But when you’re traveling as a family on a budget, you need kid-friendly delicious fare that can be found easily and those things don’t necessarily fit the bill. Yet: You’re in Paris! Eating well is basically the entire point. Good news: You and your kids can eat amazingly well in Paris and love every single bite! Here’s what my family ate during our day trip from London to Paris. If only we’d had more than just one day! We tried to squeeze in as much dining as we could during our trip but despite walking nearly 30,000 steps that day, I could only eat so much! We planned a light pastry and coffee breakfast, a slightly heartier lunch, afternoon dessert, and then it was time to head back to the Eurostar train to London. It’s a tragedy we never made it to dinner. The food in Paris is quite rich with lots and lots of butter, the best pastries and bread EVER, and delicate sauces. My biggest piece of advice is to pace yourself. If you want to sample more, buy things to share with the kids! So with 3 ladies and a husband who is obsessed with sourdough, we spent the months ahead of our trip daydreaming about all the breads, chocolate, and pastries we could try in Paris. This list reflects that goal! A pain au chocolat is the best of both worlds — a croissant filled with chocolate. You seriously can’t go wrong. That photo is of a chocolate croissant we enjoyed at Sky Garden in London, I didn’t have a picture of one from Paris because we inhaled our breakfast so quickly that morning! In the end, I was too practical (and busy enjoying my croissant) and those lovely baguettes were left behind in the boulangerie. I should have kept my word and saved it for our train ride home. This simple street food is one of the most popular items in Paris and proves that you don’t need to have a lot of ingredients to have huge flavor. This croque madame was nothing short of life giving in that moment. Normally my family all tries to order something different so we can sample and review as many dishes as possible. But I couldn’t even argue when all four of us ordered exactly the same thing. A croque monsieur is a warm ham and cheese sandwich that has bechamel sauce over the top, a croque madame is exactly the same but with a fried egg on top. I also ordered a container of pommes frites for us to share at the table. Can you go to France and not order “french fries”?? The more traditional way to enjoy them would be to find a steak frites on a dinner menu — a large steak served over a bed of fries. You can’t see it all, or eat it all as in this case, I guess I just have to go back. I’ll just have to be content making my own French onion soup in the meantime. Once near to complete exhaustion, we stopped in at another cafe for dessert and drinks. One peek at their menu and the chocolate mousse was immediately my order. I was floored when the waiter delivered this giant dish of chocolate mousse with whipped cream on top. I’ve never had a serving this generous. It was ahMAZing. We are used to the cookies being more bite-sized in shape and she was tickled pink to discover the GIANT ones all over Paris. Our afternoon cafe had a bright red raspberry macaron cookie filled with vanilla cream and fresh raspberries. She didn’t even let me try one bite. Normally she’s a generous sharer, it had to have been that good. The girls both ordered mugs of hot chocolate to go with their pastries, because why not? They nearly swooned at how thick and rich and decadent this treat was. It could stand in for dessert all by itself.
