Paris, France
Part Two of our Europe/UK Trip
Bonjour, Paris!
Paris, we love you! Paris was our family favorite on this trip. There is something magical about that city; the architecture, the lights, the food, the people; it’s all amazing. Because we were traveling over two major holidays, Christmas & New Year's, we wanted to be strategic about our arrivals in Paris & London. We departed Amsterdam for Paris on December 23, so we didn’t have to travel on Christmas Eve. We boarded the train, and my family promptly fell asleep!
There are so many amazing places to stay in Paris. I didn’t want to be in the heart of the most touristy areas, and I wanted to find somewhere that had a gluten-free breakfast nearby for M. We found the Melia Champs-Élysées on Avenue Victor Hugo in the 16th Arrondissement and booked it because it was right next to a Copains Bakery, which is 100% gluten-free. It was the single best decision of our trip!
Arrival Day
Our train was 30 minutes late departing Amsterdam, so we had to hustle since we had Arc de Triomphe tickets and it was a 20-minute walk from our hotel. I did not want to take the Metro with our suitcases during rush hour, so we booked an Uber. It’s always an adventure being in a car in Paris, and this was no exception. Our driver met us, we had to walk to get to his car (Gare du Nord was under renovation), there was an accident, so he hopped out, chatted with other drivers, and had a cigarette. It could not have been a more Parisian introduction. We drove past the Arc di Triomphe on the way to the hotel, and the kids were entranced.
Our charming little hotel had tiny elevators (even one of the old birdcage elevators!); the kids thought it was hilarious trying to pack us in. We all shared a room in Amsterdam, but we booked separate rooms in Paris & London. Our Paris rooms were the most spacious of all our hotels. Big beds, windows that opened, luxurious bathrooms, and our favorite feature, the heated towel rack. The heated towel rack served double duty, towels & a drying rack for socks & undies! We planned on sending out laundry in Paris, but because of the holiday, there was no guarantee we’d get our clothes back on time. I had brought laundry sheets with us, so I did some washing in the sinks; it worked out for everyone.
what we did
We packed a lot into our five days in Paris. I tried to break it up into neighborhoods as much as I could to ensure we maximized our time. Notre Dame had just reopened, and we were unsuccessful in getting tickets to see inside. We easily could have spent more time in the city, but now it’s a reason to go back!
We dropped our bags and immediately started our walk to the Arc. We arrived late, but I went straight up to the front of the line, told them in French I didn’t speak English (it’s the only French I know!), and asked if they spoke English, and explained our predicament. She opened the line right up for us!
Right away, the kids noticed the hills and a lot more stairs in Paris compared to Amsterdam. We’ve always made it a game to count stairs. I don’t remember the exact number in the Arc, but it’s a lot. Once inside the Arc, we read about its history, then climbed more stairs to the top. Mike and I were so excited to start our trip here because it has the most incredible views of the city. We arrived at sunset and watched the sun go down over Paris.
We weren’t sure what the kids would be up for, but we were thrilled when they asked to walk along the Champs-Élysées. It’s perpetually packed with people, but it was still lovely to stroll this famous boulevard with my family. To give you some perspective, the main part is about as long as the Las Vegas strip (approximately 4 miles) from the Arc de Triomphe to the Louvre. We made it to Place de la Concorde before our feet started hurting, and we were ready for dinner.
I booked Kapunka Thai for dinner. M loves Thai food, and it’s a 100% gluten-free restaurant. Overall, Paris had the best gluten-free scene of our trip. Everything we had was wonderful! It’s a balance to ensure R gets everything he wants while ensuring M can eat safely. Kapunka has a couple of locations; I booked dinner in the 2nd Arrondissement. The kids were shocked at how tiny the restaurant was, but our food was delicious. It was 8 tables and there is about two inches between each table.
It’s been 20 years since I’ve been to Paris, and my metro skills were a little rusty. Once we figured it out (after asking for help), we all felt like pros getting around Paris. M enjoyed being our navigator and figuring out what trains we needed to be on, which platform to wait on, and how to exit to the right place. As parents, it was fun to see her take charge and figure it out on her own.
Day Three/Four
Our third full day was New Year’s Eve. We knew it would be a late night so we took it easy for most of the day. But, we did walk a lot around the city. And, we had grown proficient in navigating the Tube & bus system in London (we had to ride a double-decker!).
I wanted to go to Notting Hill, I had never been. Sadly, Julia Roberts & Hugh Grant weren’t around but it was lovely nonetheless. I found a charming cafe for brunch. Farm Girl had a wonderful selection of gluten-free options in a super cozy setting.
We walked through Portobello Rd, stopped in some shops, and took it all in. It seemed a lot of folks had the same idea, it was packed. We meandered through streets and saw private gardens in Kensington before arriving at Kensington Gardens. We walked by Royal Albert Hall and then found our way to Harrod’s.
Harrod’s a scene of decadence and wealth. Crazy expensive cards lined the street outside Harrod’s. M & I walked around while the guys admired all the cars.
Then we headed to the British Library for some quiet time, but R and I stopped at King’s Cross to take a sneaky photo of Platform 9 3/4. The line was heavily monitored and we had to be quite discreet since we didn’t want to wait in a line about 50 people deep.
We arrived at Hawksmoor for a late dinner before we went to the fireworks. This was the largest restaurant we had been in on our trip. It was a giant steakhouse, but man was it fantastic!
We had to be “inside” at the fireworks by 10:30 PM. Once we got through the gates it was incredible to walk around Westminster with no cars or busses on the streets. We found a spot and then proceeded to hang out with thousands of other people. The Great Wheel had a cool laser & light show and M sang to every, single song that the DJ played. The fireworks were pretty spectacular!
