Visiting Paris During the Pass Sanitaire: What Our Family Loved

October 06, 2021 by Michele Cherie in Travel, Family fun

“I love Paris in the springtime.

I love Paris in the fall.
I love Paris in the winter, when it drizzles.
I love Paris in the summer, when it sizzles.

I love Paris every moment—every moment of the year…”

Ella Fitzgerald, I Love Paris

Regardless of Paris’ unending allure, I still wondered: would my family and I love Paris in the summer of 2021, with France’s newly implemented pass sanitaire, and in the midst of moderately strict Covid regulations? After a week in Paris this past August, I can say that we loved our stay in Paris nonetheless. Our week-long homestay in a surprisingly quiet maison particulière allowed for us to visit some of our favorite parks and to enjoy the panoramic view from the Eiffel Tower once again, despite the Covid context surrounding our visit. There were far fewer tourists in Paris than in the most recent pre-pandemic summers, but the architectural beauty and cultural options were still a delight.

Our Experiences with HomeExchange for Family Travel

August 03, 2021 by Michele Cherie in Family fun, International Exchange, Travel

During our travels in France this month, we’re staying in French homes that I was able to book using HomeExchange.com. We tried our first two home exchanges three years ago, and each time we have so appreciated this option for family travel! The surprising part of home exchange is that you don’t need to have a beautiful, large home in a tourist-friendly location for this to work. Having a lovely space in a desirable area is helpful of course, but you don’t necessarily even need to own a home in order to book a home through HomeExchange. I’ll explain the options in a minute, but first here’s a quick summary of the ways we’ve used HomeExchange in the past.

New French Children's Magazines & Subscriptions from Milan Jeunesse

March 13, 2019 by Michele Cherie in Education, French Resources, Family fun

My children love retrieving our family's mail from the letter box. Their happiness at fetching the mail is connected to the joy they experience when sending or receiving letters from friends, but it's also largely due to their monthly French children's magazine issues. Years ago I balked at the price of a magazine subscription from France, but within a few months I concluded that the literacy benefit is worth the cost. There's nothing quite like a quality children's magazine, packed with age-appropriate activities, stories, and fresh vocabulary, for encouraging a young reader. A subscription to such a magazine is especially rewarding for parents when it fosters bi-literacy. French publisher Milan Jeunesse released three new magazine lines for children within the past year or so, so I'm happy to feature these new magazines here on Intentional Mama today. Below these features, I share our tried-and-true favorites from previous years and how we subscribe to them here in the U.S.

Simple Advent and A Few Favorite Gifts for Children

December 06, 2018 by Michele Cherie in Family fun, Reflections on Parenting

Happy Advent and Joyeux Noël! We're excited for this lovely month, in spite of some family health concerns and the turmult in Paris. My dad, a self-taught pianist, once pointed out to me that Christmas carols have a lot of minor chords. This seems fitting to me—not only because of the longing that many people have for a Redeemer, but also because peace on Earth is such a profound need.

In the darkness of winter, light is so meaningful. Earlier this week I told my children about la Fête des Lumières that will take place in Lyon, France, now and this coming weekend (always around le 8 décembre).

Automne à Lyon: Learning to Live Like a Local

October 04, 2018 by Michele Cherie in French Culture, Contentment, Family fun, Travel

My four children and I have been living in Lyon for roughly six weeks now, but it feels longer in the best way. We just love it here. I’m so grateful that God has blessed our stay, and yet at the same time I’m grieving that we’ll have to leave in two weeks. However, my husband has been waiting patiently for us in Oregon, so being with him again will truly make it feel like coming home.

What do we love about Lyon right now? Here are four aspects that are making us happy:

Cité du Chocolat: A Family Day Trip from Lyon

August 24, 2018 by Michele Cherie in Education, Family fun, French Resources, French Culture

Our family arrived in Lyon just over a week ago, so with another ten days before school begins, I decided we'd make a day trip to Valrhona's Cité du Chocolat--an educational experience (much like a hands-on museum) focused on chocolate. Located in Tain l'Hermitage roughly 50 minutes south of Lyon by train, Cite du Chocolat opened just five years ago (in 2013). Having had a delectable first visit in 2015, I was excited on this visit to see what was new (and to taste the high quality samples)!

Our Family's Five Favorite Shows at Puy du Fou Theme Park, France

August 15, 2018 by Michele Cherie in French Culture, Family fun

After hearing all of our French friends' incredible reviews about Puy du Fou theme park, we spent two days there late last week, and we were completely awed by the shows, the animals, and the competence that made the experience exceptional. Here are our top five favorite shows that we saw:

La Pause à Paris: Hanging Out at the (Updated) Eiffel Tower

August 12, 2018 by Michele Cherie in Contentment, Family fun, Travel

When we last visited Paris three years ago, we chose not to go up the Eiffel Tower because our children were content to see it from below and we knew there would be hundreds of tourists in line. But this visit, it was important to our 6- and 9-year-olds to ascend the tower, so we made it a priority on our last day in Paris. Here's what we learned: