On our first night in Paris this past December, my husband and I saw beef tartare on the menu and decided it was our chance to try a true French classic. We had no idea that we’d just ordered raw beef and egg.
My mother-in-law was seated next to me when they delivered the plate. It’d been a long travel day, and she’d felt nauseous for most of it because of her medication. One look at that raw meat sent her dashing for the restroom.
Unfortunately, the restroom was down a steep staircase, and she didn’t quite make it, getting sick at the feet of the bartender.
The waiters were gracious, though some of the other diners looked less than thrilled. Because it was the middle of cold and flu season, I quickly explained it was her medication, not a stomach virus. A nearby woman translated for the others, and the room visibly relaxed.
For all the stereotypes about Parisian waiters being snobby, I found them warm and thoughtful toward our family. Still, from that moment on, I knew my husband and I would have to tone down our adventurous ordering habits.
None of us — neither my in-laws nor my family of five — had been to Paris before. It turned out that the beef tartare was just our first rookie mistake on our trip. Over the next eight days, we made plenty of others, along with a few great decisions that kept us sane.
We ran late to every one of our timed-entry museum slots until we tried this trick
Traveling with three children, ages 13, 8, and almost 3, is not easy. Add grandparents who walk slowly and need frequent bathroom breaks, and you have a perfect storm of running late everywhere.
What finally worked was scheduling a rideshare the night before.
Every time we did that and had a van waiting outside, it created a non-negotiable hard stop for when we had to leave. It also made it far more likely that the driver would arrive on time.
For large groups, this was the only way we ever stuck to our schedule. Also, purchasing timed-entry tickets in advance meant we avoided painfully long lines, and saved us hours of waiting around.
I overromanticized a bucket-list experience
I spent my childhood being dragged through antique shops by my interior-designer mother. Because of that, I like to think I can evaluate a truly great antiquing experience.
For years, I’d heard Parisian flea markets described as the gold standard of antiquing. So I made visiting one a priority, even splurging on an almost $100 rideshare to make it happen on a chilly, early morning with the whole family. What we found was deflating.
Street vendors had piles of used clothing and miscellaneous objects on tables with nearly every item declared “very valuable.”
When my toddler pointed to a small metal toy car, I was quoted €12 (about $14 at the time of the trip). Oil paintings seemed to start at €400 across the board. Even a worn stuffed dog I fell in love with was priced at €60 with no room to bargain.
It was a cold, miserable morning, and a good reminder not to fixate on an experience or place, especially if it’s inconvenient and out of the way. With multigenerational travel, ease and convenience matter more than crossing romanticized experiences off a bucket list.
We didn’t create a meeting plan for when we got separated
At the Louvre, my husband matched his parents’ pace while I ran off in pursuit of our toddler.
That meant I saw the Mona Lisa and all the lovely, famous art I’d come to admire at hyper toddler speed.
The Louvre’s spotty cell service made it difficult to reconnect with my husband and in-laws. Between their slower pace and my toddler’s refusal to stay still, finding each other was an ordeal.
Next time we visit a large museum or go to a big event, I’ll designate a meeting spot ahead of time in case anyone gets separated.
We stayed too far outside the city center
Paris has 20 neighborhoods called arrondissements, and we stayed in the twentieth, which put us on the outskirts of the city. That meant we were far from all the activities we wanted to do.
In our defense, it was Christmastime and hotel prices were sky-high. Still, I wish I’d searched harder for a property closer to the center, as everything was always 40 minutes away.
Choosing convenience over being frugal was always the right choice
I’m pretty frugal overall — if it were up to me, we would’ve taken the metro everywhere in Paris. But every time I pushed for us to use public transportation in this city, it turned into a miserable affair.
For example, by train, it took us nearly three hours to get to Versailles, even though it was supposed to take 90 minutes. The logistics of shuffling our large group from train to train were just too much.
Although rideshares cost more, they saved our sanity. Multigenerational travel comes with hidden costs, and in our case, paying for convenience was almost always money well spent.
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