After sleeping in the next day it was time to pack and do one final swing through London. We had great weather up until this point, but we got caught in a downpour. We were completely soaked through but found refuge in a Starbucks for a bit (along with about 50 other people!).
Our last tourist attraction was the Sherlock Museum at 221B Baker Street. It was fun & kitschy but not worth what we spent. We attempted to go to the British Museum to escape the rain but no such luck.
Our final dinner on our trip was the perfect way to end an incredible couple of weeks. I found a proper English pub a ten-minute walk from our hotel. The Queen’s Arms had great beer, wonderful food, and a huge gluten-free menu with a dedicated fryer to boot!
FIVE DAYS IN Paris
What we did
This was our third stop on our trip. We had tired kids, they felt a bit museum’d out, and we had logged a lot of miles on our feet. Traveling with teenagers is so great because they last longer (as long as you feed them!) but it’s a balance of trying to get all the things in and letting some things go. In London, we let some things fall by the wayside, which is just fine. Below is our full-day itinerary, it doesn’t include our arrival day into London.
Day 1
On our first full day, we intended to get up, find breakfast, and head to the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. We all slept in later than we wanted to so we did the hotel breakfast buffet. Our hotel was filled with Americans which was such a change from our Amsterdam & Paris hotels. I was bummed, but we booked it for the proximity to the Thames NYE Eve fireworks. And, there was very little for M to eat; she had to do yogurt, hard-boiled eggs, and a bit of fruit. There was nothing wrong, it just wasn’t what we wanted.
Then we were off to see the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. We wanted to get there early as we knew it was going to be packed. By the time we made it we had 15 minutes to spare. M and I worked our way through the crowd so we were only a few rows back from the gate at the Palace. There were thousands of people there, it was wild. Then a sign was placed on the ground in front of the gate reading “there will be no changing of the guard today” so M snapped a photo of that and we got out of those crowds.
We got lost for about twenty minutes; the plan was to walk near 10 Downing Street but because I suck at Google Maps I took us in the complete opposite direction. By the time we figured it out we were too far away so we circled back to the Palace and headed over towards Trafalgar Square via the Horse Guards and St. James Palace. We had to stop for a snack along the way too and we may have listened in on a tour group or two.
We made it to Trafalgar Square but the monument & lions had fencing around them. So we couldn’t get super up close. A Christmas Market was going on so we wandered through and found an amazing German Spot to have lunch. We all had brats and they were so delicious!
After our lunch we walked a few short minutes to London’s West End. We bought tickets to Les Miserables, my favorite musical of all time. We did have a bit of extra time so the boys went to the giant Lego Store and the girls went to the TWG tea store.
We arrived at the Sondheim Theater, found our seats, and picked up the pre-ordered snacks. We got crisps (chips to us), lemonades & chocolate. The performance was incredible! The actors who played Jean Valjean and Javert were amazing and I cried the entire second act, as I always do. I think this was my 7th or 8th time seeing Les Mis and it never disappoints! I also bought the commemorative program, because when in Rome, right?
After the show, we headed to Hobson’s Fish & Chips for dinner. Hobson’s has a dedicated fryer and an extensive gluten-free menu. We had a BIG time at dinner, fish & chips, onion rings, sticky toffee pudding, and apple crumble were all gluten-free. R had a deep-fried Mars bar (not gluten-free) for dessert. They do not take online reservations so be prepared to wait. You can call for a reservation though.
Day Two
On the docket for the day was Tower Bridge & the Tower of London. Mike and I were excited about this day; almost 20 years ago we kicked off our honeymoon in London and these were two of the spots we went to. We were excited to show the kids.
M powered through on a breakfast of nuts, popcorn, and a smoothie. The rest of us had sausage or bacon sandwiches from Leon and I grabbed us fresh squeezed OJ from Sainsbury’s because we are now obsessed after Paris. The boys didn’t totally enjoy the brown sauce and R was surprised at the lack of egg on his bacon sandwich! A bacon sandwich is just that, bacon, bread, and sauce; it’s so good.
We arrived at Tower Bridge, it was so windy!! We downloaded the audio tour onto our phones in advance so we didn’t have to fight with WiFi when we arrived. We all enjoyed learning about the bridge itself and some of the history of London dating back centuries. Walking over the glass floor was a little unsettling with the Thames & cars in what seemed directly below our feet. We finished off the Tour across the tour in the pump rooms which was fascinating. The original pumps are obviously no longer in use but they are still there!
In between Tower Bridge & the Tower of London, we walked to Borough Market. This is one of those instgrammable markets you see all the time. We found delicious gluten-free pad Thai for M (I had it too). The guys had spicy Reuben’s then we got the Instagram-famous strawberries & chococolate. They were delicious but I can only imagine what they taste like with in-season strawberries. Mike got a cinnamon roll! We ate all of it in front of Bridget Jones’s door too which was so exciting for me; the kids not so much.
After we had fueled up we headed back to the other side of the Thames for the Tower of London. I could have spent an entire day there, but my daughter not so much. We also had pre-downloaded the audio tours, hours worth. We ended up being there for just under three hours. We saw the Crown Jewels, walked inside buildings almost 1,000 years old, and watched the ravens devour mice. And, we were able to see the changing of the guard outside the Crown Jewels, with far fewer people!
For dinner, we went to Indigo which is an award-winning gluten-free & dairy-free restaurant in the One Aldwych Hotel. Mike and I enjoyed the food the most, the kids really loved the mocktails. M didn’t love her entree, which is ok, it’s not always going to be a winner. We left full and happy, but I think they liked the fish & chips better from the night before.
