Here's a report on my family's trip to London and Paris over spring break. We had my mom and dad, my brother and sister-in-law, my husband and myself, and our 3 kids along.

Friday, March 3rd–Saturday, March 4th

We arose excited and nervous for our flight to Europe. The situation between the pilots and Northwest had not yet been settled so I still harbored a nagging worry that we wouldn’t be able to fly to our much anticipated vacation. Luckily, all went well and we flew into Detroit, had an uneventful but long 4 hour layover, and flew into London. We tried to sleep on the plane to try not to be too tired on our first day in London, but without much luck. We flew into Gatwick and then took the Gatwick Express to Victoria Station. We then got into two cabs (they are big enough for one to hold 5 of us with our carry-ons–but a tight fit!) and drove to the Premier Travel Inn County Hall. Our rooms were ready so we were able to check in and drop off our stuff. The rooms were really basic, but absolutely fine for what we needed. We loved the location right next to the London Eye and across the river from Parliament and Big Ben. There is a restaurant and bar right in the hotel, and tons more all around it. It was close to both the Westminster and the Waterloo Underground stations. All around a great bargain for the room and location.

After dropping off our luggage we went for a walk in search of lunch. We walked the pathway from the London Eye to the Hungerford Bridge across the Thames. There were several “living statues” along the way that the kids really enjoyed watching, all different from one another. We went up past the old location of Scotland Yard on our way to the Sherlock Holmes Pub, which I thought the kids would enjoy. I heard kids were allowed to eat in the upstairs area for lunch. After getting turned around a little we found it and went up, to a VERY quiet restaurant. It seemed no one was talking, except the waiters who were loudly complaining to each other about a third employee. Perhaps everyone in the restaurant was being quiet so they could listen to the fuss, but I don’t think so. If their wait staff hadn’t been so loud I would have felt extremely uncomfortable in such a quiet setting with anyone in my family, not just my children! The food was good, we enjoyed bangers and mash, shepard’s pie, toad in the hole, and steak and mushroom pie. I wouldn’t recommend this place as a place for families because of the quiet atmosphere in the upstairs restaurant.

We then walked up to Trafalgar Square where the kids enjoyed climbing on the lions. We headed up through St James’s Park to Buckingham Palace. It was sprinkling on occasion, and quite cold. We caught the Big Bus Company’s hop-on/hop-off bus to tour around while resting our feet. Sadly, the kids wanted to ride on top so I wasn’t able to warm up on the ride! We did get to see a lot of fun sights like Hyde Park, Belgravia, Piccadilly circus, #10 Downing St, Whitehall and the Banqueting House. We then returned to our hotel and relaxed and napped for a few hours.

In the evening, Grandpa and Grandma took the kids to eat and babysat while the rest of us went to Ronnie Scott’s, the foremost anticipated place for my brother. We at first had been told that they would be closed during our trip for refurbishment, but then it was delayed long enough for us to make reservations and we were so happy! I was worried at first that I would be too tired to enjoy it, but I was so excited to be there and we had such a great time it really wasn’t a problem. The Kenny Barron Trio was headlining, and they were really great. We asked them to autograph our flyer, and they said they had played at the Dakota in St Paul (its now in Mpls). They were very gracious and we loved the memento, especially since they had completely sold out of Ronnie Scott t-shirts, which we had been on a quest for! Finally a cab back to the hotel and to bed!

Sunday, March 5th

We slept in a little today before meeting up for breakfast in the hotel. I know the English are famous for big breakfasts, but I couldn’t get over how everybody served baked beans with their full breakfasts! We then headed out for a walking tour of the City of London with the Original Walking Tours company. It was okay, but a little to heavy on the Guilds to hold the kids’ interest. I did really enjoy a little garden outside a church, and it was fun to walk through the little shopping area that had been used to film Harry Potter.

