First of all I want to thank all the Fodors folks who gave me some great advice before our trip!!This was my husband's an my 4th trip to Paris and 3rd trip to London but the first time we have taken our young adult daughters and son-in-law. Yes the trip was short (2 days in Paris and 2 days in London) but well worth the travel just for the "kids" to get a taste of "seeing the world". It was wonderful to see their excitement! My pregnant daughter did good. She had no problems and we did stay away from cheese and milk products in Paris (good Fodors advice). My daughter with severe peanut/nut allergies did great! Thank you to Fodors (Hannah) and others who translated medical information to give to the Bistro folks. In fact the waiter who read the information laughed and asked who translated the information. I thought that something was wrong with it but he said it was so good that he knew I did not do it! They were very careful to make sure that she did not get any nuts!!!We ate at Auberge de Jarente. Even the Pataseries were helpful with her selections. We stayed at Grand Hotel Jeanne d'Arc (third stay there) in the Marais. This is a great neighborhood. The days were short but we did Musee Dorsay at night and of course the Eiffel Tower is beautiful at night. The weather was very cold 19 to 28 degrees. There was some snow and ice on the ground. We wore layers and yes I did bring silk thermal underwear (thanks Fodors folks). They were non bulky and very soft and warm. Scarfs and hats were mandatory! It was great to see the Eiffel Tower with some snow sifting down (part of the group went to the top). We took Buzz air from Paris to London and I would like to say they were great! London was cold in the high 20's to low 30's most of the time. There was a little snow here and there left over from the past weekend. We stayed at the Fielding Hotel in the Covent Garden area (2nd time)We like this area. There is always a lot of activity going on and It is close to the theater. Our "kids" loved the area. Street music and dancing in the street at night.The Cornish Pies were great. The main event of this trip was "My Fair Lady". My husband and I had seen the play last May and wanted to take the "kids". They loved the play and said it was the best part of the trip. We had coffee in the Covent Garden before the play and my husband bought all us girls roses in honor of "Liza" selling flowers in the Covent Garden. We went to Harrods and the Tower of London our last day. The group loved the Tower of London tour. I feel it is a great choice if your time is limited to see and hear some London history. This was our first time to travel as a group of 5. There were a few "fussy" moments but not many. We had separate rooms for all which was a good idea. All in all my husband and I think we "older" folks know how to have more fun than the "kids". It was a great experience to see Paris and London in the winter. I hope that I got some good black and white photos. Thank you again to Fodors Folks who have helped me for the past 4 years with my travel questions. Oh yes, my son-in-law wanted to know what that "good fragrance was in the Tube". I said there had been Fodors thread on that and I would print it up for him. I think they were all sick and tired of my talking Fodors all the time! I will try to answer any questions if there are any.

I liked your report, AJ. I would love to visit Paris in wintertime someday. I think it's great you were able to see it snow over there.

I'm glad to hear your trip went well and you had no problems finding nut-free food in France.

I was in Paris two weekends ago when it snowed. It was absolutely beautiful. Just as Paris is meant to be - tree covered avenues, lights on the trees on the Avenue Montaigne, etc. <BR><BR>However, sadly, this is the first time in three years it has snowed in Paris. It seems to be a fairly rare event these days.

OK, I missed that thread, can you tell me about the &quot;good fragrance in the Tube&quot;? <BR>Glad you enjoyed yourselves and the trip was a success. It can be a burden to travel with others, always worried that they are having fun.<BR>Kate

Kate,<BR><BR>I have been trying to locate the thread on the &quot;good smell&quot; on the tube/metro but can't locate it. Maybe another Fodors reader can pull it to the top!

Aj, your interesting report evoked lots of feelings in me; I, too, enjoy watching my adult children find joy in places I love, such as France. My son's first trip to Europe was a family ski trip to Haute Alpes area in 2000, and even though he was 27, I had such fun watching him experience the delight of European travel. He returned the next year with friends his own age!<BR><BR>My daughter has traveled extensively and lived in France for 2 years, and last May she, her husband, and I &quot;did Paris&quot; for a few days for the last time &quot;sans enfant&quot;, since she was 3+ mos. pregnant at the time. It was a very special trip for all of us. Now they have a wonderful 8 wk. old daughter, and I'm already daydreaming about her first trip to Paris, with me, I hope!<BR><BR>Vive les voyages!<BR><BR>

GREAT report aj. Glad everything worked out so well. I missed the snow in London in Dec but did get the cold. I love both Paris and especially London in the winter.<BR><BR>That was great about the nut allergy translation. Shows how helpful fodorites can be.<BR><BR>(One TEENSY suggestion - when you post a longish report like this one, if you put a couple of returns and break it into paragraphs, it will be easier to read. This isn't a criticism - the report is wonderful - just a hint for future reference.)

What's the deal with avoiding cheese and milk products in Paris?<BR>Something we all should know?

Pregnant women are advised to avoid unpasteurized dairy products because of the serious danger to their babies from listeria.

Hi aj<BR> Thanks for your report. Glad you had a great trip.

If the report on dairy products/listeria are correct, I guess that the infant mortality rate in Paris must be incredibly high.<BR><BR>It sounds like hysterical PETA propaganda to me. Sorry that your pregant daughter unnecessarily missed some great food in Paris.<BR><BR>Thanks for your report otherwise, but it just goes to show you that not all of the advice you get here is good.

Unpasturized dairy products are not usually for sale in shops in the US so a US citizen may not have built up a resistance to the bacteria that causes listeria.

There was a long thread about unpasteurized cheese on here several months ago prompted by a pregnant woman inquiring about which cheeses are pasteurized, unpasteurized, etc. The bottom line is that French women are warned not to eat unpasteurized cheese during pregnancy either. The threat of listeria, while not necesssarily harmful to the mother, is very real for the fetus. This is not just some hysterically/politically driven information.<BR><BR>There were some skeptics, Skeptic, in the original post about unpasteurized cheese, also.<BR><BR>When we asked, we were told promptly in a 3 Mich. starred restaurant where we had lunch that all their cheeses are unpasteurized (as are most French cheeses).

Thank you for your thoughtful replies--<BR><BR>I am still skeptical but your responses seem reasonable (some arguments more persuasive than others). No need to belabor the point if there was another long thread on the subject recently, but I'll look into it further.<BR><BR>At least there seem to be real issues here and not just some raw political agenda at work. While I don't think I would go along with it, maybe the advice wasn't so bad for a *worried* mom after all.