Paris

Over the school holidays this summer I travelled to Paris with my kids (Olivia - 9yrs & Max 7yrs). During our four day trip, Paris captured our hearts and is now one of our favorite cities.

Here are our recommendations, all tried and test by us:

Travel

Eurostar is fast & comfortable from London (St Pancras Station) to Paris (Gare du Nord) travel time 2hr 15 minutes. We bought standard seats which honestly were perfect. There are so many great shops at London St Pancras Station: John Lewis, Hamleys, The White Company.  Once you arrive at the Paris train station: Gare Du Nord Paris it is short taxi drive to all the main hotels. Once in Paris we Ubered everywhere and did not bother with the subway.

Hotel

We stayed at the Westin Vendome, the hotel has a superb location opposite Jardin Tuileries which is a stunning park & playground. Our room was not huge but we were barely in our room, the bathrooms could do with a little sprucing up! If money was no object I would stay round the corner at The Ritz, mainly because I love this location especially for a short visit.

A short walk from our hotel is my favorite shopping street - Rue St Honore (3 min walk), Place Vendome for stunning buildings great for photos (3mins walk) Louvre museum (15 minute walk) through Jardin Luxembourg. I love walking as much as I can around Paris, each time I gasp at the architecture and landscape.

Restaurants

Here are a few of our favorite restaurants and less of a tourist trap.  Paris restaurants are notorious for crappy service, despite your French fluency! Below are our favs”

Breakfast - Cafe Florre Eggs, Cappuccino & croissants!

Lunch - NOTE nearly everywhere will close service at 2pm or 2.30pm!
Maison Maison Overlooking the Siene. There is a cute kids play area next door.

Pizzeria Iovines delicious pizza, wine & salad. Round the corner from my favorite store Sezane.

There are boulangeries on most corners. One day kids & I just grabbed a-to-go quiche, baguette sandwich and carried on admiring Paris!

Hotel Costes: Perfect. Kid & adult friendly. Lovely setting and so easy for first night.

Sightseeing

Note - Buy tickets in advance and allow time for security checks! We did not buy tickets in advance and in the red hot sun we queued for an hour for some sights but was well worth it!

Louvre - Beautiful! Kids loved the Mona Lisa but we also enjoy stunning setting, architecture and incredible curation of art. Admission free for kids!

Eiffel Tower - Magnificent! We loved so much, truly one of the most stunning monuments I have every seen. The views are spectacular, we all have our own interpretation of a city but I loved seeing Paris through my kids eyes! We bought tickets for the elevator up & down!

Notre Dame - Worth a visit, line moves super fast and is donation based! My kids recognized the the historiacal cathedral from the movie, The Hunchback of Notre Dame. This was super quick visit for us!

Palais Garnier, Opera National de Paris - This was huge hit for all of us! They recognized this beautiful opera house from the movie LEAP, my kids remembered every scene from in Palais Garnier. Indeed an extraordinary building surrounded by the busy streets of Paris!

Jardin des Tuileries - This incredible public park links you to Louvre Museum from our hotel The gardens were designed by the same architect of gardens at Versailles . It has playgrounds and the kids loved it. It also had a small pop up fun fair for the summer months which was a huge hit in the evenings for my two! During the Christmas months they have a pop ice rink and winter fair.

Jardin du Luxembourg - Napoléon dedicated the 23 gracefully laid-out hectares of the Luxembourg Gardens to the children of Paris! Beautiful public park next to Luxembourg Palace, lots to do for the kids including playground and there is a pond in front of the palace where you can rent sail toy boats which they push round the pond using sticks! Cute kiosks selling ice-cream and coffee! Also a great place for a picnic!

Arch de Triomphe & Champs-Élysées - One of the most famous boulevards linking to the most famous Arch. We did a drive by which was fabulous to avoid the sea of people.

Shopping

Le Bon Marche - Temple of Paris Department stores.

Monoprix - Target of France, we stocked up on reasonable toiletries and cheap chic clothes for kids!

Shop Rue St Honoré - My favorite shopping street. Isabel Marant, Bash, Goyard. These street is close to our hotel and Lourvre.

Louis Vuitton Place Vendome Flagship Store is worth visit for the history and stellar views of Place Vendome. The building was designed in 1714 by a Versailles architect which showcases Paris artistry at its best. The store is magnificent and you have endless options of their incredible collection. They have an artist onsite who can personalize your Louis bags.

Sezane - Gorgeous French collection which I covet online, so wonderful to view and buy their collection in their Paris store.

My family adore Paris and can’t wait to visit with Christopher.

Thanks for reading and sorry it took so long to write!

Genny xo

Old Navy

Today was my first outing after being housebound for 5days with Pneumonia. I could not get out of bed and lost all my energy! Today my energy levels were up so I ventured out to buy supplies for a truck leaving for Houston, Texas to help the victims of Hurricane Harvey!

I did a quick pit stop at Old Navy which I can find hit of miss today it was a huge HIT for my kids!

I got Olivia a gorgeous pair of ballet flats for 0.97 cents and Leopard print lace-up ballets for $4.97 an absolute bargain!

