France

Our visit to France was a whirlwind of wonderful of Paris. We took the Eurostar from London to Gare du Nord. The idea of traveling under the sea is much more exciting than the experience of it! We managed to navigate our way on to the metro and out to our lovely AirBnB apartment in the 16th Arrondissement. The language barrier took some getting used to, but fortunately the French are infinitely logical (hooray for the metric system!) and very pleasantly helpful. On four separate occasions, friendly locals helped us carry bags up long flights of stairs - imploding for us any stereotype of unfriendly Parisians. We also were given lots of knowing smiles, and leeway with kids, and a surprising generosity when we made the usual errors (not knowing how the automatic cash till works, not knowing how to work our apartment door, and faltering with school-French that kind of ended with 'le singe est sur la branche'.) We were also surprised at how cosmopolitan Paris was, a real global city; and couldn't help noticing how chatty people were in the Metro - a difference from the quiet London tubes.

Our first day was spent walking the major tourist destinations in Paris, ending up walking around 16km - combined family step count record of 96 000 steps! From our apartment we ambled along the Seine, taking in the various barges and bridges until we reached the Eiffel Tower. This had been a major point of interest for the kids and they (and us!) were not disappointed. We benefitted from the off-season and cold weather, meaning there were not too many people and we got a fantastic view over the city on a beautiful, sunny day, spotting all the other landmarks in the city of which there are so many. We chose the steps over the lifts to save our gasping rands where we can, but the random facts in the stairs on the way up were totally worth the exertion. For example: What was the Eiffel Tower first known as? a) the Iron Lady, b) the 300 metre tower or c) The Beautiful Lace Giraffe? And what was the top of the tower used for? a) Mr Eiffel's little apartment, b) a giant ice-skating rink, or c) a very chic restaurant?

We then continued along the Seine until we crossed over the Alexandre III Bridge. Unbeknownst to us, this was a big deal for the kids, because, according to Keeper of the Lost Cities (Book I), the 26th lamppost on this bridge is where the kidnappers found Sophie and Dex. Who knew?! The things you learn when you travel with children.

We crossed over the Place de la Concorde to see the Obelisk (not Obelix) and get a great view down the Champs-Élysée to the Arc de Triomphe. Most European cities host one, or multiple, Christmas markets at this time of year and the one in the Touileries Gardens in the middle of Paris has got to be one of the most festive. We skipped the funfair rides, giant climb-through doll's houses and the big wheel, and instead sampled a Raclette - massive wheels of Emmenthal cheese, each heated by an element so that the cheese becomes warm and gooey enough to scrape on a baguette filled with ham - yum.

Next stop was the Louvre - mind-bogglingly amazing and totally overwhelming. I think the kids managed to soak in some of the incredible art history and some nuggets from the audio guide before we ditched it ("Mommy, that lady is bossy, confusing and she's trying to control me."). Professor Dad took over (fortunately his art knowledge is better than my French) and with a more child-oriented commentary, we soaked in the scale, braved the crowds to view the Mona Lisa, and left just as the museum closed and attention spans ran dry. A return visit to the Christmas market and some over-priced nougat managed to lift spirits before taking the metro home.

Our second day started out by visiting the Atelier Luminaire - an old metal foundry that has been converted into an incredible immersive canvas for light shows. The show we saw was an exhibition of works by Cezanne and Kandinsky, as well as a futuristic digital artwork, all projected onto the walls and set to music. It was mesmerising and moving. We continued our walking tour through the buzzing streets of Paris, past the Place de la Bastille (for a short history lesson on the French Revolution that was the long answer to "Who's the king of France?") and the jewellery and handbag street, and on to Notre Dame. Unfortunately the restoration work from the huge fire that gutted the place in 2019 is still underway and we couldn't get in, but it is still impressive to see from the outside.

Our third day in Paris was dedicated to Euro Disney. Nicola had been as a 17-year old and remembered how magical it was. We arrived in the freezing cold, but still there was a scrum of about a thousand people trying to get in the gate. We arrived at the perfect time as the Disney float procession passed around the central plaza right in front of us. All the big names - Mickey Mouse, Peter Pan, Mary Poppins, Aladdin, the Princesses, Nemo, the Frozen Gang, the Lion King and a fire-breathing dragon. The rides were incredibly well done and the interactive app helped us choose the rides with the shortest queues. We tested our sea legs on the carousel, got lost in the Alice in Wonderland labyrinth (and would have frozen to death were it not for the life-saving coffee and hot chocolate at the end - cost as much as a small car, but totally worth it), explored the Robinson family tree house, screamed our heads off on the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, were impressed and a little spooked by the holograms in the Phantom Manor, and enjoyed the variety and cleverness of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. The highlight was probably the Star Wars flight simulator, which had us travelling at warp speed through multiple universes in 4D - acceleration and deceleration tested our safety belts and our stomachs. It was a magical experience - for us and the kids - complete with fake snow as we headed wearily home, after 7 hours of fun, cold and wonder.

For our final morning in Paris, our host had agreed to let us stay in the cosy little apartment past the checkout time, so we had a chilled day doing school work, playing bridge, catching up on admin and re-packing our bags. The final walk to the metro to catch our train to Belgium involved a game of 'Dog Poo is Lava' with our wheelie bags, owing to the prevalence of dogs in Paris and the apparent inability of their owners to pick up the mess.

Answers about the Eiffel Tower: b) and a)