thibaut

Definitely. In France asking to change a menu is considered totally improper - then they'll say 'choose à la carte' since the idea of a set menu is to have done it in large(r) amounts, and changing 'à la carte' is actually considered if not rude, boring - we consider it a behavior of a not well raised child to ask for changes. So you risk finding our waiters rude...

Please also note that 'entrée' means 'starter' in France, just to avoid confusion. (Entrée is translated as 'entry' which is for us a least, the beginning). The food I found ok at Disney was at the blue lagoon and at main street (the expensive resturant) or if you want US go to planet Holywood, jsut outside the park.

persimmondeb

I actually do know people who do that, but I think it works best for a short list, particlarly if allergies are involved.

DH doesn't have any allergies, although a few of the no-gos will upset his stomach, and the list of things he DOES eat is much shorter than the list he doesn't, plus there are things he theoretically doesn't eat that he amy not notice a small amount of (like nuts in a pesto) or he's willing to pick around, (like bell pepper) so we don't use one.

For the record, DH eats chicken, turkey, beef, shrimp, bacon and ham. He does not eat any other fish or shellfish, or any other pork products. The beef must be a steak or a roast, medium to medium rare. No burgers, stews, pot roasts, casseroles, etc...He eats apples, grapes, lemons, limes, and oranges--no stone fruits, no berries, no grapefruit, although a small amount of red fruit jam is okay, such as on a cookie. He will occasionally eat peanuts, but no peanut products, and the only tree nuts he eats are pistachios and cashews. Sesame seeds are okay, and he'll sometimes tolerate poppy, but no other nuts or seeds. He'll eat some lettuces (iceberg, romaine, and butter), carrots, celery, and tomatoes. Ocasionally corn, and garlic is okay, as is a small amount of cooked onion. No other vegetables, and he only eats potatoes as french fries (which he's not supposed to be eating any more). Pasta, egg noodles in chicken soup, and white rice. White bread, rye, some plain cakes and other sweet goods, and Kellog's Corn Pops. No other cereal products. No common condiments such as mayonaisse or salad dressing, and ditto for most sauces other than tomato. He'll eat custard and occasionally meringue, but not recognizable eggs in any other form. He'll eat most common herbs, but almost no spices other than cinnamon (small amounts slip under the radar). And so on.

He does actually try to be flexible, but he will be grumpy if he's been having trouble getting fed. Sometimes self-catering works, but it can be limiting, and he actually likes eating in restaurants if the food is to his taste.

thibaut

My wife would have divorced me... you are a saint.

Cowboy1968

Okay.. coming back to your travel plans.

You want to avoid French airports and also traveling from either England/Wales or Ireland to Disneyland by plane (which is quite obvious, I guess, if you want to avoid French airports.

The direct Eurostar from London to Disneyland leaves London St Pancras at 10:14am and arrives at Disneyland at 2:03pm.
The direct train back to London leaves Disneyland at 4:55pm and arrives at London St Pancras at 6:47pm.

So you need at least one night in London on either side of that side trip to Disneyland.
You probably won't be able to catch a return flight from Disneyland via London to the US as most flights to the US should leave in the AM hours or early PM hours.
And you won't be able to drop your car "somewhere on the outskirts" of London, and still have enough time to make that 10:14am departure from St Pancras. Unless, I think, your last stop in England was some town outside of London which you want to visit anyway, and which had a drop-off location for your rental car and which was on one of the lines serving St Pancras. And which was not too far from St Pancras, so you could be there within an hour or so as you need to go through security and passport control before you can board the train.

Maybe one our British fodorites has a better idea.
But I still think that taking the Mickey Mouse bus from Disneyland to Paris CDG and departing from CDG is less stressful than going back to London.

persimmondeb

I was definitely figuring at least one night in London either side, exactly how depending on whether it was at the beginning or end of the trip. We have at least some London plans, so that should be fine.

I haven't gotten as far as sorting the particulars, but the RAF museum in Hendon is very much on DS's radar, and I thought that might work as a car drop off/spend the night location. I do not want to deal with DH driving in Central London, and while I'm sure DH would love driving a car onto the Euro Shuttle (and ditto for Ulysses) I assume British car hire companies prefer the car to stay in Britain, plus the idea of DH driving through France makes my blood run cold (and he's probably afraid of confusing French signs anyway, plus the car is for the wrong side, plus...)

persimmondeb

Trust me, I'm not a saint!

It does take some thought though.

