannot write that kind of material.
After customs, more paperwork, a drive to the port, and then still more paperwork, Coons finally saw Lightning McQueen. He inspected the van, made sure everything was okay, and drove it out of the port. Lightning McQueen rides again!
The first challenge was finding gas. Belgium’s automated gas stations required PINs for credit cards, which our American cards do not have, so they simply didn’t work. Coons eventually found gas and drove about four hours back to Pantin, where he somehow found a parking spot and reunited the family with our beloved van.
Nolan was so happy that he kissed Lightning McQueen the first time he saw him. Nolan said they had been waiting through Daddy’s “long, long, long trip,” and both kids immediately climbed inside to play. The van has officially crossed from transportation into family member.
Meanwhile, Kourtney and the kids had spent the day with their new babysitter, Miss Precious — or Presh. After waffles and strawberries, they packed a lunch and found Park Stalingrad, where they played for three hours, chased pigeons, ran through the mist, and explored four different playgrounds. Nolan and Nina worked together to conquer a scary rope course leading to a giant dark-purple slide. By the last playground, they were climbing to a third-floor tower and going down the slide independently, sometimes sending their bags down first. They celebrated with a small bakery treat before returning home to wait for Lightning McQueen.
The Zoo
We got up somewhat early on Thursday, picked up breakfast at the grocery store, and took an Uber to the zoo. The kids saw wolves, manatees, seals, penguins, rhinos, wolverines, and zebras. The seals, penguins, and manatees were a huge hit, while Kourtney particularly enjoyed the silly rhinos and the cute, playful manatees.
The gift shop was equally important. Nolan and Nina each used their own money to buy a stuffy, and both took the decision very seriously. Nina had already announced the day before that she planned to buy a unicorn, so she opted for a unicorn with a carrier and medical kit. Nolan chose a cousin for Wolfy who has yet to be named.
We took an Uber home for some quiet independent play which the kids have been crushing after adventure time and then visited another playground near the apartment before dinner, baths, and bed. It was a refreshingly straightforward day and the bedtime routine was departing absurd and approaching “summer vacation.”
Paris from the Top Deck
On Friday we grabbed breakfast on the go at Aldi (are you sensing a theme here), took the Metro to the Opera, and boarded a double-decker sightseeing bus. We sat at the very front of the top deck, where we could see everything as the bus carried us past the Louvre, Notre Dame, the Arc, and finally the Eiffel Tower at Champ de Mars.
The kids were great on the bus and listened to their Yoto players while Paris rolled past. Nolan had predicted we would see the Eiffel Tower because “it’s so tall,” and he was correct. He had also predicted lots of pretty things because “around here there are pretty things,” which may be the most efficient summary of Paris ever written.
At Champ de Mars we spent a couple of hours at the playground and, of course, found another trampoline. Then we exchanged some of the kids’ U.S. dollars for euros so they could continue their very important souvenir shopping. We returned to the apartment, where Coons worked while the kids played and got ready for dinner.
That evening Presh arrived for our babysitting night, and Kourtney and Coons went out alone! Our first-choice wine bar was closed for one of Paris’s unexpected summer-long breaks, but Ô Chateau was fantastic. Mom and Dad tried a few whites and reds along with a small charcuterie of meats and cheeses before moving on to the rooftop deck at Aqua Kyoto. There we enjoyed sushi, tempura, sake, wine, and tiramisu while watching the Eiffel Tower light up and sparkle. Meanwhile, Presh had both kids in bed by 8:30. We are considering having her follow us around Europe.
The Children’s Museum
After our late night, the kids woke up ready to adventure as a family on Saturday morning. We booked a time slot at the Children’s Museum, where Nolan tackled the water adventure and construction center while Nina built robots and played with the different wooden structures. They both loved the forest section at the end with a visual theater of the changing seasons and all the animals one might see.
Afterward we went to the dragon park, grabbed lunch, and returned to one of our established Paris favorites, the Park of the Wind and Dunes. Despite a week that included the Eiffel Tower, a Seine cruise, a zoo, Lightning McQueen’s grand return, and an entire museum designed for children, both Nolan and Nina chose going to the park as the best part of their day. We are learning not to overthink the itinerary.
We returned to Pantin, where the kids played independently, Coons went grocery shopping, and we made dinner. In the first week the kids have conquered every giant rope-course and slide Paris could throw at them, and we still had another week in Pantin ahead of us. Not a bad week at all!
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