London and Paris and Grandkids, Oh My! March and April, 2025 Trip Report

JETLAG: We were all very tired, even my grandson who got some sleep, so we all opted to take a nap once we were unpacked. It really did wonders for me, and I felt much more alert by mid-afternoon. I usually don’t do this, but I think now I might start adding a quick nap to my first day of travel.

CASH vs. CARD: I took no cash at all with me, and used tap-and-pay with Apple Wallet the entire time I was in London and Paris. I did have €20 left over from a previous trip to Europe, but I split that between the two kids to spend as they liked in Paris.

WEATHER: I don’t think this will ever happen again, but I can honestly say that the weather was perfect the entire time we were there. It was mostly in the mid-60’s during the day, and always sunny. It rained very briefly on our 2nd morning there, but the rain was gone by 8 am, and the sun came out. We did wear our jackets as it was chilly in the morning, but mostly got rid of them by noon.

WESTMINSTER ABBEY: The kids didn’t seem all that interested in touring Westminster Abbey, and I saw it in detail last year so I didn’t push it. But we did head over there for Evensong at 5pm, because I wanted them to see it and to hear the music. It was every bit as beautiful as I remembered it, and the Evensong service was enchanting. Beautiful male voices sang some glorious choral selections and I just closed my eyes and let it all sink in. It was a restful yet lovely start to our London trip, and I was glad we came.

PRET A MANGER: I can’t say enough good things about this place. We were there a lot! The kids loved the food, especially the sandwiches, like Swedish Meatballs, that can be heated up in the microwave. They also liked the small desserts, and I can attest to the chocolate mousse there, which is among the best I’ve ever tasted. It was a great place to get a quick take away and was only about a 3 minute walk from the hotel.

CRUMPETS: Crumpets is a small cafe near to our hotel with a nice breakfast and lunch menu. We went there while waiting to check in. I ordered smashed avocado and scrambled eggs on toast with a cappuccino, my grandson got the full English breakfast, complete with beans, tomatoes and sausage, and my granddaughter decided on crumpets with Nutella. It was a nice little cafe with very tasty food, and not too crowded.

DISHOOM: Back in 2023, I had eaten lunch at Dishoom in Edinburgh (with Lane from this forum) but when I heard Dishoom also offers breakfast, I really wanted to try it. The kids love Indian food, so I made a reservation at their Soho location for breakfast on our first morning there. And it was amazing. My grandson ordered the Kejriwal, which was two fried eggs on chilli cheese toast with a mango and banana lassi. My granddaughter ordered streaky bacon naan and a lassi, and I had the same thing but with mushrooms and the house chai. Everything was delicious. One of these days, I’ll make it there for dinner. :-)

TK MAXX: We had time to kill before the British Museum opened, so my grandkids made a beeline for the British version of TJ Maxx, and happily spent an hour there buying clothes, headphones and some odds and ends. Of course, they forgot they would have to carry all this stuff around with them, but they didn’t complain.

BRITISH MUSEUM: This was our next stop but I totally forgot to book our tickets beforehand (you will see this pattern continuing) While the museum is free, it gets very crowded and having a ticket saves you a lot of time waiting in line. So I quickly pulled up the website on my phone while we were walking there. The first available slot wasn’t for another 75 minutes, but I booked it, then decided we would take our chances getting in earlier. As luck would have it, the guard just glanced at my ticket and waved us through.

Once we got in, we stayed together for a bit, but I think they were getting tired of me dragging them along to see certain exhibits, so I released them into the wilds and they took off on their own. I then went to see my favorite exhibits, which included the Lewis Chessmen and Lindow Man, and we agreed to meet at the restaurant later.

GREAT COURT RESTAURANT: I booked a table at the Great Court Restaurant in the museum, so they could have an afternoon tea experience. But I was a little disappointed. Service was a bit slow, and the sandwiches were not very tasty, in my opinion. It was a decent tea but not the best one I’ve had, and I wish I would have gone with my first inclination to have it at The Wolseley. That said, the kids really enjoyed it and discovered the joy of eating scones with jam and clotted cream.

BUSES: I usually take the tube when I am in London, but my granddaughter really wanted to ride a double-decker bus, so we got on the no. 38 bus outside the museum back to our hotel. They both loved it—I think the combination of sitting very high and being able to see the sights and streets was really appealing to them. From that moment on, they were all about riding the buses. I was fine with that, since they could ride for free, but there were times I pushed the tube when the bus would be too inconvenient.

GAIL’S BAKERY: I discovered Gail’s on my trip last year and loved it, so I was excited to find out that there was one on Buckingham Road very near the hotel. That was the kids’ favorite place for breakfast. I would send either my grandson or both of them to Gail’s in the morning to get breakfast and they loved going out on their own. My grandson liked the ham and cheese croissant and my granddaughter was all about the pain du chocolat. And I agree with her. It’s really good. But they have a wonderful collection of other sandwiches, pastries and more, and I’ve never had a bad take away meal there.

V&A: Originally I did not include this in our plans. I love this museum but wasn’t sure they would. However, they both expressed an interest in it, so we headed here, and they wound up really enjoying it (for different reasons, of course). My granddaughter loved the costumes and clothing exhibits, and the medieval weaponry section got the attention of my grandson. And they both went crazy in the gift shop looking for items to buy for their family. The V&A really does have a wonderful gift shop.

THE SCIENCE MUSEUM: They also liked this museum a lot and spent most of the time on their own, running around and seeing the exhibits. I can’t tell you what they all saw as I opted out and went to the cafe to read my book over a cappuccino, but they told me everything they saw was great. I did join them in the gift shop, though (you know how I enjoy shopping) and found some great gifts for their 6 year old brother.

ARGYLE PUB: After we left the museum, we were hungry and I wanted to stop somewhere and eat a real meal. Suddenly a pub popped into view, so we went there. My grandson and I each had a burger, although he was a little concerned that the Brits may not know how to cook them. I eased his mind by telling him that I have eaten a lot of burgers in British pubs, and have never had a bad one. My granddaughter went with fish and chips, and enjoyed it a lot. They were pretty excited when they ordered a Coke and got an actual glass Coke bottle.

TWIST MUSEUM: This is an optical illusion museum in Soho that my granddaughter found and insisted we had to visit. So off we went. I didn’t really expect to enjoy it, but I did. The museum was amazing and fun and both kids absolutely loved it. It consisted of multiple optical illusions; some of which were fairly simple, but many consisted of really extreme illusions. We all had a blast and I took a ton of photos of them in the middle of the illusions.

