5 French Potty Facts

1. There are very public, permanent open air urinals at some train stations & possibly in other places
2. So far, toilet paper is really thin & feels like sandpaper. However, we bought some rolls that are soft & they claim you only need 1 square! Guess what, it's true...
3. Toilet paper comes in basic white, but also in pink & purple!
4. I previously mentioned having to pay to use the facilities in some places. They have someone disinfecting & spraying the stall after each use. 
5. A lot of restaurants, grocery stores, parks and public spaces in general do not have bathrooms.
6. (BONUS: The picture above is a public service announcement sign that says 35 euro fine for poop on the street)

5 Fascinating French Food Facts

1. At McDonald’s you can request to have your food brought to your table and if you order mustard for your chicken nuggets you get regular mustard (not honey mustard). 
2. Beautiful, delicious pastries are really cheap. You can buy a beautiful pastry for $2. And I’m talking delicious!!! The famous macaroons from Ladurée are an exception.  You can expect to spend well over $40 on 2 pots of tea & 4 delectable macaroons. A true luxury! 
3. There is a real abundance of cheese. Lots of fragrant, creamy cheese for just a few euros. 
4. At most places, coffee will run you $7-9 euros.  
5. We have gone to the grocery store several times & have never seen any other small children aside from our own.  Eggs aren't refrigerated. Refrigerated milk is unpasteurized and  pasteurized milk isn't refrigerated... but we don't have conclusive evidence about this yet.

Madeline Goes to Paris!

Bonjour!

We arrived in beautiful Paris, but not without difficulty. Even though we planned ahead, much of the packing and logistics happened in the last few minutes.

We rented are house back home and where we packed up all of our belongings. Those of you who have moved recently know how stressful this is. Those of you who have small children know that the stress is amplified.

Once the house was all packed up, I started planning what to pack for an entire year.  My goal was 2 suitcases and 1 carry on for the four of us.  Somehow, I ended up with 4 suitcases. Oops!

Throughout the entire process I had been really stressed and anxious, but had remained relatively calm. I LOVE to travel, but I always get overly excited which translates to anxious and sometimes physically ill.

This time, the stress was so overwhelming that I ended up hanging out in the airport bathroom for 2.5 hours vomiting and nauseous. I would have stayed there longer if the time to board the plane hadn't come. I was beyond scared to get on a 10 hour flight with an extremely upset stomach.

I kept thinking of the worst case scenarios and worked myself up to a bit of a panic. Luckily, we had ended up with 2 business class tickets and 1 first class ticket. The original plan was to divide and conquer: one of us would have a kid in first class and the other would keep a kid in business class.

Given my state, I ended up in first class the entire flight. I had never flown first class international and was amazed by the service. It was way better than business class. My flight attendant was extremely kind and helpful. The never ending tea supply helped calm my stomach and nerves, and the comfortable bed allowed me to rest and feel a lot better.

One of the things I was most thankful for was the first class bathroom! Yes, the bathroom! I was expecting the standard tiny, gross, claustrophobic closet, but instead found a very roomy bathroom. I couldn't believe my luck when I saw the sitting area within the bathroom.

When we finally landed in Charles de Gaulle, I was sure the worst had passed and I could start living my Parisian dream. Not so... stay tuned.

5 Unexpected French Facts

1. What do the French do at 3 A.M.? Go to a Cafe, of course.
2. The Ratatouille ride at Disneyland Paris is amazing!
3. The French are extremely nice! The trick is to try to speak more French than just "Bonjour, parlez vous anglais?"
4. Bread pudding move over... bread flan is amazing!
5. Having tea & macaroons at Ladurée is an absolute must! The house tea blend is incredible and the whole experience is very luxurious.