We ate lunch at Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, which I thought was fun, especially as my daughter got to sit in Samuel Johnson’s seat and my husband got to sit in Charles Dickens’s place. Plus there was a fireplace which we really appreciated–it was another cold day! We had a very nice waitress who made us feel welcome. The bathrooms were down a very low-ceilinged stairway, an adventure in itself!

We then went to the Tower of London, just in time to catch the last Yeoman Warden’s tour. He was great! It was fun to see where Newton lived when he worked for the mint. The guide was very theatrical and made the history fun for all of us. We then went to see the Crown Jewels, there was no line so we went twice! Then my youngest daughter, A, asked the guard where to find the lizard our guide had told us to look out for and he helped her find it, then “crowned” her with the reflection of the Crown of India, a lot of fun! She turned out to be a great help to us, always front in line to hear the guides on tours and always willing to ask questions while the rest of us bumbled about! This was the case as we searched for the entry to the bloody tower, she approached a beefeater and got us on the right path. We also loved touring the White tower with its armor displays.

We caught a boat ride back to Westminster and our hotel, happy to enjoy a seat and a hot chocolate break after a busy day! The timing was fun too as it was just dusk.

We then dropped off those too tired or not old enough to go on the Jack the Ripper walking tour at the hotel while the rest of us went back to the Tower. There were over 100 people waiting to tour, they broke us into two groups. We didn’t go with the more famous guide since his group was much more sizable, our guide (I think her name was Julie) was great, she is a professional actress and a wonderful story teller, she really held our attention! By the end we were ready to head back to the hotel, where we had a light dinner before going to bed.

Monday, March 6th

This morning we had scheduled a private access tour to Stonehenge and Salisbury through Astral Tours. Our guide met us at about 4:50am at our hotel. I thought we’d sleep on the way there, but he gave us a little commentary tour of the dimly lit journey. We arrived before sunrise and I was glad we had a perfectly clear day, although again it was very cold. It was amazing to be the only ones there besides our guide and a security guard, and to be able to go in among the stones. Our guide gave us lots of interesting information about Stonehenge and the prehistoric people who populated the area whose burial mounds were still in evidence. He also gave us photography tips. He was very nice, but not at all happy when we suggested going back to the van a bit early because of the cold. I think he really loves Stonehenge! We ate breakfast at an old pub on the way to Salisbury, plenty of beans and tomatoes, not nearly enough coffee! We got to Salisbury Cathedral so early it was just us and the people who worked there. I loved being there, perhaps because it was just us. It was beautiful. I liked seeing the oldest working clock, and the old and new stained glass. It was interesting to be able to see an original copy of the Magna Carta, too, especially as we were unable to fit the British Library into our schedule this trip. Then we enjoyed a break at the café and wrote postcards. The close surrounding the cathedral is lovely. The guard pointed out a school along the grounds where Sting briefly taught. We then settled in for the ride home, trying to nap along the way. It was interesting to be able to see some of the countryside outside of London, and it made England seem so small to see how far across it we could travel on a day trip.

We rested up a bit at the hotel before heading out the few feet to the London Eye for a bird’s eye view. It was fun, and even though it was sprinkling a bit we could see quite a far way. The pods are very stable so I didn’t feel as uneasy as I feared I might. We ate dinner at the Giraffe restaurant in Royal Festival Hall near our hotel. The service was spotty, but the food was good.

Grandma and Grandpa headed back to the hotel with the kids while the rest of us headed out to go on a pub walk. I messed up the time, thinking it started at 7:30 when it started at 7. We tried to catch up to it before just settling into a nice pub on the Thames with great views of St Paul’s Cathedral. There the pub walk caught up to us, but by then we were staying where we were! This is where I finally got to say “and one for yourself?” to the barmaid, bringing me unreasonable joy. We had a fun night after the first ½ hour of running about!