SUNDAY ROAST: I wanted the kids to have a Sunday roast, so I booked a table at the nearby Ivy Victoria for 12:30pm. The restaurant was beautiful with lots of flowers, art and color, and the washrooms were just gorgeous. The women’s lounge had marble statuary, lighted mirrors and beautiful fabric wallpaper. The individual toilets were just as nice, with a gorgeous pink marble sink in each room, brass accents, and again, loads of flowers. My granddaughter was quite impressed!

I figured we would all order the Sunday roast, but my grandson caught sight of eggs benedict on the menu and immediately changed his mind. My granddaughter and I both had the roast, though, and it was delicious, along with being beautifully presented. She especially enjoyed the Yorkshire pudding and started looking for it on every other restaurant menu. Then to top it off, when we were leaving, I received a lovely bouquet of tulips as the UK was celebrating Mother’s Day that day. I took the flowers back to the hotel and they were still showing their beautiful blooms when we checked out a week later.

HANLEYS: Evidently my grandkids inherited my shopping bug, because when we passed by Hanleys, the world’s largest toy store, they immediately clamored to go inside and spent over an hour checking out everything inside. They found a few more gifts (as did I), but I drew the line when they asked if they could buy a £146 drone to take back. Where is the eyeroll emoji when you need it???

M&S FOOD HALL: We took a bus back to our hotel, which let us out very near the M&S Food store, so we decided that we would have a picnic in our room. We started shopping but realized that the store would be closing in 15 minutes, so we had to rush. However, during that time, we managed to find microwavable entrees, dessert, drinks, a baguette, some cheese and a bottle of wine (yes, that was a priority) before the store closed. It was all self-checkout there, and they have LOTS of self-checkout stations, so it was very easy to do quickly.

THE TOWER OF LONDON: I did the math beforehand, and discovered that with two kids, I could buy a membership in Historic Royal Palaces (HRP) for less than it would cost to visit just the Tower and Hampton Court Palace. Tickets for a senior adult and 2 kids 5-15 would have cost a total of £114.80 at both places. However, a membership in HRP for a Family 1 (one adult and up to 6 kids) only cost £85. So that was a savings of almost £30. Because I had ordered it a bit late, I didn’t have a membership number, but did have the email confirmation with a barcode, so we were able to get in the same line with those who had tickets.

The kids enjoyed the Tower a lot, especially my grandson, who loved the Yeomen Warders (Beefeaters) Tour. They also enjoyed the gift shop (are you sensing a pattern here?) and wandered through the aisles with glee.They had both been saving their money for a while, so had plenty of money to burn. I had to talk them down a few times, pointing out the heaviness and size of an item they liked, but overall they were pretty good at picking out things that would fit in their suitcases.

CAFE IN THE CRYPT: Every time I come to London, I head to this cafe, located underneath St. Martin-in-the-Fields off Trafalgar Square, because I love the food and the atmosphere. The kids enjoyed it too, and were fascinated by the tombstones beneath their feet. They also liked the food—my granddaughter got a steak and ale pie, and the grandson had fish and chips. Both got dessert, of course. We also split an order of Millionaire’s Shortbread.

By the way, St. Martin-in-the-Fields has an excellent gift shop. We found several items there that were really nice and small and not too expensive. Lots of good quality stuff there.

LOSING A GRANDKID: As I mentioned, we all had Oyster cards, which we tap to get through the gates at the stations. When we run low on credit, I top it off at one of the ticket machines. And usually I stayed behind the kids to make sure they got through the gates okay. However, I must have been groggy on Monday morning, because I went before my granddaughter. Once I got through, I realized she was behind me and turned around, but couldn’t see her. I figured she just fell behind a bit so we got to the bottom and waited but still no sign of her. That was when I panicked. I told my grandson to wait right there, and then raced off frantically. I got to the top and didn’t see her anywhere, so I went to the help desk. The employees there were very kind and helpful and began asking for a description of her along with other information.

I tried to explain what happened and how I lost her (while trying to keep from sounding like a terrible grandparent), when both of them suddenly appeared. It turns out her Oyster card needed money and wouldn’t let her through, so she found a worker, told him what happened and he let her through the gate. She then found her brother and they found me. It was a happy ending, although it scared me to death at the time. But it also taught me that she was savvy enough to find help and not panic in a situation like that, which made me feel better.

HAMPTON COURT PALACE: After the fiasco at the station, we got on the train to HCP. The train lets you out in the little town of Hampton Court, where you walk over the bridge to the palace (about a 5 minute walk). We were planning to meet Nigel and his wonderful wife, Carol, here for lunch and I was very excited about seeing them again. Both kids really enjoyed HCP. They loved all the rooms, the exhibits, and even sat down to play a game of Fox and Geese that was left out on display.

The gardens there were so lovely, and we were wandering around gazing at the flowers when Nigel and Carol showed up, so we all had lunch in the Tiltyard Café, which served very good cafeteria-style food. The kids enjoyed meeting the two of them but got antsy, so they went off to run around while I enjoyed more conversation with Nigel and Carol. Afterwards, they headed out to the gardens, and I gathered up the kids to go through the maze, which they enjoyed although there was an argument over who got completed the maze first.

WARNER BROS. HARRY POTTER STUDIO TOUR: This was a must-see for the kids, so I ordered the extremely pricey tickets several months ahead of time. However, we got a good 10am time slot on Wednesday. To get there, we took the Victoria line to Euston Station where we caught a train to Watford Junction. Unfortunately, instead of boarding one of the express trains at Euston, we mistakenly got on the Lioness Overland train with 17 stops—and it stops at every single one. So instead of a 20 minute ride, ours lasted 45 excruciatingly long minutes. I was worried about getting there on time, as the tickets said we HAD to arrive 15 minutes early.

We finally made it to Watford Junction, where we were to get a WB shuttle bus to the studio. It came pretty quickly, but then we sat for 15-20 minutes waiting for others to get on. My panic eased when I talked to an employee about our 10 am time slot, and he said not to worry, because they allow extra time for everyone. After we got there, we went in and passed through an array of pre-entry events probably designed to slow people down and avoid crowds in the main exhibits.