I got 2 pairs of leggings for Olivia cute leopard crop $6 grey stars $6

Max got a dinosaur t-shirt and combo long sleeve T Shirt $10, long sleeve Camo TShirt $10, he also wanted long socks to wear with shorts (WTF) so I got him these Crew Socks for $8

These beauties were $2.47

Can you believe these were 0.97 CENTS!!!This never happens to me! 

Kid-friendly NYC & CT restaurant guide

Eating out can sometimes be a challenge with kids. Here are some great kid-friendly restaurants tried and tested by our crazy family:

NYC

Shabu Katsu East Village/Astor Place, Japenese Hot Pot in the middle of the table to cook all your yummy food, my kids loved the noodles and variety of protein! 

El Vez Downtown/Battery Park, Mexican food served in fun vibrant restaurant. Close to playgrounds. Also great for big groups

Beaubourg Brasserie Battery Park/Downtown French Brasserie, with outdoor seating overlooking gardens and marina. Great menu for all the family. Brunch served Sunday. Kids can run round gardens while you enjoy Froze, Battery Park Parks & Rec outside the restaurant loan out fun board games!

Bubby's Tribeca & Highline super brunch spot, great for all the family and they cater to large groups, walk-ins only. We have never had to wait long.

Tiny's Tribeca, my kids & I have eaten here since they were able to eat! Delicious menu, they have a small outdoor area.

Ellens Stardust Diner Times Square, The home singing waiters, blasting out broadway songs during your dining experience. My kids loved it, I had to sit in a quiet room in complete silence after! BEWARE this is not for the faint hearted! Good place for a first timer visiting NYC!

Freds at Barneys Great for a Mothers Day or Birthday celebration with kids, they are great with kids and adults get to browse The Temple of Barneys!

Cecconis Dumbo Brooklyn, with outdoor seating and waterfront views of Manhattan Skyline. Jane Carousel is 30 secs from this restaurant, my kids went on solo and I could see them from my table! Superb menu, we shared family style. My kids ate calamari & pizza.

Wagamamas Gramercy This delicious UK transplant serves asian food, inspired by the flavors of japan. Delicious, service is always great! Super simple kids menu, my kids love the plain ramen, rice and fresh juice. I love it all but nearly always order a chicken cats! I was a big fan of these restaurants in London, we alway visit one when we go back!

Pastis Meatpacking District. This New York staple, one of my favorites has re-opened round the corner from the old locaition with all the same decor & tables from the old location. Great place for Breakfast, Brunch & Dinner.

CT

Kawa-Ni Westport, Delicious asian inspired restaurant, my kids love this place and so do we! They have a roof terrace overlooking the water.

The Whelk Westport, Yummy seafood plus much more. Kids share a burger and and try our food too. They are opposite a ice-cream shop so kids get there dessert while we enjoy the beautiful setting.

Bar Taco Westport, fun and super kid friendly menu. Great decor and outdoor seating.

Terrain Westport, Delightful spot for brunch with or without kids, plenty of outdoor seating which overlooks their beautiful garden & home shop.

Match Burger Lobster, Westport CT, delicious Lobster & Burger joint. My daughter & I both had Slider combo which is 1 x slider & 1 x lobster roll, cracked lobster and oreo cake. Kid friendly and service was great too!

Meli Melo, Greenwich CT, Delicious savory & sweet crepes. I love the   Avocado, shrimp, lemon, dressing served on a buckwheat crepe. My kids love Ham and swiss cheese crepe and nutella & strawberry crepe. They also have a yummy fresh juice bar. They are based in Greenwich, CT

IPad, ITouch & TV Rehab

I love summer but 3 months off school and hiatus from camp, is crazy! I noticed my kids in particular my son just turning on the TV or using his IPAD when ever he wanted, if I got distracted he could easily be there for hours possibly days!

A week ago when my husband went on a sailing trip with friends, and on his return my son sneakily grabbed his phone and was just sitting there playing games. The real explosion happened when we were all getting ready to go and see Coldplay and my son was on my husbands phone within 10 minutes of him being home, I lost my SH*T and threw the phone across the bedroom!

So we are entering screen time rehab which includes earning pocket money, we are DAY 2 and so far we are off to great start! My London friend gave me great tips that if you set rules and timers, the children are lot more rational, if they whine when their screen time is up then they lose 5mins of screen time the next day!

Here are our rules:

We would like you to earn IPAD, TV and Pocket Money. If you follow these rules you will get $5 a week and will be allowed 30 minutes of IPAD or TV Time a day.

Rules are as follows:

• Make your beds and open blinds
• Clean up after eating and help your guests too
• Always have polite manners
• Do not wake early
• Do your homework & reading

My little Darlings

Meet my little darlings, Olivia 8yrs old and Max 6yrs old. My american kids were born in Manhattan. Olivia enjoys to dance and softball and Max enjoys soccer and baseball. When my kids were born I was overjoyed but overwhelmed too, I was so grateful for the book 'The Contented Baby' by Gina Ford. Gina was a baby nurse for over 20yrs, her book helped me understand baby sleep and guided me to establishing a routine. Both kids slept from 7pm - 7am from 6 weeks old - YAY! Gina also has super website which is great resource and support group.

Olivia's dress by Bella Bliss and shoes by M&S

Max' Shirt is by Zara and Shorts by Rockets of Awesome

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