Tuesday, March 7th

We began the day with a quick tour through Westminster Abbey, seeing where kings and queens were crowned and buried and writers honored. It was a cold and rainy day so I was glad we had all indoor plans! We then went up to the British Museum, where we ate lunch before exploring. We loved the reading room, mummies (especially the cats!), the Elgin Marbles, the Rosetta Stone, The Sutton Hoo Treasures, the Lewis Chessmen, and the old clocks. We also had fun in the museum shops, where I found a fun series of books for children called the “Horrible Histories”. We bought the “Horrible History of London” and the “Horrible History of Vikings”, which we all enjoyed. I plan on getting more! The stories can be gross, but the history is fun.

We ate dinner at Porters Restaurant before going to see “The Lion King” at the Lyceum Theatre. Here my husband surprised everyone with front row seats–a real treat! When the giraffes bowed down it seemed they would knock us in the heads! The show was great, the performers and costumes outstanding. I was particularly impressed with the woman playing Rafiki and the little boy playing the cub Simba. It was a terrific show.

Wednesday, March 8th

Today we packed up and walked over to Waterloo station, just two blocks away, to catch the Eurostar train over to Paris. We got first class seats which included breakfast and comfortable seats, which was a nice touch of comfort in the middle of the trip! Again I enjoyed seeing some countryside outside the big cities. The ride was very smooth. The trip under the channel was quick. I was surprised not to see any evidence of the sea on either side of the tunnel, not even a seagull. On the French side the train picks up speed, probably the fastest I’ll ever travel on land.

When we got to Gare Nord we took the metro to our hotel. Unfortunately I surfaced at a stop a bit away from my hotel, got turned around (starting to sound like a trend?) and made everyone march around Paris a little with their luggage before finding the hotel. Yes, yes, the first glass of wine will be on me.

We stayed at the Hotel Britanique in the first, which I chose for its location, the fact that the front desk staff spoke English, and because the rooms looked lovely in the pictures on its website. It was a great choice. The staff was very friendly and helpful, the location was great, and the rooms were really lovely, with big french windows which opened to the street. We breakfasted at the hotel each day so that we could dine as we liked instead of trying to coordinate as a group. The breakfasts were great, eggs both scrambled and boiled, sausages, croissants, breads, cheeses, fruit, coffee, juices, cereals and really yummy yogurt.

Back to Wednesday afternoon: 3 of our rooms were ready so we dropped off our stuff and went to find that wine I now owed. We walked across the Isle de la Cite to a café on the left bank, where we had a light lunch. I was happy to be in Paris! I loved hearing my kids order in French, and I think they did a good job. They got the food they expected! I had a good goat cheese on toast.


We went back to our hotel where our fourth room was now available so we unpacked. We then walked down past flower and bird sellers, then down the rue de rivoli past the Louvre to the Place des Pyramides to the Cityrama office to join a tour that included dinner at the Altitude 95 restaurant on the Eiffel Tower and a river cruise. I had originally planned to do these on our own; however, I was unable to secure reservations for our group for the early dinner seating and I thought the late would be too late for us. By reserving through the tour group we were able to get the early seating and then just relax on the cruise afterward. We got on a tour bus at Cityrama for the ride to the Eiffel Tower. We waited in line to go up to the first level, and we were near the back of the tour group and were told we had to wait for the next elevator. When we finally caught it (a ride that allows NO personal space!) and exited on our level, our guide greeted us with a “Hurry, they won’t seat us until we are all here so we’ve been waiting for you” like we hadn’t taken the first elevator on purpose! Odd. But we had a table all together and there were kirs awaiting us. The kids were given cokes. The tour doesn’t give you a choice on your menu, but the food was good. We started with a salad that had delicious green beans on it and bread, followed by a chicken in white sauce, and finished with a chocolate cake and coffee. It also included the kir and red wine, I thought it was a fair deal. Cityrama gave us our tickets for the river cruise and told us when to meet the boat. There really isn’t a lot of time to walk around the tower after dinner before meeting the boat. The cruise was fun, I liked seeing the sites lit up at night. After the ride we had a choice of riding the bus back to the Cityrama office or finding our own way back. We chose to take the RER train back, it was a more direct route. Having difficulty getting our passes to work I had a chance to practice my French with the man working in the booth, who was helpful and complimented my attempts. The wine must really help!