Once we got to the main section, I don’t think any words would do justice to the amazing sets, costumes, and props used in the movies. We walked through the Great Hall, Diagon Alley, and the Forbidden Forest, then saw the original Knight Bus, Gryffindor Common Room and so much more. The experience really showcases the artistry and craftsmanship behind the films, including animatronic creatures and special effects. We all absolutely loved it!

Halfway through the tour, the Backlot Cafe magically appeared, which got the kids excited. If it was just me, I would have waited, but kids and their appetites wait for no one, so we had a quick meal in the cafe. Caution: the food was pricey and not that good. The kids did enjoy their Butterbeer, however, and were excited about being able to take the mug home with them. (Note: it is a pain to pack). Also, be warned about the gift shop, which is HUGE. So many rooms and so many products. The kids bought a couple of small items, but I saw people walking away with hundreds of pounds worth of stuff from there.

WAGAMAMA: We found a Wagamama very close to our hotel so of course, had to try and now I can’t wait to go back. It wasn’t just the food, but the whole restaurant concept. We were seated at large communal tables and benches, then the host wrote the table number on the placemat along with the name of the server, and showed me the QR code for paying. When the server came, he took our order, but explained that the food comes out when it’s hot and ready, so it usually doesn’t all arrive at the same time. The food was wonderful and the grandkids loved their entrees, as did I (shirodashi ramen, chicken and prawns pad thai, and beef and kimchee gyoza).

AMORINO GELATO: My granddaughter discovered this place right next to Gail’s on Buckingham Rd, so we made a couple of trips here. They do have very good gelato and my granddaughter loved how they formed the ice cream into a flower. Ironically, when we got to Paris, we found another Amorino Gelato shop about a block from our Paris hotel in St. Germain, so she was in heaven!

BILL’S: When I asked someone at our hotel for a place that serves a traditional English breakfast, he recommended Bill’s. It was a quick 5 minute walk from the hotel (near Wagamama and M&S) and served a variety of food for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We all ordered the English breakfast (sans beans) and it was very tasty. The service was great as well.

CAMDEN MARKET: I was trying to decide whether to go here during the week or on the weekend (more crowded but better vibe). I compromised by choosing Thursday, which worked out well. It was a bit chaotic and noisy but not as crowded as the weekend I’m sure, and the kids had a blast there. We did a bit of shopping and a lot of gawking. We ate lunch at The Cheese Bar, which had been recommended on this forum, and ordered the grilled cheese sandwiches with pickled onions. They were very tasty.

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR STADIUM TOUR: My grandson requested that we visit a stadium tour, and since this stadium was the newest one (it was completely rebuilt in 2019 and seats over 62,000 people), we figured it would be a good one to see. Our reserved tickets were for 3 pm, but they allowed us to go in with an early group, since we arrived around 2:15 pm. One potential problem I noticed right away was that the stadium had a lot of glass architecture and very high escalators and glass lifts to get to each floor. I mentioned I had a fear of heights, and one female staff member immediately offered to walk up the escalator with me. Luckily, once I was on the escalator (with the woman next to me), I realized it wasn’t so scary and was able to make my way up and down after that with no problem.

I had no real desire to see the stadium and the only reason I was here was because my grandson wanted to see it. But we had such a great time, and that was mostly due to the kindness and friendliness of the Tottenham stadium tour staff. They went out of their way to talk to us about soccer and life in general and encouraged us to visit every area we could. All of the visitors in our tour were Brits, so we were an anomaly. We visited the stadium pitches, of course, and saw the swanky private suites, which are custom built, designed for each suite holder and cost many mega thousands of Great British pounds. We also saw the changing room for the Spurs and their workout room.

One of the most amazing (and scariest) sights was the Dare Skywalk, which sat very high above the stadium. Visitors can walk out on it and it’s an add-on to the tour, which we did NOT take advantage of. But we saw people walk out on it and it was pretty terrifying. We also visited the NFL rooms, as the stadium is designed for NFL games outside of North America and is officially the home of the NFL in the UK. The man who works for the NFL led us around and had us laughing the whole time. He is British and a former Arsenal player, who went to school in Jacksonville, Florida and now works for the NFL in London. He told us the Minnesota Vikings have played there twice.

GETTING LOST IN STAMFORD HILL: After leaving the stadium, we got on the bus only to realize it was the wrong one. We got off as quickly as we could and I began to plot out a route to get us back into town. We were walking and I was trying to concentrate on the map so I didn’t notice right away how the population had changed until my granddaughter asked me why the boys had long curls. I looked up and saw quite a few boys with earlocks. I figured this neighborhood must have a large Hasidic community.

I quickly explained who they were to my granddaughter, but continued to try to calculate a route without success. I found the bus we needed to get on but couldn’t figure out how to get to the stop. I finally went up to a woman who was walking by herself and asked for directions. She not only gave them to me, but proceeded to walk with us up to a place where we could see the bus stop. It was very kind of her. It wasn’t till she left that my granddaughter asked me why she was wearing a wig. I explained to her why the women wear wigs and talked to her a little bit about their culture. But I think they enjoyed seeing a more residential area, as they had both been wondering where the kids hung out and why they weren’t out playing soccer (football).

HARRODS: We stopped in here briefly just so the kids could see this iconic department store (plus it was across the street from our next stop, the Paradox Museum). They didn’t really understand the pricing in context until I showed them a small 2 oz. chocolate bar that was priced at £55. That got their attention.

PARADOX MUSEUM: Yes, another optical illusion museum. Since my grandson got to choose several sights, she wanted to have another crack at a different museum. Once again, they had a lot of fun testing out the various illusions. There were some that were similar to the Twist Museum, but others that were new. They both enjoyed this one as much as the other, so I was glad we came.

FORTNUM & MASON: This is one of my favorite spots for a cream tea in London, and the kids enjoyed another round of scones, clotted cream and jam. I told them that some Brits have strong opinions about whether you should put the cream on first or the jam, so my grandson decided to conduct an experiment to see which tasted better. His preference was the jam on top (mine, too).

L’ETO: This is a small pastry shop we saw a few days ago on Piccadilly and my granddaughter was dying to go back and order a pastry. So that’s where we headed on our last full day in London. My grandson ordered an Easter cake, my granddaughter’s choice was raspberry ricotta cheesecake, and I enjoyed a pistachio, blackberry and rose petal cake. All of them were beautiful and delicious.

