As for UHT milk, it just takes getting used to. When one first switches from whole milk to skim milk it tastes awful and wrong, but after one month if you taste whole milk again, it seems much too thick and overloaded. UHT milk obviously tastes wrong at first but once you're used to it, it is the fresh milk that tastes weird.

Restaurants in Paris post their menu outside the restaurant so that you can see what is on offer before going inside. That should simplify things for you.

msj8028, I'm in agreement with you re the coffee. We had mixed experiences a couple of weeks ago in Paris but I encountered this in all five countries I was in, some places do excellent coffee, others really bad. The bottom line is my friend is that it is Australia and New Zealand who now do the best coffee anywhere. A friend from Holland was visiting recently and she said she had never come across any coffee in Europe that was as good as she got in New Zealand. All those who have not experienced this for themselves, pease come done and visit us. This is not to say that we do not love Europe, we do, but in the end I did not bother too much with coffee, anyway the wine is great so it makes up for it and for breakfast I cannot start the day without a cuppa, tea that is.

Well I am Australian, and while I think our coffee is great and that French coffee is not so good, I don't think anything goes past Italian coffee.

Australian coffee is great, but 2 coffees and two pastries would cost in the vicinity of $AUD10 whereas two Italian coffee and 2 pastries is approx 1/2 the cost.

Agreed - I love Europe and hope to return every year....its just that first coffee that starts my day that makes me miss Australia

Enlighten me, somebody: what the heck is UHT? And I'm with CaliNurse on the pain au raisin!

I believe that UHT is a pasteurization process that allows the milk to be kept at room temperature as long as the container has its original seal.

UHT is long life milk....its the stuff they serve you on the plane...it has a distinct, what I would call "chemical" taste to it. If you drink a coffee that is milk based and its made from this stuff, you can tell a mile away that is not made from 'real' milk.

UHT is awful. Whenever we stay in hotel rooms that stock it, I always call room service and ask for a jug of low fat 'normal' milk straight away. They never seem to mind and never charge us for it.

Have to disagree on the pain au raisin, my addiction is pain au chocolat.

Thanks for all the replies. We had a great trip. Our favorite meal of all was Thanksgiving dinner at Robert et Louise. No turkey--thank goodness--but amazing steak and lamb chops cooked over an open fire. Best of all: both kids and adults were very very happy.

Thanks so much for your reporting. We will be in Marais in 3 weeks and I have read about Robert et Louise. Did you find good cafes for the kids?

Lucky you! We did love the Marais. Truth be told, we ended up dining out very little with the kids in the end. The way our day worked we would grab breakfast from one of two amazing boulangeries around the corner from our apartment. Most days we would then do some exploring and come back to the apartment for a late lunch of cheese and bread and wine (well, not the kids on that last bit). One day we ate falafels in the Marais, a must do while you are in the neighborhood; L'As du Fallafel is a good bet.

We ate a good but not memorable bistro one day not too far from the Eiffel tower; good price, though, and the kids loved their meals. But that was only after we passed Café Constant(139, Rue St Dominique), which looked (and smelled) amazing, but was too crowded to wait with kids.

And one night, the kids ate at (gasp) McDonald's, but the view out the second story window was onto Le Champs de Elysees lit up for Christmas, so all in all not too bad a spot to hang out for a bit, and they were happy, especially my nine-year-old daughter. Later that night my husband and I left them at the apartment (our son is 14) and went to a place nearby out apartment for a late bite: Les Philosphes (28 Rue Vielle du Temple). Food was good if not brilliant (though foie gras always is in my opinion). Best part was eating outside in late November, cozy as can be under a heater and talking with some locals seated nearby. Loved watching the crowds out and about at 11:00 pm on a Tuesday as if it were 8:00 on a Saturday, too.

But Robert et Louise will always be a special memory for us as the best Thanksgiving dinner ever.