Lynny, I am really enjoying your report. If the beginning is any indication, I believe you are going to make the most of each day. No lolling around! That's quite an accomplishment with such a diverse group and it sounds as if everyone had fun. Don't you love it when a plan comes together?

Thursday, March 9th

Today after breakfast we met with Michael Osman, who we hired to guide us for two days. He met us in our lobby and took us through the courtyard of the Palais Royal and then to the Louvre. He was really nice and informative. He gave us a good overview of the museum, from the old remains of the original fort to the famous highlights such as Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, Winged Victory, etc. We finished with a visit to Napoleon’s rooms. We went to Café Nemours for lunch, which was great because with their heaters we could enjoy an outdoor café meal.

We had originally planned on walking around the Montmartre neighborhood that afternoon, but mom wasn’t feeling too well and needed a rest and I really wanted her to see it so we dropped her and dad off at the hotel for a nap while we went to the Pere La Chaise cemetery to wander around. We took the 69 bus so we were able to see some of the Marais and the Bastille area on the way there. The cemetery is quite atmospheric, especially on an overcast afternoon. The kids enjoyed taking pictures and finding interesting tombs. It rained for awhile, making sure we were all mired in mud. We headed back to the hotel to pick up the grandparents and went out for some great pastries and coffee around the corner.

We said goodbye to Michael until tomorrow, and went back to the hotel for some downtime. Mom stayed in bed, sleeping with the help of Drill, a medicine given to her by the pharmacist we visited earlier in the day. The pharmacist was great, very helpful and kind. Dad stayed with her while we went to dinner, having had picked up a sandwich when we were out for pastries.

We ate at a restaurant near the hotel. The waiter was very nice, even though we kept dropping forks. Adrienne fell asleep near the end of the meal, but Cal stayed up through dessert–his favorite part of vacation! Then it was bedtime for all of us.

Friday, March 10th

Mom felt better this morning, so we headed up to Montmartre with Michael. We started at the Moulin Rouge and headed up the narrow streets, seeing the places where artists worked and lived and played, where windmills remain, and where the film Amelie took place. We stopped for coffees and hot chocolates at the Place de Tertre to wait out a small rain, and then went back out to check out the artists and their painting. My sister in law found a couple she really liked and bargained down the price so she had a great souvenir. We then went up to Sacre Coeur, stopping for an entertaining living statue on the way, touring the church and enjoying the view. We went out to catch a bus when the wind really kicked up, it was cold! The bus was late, and then it began to hail. Perhaps the nadir of the trip! The bus finally did arrive and we took it for a scenic, winding ride down the hill. Michael brought us to Chartier for lunch. I loved this place, it easily made up for the hail! The room is great, it has an impressive history, and the food was good and reasonably priced.

After lunch we walked through the passageways to see some fancy stores, then headed over to the left bank and checked out the unique taxidermist store, Deyrolle. I really liked this place, too bad they didn’t let us take pictures in it.

We went back to the hotel for a break, thanking Michael for a fun two days. He really is a great guy and a great guide, he made sure the kids enjoyed themselves and gave them a wonderful introduction to the art they saw, we all were happy to have him with us for part of our vacation.

We dined at a nearby café for a light dinner before dropping the kids off at the hotel with grandma for the night while the rest of us went to the Champs Elysees to see the Lido show. This was not on the top of my list of things to do, but it turned out to be quite a good show with fun costumes, music, skating, acrobats, special effects! We had a fun night.

Thanks, hikerboy! I thought I cut our plans to the barebones, and they ended up getting cut more, but everyone had such a good attitude that it really was fun.