SANTA MARIA NOVELLA: On the way back, I spotted one of my favorite shops down the street from L’eto—the Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella. Santa Maria Novella is a shop that sells perfumes, soaps and the most wonderful smelling potpourri ever. It began over 800 years ago in Florence, Italy when 13th century monks picked herbs from the surrounding hills and turned them into soothing balms and remedies to serve the local community. It eventually became a thriving business and has been around ever since. I found the shop on my first trip to Italy in 1997, and continued buying their potpourri over the years. So I was pretty excited when I found the shop in London, and immediately bought a bag of their incredible potpourri to take home.

WEST HAM GAME: On our final day, we attended the West Ham United vs. Bournemouth football game held at London Stadium. My son-in-law had figured out a way to buy the tickets, knowing that the kids would love to see a real Premier League club football game in England. The game was at 3pm, but we got to Stratford Station around 2pm, and then managed to figure out how to get to the stadium. It was confusing because there were signs pointing everywhere except London Stadium. And Westfield Shopping Centre was jam packed with shoppers and visitors. We finally went off in the right direction and were soon at the stadium, where we showed our tickets, went through security, had our bags inspected and then climbed hundreds of steps (okay, maybe 35) to get to our seats. They were up high, but we still had a great view of the stadium and the action.

Once the game started, it was wild. The crowd was really engaged and we were screaming and clapping along with them! Bournemouth scored a goal in the first half, but West Ham rallied back in the second with a goal, and then a second. Sadly, Bournemouth managed to score another goal as well, so the game was a draw, 2-2. It was still a fantastic day, though, and the kids loved it!

My son-in-law had also told the kids he would buy them each a West Ham kit, so they rushed to the stadium shop where we spent the next 45 minutes picking out a shirt and a name, and getting it printed. It was chaotic in the shop as many other fans had the same agenda, so I was very happy once we were finally out of there and heading towards the train station for our last night in London.

By the way, my grandson wore a neutral shirt to the game, and not the Barca shirt he had wanted to wear. Thanks to everyone who gave me advice about that!

SHAKE SHACK: Yes, we ate at Shake Shack. We had just gotten back from the game and were starving, so the kids wanted comfort food. One British woman who was there with her kids laughingly asked why we were eating at Shake Shack (she heard me talking, so knew I was American). I just smiled and pointed to my grandson, who was the one who suggested it first.

THE EUROSTAR TO PARIS: We were up early the next morning, checked out, then made our way to Victoria Station where we caught the Victoria Line to St. Pancras. After that, we walked another 5 minutes to get to the international area where the Eurostar would be boarding. There was quite a long line going through security, but the line moved very quickly (it was much easier than airport security).

We finally boarded and found our seats quite easily. Because I had booked so early, I was able to get a good price ($66 pp) and booked a table in between the seats. After we were comfortably seated, I went to the dining section at the end of our coach and got some drinks and sandwiches for us, as we had not had time for breakfast. From what I had heard, I was worried the food prices would be high, but it really wasn’t bad. I bought each of us a meal that included a warm ham and cheese baguette, a bag of crisps, and a drink for only £10.

ARRIVING IN PARIS (SUNDAY): We made it to Gare du Nord on time, but figuring out the station was a little confusing (it’s been 27 years since I was last here). However, I soon found the Metro exit and we headed to Metro Line 4, which would take us to the Odéon Station near our hotel. Nigel had kindly given us some tickets that were expiring at the end of the month, so we were able to use those. About twenty minutes later, we walked into the Hotel Left Bank on Rue de l’Ancienne Comédie; our home for the next three nights. Because it was only around noon, the room was not ready but we were able to leave our luggage.

NOTRE DAME: Since we had some time, we decided to head for Notre Dame, which was only a 15 minute walk from the hotel. Along the way, we briefly stopped at Berthillon for some of their wonderful ice cream. It was so good! But once we got to Notre Dame, it dawned on me that I had forgotten to book our tickets ahead of time. Tickets are free but if you have a reservation, it’s much quicker to get in. And when we saw the massive line of people twisting through the metal stanchions, I wondered if we should turn around right there. My grandson noticed that the line was moving quickly, however, so we headed over to the end of it. And he was right! Within minutes we were walking inside the cathedral. They really enjoyed it and were asking a lot of questions about things. I was raised Catholic but they were not, so they are not that familiar with Catholic liturgy.

HOTEL LEFT BANK, ST. GERMAIN: Hotel Left Bank is in a very old building in St. Germain, which is a really lovely area in the 6th Arrondissement. The streets were lined with trees and flowers, and people were sitting in cafes, walking around and riding bikes. It was a very colorful scene. The hotel was very nice with a vintage vibe to it. Once we checked in, we took the lift to the 3rd floor to check out our room. It was large, very clean, with two single beds placed side by side, and another single in a more secluded area of the room. This was nice as it gave my grandson a bit of privacy. And it had A/C. The weather was as nice in Paris as it had been in London, but it did get a bit warm in the room, so it was great having that A/C option.

The breakfast was an additional cost, but when I booked the hotel, they were offering it for €5 pp, so we got breakfast both mornings, and it was quite good. There were not only breads and pastries, but creamy scrambled eggs, crisp sausage links, fruit, cereal, yogurt, and tomatoes and cucumbers.

The location was outstanding. I think I really got lucky with both hotels when it came to location. I loved this area, and it was so convenient to sights, cafes, boulangeries, pastry shops and much more.

AU PETITE SUISSE: This was a classic brasserie frequented mostly by locals that I read about here on the forum, and it was only a few blocks from the hotel. I was very excited to see an array of salads on the menu, and I ordered a wonderful salad with mixed greens, ham, roquefort cheese, walnuts, and pears. The kids each had the roast chicken special, which was served with fries and a mixed green salad. We really enjoyed the food and my granddaughter (who loves good bread) was thrilled to know that bread was served with most meals. After dinner, we couldn’t resist ordering some desserts we saw in the case. My granddaughter opted for the chocolate mousse served in a cute little glass canning jar, and my grandson and I both got the creme brulee, which just melted in my mouth.

THE LOUVRE MUSEUM (MONDAY): Well, I did it again. I forgot to book the Louvre tickets that would have guaranteed entry into the museum by a certain time, and when I remembered, it was too late. But since the Louvre opened at 9am on Monday, I was hopeful that if we got there early, we might be able to snag some tickets. We arrived at the Pyramid around 8:40am, and got at the end of a line already forming for those without tickets. It was another beautiful day so it was no hardship to wait there. And because we had gotten there relatively early and weren’t that far back in line, I was thinking we had a pretty good shot at getting in. And we did.

