Excitement was running high when we arrived in France. We were meeting our fabulous friends the Rauchs in Paris for five days of Parisian fun and the kids were so excited to have some friend time.

When we heard the Rauchs were landing in Paris as part of their European holiday, we all knew we had to find a way to make our plans collide. Pearl and Bella had been desperate to go to the Eiffel tower all their life (all 10yrs of it) and the thought that they could do it together was the stuff dreams are made of.

The reunion alone made it worthwhile. There were tears, screams of joy and cuddles and that was just from the dads. We rented a fabulous big house on the outskirts of town in Montreuil. This provided a great base and with a cute little yard, the perfect place for the kids to hang out and enjoy some much needed playtime.

The Paris of my mind is a romantic splendrous place, its a difficult bar for reality to measure up sometimes. This visit was really all about the kids. Who surprisingly had their own agenda of things they wanted to see and do. So I was excited to see Paris through five sets of new little eyes.

Our first morning found us strolling through the streets of Paris, the kids walking hand in hand, desperate to catch a glimpse of the Eiffel tower. Derek with his tricky navigating skills lead us on a path that had the kids come around a corner and there it was right in front of us in all it’s glory. I’m not sure who was more surprised. The kids faces when they saw the tower for the first time was that of sheer wonder and joy. It was one of my favourite moments of the week. They were just so excited. We did travel up the elevators to the top, they enjoyed the view but they had more fun on the lawn dancing, cartwheeling and taking photos looking up at the tower.

Disneyland was also a high priority! We only spent one day in the happiest place on earth and Tinker-bell definitely sprinkled her fairy dust on us that day. What’s not to love? A place where it’s acceptable for adults to wear mouse ears. It caters to everyone, from the littlest to the biggest. Watching the kids bursting to experience every moment quickly sweeps you up in the magic. We where there from open to close, walked over 22,000 steps and ticked all the boxes.

Top tips for Disneyland

– Do the fasttrack where you can if you only have one day. It saves lots of time.

– Get public transport out there and get an UBER home when little legs are tired. Cheaper than renting a car.

Paris was having a heatwave the week we were visiting, so were trying to be creative and find ways to avoid the heat. I found Marrionnettes du Champs de Mars, a traditional puppet theatre that was playing Puss in Boots. Now, with the tin roof of the theatre and the French dialogue it may not have been my best idea but the kids seemed to enjoy it none the less. Even if they had no idea of the storyline and we were still melting from the heat. The marionettes and sets were beautiful and slap stick comedy is funny in any language. So at €4 each, it was a great novel off the beaten track experience.

When we weren’t in the city, the kids were happy playing in our little yard and the adults were happy resting our tired feet, enjoying cheese and wine and even better conversation. Each couple even managed a date night. Ours involved purchasing new backpacks and reconfiguring our luggage, due to a Mr Bean moment on the train platform at Gare de Nord. (Ask Miles about it sometime) funny now but terrifying to almost leave him behind on the platform. 

Our Parisian week wizzed past way too quick and we had 5 sad little faces when it came time to part ways. Thank you to the Rauch’s for a very special week with so many wonderful memories. Hopefully there will be more family trips to come.