Saturday, March 11th

The girls really wanted to visit Versailles so we went first thing via the RER, except mom who wanted to rest, still not feeling 100%. It was once again a cold and rainy day, so the short walk seemed long. We went on the self-guided tour included with our museum passes, using Rick Steve’s guide as read by my oldest to help explain what we were looking at. It really is a center of opulence. There were a few large tour groups which occasionally made me feel a bit claustrophobic. It was fun to hear my youngest's excitement when she saw the hall of mirrors and knew it immediately as the place from the picture in her American Girls’ book Cecile. My son was quite upset that they charged him to use the bathroom! We got a couple of looks at the gardens through the windows inside the palace, and we walked briefly by the edge of them, but it was so cold we didn’t tour them. We headed back to the train station and to Paris.

I went to the hotel to get mom while the others stopped at the Musee d’Orsay. Mom still wasn’t up to touring, so I went back to meet up with the rest. Oddly, we all arrived at the same time at the café, where we were going to meet up. I must’ve timed the lines right. However, the crowds were huge. We couldn’t sit down at lunch, we had to stand at a table, so we were tired before we even started to tour. Still, I love this museum and the kids enjoyed seeing works they knew and works they didn’t but enjoyed as well. My daughter had read Linnea in Monet's garden so she was very excited to see the water lilies and the Japanese Bridge paintings. My kids liked to pose like the people/animals in the paintings and sculptures. We went back to the hotel, where my husband and dad stayed to rest while the rest of us went to the St Germain neighborhoods. I wanted to take everyone to one of the famous cafes, but both le Flore and les deux Magots were full so we went to the Café Bonaparte. The kids enjoyed pastries while we had a glass of wine.

Later that night we all went to the Isle St Louis to Nos Ancestres Les Gaulois for dinner and fun. The kids liked the huge veggie basket and large bottles of soda. The waiter was pretty hard on a table near us for not speaking French so we tried our best! The food was really basic, but we had fun in the relaxed setting, and enjoyed the singing and my sister-in-law even got the singer to sing a Johnny Cash tune!

We dropped off sleepy kids and parents and then went to the Brasserie Zimmer so my brother could enjoy his Cuban cigar and we had a last evening in Paris.

Sunday, March 12th

Today we just packed up and prepared to leave. I arranged to have a shuttle service bring us to the airport through the hotel, and that worked out slick. It took forever to get through security, and then our flight was delayed 2 hours. When I was there 4 years ago there was a whole mall of stores to shop, where I planned to pick up some souvenirs. This time there were only a perfume shop, a liquor store, and a small relay store with a few knickknacks and books. I was disappointed. I don’t know if this is because they are doing construction or if I was just in a different area of the airport. The delay stretched a bit longer, and when we finally got to Detroit we missed our connecting flight to Mpls. They rescheduled us on two different flights, which I didn’t even notice as they thrust the new boarding passes at us after customs and hurried us along so fast they barely gave me a chance to see if I had everyone’s passes, much less check the times on all 9 of them. Luckily we were all able to get on the later flight and make it back to Minneapolis. There we had a big snowstorm overnight so if any of us had to stay in Detroit we might not have made it back the next morning either! The good news was the kids got a snow day so they got an extra vacation day to get used to our time zone and catch up on sleep.

We had a really fun vacation. I was really proud of my kids, they were great travelers, never complaining and keeping a better attitude than I did at times. It was fun to see their different approaches to their experiences: My eldest daughter researched everything and took great notes on all of her observations; my son loved the food and just soaked in all the info thrown at him; and my youngest daughter was eager to be up front, asking questions, and observant of customs and tried to follow suit. They all did a good job trying out their French. I was so happy to have my parents and brother and sister-in-law with us, it really made it a once in a lifetime trip!

Beautiful family trip report lynny, I have really enjoyed reading it. And congratulations regarding all of your family travelling together so well, inspite of all the age differences. Sounds like you have a special family.