The line started moving shortly after 9 am, and by 9:20 am, we were inside getting our tickets. The first exhibit we made our way to was the Mona Lisa, of course. I was hoping to get there before the really large crowds came in. There were quite a few people there already but it wasn’t terribly crowded and the kids managed to get some good views of the painting. Later that morning, my grandson found an exhibit I had not seen before, which was the Medieval Louvre fortress underground, from when the Louvre was a castle. We saw the walls and structures that were part of the drawbridge, the main entrance to the Louvre, and which date back to the 12th and 13th centuries.

CAFÉ DE FLORE: We had lunch here after the Louvre. It was a nice cafe near our hotel and with good menu options for the kids. They both ordered the club sandwich and potato chips (I think they were happy to eat something they were familiar with). I ordered another salad, but regretted my decision when I saw the woman at the table next to me receive her soft-boiled eggs served with sourdough toast fingers, which looked really good. My grandson especially enjoyed his chocolat chaud. We had stopped at Angelina’s on the way for chocolate, but the line was too long so we left, which irritated my granddaughter to no end. Evidently the time we spent walking to Angelina’s was a “waste of a walk,” which just cracked me and my grandson up! She didn’t hear the end of that for a long time.

MAISON THEVENIN: This was a patisserie just up the block from our hotel that had some wonderful pastries, and also a beautiful selection of flan in their display case. I bought one and admired the elegant paper it was wrapped in. Much nicer than a styrofoam container. I love firm custards and flan, and it was a real treat to find it. It was just as delicious as it looked, although I was forced to share it with the kids, who had opted for Amorino gelato instead.

SEINE RIVER CRUISE: There were several options I read about here on the forum, but I finally decided on Vedettes du Pont Neuf; mostly because the boarding was only a 10 minute walk from our hotel. Once we arrived, we showed our tickets and headed onto the boat. We found some decent seats and the boat was soon heading out. As it went out into the water, we noticed some dark grey and orange smoke moving above the horizon. The commentator told us there was a fire nearby at a recycling plant, which is where the smoke was coming from.

Finally we arrived at the piece de resistance; the Eiffel Tower. It shone like a beacon with its golden lights, and the kids and I just sat and admired it. At this point the boat stopped for a few minutes, and the commentator told us that the sparkles would be happening in just a few seconds. So we waited while he counted down, and sure enough, on zero, the lights started twinkling like mad, and the Eiffel Tower was ablaze in yellow stars. The kids loved it, and I thought it was pretty cool, too.

THE ARMY MUSEUM (TUESDAY): Well, I messed up again, and could not get tickets to the Catacombs that my grandson wanted to see. It was not entirely my fault as there was some kind of ticket fraud so they were limiting the days you could book. I felt really bad because I know he wanted to see it, but we discussed a few other options and he liked the idea of visiting the Army Museum and Napoleon’s tomb.

After breakfast, we headed out and walked up to the Metro, where we took a train, then transferred to a bus, and finally made it to Les Invalides, home of the museum.Unfortunately, there was no way to get to the building from where we got off the bus due to the huge barrier around it. Evidently Google Maps had not yet discovered the giant rectangular waterless moat (seriously, that is what it looked like). It was the most bizarre thing and I had no idea why it was there. So we had to backtrack, then walk and walk all the way around to the back. It was at least a half mile out of our way.

In hindsight, I should have gotten directions to the Rodin Museum, as that was on the right side and it would have saved us a lot of walking. But we finally made it to the entrance, admired the lovely topiary, then got our tickets and headed on in. The kids really seemed to enjoy the museum, which consisted of weapons, armour, artillery, uniforms, emblems and paintings. I was sort of meh, although I did like the miniature models of soldiers and military equipment that were on one floor.

After that, we headed to the Dôme des Invalides, which houses Napoleon’s tomb. Napoleon’s tomb was massive and made of red quartzite on top of a green granite base and sat in a circular crypt beneath the dome, which allowed visitors to look down into the tomb from the upper level or walk around it at ground level. It was quite impressive.

MONTMARTRE: After this, we decided to head up to Montmartre, one of the historic and very charming neighborhoods of Paris. We left the Dome but ran into the same problem we had before where we were cut off by these barriers, and had to again detour all the way around the building again. By this point, we were very frustrated and tired, so when I saw a taxi nearby, I grabbed it. Fifteen minutes later, he dropped us off at Square Jehan Rictus, and we began exploring the area. It’s really an interesting neighborhood and I remember it from my last trip (although I focused back then on the fabric district). The kids really enjoyed wandering downhill through the streets, stopping now and then when they found something interesting (including the candy shop where they spent all their Euros). At one point, we stopped for some luscious pastries we saw in a shop window. I would have liked to go on the funicular with them, but it just didn't work out.

MAISON MILIE: This was a small cafe on Rue de Vieuville where we stopped for lunch. It was a cute place with a lot of original and fun art on the walls and the food was good, too. I had a salmon poke bowl, my grandson ordered eggs benedict, and my granddaughter was very happy to find crepes with Nutella on the manu. They are only open for breakfast and lunch.

ERIC KAYSER BOULANGERIE (ODEON): We stopped here for sandwiches on our last night, and they were great. This was right across the street from our hotel.

AUX MERVEILLEUX DE FRED: I stumbled upon this bakery several days before. It was just up the street from the hotel, and they are known for their meringue cakes made with whipped cream and covered in chocolate. But they also bake brioche loaves, so I got in line, bought a Raisin Cramique (raisin brioche—they also have chocolate), took it back to the hotel and the three of us devoured it. The bread is wonderfully tender with a very light sugary glaze and it literally melts in your mouth. It’s probably a good thing that we don’t have one of those in Duluth because I’d be at their doorstep every day. I went there twice during our 3 night stay, and would have happily gone more if we had more time.

G7 TAXI: Pam was the one who first told me about this, although others mentioned it on the forum. I wavered between saving money and making it easy on myself, since we had to be at the airport by around 7:50 am, but finally opted for convenience, and was very glad I did. I ordered it two days earlier using the app, and the taxi showed up 10 minutes early. There wasn’t much traffic so we made it to CDG in good time.

