Why we love visiting Paris

The Bambino and I just returned from Paris less than two weeks ago.  As usual, we enjoyed every minute of it.  Here are some reasons why.

Carroussels abound.  The Bambino liked riding on this one right beside metro Jean Jaurès in the 18th arrondissement.   He went on it at least six times a day!

And the one in front of the hotel de ville was also a real treat, for the ride and for the gorgeous surroundings.

You can find a clean, safe, and fun public playground in pretty much every neighbourhood in Paris.   There are no parks or playgrounds where we live.  We rely solely on our own and other people's houses for this kind of recreation in Madagascar.

Flower shops, boutiques, ice cream stores,... civilization!

...and of course bakeries.  The Bambino asked for a croissant every single morning of our trip.

Starbucks is Going Downhill

We're in Paris for the Northern hemisphere summer and enjoying the sights, sounds and tastes of Europe once again.

Now, we love the cafés and fine cuisine in France but once in a while, we also love grabbing a sofa at the world's ultimate globetrotter coffeeshop: Starbucks.

I'm not a huge fan of Starbucks' filter coffee.   Actually, I'm not a huge fan of any filter coffee but the burnt taste of Starbucks' filter coffee is even worse.  However, I do (usually) love Starbucks' gourmet coffee drinks made with espresso coffee.  And I love their mugs.  And the wooden stir sticks.  And the Very Expensive chocolate chip cookies.  And the sofas.  And the Ella Fitzgerald playing in the background.  And that it's no smoking.  So yes, I generally really love Starbucks.

But not today.  In fact, I think the coffee shop for globetrotters is starting to fail us.  It started when I walked into the Starbucks on boulevard des Capucines in the 9th district in Paris this morning.  I joined the line, only for the cashier to let me know that they could not accept debit cards that morning.  Fine with me but the friend whom I was meeting was not there precisely because she had waited in line for ten minutes before they told her that she couldn't use her debit card and then she had to leave to go find a bank machine and get some cash.

Then I placed my order.  I asked for a tall decaf cappuccino with caramel syrop on top, "sur place" ("for here") and in a mug.

"We don't have any mugs, only the paper cups," the cashier said.

Now keep in mind that, as we were talking, I was looking at a big Starbucks poster just behind the cashier which said the following about the company's commitment to the environment:

C’est notre engagement à exercer notre activité de manière pérenne dans le respect de la planète et de ses habitants : De l’achat du café à l'investissement dans les communautés locales en passant par la réduction de notre empreinte sur l’environnement. C’est agir comme nous l’avons toujours fait, en nous efforçant de faire encore plus. C’est se servir de notre envergure de manière utile.

I pointed this irony out to the cashier, who shrugged his shoulders and said something to the effect of, "I know.  You're right.  But what do you want me to do?  I'm just a peon employee."

Then I headed to get a seat and while I was waiting for my friend to show up from the bank machine, I pulled out my iphone and tried to get wifi so that I could update my Facebook status.  Only I needed a login userid and password.  So I went to the cashier to ask for the user id and password.

"You have to pay for it," she says.  "And anyway, it's not working today."

This really took the cake for me.  Starbucks is a North American outfit.  They are supposed to know about customer comforts.  They are supposed to know about good service.  WIFI NOT WORKING?  WIFI THAT YOU HAVE TO PAY FOR????  WTF???

And then, just when I thought that things couldn't get worse, I took a sip of my cappuccino.  Only it wasn't really a cappuccino, as the barista had filled the mug (they finally found one) with milk to the very top.  So it was a latte.  With too much milk in it.  Sigh.  Screw it.  Tomorrow, I'm heading to the closest brasserie.

Another Paris vs. Rome inquiry has landed in my Inbox:

Hi Caroline,

What a wonderful resource you seem to be. I am so glad I stumbled upon your blog. I am an American mom living in Paris with my 19 month old daughter and my Canadian husband....

We are considering moving to Rome and I'd love to hear anything you have to say: about living there as a mom, what's available for your daughter, preschools, pre-preschools etc...my daughter is not in creche here. I do counseling and coaching and work from home so my husband and I share babycare duties. But if we move, I would really like to get her into something group oriented...can you tell me anything about that?