Especially smiled about your little daughter always marching up and getting the information your family needed. Our daughter was that way..don't children really add so much pleasure and joy to trips.

And all of you obviously have so much energy and really make the most of your travels. Wonderful! Thank you for taking the time to share your trip..I enjoyed a glass of wine and travelled along with you.

And also wanted to say, being a NW FF flyer I can only imagine how nervous you were the day of your flight what with all the labor problems.

Your family trip to London and Paris is something I am sure your children will remember forever.

I was exhausted just reading your report Seriously, you managed to pack alot into the vacation - have you considered trying out for Amazing Race? I think you have the stamina

I am so glad you had fun, saw so much and really had a great family trip.

Great report lynny - fun to read and informative. It sounds like you had a wonderful time and that it was a great family trip. I hope your mother is feeling better.

Great trip report, Lynny. We were in London at the same time as your family! We arrived on Sunday March 5 and flew home 6 days later. It stayed rainy in London, especially on Wednesday.

I'm impressed with the variety of your activities, and also fitting in Paris. But the most impressive thing is that you have posted your trip report already! I'm still working on ours.

lynny, your lovely trip report certainly took me down memory lane!
County Hall Travel Inn is a great location isn't it?!
Sorry about your mom feeling poorly at times but the exact same thing happened with my mom ( then 79). The constant walking just finished off her knees. Don't be surprised if your mom takes at least 2 months to recover.
I bet the kids would like to go again in a few years time!

Thanks for sharing my memories with me, it was fun going over our trip, and I needed to do it right away before all the details got mixed up in my mind! I still have to sort my photos, though. It doesn't seem like it was too busy to me, just a couple of things a day, but maybe my excess of words made it seem busier! My mom is doing better, thanks. She and my dad had just returned from a trip to the Honduras last month and are going on a cruise through the Panama Canal next month so I hope she doesn't take 2 months to recover! We're the travelling newbies in comparison! But it was alot of walking. I did love the County Hall location, and if we are lucky enough to go back I would definately stay there again! Noe, I look forward to reading your report and seeing how you spent your vacation! I hope you had a great, if rainy, time as well!

Thank you for the wonderful report.

It is a testament to you and your family that things went so smoothly (believe me, it usually doesn't for a large, mixed group like yours).

A result, I'm sure, of thoughtful preperation (including your kids learning some French!). You should be proud of pulling this trip off with such aplomb.

BTW, which city was everyones favorite?

We did have a wonderful time and all loved London. I expected 6 days of rain, so the 1.5 sunny days were a bonus!

We had different favorites, my son loved Paris best for the food, I love Paris best too; my dad liked London for the history in the British Museum and the Tower of London; my brother liked London for the pubs and the Jazz club; but we had favorite experiences in both cities. I'm glad you enjoyed your trip, Noe!

hi lynny, great report and thought you might know the answer to this to help me. i'll be in london for only 2 nites and want to see the major sites (Buckingham P/Westminster etc.) i'm flying into Heathrow and out of Gatwick, would that hotel you stayed in be convenient to stay in for sightseeing and then trains to the airport at 5:00 a.m.? thank you!!

Corgis,
I flew into Gatwick and took the Gatwick express into town (Victoria Station). From there we cabbed to our hotel, which was easy, but you may want to take the tube from Westminster to Victoria if you are packing light. I don't know about Heathrow. Also, you might need to check the hours of the trains. But I think that for the sights you want to see you will find the County Hall Premier Travel Inn to be perfect, and reasonably priced. Have a fun vacation!

lynny-
Great report! Love all the things you did, but I seriously think if I tried to cram that much in a day, you'd be flying me home on a stretcher! I will be in Paris for my first time this summer with my kids and my mom--and we will be spreading out all our sightseeing over a few more days (and not be doing any nighttime activities)!

I am interested in your tour guide, Michael Osman. Does he have a website? Also, did you book your Cityrama tour before you left?