FLIGHT HOME AND ARRIVAL: There were no surprises on the flight. I watched “A Complete Unknown”, which I had been wanting to see and all I can say is that it was wonderful! We arrived at MSP, got our baggage (we checked a bag on the way back, since we had stuffed our packable backpacks with gifts), and then headed to Customs. I have Global Entry but the kids didn’t, so I went through GE first, but then went back to get the kids and took them through the Mobile Passport Control (MPC) line. It worked out well, and we were able to bypass the long line of people waiting to go through Customs.

The worst part was the 2 1/2 hour drive home. We took a shuttle to get my car from the off-site parking lot, and then headed north around 2 pm CT. I was hoping that jetlag wouldn’t kick in till later in the evening but it got to me about an hour out of the city, so I forced the kids to stay off their devices and talk to me (oh, the horror!). As we got closer to Duluth, I released them from their conversational obligation and listened to an audiobook from the library, which made the time pass quickly.

THOUGHTS: This trip was a first for me, in that I’ve never been totally responsible for anyone when traveling overseas. I’ve traveled with friends and family before, but this was different. And it was weird for them, too, since they’ve never been overseas. But we managed to make it work. There were some arguments and compromises, but I know they had a wonderful time, and couldn’t stop talking about it once we got to their house.

In hindsight, I would have let them go out on their own more. I did that some, but I was a little paranoid about it. However, they really got to know the London location, and loved going out to pick up breakfast or something from Pret or M&S. As long as the two of them stayed together, I think they would have been fine. I also wish I would have gotten them into more residential neighborhoods and out of the tourist sights at least one. They enjoyed it when we got lost in Stamford Hill, and I thought they would have liked seeing kids playing neighborhood soccer (football) or just hanging out.

That said, I am glad that we played a lot of it by ear, and adjusted the schedule to suit everyone. For example, I had booked tickets to the Ceremony of the Keys one night, but the kids asked if we could skip it as they were tired, and it wouldn’t even start until 9:30 pm. I was fine with that. They also decided they would rather not visit Windsor Castle, so we cancelled that trip (luckily I had not bought tickets yet). And I surprised myself by really enjoying the stadium tour and the optical illusion museums. I would never have considered either, and loved their suggestions.

And THANK YOU to everyone who helped me with this trip and gave me such invaluable advice!

This is a great report and I love the way you organized it - made for easy reading. What an amazing gift you gave these two!!!!!!

Soooo glad you had this wonderful trip with your two grandchildren! Excellent report.

Thanks so much, Valerie! It was a wonderful trip!

Mona, it was wild at times but we all loved it! Thanks!

Mardee, great report. I especially liked all the information on shopping and bakeries! I, too, think museum gift shops are fantastic. I always spend way too much time in one. I have also found some great eateries at museum, but these are less consistent. I will bookmark your report for my next London/Paris excursion. If you drive down to MSP again contact me to see if I'm available. I live in the northern suburbs and our condo has a parking lot. I'd be happy for you to park here and to take you to the airport (about 1/2 hour away.) I know this trip will always be a favorite memory for your grands, just as it will be for you.

What a fabulous trip for everyone! You’ve developed resourceful, curious travelers and created spectacular memories that will exist for a lifetime for all of you! I’m in my 60’s now and had the two most wonderful grandmothers. I tell people, I won the lottery in life because of it. I’m certain your grandkids will say the same.

This sounds like an absolutely fabulous trip! We have always taken our kids with us overseas, so I definitely understand about not being able to find one of them. Although the last time that happened, our daughter and her friend were in college. It was at the Eurostar station in London and I went to get something and came back and the girls were gone. We had mere minutes to board, so I had them paged. Yes, they were horrified, but I didn't care, lol.

Seeing things through kids eyes is very different, and I think it wakes us up a bit.

Thank you so much for sharing as I knew how much you were looking forward to this. I will bet that this will be a life changing trip for them and instill a bit of wanderlust in them.

Ditto what Valerie said! It sounds like a wonderful trip and they were the perfect age for their first trip to Europe.

Mardee!!! What a wonderful, wonderful experience for all of you! Thanks so much for the terrific trip report. And so happy you are training two more kiddos to be world travelers. I'm impressed your granddaughter got herself out of the situation at the station. Very smart gal!

I'm glad the G7 worked for you and that you went with expedient over saving a little money, hahaha!

Great report Mardee!

Thanks so much for sharing.

Pleased you all enjoyed the sites, sounds, public transport and the food.

Made me smile thinking how lucky the grandkids were at getting to experience European travel.

Well that was some of the funnest 15 minutes I’ve had for a week! Loved every description and detail, it’s an itinerary I’d love to have when we get to London someday. Thanks so much Mardee, bookmarking for sure.

You certainly had a wonderful time and achieved so much too (despite nearly losing one of them!) The grandkids will have so many happy memories, especially managing to get tickets for a premier league game. Even the English weather played ball for you too!

I really enjoyed your report! Thanks for sharing it.

Laurie Beth, thank you! And I very well may take you up on that. :-) Either way, next time I'm down there, maybe we can meet up someplace. That would be fun!

KD, thanks so much! And I hope so. I'm the only grandmother they have left, so I might win by default, though, lol!

mikliz97, ha ha, that made me laugh about paging them! And I don't blame you - I had to yell very loud for Bjorn at the airport because they were off at some game station and we were going to be boarding soon. Yes, kids do see things differently and the trip was eye-opening.

Tammy, thank you! They were a good age; especially Bjorn, who is 15. One more year older and I would have missed out on a lot of discounts, lol!

Pam, yep, I was surprised at her resourcefulness, especially when I was panicking all over the place! Thanks so much for all your help and advice!

Claudia, thank you!! It was very enjoyable! Segovia, my granddaughter, was so excited about telling all her school friends about the trip. It was an exciting two weeks, although it seemed to last much longer. :-)

Luv2Travel, thanks so much! I hope you do get to London—it's one of my favorite cities!

wasleys, I still can't believe the incredible weather we had. I know I will never be so lucky again, but it really was wonderful. And yes, the football game was such a treat! I accidentally was cheering for the wrong team at first, and I think I mortified Bjorn and Segovia, but they quickly corrected me and things were right in the world again.

Margee: You are the "Best" Grandma! You did a great job pacing the trip, so the Kids could have maxium fun and you could keep up! Happy travels! Kathleen

I was so excited when I saw this list pop up. What a great trip you 3 had. I’m going to bookmark it to read again as there is so much good info.
My grandsons are 11 and 9 and I can’t wait to take them overseas. Just a few more years.
We just got back from Japan and that would be a place to taken them, definitely great for younger people and so safe. I’ll be doing a trip report after Easter.
Again, glad everything worked out in your favor, including the weather.

