Traveling with kiddies to Europe... my Parisian Adventure

It was an amazing time and she is an amazing traveler but we also learned some good things that I think could work for anyone considering venturing across the pond with their kiddies...

1. If your child is under 20 lbs, request a bassinet from the airline. They literally attach to the wall in the bulk head rows.  If your child weighs more and can not go in the bassinet, you can still request the bulk head row which is often reserved for families and will give you some additional leg room. The bulk head is also usually right near the bathroom. 
2. If you really want the bulk head, check in on-line if you can or arrive at the airport EARLY - While it may be reserved for families it's on a first come first serve basis (having status with the airline helps too).
3. Have NEW toys for your child.  New toys are great for pulling out during the flight to keep him or her engaged in something and not squirming and unhappy.  On our flight to Europe we sat next to an unprepared family whose child cried the whole flight.  They had NO toys to distract the child, so I lent them my daughter's - which she promptly asked for back (my 10 month old literally said "banana").  A flight attendant once recommended 1 per hour on a flight - I had about 3 for a flight to Europe: Freddie the banana along with a Taggies Clicky Twist and the Melissa and Doug Friendly Fish grasping toy. Board books are also very small, easy to travel with and my kid loves them.  And don't forget to save some new toys for the flight home!
4. Rent an apartment.  If you are going to Europe, apartment rentals are an awesome deal! There are companies and websites dedicated to rentals... We spent $400 a night for a one bedroom with a kitchen and laundry - there was no comparable hotel room in Paris that I could find. 
5. Bring your own laundry detergent.  The best part about the apartment rental was being able to do laundry every day.  Not knowing what kind of detergent would be there we brought our own.  We used the Dropps laundry pacs that traveled great.
6. Forget jarred food!  You don't have to worry about anything exploding if you pack meal packs (Sprouts, Ella's Kitchen, Plum Organics, Revolution Foods, HAPPYBABY Organic, etc.).  My kid ended up eating plenty of frambois yogurt and crusty french bread, but we also had food packs for the on-the-go meals. They traveled well and took up little space.
7. Go to Paris, skip the lines! For anyone that thinks Paris is full of rude people, well they never visited with kids - Paris loves babies! We skipped every line! At the museums you go right up to the special need entrance and ask someone (always say "parlais vous Anglais" first if you don't speak French) if you can be let in since you have a stroller.  Chances are they will move the rope and let you right in as if you are VIP.  Forget the many hour long wait at the Louvre!  At the airport our experience was the same, ask security to let you move to the side to prepare.  We actually got approached by security, but had I known previously I would have asked.  Hurried airport travelers were very annoyed that we skipped the line and they couldn't, even when their names were being called for boarding.  The staff politely informed them that people with children needed more time and that they needed to go get back in line! 
8. If in Paris, enjoy the parks. There are so many parks in Paris and they are all kid friendly.  In the Luxembourg Gardens there is an amazing playground - granted you have to pay a small fee, but once inside, it is a wonderland for kiddies.  In the Tuileries there is an amazing trampoline playground the size of an Olympic swimming pool.  It looked awesome but it was for older children.  Playgrounds were everywhere - behind the Notre Dame, along random residential streets, in major parks and cultural sites.  Like I said - Paris loves children!
9. When traveling with kids I would advise not to plan your day too heavily; wait and see how your child adjusts.  If traveling in the spring/summer it gets dark at 10 pm (we were there in May and at 8 pm it felt like 3 pm!) so there is definitely opportunity to take advantage and let your kid have a good nap in the middle or later in the day and then enjoy a later meal.  Adjusting to the time change can help with this, try to get them adjusted to a later timeframe so they can allow you to stay out late with the locals and sleep in - you're on vacation after all!
10. Invest in a great umbrella stroller.  We got the Uppa Baby G-Luxe, its light weight (10 lbs) - we gate checked it at the airport and it reclines easily, which meant our babe would take a good nap when necessary -  considering she never napped in a stroller before - a true God-send!!

My last piece of advice would be to let your child enjoy the delicacies that you are trying.  In Paris we bent our "low sugar" rule for our baby and let her try macaroons and other pastries. The saying is true: "When in Rome" (or Paris...) - our kid loved it and we loved letting her enjoy in the experience.  We also let our baby get off schedule. She was game and was happy-go-lucky the whole time.  I would like to think that any kid can travel when Mommy and Daddy are well prepared!