socaltraveler

Your GD was so blessed with this gift of a wonderful trip abroad. And I enjoyed reading about it. Thank you for your honesty about meals and lodging, and the whys of taking a tour. It made a lot of sense to me, and you managed to have a lot of non-tour time as well. It sounds like it was a really good trip.

bilboburgler

Look on not eating hamburgers as a good thing

denisea

Thanks for the report--definitely some ups and downs (sorry that your last dinner was forgettable).

Sounds like your GD enjoyed it---I would have killed to take a trip like that at her age. I didn't leave the country until I was 30!

Paqngo

What a great thing to see London and Paris through your Granddaughter's eyes. Great report and great pictures.

Weekender

What a great trip and thanks for posting. London still remains my favorite place to go.

I am a fan of Marco Polo as well.

MarthaT

In 2010 I stayed at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge and loved it. I spent a week there. So handy to the tube.

europeannovice

Great trip report. Sounds like you had a lot of fun with your GD.

We had spent 10 days in London and 4 in Paris and we also thought we barely scratched the surface. There is so much to do in each place. Reasons to return!

TPAYT

With lots of at home time on my hands I’ve been reading through my old trip reports. This was 6 yrs. ago but it seems like yesterday. We have been back to Paris many times and still quote to each other some of the things our GD said to us on this trip.

On a sad note our daughter’s family had a house fire a year after this trip. Our GD lost everything except the clothes on her back. I mention this because in sifting through the rubble and ashes a little box was found. In it was a pair of Eiffel Tower earrings bought in one of the “junk stores” mentioned above. How that survived and didn’t burn up was unbelievable. Many tears were cried when that was found.

On a brighter note, we did take her younger sister on a similar trip when she was 13 yrs. old in 2018.
Again it was a joy to see our favorite places through the eyes of a teen.

The world of travel has changed dramatically with Covid. We felt very fortunate to be able to have these wonderful experiences with our girls and hope traveling will someday soon be available for all to enjoy.

jewela

Trayt,
My sister and I took our nieces to London a few years ago. They were aged 11-15 at that time. We booked afternoon tea on Brigit’s Bakery Afternoon Tea Bus. It was wonderful. Tea is served on a lovely bus that drives you around London for about 2 hours. The girls loved it and the staff could not have made it more fun for everyone. Something to consider the next time you are in London with teens and tweens.

jewela

TPAYT, I loved your report of London and Paris. I made a list of some of the restaurants you mentioned. We have our favorites, but several of yours sound too good to pass up. We will be trying a few of them when we visit both cities in the spring. It’s always fun to hear about other people’s trips. I’m sure your GD will remember this trip forever and I hope she will return to both cities..... many times!