Thank you Mardee for this great trip report! It sounds like things went so well with a wonderful time for all three of you. I got lots of great ideas from your report for our upcoming trip to London and Paris!

Mardee, I have been looking forward to your trip report and it was every bit as fun as I expected! Thank you!! I'm glad it went well, the weather cooperated and all your planning paid off!

I also really enjoyed this. We took our 22 year old niece with us to England last May. She also had never been to Europe. Certainly not like taking children of your grandchildren’s age, but fun to see the world through her eyes. We went bird watching in London, for example! I never noticed how many birds there are in St James Park!

You gave your grandchildren a gift but you also are incredibly fortunate to be able to take them. We have one grandchild who is a baby. I am not sure I will be traveling still by the time he is old enough to do so!

Mardee, excellent trip report! What a fabulous trip you had!
I'm glad you three had such a great time with no glitches.
Wow, you did a great job of itinerary planning... a great line-up of sights.
Glad you liked your London hotel; it sounds ideal.
The grandkids will remember this trip for the rest of their lives!
I hope there are many more trips to Europe in the future for you three to enjoy together!

What a wonderful trip, and an excellent trip report. Glad you had a great time.

So glad to hear you all had a wonderful trip, Mardee.
Those kids will be talking about it for years to come!

A woman I worked with used to travel with her mother, who was almost blind, but very active.
They would take the nieces and nephews on a big trip, once the kids reached their young teens...two at a time.
I remember her saying what great fun they had on all the trips, showing the kids the world of travel.

Mardee, you certainly earned the title of “The Cool Grandmother”! What fun I had reading your trip report! I visited London last year and am heading to Paris for the first time next week, so it was a nice review of London and preview of Paris. I love the way you organized your report; so easy to read and I felt like I was there with you. You made wonderful memories for your grandchildren and yourself.

I read your trip report with such excitement and anticipation. I am so happy you liked the Resident Victoria - I stayed there in 2023 and 2024. The hotel is wonderful but their staff their biggest asset. I miss Gail’s Bakery and I am THIS close to booking a flight to London just for the Soho buns at Gail's. (As a side note, did you know that they have an iron and ironing board hiding under the bed at The Resident Victoria?).

I will be in Paris in October, so your report is getting me excited. I can’t wait to go back to Au Petite Suisse as it was one of our regular hangouts in 2019.

I'm really glad you had a great trip, Mardee! So great for your grandkids, too. I might be asking your advice on figuring out how long to take kids away to Europe. I'm sure there's a sweet spot to make it worth the flight but not so long as to be too long. And I'm sure that varies for each kid and each itinerary. Regardless, really glad you 3 had this opportunity.

Great trip report. I really like your travel blog too since it's detailed and has excellent photos!

my grandson found an exhibit I had not seen before, which was the
Medieval Louvre fortress underground, from when the Louvre was a
castle. We saw the walls and structures that were part of the
drawbridge, the main entrance to the Louvre, and which date back to
the 12th and 13th centuries.

Thanks for this valuable nugget. I'm more interested in seeing the Louvre for its castle and palace history than as an art museum, but I've been having trouble gathering information if there is things to see or tours available. This gives me hope.

I love doing stadium tours and hope to do one in November when I'm in London. Possibly a game as well. Does your son-in-law have any tips on how to get tickets?

Thanks for sharing a terrific and heartwarming trip report. I read along with your planning and feel like the circle is complete. I’m just smiling along as I read thinking what a wonderful adventure and memory for the children. You get another star in your crown Grandma!

Fun report, thanks! Some good ideas for my summer trip with my niece. Good job planning and executing what will undoubtably be a memorable trip for your grandkids.

Kathleen, thanks! Yes, the keeping up was definitely the hardest part! They would stride on ahead, and eventually would realize that I had the directions and the money, and join back up with me. :-)

Barbara, oh, I'm sure you can't wait to take them someplace! And Japan is wonderful! I lived there back in the late 70's and have been wanting to go back for some time now. I can't wait to read your trip report! Thanks!

mistimetotravel, Thanks! I'm glad you got some ideas. You will have such a fantastic time there!

MapLady, thanks so much! Well, most of the planning did, except for the tickets I forgot to book, lol!

BethFL, I agree—it really is fun to try and look at something through younger kids' eyes. And I know I am fortunate. I met one woman at the hotel who was there with her grandson (it was his HS graduation present), but she said (a little sadly) that she probably would not be traveling by the time his younger brother got to be his age. We'll see - I know my 6 year old grandson will want something like that. :-)

Rebecca, thanks! Sadly, I didn't get to go to your restaurant in Little Venice, but they decided they wanted to sleep in that morning, so it was a no go. But maybe next time!

Golden Girl, thanks so much! We really did have a wonderful time.

S J, that's a wonderful story, and what a treat for the kids! My sister-in-law's parents used to do that with their grandkids. They would take two at a time when they turned 11 years old. But I think all the trips were in the states. Still worthwhile, though.

Kathy H, Ha ha, thanks! Have a wonderful trip to Paris! I fell in love with it all over again!

Mary, I agree about the staff. They were wonderful. After we checked out and were at St. Pancras, I got an email saying my grandson had left his wallet in the room, with cash, his temporary driver's license and his debit card (NOT his passport - that stayed with me). But they said they would ship it to me with a tracking number and immediately took care of it (I paid for the postage, of course). And I did NOT know about the iron, but luckily my clothes don't require it. :-) And I love Gail's, too! Have a wonderful trip to Paris!

pbscd, thank you! And ask away! I love talking about travel! I will say the kids were both fine on the flight. They had their devices with them and watched some movies. But I am glad I had nonstop flights both ways.

Leslie, thank you very much! It's fun to write and it's a great way to remember the trip!

Allan, I will definitely ask him about it. I do know he got the tickets from an authorized broker called P1 Travel, which is based in the Netherlands, but I'm not sure if he talked to the West Ham people first. My grandson's soccer team has a relationship with West Ham and some of the players come over to Duluth to coach them for these special weekend events. The one thing you have to do is be flexible. I was told that the game could change at the last minute. It was on a Saturday, but could be moved to a Friday or possibly the following Monday. So keep that in mind. Luckily ours stayed where it was, as it would have been bad if it moved to Monday since our Eurostar tickets to Paris were for Sunday. :-) I'll check with him, and let you know. And definitely you should do a stadium tour - it really was fun!