Also, schools...what do you think compared to France?

Any info regarding neighborhoods would be great too.

Sorry to bombard you with questions. We just don't know where to start finding info! We moved to Paris on our own and took years to make it "familiar" but Rome is a blank state.

Any thoughts, opinions, suggestions would be so greatly appreciated!

Thank you!- Tamara

Tamara,

The Italians LOVE children but from a practical perspective, Paris is definitely more family-friendly than Rome, and that includes availability of childcare. Unlike in Paris, public daycare is not available in Rome unless you can show poverty of Dickensian proportions. Private daycare is available but quality ones are hard to come by, especially in the centre. There is a darling Montessori nursery at the Istituto Nazareth in Prati (via cola di Rienzo, 140). It fills up quickly, though. You generally would need to register your child by March to get her in for September of the same year.

In Italy, public preschool (scuola materna) starts at age three, as in France, and goes for three years. Unlike école maternelle in France, scuola materna consists mostly of unstructured play and does not have a formal programme of any kind that teachers must follow. So children in scuola materna will not necessarily learn their letters or numbers (often they end up learning that at home) and they certainly will not learn cursive writing as they would in the French system at age five.

As for foreign schools in Rome, there are a bunch of British schools, the French lycee, another private French école maternelle, Marymount International School, and the American Overseas School. Check out this site for English-speaking schools in Rome.

Neighbourhoods: I'm a big fan of living near the centro storico (historical centre). Prati is also a great area because there are lots of stores and it is walking distance to the historical centre and it is on the metro line. (Public transit in Rome is not great, by the way. Count your blessings in Paris.) Some people like Parioli, which is this upscale bourgeois district a little further away from the centre. It is accessible to a few parks but I don't see any other advantage to living there. You need to take a bus to the centre (not even a metro) and it is quite residential. But really, it all depends on what you are looking for. Probably the wisest this to do would be to decide where you want to send your daughter to school at age three (French school? British school? American school?) and find something close to it.

Living in Rome as a mom? Again, there is nowhere near the same network of English-speaking moms as in Paris, but recently, a friend of mine established Rome Mama. I'm hoping that it will flourish.

Best of luck!

This e-mail arrived in my Inbox the other day:

Caroline,

I am a single mom to a wonderful 14 (almost 15) month old daughter. I was born and raised in California and am attending UCLA right now completing my BA in English Lit. I still have almost two years left, but I am strongly considering moving to Europe for grad school. My ex already said he would be supportive of my moving anywhere as long as he can have open visitation with our daughter where we live..... so I am trying to find leads on grad programs in or around London, Rome, Paris or the South of France with excellent Creative Writing programs..... any insight? Also which place do you feel is best to raise children.... best for single moms, best for expats? Any advice would be helpful.

Thanks,

Shannon*
Mommy to Taylor

Here is my response:

Shannon,

Congrats on being a student and single mom! I know that it must be hard sometimes to get the university papers done and take care of a toddler. Way to go!

For grad studies, if you want to study in Europe, then I would go with Paris. My considerations are as follows:

London is obviously best for language of study but London is incredibly expensive and it will also be difficult to get free, quality preschool or kindergarten for your daughter.

Paris has the American University of Paris and many (French) universities. Paris is a pretty family-friendly city - there are countless playgrounds and activities for kids available throughout the year. What is more, your daughter would have the right (assuming she was at least age three), to attend quality universal public and free école maternelle (French preschool /kindergarten) half- or all-day (virtually all children attend, so your daughter will have few or no playmates if you keep her out of it).

Paris also has an excellent support system for expat parents in a group called Message Mother Support Group. I haven't seen an organization like it in any other city.

Rome has the American University of Rome as well as John Cabot Univerity. Universal preschool also starts at age three here. The network for expats is much more limited than in Paris. There is nothing like Message Mother Support Group here. There is the American Women's Association of Rome but it tends to be focused on older women who have lived here for 20 years.

Good luck in your pursuits and let me know what you decide and if you have any more questions, just send me another email!

If you have a question that you would like to ask about taking your family abroad or teaching your child a new language at home, drop me an email at globetrotterparent@gmail.com!

*Names have been changed.