Dukey1

Just curious: does he have any less trouble "getting fed" in the UK than in France? BTW, don't forget that the starving will eat anything. Perhaps you might want to try that and watch what happens. The results are a lot better than a divorce.

kerouac

I also think of the French expression "quand on a faim, tout est bon" -- "when you're hungry, everything is good."' I don't think that you will actually want to starve him, but if you make him wait longer than usual for meals, he might become less difficult.

janisj

His parents owe you. . . . a LOT.

Nikki

Ah, that explains your patience with the posters on Fodor’s.

suze

I think the "problem" is when someone has an irrational fear, like your husband's for going to France, the reality of the fact that everything will be OK doesn't really reassure a person. Your reassurance that not all food is weird and that enough people will speak English probably going to comfort or convince him.

persimmondeb

From our experiences in Ireland, I'd expect it to be easier. He can read the menu, so he's not just taking my word for it, and food is somewhat less likely to arrive with sauce on it (which is a thing for someone who doesn't eat most sauces and is really only familiar with Italian ones). Also while I'm not unfamiliar with French food, I'm more familiar with British, which makes it easier to navigate DH's dietary requirements.

And trust me, starving DH is not a less fussy DH, just a crankier one.

persimmondeb

Even scarier, all of his siblings are pretty much at least as fussy. He's the only one who will eat shrimp, for one thing.

persimmondeb

Thanks, although I wouldn't have said I'm THAT patient...

marvelousmouse

There’s (almost) always an English menu. Maybe not in the rural areas, but your husband will have no problems with Paris or Disney.

Personally, I found Disney a disappointment. I love Disney, and I’ve been to both American parks, Tokyo, and France. France is my least favorite. If he likes minutiae though he’ll like Eurodisney. Of course, he’ll like Paris too, and possibly quite bit more. The metro is really cool. The passages are really amazing. It’s just a fascinating city to wander around.

I can say Bonjour, and Merci, and I’m pretty sure I butcher those, even, but even Parisians are very helpful.

Food wise, you can eat at chains, if that would make him happier—vapianos was a good one stope Italian place that I think he’d really like. But in general, I found Parisian farm to table very similar to American or UK farm to table. Maybe just look at food blogs, and have him pick places where there is at least one thing on the menu he’d like. If nothing else, I assume he can survive on pastries

menachem

You can eat pizza anywhere in Paris. Really anywhere. So if that's the thing. No worries.

bilboburgler

No offence taken, until you've had to travel with "people like this" (no offence to the OP) you have not experienced the mind-numbing approach. I once had to walk around Central York for 1 1/2 hours looking for a meal at lunch time. If the restaurant was wrong it was wrong........

Certainly changing a "Menu" would not work in France, I was assuming a "Carte" choice. To the OP, French menus come in two forms, a restricted two or three course meal aimed to give the best of the kitchen and to the best of your wallet. Knowing my friend I assumed you would not be eat the Menu. Carte on the other hand offers you a larger range at higher prices.

Driving in Central London, no way. But I also would not drive.
https://www.traveline.info/ allows you to plan all (all) public transport across the country.

persimmondeb

DH is actually not THAT bad, since the kinds of restaurants he will eat in tend to be more plentiful than the ones he won't, and he'll usually try to be flexible (and he's more so if you DON"T wait until he's ravenous). I have a relative who's fussy, a vegetarian, and has some serious dietary restrictions who can be a nightmare to find a restaurant with. Also if a restaurant will feed DH she probably won't eat in it, and vice versa, making it all way more fun.

We'd briefly considered public transport, but given the nature of our itinerary, I think a car makes more sense. We have a lot of smaller destinations between Holyhead and London, some of them weird, besides we may or may not have to take a detour to Birmingham. If it was just straight through Holyhead to London I might feel a bit differently.

DH feels he can drive on the other side, and he's familiar with manual transmissions. He also likes driving. It is our intention not to get directly off a plane and get into a car, but to give him a day or so to acclimate, and have him pick up the car by himself so he can get used to it for an hour or so without anyone in the car. I've heard scary stories about people accidentally turning the wrong way, and was in a car with another American who turned the wrong way onto O'Connell street in Dublin early one morning (fortunately without incident) but I think with a little caution it should be fine.

thibaut

'DH feels he can drive on the other side.'

Please don't say 'other' say 'wrong' side...
I put stickers on the wheel - for me the most difficult moments are :
- after a pause (especially a small one) then I want to resume driving 'as at home'
- in roundabouts.

The rest I get used to it, but I put a lot my wipers into motion, thinking, I use pinkers.

nanabee

If you go to France can you forgo restaurants and stay in a place with a kitchenette? That way you and he can control what you buy for food.

My parents did that every summer (for three months) traveling by bicycle with three children for many years. With 5 people on a teacher's salary it was easier and cheaper to avoid restaurants and everyone got to chose what they wanted to eat.