Denny, thank you so much! Those are very kind words, and yes, the circle is complete. :-) I'm actually trying to get motivated to start planning my next one, but I seem to want to keep dwelling on this one. It's been fun talking about the trip with the kids now that we're home.

CL, a summer trip with your niece sounds like so much fun! Where are you heading to? And thanks, although I did mess up a bit of the planning, but that happens. :-)

I loved your trip report and following along as you went. The kids will have a lifetime of memories of this trip with you. You have given me too many ideas for our week in London in November. However will I fit it all in? :-)

Andrea, ha ha! I know what you mean about fitting it all in! And thanks!

Allan, I was wrong about him buying the tickets from P1 Travel. I think he received the tickets from them, but he bought them through the club. I'm going to send you a PM with all the info from him.

What a wonderful trip report, Mardee! Happy to hear that you and your grandchildren had such a terrific trip. Among the three of you, you found an interesting combination of places to see (and eat!) I will duly note those new to me for my own future travels. Thank you for a very enjoyable and informative report.

Thanks for your well written trip report and the lovely photos on your blog! It sounds like you and your family are open minded, flexible, and resilient, which is a great combination for travel. I hope this international trip will be the first of many for your grandchildren.

Mardee! I had so much fun these last weeks following along on your blog, I was genuinely sad when it came to an end. And so I was delighted today to see your TR and get to hear more about the trip. I'm bookmarking this -- especially for all the food recommendations! -- for when we get to London ourselves.

Bjorn and Segovia seem like such great kids and I just think it's so cool they got to have this experience with you. I remember when I was growing up, my grandma Iris traveled once solo (on an Alaskan cruise), and my (boring) parents thought it was so weird but, gosh, looking back I see what a missed opportunity that was for my childhood self to have had my ahead-of-her-time, feminist, independent grandmother celebrated and held up as a model. Anyway that's a long way of saying your grandkids are super lucky to have you showing them the way!

Mardee,
Great trip report. What wonderful memories you've given your grandkids. I'm sure they're soon going to be asking where to next.

Great! Glad you packed so much in and had such a nice time!

You were so lucky with the weather. It's back to being chilly and windy tonight so you picked exactly the right week.

Pret is such a godsend. They're absolutely everywhere. There's always one right where you need it to be and their food and coffee, though not earth-shattering, is reliably good. I like their toasted cheese and ham sandwiches particularly.

I've never been to Dishoom, though it is very popular. I'm a bit of a snob and have written it off as a corny tourist trap, but I should give it a go sometime. I like Indian food, but growing up in the Glasgow area, I was spoiled for choice of good Indian place without the fusion element.

It's funny to think of you on a 38 bus. That's "my" bus (destination Clapton Pond or Hackney Central). I can walk 50 yards from my front door to catch one headed for Victoria. I used to enjoy walking up to Victoria after work, grabbing a burger (Shake Shack if I was feeling flush, Burger King if not so much) and taking the slow ride home on the 38.

I still have a fox glove puppet I got in Hamleys as a child somewhere in storage at Mum's house. I loved it as a youngster!

Losing a grandchild must have been pretty stressful. I know how busy and chaotic the ticket hall and gateline at Victoria can be so not the best place. TfL Underground staff have always been friendly and helpful in my interactions with them. They have to put up with a lot, dealing with the rude idiots and risking their safety, and I feel it's a real vocation for lots of them.

My feelings about JK Rowling preclude me from saying much about Harry Potter lol Glad you all enjoyed it though.

Glad you made it out to Camden. Did you feel it was tacky or OK? Some people run it down, but I think it has a lot to offer. You didn't make it into Cyberdog? That's something else. Don't take under 18's into the basement though! It gets a bit kinky down there! Did you see Amy Winehouse (or her statue at least)?

Spurs tour sounds fun. It's strange to think of you ending up in Stamford Hill afterwards. You were less than a mile from my house. I'm kinda proud of the Hasidic community in Hackney. They keep themselves to themselves by and large, but my bank branch is at Stamford Hill and I've had some nice interactions with older Hasidic gentlemen queuing there. There's some issues I could take them up on, but it's none of my business and they co-exist with their Muslim / Christian / whatever neighbours in those streets peacefully. You should see it at Purim! The place goes wild!

Good that you enjoyed the West Ham game. Shame they didn't get a win, but at least there were some goals to keep you entertained. Did you navigate Westfield OK?

You don't really see kids out in the streets playing football much. Maybe in the heart of some of the big council estates. I think there's more kids in suburban areas, rather than in the inner London boroughs, and you're more likely to see it there. There's so many other things for kids to do these days it's not as popular a pastime as it was when I was young. I was more of a nerd than a footballer though! Down in Hackney Marshes there's miles of public football pitches all together and that would be the place to see kids and amateur games. I was heartened to see some kids in my street had drawn hopscotch in chalk on the pavement when I went out the other day!

I'm glad you were able to play it by ear a bit. It stresses me out when I see people plan London trips on here down to the hour and minute. I like freewheelin' a bit more when I travel.

Not to be morbid, but this trip with their granny is one the kids will remember for the rest of their lives, long after you're gone. I was relating the story of being lost in London the other day and that happened 40 years ago, yet I can still remember my times in London with dad clearly. 25 years this June since he shuffled off this mortal coil.

Mardee, I'm available for adoption if you have an opening (wink emoji).
It's amazing how many wonderful comments you received, I have been scrolling forever to find an open Reply spot. I think this is a testament to what an integral part of this Forum you are. You have helped me so much, and not just in the shopping department.
I am printing this Trip Report, as we are heading to Paris next spring, and you have shared such a well-written, helpful report. I really like your format. Thanks for taking the time.
.I'm assuming you'd recommend your Paris hotel and location for my trip?
And- lastly-
Will there be another grandkids' trip? Can you possibly make them this happy again?
Thanks so much !

Mardee, I couldn’t resist reading your trip report even after reading your blog. I can’t believe how quickly you got it done! Excellent report! Not only was it fun to read, but it has so many tips I will save for (hopefully) future trips to London and Paris.

I am in Church Stretton now. We finally got some rain yesterday, but it held off until nighttime. Cloudy today. You timed your trip perfectly!