We're off to Paris, the City of Lights, tomorrow for 10 days. Paris is probably the most romantic city in the world, but I'm sure I won't be in a romantic frame of mind for our entire time there. I'll be too busy managing my kids!I've been preparing for a while, but I'm still very nervous. I'm not so worried about the 8-hour red eye flight, it's the being in Paris with the kids that has me anxious. Lately my kids have been hard to manage at places like McDonald's and Boston Market. I can't even begin to imagine the ruckus they're going to cause on the crisp white tablecloths of the French brasseries we're about to go to.Here are the steps we've taken to make the trip a little smoother:- Skip the Hotel. Instead of booking a hotel, we found an apartment to rent. It was marginally cheaper by the night and it will be great for the kids to have some meals in private.- Plan Ahead. The Paris Convention Site is very well designed and has tons of great activity suggestions for families beyond the obvious Eiffel Tower visit. We're so excited for the Magic Museum and the Doll Museum. We also can't wait to hit the various parks. Having a list of places to visit takes the pressure off, but we can still figure out our itinerary when we get there. Too often I've missed the beauty of a trip because my head's been buried in a tour guide.- Lastly, we've been prepping the kids with lots of children's books featuring images of Paris like Madeline and the Red Balloon. We've also been prepping them on table manners and "bonjour" and "merci".Now all that's left to say is "bon voyage" and "a bientot!" Follow along to see how our trip is going by going to my blog, Chefdruck Musings.

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