We have just returned from two glorious weeks in France, which began with a right of passage trip to Disneyland Paris. This place is seriously lacking in culture, overloaded with E-numbers and the hotels are rather shabby, even by my daughters standards, who on entering our room at The Newport Bay, looked out at the lake and suggested, it might be rather more comfortable to sleep on one of the little boats. Then there are the herds of adults donning mickey mouse ears, with children dressed in polyester princess outfits at fifty euros a pop, but each to their own and all that being said, I was happy to spend a few days in this mock magical wonderland.
Milli is enchanted by Disneyland Paris and all the eye candy enroute.
My advice would be to get the mini bar emptied on arrival and fill it instead with fresh food and water – trust me you will crave it after a day of candy floss. Avoid the queues by purchasing a Fast Pass for the major rides. Give your children a spending allowance and stick to it – in our case, 20 euros each was the limit. Finally and most importantly, let go of cynicism, inhibitions and expectations and revel in the moment and if you do this, I suspect you will enjoy the experience, almost as much as the little ones.
Three days later we headed to our friends Villa in Ile de Re; a picture perfect French village where the transport of choice is the bicycle. Mornings where generally spent walking or cycling to the local markets for fresh food and hunting for antiques and old linens. The afternoons were spent at one of the many beautiful, flat beaches, where the children went crabbing, collecting shells, building sandcastles and flying their kites. The sense of freedom we enjoyed was made all the better for the lack of beach side restaurants and the complete absence of vendors selling tourists trash. The week in Ile de Re could not have been more different to our days in Disneyland Paris, but I believe that growth comes from experiencing the polarity and richness of life and this is something to teach our children through doing.
