Meet Marcie Cheung, mother of two and author of Marcie in Mommyland, a family travel blog featuring tips and tricks for parents adventuring with littles. Follow along as she shares with us her family’s recent journey through Paris.
Exploring the world with our children is something my husband and I are very passionate about. We feel that it’s the most direct way to expose our kids to new foods, foreign language and cultural arts. Our kids meet other kids and adults when we travel, and it makes the world seem smaller and more connected to our life at home. By traveling with our kids at a young age, we are shaping the people they become. We’ve been so lucky to have the opportunity to bring them around the world.
This Spring, my family traveled to Paris—something my husband and I have been trying to do since we’ve been married. I spent my 18th birthday in Paris during my first trip out of the country, so it has a special place in my heart. I was thrilled to be back with my husband and two little boys for a kid-oriented trip. Of course, we slowed our pace down to accommodate the needs of our 3-year-old and 6-month-old.
Paris is an amazing city for families with small children (see our itinerary here.) There are small parks throughout the city that are perfect for letting little ones get some energy out in between sightseeing. We learned to enjoy the time in between the attractions. Our preschooler was just as excited to ride the Metro as he was about some of the destinations! He was also a big fan of taxis. When he hopped into his first taxi, he opened up his little map of Paris. He pointed at the Eiffel Tower and told the taxi driver, “I’d like to go here, please!” As we drove closer to the Eiffel Tower, his whole face lit up!
Our baby also soaked up a bit of Paris. We visited Sainte-Chappelle because I remembered it being one of the most beautiful churches I’d ever seen. As we entered the second floor, our baby got a big grin on his face. The sunshine was peering through the gorgeous stained glass windows and our baby was enthralled. I walked around the room several times and he kept looking around, fascinated by all the pretty colors.
We also met some of the friendliest people in Paris because of our kids. I wore our baby in a carrier for most of the trip and someone offered me a seat on every single Metro ride. We also had restaurant servers play with our baby.
It also didn’t hurt that our 3-year-old is a natural at making friends. He has a habit of waving at people and seeing who will wave back at him. During a TukTuk tour of the backroads of Paris, he waved at motorcyclists, construction workers, and pedestrians and most of them smiled, honked their horns and waved back. Our son kept saying how nice everyone in Paris was!
My favorite memory from our trip to Paris happened at Jardin du Luxembourg. I had given my son a little guidebook about Paris and he saw a photo of kids pushing vintage toy boats. From that moment, he had his heart set on doing just that. As we walked down the steps at the entrance of Jardin du Luxembourg, he saw all the boats in the pond and exclaimed, “Mommy! Those are the little boats I wanted to play with!” It was so exciting to see him realize that we were in the park from his book! Watching him jump up and down while playing with those toy boats that afternoon is something that will stay with me for years to come.
A note on packing: When it comes to travelling with kids, you can never be too prepared. I love bringing Tea Collection clothes when we travel because they are so versatile and such great quality. Paris in April was much chillier than we had imagined and I was so thankful our oldest had his Tea Collection zip-up sweatshirt, because he wore it almost every day! We also love the global designs featured on the graphic tees because they remind us of places we’ve been and those we’d love to explore. Tea Collection perfectly fits our travel-inspired lifestyle, and we can’t wait to bring them with us on our next adventure.
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