Paris is Always a Good Idea

We had been throwing around the idea of accompanying Rob on an international layover for awhile.  The kids did great on short domestic trips, why not see how they do with 24 hours in Paris? Well, there are actually a lot of reasons why not.  But it seems Rob and I don't listen to reason when it comes to packing up our kids and heading out to see the world.

So, this past July we took them to Paris on a layover.  The plan was for Rob to fly from Detroit to Paris while we flew from Cincinnati to Paris.  We would meet up in the airport, stay together for his layover, then the kids and I would fly home on his flight from Paris to Cincinnati.  We did it this was because there were not enough empty seats on his flight from Detroit to Paris, it was better for the three of us to take the Cincinnati flight.  

But before we get to the airport, I gotta pack.  This was our first trip since I got my new carryon bag from Rob for our anniversary.  Since I am so completely in love with this suitcase, I decided to give you a tour of how I used it to pack for 1 day with 3 three people.

Step one, each child got a gallon zip lock with their in-flight entertainment items. Notebook and twistable crayons for coloring. Headphones, snack, and two play viewers. The play viewers I get from the library and they are pre-loaded with a documentary or a few episodes of a tv show. These are great in case you are on a flight without screens in the seats.

I made these cord keepers for the kids' headphones and they are great! No more tangled cords in the bag.

I couldn't travel without packing cubes. Top row: clear bag with our liquids, packing cube with our clothes to travel home in, packing cube with our pjs. Middle Row: non-liquid toiletries, bag of snacks. Bottom row: packing cube with the stuff I will need on the plane, Disney Cruise bag with our walking shoes, packing cube with our Paris clothes. I put my clothes and the kids' clothes all in one cube and sort by day, rather than putting all our clothes in our own packing cube. This way when it is time to put on jammies, I can just pull out one cube and then have everything I need in them. I also roll our clothes instead of folding them. Each roll has everything we need, including socks.

Everything fits so nicely into my bag! And the lining is bright orange so you don't lose things in it!

And it's purple!

The front pocket unzips allowing access to the inner compartment. So I can easily grab this packing cube that had hoodies and sweaters, etc.

I can put our liquids into this front compartment. We have TSA pre-check, so I can leave them in my suitcase, but just in case they are handy!

This is called the "eyebrow" of the suitcase. It's a great place to stash your umbrella and some tissues. I always carry extra tissues when I fly because the change in pressure makes my nose run. Plus, I've been in more than one European bathroom without toilet paper.

Seriously though, I love this suitcase!  I received no compensation from eBags, but if they want to send me anything free to try out, I would be ok with that.  Alright, enough about my suitcase.

The kids and I dropped Griffey off at the pet hotel and headed to the airport.  The kids know we don't have confirmed seats when we fly and they aren't supposed to talk about getting seats at the gate, out of respect for paying customers.   Well, they were so excited they broke the rule and kept asking.  Luckily we got on and got three seats together.  Woohoo!  Off to Paris! 

I always share pictures of the Delta One food. Well, here is what you get in the real world!

After dinner, the kids went to sleep.  Well, Ryan passed out and Anne slept on and off.  Poor girl seems to have inherited my inability to sleep on planes.  It was a looooong 7 hours.  But soon enough, they brought the yogurt for breakfast.  Hooray! We are landing!

I brought the kids through customs and they let me go through a super short line because I had the kids with me.  Rob's flight arrived after ours by about about 30 minutes.  He caught up to me as the kids and I were waiting for a shuttle to the hotel.  Reunited in Paris!  

I should tell you, on this trip we were not staying at the layover hotel.  We cashed in some Marriott points to stay close to the airport.  The Delta layover hotel is in the middle of the city, so I would have navigated our way there without Rob.  Plus, we have to get up super early to leave for the airport on departure day.  Staying closer to the airport earned us an extra hour of sleep!

Once we checked into the hotel, we crashed for a few hours.  Actually, close to 6.  This is normally longer than we sleep on arrival day, but it was a good idea to let the kids rest.  I was ok with them staying up late and being totally off our schedule.  Anything goes in Paris!